President Trump- The Implications

[patric]

No, a gag order is not normal and may not even be legal and is at least against policy as stated today

http://mashable.com/2017/01/24/trump-administration-gag-order-epa-usda/#uehquaPaCiqC

The latest from Il duche:

Trump Poised to Lift Ban on C.I.A. 'Black Site' Prisons
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/cia-detainee-prisons.html

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing a sweeping executive order that would clear the way for the C.I.A. to reopen overseas "black site" prisons, like those where it detained and tortured terrorism suspects before former President Barack Obama shut them down.

[guido911]

Just stopping in to drop this off. Some posters are in REAL need of help, and its only been 5 days into Trump's first term

[Hoss]

Just stopping in to drop this off. Some posters are in REAL need of help, and its only been 5 days into Trump's first term

Sounds like the new resident of WH could use it instead.

https://apnews.com/61415760238042f2ad7bc38acc2f468c

[swake]

Hey, remember when Trump called Clinton the biggest security threat in American history? With chants of "lock her up" over her using a private email server?

Yeah, about that....

Does everyone also remember the Bush White House using a RNC owned private email server and losing 22 million emails? Yeah, but that was a long time ago, right?

Not so much, now the Trump White House is using that SAME RNC SERVER. Four days in and they are already using a private email server.

Lock him up?

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-emails-rnc-reince-priebus-white-house-server-548191

[guido911]

Sounds like the new resident of WH could use it instead.

https://apnews.com/61415760238042f2ad7bc38acc2f468c

Still only have the "I'm rubber, you're glue" comebacks. Don't go changin.

[guido911]

Hey, remember when Trump called Clinton the biggest security threat in American history? With chants of "lock her up" over her using a private email server?

Yeah, about that....


http://www.newsweek.com/trump-emails-rnc-reince-priebus-white-house-server-548191

Well of course his staffers have these email accounts. How else can Trump secretly communicate with his Russian overlords?

[Hoss]

Well, well...

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/25/agriculture-department-lifts-usda-gag-order-after-public-outcry/

Now, to be fair to President Snowflake, he didn't order this gag order.

[cannon_fodder]

Well of course his staffers have these email accounts. How else can Trump secretly communicate with his Russian overlords?

Good to have you back!

I mean, you're horribly wrong.  But opposition is a good thing.  

- - -

Our new national priorities:

1) Proving that the inauguration crowd was the bestest ever!

2) Making sure scientific data passes through the political officers at the Kremlin before being released.  No, dang it, I mean passes through the office of the Grand Ayatollah.   Ahh!  Wrong again.  Making sure scientific data passes through Trump's office and passes political muster before being released, because science!

3) Finding a way to reinstate black site prisons and torture, which his military advisers, CIA chief, and Defense Secretary all acknowledge isn't useful, because Freedom!

4) Spending tens of billions in money we don't have on a wall that experts say won't stop Mexican immigration (which is a net zero anyway), because populism!

5) De-funding the arts, saving over 0.0015% of the Federal Budget annually, because fiscally conservative!

6) Investigating the conspiracy theory that massive voter fraud made it look like President Trump lost the popular vote by 3,000,000 people.  Step 1:  find any indication that it might have happened.  Step 2:  try to find any evidence that it might have happened, Step 3: Run data through the political data filter. Because ego!

7) Have the Federal Government pick winners and losers in the free market by mandating protectionists quotas (though shalt use X product made in the USA to do Y), because small government and free markets!

Control as much of the communication with the public as possible, because transparency!

9) Repeal a law that by objective measures has done everything Republicans wanted it to do (before it was passed by Democrats, the ACA was basically the Republican plan).  Insure an extra 20 million Americans.  Slow the rising cost of healthcare.  Release more information so consumers can make better health choices. Reduce the number of uninsured. Reduce readmission and complication rates. Save the Federal Government $100,000,000,000.00 per year in net.

