January 11, 2018

"But if the anti-Trump movement has a crippling defect, it’s smugness, and Wolff’s book reflects and richly feeds it."

"We’re the moral scolds who struggle to acknowledge the skeletons in our own closet, the smart people whose forecasts keep proving wrong. We said Trump couldn’t win. That the stock market would never recover from his election. That he would blow up NATO. That the Middle East would erupt in violence when Jerusalem was recognized as Israel’s capital... [B]y constantly predicting doom and painting the White House in the darkest colors, anti-Trumpers have only helped the president. We have set an almost impossibly high bar for Trumpian failure... ) We have increased the country’s tolerance for the president’s venial sins. And we have turned the 'Resistance' into a byword for the hysterical and condescending ninnies of American politics."

Writes Bret Stephens in the NYT, and all I can say is if you and your cohort are so sure you're the smart ones, why wasn't all of this obvious to you all along? Or is this remedial reading for NYT subscribers, who are just now beginning to get it?

262 comments:

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Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I'll take Trump pretending to care and my retirement situation vastly improved to what the corruptocrats were doing to it.

Oh, that's right. Another Wall Street little guy/gal.

There were years with Obama in power that the Dow grew even faster. But that was after the Great Republican Recession so I guess it's not fair timing.

But you'll be happy to know that W. inflated the economic bubble just as much as Trump is doing. He won't be around to worry about the crash afterward, but your "retirement situation" sure will be!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

"dreams" is not feeling the depth.

Gahrie said...

There were years with Obama in power that the Dow grew even faster.

No there weren't. 5,000 points in a year is a record.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Some things are not that hard to find out. Assuming you're willing to open your eyes.

Jupiter said...

Inga said...
"We need more white people from Norway!"

Well, we could certainly use them. Although Norway needs them more. Was that supposed to be sarcasm? Like, everyone knows what a shithole Norway is? Maybe you could explain? And I'm also waiting to hear your explanation of why we need all those Shitholians in Minnesota. Why don't you give us a brief primer on the current personnel needs of the USA, according to Igna?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

No there weren't. 5,000 points in a year is a record.

Obviously you don't invest very much. Percentage growth is what matters, not the numerical growth of the Dow in itself.

Jesus. And I thought this was supposed to be the party of money and prosperity. Literally they need remedial financial education.

FullMoon said...

"I think it's why he went bankrupt six times."

And yet, he came up swinging, building his empire back each time. A lesser man would have called it quits. Not our President.


Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

And yet, he came up swinging, building his empire back each time. A lesser man would have called it quits. Not our President.

Well if you put your faith in him I'm sure he'll "come up swinging" too. THat's what bankrupts always do, after wiping out their creditors.

Mark Cuban's probably about as least as rich as Trump. He asked why there were no business associates who would speak on his behalf, to vouch for him. At the convention or otherwise. Reason is simple: Because no one who ever went into business with him trusts him. He's untrustworthy. A pretty remarkable trait for someone who touts their "credentials" based solely on business experience. When you're a good businessman others believe in you. But no one trusts Trump. Not the people who actually know him, anyway.

And those of you who don't know him are happy to be swindled. Enjoy!

Drago said...

Every entrepreneur could tell this story.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237843

"What Mark Cuban Learned From His 6 Biggest Failures
Forget your failures. No one cares until you succeed."

"His story goes to show that sometimes you have to lose 20 times or more before winning big, and what seems like luck is really just grit. Here are six of Cuban’s biggest failures and what we can learn from them:"

So some of Trump's many ventures didn't pan out. Some were larks. Some for excitement. Some possibly just for fun.

As Cuban says, you only have to win big once, then you are an "overnight success".

Trump fits that mold.

FullMoon said...


Jesus. And I thought this was supposed to be the party of money and prosperity.

90% of people get a tax cut.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

And yet, he came up swinging, building his empire back each time.

Courtesy of the bankruptcy courts - easing his obligations to his creditors.

