U.S. Politics 2016: From Russia With Love

[Werthead]

To be fair, the US will solve its energy problems overnight by tapping into the spinning from Ronald Reagan's grave.

[TheKitttenGuard]

18 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 That doesn't make a lick of sense. Why would a Jewish family object to that line? 

The site link to the Lancaster article had a paywall.  The people did speak on anonymity so I will put a little caution at this time. So do not know what they spoke.

I will say we do not know why they did not want their child to participate and reason should not matter on their personal belief.

The Fox article is Todd Starnes and has what you expect.  The statement from the Principal he cited was not forefront in the school FAQ.

Not an article to see in this country.

[zelticgar]

1 hour ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Why the fuck is she flying coach? Are they sure that was her?

I know right? I held off on responding to you for a little while because I was embarrassed by the possibility I might have fallen for "fake news"!  

Fox and NBC are also reporting the same thing so i am going to go ahead and call this NOT FAKE!  The picture kind of looks like her but she is clearly not glamoured up. There are so many things about this story that are mind blowing and honestly, the guy being an asshole to her is like 5th on my list of "what the fucks?" about this story - 

• Coach? Seriously? 
• Isn't your husband richer than your dad? And he flies commercial on Jet Blue? 
• Hello Secret Service? Where you at? 
• Hello private bodyguards? Where you at? 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

4 minutes ago, zelticgar said:

I know right? I held off on responding to you for a little while because I was embarrassed by the possibility I might have fallen for "fake news"!  

Fox and NBC are also reporting the same thing so i am going to go ahead and call this NOT FAKE!  The picture kind of looks like her but she is clearly not glamoured up. There are so many things about this story that are mind blowing and honestly, the guy being an asshole to her is like 5th on my list of "what the fucks?" about this story - 

• Coach? Seriously? 
• Isn't your husband richer than your dad? And he flies commercial on Jet Blue? 
• Hello Secret Service? Where you at? 
• Hello private bodyguards? Where you at? 

The only thing I can think of that makes any sense is it is close to the Holidays and perhaps this particular trip was planned on short notice, and no 1st Class tickets were available. Outside of that, It's actually kind of cool that she would do this and not insist on a private or a chartered flight or whatever. But it does seem kind of odd. 

[zelticgar]

I'm not as cynical as Butterbumps about it. Could be that is just how she rolls. I'm not rich by any stretch but I did grow up around some wealthy people and one of my good friends is extremely well off but they are not extravagant. I know of many executives in the tech sector who could easily fly private or even retire and not work but they choose to live moderate lifestyles and fly commercial and coach.

I don't know anything about Ivanka's and her husband but it could be that they have decided to raise there children in a way that is as normal as reasonably possible given their status. I think if it is the case they are doing this it is a good sign. She clearly has some influence over the Donald and could be someone who provides balance to his decision making. 

[butterbumps!]

22 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Outside of that, It's actually kind of cool that she would do this and not insist on a private or a chartered flight or whatever. But it does seem kind of odd. 

if this is for real, You don't see it as a publicity stunt to elicit that very reaction, branding herself a kind of "people's princess" to do some major damage control in light of much recent criticism, as well as her perennial role as "anodyne distractor"?

eta.  I'd be careful about this, as well as seeing ivanka as a positive figure in general.   She's a liberal in so far as vaguely liberal ideas are the basis of her brand.    Furthermore, it looks like she doesn't have any real influence regarding her father.   Look at the climate change stuff fizzle.  Either that or she's not in the business of upholding actual ideals so much as she's interested in maintaining a brand and will whitewash anything her family does.   

[Kalbear]

It is incredibly stupid to not have security with the president-elect's daughter, regardless of her choices on flying. Especially doing public flights, which are not particularly secure and private as far as their flight manifests. 

[TheKitttenGuard]

I do understand the complaints of them flying coach.  Just because they probably can afford first class all the time means they must.

The security issue makes a lot of sense.

The person was an idiot and felt self-righteously justified to act like one.

[Larry of the Lawn]

8 minutes ago, TheKitttenGuard said:

I do understand the complaints of them flying coach.  Just because they probably can afford first class all the time means they must.

The security issue makes a lot of sense.

