Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

“These Are The Ones Hurting You?”: Putin and Trump Share An Anti-Media Moment In Hamburg

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_cropped225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitDonald Trump and Vladimir Putin shared an anti-media moment in Hamburg when they faced journalists and Putin asked “These are the ones hurting you?” Trump responded “These are the ones. You’re right about that.”  While I have been very critical of what I see as distortive and biased coverage of the Trump Administration, I have also been critical of Trump’s attacks on the media.  This is an example where journalists have a legitimate right to recoil at the scene.  Trump was commiserating with a man who has decimated the free press in Russia where dozens of journalists have been killed. With Trump calling for reductions in the protections afforded to media and attacking the media, there is a heightened and understandable sensitivity to these type of scenes.

Since 1993, roughly 60 reporters have been killed.  Russia maintains a close level of control over the press where Putin has reinstated authoritarianism in the country after a fleeting period of democratic rule.

To have such an exchange with a man like Putin about the free press is a truly low moment for our country.  The men and women in front of the two leaders represent a profession that has lost dozens of journalists who fought to publish the truth about the Putin regime. Thousands more have died around the world in the struggle for free speech and the free press.  I understand the need to deal with figures like Putin in diplomacy but commiserating with the likes of Vladimir Putin about the free press is a terrible image for any American president.  Putin is not a great man and the media is not the enemy.  We can (and should) criticize the media for their loss of objectivity but even casual moments like this one with Putin carry a chilling message both in Russia and the United States. There remain committed journalists in Russia who look to the United States as their ally in the fight for a free press.   For them, these comments must be chilling and demoralizing.

285 thoughts on ““These Are The Ones Hurting You?”: Putin and Trump Share An Anti-Media Moment In Hamburg”

  1. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

    There. That has as much relevance to the topic as the majority of the comments here in Bedlam.

    1. Vegas has it even money. And speaking of the press, in the last 6 months the Trump Administration has fired over 500 incompetent VA employees. Obama pontificated and did NOTHING. But all we get is fake news on Trump.

    4. “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America”

      What’s my line?

  4. You’re finally getting the message! What took you so long? Your desire to be displayed on the Fox channel? When Trump lies to me, I don’t care as long as I feel that he knows the truth and will act according to the truth. Not the case, he acts according to his crazy ideas. Not good for my country, and my country comes before demigod.

  7. I just ordered some Trump toilet paper on-line. I think that Putin toilet paper is available. If you folks wanted a well balanced restroom at your home or office you could order these items and give choices not an echo.

  8. OK JT, I read your “fanmails” watch your back cause it seems your not right wing enuff fer them Trumpanzees. Until you wave ta flag fer fascists dat ya have here, yourn back might have ta be watched.

  10. Can’t use the “Reply” box when it shrinks to the width of a thermometer meter.
    One of the “dodges” used by Hillary was that she never sent or received any classified material.
    When that claim proved false, she shifted gears and claimed that she never sent or received anything “marked classified”.
    When that claim proved false, the claim that tgere was “a very small number” of classified emails involved.
    2000+ may be a RELATIVELY small number out of the tens of thousands of emails, but it’s unknown what the 30,000 subpeonaed emails that were destroyed ( BleachBit) contained.

        1. Yeah. Some people need to have their face put on toilet paper. Even if it is off topic.

  11. Gee whiz, I get it now! Because the Lamestream Media is so bad (an accurate observation but still a generality with any number of exceptions), it means that ALL criticism of Trump must be wrong. It means that Trump always tells the truth. It means that Russia would NEVER do anything to influence the US election. It means that Trump does NOT need make his tax returns public. It means that Trump can continue to run his foreign policy in a way that, by mere coincidence, increases the profits of his own businesses. It means that Trump’s actions as President are genuinely altruistic. It means that Trump, the Annointed One, should direct the Spetznaz, oops, I mean the U.S. Special Forces, to “take out” all of those media people who refuse to lick Trump’s boots.

    Oh, and it means that anyone who won’t lick Trump’s boots must, by process of elimination, be licking Hillary’s boots. (Does dog poop taste worse than cat poop? Personally, I prefer neither.)

    Or could it be that, as bad as the mainstream media is, a sizeable portion of their criticisms of Trump is warranted? Bad media does not equal good Trump. And as bad as the media are, Trump is worse. Welcome to the “Going to Hell in a Handbasket” Express! You are aboard whether you want to be or not.

  12. If Chump wants to know who’s hurting him, he need only look in a mirror. The press didn’t make him lie, no one forced him to brag about sexually assaulting women, cheating craftsmen, calling women and political opponents nasty names, making false promises (where’s the wall and Mexico’s check for $20 billion, Donnie?), having no real agenda–the list goes on. By reporting these things, the press aren’t biased. The only biased media are those who ignore this aberration of a person who is occupying our White House.