That's not how real businessmen build anything. They do it on their own, and with the well-deserved faith of their creditors.

Not the government. Or its courts.

Trump is a fraud.

Drago said...

TTR: "Courtesy of the bankruptcy courts - easing his obligations to his creditors."

He played by the rules that others established.

Just like the election.

MayBee said...

I'm half-half Korean and White, American citizen, currently in DC. I spend a fair amount of the year in Seoul and Tokyo (Tokyo more than Seoul -- I have a condo in Tokyo, but stay with family in Seoul). Just re-entered the US on Sunday.

Ah. I misinterpreted when you wrote "here".

I love Tokyo. Used to live in Minami Azabu.

FullMoon said...

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Now Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

90% of people get a tax cut.

Meaning what? That now all of a sudden poor people are going to have just as deplorable life conditions, but with a few more dollars?

I gave a few dollars to a homeless man the other day. Guess what? Didn't improve his situation at all.

But it made him feel good. I guess that's the kind of policy you're after.

Drago said...

TTR: "That's not how real businessmen build anything. They do it on their own, and with the well-deserved faith of their creditors."

I thought you were an Elon Musk fan.

Drago said...

TTR: "I gave a few dollars to a homeless man the other day. Guess what? Didn't improve his situation at all."

We should set national policy based on your anecdotes.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.

Trump throws away his creditors' money and keeps the bankruptcy courts on his side.

Court-awarded monies. Along with alimony, and lawsuits for people burned while sipping too hot McDonald's coffee, Trump's got a real moral ally in the cause.

It's good that you agree that only dupes have trusted or rewarded him.

FullMoon said...

That's not how real businessmen build anything. They do it on their own, and with the well-deserved faith of their creditors.

Apologies. I assumed you were just a cog in the wheel, not a real businessman. May have been your rant about HR that mislead me.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

It's not an anecdote that the lower bracket tax refunds will not do much to help their recipients in this economy and that the upper bracket refunds add $20 billion to debt and don't "trickle down" the benefit to the billionaires. It's an economic fact.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Leftwingers hoping for Venezuela.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I assumed...

As you are wont to do. It's not like you could ever get your pretend-knowledge from any actual research or anything. You're against that stuff. Better to feel your truth from the gut. Like O'Reilly!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Exactly why raising the minimum wage is a bad idea.

Homeless people don't earn a wage. Let alone a minimum wage.

You are uninformed and easily misled.

FullMoon said...

Exactly why raising the minimum wage is a bad idea.

Homeless people don't earn a wage. Let alone a minimum wage.
Nope. Your point is that a few bucks makes no difference.
Homeless people don't file taxes either, so why did you bring it up in a conversation about reducing taxes?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Has Elon Musk ever declared bankruptcy?

Has he done it in age-old scam industries based on legalized gambling, or slapping his name on stuff?

Elon Musk built the entire industry of online financial transactions and earned hundreds of millions for it before age 35. None of it with a millionaire daddy's money, either. That's noteworthy, unless you're into the swamp of old money. Not much of a build, either.

His other companies are part of real, demonstrable groundbreaking economic needs and trends. They will either win in those fields or at least help drive the competition to continue changing the economy to how these industries are changing.

Badmouthing him while talking up Mr Gold Name on Buildings and TV Game Show Host is about as asinine as accusing Henry Ford of being a loser while putting a horse-and-buggy tycoon who made it on his daddy's money on a pedestal.

True fact: Trump's daddy's money would have grown faster if invested in the market than it did in his "Important Name" Enterprise.

This is why Trump was so impressed when he went to Saudi Arabia. He seemed to love their nepotism, despotism, gluttony and propaganda. Things with which he identifies intimately.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...
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Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Nope. Your point is that a few bucks makes no difference.

Ok, so you're lying and insinuating that a few bucks one time is the same as a few bucks more per hour (on top of a base wage of $8 or $10).

