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posted by martyb on Monday June 26 2017, @02:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the media-the-4th-estate dept.

http://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-sketch-artist-white-house-briefing-sean-spicer-2017-6

In response to the White House's recent trend of prohibiting cameras at press briefings, CNN on Friday said it sent its in-house Supreme Court sketch artist, Bill Hennessy, to Sean Spicer's latest press briefing.

CNN said it "equated press briefings to a Supreme Court argument -- an on-the-record event at which cameras are banned." The network argued sketches of the briefing had news value in the same way courtroom sketches do.

News organizations and the White House Correspondents' Association have protested the Trump administration's decision to scale back on-camera press briefings to unprecedented levels.


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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:10AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:10AM (#531067)

    In other news, buggy whip makers join forces with coal miners and computer repairmen to Build A Wall.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by idiot_king on Monday June 26 2017, @02:10AM (25 children)

    by idiot_king (6587) on Monday June 26 2017, @02:10AM (#531068)

    Anyone who thinks this is a normal act needs to read a 20th century history book NOW. They're not even pretending to be secretive about stuff now!

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Monday June 26 2017, @03:46AM (15 children)

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Monday June 26 2017, @03:46AM (#531093)

      I'm assumed they preventing cameras and recording gear, so that the next time Mr. Trump goes off his meds they can call the reports FAKE NEWS.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:12AM (14 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:12AM (#531105)

        Not a chance in million there. Note even in CNN's 'no cameras sketch' front and center there are cameras. In typical fashion, they couldn't be bothered to explain evidence that seems to directly contradict what they're sensationalizing. Just as importantly, however, is the fact that all conferences are also transcribed. You can see a list/log of all conferences [here](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings). If anything was overtly left out or faked for malicious purposes, that is something the entire media would be immediately and clearly show the American public. That is also something that I think nobody would, ever, support.

        However, I don't mind seeing less cameras. The reason is that I think the media is mostly now primarily trying to provoke gaffes. But these gaffes are presented as actual positions (or contradictions) instead of just gaffes. For instance here [youtube.com] is Obama stating he thinks that there are 60 states - he's already visited 57 of them too! It wasn't a joke - just a gaffe or brain fart. But in today's state of the media this would be reported front and center as 'US PRESIDENT DOES NOT KNOW HOW MANY STATES THERE ARE' with the video of him stating 57 states used as supplemental evidence. I think most people are used to knowing that what's written is subject to being taken out of context - yet somehow when something is in video it must be a complete and absolute representation of the truth. You can find countless clips like that of Obama, and anybody for that matter. But the media has sunk to new lows and is not only reporting gaffes as statements of official view, but actively seeking to provoke said gaffes.

        • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:40AM (8 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:40AM (#531117)

          Just as importantly, however, is the fact that all conferences are also transcribed. You can see a list/log of all conferences [here](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings). If anything was overtly left out or faked for malicious purposes, that is something the entire media would be immediately and clearly show the American public. That is also something that I think nobody would, ever, support.

          You might have a point, if we weren't waaay past that already, with no visible consequences.

          To give some examples, this administration has repeatedly lied about stuff that has video evidence, and transcriptions of official conversations with foreign leaders have been withheld and only false summaries given. Still a third of the population supports them, because the media "can't be trusted" and if you don't believe everything the White House says without question you're a traitor.

          • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:01AM (7 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:01AM (#531147)

            No, we aren't "waay past that point." Let me give a simple example [politifact.com] from 'politifact' of a lie. Trump's statement, they rated as false was: "When you look for a job, you can't find it and you give up. You are now considered statistically employed."

            They seems like a pretty lol, Trump is such a lying idiot type line. However, the official unemployment number (what someone is referring to when they say the US unemployment rate is x%) is known as the U3. The U3 does not include 'marginally attached workers' which is what somebody who was searching for work but gave up are defined as. Here [bls.gov] are the BLS (bureau of labor statistics) definitions. Here [bls.gov] are the numbers for the various sorts of unemployment and what is counted in each. The politifact article further lied in defining people who gave up as a discouraged worker. A discouraged worker is a subset of marginally attached workers, being defined as people who sought within the past 4 weeks. The definition they gave in their "fact check" for discouraged workers was, in fact, the definition for a marginally attached worker. Can you see why people begin to see 'fact checkers' as fake news?

