go

donje

done

Sadly KnightTime, I think the rest of the world disagrees with you, and if congress can vote to pass a bill to ensure they're paid, then Trump should accept it.You can't just stomp your foot, throw a tantrum and cry like a baby who's had his favourite toy taken away at the expense of the lives of about 2 million people. Where is your government that is allowing this. Where are the checks and balances preventing it. Mate he's a bloody dictator.

Start

g/NG -

Phil, you’re quite the sh*t stirrer, aren’t you?

Hey, you gotta have some fun in life Jainie

A bill passed by both house & senate to end the "shutdown" cannot be vetoed by the president. If both houses insist, it becomes law after ten days.

So when a senate proposal to stop the shutdown was blocked in the house by Ryan, it was the Republicans that kept the shutdown going. When the same proposal next came from the house, Mitch McConnell (R) blocked it in the senate. It is thus a bit silly to blame the Democrats, especially because the last 2 years the Republicans could do what they wanted but never managed to get that wall funded .

KT to not blame Trump is to not believe Trump. But I guess Fox news isn't running the clip of Trump saying he would be proud to shut down the gov. He would take the mantle. Face it anyone who still supports this guy is a fanatic member of Cult 45.

KT: "Phil to put all the blame on Trump for the shutdown is to be myopic about the problem." No, KT - to blame Trump for the shutdown is simply to believe him. He was proud to proclaim he owned the shutdown. Do you no longer believe him?

It's all about re-election. If he gets his $5 b he will be re-elected. If he caves in to the Dems, he may lose. He will probably use the "national emergency" thing to get out of the shutdown, and to put the problem in the courts instead of in congress.

It is hard to fathom Trump being reelected. This "crisis" is a distraction from what is happening with the Mueller investigation. Manafort passing polling data to the Russians is evidence of collusion/conspiracy to act with a foreign power to interfere with our elections.

With what happened this past November it is highly doubtful he will be reelected. He and members of his family may be incarcerated. I am looking forward to the upcoming public hearings.

Has anyone here tried Tatami puzzles. Some similarity (and some of the same rules) as Sudoku, but the repeating digits makes it challenging.

Start fathoming it Tuco.

I did not vote for Trump. I am an old Republican and conservative and Trump is neither. His personal life is a disaster by any measure. Please do not construe my comments as support for Trump. I was addressing Phil's assertion that our government allows for a dictator. It does not. Trump is no more a dictator than Bill Clinton was during the '95 shutdown that lasted 21 days due to recalcitrance on the part of Clinton and the Republicans. I actually agree with Tuco that Trump is highly vulnerable - but not because of his personal failings and general unlikeability. He had those traits when he was elected. I think he is vulnerable because he has virtually no internecine support from the party he ostensibly leads.

Mr Ooijer - Trump CAN veto a bill passed by Congress. However Congress can override the veto but the override requires a 2/3 majority in both houses. Overrides are rare - maybe 10-12% thru history.

Diane - I have never believed him. And yes, I know what he said about "owning" the shutdown. Politically, that is on him. But to call him (or more importantly, the office) a dictator is a gross misunderstanding of the facts. That is all I was discussing with Phil. Trump personally may have dictatorial tendencies but our form of government has adequate checks and balances to prevent a dictator from rising to power.

on a more serious note - this puzzle was challenging

We could have a dictator here. All you need is the coequal branches to support him/her. McConnell is helping and if the scotus finds actions to be legal then it could happen. Unlikely but possible. The most important branch of government would rise up however. That would be us.

8201 if he is actually able to run in 2020 no way he gets reelected. More young people will be voting and much of his support has eroded. He won't get the people who voted for him last time because they hated Hillary. But I still think he won't finish this term.

I actually understand why people voted for Trump, he does what he says he'll do, which is a great thing in a politician. Trouble is he has so many failings, most notably his blatant lying, continuously, his clear lack of empathy and warped ideas that it's OK to do things that are either illegal or at best utterly unethical if in his mind it will help America. Then you've got the misogyny and racist attitudes.

done

Finally finished fridays expert