I realize that the Loser Trump is your hero, but you can't lie like he does and expect to not get called out for it. Or if you do, put it on Twitter and pretend that you too can't make sense of the difference between what you posted now and what you posted two days ago.

FullMoon said...

True fact: Trump's daddy's money would have grown faster if invested in the market than it did in his "Important Name" Enterprise.

Sure, he could have sat around doing nothing, or gone into politics like Pelosi and Kennedy.
Chose to make something of himself instead. Trump too smart and energetic to goof around all his life.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Sure, he could have sat around doing nothing, or gone into politics like Pelosi and Kennedy.
Chose to make something of himself instead.


Like going into politics at age 70. Only he did it to take away 20 million people's health care instead of open the market to them like Pelosi and Kennedy did. And to cut his own taxes.

You are very uninformed and easily misled.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Winning!

Coulter says:
IT TURNS OUT BANNON WAS TRUMP’S BRAIN

FullMoon said...
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FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Achilles said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...

That's not how real businessmen build anything. They do it on their own, and with the well-deserved faith of their creditors.

Not the government. Or its courts.


You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

I have a company in receivership now. It happens. The sale on the assets are pending and we will divide up the rest hopefully in arbitration or settlement. We have another one that will go that way once we cash out the clear assets. Wells Fargo can have some of those houses back.

The system has defined rules. As long as everyone plays by the same rules it works out.

You don't understand why entrepreneurs were so depressed by what Obama was doing because you don't have the foggiest fucking clue what we do. You have no idea what Trump did or had to go through. Really lately you have just been a complete idiot and you pretend like you know what you are talking about.

It doesn't even cross your mind that a Person like Trump with a lifetime of business experience might be better at making the economy work than a completely ignorant fuckwad like Obama who had as little of an idea of how business actually works as you do.

It boggles your mind that wages for the working class are finally going up. You have no idea why. We explain to you that if you relax regulations on employers and you restrict the supply of low skill labor flooding across the border wages will go up. But you don't get it. Because you don't know what you are talking about.

You really are useless in this conversation.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Nope. You equated a tax cut with a one time gift of a few bucks.

Their effects are similarly worthless at that margin.

How many people earn minimum wage? How much does their low purchasing power drag down the economy as opposed to a raise in their actual purchasing power?

The tax cuts at that margin have variable impacts due to the elimination of deductions. And 20 to 30 million people will now be priced out of the healthcare market. What is the economic impact of people too sick to work who now can't get care? Oh well, at least they can pay what they don't have on doctors' bills, right?

You are incredibly uninformed and very easily misled.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

And you live in a bubble.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Nope. Gave people a chice. To pay, or not to pay.

That's not how insurance works. It's a collective, "pooled" enterprise. People need to pay into it for any benefits to accrue - you just want less people paying into it because you don't care about the 20 - 30 million who will now be priced back out of it.

As a supposed champion of the little guy, you really don't seen to know any.

I know plenty. Just not the ones who confuse themselves with billionaires - like you do.

You are very uninformed and incredibly misled.

Achilles said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...
Has Elon Musk ever declared bankruptcy?

I guarantee at least one company he had a real interest in has used bankruptcy. It will be a decent percentage. It is the nature of business. Nobody bats 1000%.

And Eon Musk lives off of government money. One of his clear skills is getting government money for his companies.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Winning!

Coulter says:
IT TURNS OUT BANNON WAS TRUMP’S BRAIN”

Wow, Coulter is really mad, huh? Or maybe she finally saw the light. Think there’s hope for some of the hardcore Trumpists here?

Achilles said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...

Their effects are similarly worthless at that margin.

How many people earn minimum wage? How much does their low purchasing power drag down the economy as opposed to a raise in their actual purchasing power?

The tax cuts at that margin have variable impacts due to the elimination of deductions. And 20 to 30 million people will now be priced out of the healthcare market. What is the economic impact of people too sick to work who now can't get care? Oh well, at least they can pay what they don't have on doctors' bills, right?

