How messed up are Trump Supporters?

[Amarok]

Did not need to see that.

No one needed to see that

[Bucky Ball]

Ya wanna know how fucked up Trumptards are, read Woodward's book "Fear".
OMG. It's far worse than we imagine, and the people around him know it better than anyone.

[Angrboda]

As Trump slides in a new poll, reality begins piercing the bubble

President Trump has steadfastly hewed to a simple M.O., which is to always claim he is winning, no matter how overwhelming the evidence grows to the contrary. Trump just raged at Democrats for failing to fund his wall, while simultaneously boasting that he has already secured the border and that the wall is indeed on track to getting built.

Last week, Trump buffoonishly claimed that the news implicating him in his former lawyer’s felony “totally clears the president.”

But, while such outward displays of brash confidence may snooker his more gullible MAGA-hat-wearing supporters, the evidence is everywhere that a very different reality has begun to pierce the bubble. Meanwhile, new data shows that outside this bubble, majorities of the American people fully grasp that reality, and have done so for a long time now.

A new CNN poll finds that Trump’s approval rating is mired at 39 percent, and it shows that even as ongoing investigations involving Trump and his orbit are bearing fruit, the American people continue to support the probe and believe it is turning up evidence of wrongdoing. The highlights:

• Only 29 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Russia investigation, down from 33 percent last month, while the percentage disapproving has risen to 57 percent.
  
• 50 percent say special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe is very or somewhat likely to implicate Trump personally in wrongdoing, vs. 43 percent who say it won’t.
  
• A plurality of 44 percent say Trump did something unethical by concealing his effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow while campaigning for president, while another 26 percent say he did something unwise, and an abysmal 23 percent say he did nothing wrong. That last one, by the way, is Trump’s position.
  
• 59 percent say Russian interference in the election is a serious matter that should be investigated, vs. only 35 percent who say it’s about discrediting Trump’s presidency — i.e., that it’s what Trump calls a “witch hunt.”
  
• 54 percent say the things Trump has said about the investigation are completely or mostly false, vs. only 36 percent who say they’re true.
  

It’s true that approval of Mueller’s handling of the investigation is at 43 percent, also a drop, but Mueller is still in positive territory, and he’s far higher than Trump. The bottom line is that large percentages of Americans — far more than the opposite — say the investigation is pursuing legitimate and important matters; that Trump has been lying about the investigation; that it is already revealing wrongdoing on Trump’s part; and that it will likely reveal still more of the same.

This becomes all the more remarkable given the sheer volume of lies and disinformation Trump has offered on these matters. Trump has falsely claimed dozens of times that Mueller’s team is biased due to conflicts of interest, and he has falsely and preposterously asserted dozens of other times in various ways that it’s the Democrats who are the real colluders with Russia.

[Angrboda]

[Angrboda]

[Angrboda]

Turns out federal judges have little patience for Trump’s conspiracy theories

The president of the United States is a certified conspiracy theorist who has suggested that Justice Antonin Scalia may have been murdered, that millions of illegal votes were cast in 2016 and that Democrats inflated the death count from Hurricane Maria to make him look bad. So it’s no surprise that, to save himself from possible impeachment and prosecution, he spins crazy conspiracy theories to impugn his foes. What is more confounding and dismaying is that so many Republicans and “conservatives” have been so eager to join him in Cloud Cuckoo-Land even though their theories keep exploding like kernels in the popcorn popper.

Remember when Trump claimed that President Barack Obama “had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower”? When he said that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was investigating him because he was angry about a fee dispute at Trump National Golf Club? When he claimed that texts sent between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, Lisa Page, were evidence not only of anti-Trump bias but of “treason”? When he charged that the FBI had infiltrated his campaign with a “spy” to gather political dirt? When he supported Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in claiming that the FBI had obtained a surveillance warrant for Trump adviser Carter Page based solely on a dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele without telling the judges that Steele had been hired by political opponents?

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Each of these conspiracy theories is no more. It turns out that no one tapped Trump Tower. That there is zero evidence of Mueller being angry over golf course fees, much less misusing his authority to gain revenge. That Strzok and Page did not conspire against Trump. That the FBI had not infiltrated the campaign but had spoken with an informant on its outskirts to learn about Russian infiltration. And that the FBI investigation into Trump-Kremlin links was prompted not by the Steele dossier but by the admission of a Trump adviser to an Australian diplomat that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Cohen's adviser calls Trump's insults 'the language of a mobster'
After President Trump called Michael Cohen a "rat" on Dec. 16, for cooperating with federal investigators, Cohen's adviser Lanny Davis chided Trump's language. (Reuters)

Newer conspiracy theories are exploding just as fast. On Sunday, Trump, doing his best imitation of a mafia boss, tweeted that “Michael Cohen only became a ‘Rat’ after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE!” Not even Cohen’s attorneys dared to make such a bold claim, because they knew FBI agents had a proper search warrant. If they did not, there is no way Cohen would have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to three years in prison, as he was last week.