    4. THANK YOU NATACHA! WE NEED A LIKE BUTTON.

      In short, not everything reported by journalists portraying the president in a negative light is “fake news.”

      Both Presidents Bush and Obama had their frustrations with the press, but both would vehemently defend the existence of the free press in the USA.

      And yes, the press does make mistakes and that is what retractions and corrections are all about. And yes, there is a bias towards negative news. No one can say that the press went easy on the Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. I will wager that some democrats were calling this a witch-hunt.

      This is no different than how the press is pursuing President Trump as his attitude and behaviors towards Russia are fishy, where the stink is so bad that it requires greater scrutiny.

    6. Who is the woman that you say Trump bragged that he had sexually assaulted? Did she press charges against him?

      1. Good question….and you know Natacha and her pussy-hat-wearing ‘ilk’ have always given Bill Clinton (and his incompetent, corrupt, enabler WINO* Hillary) a pass because he’s a Democrat and they liked his policies. These kind of women are the worst kind of hypocrites. Basically all the Hillary supporters. Hypocrites all. Every last one of them.

        *WINO = Wife In Name Only (also hear she’s a bit of a lush too, so it’s a multipurpose acronym 😉

        1. PS….can anyone in their right mind see Bill Clinton attending the G20 meeting as a spouse of a world leader? Or standing in as a spouse at state dinners? Or did anyone even expect Bill Clinton to actually live in the White House with Hillary? No, no and no. Hillary as president with Bill Clinton playing second fiddle to her in the White House? It was never going to happen. Ever in this lifetime. Trump was the only choice in this change election year. Period.

  13. Axioms the American Founders did not address but viscerally, comprehensively and

    definitively knew and believed that all Americans understood:

    – Women and the “poor” must never vote.

    – Freedom compels self-reliance.

    – Taxation is limited to the provision of security and infrastructure.

    – Charity is voluntary private industry not governmental edict.

    – The truths of human freedom in the Constitution are inviolable in perpetuity.

    – The free press must be conducted by unbiased, objective, honorable, honest and truthful men.

    1. If JT thinks that we have a free press run by honest people then I feel sorry for him , and can just hope and pray that our educated people start living with mindfulness. Critical condescending superego may be ok in a classroom where students can be brainwashed (sadly ) , but in the real world superego driven blogs reflect poorly on the ability to live with adult ego state. I see enough of superego on msm , can we have a higher level of debate somewhere ?

  14. ” JT: To have such an exchange with a man like Putin about the free press is a truly low moment for our country. The men and women in front of the two leaders represent a profession that has lost dozens of journalists who fought to publish the truth about the Putin regime. Thousands more have died around the world in the struggle for free speech and the free press. I understand the need to deal with figures like Putin in diplomacy but commiserating with the likes of Vladimir Putin about the free press is a terrible image for any American president. Putin is not a great man and the media is not the enemy. ”

    Prof Turley,

    Are you saying Putin had journalist killed in Russia & that you have proof?

    And while you seem to be the pot calling the kettle black, I’d be very interested if you recall the name of the hotel in Iraq, that housed all those journalist, many killed, that Prez GW Bush & VP Chaney had bombed?

    Now about all these “Noble Professional Journalist”, CNN, NYT, WAPO, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, etc., that clearly hate the USA & it’s citizens, do you recall back when they promoted this Hoax/Lie, in the video below, that aided in the murder & injury to Millions?

    1. Ok1, I feel nauseated when people who I believe are better than others , like JT, but are so clueless when it comes to be so ignorant about the reality of mainstream media . Watching one minute of any msm outlet would prove my point that we are not just dealing with a corrupt media but in my view mentally ill “journalists and pundits” that populate this corruption ! As some wise man had said one has to die before one can live , I believe that’s the only way to a healthy media , sick media has to die before healthy media can emerge . Anyone who defends the current media is part of the problem , and I hope people like JT could start seeing the light !

      1. And I presume you include Fox News as part of the mainstream media, which of course they are.

        1. I don’t watch any msm, I have had it with all of them . I don’t need pseudo intellectuals or “reporters” giving lectures about subjects that first of all they don’t know much about , and even if they did know anything , I can’t hear anything underneath their arrogant tone . Why would I listen to what these so called snobs have to say when I have concluded they are either idiots or “useful idiots”? And yes I don’t care about foxnews either !

          1. So where do you get your information? If it’s Infowars and Breitbart or other conspiracy minded sites, then please don’t bother to respond.

