Monday, January 9, 2017

Meryl Streep voices concern about Trump's bullying and humiliating others


Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Please sit down. Please sit down. Thank you. I love you all. You'll have to forgive me. I've lost my voice in screaming and lamentation this weekend. And I have lost my mind sometime earlier this year. So I have to read.

Thank you, Hollywood foreign press. Just to pick up on what Hugh Laurie said. You and all of us in this room, really, belong to the most vilified segments in American society right now. Think about it. Hollywood, foreigners, and the press. But who are we? And, you know, what is Hollywood anyway? It's just a bunch of people from other places.

I was born and raised and created in the public schools of New Jersey. Viola [Davis] was born in a sharecropper's cabin in South Carolina, and grew up in Central falls, Long Island. Sarah Paulson was raised by a single mom in Brooklyn. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids from Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Italy. Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Ethiopia, raised in―no, in Ireland, I do believe. And she's here nominated for playing a small town girl from Virginia. Ryan Gosling, like all the nicest people, is Canadian. And Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, is here for playing an Indian raised in Tasmania.

Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. If you kick 'em all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts. They gave me three seconds to say this. An actor's only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us and let you feel what that feels like. And there were many, many, many powerful performances this year that did exactly that, breathtaking, passionate work.

There was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good. There was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it. I still can't get it out of my head because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life.

And this instinct to humiliate, when it's modelled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.

This brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage.That's why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the committee to protect journalists. Because we're going to need them going forward. And they'll need us to safeguard the truth.

One more thing. Once when I was standing around on the set one day whining about something, we were going to work through supper, or the long hours or whatever, Tommy Lee Jones said to me, isn't it such a privilege, Meryl, just to be an actor. Yeah, it is. And we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy. We should all be very proud of the work Hollywood honors here tonight.

As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art. Thank you.


Trump replied

95 comments :

  1. > We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage

    But she still doesn't get it. The people have figured out that the press isn't principled. That's why they ignore the faux outrage.

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  2. As Dennis Prager wrote, the left has developed verbal incontinence.
    Under communism you had include your love for the state, the party, the chairman, etc. in all your speeches no matter what the occasion. Otherwise you were suspect.
    Now the left has a new requirement - mention something negative about Trump to prove you are "enlightened"

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  3. Some actresses' opinions about politics, or for that any other issue other than acting, is as valuable as the opinions on the same subject by my nice local sanitation department garbage pickup gentleman.

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  4. It is not a daas yachid of an obscure actress. It happens to be an eloquent expression of the feelings of many people - including me. You can dismiss it as you are - but as many things about Trump - it is not a minor complaint and it is not held by a couple of inconsequential nuts.

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  5. it is not something. It is not once a month. Trump is an ongoing problem - not only his personality defects, but the way he is running the government. In case you haven't been paying attention regarding his nominees and how he is trying to bypass standard vetting processes. He has just dismiss his own Intelligence Services - something you obviously think is inconsequential!

    This loose cannon is not comparable to any president I have experienced or read about. He needs to be monitored. we should close our eyes to reality as Joe Orlow suggested.

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  6. The press is much more principled than what Trump is serving up. The press is not a monolithic conspiracy and there are some checks and balances. Trump is trying to convince us to just trust him - because he doesn't want to have any watchdog over him.

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  7. No doubt. My local sanitation man feels the same way and expressed the same sentiments. I'm just saying quoting him would be equally as well as quoting this Hollywood persona.

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  8. On behalf of all sanitation pickup gentlemen: I protest!

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  9. Rabbi Eidenson,as someone who doesn't share your opinion in this matter, I will offer some advice counter to my point of view's best interest.You really need to get a grip.Quoting a low life, hypocritical actress will not have the desired affect off pursauding anyone.Really.