            To be clear I'm in no way suggesting Trump does not lie, and regularly. However (and this is in no way a defense of said actions), this is par for the course for all politicians. I think the behavior of our media is fueling political radicalism (on both sides) and I think that's never going to end well for anybody. The right thinking every president is about to turn into Hitler (or the anti christ for those that swing that way) is nothing new. I find it disconcerting that this stupidity is now also infecting the left. I don't see how two equal but opposite extremes can lead to anything but conflict. And nobody's going to win there.

            • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @01:56PM (6 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @01:56PM (#531305)

              But Trump didn't say (per your post) "discouraged worker" or "marginally attached worker."

              He said (per your post) "employed."

              I don't give a fuck what he meant because anything Trump says is a Rorschach test. You're reading something Trump didn't actually say into something he said.

              • (Score: 3, Informative) by art guerrilla on Monday June 26 2017, @02:15PM (4 children)

                by art guerrilla (3082) on Monday June 26 2017, @02:15PM (#531313)

                dog almighty, you ARE dense, and simply overcome with TDS...
                geezus, i don't like tee-rump, but you people are seriously delusional...
                .
                THE FACT of the matter is (aside from this being a GOOD example of the mediawhore's grandstanding gotchas the previous poster was very capably explicating), the unemployment numbers ARE TOTALLY FUCKED, and ONE major reason is EXACTLY as tee-rump mentioned in his VALID shorthand: 'STATISTICALLY EMPLOYED'... and he is 100% correct on that: people who have 'given up' looking, are effectively counted as 'employed' as far as the BULLSHIT stats go...
                .
                that YOU don't have a clue as to the REAL unemployment picture AND how it is GROSSLY distorted by statistical trickery and merely redefining things out of existence, then you don't know shit about shit...

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:44PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:44PM (#531390)

                  but that isn't news -- even the last administration acknowledged this definition of how employment numbers are counted. Each administration will even take advantage of something they claimed the previous one couldn't claim. It's like negative profit instead of taking a loss--the numbers are the same but the wording changes.

                  The propaganda in the media is the only difference. The actual means of accounting it has not differed between administrations.

                  Trump just went off script as usual. His (perhaps inadvertant or just unguarded) honesty is not a change in longstanding policy and rhetoric, but I think it caught people off-guard.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:56PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:56PM (#531397)

                  We need a new category: too stubborn to relocate and too dumb to retrain.

                  Are they unemployed? Sure. Do they want a job? Sure. Are they waiting for a messiah to save them? Sure. Are they going to get one? Hah hah hhaah. I mean, sure. Trump.

                • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday June 26 2017, @09:16PM

                  by bob_super (1357) on Monday June 26 2017, @09:16PM (#531549)

                  This way, the US has half the unemployment of the pinko commie socialists in Europe... Do you really want to be like Europe? Look how their silly socialist system doesn't work, with all the unemployment! Big government is bad, if all those people are unemployed!
                  Stay in the US and vote consevative, for only then shall you be rewarded with a non-living-wage poverty-assisted part-time at-will precarious job!

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @11:58PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @11:58PM (#531649)

                  Great opinion. Got any evidence to back it up?

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:15PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:15PM (#531315)

                He said you're be considered statistically employed, and that is 100% accurate. Imagine there was literally not a single job available in the US and everybody wanted one. After exactly one month we'd have, according to the official numbers, 0% unemployment. That makes 0 sense, but it's the absurd system we have and exactly what he was mocking.

        • (Score: 2) by tekk on Monday June 26 2017, @02:12PM (1 child)

          by tekk (5704) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 26 2017, @02:12PM (#531311)

          >But the media has sunk to new lows and is not only reporting gaffes as statements of official view, but actively seeking to provoke said gaffes.