      2. Please post more of this type of material. It focuses on, and raises awareness of the scourge of untreated mental illness in this country. I sympathize for you in your personal battle for mental health.

      3. ObservingMSM,

        Old media is now dying for lying to us, not telling us who is funding them & why they’re funding, IE Cnn= Saudis/Qatar/ Big Pharma that’s poisoning us with unhealthy drugs. Most of the rest are doing same type crap.

        Now many new news outlets are coming on line & the citizens in a way are becoming reporters & also helping spread the news through these blog comment sections.

        Remember, that was a citizen reporters that captured the 2 videos showing Hillary C collapse completely on Sept 11, 2016.

        It was the old dying media that was trying to cover it up & down play it.

        Many times I’m far more interest in the these comments sections the the original story at the top as posters often add other reports from elsewhere regarding the topic of the story.

        1. Clinton briefly lost consciousness and her legs buckled when she was being treated for pneumonia. I’m a nurse and it really wasn’t a big deal. She recovered completely within a few days. Now on the other hand, I’m quite intrigued by the three videos we now have of trump wandering off and appearing to be quite confused. Sundowning???

          1. I specialize in geriatrics , but instead of questioning your clinical judgment I will just ask how does it feel to be beaten by someone who you think is showing sun downing ? What does it make the combined strength of democrats and mainstream media that openly colluded to beat trump and still failed? Before you bring up Russia , not a single democrat has been able to give any proof of that . I can tell you even if there was an attempt by Russia to favor trump by exposing the truth about the racism of democrats through the email leaks , it would not have affected my vote, as I already have and had a very low opinion of cantons, couldn’t have made that worse.

          2. This is an example of one putting their profession in the forefront while making a dumb partisan diagnosis.

  16. JT, you really think our media outlets deserve any respect ? If after watching a minute of ANY of these outlets you still think that you can write this naive defense of msm then I’m speechless .

  17. The media and Hollywood here have been spending an extraordinary amount of air time discussing Trump’s hair, his hands, his prowess in bed, whether his wife wants to leave him, claiming his wife has the worst job in the world because she has to sleep with him, saying his youngest son was going to be the first homeschooled shooter, and saying his son looks like a date rapist.

    It is undisputed that the media is now a Democratic mouthpiece, for the most part. It’s coverage of any conservative in general and Trump in particular is predatory. They let go allegations of criminal misconduct on Liberals, and pursue any allegation as fact against conservatives.

    So, yeah, Trump has every reason to think the media is unfair and biased and his enemy. Most of the media has openly declared itself Trump’s enemy.

    If the media doesn’t like Trump referring to them in derogatory terms, then maybe it should straighten up its news. Keep the opinion to the opinion pages, and the rest stay straight without a shred of personal opinion. Then, at least it’s fair.

    I also think that Trump’s fight with the media is neither effective nor fruitful. He does not explain to the public who do not belong to his base where the media is being fraudulent or unjust. It just becomes two entities throwing mud at each other, while the media claims to be outraged with mud in its own hands. He could deal with media bias and its attempts to create a Single Party Government far more effectively, without rolling over and ignoring it. Bush ignored it, at his peril. That is how half the country actually, sincerely believes that the other half is evil. Bush et al allowed the Liberal media to define him and his party. He made no effort to counteract the propaganda. And now anyone who is not Liberal have to live with the result. So we do need to fight against Liberal propaganda, and communicate our own messages, but we have to do so in a way that actually helps. Twitter wars don’t help at all.

    And as far as getting chummy with Putin, what, exactly, does the country want? We don’t want to just declare war on Russia and force them to do our will. That would mean boots on the ground and a lot of casualties. So, do they not want us to negotiate with them? Use diplomacy? It’s either open fighting or diplomacy. And if you use diplomacy, then you try to find common ground and develop as friendly of a relationship as you can. An ambassador does not sit down at the table and say, “You know what? I think you are a complete a^((*&*(&hole. Now, this is what I want you to do to help further US goals.”

    1. What do I want re: Russia and Putin? I want a thorough investigation done by Mueller without any interference by the president and I want him to promise he will not act to shut down the investigation. I want him to acknowledge what, per Nikki Haley, “everyone” knows about Russia meddling. I want him to convene a highly experienced, well funded IT group to prevent further Russian interference in our upcoming elections. I want an honest accounting from him about his ties to Russian oligarchs and Russian organized crime. He has carefully said he doesn’t invest in Russia, but has never said they don’t “invest” in him or his businesses. I want him to promise that he will not pardon anyone in his family, his campaign team or his administration who is indicted or convicted on things related to Russia. If they committed crimes in this matter, they need to be held accountable. I want him to release his taxes, as is customary, for public scrutiny.

      That’s what I want regarding Russa and Putin.

