Everything you didn't want to know about Trump and were not afraid to ask

[Forty Two]

Bloviating!

The op-ed didn't just deal in generalities, it stated that, "Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office." That's pretty specific.

It's nothing but generality. What misguided impulse? Impulse to do what? What has been attempted by Trump that would threaten the existence of democratic institutions? No example given.

While I acknowledge that the only legitimate way to 'resist' Trump is to oppose him democratically, it should be a concern for every citizen if the democratically elected Presidentof the USA is using their power and position to circumvent democratic processes and/or subvert democratic institutions.

He's done neither, and the op-ed writer provided no examples of an attempt to do so. The same democratic processes that existed in 2016 are operating now as they did then, and the same democratic institutions exist now as did then. Nothing has been done to circumvent them.

That would be unconstitutional by definition.

Not necessarily. Not all democratic institutions are constitutionally provided -- such as, popular vote for the Presidency. Nowhere in the constitution is that required. Electors can, conceivably, be appointed by the State legislatures, or some other process. However, Trump has done nothing to threaten or circumvent any democratic institution.

That's why the immediate focus should be on the truth-status of the allegation rather than their authorship: is Trump actually, actively undermining or bypassing democratic institutions, and if so how and are his appointed staff actually acting against him to protect democracy?

Is he? The op ed writer did not state an example of a time Trump was thwarted in a measure which would threaten or circumvent democracy.

Personally I think he's just unaware of the limits of his power and how democracy actually operates in the US - he's no constitutional scholar is he? - nor does he strike me as the kind of person who'd be interested in finding out.

What makes you say he's unaware of the limits of his power? Which limit has he tested, stretched, broken, or attempted to do so?

I think the op-ed also sends a message to Republican voters: you might feel queasy about Trump, but don't worry, there's good guys on the inside doing the right thing - it's still safe to vote Republican.

How does that square with the fact that the vast majority of Republicans voted for Trump when he was promising to do everything he has actually done and tried to do? And, the vast majority of them support him today?

Those numbers - Republican voter support for Trump - imply that those same voters oppose what the anonymous op-ed fellow says he's trying to accomplish by thwarting Trump. I.e., the op ed writer is telling the Trump voters/supporters that he opposes and is attempting to thwart what Trump is trying to accomplish.

[Seabass]

Another Trump accomplishment! Middle East peace is so easy!

Trump Shutters the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission—and Middle East Peace

During the first ten months of the Trump Administration, the top Palestinian diplomat in Washington, Husam Zomlot, was summoned to the White House every two or three days, he told me. He spent many hours with Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and lead peace negotiator, working on Trump’s ambitious plan to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. For the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington—it’s not technically an embassy, since it does not represent a state—it was the highest-profile engagement with American officials since the office opened, in 1994. In conversations we had during those first months, Zomlot was ebulliently optimistic, despite seven decades of hostilities, about achieving peace.

No longer. In the third blow this year to the peace process—and the one that may well doom it—the Trump Administration on Monday ordered the P.L.O. to shutter its diplomatic mission in Washington, a dark red-brick building on the edge of the trendy Georgetown neighborhood. The move will eliminate a communications channel—diplomatically and physically—that has been at the heart of the peace process under four Administrations. It’s basically a punishment. The State Department cited the Palestinian failure to “advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel” as the reason for the closure. It also accused the P.L.O. leadership of condemning “a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen” and said that they “refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise.”

continued:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... east-peace

[Seabass]

This is not going to end well.

[Tero]

60% of Americans think Trump is lying
55% say he is unfit to lead
Not only that, Kari has a REVELATION!
http://karireport.blogspot.com/2018/09/ ... to-be.html

[pErvinalia]

Merka has threatened to punish any one or nation that has anything to do with the ICC investigating and potentially prosecuting Merkans for war crimes and the like. Merkan exceptionalism at its best.

[Brian Peacock]

Someone will be along shortly to explain how the world needs to adopt superior American standards rather than the other way round - after watching a few hours of FOXNEWS to make sure they've got their story straight of course. US renditions, tortures, and massacres are some of the most competent and compassionate atrocities carried out today.

[pErvinalia]

Obama.

[Svartalf]

long form birth certificate...