          This surely has nothing to do with the administration's position that such gaffes *are* statements the administration's of official view? "All (non-vetted) tweets are considered official statements by the president", "The president and a select circle are aware of what 'covfefe' means", and so on?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:58PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:58PM (#531400)

            Why can't we all just let The President's words speak for themselves? Next question. GOTO 10

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @03:52PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @03:52PM (#531362)

          There may be some truth in what you say, but I doubt that is the whole story. As anybody who has gone through office politics, nobody reads the "meeting minutes," until way later when there is a problem.

          If Trump says, "I'm going to pay $30Million to Education," nobody's going to check the White House transcript for each and every individual statement. Not until things change weeks later.

          Let's say that more gaffs occur. The press conference says, "no Russian interference in the election, never happened, it's all fake news, we're dropping it." Transcript says, "there is little evidence of Russian involvement in the elections." What kind of news report would there be that the transcript was somewhat off? It would be a huge deal in a congressional inquiry, though.

          The further we get divorced from THE TRUTH, the less ability we have to say that 2+2=4, the more dangerous it is. This seems like a minor thing, but little things can add up, and Gaslighting [wikipedia.org] is a thing. In fact, speaking for myself, when I look at the Presidency in light of Gaslighting (and in comparison to what's happened in Russia, Turkey, and several other countries), I get very scared.

          • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:11PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:11PM (#531443)

            Except it isn't just office meeting minutes. It is a word for word transcription of what is said. After the meetings you're going to have people looking through every word that was said looking for a way to make tomorrow's headlines.

            On the topic of gaslight, I will say something I've observed about the Trump administration is troubling to me. It's pretty safe to say that he's gone through an infinitely more vicious directionless attack from the media, with a unified front, than any politician - ever. Take even this [nytimes.com] - an archive of the NYT coverage during the height of Watergate. It's amazing to see the impartial and detailed reporting of the facts compared to the frenzied speculation and interjection of opinion that's become standard for them today.

            But anyhow, the thing that's troubling to me is that this coverage seems to have had minimal to no effect. And I think it has to do with how Trump handles the heat. When he apologized over the 'grab them by the pussy' banter, he got torn to pieces by the media for it - and took a substantial hit in the polls. Apologizing or even accepting that you are wrong is not seen as a strength of character, but something to be used to attack somebody with. He's made a lot of incorrect statements and done plenty of insensitive things since then. He's never once apologized. For that matter he never even acknowledges when he's wrong. I don't think this is anything like gaslighting. It's sadly a result of our current system. This even plays out in social media. When somebody apologizes it's not grounds to accept and move on, it's dogpile time - make them hurt even more! Take for instance 'shirtgate' with the Rosetta scientist Matt Taylor. As he broke into tears a genuine and broken man on a live stream to apologize - there was no sort of media reflect on whether doing this to a person over a t-shirt was appropriate. Instead, it was used to further justify their hostility and aggression and in some cases bring even more - with some calling for his dismissal of a career he worked a lifetime to build... because of a shirt.

            So no, sadly I think the reason people like Trump simply do not apologize and do not back down is because it's simply not smart to do for a person in the public eye. We're nasty little critters anxious to hop on any sign of weakness from our 'enemies.'

        • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday June 26 2017, @09:39PM

          by krishnoid (1156) on Monday June 26 2017, @09:39PM (#531569)

          But in today's state of the media this would be reported front and center as 'US PRESIDENT DOES NOT KNOW HOW MANY STATES THERE ARE' with the video of him stating 57 states used as supplemental evidence.

          What are you talking about? Of course there are 57 states -- it says so right on the ketchup bottle.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @03:50AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @03:50AM (#531094)

      It's so sad that the left, in large part thanks to echo chambers, is becoming so conspiratorially insane as the right. No, Jade Helm was not Obama about to declare martial law and become Hitler. No, the white house secretary doing press gaggles instead of formal briefings is not Trump about to become Hitler. It's ridiculous this needs to be said.

      Actually watch a press conference some time. Each and every day it's the same story. We get one question trying to get some quote to spin for the Russia conspiracy of the day. This makes sense. It's pertinent and an issue of the day. The issue is that then that after that question is responded to, it's again asked 30 different ways. And then the conference is over. This isn't being done for the sake of critical and 'hard hitting' journalism - it's being done for the sake of sensationalized headlines that help generate clicks.