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  10. No need to take her word for it - simply look at the video of President Trump talking about the handicapped reporter. Sometimes even actresses tell the truth - perhaps even more than Trump

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  11. The point is that if you believe Trump's deplorable behavior is so simply proven from just seeing the video,bringing in this low life actress does nothing to bolster your argument.Rather it shows that in your zeal to discredit Trump you are grasping at things beneath your usual standards and dignity.Rabbi I'm sincerely trying to help.Take it or leave it.

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  12. nope. There is no need to grasp at anything here - it is there for you to see. The problem is that Trump and his supporters say "forget about everything that has happened we need to get on with life". Streep's speech is a reminder not to forget the past

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  13. Moe: That is absolutely ridiculous. Was Meryl Streep incorrect? If your local sanitation person told you that you had a flat would you disregard his advice also because he's "My local sanitation man"? You have a right to disagree with any opinion but the way you just did it does not reflect well on you.

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  14. Shmuel - you're missing the point!

    If the video is self-evident, then you don't need Ms. Streep. Oh, so it is Ms. Streeps's analysis or opinion that you're placing value on????? What are her qualifications?

    If your local sanitation person told you that you had a flat would you disregard his advice also because he's "My local sanitation man"?

    No. But I wouldn't assume that it's true either - I would check it out. Streep's speech was, and is, unnecessary. (The video has been around for a long time.) Unless, of course, you value her opinion since she's a good actress/escape of reality. (She doesn't even have the brains to write the lines - she just puppets them!).

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  15. You're so right - the press has a good system of checks and balances. The government does not.

    The difference is, the press is a group of unelected elites. The government is elected by the stupid people.

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  16. so why did Trump and his followers get upset? You are saying because she told the truth that everyone knew already and she has no special qualificiations.
    If she said 2 +2= 4 would it have elicited the same response that she is an over rated actress?

    It is clear that the issue is that she drew attention to an event that Trump and his followers wanted to forget about and get on with life. The fact that she is a famous actress made people pay attention. SHE DREW ATTENTION AND CONCERN TO SOMETHING WHICH INDICATES FLASHING RED LIGHTS AND SIRENS REGARDING THE PERSON ABOUT TO BE PRESIDENT

    There are only three questions that are relevant 1)Did the event shown in the video happened? The answer is obviously it did 2) Is this an indication that Trump is a bully with great insensitivity to others. The answer is also obviously yes. 3) do we need to be concerned about future bullying from Trump? Again the answer is YES!

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  17. Where did I say I disagree with her opinion? Honestly I didn't even read what she said and don't know what she kvetched about other than the headlines about her criticizing the president-elect for something or another.

    My only point is that it my local sanitation man has said the exact same thing this actress said, it would have as newsworthy and worthy of media coverage as when this actress said whatever she said.

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  18. The truly sad thing is that your view seems to be a minority view in the frum community. It is truly depressing to see non-Jews or even non-religious showing more concern for basic derech eretz than we are.

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  19. you are wrong - as any ad campaign that features a celebrity attests

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  20. Advertising is designed to lie about benefits of what is being touted and lie about how bad the competition is. That ad campaigns. Not a good thing to emulate if honesty is one's goal. Ad campaigns don't seek honesty.

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  21. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter in August 2015 if there are any actresses that he loves, Trump praised the Florence Foster Jenkins star. “Julia Roberts is terrific, and many others. Meryl Streep is excellent; she’s a fine person, too,” he said. “The problem is I’ll name three or four or five [actresses] and then the hundred that I know will be insulted, and I don’t mean to insult them.” - The heart of the matter is that we are dealing with a moral issue , that being rich or even being the president elect does not make one into a successful human being . For Jews the question is what is important - chilul Hashem or what is politically good for Jews in the short term

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  22. that isn't the point. If you want something noticed you find a spokesperson that people notice and that cause your message to be listened to. An actress is not proof that something is true but the truth is more likely to be noticed if said by an actress than a politician

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  23. You seem to think this is the same as Kim Kardashian gaining five pounds...but the story is really about the character of Donald Trump, not about Meryl Streep. She is just the one who highlighted it (though I think this is all water under the bridge at this point, Donald Trump got elected president even though we all knew he was a sorry excuse for a human being...that won't change no matter if a actresses/sanitation members highlights what a disgusting person he is or if R' Yerucham Olshin does it)

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  24. Honesty: I think you are the one missing the point. You are incorrect in saying that anyone is placing value on Meryl Streeps opinion. Rather she is highlighting something which you can personally check out (and I encourage you to do so). @Moe felt it was correct to disregard anything she says without even reading the article.

