2019 Politics- Life in Trump World

[RJDiogenes]

Poor baby.

[Gary]

Trump speech: Twitter pokes fun of Schumer, Pelosi 'hostage tape,' 'American Gothic' vibe

Leave it to Twitter to come up with some great zingers

[RJDiogenes]

Are these really the best politicians money can buy?

[Gary]

Trump says 'I don't have temper tantrums' as he rants about border wall in front of the White House

I'm honestly surprised he hasn't threatened to hold his breath until he gets his way. His mannerisms, petulance, and bullshitting remind me of my dad when he was in his 70s -- a legend in his own mind who is completely divorced from reality.

[Gary]

Trump Thought It Would Only Take Three Days to Get Mexico to Pay for the Wall

Some interesting news on the local front: America’s Most and Least Popular Governors

Outgoing Governor Mary Fallin leaves office with a meager 16% approval rating, which makes her the most unpopular governor in the entire US. Sadly, the rubes voted for a businessman, who has no political experience, to replace her. Where has that happened before?

[Lupine]

I see that our Governor, Jerry Brown, is at 42%. Not surprising as I have mixed feelings about him. The California economy isn't doing too bad, but that is at the cost of some pretty stiff taxes, one of which was of questionable legality.

[RJDiogenes]

Wow, we've got the most popular governor in America. Who knew?

[Gary]

Traffickers at the El Chapo trial say drugs aren't smuggled through open parts of the border

[RJDiogenes]

Wait, drug smugglers are sneaky? How long has this been going on?!

[Gary]

Once again, Twitter responds brilliantly: Twitter had all of the jokes after seeing Clemson's fast food spread at the White House

(Sorry, this one is paywalled unless one uses Incognito mode on Chrome) Please help Donald Trump find work during the shutdown

President Trump needs a job.

The government is shuttered, and the president has nothing to do. “I am in the White House waiting for you!” he tweeted plaintively to Democrats on Saturday.

“I’m in the White House, waiting,” the underemployed executive tweeted again on Sunday.

“I’ve been waiting all weekend,” he tweeted on Monday.

“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats,” he tweeted during the holidays.

Yes, poor him. He shut down the government, taking hostage 800,000 furloughed federal workers, but nobody is willing to pay him ransom. Now, the economy is hurting (S&P Global Ratings put the damage at $3.6 billion so far, nearly the amount Trump sought for his border wall), and most Americans correctly blame him (he is, after all, the one who boasted: “I’ll be the one to shut it down”).

Trump’s allies are trying to clean up his mess: Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who had said surrendering on the shutdown would be “the end of his presidency,” now urges Trump to reopen the government; others propose building the wall with assets seized in litigation (Paul Manafort will pay for the wall!).

And Trump? He watches TV and tweets insults at Jeff “Bozo” Bezos, the Amazon founder and chief executive who also owns The Post, and Sen. Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren. With so little to occupy him, it’s as though he is on furlough himself. He’s certainly nonessential.

If only there were something productive Trump could do with his idle time — something like what the Trump administration suggests government workers do while they aren’t getting paid.

As The Post reported, the Coast Guard published helpful suggestions about activities furloughed workers can do to make ends meet while waiting to return to work: “have a garage sale,” “offer to watch children, walk pets or house-sit,” “turn your hobby into income,” discover “untapped teaching skills and expertise” or “become a mystery shopper.”


Trump is already housesitting, it’s doubtful many people would trust him with their children or pets, and he’s a bit too recognizable to pull off the mystery-shopper routine. He tried using his “untapped teaching skills” before, and we got Trump University.

But “turn your hobby into income”? This has potential. If Trump were to set up an insult service — for a fee, he would fire off tweets attacking your boss, your competitor or your ex-spouse — he would not only occupy himself during the shutdown but also earn enough money to pay for walls along the Mexican and Canadian borders.

There are other ways in which our idle president could put his untapped skills to work during the shutdown. Using “O*NET Online,” a website sponsored by the Labor Department to assist job seekers, I found several potential furlough jobs for Trump fitting his work values and skills.


I searched the database looking for jobs that appeal to those who “seek recognition” and have “potential for leadership,” positions that, according to O*NET, satisfy needs for “authority” and “social status” — all Trumpian requirements. I also looked for jobs that reward “persuading others to change their minds” (Trump, recall, got Republicans to abandon free trade and embrace Russian President Vladimir Putin).

Conversely, I sought jobs for Trump that place a low priority on “maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger and avoiding aggressive behavior.” Likewise, I de-emphasized jobs requiring skills Trump lacks: “the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong,” “trying to reconcile differences,” “using logic,” “not interrupting at inappropriate times” and “taking time to understand” others.

Some of the resulting recommendations for Trump were obvious (product promoter, public-address announcer), and some less obvious (manicurist, shampooer, barista). His people skills, my search found, argue for work as a paper hanger, machine operator or possibly an animal slaughterer.


Interestingly, Trump would find satisfaction if not success doing his wife’s job (a model), but he also has potential as a street vendor or marriage counselor. Trump might also enjoy being an astronomer (where “self-control” isn’t important). His listening skills would make him a good mine-car operator (he loves coal!). He has an advantage applying for one recommended job — forest fire prevention specialist — because he already knows about raking forests.

(The Labor Department database also could prove useful in selecting Trump’s next chief of staff: Workers most experienced in handling “unpleasant or angry people” are telephone operators, police patrol officers, telemarketers and correctional officers.)

Curiously, a certain type of work came up more than once when I searched for a shutdown vocation for Trump. For people who, like Trump, score very low in two attributes — “job requires being sensitive to others’ needs and feelings” and “job requires being honest and ethical” — the database returned a common result: “fence erector.”

It’s an elegant solution. Instead of moping around the White House, talking about a border barrier, our furloughed president should go to the border and start erecting one. Build the wall, Mr. President — yourself.

[RJDiogenes]

He could be a gigolo. He's obviously irresistible to porn stars and Playboy Playmates.

Now here's a good one: Trump paid to have some polls rigged in his favor. And failed.

[Gary]

Let's just across the pond to look at another trainwreck: The Malign Incompetence of the British Ruling Class

A friend of mine, who lives in the outskirts of London, agreed with the article and used some very coarse language to describe the Tories.

[Gary]

The State of the Union Address Should Go Away Forever
Shutdown is no time for celebratory State of the Union. No time is. Let's scrap it

I thought the State of the Union "event" was a lot of bluster and unnecessary pomp that served no real purpose. We later learned in history class that the Constitution merely states the President is to give a report to Congress "from time to time" and does not spell out how this is done. For well over 150 years, Presidents merely sent a letter to Congress until Wilson came along. Naturally, my teacher thought I was being petulant when I stated I'd follow past precedent over the televised nonsense the modern era has wrought. Much like my then opinion toward marijuana legalization, I was told, "That will never happen". Maybe Donald Trump will actually break a couple of things in Washington that need to be broken.

[Lupine]

Yeah, I rarely watch the State of the Union even when there's a President in there I like. I certainly wouldn't watch Trump- especially this year when all he'd be doing is griping about the shutdown/Democrats/Pelosi/immigrants/Smurfs/Mueller/The Fake Russia Thing.

[Gary]

Yeah, I rarely watch the State of the Union even when there's a President in there I like. I certainly wouldn't watch Trump- especially this year when all he'd be doing is griping about the shutdown/Democrats/Pelosi/immigrants/Smurfs/Mueller/The Fake Russia Thing.

You forgot Peanut Butter & Jelly.