      The media, likely in part thanks to group like JournoList [wikipedia.org] turned CabaList and other journalistic cabals, is becoming more a branch of propaganda than a group of independent entities. I'd love to see some serious questions on a wide array of topics. What does Trump plans to do about race relations? How does he plan to improve the lives of the poor? If the executive branch takes credit for high jobs numbers, is it not therefore their obligation to accept responsibility for the recent awful jobs numbers? For that matter is it an issue that the jobs figures are only being sustained by McJobs? How about whether changes to the electoral system are necessary? Both the electoral college and first past the post are increasingly archaic, and Trump has previously express confidence he also would have won in a popular system. Perhaps some hard hitting questions on how Trump claimed his administration will 'not pick winners through government subsidies' yet the massive subsidies for fossil fuels continue - subsidies which, by the way, the US is coming under fire from in the G20. But no, instead of actually covering issues we get simplified conspiracy theories that are geared more towards generating clicks for the media than generating information and crucial journalism for the public. And in lack of any real evidence - they primarily rely on provoked gaffes.

    • (Score: 2) by Sulla on Monday June 26 2017, @05:13AM (4 children)

      by Sulla (5173) on Monday June 26 2017, @05:13AM (#531136) Journal

      Pretty tyrannical, never thought I would ever hear of a day where the President of the United States has press conferences that are not televised. I don't think this has ever happened before, we should impeach him as soon as possible.

      --
      Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:17AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:17AM (#531154)

        Well then let me help to inform you! These are known as Press Gaggles [wikipedia.org]. The term was supposedly coined in 1993 by Clinton's press secretary, but the practice certainly goes back much further than that. That said it's almost certain that a much greater percent of Trump's press events have been gaggles than for any other administration.

        Impeaching Trump:

          - Requires a crime be committed.
          - Would result in Mike Pence [wikipedia.org] becoming president. He would then, almost certainly, pardon Trump. Pence makes Trump look like Mr. Rogers in terms of policy and endearment.
          - Would require more than 50% of all republican senators and 100% of everybody else to vote for it.

        In other words, it will not happen - and you would not want it to happen.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Monday June 26 2017, @07:11AM (1 child)

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 26 2017, @07:11AM (#531166) Journal

          No. Impeaching Trump requires a majority vote of the House. Whatever they decide to impeach for they can. A simple majority is required.

          OTOH, impeaching isn't convicting. The trial of the impeachment is done by the Senate. It requires a 2/3 vote in favor of impeachment to convict.

          IOW, not going to happen while the president's party controls either the House or the Senate unless he is seen as REALLY out of bounds by nearly all his party.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @09:08AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @09:08AM (#531212)

            Good correction. I was mostly using the colloquial usage of 'impeach' which most people conflate with removal from office. Impeachment itself is a meaningless gesture should the senate choose to acquit, which they have done both times a president has been impeached. And it would not be 50% of republican senators, but 19 of 52 republican senators - assuming every non-republican senator votes for impeachment. In Clinton's case, for reference, there was a big song and dance but in the end literally not a single vote democratic senator voted for impeachment on either of the perjury or obstruction charges. This in spite of the very black and white fact that he did engage in perjury under oath.

        • (Score: 2) by Sulla on Monday June 26 2017, @01:55PM

          by Sulla (5173) on Monday June 26 2017, @01:55PM (#531304) Journal

          The answer I wax expexting was more of pointing out that the first president to do a televised press conference was Kennedy. I

          --
          Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @08:55AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @08:55AM (#531207)

      I fail to see how "Waagh Trump is a Nazi" is considered insightful. I mean come on people, even if you actually agree with this sentiment there is not shred of insight or novelty to this comment, we get a few of these in every single goddamn article that talks about Trump and occasionally even under articles that have nothing to do with him at all.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @05:20PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @05:20PM (#531415)

      Looks like a job for Randall Munroe.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:16AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @02:16AM (#531070)

    No worry. Cameras are still allowed. Only the venue has changed.

    http://www.cc.com/shows/the-president-show [cc.com]

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Monday June 26 2017, @03:52AM (2 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Monday June 26 2017, @03:52AM (#531095) Journal

    Seriously, who needs and additional deliberately chosen bad picture of the president?