      1. What do I want re: Russia and Putin? I want a thorough investigation done by Mueller without any interference by the president and I want him to promise he will not act to shut down the investigation.

        Mueller is a fried of James Comey’s and went and hired four people who have contributed four-figure sums to the Democratic Party. He’s tainted and the investigation will never be legitimate.

        1. . Oooh, four people out of a team of 20 and counting. There are no public records of the others making any campaign donations. One of them, Quarles, donated to both D and R candidates. And Mueller is a registered Republican, appointed as FBI director by GW Bush. I guess we should assume that Mueller is biased in favor of Trump by your logic, right??

          And how do you know the extent of their friendship? It could be nothing more than a professional friendship based on years of working in same field. LIKE MOST PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE.

          1. “And Mueller is a registered Republican, appointed as FBI director by GW Bush”

            …And who did GWB a Repubican and former President and major Republican figure vote for? He didn’t vote for Trump the Republican nominee. Do you think that makes Mueller favorable to Trump or perhaps he carries the same feelings as Bush?

              1. Isn’t it hilarious? The lengths the wacks will go too, as if this is some sort of our-side your-side game, rather than a looming constitutional crisis. If you view this site as entertainment, the horror doesn’t affect you as much.

                this is to ancestors

              2. We know you can talk, but can you make sense? Explain the logic. Trump is outside the beltway and for the most part is not one that the insiders of either party want around.

                I am waiting for you to make some sense.

          2. . Oooh, four people out of a team of 20 and counting.

            Only a tiny minority of the population contributes 4 figure sums to the Democratic Party, and it’s no trouble at all to find lawyers who do not. This was a tell on Mueller’s part. And, of course, he’s compromised by his previous association with Comey.

            And Mueller is a registered Republican,

            Oh? Where’s he registered to vote?

      2. Fair enough to want. Would you support an equally aggressive investigation of Clinton, Lynch, Obama, et al?

        1. No more investigations into Benghazi bc y’all milked that one to death and even GOP agreed and closed it out. No reason to look further into the two things Comey did last year re: emails because he already testified under oath publicly and privately about it. Clinton has testified enough about it. So, as far as I’m concerned, email story is dead [except for its Russian connection which is far more important.] It would be good to get Lynch under oath re: the tarmac conversation with Bill C. I’m glad Rice will testify and I’m sure they’ll ask her in private setting under oath about unmasking. Fine with me. It would be good for them to talk to Obama in closed session about why he made the decisions he did about Russian hacking although the gang of eight knows all about it because they were briefed, and Mitch McC put a stop to going public. So, yeah, have at it.

          1. Thank you for the clarity. I was checking to see how robust your interest was at holding the political class to the rule of law. Your answer made it clear you don’t have an objective interest whatsoever. Thanks for playing.

            1. How can you
              Impeach a woman that never became president or an ex president for that matter?

              1. a woman that never became president or an ex president

                I just had to copy/paste that because I like to repeat that. 🤣

                Anyway, PROSECUTE.

              2. Ken,…
                If impeachment is your only objective, or your primary objective, then we can skip all investigations except those of current office holders you want to get rid of.

            2. Actually, the rule of law is the one thing that may save our country from the Trump administration. Unless he shuts it all down. You can already see he is itching to destroy the first amendment.

              If Mueller has reason to ask the people you mentioned to testify, I completely support that. Just as I want people on team Trump to testify if the evidence leads Mueller there. And if people are convicted, regardless of party, they should pay the consequences.

              So, not sure how you drew your erroneous conclusions.

              1. Ancestors,..
                -When you hand out immunity deals like candy, it impedes any effort to hold people to account;, i.e., to see that “they pay the consequences”.

                1. Any evidence yet of immunity deals? Don’t think so. Interesting though that Carter Page has gone silent [his interviews with Chris Hayes are classic] and has anyone heard a peep from Giuliani since he didn’t get SOS or AG? He’s gone dark.

                  1. Hacked,
                    I was refering to the immunity deals handed out in the Hillary email investigation..
                    At least 5.
                    There is no indication at this point that the Trump DOJ will pull the same stunt.

            3. Oily, I don’t think ancestors is capable of introspection. Too much hate.

          2. “No more investigations into Benghazi bc y’all milked that one to death ”

            What about the damage done to the one that made the stupid video? Intentional lies by top leaders and a Presidential candidate caused him damage. What about the damage done to our country and and the deaths of those people in Benghazi?

            “emails ”

            We have people in jail who didn’t intend to deal with top secret material in a careless way. Do you think that such actions that violated secrecy should be dealt with softly because Hillary is a woman? Then she lied about it and obstructed justice by destroying her computer. Doesn’t that count? What penalty did she pay for any of these acts.

