What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Syt]

Well, I may pre-order the new Far Cry 5, then, so I get to crush religious zealot doomsday cultists in Montana.

[Jacob]

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin

Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.

Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.

The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-ambassador-told-moscow-that-kushner-wanted-secret-communications-channel-with-kremlin/2017/05/26/520a14b4-422d-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.c3d486063bea

[11B4V]

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin

Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.

Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.

The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-ambassador-told-moscow-that-kushner-wanted-secret-communications-channel-with-kremlin/2017/05/26/520a14b4-422d-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.c3d486063bea

Rock bottom and still digging.

[grumbler]

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin

Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.

Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.

The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-ambassador-told-moscow-that-kushner-wanted-secret-communications-channel-with-kremlin/2017/05/26/520a14b4-422d-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.c3d486063bea

Trying... to summon... outrage....  failing

[Jacob]

Trying... to summon... outrage....  failing

Because you're hitting outrage fatigue, or because you don't think this particular thing is a biggie?

[11B4V]

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin

Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.

Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.

The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-ambassador-told-moscow-that-kushner-wanted-secret-communications-channel-with-kremlin/2017/05/26/520a14b4-422d-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.c3d486063bea

Trying... to summon... outrage....  failing

Initially posted in wrong thread.


At what point do retarded GOP politicians start backing away from these fuckers.

[11B4V]

Dumbfuck

Krista Shockey voted for President Trump in November. Now she's one of the people who might get hurt under his plan to cut safety net programs for the poor and disabled.

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas has already called the plan "basically dead on arrival." Congress has the final say on what programs gets more or less money. Lawmakers it will almost certainly make changes to what Trump has proposed.

But for many in Trump country, Johnson sums up the feeling right now: "I'm still trying to process all of this."

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/24/news/economy/donald-trump-voters-budget-cuts/index.html?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion

[Valmy]

Oh well there are millions of those people. He did promise he was not going to touch that stuff if you recall.

[DGuller]

Republicans certainly hit upon a golden formula, whether by design or by accident.  You appeal to the people's worst instincts, while at the same time enacting economic policies that would hurt these very same people.  These people get pissed at their declining fortunes, and become more receptive to politicians that appeal to their worst instincts.

[grumbler]

Trying... to summon... outrage....  failing

Because you're hitting outrage fatigue, or because you don't think this particular thing is a biggie?

Because I don't think that this one is a biggie.  We know Trump is paranoid and the news that he wanted to avoid using the Obama administration channels for secure communication with the Russians doesn't move the needle more than any of the other paranoid Trump things.

Now, if what he wanted to communicate was inappropriate, that would be a different matter.  All this news does is confirm that Trump is paranoid and that Kushner is a dope for trusting the Russians to keep such efforts secret.

[11B4V]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/26/huge-investment-in-navy-shipyards-drive-economic-turnaround.html

Huge investment in Navy shipyards drive economic turnaround

Driving down the bucolic back roads of Maine, it's hard not to get swept up in the scenic beauty: jagged seacoasts, landmark lighthouses and quaint shops all stud the area. But as the small town of Kittery comes into view, the mood shifts from a laid-back beachy vibe to a fast-paced military operation.

As tensions continue to escalate between the United States, North Korea and Iran over nuclear capabilities and intentions, thousands of civilians and Navy personnel at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard are hard at work overhauling, repairing and modernizing U.S. submarines that could one day be sent into battle.

"The economic impact is huge."- John Joyal, Seacoast Shipyard Association

The shipyard is always busy – and one of four Navy-owned and operated in the U.S. that is currently ramping up its work – courtesy of the Trump administration. Employees are tasked with making sure subs are warfighter-ready – and have no room for error.

The Navy recently got the go-ahead to expand its current fleet of 275 deployable ships to 355 over the next decade. The order means thousands of U.S. jobs are up for grabs now in Kittery, as well as at the Navy's shipyards in Bremerton, Wash., Norfolk, Va., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The submarines they will make are the ultimate self-contained war machines, but the process of building them carries economic benefits out to surrounding communities like concentric waves.