[Forty Two]

Another Trump accomplishment! Middle East peace is so easy!

Trump Shutters the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission—and Middle East Peace

During the first ten months of the Trump Administration, the top Palestinian diplomat in Washington, Husam Zomlot, was summoned to the White House every two or three days, he told me. He spent many hours with Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and lead peace negotiator, working on Trump’s ambitious plan to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. For the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington—it’s not technically an embassy, since it does not represent a state—it was the highest-profile engagement with American officials since the office opened, in 1994. In conversations we had during those first months, Zomlot was ebulliently optimistic, despite seven decades of hostilities, about achieving peace.

No longer. In the third blow this year to the peace process—and the one that may well doom it—the Trump Administration on Monday ordered the P.L.O. to shutter its diplomatic mission in Washington, a dark red-brick building on the edge of the trendy Georgetown neighborhood. The move will eliminate a communications channel—diplomatically and physically—that has been at the heart of the peace process under four Administrations. It’s basically a punishment. The State Department cited the Palestinian failure to “advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel” as the reason for the closure. It also accused the P.L.O. leadership of condemning “a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen” and said that they “refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise.”

continued:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... east-peace

Trump is right on this, and the news articles are, of course, vague on the law involved, and vague on the reasons for shutting the diplomatic mission. It's portrayed as sort of an arbitrary penalty imposed on the PLO, when it is the furthest thing from that. The reporting on this issue, like so many others, is dishonest and/or skewed/incomplete.

Under US law enacted in 1987, the PLO is not allowed to have a diplomatic mission in the US. Several years later, Congress allowed the President to allow a "diplomatic waiver" of that prohibition, if certain conditions were met.

In 2015, the law allowing diplomatic waivers was amended, and Congress imposed an additional condition that the president must satisfy in order to waive the 1987 law, requiring that he certify that the Palestinians are not promoting, supporting, or endorsing action against Israel at the ICC. Like the previous UN-only version of the waiver language, according to the provision, if the president cannot make either certification (regarding the UN or the ICC), he must wait at least 90 days (during which it would be illegal for the mission to remain open), and then he can waive the 1987 ban if, and only if, he can certify that the Palestinians have entered into “direct and meaningful negotiation with Israel.” https://fmep.org/blog/2017/11/understan ... documents/

That's why the Trump administration is demanding the PLO enter "direct and meaningful negotiation with Israel." If he cannot certify truthfully that the PLO has entered into direct and meaningful negotiation with Israel, then the law requires the mission to be shuttered.

The Palestinians responded previously regarding the US demand that they enter into direct and meaningful negotiations by declaring that they will not respond to what they call "extortion" and they said the ball was in the US's court. In due course, now many months later and still no way to certify that the PLO has entered into meaningful negotiations (or attempted to do so), and so the law requires shuttering the PLO mission.

[Forty Two]

From last November - "The State Department official clarified that "the same statute allows for a waiver of restrictions on the PLO in the U.S., including operation of its Washington office, if after 90 days the president determines the Palestinians have entered into direct, meaningful negotiations with Israel. We are hopeful that this closure will be short-lived."" http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-plo- ... story.html#

Time for the PLO to start meaningfully negotiating.

[Svartalf]

I don't know if they ever tried, but even if they did, they never could, israel is not interested in negociating with the Palestinians. They just take the land.

[Forty Two]

That's just factually incorrect. It's the Palestinians that have rejected statehood three times since 1947. They should start negotiating. If Israel is "not interested" then the PA should give Israel the rope to hang itself - start negotiating - make an official proposal for meaningful negotiations to start anew, and let Israel reject the talks and not participate. Then the PA would get its mission in the US back, and would have shown Israel to be the bar to peace.

The fundamental fact remains that had the Arabs and the Palestinians accepted the Partition Resolution and not violated the UN Charter by attacking Israel, there would be a 70-year-old Palestinian state today next to Israel, and there would not have been a single Palestinian refugee. Since then, they've never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

[Svartalf]

meanwhile the israeli state has been busy stealing all the land and founding colonies... whnat kind of a state is it that has no territory?

[Brian Peacock]

So you're saying that the Palestinians are in a bit of a state ?

[Svartalf]

They are not in any possibility to claim to be a state