a classic mob protection racket. Create the problem, then offer to solve it...for a price.

I'll add that Putin is a mobster, too.

a wall will end up costing at least 50 billion dollars, wasted tax dollars that could go to something else useful.

being used for roads and bridges.

Hmmmmm, who would gain by doing that?

What, the American people?

Works especially well with low tech type clients

In extreme cases it's known as fascism.

on his behalf to account. Any military who follows any illegal action inside the US will face court-martial. Any made up state of emergency by Trump will be contested by Congress and our Federal courts!

Trump is a reckless con man who is gifting us and playing us to the point of destroying our democracy and our rule of law!

Aided & abetted by a greedy, submissive, immoral republican party that's willing to play dumb and to let America be systematically divided and weakened by a draft-dodging casino hustler, who they know is deeply in debt to the evil empire*

* per ronald republican reagan, for crying out loud

...or orange sh**-flinging gibbon if you prefer

This is just another distraction used by putin and trump to use to divide with, and damage this country for his revenge. This isn't about a wall, its another act by trump.

The new House cannot get the funding for, or really begin investigations into him until this is resolved. If they do find a way and start then the narrative will be "Rather than fix the government, the House is determined to go on witch hunts."

9 million more people voted for Democrats to go on so called witch hunts. Who gives a shit what Trumps 30% base thinks?

.

It is telling and entirely predictable that the first time President Trump is seriously checked by another branch of government he threatens to declare a national emergency and essentially rule by decree. As history teachers us, while authoritarianism usually sells itself on efficiency and power, it is far more often paired with failure and incompetence.

The danger of this kind of blatantly illegal resort of ‘national emergency’ powers speaks for itself. But I can see a reason why various players, maybe including Trump himself, might see this as a way out of the standoff.

President Trump could declare his emergency and say he’s building his wall. This lets Senate Republicans off the hook and allows them to pass budget bills to reopen the federal government. But the emergency declaration and actions taken under it would certainly spur immediate lawsuits. And I think there’s a good chance they’d succeed, at least succeed in getting into court.

So the government gets to open and Trump gets a face-saving way out of the standoff. He gets checked by the courts. But that just gives him another grievance and claim of unfairness, something he’s been happy to have and exploit in all the other immigration related actions he’s been stymied on.

Don’t get me wrong. This would still be a disaster for the country. And perhaps he wouldn’t get checked. These emergency provisions Congress created give the President a lot of power. But cynical members of the President’s party seem likely to see this as a painless (for them) way out of the impasse.

Link to tweet

keep his small base in fear of brown and black people. I worked with these people in Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia, Chile. They are no different than American workers just trying to earn a living for their families.

In Trump's world, there are winners and losers. If he backs down, he'll be seen as a loser, and he can't accept that. In his mind, he MUST be seen as a winner.

And if the Democrats back down and give him money for the wall, don't think that he won't gloat!

on behalf of the Koch Brothers.

This is why msnbc fired Dylan Ratigan. He was passionate about exposing crony capitalism. I never missed his 4PM show.

They are also packing the courts with their cronies. Libertarianism is a branch of white supremacy.

to stay out of prison for treason. That probably includes some Senate Republicans, such as Mitch McConnell. McConnell could end this today. He chooses not to. Wonder why?

Win!

to expose the Trump crime family. How daddy had to bail out little Donnie to the tune of 400 million dollars. How the Trump crime family laundered money, was involved in tax fraud and numerous forms of criminal corruption.

The freaking M$M carried this bombshell expose for 24 fucking hours. The M$M is not our friend, they are complicit with the far right.

Why didn't he get it from the Republicans over the last 2 years?

Trump couldn’t get Mexico or the republican congress to pay for it. Now he’s down to the Democrats as being his last resort.

Mexico is paying for this with the adjustment to NAFTA that hasn’t been approved yet. The 5 billion is just a short term loan until we get that money

Don’t worry. It’s not like they would lie about it.

Congress needs to step up and work for citizens who are suffering from this shutdown and just pass a funding bill with a veto-proof majority in both Houses. They do not need Trump’s agreement, and Trump himself has shown that negotiating with him is useless because you can’t believe a word he says or that he will actually do what he says. Republicans just need the courage to do what is right for the people and get government operating again.

Many of them know they'll very likely be voted out by Democratic Party candidates come 2020 (especially in the Senate), but they also know they have no chance at all if they make Orange Hitler's shit list. They'll grasp at whatever they can to try and hold power.

Most of these people serve ruby red districts that will only elect Republicans. If they start now painting Trump as an irrational president and communicate that message to their constituents, they can reduce some of Trump’s influence and also reduce their chances of being primaried by a Trump fanatic.

Those Republicans who are not running in 2020 should also step up to the plate and take a stand for the people. What do they have to fear from Trump?

right now the ball is in the Senate's court then
if he vetos they need to override it

She is busting up reopening the government into smaller bills. One of the first bills she will send to Mitch is a bill to open up the IRS so that people can get their tax returns on time. The pressure will build on turtle face and the Senators who are up for election in 2020. Once she gets Mitch to put one of the bills up for vote in the Senate, Republicans will have to vote for it overwhelmingly. Next question, will Trump have the guts to veto it?

she can not get this done alone, Mitch needs to do his part
the government needs to be opened now

PUtin told him to leave Syria, and to shut down the border as a distraction to the Democratic congress and to punish the American people for putting him in check. It also sets the stage for him to declare a state of emergency and who knows what else he'd throw into that cesspool besides the wall. Would it be changing freedom of speech to freedom of speech as long as it's not negative about the current administration? Would he declare the right to remove judges who block his Russia first priorities, who knows what other damage he'd include. The question is will he really go this far? Already, his administration is rolling back the Syria leaving within 30 days, obviously Bolton isn't fully onboard with Russia first. What will Erdogan and PUtin do about his treachery with them? Will he say Bolton's lying (haven't heard any pushback at all from him on this - yet) and we'll leave when he says? Will he admit to selling out the Kurds - don't think so, but that's obviously part of the deal with Turkey.

It must totally suck to be him. He just can't keep up with all of his lies and all of his toadies won't toe the line either. Will he get rid of Bolton, just slap him down and say he's wrong, or face the ire of PUtin and Erdogan by staying in Syria?

This x 5 billion. And, to our detriment, the mainstream media is too dim, cautious and unaware to pick up on it.

He's practically drooling with anticipation.

And now Trump will create a crisis out of thin air if there aren't any real ones around.

The art of distraction

Evil bastard