            1. I think there was one email that was actually classified. A couple were initially marked as classified but they were misclassified.

              And, yes, with all the crap we’re dealing with in Trump’s disastrous presidency, I’m willing to let her slide. She has been punished enough by his and his supporter’s vile behavior toward her.

              I can’t stand her, BTW. I don’t find her trustworthy, just another corrupt politician. But, you guys are just being ridiculous about this. Why don’t you make yourselves useful and study up on emoluments or the history of the Russian mafia?

                1. I believe that was Comey’s testimony. He was specific about the numbers last summer.

              2. Ancestors,..
                You’ve made your position clear.
                I see where you’re coming from when you claim that people should “pay the consequences regardless of party”, then speak out of the other side of your mouth when you’re “willing to let things slide” when it comes to Hillary.
                Nice job.

                1. The FBI already concluded there was nothing there to be prosecuted in the email story. Comey said that again recently.

                  1. As the self-appointed head of the Obama DOJ, Comey said a lot of things.
                    If you or “ancestors are really interested in the number of classified emails on Hillary’server, read the Oct. 28, 2016 New York Times article” What we now no about the emails on Hillary’s seever.

                    2. The New York Times original aricle was on May 31, 2016.
                      But updated on Oct. 28, 2016.
                      Over 2,000 of the emails were “confidentail”, which Ibthink is the lowest level of classification.
                      I thonk 44 were either Secret or Top Secret, the highest levels.

                  2. He is not the one to make that decision. Plenty of prosecutors have prosecuted with much less evidence and won.

              3. “I think there was one email that was actually classified.”

                Only one?!!! …and for your information it is illegal to mismanage classified information whether or not someone later says it shouldn’t have been classified. It demonstrates how uncareful Hillary was. She was likewise uncareful as Secretary of State taking donations to her foundation from foreign nations whose leaders were among the worst in the world. She was uncareful not to tie her husbands huge speaking fees into her actions as Secretary of State to those same leaders.

                ” I’m willing to let her slide.” Of course you are. That is how the totalitarian mind works. She is a pig that deserves to be barbequed. “I can’t stand her, BTW. ” Then maybe you prefer Bernie who is feckless and whose wife might end up criminally indicted. OK you have answered the question, you are an avowed socialist that probably understands almost nothing about socialism.

                emoluents: Trump is losing more money by being President than he will inadvertantly earn. You are just envious.

                Russian Mafia: Who do you think Podesta was dealing with?

                Maybe you can clear this up. How did a large part of our uranium supply end up in Russian hands at the same time the cash registers were ringing at the Clinton Foundation?

          3. Sorry, you’ve been outed as a poseur. Quit pretending.

              1. You’re more succinct than ancestors, who exposes himself at length.

              2. Old troll, new name. He should shorten it to “hack” because that’s what he is.

        2. HAHA. Rich. The Clintons have been investigated for over two decades now. Is there a make-believe crime for Obama? Funny how even Pravda Faux News doesn’t have a dog whistle on that one.

          this is to olly

      3. Ancestors, if you are worried about our election process then you should be supporting the Trump effort to make sure that only legal American citizens vote in federal elections.

        Mueller should be delving into all Russia involvement and the DNC computers should be examined by the FBI along with Hillary’s uranium sales, the donations to the Clinton Foundation, any payments for speeches by her or Bill Clinton, the unmasking etc. and even all the way back to Ted Kennedy’s attempt to block Ronald Reagan.

        1. This voter suppression committee is a piece of crap designed entirely to massage Mr. Trump’s pathetic ego bc he can’t deal with the fact that he lost the popular vote or that his inauguration crowds were meh and less than Obama’s. And, thank god, almost all Secretary’s of State [democrats and republicans alike] are either not complying at all or will provide them only with data that is already publicly available. All but a couple are refusing to give them our private data. My favorite is the GOP secretary of state in Mississippi who told them to go jump in the Gulf of Mexico. I repeat, he is GOP.

          Here’s a blurb about Kobach from US News published two weeks ago.

          Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was fined $1,000 on Friday by a federal magistrate judge for “patently misleading representations” he made to the court about the contents of a document he was photographed taking into a November meeting with then President-elect Donald Trump.

          “The court agrees that the defendant’s deceptive conduct and lack of candor warrant the imposition of sanctions,” U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara wrote in his ruling.

          So, no I’m not supporting this bull****.

          1. Of course it’s cr-p to you. It is denying aliens the right to vote making the votes of American citizens more powerful because they aren’t diluted. We have already proven that many people voted illegally so it is time to clean up the voter rolls, but you don’t like that. You like illegal actions when they help your totalitarian causes.