You are incredibly uninformed and very easily misled.


You are just completely ignorant of how the real world works. Unicorns would shit crap like this.

Watch the left. They are going to start railing about inflation soon. It will be the end of the world just like everything else. Because inflation really means the working class are making more money.

In the end TTR is just mad poor people are going to make more money without the government. In the end the working class doesn't need democrats anymore and everyone knows it.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

You have no idea what Trump did or had to go through.

I know what his dad and the courts did for him. Interestingly enough a whole lot more than they needed to do for Elon Musk, or Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates or people who create actual new industries with needed use and a whole lot of added value.

Really lately you have just been a complete idiot and you pretend like you know what you are talking about.

If I didn't then I wouldn't be like you and have no clue as to the meaning of that first point I just explained to you above. The world can live without hotels. Let alone special high-end luxury hotels with family names on the top in gold. Or casinos. Without computers or online bill payment however you can't have an economy. But you care more about paying homage to your leader and identifying with him. If you are an "entrepreneur" I suspect it's in a similarly worthless field or industry.

It doesn't even cross your mind that a Person like Trump with a lifetime...

Lol. Capitalize the word "person." How Freudian. Maybe he's like such a special person that he's really a Person. That's funny. What a tell.

Quit sucking his dick and actually think what you're saying for a change.

Or keep getting personal, angry and profane. Yep, that really shows you correct you must be - you emotional little entrepreneurial wreck.

Seriously. What are you selling anyway? GNC-ceuticals? Snake oil? Male enhancement supplements?

Alex Jones already beat you to the punch on that shit.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I guarantee at least one company he had a real interest in has used bankruptcy.

I guarantee you don't check easily discovered facts. Try "GOOGLE."

Or maybe try an unproven nutraceutical. One advertised to improve brain function.

FullMoon said...
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Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

In the end TTR is just mad poor people are going to make more money without the government.

Like in Somalia, right? No government there, and no poverty either! Just warlords running everything. Paradise!

In the end the working class doesn't need democrats anymore and everyone knows it.

They don't need FDR policies if they want to continue the downward slog in their standard of living that occurred ever since Reagan and his crazy Republikooks took office and polluted the political discussion.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Beginning to wonder...

Your comments are unhinged, and fact-free. The facts I cite are easily proven.

You can't accept them because you equate the falsehoods Team Trump and his Republicrazies with your own ego. You think that thinking of yourself as successful means that widespread despair or cutbacks are justified.

So go and personalize this against me all you want. In the end you're just proving why you prefer to believe lies. Probably because that's how you justify any sense of self-worth in yourself.

And it's also why... you are very uninformed and easily misled.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

How long does the average illness last? Guy off work for a week or so has sick leave and vacation time to use.

This is the dumbest comment I ever read. Mind the readers here, it's being used as a justification to cut the purchasing power of 20 to 30 million from the health insurance market, as if those funds are never used for cancer, traumas, disability or other disease that the 12-year old who posted the comment doesn't understand that a majority of the labor force - including the self-employed - will desperately need at some time or another.

Repealing the ACA mechanisms mean that small-business owners will have an easier time facing bankruptcy with a catastrophic illness. Again, the 12-year old who posted it doesn't understand that when adults need care, it's not always just for a cold or a flu or whatever else his mommy wasn't around to help him with his homework on when he missed school like in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

FullMoon has never purchased insurance.

He thinks it's time-off reimbursement for missing a day to a week of high school with the sniffles or nausea.

What a tell. Awesome.

But he's really an expert on what the lacking healthcare needs are in the labor markets - let alone among the working poor. Pretty stunning, that.

He is uninformed and easily misled.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Good night, Full Moon.

Make sure to report your cancer, heart disease, or impacted spinal column to the Dean of Student Affairs tomorrow at 8 AM sharp!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Repealing the ACA mechanisms mean that small-business owners will have an easier time facing bankruptcy with a catastrophic illness.

