5 ms·

The part about an initiative to look up visitors phones and social media is BS. This measure was introduced in June last year when the president wasn't Trump. W

by kika 10y ago

The part about an initiative to look up visitors phones and social media is BS. This measure was introduced in June last year when the president wasn't Trump. Went into effect in December, when Trump already won but had no authority. One random link from google: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/foreign-travelers-social-media-232930 http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/foreign-travelers-soci...

tritosomal 10y ago
Either way, it is NIGHTMARE MODE stupidity. It will net only the most retarded entrapment arrests possible. It's tantamount to searching people's bags for postcards and magazines, because there might be terrorist postcards or terrorist magazines. Yes, there may be terrorists who send postcards and read magazines (even newspapers!) but, ah... how does that prevent violent actions?
pessimizer 10y ago
Virtually all of what Trump is being called out on has been consistent bipartisan policy, or at the least supported consistently by recent Republican administrations and by every Republican primary candidate, all of whom were openly racist, xenophobic and anti-science. I think it's a good thing. Finally an ugly, stupid face on ugly, stupid policies.
- kefka 10y ago
  I'd go further than that. Given trump's recent actions regarding immigration ban, and INS/ICE going against federal judges, it seems like he's testing for a coup. https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e024990891d5#.rkf3aykq5 https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e... Congress, which is majority republicans, are doing little to stop him. Democrats are still skittering, unsure what to do or how to regroup. And if judges are being ignored, it leaves the Executive branch pretty wide open. After all, they are the ones who control the military. Congress just OK's the budget.
- refurb 10y ago
  all of whom were openly racist, xenophobic Thank you for taking the first step at bringing both sides together! If we can just convince one side they are wrong and frankly evil, we can start the healing process.
  - nvahalik 10y ago
    This has to be one of the most frustrating things I've had to deal with lately: finding that all of the people who have accused the President of being divisive doing exactly what they claim the other side is doing. It reminds me of a Dutch phrase I've heard mentioned on a favorite podcast of mine: "Wat je zegt ben jezelf, met je kop door de helft" (from what I've been told, "he's criticizing others, but he's not innocent himself: he is a hypocrite").
  - ryandamm 10y ago
    I actually think we suffer from false equivalency in the US. The two parties are radically different, the rhetoric is radically different. It's not that we suffer from a lack of consensus, it's that the right in the US has swerved sharply right, while the left has meandered a little left lately (but rightward across a ~30 year time span). The first source I could find, it's not universally agreed upon, but here: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/yes-polarization-is-asymmetric-and-conservatives-are-worse/373044/ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/yes-pola... It's really easy to try to be bipartisan and blame both sides, but the Republican party has been changing rapidly. You could argue the Democrats haven't been changing fast enough... but whatever is going on, it's not symmetrical.
    - Silhouette 10y ago
      The irony of your comment is that while you might well be right about the trends, by global political standards the two main parties in the US are barely distinguishable, except for a few clear dividing lines like guns or abortion.
      - croon 10y ago
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > Virtually all of what Trump is being called out on has been consistent bipartisan policy No, it isn't. Any of it, really. > or at the least supported consistently by recent Republican administrations A very few of the things he's been called out for fit this category, e.g., the Mexico City policy. > and by every Republican primary candidat A few more fit this category, but a lot of the things he's been criticized for miss all of them. One might fantasize that others might have, had they had the chance, done some of the things he's been called out for, but, e.g., no past administration or primary candidate of either party has suggested kicking the Joint Chiefs and DNI out of the NSC in favor of additional White House staffers.
wodenokoto 10y ago
It would only be bullshit if it wasn't an actual measure. It still counts as a con when considering the US for an international conference.

by kika 10y ago

tritosomal 10y ago

Either way, it is NIGHTMARE MODE stupidity. It will net only the most retarded entrapment arrests possible. It's tantamount to searching people's bags for postcards and magazines, because there might be terrorist postcards or terrorist magazines. Yes, there may be terrorists who send postcards and read magazines (even newspapers!) but, ah... how does that prevent violent actions?

pessimizer 10y ago

Virtually all of what Trump is being called out on has been consistent bipartisan policy, or at the least supported consistently by recent Republican administrations and by every Republican primary candidate, all of whom were openly racist, xenophobic and anti-science. I think it's a good thing. Finally an ugly, stupid face on ugly, stupid policies.

kefka 10y ago
I'd go further than that. Given trump's recent actions regarding immigration ban, and INS/ICE going against federal judges, it seems like he's testing for a coup. https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e024990891d5#.rkf3aykq5 https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e... Congress, which is majority republicans, are doing little to stop him. Democrats are still skittering, unsure what to do or how to regroup. And if judges are being ignored, it leaves the Executive branch pretty wide open. After all, they are the ones who control the military. Congress just OK's the budget.
refurb 10y ago
all of whom were openly racist, xenophobic Thank you for taking the first step at bringing both sides together! If we can just convince one side they are wrong and frankly evil, we can start the healing process.
- nvahalik 10y ago
  This has to be one of the most frustrating things I've had to deal with lately: finding that all of the people who have accused the President of being divisive doing exactly what they claim the other side is doing. It reminds me of a Dutch phrase I've heard mentioned on a favorite podcast of mine: "Wat je zegt ben jezelf, met je kop door de helft" (from what I've been told, "he's criticizing others, but he's not innocent himself: he is a hypocrite").
- ryandamm 10y ago
  I actually think we suffer from false equivalency in the US. The two parties are radically different, the rhetoric is radically different. It's not that we suffer from a lack of consensus, it's that the right in the US has swerved sharply right, while the left has meandered a little left lately (but rightward across a ~30 year time span). The first source I could find, it's not universally agreed upon, but here: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/yes-polarization-is-asymmetric-and-conservatives-are-worse/373044/ http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/yes-pola... It's really easy to try to be bipartisan and blame both sides, but the Republican party has been changing rapidly. You could argue the Democrats haven't been changing fast enough... but whatever is going on, it's not symmetrical.
  - Silhouette 10y ago
    The irony of your comment is that while you might well be right about the trends, by global political standards the two main parties in the US are barely distinguishable, except for a few clear dividing lines like guns or abortion.
    - croon 10y ago
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Virtually all of what Trump is being called out on has been consistent bipartisan policy No, it isn't. Any of it, really. > or at the least supported consistently by recent Republican administrations A very few of the things he's been called out for fit this category, e.g., the Mexico City policy. > and by every Republican primary candidat A few more fit this category, but a lot of the things he's been criticized for miss all of them. One might fantasize that others might have, had they had the chance, done some of the things he's been called out for, but, e.g., no past administration or primary candidate of either party has suggested kicking the Joint Chiefs and DNI out of the NSC in favor of additional White House staffers.

wodenokoto 10y ago

It would only be bullshit if it wasn't an actual measure. It still counts as a con when considering the US for an international conference.