    Your second point, that if something is self evident we don't need to be reminded about it is even more off the mark. Every day we say the Yud Gimmel Ikkrim....It's not that we don't know it...It's that sometimes we need to be reminded about the obvious (just like the ramchal says in the hakdomah to Mesillas Yesharim that he isn't telling you anything people don't know, rather it's things people don't think about).

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  25. Most people in the frum community that I know seem to agree with all three points from Rabbi Eidenson. They just think that the alternative of Hillary Clinton was even worse.

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  26. It's easy to superimpose a certain meaning of an event to match our goals. It does not, however change the reality of the event was.

    The purpose of the event that Ms. Streep spoke at, and her platform, was entertainment/escape of reality. She was valued due to her ability to entertain and help people momentarily escape reality.

    If Ms. Streep would have used this event to give a lecture about parenting, self control or any other issue of REAL personal improvement, she would be ignored, ridiculed, mocked and even criticized. Let's face reality, she did not attack Trump because of her concern for society or disabled people. Where is her outrage at the Chicago incident? (Where is your outrage at the Chicago incident?!) She utilized this event to keep her and her class as influential as possible. Deligitmizing Trump keeps the entertainment types more influential.

    They see all conservatives as a threat to their influence, popularity and pocketbook.

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  27. nope. Totally disagree with you

    you really have to jump through hopes to defend Trump - but why the major effort?

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  28. I don't have a problem who looked honestly at Trump and Clinton and concluded that Clinton was worse. My problem is with people who can't see that Trump has done anything wrong. My problem is with people who keep repeating the mantra -" Trump won let's just get on with life and forget about the past. Let's ignore reality and truth and have faith in Trump - he is our Saviour!" My problem is with people who feel there is never a reason to hold Trump accountable for anything.

    Sometimes you need a leader who is deeply flawed - perhaps this is one of those times. But it is is not helpful to deny those flaws and refuse to criticize his mistakes - because after all he hasn't made any. It is this denial of reality. the march of the lemmings which is greatly disturbing and frightening.

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  29. What do you disagree with?

    A) Do you think that this event was a TED talk or self-improvement lecture? Do you disagree that this was an entertainment event?

    B) You think that Ms. Streep was only concerned about disabled people? (Where was she on Chicago - or when Sara Palin's disabled child was mocked by her peers??)

    C) You think the entertainment industry and entertainers are not motivated by self-preservation when they continuously attack conservatives and conservative values?

    you really have to jump through hopes to defend Trump - but why the major effort?

    Why are you trying to bully me? Why are you being condescending towards me?

    Don't you realize that it is a stretch to say that dis-valuing Ms. Streep's opinions is an act of purposefully defending Trump? I never valued Ms. Streep's opinion, and have been opposed to idealizing and valuing the opinions of people who are good puppets or athletes before you decided on this path of strange bedfellows with the liberal elites in your opposition of Trump.

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  30. why are you so defensive? How is pointing out the obvious that you are pointing a lot of effort into defending Trump an example of bullying? Or put another way - why when Trump brings the full weight of his status and media attention on his attacks on people "She is an overrated actress" "Look at his funny movements" etc etc are to be defending as normal criticism but my disagreement with you - an anonymous participant on this blog are examples of bullying?!

    Or are you saying that you think Trump is a bully and I am no better than Trump because I don't agree with you or your reasoning in this matter?!