And this is why Trump (and his followers!) are pro-bankruptcy!

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Inga said...
Wow, Coulter is really mad, huh? Or maybe she finally saw the light. Think there’s hope for some of the hardcore Trumpists here?


Anyone who supported Trump based his stated principles (I know), and who has any integrity whatsoever (no one here), has every right to be pissed off. It's not just a clown show but also a complete sell-out.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

ARM,
She liked his “shithole” comment.


Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
@AnnCoulter
He's trying to win me back.

n.n said...

The Born unPlanned Penalty Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare"), despite borrowing heavily from Granny and fleecing a greater proportion of Americans, was never viable, and its abortion is inevitable. Not by Choice, but by circumstances of reality. The problem is a misdiagnosis of the disease through a conflation of redistributive change (i.e. financing) and medical care. The solution is education reform, restoring markets to control progressive costs, rehabilitation, revitalization, and reconciliation.

Drago said...

The Toothless Revolutionary:"FullMoon has never purchased insurance."

I steal mine...like with cable.

And everyone laughed when they saw my Linesman pliers at the doctors office....little did they know....

Achilles said...

AReasonableMan said...
Inga said...
Wow, Coulter is really mad, huh? Or maybe she finally saw the light. Think there’s hope for some of the hardcore Trumpists here?

Anyone who supported Trump based his stated principles (I know), and who has any integrity whatsoever (no one here), has every right to be pissed off. It's not just a clown show but also a complete sell-out.

Your tears are mana.

Drago said...

ARM: "...and who has any integrity whatsoever (no one here),..."

Your self-assessment skills are improving.

Kudos.

Drago said...

We should immediately enroll Trump in the "Tom Perez/Bill Clinton Nasty Woman Finishing School" lest all hope is lost!

Drago said...

I must say, this latest chapter in the Democrats Victorian Era Recovery Act is quite enlightening.

Note to self: In order to assess the womans desire to continue sexual activity, you should ask the following questions as appropriate:
1) Is it okay if I place this cigar near the part of you that looks like that hat over there?
2) Is it okay if I place this into the opening of the part of you that looks like that hat over there?
3) Is it okay if I actually insert this cigar into the part of you that looks like that hat over there?
4) Is it okay if I now remove this cigar from the part of you that looks like that hat over there and smoke it in front of my wife and staff?

These "Common Sense Sex Control" questions can help keep you out of a "sticky wicket" or two!

iowan2 said...

I started at the end, and, as I suspected the usual adolescent trolls have ruined thoughtful discussion. Oh well, at least I saved a lot of time by started at the end.

Jon Ericson said...

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 6:56 PM

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 7:00 PM

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 7:05 PM

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 7:08 PM

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 7:10 PM

Comment by The Toothless Revolutionary blocked.
1/11/18, 7:13 PM

Get killfile for your browser.
'Blocks comments of people from shitholes.

Gospace said...

The Toothless Revolutionary said...
Without computers or online bill payment however you can't have an economy


Gee, I wonder how my grandfather ran his Coal and lumber business. Without computers or online bill payments.

A good part of the world has an economy without much of either. Computers and online bill payments simply make things easier. Except when they make them harder, like when hackers empty your bank account. Or the computers freeze up and there's no way for the store you're in to process any transactions.

I know well more than one person forced to direct deposit by their employer who take the entire deposit out of their account in cash each payday, and pay for everything in cash. They also don't have email accounts or facebook make comments on blogs. They're as electonically as invisible as it's possible to be.

Martin said...

The "smart ones" were wrong more often than they were correct since the mid-1960s Great Society, as they made each other richer and more influential on the backs of what the New Dealers (who were mostly OK in my book) called "the common man." And they aggressively insulted those "common men" in the process, in an escalating cycle until people started to wake up that they were being insulted and run down by a bunch of incompetents. "Failing upward" was and remains their pattern.

Kindling, waiting for the spark that was Trump.

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