What? It helps people afford healthcare, improves the quality, slows the cost growth, releases more information, and saves us money --- KILL IT! Kill it with fire!  

Finally release that "better" replacement you've been working on for 8 years, because I've said it sucks so now I have to stick to it in spite of any evidence to the contrary!

10) Support legislation to specifically allow discrimination against a minority segment of the US population (the first of its kind in the US since the civil war - making American Great Again!), because of the gay agenda!

11) Hand control of international trade in the Pacific over to China, because they took our jobs!

12) Coerce local States into doing the Federal Government's job of enforcing immigration law, because States rights and small government!

[swake]

Read the whole transcript of his ABC interview.

Trump is mentally ill, no joke, he really is. This is scary stuff.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-abc-news-anchor-david-muir-interviews-president/story?id=45047602

[Hoss]

Read the whole transcript of his ABC interview.

Trump is mentally ill, no joke, he really is. This is scary stuff.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-abc-news-anchor-david-muir-interviews-president/story?id=45047602

And then of course, he cites a 'conversation' he had with Bernhard Langer regarding his frustration about being not allowed to vote at a polling place in Florida while other people whom he claims Langer said didn't appear that should be able to vote were being allowed to.

One problem with that.  Langer is a German citizen.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/trump-bernhard-langer-voting-fraud.html

[patric]

Hey, remember when Trump called Clinton the biggest security threat in American history? With chants of "lock her up" over her using a private email server?

Yeah, about that....

Does everyone also remember the Bush White House using a RNC owned private email server and losing 22 million emails? Yeah, but that was a long time ago, right?

Not so much, now the Trump White House is using that SAME RNC SERVER. Four days in and they are already using a private email server.

...and still using his unsecured smartphone

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316099-trump-still-uses-unsecured-android-phone

to parrot what he sees on Fox News.

   14 minutes apart: Fox says "ungrateful traitor," Trump says "ungrateful traitor," Fox says "weak leader," Trump says "weak leader." pic.twitter.com/f7urTOUG1L
   — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 26, 2017

This wouldn't be the first time that Trump's tweets correlate with Fox News segments. As BuzzFeed's Brandon Wall pointed out earlier this week, a recent tweet about violence in Chicago may also have been inspired by a segment on the O'Reilly Factor.

http://www.npr.org/2017/01/26/511781106/trump-chelsea-manning-an-ungrateful-traitor-for-criticizing-obama

[swake]

The Golden Shower President just started trade war with our 3rd largest trading partner. Outstanding. He's going to charge a 20% tariff on imports from Mexico.

The math here doesn't even make sense. We import $294 billion worth of goods from Mexico a year, 20% of that would be $60 billion, in one year. And let's be clear, that's money that would be paid by American consumers, not Mexicans, with increased prices on imported food, liquor, cars and more. Trump just raised taxes on Americans, not Mexicans.

It also puts at risk $240 billion in exports to Mexico when they respond with their own tariffs.  That's putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs at risk. It also puts the Mexican economy at risk which will drive UP illegal immigration. Unbelievable.

Prices up for American consumers, jobs at risk, more illegal immigration. We have a moronic toddler in the White House who is upset the Mexican President canceled his trip and snubbed Trumpy.

[Cats Cats Cats]

So here is a question.  We have a $60 billion trade deficit with Mexico.  Our economy is 15x larger than Mexico's and we have about 3 x the people.  How will they match us?  Also, it was also stated they want the same 20% to every country at a later date.  I'm not sure what our agreements are with the rest of the world.

[Conan71]

Meanwhile here in the real world not the theoretical one:

We are seeing a large uptick in business at my day job.  We are used to a cycle every four years prior to the November elections where business slows down and doesn't pick back up until near or after inauguration day.  It does not really  matter which party is in power, it's just a fact of life in the steam and hot water business and other industries.  That was no different this year.

