Seems pretty standard Republican to me. And this is the problem, right here. Sorry, X, but you just took the bait he set out for you. Why waste airtime on culture war silliness? The guy has illegal conflicts of interest out the wazoo, but we're going to have a big fuss about friggin' FLAG BURNING? 1983 called. They want their controversy back. I headdesk in your general direction. (Kudos to Huffpo, who as of this post haven't taken the bait, at least not entirely. Their headline is "DEMS PUSH TO PROBE TRUMP'S CONFLICTS". The flag burning thing is down the page a bit. I think the press may be starting to figure this out.) EDIT: I see MSNBC isn't quite as smart ...
I happened to watch MSNBC this morning, and at least one of their panelists was smart enough to figure it out. He pointed out that Trump would love this to be taken up in Congress, with the noise machine painting as "unpatriotic" any Democrat who would oppose such a Congressional bill (when, of course, the exact opposite would be true), and riling up the base about the need for far-right justice appointments who wouldn't worry about silly things like the 1st amendment... and the more this "controversy" rages on, the more distracted both the public and the Congress is, allowing Trump's blatant conflicts of interest to advance potentially unchecked.
What's going on reminds of when I lived in Florence Italy 20+ years ago. There was a group of gypsy kids, six or seven of them, that would approach people in crowded areas. Each kid had a short stick in his/her hand and they would surround some unlucky person begging for money while poking that person gently all over with their sticks. The person would be so overwhelmed by the sensation of being poked all over that he/she wouldn't even feel the hand going into the pocket taking out the wallet. It feels like so much of what Trump does is simply a poking distraction from what he's really trying to do. Here is a good article that talks about this very thing.... Trump’s lies have a purpose. They are an assault on democracy.
I said somewhere else that I'm worried about so much "outrage" that people who just don't want to talk about election, Trump, politics anymore will just turn on ignore about everything, including the stuff that really matters. Even here, we don't need a new thread posted daily about, "OMG did you see what Trump said!" We need one thread for all the Trump's tweets click-bait. However, I do disagree with this just being a 1983 controversy. Because as I posted in my biggest fear thread, I'm afraid Trump will do something like. 1. Executive order - Throw people in jail for flag burning. You, me, the courts may all know that is unconstitutional but... Where the real problem comes, 2. Some red state police chiefs and sheriffs decide to follow the order, and the red state governor leaves it for "the courts to rule." 3. There are currently 104 judicial vacancies, with another 18 upcoming retirements, leaving the court system backlogged, and potentially shift to Trump friendly appointments. Especially, within specific circuit courts. Are you sure the 5th Circuit would support the previous rulings, or that this issue needs to be "re-examined?" 4. It takes years, all the while people have been locked up waiting for their justice. Perhaps, I've been watching too much Designated Survivor
Not even a new idea. I have a 14yo political piece on my freezer that states: Report: FLAG-BURNING, GAY MARRIAGE BANS HAVE FAILED TO WEAKEN AL QAEDA Yes, it is a satire but satire has a way of pointing out the truth. The article goes on to declare that: "Bush says the only way to win the War on Terror is to institute private Social Security accounts." Have you seen the movie Man of the Year? WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION!!
And one of my favorite bumper stickers circa 1972: TEMPERATURE 76º SPEED LIMIT 55 I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT WATERGATE!!
Maybe, if nothing else, he may learn that he cannot override the constitution that easily. His followers will find out another lie that he told them, just like his "the Democrats are going to take away your guns approach, if this was an amendment to the constitution he hasn't got a vote and it would take all the time that he will ever be in office to wait for it even if it was going his way.
So then we're still counting on the Republicans in Congress to act as a check and balance on President Boss Baby? He's been openly flaunting the conflict of interest rules, and nary a peep out of them. "Oh he can't get rid of the Constitution that easily." Sure he can. Who the hell is going to stop him? Weimar Germany had a Constitution too. WASS.
Actually, I think he is going to find that it's easy as can be. After all, he will almost certainly violate the Emolument Clause of the Constitution with his Washington DC hotel and nobody seems to care at all. They are too distracted by his tweets and Cabinet picks and his media jilting.
'Flag burning should be UnConstitutional' is right out of 'Politcal Science 101' Just shows how dumb he is.
Again, these mean tweets are a distraction. Smoke and mirrors. While everyone is busy debating this old chestnut, he appoints another horrible cabinet member or does some shenanigans that make his businesses profit. This is how it will be: A fresh made up "controversy" from a 3AM tweet dominates the news cycle, meanwhile, he's doing something awful elsewhere. Please don't keep taking the bait. Tell your friends not to take the bait. It's a trap!
He's not the president yet. Like someone mentioned he currently is just shooting his mouth off. I don't think the any of congress is even in town. They may be paying attention, but, they are not in the forum to deal with it at the moment. It may take a few months, but, you know how protective congress is of it powers as soon as it sinks through those cast iron heads that they are being castrated or will be if they don't take some action, it might be different. It's one thing when it is just our rights and freedoms are messed with, however, it may just be seen differently if it is there's. One of the things that the talked so much about during the election was how the "liberals" were going to take away all their guns. Well, they didn't and eventually they may come in handy. If anyone is going to take them away it is Mr. Trump. I'm not advocating, I am just saying that if we need to stop a tyrant we all have the means and I honestly don't think the American military will willingly fire on our own citizens. History shows a less then wonderful outcome for those that back fascists. It's to bad that so many citizens have no clue about history. Situations like this never end well.
Here's the bait. Let's see who's petty enough to bite. Either Trump, or somebody on his team, is GREAT at this.
