The Donald Trump Score Card

As you pointed out Clinton had the power to VETO and did not. That's fact. Not VETOing it certainly doesn't show opposition to it. The point is Trump is merely carrying out a law that was in place when others defer.

 

I think the three Presidents who deferred were exercising better judgment. I fear we'll pay dearly for Trump's decision.

 

They should have repealed the law then.

 

People are trying to score a talking point about Clinton not vetoing the Jerusalem Embassy Act bill without appreciating the details surrounding the issue at the time.

Clinton was opposed to the relocation of the embassy at the time and made it known in statements. The waiver option added to the bill was a way for the Congress to have the bill pass without snubbing the White House and its objections to it.

The bill was crafted quickly by Bob Dole and passed the Congress on October 23, 1995 the night before a visit to the U.S. by Rabin. It put Clinton in a difficult position regarding how to handle the bill. Signing it would go against his objection to moving the embassy in the near term and would have snubbed non-Israeli groups in the Mideast. Vetoing it would have snubbed the visiting Rabin. A veto would have been overriden by the Senate. The became law on November 8, 1995 after Clinton didn't sign it Clinton's decision to not sign it was a compromise.

Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. A subsequent veto by Clinton would have snubbed Rabin's assassination.

The Oslo Peace Accords were ratified on October 5, 1995. In his speech in Washington in October 1995, Rabin stated that it was the 3000th year of the existence of the city of Jerusalem. Such events created an atmosphere of optimism which likely contributed to the quick drafting of the Jerusalem Embassy Act.

Similar to Clinton, subsequent Presidents and many other leaders around the world have recognized the potential problems of moving the U.S. embassy before issues of contention in the region are adequately resolved. 128 countries opposed the move in a U.N. resolution in 2017. A University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll in November 2017 shows that the U.S. public opposes the move by a 2-to-1 margin.

Ahead of the U.N. vote in 2017, the Trump administration made veiled threats to countries that didn't support the move of the embassy. What little state support exists for the U.S. embassy move today comes mainly from a few small countries, particularly in Latin America, that are in fear of Trump and trying to avoid his wrath.

 

You don't have a monopoly on service members. I know guys who were in Viet Nam and have other information. There is a great movie about the veterans being the original anti war movement. The movie is called "Yes Sir, No Sir"

 

Presidents don't repeal laws...Congress does it.

 

You lost me here on what had seemed to me, up to that point, to be a thoughtful comment. I doubt you have any reason to make such a claim. More likely, these countries, some of which have extensive historical ties to Israel, both recognize it as a reasonable position from which they hope to gain some points from the US, but that’s quite different to “feeling the wrath” of Trump if they don’t move.

Wesrtern Europe is rotting from the head and a reasonable interpretation of their unwillingness to move their embassies is it might jeopardize their budding lucrative ties with Iran as well as upsetting elements of their own constituencies. From their point of view, moving their embassies confers little advantage and would require some backbone, which seems to be in short supply in Europe these days, “except for a few small countries”.

 

Well, what could 'the left' do to make you happier? We probably don't agree but if you are seriously willing to switch sides, then it's probably a good idea to figure out where you're at. It's really hard for me to accept that anyone could think ignoring climate change, giving as much as we can to the rich, and religious insanity/fascism is preferable to anything.

Trump is seriously just awful... FFS I thought Hillary was essentially Bush all over again and I didn't want her to be president, but at least she wasn't a con man with fascist aspirations. 2016 did a lot to convince me that the GOP supporters are basically just lost.

So what is it? Why do you hate the left so much?

 

It's truly bizarre how Trump's ineptitude, spoiled rich brat mentality, stupidity and narcissism have combined in a way that makes him seem more approachable to dictators and oppressors all over the world.

It's sort of like when a wealthy tourist wanders into a third world ghetto and doesn't realize where he is... everyone immediately tries to figure out the best way to get as much as they can from him. He doesn't realize that they aren't his friends. But of course Trump has probably made it very clear that he is for sale.

FTR I think moving the embassy officially is more about the ethics of supporting what is essentially an invasion by Israel. Trump lacks ethics completely, so of course after announcing his racism to the world he would do this. He basically assumes that nobody will do anything because USA is fuckin powerful, but I don't think this can be sustained.

 

Examine how many countries have an embassy in Jerusalem and how many have made a formal announcement that they are moving their embassy to Jerusalem. The reservations people have about this issue are not limited to Western Europe.

 

Why these Latin American countries support moving their embassies to Jerusalem
Guatemala, Paraguay and Honduras look to strengthen ties with the US by supporting Israel, plus their leaders have personal connections to the Jewish state
By Josefin Dolsten
11 May 2018, 9:05 am

Why these Latin American countries support moving their embassies to Jerusalem

excerpt:

"So how come? Why do these Latin American countries go where others fear to tread?