            It makes not a smigen of difference whether or not Trump won the popular vote. He is legally President though you likely searched for all sorts of crazy ways to change the outcome. Isn’t that what this Russian allegation is all about? We have known for a long time that Obama adviser and Hillary’s campaign chief was on the board of a Russian corporation connected with Putin, but we don’t hear much from the left about that side of the equation. It doesn’t fit their desired outcome.

            The voter rolls are open to the public so eventually they will be released one way or the other and then you can cry each time an illegal alien hard working or criminal is removed from the rolls. You don’t care what type of criminal votes as long as they vote for your candidate of choice. You can continue to cheer the loonie left wing judges that rule against all sorts of legal orders, but the Supreme Court will invalidate these partisan opinions by judges that should be unbiased and should be removed from the bench.

            You sound like a politician where my wife came from behind the iron curtain. You like justices that rule only in favor of their totalitarian masters and don’t care about the people.

            1. Why is ID required when you drive, open a bank account, access a safety deposit box, get a document notarized like a medical power of attorney or a will, go to the ER, buy cough medicine, cash a paycheck, pick up a social security check, attend a DNC convention, become a DNC delegate, go into reserved seating at a Bill Clinton speech, attend any event at the White House, apply for a job…basically, why is an ID required to exist in the US? Because there are people who lie and cheat. And if you are not required to prove who you are, then anyone could stroll into the bank and empty your account.

              I don’t care if it’s a biometric scan, a retinal scan, DNA sample, or photo ID, but there must be SOME relatively secure way to prove your identity when you vote, just the same as we require for banking. Because people cheat.

              It’s real simple.

              Any efforts against making someone prove who they are is simply an attempt to promote voter fraud. Claiming that it’s racist for ID to be required does not hold water, because such arguments are not made in any of the examples above. You can’t buy a house or rent an apartment without ID, either. Is that racist? Or do they, oh I don’t know, want to merely prove your identity?

              1. Nice discussion about voter ID, but in the end the would be dictators don’t care about who votes as long as the vote ends up being for their interests. When the vote was taken in Iraq I seem to recall that after voting a finger was painted blue to prevent that person from voting again. I didn’t hear the leftists complaining about that bit of security.

              2. Silly wabbit, none of those activities you’ve listed are protected by the United States Constitution. If you can’t comprehend the opposing side’s argument, you don’t really know your argument. You’re welcome.

                This is to newly-enlightened karen

                1. Mark M., Read the Constitution. There are several places in the Constitution and its ammendments that discuss voting, but this one covers most of the aspects: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

                  “The right of citizens to vote” is the operative term in this discussion. That means those that are not citizens are not supposed to vote in federal elections and therefore the right to make sure that everyone voting is a citizen exists. In fact the following section states: ” The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

                  Where in the Constitution Mark M. Wabbit does it say the state is forbidden from making sure a person is a citizen?

                  1. Haha. Non-citizens voting; as-if. Tell me another one, isn’t there a space ship that crashed in Roswell?

                    Really? Is Pravda Faux News running this with a serious face? What fun.

        2. The only process he worries about is the Democratic Party getting caught at absentee ballot fraud.

          1. HAHA. See, you can’t comment on anything I actually said. Such as, GOP refusing to comply, or Kobach getting caught for lying.

          2. DSS, how do you know ancestors is a he? I thought perhaps he was a she? I want to make sure I get the gender right.

      4. ancestors – even Diane Feinstein has admitted there is zero evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians. That’s why the story keeps changing from collusion to Trump slept with Russian prostitutes, and when that was proven false, now maybe one of his businesses had a shady Russian investor.

        Even James Comey stated that Trump was not under investigation.

        It was also customary for Presidents to release their college transcripts, but Obama didn’t. He’s already admitted to being a mediocre student, so he probably didn’t want to call into question how he was admitted into Harvard. Trump should have released his tax returns. If you’re worried about something getting out, get in front of it. I know what is probably in there. He’s got a team of CPAs and tax attorneys. If they didn’t get him every single tax deduction and savings possible with the scope of his billions, then they should all be fired. That’s what we all do, right? When we go to our local CPA every spring, we ask not to pay a single dime more than we owe. And we get advice on how to structure our earnings, investments, and deductions claims so as to maximize our income and minimize our taxes. Do Liberals think this behavior evaporates the moment you make over $250,000? That you just suddenly stop wanting to save money? Even the ultra Liberal NYT engages in frequent income maximizing behavior. Just ask all those editors picketing. So if he released his tax returns, he would have been hammered for all of his deductions. It’s been a while since I looked into it, but I believe the law allowed that massive loss from his casinos to carry forward for years. I cannot imagine he’d be stupid enough to say, no, make me pay millions more in taxes than I owe. I don’t want that credit because it will look bad for the uninformed. I suspect he doesn’t want to be questioned on his deductions. But we already know that they are all legal. How do we know? Because the rich are routinely audited in attempts to squeeze every last dime we can out of then, and Trump has been audited over and over again.