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  31. Honesty- It's interesting that you said I was the one missing the point and yet you continue with your ad hominems. You have some great points questioning the platform that the issue was raised upon, why certain other issues were not raised, and the motives of those raising the current issues. Those are great questions, however they should in no way distract from the real issue at hand, which is Trump.

    Forget anything to do with Meryl Streep, she was just the person bringing the issue back to the forefront. Donald Trump is the issue here. If you have any comments they should be about Trump.

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  32. Politically IncorrectJanuary 11, 2017 at 3:14 AM

    I thought the video was going to be the end of the world. Are people supposed to figure out the mockery? How long ago was the reporter before that video? People might have to see him mimic him right after his performance.....

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  33. And the way Obama used Executive Orders to bypass Congress was okay?

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  34. no - but it is not the same issue as being a lose cannon

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  35. Right, Obama was a destructively aimed cannon.

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  36. So you prefer someone known to be bad vs. one who couldn't possibly be worse but has the potential to be a lot better?

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  37. Why is it you don't look at this sort of thing Trump has done -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bY_QmA9Vu4

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  38. It's nice that you criticize without paying attention to what I write. I already posted a video about that already at the end of the following post

    http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2017/01/trump-despite-clear-evidence-to.html

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  39. I prefer someone who is stable, has a reasonable amount of self control, has a nominal commitment to the truth, and doesn't obsess about his enemies - at least not publicly, and when he does express anger at his enemies doesn't act like a fool. there is no evidence so far that Trump has the potential to be better than Obama, Clinton or even Bush. there is clear evidence that he has serious moral flaws as well as psychological problems

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  40. No you didn't. What this video is about is an example how Trump helps those in like this little girl, like Avraham Ten, o"h, like Melissa Young, etc.. You fixate on the flaws he admittedly has but you ignore the good traits that have brought help to these 3 individuals and others.

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  41. I am just curious: What is the basis for your assertion that Trump "couldn't possibly be worse" than Obama? Has America been led into war over the past 8 years? Has there been a major terror attack in the U.S. in the past 8 years? Has inflation remained low over the past 8 years? Has the economy improved since 2008? Now, I understand that one might not be a fan of all of Obama's policies, but the idea that things "couldn't be worse" is ridiculous.

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  42. you really don't understand. Even if Trump was the biggest tzadik in the world - his behavior as a political leader is atrocious and very dangerous. What intelligent person - would grossly insult his own intelligence services even before taking office? How can a president function without a good relationship with people whose work and devotion are critical to survive? Yet he called the Nazis and publicly dismisses their unanimous findings. You fixate on a couple of photo opps - and ignore that he is not running for the position of tzadik but president. He is more concerned with staging a circus to divert attention from his many misdeed, corruption and lies. He is heading to be the most corrupt president in US history as well as the most incompent - and your response - well he gave a poor little girl thousands of dollars and he lent his plane to help a sick frum kid.

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  43. What is bad about your local sanitation man? You talk as if you had no respect for him, as if his opinion was the epitome of an opinion that does not count.

    That's exactly what Meryl Streep was going against.

    So no wonder you admire people who talk down on others, you do exactly the same?

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  44. I do understand him. He is using the same techniques for government that he used successfully for business. You are the one who is obsessed and see everything he does in a bad light.

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  45. One doesn't need major catastrophes to have been avoided. Minor catastrophes like Ferguson, Dallas and Obamacare were bad enough.

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  46. "What intelligent person - would grossly insult his own intelligence services"

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  47. Perhaps he is referring to Obamacare. Many young and healthy Americans have to pay a lot more for health insurance than they used to! And many high earners have to may higher taxes just to help fund it! All so that the old, poor and ill with preexisting conditions can get access to health care! Is that fair?