The person was an idiot and felt self-righteously justified to act like one.

No one is 'complaining' that she might be flying coach, they're expressing surprise.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

If this is was real the guy thrown off the plane was a dick.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

7 minutes ago, butterbumps! said:

if this is for real, You don't see it as a publicity stunt to elicit that very reaction, branding herself a kind of "people's princess" to do some major damage control in light of much recent criticism, as well as her perennial role as "anodyne distractor"?

eta.  I'd be careful about this, as well as seeing ivanka as a positive figure in general.   She's a liberal in so far as vaguely liberal ideas are the basis of her brand.    Furthermore, it looks like she doesn't have any real influence regarding her father.   Look at the climate change stuff fizzle.  Either that or she's not in the business of upholding actual ideals so much as she's interested in maintaining a brand and will whitewash anything her family does.   

Yeah, I suppose that is also a possibility. I imagine it would be fairly easy for a decent reporter to determine whether or not this was a regular pattern for her or not. 

Kalbear makes a good point as well. I can see how this might be a security risk for the public.

[butterbumps!]

16 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Yeah, I suppose that is also a possibility. I imagine it would be fairly easy for a decent reporter to determine whether or not this was a regular pattern for her or not. 

Kalbear makes a good point as well. I can see how this might be a security risk for the public.

True.   and admittedly I'm probably a bit more "attentive" than most regarding ivanka issues because I've been paying a lot of attention to (and incredibly annoyed by) the sort of faux "feminism" and "liberalism" she sells.   

But in general when it comes to ivanka, it's probably a safe bet to understand her like we do her father.    A lot of people on the left look on her favorably as a progressive, rational, "the good trump," but she's "good and progressive" the same way trump is revered as a "great businessman" -- a lot of brand and style without much backing it, and in fact, a lot of counter evidence.  

Eta.  I did read a piece before the election saying how shed try to improve her brand by maiking herself seem more "accessible", like instagramming more cooking failures, no makeup selfies, and doing "regular people stuff" to help her faltering brand and sales.      So I'm hugely skeptical of things like this coach business.    Will include link later.   

[OldGimletEye]

Just now, Tywin et al. said:

SPORTS-POLITICS MASH UP TIME!!!!

Now that Jeff Fisher has been fired, do we need Bolton to be hired so that the nation's long mustache ride can continue? 

LOL. Normally, I would say yes.

But, given Bolton's record, I think I'm gonna have to make an exception in this case.

[zelticgar]

little more detail on Ivanka's flight. Looks like the secret service was with her. 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

2 minutes ago, zelticgar said:

little more detail on Ivanka's flight. Looks like the secret service was with her. 

I wonder which account was more accurate. The wife of the guy that was tossed claims that he voiced his displeasure in a calm tone, while the TMZ article stated he was yelling at her.

[Squab]

Quote

An hour prior to that Mr Lasner wrote on Twitter: “Ivanka and Jared at JFK T5, flying commercial. My husband chasing them down to harass them. #banalityofevil.”

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

And while we all waste time about Ivanka getting heckled on a plane, something of actual importance has gone largely unreported:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-raises-eyebrows-maintaining-private-security-force

 

This is the Trump playbook. Sensationalize meaningless things so the important ones go unnoticed. 

[zelticgar]

16 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

 

I wonder which account was more accurate. The wife of the guy that was tossed claims that he voiced his displeasure in a calm tone, while the TMZ article stated he was yelling at her.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that someone who has the balls to confront a person on a plane over political disagreements is probably going to do it with a slightly elevated tone. It was a same sex couple as well and the husband tweeted out that prior to boarding the person had chased her down to harass her. 

 

ETA - i only raise the same sex couple point to correct ME's post about "wife". It was actually the husband of the man who was kicked off that tweeted about the incident. 

 

 

 

[Rippounet]

Foreign Affairs had an article about "the trouble with ceding climate leadership to China."

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-12-20/trouble-ceding-climate-leadership-china

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

10 minutes ago, zelticgar said:

I

10 minutes ago, zelticgar said:

ETA - i only raise the same sex couple point to correct ME's post about "wife". It was actually the husband of the man who was kicked off that tweeted about the incident. 

 

Oops, my bad. I jumped to conclusions there.