        It’s not like Hillary Clinton, who was proven to have lied about a private server, was proven to have wiped it clean while under a subpoena, was proven to have signed her exit docs that she had turned over all State emails when she hadn’t, had been proven to have signed off on giving Russia 1/5 of our Uranium after they gave Bill half a million in speaking fees and paid around $144 million to their slush fund Foundation…

        But, all that aside, you know full well my question was what do we Americans want the US to do with Russia? Do we want diplomatic relations or not with a nuclear power? Because it seems like a lot of people do not want diplomatic relations, but they don’t want a war either. So…what do they want?

        1. Diane Feinstein said that a long time ago. Doubt she believes that now.

          1. Sen. Feinstein said that in May 2017( “a long time ago”).
            She hasn’t revised or retracted that statement.
            And based on that, you “Doubt she believes that now”.

            1. She said she had not seen the evidence yet. Does not mean it did not or does not exist.

              1. Frankly, We haven’t seen the evidence yet of whether or not you beat your spouse. All we have to do to complete the circle of stupidity is get your name and address and publish that fact.

                1. Your threat makes about as much sense as your usual cultish gibberish.

                  1. You seem illiterate as there was no threat. I provided an example of where your type of thinking leads.

                    Do you really understand the meaning of the word cultish which in the context of the discussion falls short of the mark that indicates an educated being.

              2. Frankly,..
                Sen. Feinstein is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has access to a lot of information

                No point in re-quoting her May statement that she has seen no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion.
                From these facts, you “doubt that she believes that now” because “Does not mean that it (evidence) did or did not exist”.
                So if I state that I have “seen no evidence that Frankly is a bank robber”, that does not mean that the evidence does or does not exist.
                Really interesting appiach you have in drawing conclusions, then hammering and distorting the known record to accomadate your conclusions.

          2. Diane Feinstein on CNN – “not at this time”

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BS5amEq7Fc

            3 weeks later, based on the evidence you’ve seen from the intelligence community? Anything changed? No, but she’s still supporting more investigation.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5V_PSJoULM

            So she was asked specifically if she’s seen any evidence to make her believe there was collusion, and she said no. She’s still hoping there will be, but she has no evidence to believe so, based on her classified briefings from the intelligence community, at this time.

        2. The “story” hasn’t changed. There’s a special prosecutor who is investigating all aspects of the Russian election-hacking reality. That’s the only story that’s relevant to the Department of Justice. Your other “stories” are mere shiny objects designed to hide the ball.

          this is to karen

    2. I read three newspapers and monitor CNN and Faux News while on the treadmill. I’ve never encountered any stories about his home-schooled son, date-rape comparisons, or whether his wife wants to leave him. Although I didn’t read any stories about his hands, I believe he raised the issue himself, which makes it news. As for his hair, the sheer ridiculousness of it when he was a candidate made it newsworthy; although it appears someone with hair sense has mitigated that issue recently. I suggest you expand your media sources. Rural types say you can’t put lipstick on a pig; this is the reality of what we are encountering now; the media has to cover the antics of the lipstick-wearing pig.

      this is to karen

      1. Hi Mark. I would be happy to provide you with links, but I am limited to 2 per post. So here goes:

        1. Rosie O’Donnell apologizes to Melani aTrump for making a video claiming that Barron has autism. (He doesn’t.) Can you imagine millions of people viewing a video from a Hollywood celebrity claiming you have special needs…when you don’t? And you’re just a kid. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3991354/Rosie-O-Donnell-says-sorry-pain-Barron-Trump-autism-comments-caused-Melania-public-apology-Twitter-makes-account-private.html

        2. SNL Writer claimed that Barron Trump was going to be the first homeschooled shooter. http://nypost.com/2017/01/21/snl-writer-slammed-for-tweeting-about-barron-trump/

      3. 5. Comedy Central comedian Stephen Spinola said Barron looks like “a date rapist to be” and “I don’t want my Mom to get raped, but if she does I hope it’s by Barron Trump,” he wrote. “Small pp [sic] would be painless and we’d win lots of money in court.” http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/23/comedy-central-guy-calls-barron-trump-a-date-rapist-to-be-with-a-small-pp/

        6. Hillary Clinton chastises cyberbullying of Barron Trump http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/23/barron-trump-mockers-apologize-after-social-media-/

      4. 7 – Even CBS news had a tiny blurb about how social media stories defending Barron Trump against cyber bullying were the most clicked articles in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency http://www.cbsnews.com/news/barron-trump-takes-social-media-by-storm-in-100-days-of-trump-presidency/

        Very little is written about what’s happened to Barron in the mainstream media. You have to really look to find that one article by CBS. Other than that, it’s mostly conservative media that’s talking about it. A search of Twitter confirms the stories are true.