When the shipyard does well, the community does well.

"The economic impact is huge," John Joyal, chairman of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, told Fox News. "Real estate, merchandise, gas stations, restaurants... everything is connected. We give back to the community and the community gives back to us."

Joyal, now retired, is a third-generation shipyard employee who has worked on the base for nearly 40 years. His grandfather worked there during World War II, followed by his father and then him. Now, his son is employed there as a third-year apprentice electrician.

"It's kind of a family business here," Capt. David Hunt, commander of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, recently told Fox News. He added that "pride, respect and ownership" are all tenents of the shipyard where military members and civilian personnel have worked side-by-side for years.

Located on the southern tip of Maine, PNSY encompasses the federally-owned Seavey Island which sits at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and is across the harbor from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Officially created on June 17, 1800, under President Thomas Jefferson, the shipyard has weathered two centuries of transitions from sail to steam to atomic and nuclear fuel. During both world wars, production at PNSY was unsurpassed by any other naval submarine facility in America.

Today, it encompasses more than 297 acres and is a bustling mini-city. There are approximately 300 buildings with more than four million square feet of space including 49 ship repair and overhaul buildings.

It's got three dry docks and is capable of handling all active classes of submarines including the Los Angeles-class and a new generation of subs – the Virginia class.

The Virginia-class behemoths are among America's most efficient and lethal defense systems at sea. They can launch tomahawk cruise missiles and deploy a team of Navy SEALS from beneath the surface.

New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told Fox News that the shipyard is "not only critical to our national security, but is also a vital economic engine for New Hampshire's Seacoast."

"The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard represents the gold standard of public shipyards in our country," she added.

To underscore the point, Shaheen successfully petitioned the Department of Defense to exempt PNSY employees from a government-wide hiring freeze the Trump administration imposed just days after taking office in January.

This year, the base is on track for making 480 new hires.

In 2016, the shipyard made 650 new hires and accounted for $756.1 million in total economic activity, according to an annual report from Seacoast Shipyard Association. There were 6,914 civilian jobs with a payroll of about $496.2 million - an increase of more than $14 million from 2015. 

About 57 percent of the shipyard's civilian employees come from Maine. Last year, the shipyard paid $282 million in wages to more than 3,800 civilians across 58 communities in the state.

In New Hampshire, 2,535 civilian workers from 58 communities were paid $177.7 million, while another 282 civilian workers from 24 cities and towns in Massachusetts accounted for $16.6 million.

"The impact of the shipyard is pretty big and has a wonderfully positive effect on the community," Valerie Rochon, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News.

It's a partnership both the military and the towns supporting it respect and protect.

In February, when the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS New Hampshire arrived at the PNSY for maintenance work, sailors offered to work in the community. Community leaders, in turn, hosted officers on a thank you cruise on the Gundalow to kick off Portsmouth's "Hit the Decks" summer celebration.

[11B4V]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/once-at-risk-of-extinction-iconic-warthog-plane-lives-on/ar-BBByuhe

Once at risk of extinction, iconic Warthog plane lives on


Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.

In the 2018 Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposed to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.

Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated would be $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.

The following year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.

Last year, officials backed away a bit further, indicating retirement was still the best option but that it could be put off until 2022.

Now the retirement push is over, and the Warthog's future appears secure.

"The world has changed," said Maj. Gen. James F. Martin Jr., the Air Force budget deputy, in explaining decisions to keep aircraft once deemed expendable.

The Air Force has similarly dropped plans to retire the iconic U-2 spy plane amid prospects for bigger budgets under President Donald Trump. It also reflects the relentless pace of operations for combat aircraft and surveillance and reconnaissance planes that feed intelligence data to war commanders.