Trump and his acolytes have also claimed that Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, was entrapped by the FBI into lying — or that he did not lie at all. “They gave General Flynn a great deal,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 13, “because they were embarrassed by the way he was treated — the FBI said he didn’t lie and they overrode the FBI. They want to scare everybody into making up stories that are not true by catching them in the smallest of misstatements.”

Trump followers hoped that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is presiding over Flynn’s case, would back up their claims and toss out his guilty plea. This weekend, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro hailed Sullivan as a “a jurist unafraid of the swamp, a judge who has a track record of calling out prosecutorial misconduct, a man who does not tolerate injustice or abuse of power.”

But instead of raging at the FBI and special counsel, Sullivan raged at Flynn himself — in no small part because his attorneys tried the entrapment defense in their sentencing plea. “Arguably, you sold your country out,” the judge thundered at the shaken defendant at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. Asked if Flynn was entrapped by the FBI, one of his lawyers answered, “No, your honor,” and Flynn admitted that he knew lying to the FBI was wrong.

And just like that the Trump apologists went from hailing Sullivan as a jurist of uncommon wisdom to denouncing him as another cog in a vast left-wing conspiracy. “Can Flynn receive fair treatment from Sullivan in future?” Washington Examiner correspondent Byron York wondered darkly. How long before it is alleged that Sullivan has a fee dispute at a Trump golf club?

Being utterly shameless, Trump does not mind looking foolish by spreading preposterous conspiracy theories. He must figure that he will hoodwink at least a few gullible souls. But, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why so many so-called conservatives are so eager to propagate far-fetched lies on his behalf that are inevitably dispelled almost as quickly as they are created.

---

---

The Trump administration is making school lunches less healthy again

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is making school lunches less healthy. Last week, it codified a substantial relaxation in federal standards that the Agriculture Department says were too demanding. In fact, the requirements were not the burden the administration makes them out to be. If anything, they should have been tougher.

Congress in 2010 mandated higher nutritional standards for the lunches some 99,000 schools serve to 30 million children in the National School Lunch Program. The program subsidizes the cost of food for students from low-income families and, in return, participating schools must meet certain standards — such as not serving food loaded with saturated fat, packed with refined carbohydrates and lacking in fruits or vegetables. The Agriculture Department is rolling back the requirements, allowing more refined carbohydrates — which promote obesity and diabetes — and more fat in chocolate and other flavored milks.

The stated rationale is that schools cannot afford to serve food that is both nutritious and appealing. Yet there is an exemption process for struggling schools. Nearly every school in the country has managed to comply .

Supposedly, students are throwing away the healthy foods. “If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said this month. But a 2015 study found that students ate more fruit and did not throw out more of their meals under the new standards. A 2016 study found no association between food type and plate waste. Early research indicates that school lunch changes alter students’ eating habits over time, suggesting that early impressions of nutrition standards might not capture how beneficial they will be in the long term. More research is needed. But the claim that children are just tossing out their federally required apples is not supported.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Turns out federal judges have little patience for Trump’s conspiracy theories

The president of the United States is a certified conspiracy theorist who has suggested that Justice Antonin Scalia may have been murdered, that millions of illegal votes were cast in 2016 and that Democrats inflated the death count from Hurricane Maria to make him look bad. So it’s no surprise that, to save himself from possible impeachment and prosecution, he spins crazy conspiracy theories to impugn his foes. What is more confounding and dismaying is that so many Republicans and “conservatives” have been so eager to join him in Cloud Cuckoo-Land even though their theories keep exploding like kernels in the popcorn popper.

Remember when Trump claimed that President Barack Obama “had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower”? When he said that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was investigating him because he was angry about a fee dispute at Trump National Golf Club? When he claimed that texts sent between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his girlfriend, Lisa Page, were evidence not only of anti-Trump bias but of “treason”? When he charged that the FBI had infiltrated his campaign with a “spy” to gather political dirt? When he supported Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in claiming that the FBI had obtained a surveillance warrant for Trump adviser Carter Page based solely on a dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele without telling the judges that Steele had been hired by political opponents?