Observers suggest a number of reasons, or a combination thereof: The countries are likely motivated by a desire to curry favor with the Trump administration, their leaders’ personal views of the Jewish state and strong historic ties to Israel.

In the cases of Guatemala and Honduras, both countries are facing or recently faced political crises — Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales is mired in a corruption scandal and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s recent re-election was dogged by allegations of voter fraud. Their leaders are looking to the US for support, said Arie Kacowicz, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem specializing in Latin America.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with Paraguay President Horacio Cartes at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, July 19, 2016. (Emil Salman/Pool)

“They pretty much need and want support and legitimacy from the US and one way of achieving that is by being on friendly, cordial or even extraordinary terms with Israel,” he told JTA. “So if the U.S. is showing the way on this particular issue of Jerusalem, the natural candidates to follow would be those two Central American countries.”

Though the countries are looking to strengthen ties with Israel, that is not their primary focus, Kacowicz said.

“For Guatemala and Honduras, the US is primordial. It’s much more important than Israel,” he said.

The two countries also have large immigrant populations in the US that are facing threats of deportation. Those immigrants contribute to their home countries’ economies — for example, one-tenth of Guatemala’s gross domestic product comes from remittances sent back by Guatemalans living abroad. It makes sense to want to be on the Trump administration’s good side."

 

the zionist lobby has undue influence in this country. in trump, they got a lackey to be their mouthpiece.

 

43 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire since the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

A chilling reminder of what a grave responsibility the position of POTUS is, a position currently filled by an irresponsible man not capable of considering the consequences of his actions

 

MAGA = Make Asia Great Again

Trump appears to be manufacturing another crisis for which he will later claim to be the savior who solved it. This time he's directing the Commerce Department to save Chinese jobs in China. He should explain that one to the American farmers who have been at the mercy of Trump's trade war whims.

Trump supporters will come up with some sort of rationalization that this is all a part of his stable genius that will bring back jobs to farmers and coal miners.



What the Heck Is Even Going on With This Trump Tweet About ZTE and Chinese Jobs
Tom McKay
May 13, 2018

https://gizmodo.com/what-the-heck-is-even-going-on-with-this-trump-tweet-ab-1825994615

excerpt:

"President Donald Trump has made a big fuss out of economic competition with China. He’s even threatened a trade war! But on Sunday, he came out to bat for, uh, Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE, which has basically ceased to exist after the Department of Commerce slapped it with a seven-year ban on buying or using components from US companies over allegations it violated sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

Apparently, all it takes is a plea from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and Trump will jump at the chance to protect those foreign jobs.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump wrote. “Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”"

 

An article about the sparse number of countries which have had an embassy in Jerusalem.


US isn’t the first country to open an embassy in Jerusalem – and it won’t be the last
In the wake of Donald Trump’s announcement on December 6, some countries plan to move their embassies to Jerusalem – and Israel is hoping for more
PUBLISHED : Monday, 14 May, 2018, 5:24pm
UPDATED : Monday, 14 May, 2018, 5:35pm

US not the first nor last embassy to open in Jerusalem

excerpt:

"Several countries, mainly African and Latin American, have previously had their ambassadors based in Jerusalem and some are expected to return.

After the 1973 Yom Kippur war, Ivory Coast, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Kenya severed relations with Israel in protest and closed the doors of their embassies in Jerusalem.

They later renewed relations but moved their missions to Tel Aviv.

In 1980 Israel enacted a law declaring Jerusalem, including the mainly Palestinian eastern zone, its “complete and united” capital.

The United Nations Security Council branded the move illegal and adopted a resolution calling on “those states that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions”.

The Netherlands, Haiti and several Latin American countries complied.

Costa Rica and El Salvador returned to Jerusalem in 1984, but left again in 2006."

 

He's such a ludicrous dipshit it is absolutely unreal.

 

Nice to see Trump is trying to make China great again! ZTE technology poses a cybersecurity threat, but hey, that's okay. I think Trump might be planning to run for something in China when he loses his job over here.

 

Fox News Grandpa Trump and Sean Hannity


Trump's Fox News Addiction Is Even Worse Than We Knew
The network's chief blowhard, Sean Hannity, is reportedly getting Cabinet-level input.
By Jack Holmes
May 14, 2018

Trump Receives Advice From Sean Hannity - Trump Is the Typical Fox News Viewer

excerpt:

"So the President of the United States is fed a steady diet of misinformation, a situation his advisers determined was preferable to consuming traditional news—that is, factual information about the world gleaned from journalistic processes—because the latter only made him mad. Except, because all he has to operate on is misinformation, and because he thinks whatever he knows is all there is to know, he insists on weighing in publicly. And he's often still raging, lashing out wildly at the demons conjured up by his supposed allies on the Fox Teevee. Those same White House advisers then spend some portion of their day cleaning up the mess."