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  48. there is much to see in a bad light unless you are wearing a blindfold. Yes he is using the same techniques he used in business . It is a shame that the world will have to experience the experiment at to whetherhis tactics work for government. He doesn't seem capable of acting in a normal manner

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  49. I don't understand you at all. Do you really think it is within the power of the president to prevent any murders from occurring in the U.S. over the course of his presidency? And again, I did not state the claim that everything was perfect under Obama. I was challenging your ridiculous claim that things "could not be worse" under the next president. And to back that up, you cite a few murders/riots?

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  50. Did he lie, bully and defame his competitors and contractors?

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  51. Normal as Obama? Normal as Rav Kaminetzsky? Trump is normal for Trump. Flaws and all. One thing you don't understand is Trump has a public persona and and a private persona. Unlike Fred Grandy whose Burl Smith character was understood not to be him, Trump's character is himself so the public character Trump plays is associated with the private one. Most of those who DO know him like Rabbi Heshy Ten and his Attorney Michael Cohen are tremendously loyal to him because they know the real man whereas you only view the clown he portrays.

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  52. You are right - I don't know the personality that he might be deliberately hiding. However the public personality is the one who is running the show. The public personality is acting in a disastrous manner. I don't see how claiming that the public persona is not important because it is not the real Trump is relevant. How is this secret lamed vavnik going to make up for the lies, corruption and dysfunctional government the public Trump is creating?

    Every criminal, pervert and psychotic - has a good side. So what? Why are you clinging on to this alleged hidden alter ego to justify what the public eog is doing?

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  53. I did not say the public persona is not important. But it is not running the show. It is the tool he uses to achieve his goals in much the same way Burl Smith was Fred Grandy's. The lies, corruption and dysfunctional government is what we have had under the smooth guise of Obama. And that is why Trump was elected despite the crooked voter count in the liberal enclaves.

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  54. What happened in Dallas was a direct result of Obama's deliberate statements about police. Do you expect Trump to do worse?

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  55. I know, I know: Yes!

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  56. as the Alter of Slobodla said, 'they fool me and they fool me - until I have them trapped. Or "he is too smart by half"

    Yes beneath the disgusting exterior of corruption and llies, of unbounded lust , abuse of women, cruel exeraggerated ridicule of all who cross him - their beats the heart of a person who will be sitting next to Moshe in Gan Eden

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  57. That is a horrible slander not deserving of a response.
    Once again, you are avoiding the question: On what basis do you claim that things in America have been so horrible for the past 8 years that "they couldn't possibly be worse"?

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  58. To take just one your accusations of Trump: What abuse of women? The supposedly groped lady on the plane was proven to be a liar. That he's a prusta goy who lusts after women, we already had several like that in the White House. One thing he is definitely is not is a rapist like Bill Clinton.

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  59. Because if he was one you know his opponents would seen to it he would have absolutely been charged by now.

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  60. I am not avoiding the question. You just don't want to hear answers. The murder rate in Obama's "hometown" skyrocketed while Obama blasted cops for targeting blacks. And if you don't think his rhetoric helped to incite the assassinations of pol;ice officers in Dallas and other other cities you are hopelessly deluded.

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  61. The murder rate in the U.S. declined over Obama's 8 years. I don't have any clue why you think that Obama is somehow responsible for the murder rate in the city he came from. Are you under the impression that in addition to commander-in-chief, the president is also the local police chief?
    For once and for all, I do not claim that everything was perfect during the presidency of Obama. There are many metrics according to which the situation in America has improved over the past 8 years, just as there are some according to which it has gotten worse. But your claim that things could not possibly be worse under the next president is just totally nonsensical.

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  62. "The murder rate in the U.S. declined over Obama's 8 years" That's baloney mainly because of Chicago. And yes, I do consider Obama partly responsible for the way the Chicago Police are considered "always wrong" when it comes to any imagined racial situation because of the attitude he conveys there.

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  63. I don't understand your logic. If the rate of homocide has decreased taking the total population of the US why are you saying it is baloney if the decrease is not uniform?!