The service had complained for years that its inventory of aircraft was getting dangerously small and old. Gen. Mark Welsh, who retired as the top Air Force officer last year, was fond of describing the service as having 12 fleets of aircraft that qualify for antique license plates in the state of Virginia.

The A-10 is a special case. Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona who flew the A-10 in combat and commanded a squadron in Afghanistan, speaks of it with obvious affection.

"The A-10 is this badass airplane with a big gun on it," she said she told Trump in a recent conversation, explaining why the Warthog is unlike any other attack aircraft.

The "big gun" to which is a seven-barrel Gatling gun that is nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells at a rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. Also armed with Maverick missiles, the A-10 is effective not only in a conventional battle against tanks and other armored vehicles. It also provides close-air support for Iraqi and other U.S. partner forces taking on Islamic State fighters in the deserts of Iraq and Syria.

A number of A-10s fly missions in Syria from Incirlik air base in Turkey.

McSally is among members of Congress for whom elimination of the Warthog carried political risks back home. Sen. John McCain, a fellow Arizona Republican, joined her in strenuously arguing against the plane's early retirement.

Arizona's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is home to an A-10 unit; retirement of the aircraft might have made Davis-Monthan more vulnerable to closure.

A veteran of combat in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and beyond, the plane entered service in 1976. It is among Cold War-era icons like the venerable B-52 bomber that have exceeded expected lifespans and are likely to remain central to U.S. air campaigns for years to come.

Specially designed for the Cold War mission of attacking armor on the front lines of a potential European war with the Soviet Union, the A-10's air crews considered it so ugly they called it the Warthog. Its official nickname is Thunderbolt II. The plane has been out of production since 1984 but has received many upgrades over the years, most recently with new electronics.

[CountDeMoney]

Because I don't think that this one is a biggie.  We know Trump is paranoid and the news that he wanted to avoid using the Obama administration channels for secure communication with the Russians doesn't move the needle more than any of the other paranoid Trump things.

Now, if what he wanted to communicate was inappropriate, that would be a different matter.  All this news does is confirm that Trump is paranoid and that Kushner is a dope for trusting the Russians to keep such efforts secret.

Thing is, this isn't about any bullshit about not using any Keynan colonial means of communication; this is a direct offshoot from the investigation on the 2016 election meddling, and Kushner's propositions were from the campaign team prior to inauguration specifically for the transition team, including two after the election--of which he "forgot" to mention on his clearance application.  Like all of them seem to have when it comes to antisemite cossack sluts.

Honestly, this sort of thing is expected from an organized crime angle.  Flynn may have been the bag man, but Kushner is the closest to family that Don Vito Trumporleone can rely on when it comes to bringing the cash to Havana.  Uday and Qusay don't have the brain power, and Ivanka is too high profile.

[CountDeMoney]

Once at risk of extinction, iconic Warthog plane lives on

We will always need a low-and-slow Sturmovik tank killer, regardless of what that hateful asshole grumbler thinks.

[11B4V]

Because I don't think that this one is a biggie.  We know Trump is paranoid and the news that he wanted to avoid using the Obama administration channels for secure communication with the Russians doesn't move the needle more than any of the other paranoid Trump things.

Now, if what he wanted to communicate was inappropriate, that would be a different matter.  All this news does is confirm that Trump is paranoid and that Kushner is a dope for trusting the Russians to keep such efforts secret.

Thing is, this isn't about any bullshit about not using any Keynan colonial means of communication; this is a direct offshoot from the investigation on the 2016 election meddling, and Kushner's propositions were from the campaign team prior to inauguration specifically for the transition team, including two after the election--of which he "forgot" to mention on his clearance application.  Like all of them seem to have when it comes to antisemite cossack sluts.

Honestly, this sort of thing is expected from an organized crime angle.  Flynn may have been the bag man, but Kushner is the closest to family that Don Vito Trumporleone can rely on when it comes to bringing the cash to Havana.  Uday and Qusay don't have the brain power, and Ivanka is too high profile.

Is there any "normal" fuckers in that entire crew.