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Each of these conspiracy theories is no more. It turns out that no one tapped Trump Tower. That there is zero evidence of Mueller being angry over golf course fees, much less misusing his authority to gain revenge. That Strzok and Page did not conspire against Trump. That the FBI had not infiltrated the campaign but had spoken with an informant on its outskirts to learn about Russian infiltration. And that the FBI investigation into Trump-Kremlin links was prompted not by the Steele dossier but by the admission of a Trump adviser to an Australian diplomat that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Cohen's adviser calls Trump's insults 'the language of a mobster'
After President Trump called Michael Cohen a "rat" on Dec. 16, for cooperating with federal investigators, Cohen's adviser Lanny Davis chided Trump's language. (Reuters)

Newer conspiracy theories are exploding just as fast. On Sunday, Trump, doing his best imitation of a mafia boss, tweeted that “Michael Cohen only became a ‘Rat’ after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE!” Not even Cohen’s attorneys dared to make such a bold claim, because they knew FBI agents had a proper search warrant. If they did not, there is no way Cohen would have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to three years in prison, as he was last week.

Trump and his acolytes have also claimed that Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, was entrapped by the FBI into lying — or that he did not lie at all. “They gave General Flynn a great deal,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 13, “because they were embarrassed by the way he was treated — the FBI said he didn’t lie and they overrode the FBI. They want to scare everybody into making up stories that are not true by catching them in the smallest of misstatements.”

Trump followers hoped that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is presiding over Flynn’s case, would back up their claims and toss out his guilty plea. This weekend, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro hailed Sullivan as a “a jurist unafraid of the swamp, a judge who has a track record of calling out prosecutorial misconduct, a man who does not tolerate injustice or abuse of power.”

But instead of raging at the FBI and special counsel, Sullivan raged at Flynn himself — in no small part because his attorneys tried the entrapment defense in their sentencing plea. “Arguably, you sold your country out,” the judge thundered at the shaken defendant at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. Asked if Flynn was entrapped by the FBI, one of his lawyers answered, “No, your honor,” and Flynn admitted that he knew lying to the FBI was wrong.

And just like that the Trump apologists went from hailing Sullivan as a jurist of uncommon wisdom to denouncing him as another cog in a vast left-wing conspiracy. “Can Flynn receive fair treatment from Sullivan in future?” Washington Examiner correspondent Byron York wondered darkly. How long before it is alleged that Sullivan has a fee dispute at a Trump golf club?

Being utterly shameless, Trump does not mind looking foolish by spreading preposterous conspiracy theories. He must figure that he will hoodwink at least a few gullible souls. But, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why so many so-called conservatives are so eager to propagate far-fetched lies on his behalf that are inevitably dispelled almost as quickly as they are created.

I watched a bit of this on the news.  The judge seemed really, REALLY reluctant to sentence Flynn, essentially telling him, 'You should seriously consider  going back and cooperating more, because if I sentence you today, you're going to prison.'  Which is what Flynn ultimately decided to do.

So, yes - it seems that Flynn CAN get fair treatment from Sullivan.

Boru

[Angrboda]

Beyond ‘no comment’: The White House has no response — at all — to many media questions

Reporters are used to officials who respond to their inquiries with a terse “no comment.” This was typically the practice in prior presidential administrations when officials saw no strategic value in rebutting an unflattering story.

But as in so many things, the Trump administration is different. Instead of “no comment,” Trump’s press representatives often don’t bother saying anything at all.

“This is the least responsive White House press operation I’ve ever dealt with by far,” said Peter Baker, a veteran White House reporter for the New York Times and one of the co-authors of the story about Trump’s isolation. “There are certainly individuals there who are professional and try to be helpful when they can, and I appreciate their efforts, I really do. But as a whole, I’ve learned not to expect answers even to basic questions.”

Adds Baker, “I don’t know why that is. I don’t take it personally. But it’s a lost opportunity on their part to get their side of the story out.”

---

As a practical matter, the White House’s silence violates one of the core tenets of public relations — that is, always get a word in edgewise, no matter how damaging a story may be.

But Trump may be playing a different game, said Larry Parnell, who directs the strategic public relations program at George Washington University’s graduate school of political management.

By being nonresponsive, he said, the White House and Trump get to have it both ways: It “proves” to his base that the mainstream media is ignoring his views while enabling him to complain about press bias and “fake news.”

Trump’s predecessors tried to engage “more than the hardcore base” to broaden the president’s support, Parnell said. “Not him. What matters are those who already agree with him.”

What does the White House think of this? It’s hard to know.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about its tendency not to respond to requests for comment.

[Angrboda]

[Anomalocaris]

First rule of appearing honest - have a symmetrical face.