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  64. In what way could a decreased national homicide rate be linked to Obama? Which one of his policies, that were different than his predecessor's, can be claimed to have attributed to it?

    On the other hand, people are claiming a direct link between Obama's policies and the Chicago murder rate. I don't know if it is true, but that is the conversation. I do feel that streets are less safe because of Obama's polices and anti-police rhetoric. However, just like the fix takes years to show up in tangible numbers, so does the negative affect. I understand that people may have a different opinion, and that is there right. I hope that I'm afforded my own opinion as well.

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  65. Because if you will notice in these statistics the murder rates were dropping steadily until 2014 when the kushi opened his mouth about Ferguson and similar events. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#nat1970

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  66. it is wonderful that we have a prophet in our midst who just knows the cause and effect relationships.
    I am sure that when they teach criminology they ask you to explain why things vary.

    the rate varies over the years - there are many factors involved - but you have decided that the only factor of significance is Obama! total nonsense

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  67. Do you not know how to read? Do you not know what the word "partly" means when i said " I do consider Obama partly responsible" ? You are letting your hatred of Donald Trump affect your comprehension. What a shame your obsession with him has changed the whole direction of this blog.

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  68. Your comment is representative of much that has gone wrong in the discussion of policy in America lately. "People are claiming a direct link between Obama's policies and the Chicago murder rate. I don't know if it is true, but that is the conversation." So the new standard of stating a claim is that "people are saying it" even if "I don't know if it's true"? Just because "that is the conversation" makes it worthy of consideration? How about some facts? Some statistics?
    The issue is not whether Obama's policies have contributed to the sharp rise in crime in major cities during the time of his presidency. Could be they did, could be they didn't. Violent crime has been steadily decreasing since the early 80's, albeit with some blips along the way. The issue is the ridiculousness of cherry-picking facts, such as the murder rate in one specific city, to claim, as someone here did, that things "couldn't possibly be worse" under the next president than they were under Obama.

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  69. What does "that's baloney mainly because of Chicago" mean? Are you denying the fact, easily obtainable with a Google search, that murder rates overall have declined over the past eight years? And I am just wondering, is Obama also responsible for not rooting out the corrupt Young Israel rabbis in Las Vegas?
    And once again, because you have yet to explain yourself, on what basis do you claim that things "couldn't possibly be worse" under the next president?

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  70. your obsession with defending him is the problem. I don't have hatred of Trump I have fear what this demagogue will do to the world

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  71. You're the one who keeps posting left-wing slander about him. Out of all that I only defended him from your hypocrisy when you said he is "is not comparable to any president I have experienced" in the way you claim he is trying to bypass vetting to get his nominees even though in 2009 Obama did the same thing and the Democratically controlled Senate confirmed seven of President Obama’s Cabinet picks in a single day.

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  72. As the statistics I posted a link to showed, murder rates were in a steady decline BEFORE Obama became President and then reversed UP in 2014. That was when he began his diatribe against police and support of Black Li(v)es Matter.

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  73. No. The ones responsible for not rooting out the corrupt Young Israel rabbis in Las Vegas are Steven Mostofsky and Farley Weiss. The new Executive Director of National Council of Young Israel is Rabbi Marc Volk. Luckily I work near his shul so I intend to drop in on him soon. I even have my PO Box near him. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c73d600710ac2dc841ebe8dd641405254ba0e2f6da24023aab853311c6bf2c0a.jpg