Regardless of the economy, there's always a need for steam and hot water.  When the general economy is down companies tend to fix what they have or only replace equipment in an emergency.  However, when the economic outlook is good or there is great optimism for the next few years, companies turn loose with new capital spending.  That is what has suddenly happened the last two weeks.

Some of these inquiries and orders are from the terminal and transportation business (think rail and barge), some are oil related, some are food industry, a couple of breweries (I'd expect growth there regardless) and one from a government entity which I was not expecting to see as I think many government agencies are taking a wait-see approach to see what cuts may be coming to their budgets with a promise to shrink government spending.  In particular companies seem to be looking to add capacity anticipating an uptick in business or an uptick in revenue which will pay for upgrading older equipment.  There are also a couple of well-funded new start ups.

These customers, with the exceptions of the new start ups, are all talking about an increase in workflow and orders themselves.  Our vendors are reporting the same.

There certainly has been no time for President Trump's new policies to actually take effect.  However, if corporate management and company owners believe government leadership is friendly to business, they are generally optimistic about the future of the economy and their business.     

It's not just there, we've seen a huge upswing in the online business my wife and I own dealing in vintage motorcycle parts.  55% over this time last year.  Part of that I can attribute to more offerings (about 33% more items now listed on line) so that leaves about 22% in a business uptick I cannot explain in any other way.  I believe this growth is more a symptom of an economy which has done fairly well over the last year.  I'm sure there are some people who have been sitting on their savings who might feel more confident about their job situation with so much optimism in the economy.

I haven't done an analysis to see if our ratio of domestic orders vs. global is up. That would tend to say something is up specifically with optimism in the U.S. economy if that ratio has become skewed more in favor of domestic orders.

As far as our B & B in New Mexico, I would expect it will do well regardless of who is sitting in the White House.  Even in a slumping economy, a business like that can prosper if you are good at marketing and you develop a good following or have a great travel destination.

I've always had the attitude that if you believe the economy sucks, your personal fortunes will soon follow suit.

[TheArtist]

Per the economy.  I think we are all aware that this year was likely going to be a good year as the slow steady uptick over the last 6 continues its trajectory and gains its footing.  (all of this baring something disastrous or disastrously stupid happening) I suspect that Trump will also be able to squeeze out a little additional boost to the economy by scaring some corporations into making a different calculation and making more things here, increasing some federal spending right off the bat, and perhaps tweak out some advantages around the edges of trade policies.  China seems to be going in for a soft landing and maturing its economy (though weaknesses remain) and the EU is also seeing signs of at least steadiness over all.  

Current predictions.  This year good, next year good or better, third year shaky, fourth year "artificially propped up but the underlying conditions scary".  The world is only going to become more competitive and richer (making us more "average" and less influential) and our debt and deficits on top of that will begin to really haunt us after the next 4 and in 8 could bring us to our knees as we start to run out of options, the corporations and money start to see that and start fleeing for other parts of the world like rats from a sinking ship.


Per Oklahoma,  I see continued problems.

However Tulsa could "break away" from that general malaise. (Face it people oil is not going up much unless we have a war or something, renewables are already competitive and there are advances and investments in the pipeline that will make them twice as cheap and twice as efficient as they are now. Plus allowing the pipelines, more drilling, less regulations, etc. will help to keep those resources cheap so no price boost there, the oil guys were only bitching about Obama and his policies because it gave them a convenient scapegoat to blame their woes on, knowing all the while the game is over. Same thing with coal. ) But again per Tulsa, things like the park will give us something to show off and feel proud about, which believe it or not can help attract bright people and businesses.  The continued revival of downtown will help the city look more attractive and vibrant. (Still get way to many frustrated people asking me "Where are all the people?" and "I have never seen a downtown so dead!" comments. But the trajectory is upwards.)  We have just got to really promote the dickens out of ourselves while things are turning our way to get some population/business growth rolling along.  Some good old fashioned "boosterism" can go along way in the next 3 years.