    I glad I'll never see Obama's pursed lips again. Any time the press wanted to make him look tough or disappointed, another pursed lips shot.

    Its been a game lately trying to get the worst possible, most unflattering shot. Why should any president play into that game? Especially when the press is so hopelessly hostile.

    And what's up with all those clattering cameras straight out of 1958? There are silent cameras these days guys, and they take every bit as good a picture as the old SLRs.

    The press has been running briefings for far too long.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday June 26 2017, @03:56AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Monday June 26 2017, @03:56AM (#531096) Journal

      Oh, I thought the press run the country and advised the population which candidates they are obliged to vote on. ;-)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:26AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:26AM (#531114)

      Right, I wonder why would those fake news enemies of the people be hostile towards this administration.

      I don't feel like writing essays about you being an idiot, but I'd just like to point out that The Orange One is not at the press briefings.

  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday June 26 2017, @04:02AM (3 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday June 26 2017, @04:02AM (#531100)

    The White House press briefing has been a pointless exercise for a long long time, in which reporters ask questions to try to get famous while the poor schlub at the podium does everything they can to avoid saying anything at all. The media should ignore it entirely.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Monday June 26 2017, @04:59AM

      by captain normal (2205) on Monday June 26 2017, @04:59AM (#531131)

      But what would Saturday Night Live and Colbert do for material? Those two shows are providing the truest take on the current state of politics here in the US.

      --
      When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: 2) by jimtheowl on Tuesday June 27 2017, @03:56AM (1 child)

      by jimtheowl (5929) on Tuesday June 27 2017, @03:56AM (#531744)
      As entertaining as it was, I'm not sure it was quite pointless.
      Even when questions are not answered, a lot can be deduced about the administration by observing their avoidance techniques and level of embarrassment.

      Further, 157 days is not such a 'long long time', even if it feels like it.
      • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday June 27 2017, @12:33PM

        by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday June 27 2017, @12:33PM (#531879)

        I'm not just referring to Trump's press briefings. Avoiding answering questions is the job of every press secretary I can remember.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday June 26 2017, @04:52AM (2 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday June 26 2017, @04:52AM (#531127) Journal

    I have to wonder if the Glass getting an upgrade is a coincidence. It may be time for "citizen journalism" using Google Glass now, if this is how they're gonna play.

    God damn it. I knew on 9/11 this was gonna happen, I was just hoping to be in Canada by now.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:57AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @04:57AM (#531129)

    I think it's kind of interesting that people take these systems, which are a product of a time without the internet, as something that must exist today. The purpose of the white house talking to the media has never been to talk to the media, but to talk to the people that put them into office. The press, in times past, was a crucial intermediary. However I think if the internet existed at the time this country was founded, it's highly unlikely we'd have any press briefings at all today. Nothing of relevance is ever gleaned from these meetings. It's dozens of reporters trying to provoke a gaffe for tomorrow's headline and one chump trying to go 30 minutes without making a gaffe. However, in times past it was crucial since it is the only way the white house could have shared what they were doing and the press was the only way the public could have received such news. But now they're just a pointless middle man that's trying to reshape their role into one of 'opinion' over reporting to try to remain relevant. Personally, I'll take my news without the 'flavor.'

    • (Score: 1) by Goghit on Monday June 26 2017, @05:47PM

      by Goghit (6530) on Monday June 26 2017, @05:47PM (#531427)

      I think your point is quite valid and a lot of governments are toying with alternatives. The former Conservative government of Canada tried a number of ways to do end-runs around the press, including producing a YouTube channel out of the Prime Minister's Office entitled "Twenty Four 7" that followed the Prime Minister around and provided highlights of his day.

      Trust me on this; it really, really sucks to watch your tax dollars being spent on producing neoliberal propaganda attempting to build a national cult of personality around a fat psychopathic droid in the uncanny valley. On the bright side, I think the channel only had around 250 subscriptions.

  • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Monday June 26 2017, @09:00AM (5 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Monday June 26 2017, @09:00AM (#531209)

    I admit I hate Donald Trump. I don't trust him at all.

    IMHO, he is trying to eliminate any type of real statements. He is tired of his press secretary saying one thing only to contradict it with his actions or words a day or two later. (e.g. the Comey firing was rife with this). He is thinking that the problem will go away if there are no recordings.

    However, there is one huge flaw in his thinking... he thinks that as president that he can do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to believe that he is ultimately responsible for his actions. Regardless of what Trump thinks, the president needs to be accountable to the people of this nation. If he goes too far, even rank and file republicans will distance themselves from him, after all, they have elections to try to win in less than 18months.

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @09:09AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @09:09AM (#531213)

      The President, he is just new at this

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday June 26 2017, @10:41AM (3 children)

      by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Monday June 26 2017, @10:41AM (#531249) Journal

      He doesn't want to believe that he is ultimately responsible for his actions

      He has spent the last 80 years not feeling the consequences of his actions. Why start now?

      he thinks that as president that he can do what he wants to do.

      Again, he has done what he wants to do all his life and nobody has ever told him no - or if they have, he has bullied them with all his considerable power and resources until he got his way.

      The point about him misunderstanding the limits of the president's power and the checks and balances is a critical one. You have to try to see the world from his point of view. From Trump's standpoint, the presidency is HIS. And at face value he's obviously right, it is. But I've all-capped that possessive adjective there for a reason, because my definition of the word "his" and Trump's do not match up. To most people "the presidency is his" means "Trump is president, which means he has a bunch of interwoven duties and rights and priveleges held in place by a carefully-constructed web of checks and balances". But possession and ownership is the lense through which Trump sees the world. In the sentence above, To Trump it means it is HIS. He OWNS it. And if he owns something, he can do whatever the fuck he likes with it, checks and balances and responsibilities be damned.

      Case in point: He funds a teen beauty pageant. He paid money for it, therefore it is his. By extension, everything and everyone in it is his. He owns it, he can do what he likes. Therefore, if he wants to wander in the girls' changing room and ogle the naked fourteen year olds [independent.co.uk], he can, because in his mind he bought it and he bought them and therefore he owns them and they are HIS to do what the fuck he wants with. Any basic legal rights those girls think they may have (like privacy) can be completely disregarded, because he paid money for this pageant, and in his mind his right of ownership obliterates all other rights.

      He is now applying the same logic to your country: I bought / won the presidency. It's mine. By extension, the entire country is mine. I own it, I can do what the fuck I want with it. Some uppity judge or journalist tries to tell me I can't do this or that with MY country that I own, then they are interfering with MY shit and need to be slapped down with all the power at my disposal.

      America, this is what you have elected.

      • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday June 26 2017, @10:26PM (2 children)

        by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday June 26 2017, @10:26PM (#531603) Homepage Journal

        I'm only 71, not 80. Great number, great age. I don't think of myself as the oldest President ever, but as the most mature. Crooked Hillary, let me tell you, is 69. Which is a great number too. I had a great time when I was 69. I'll tell you about it if I see you in a locker room. Great experience. That's what I bring, great experience and maturity. I'm the most experienced and most mature President ever. I hosted WrestleMania IV at Trump Plaza, in Atlantic City. At the beautiful, beautiful Trump Plaza. And WrestleMania V. The only time WrestleMania has been in the same city two years in a row. The only time ever, in all history. Amazing! And I wrestled too. Great television. Can you imagine Crooked Hillary hosting WWE? What has she done? She lies, she cheats, she steals, she deletes EMAILS. She hacks the cyber, she rigs elections. She schlongs her opponents with her trickery. I wrestle them on television, fair and square. Believe me, nobody makes better television than #TrumpTV [twitter.com] #TRUMP2020 [twitter.com]

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 27 2017, @12:29AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 27 2017, @12:29AM (#531668)

          I feel sorry for Spicer. He has to clean up after the eliphant in the room.

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