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  74. “Meryl Streep voices concern about Trump's bullying and humiliating others”
    The truth is Meryl Streep is trying to aid Hillary Clinton and to delegitimize and undermine Trump’s presidency. This won’t work. See
    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/223244
    “In a flurry of tweets on Friday, Trump pushed back against efforts by Democrats to delegitimize and undermine his presidency even before his inauguration on January 20th…What are Hillary Clinton's people complaining about with respect to the F.B.I.,” wrote Trump. “Based on the information they had she should never have been allowed to run - guilty as hell. They were VERY nice to her.”
    Likewise Channel 2 in Israel. See http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Column-One-Obamas-transparent-presidency-478313
    “Tuesday Obama gave his final interview to the Israeli media to Ilana Dayan from Channel 2’s Uvda news magazine. Dayan usually tries to come off as an intellectual. On Tuesday’s show, she cast aside professionalism however, and succumbed to her inner teenybopper. Among her other questions, she asked Obama the secret to his preternatural ability to touch people’s souls.”

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  75. I said "So you prefer someone known to be bad vs. one who couldn't possibly be worse but has the potential to be a lot better?" You left out the context. IT IS A QUESTION OF WHAT SOMEONE PREFERS!! Do you take a known poison or do you take a chance that the other bottle contains the medicine that will restore your health? One way for sure you're doomed, the other way you have an even chance. Comprende?

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  76. The question is not what you prefer. I couldn't care less about what you prefer. The issue is that you are setting up a patently false choice. Once again, what is the basis for your claim that Trump couldn't possibly be worse? Do you think that things in America over the past 8 years have been so bad that there is no scenario in which they can be worse? Do you think the economy could not be worse than it is now? Do you think that it is not possible that the domestic security situation will be worse than it has been over the past eight years? Do you think that the situation of the U.S. military overseas could not possibly be worse than it is now?

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  77. Could a meteor strike New York City and cause more devastation than 9/11 or Sandy? Could a Magnitude 10 earthquake strike Los Angeles? Could Obama order Martial Law and take over the government? Of course unexpected disasters can strike. But on the basis of what Trump has announced as his plans vs. what Obama has already done Trump can't be worse than the kushi. But since I'm not a Navi and don't claim to be one, my expectations of the future are no better than those who predicted the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015.
    Are you a Navi predicting Trump will be worse than Obama? If so, can you give me the Powerball numbers for tonight please?

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  78. Actually, most economists have said that Trump's tariff plans will lead America into a recession. Most career diplomats (both Republican and Democrat) have warned that Trump's stated policies on NATO and nuclear proliferation pose a clear and significant danger to world stability. I could go on, but those two are enough to dispel your assertion.

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  79. You seem to be saying that voting for Trump was like "tossing a coin" - 50% chance it could be better than the last 8 years, 50% that it could be worse?

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  80. No. Voting for Trump was voting against a known crook and against what has been shown to be bad; Obamacare, foreign policy, etc.

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  81. "most economists" are like "most pollsters". Didn't "most pollsters" predict a Clinton victory? http://fortune.com/2016/11/10/donald-trump-arthur-laffer-prediction/

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  82. A fun game just for you.
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/15/us/politics/you-draw-obama-legacy.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

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  83. What is so bad with the Affordable Care Act? Millions of people who could not afford necessary health care now have access. Are you upset that you have to help pay for it?

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  84. You are not getting it: "Obamacare" has "Obama" in it, so it must be bad! Let's ignore that it is at its root the same idea advanced by Republicans in the mid 2000's, and passed by Romney in Massachusetts.

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  85. If it wasn't so bad, Hillary would be taking the oath on Friday.

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  86. Do you mean to indicate that the sole reason Trump won the election was because of American's dissatisfaction with the ACA? I thought it was because Clinton was a crook, or something like that.

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  87. If they would have liked Obamacare, the electorate outside of liberal enclaves would have kept Obamacare by voting for Hillary despite her dishonesty, her open contempt for "deplorables", etc.

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  88. If what the new President is saying is true. Then "Obamacare" is not going to be replaced but modified.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-obamacare-replacement_us_587cc478e4b0b3c7a7b205de

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  89. Not only liberal enclaves, also Republican ones. And they depend on it.

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/511866/know-where-obamacare-repeal-will-be-felt-the-most-miami.html

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