        So the question is, why don’t you know that this is happening? Perhaps, is it because the Left leaning media mold what you read and hear about a bit too much? I am conservative, but I read articles on all sorts of media, CNN included. If I hear something, I usually look into it before I post a comment that it’s not happening.

        So I agree with your recommendation – expand your media sources.

        1. You really should read before responding. I said media sources. Your discussion of what actors or coffee-klatch talk show hosts think about anything misses the point and merely restates your original error; for such entities are not considered reputable news sources. Think newspapers, news magazines, and other organizations which deal in news. Further, “clicks” are merely advertising gimcrackery, and don’t legitimate any story in any way. Why one would assign any value whatsoever to what Rosie O’Donnell thinks escapes me.

          This is to karen

          1. Mark M – if you address things to people at the bottom, they may never read it. Salutations are at the beginning.

    3. KAREN – is implying that the Democrats are different than Republicans. No they aren’t. D’s just focus on personalities, because they support most of the same right-wing policies as Republicans. Even the sainted Bernie supports divide and conquer wars and invasions.

      There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans…the two wings of the Property Party.

      1. I agree that the Duopoly is pay to play and engages in backroom deals, often putting lobbyists’ interests above constituents.

        In general, Progressives believe that they should decide how people live, and that should be enforced by government. There is limited personal freedom, with an emphasis on the “greater good” as decided by the government. There is a belief in “better living through government”, an emphasis on Big Government and tax and spend. Progressives have gotten into trouble with this emphasis on empowering the government and limiting individual freedoms in such Progressive maneuvers as Eugenics, which was forced upon the public at the expense of individual freedom. Although modern Progressives would eschew the horrors of Eugenics (for the most part, although an aspect still lives on today in the selective abortion of genetically inferior fetuses such as those with Down Syndrome), they still believe that the government has the right to impose the greater good on the people against its will. Take, for example, the road “diet” of Playa Del Rey. The Progressives in the local government decided two things. Some roads are more known for traffic fatalities than others. And that public transportation had low ridership. So they decided to shut down about half the roads during rush hour to purposely create grid lock, which in turn would reduce speeds and theoretically reduce accidents, as well as force people to abandon their cars and take unpopular mass transit in a city not designed for mass transit. Of course, the consequence is that enraged drivers go rushing through residential neighborhoods trying to get around traffic, people spend more time away from their families, each commute generates more pollution because the car is running longer each time, and emergency responders take considerably longer to get to medical, fire, and safety emergencies. As usual, they hurt the community they are purported to help.

        http://kfiam640.iheart.com/content/2017-06-09-road-diets-are-here-and-more-are-coming/

        You can also look up the gas tax and find similar patterns in Progressive attitudes towards individuals vs government.

        On the other hand, Establishment Republicans absolutely do not listen to their constituents, engage in pay to play, and make backroom deals. In general, their party stands for smaller government, less taxes, business friendly, and is pro social services as long as there are safeguards to fraud and abuse such as work requirements for the able bodied. In practice, Establishment Republicans fall short on those ideals, such as when they do not oppose illegal immigration, in defiance of their constituents, because it provides a serf class getting paid substandard wages and benefits to the businesses lobbying them.

  18. Interesting how the judge knows so much about Russian affairs ? Maybe fake journalism ?? Maybe ?? I don’t believe anything people say about foreign governments. I need to see it for myself !! If we’ve learned anything, thanks to Trump, is that people make up stories and people lie for their agenda. Mr. Turley what’s your agenda ??

  19. This article is kind of histrionic if you ask me, and makes a rank emotional appeal. Let’s play a game! First, from the article:

    Since 1993, roughly 60 reporters have been killed. Russia maintains a close level of control over the press where Putin has reinstated authoritarianism in the country after a fleeting period of democratic rule.

    To have such an exchange with a man like Putin about the free press is a truly low moment for our country.

    Now, let’s alter it a little, against the Press, for their constant attacks on the President!

    Since 1865, 4 American Presidents have been killed. Two more have been shot and wounded! FDR had 5 shots fired at him, but none hit him!

    Nearly 1 in 10 Presidents have been killed in office, and the threat of assassination is very real!

    The Press maintains a close level of control over the tone of its reporting, and currently nearly 93% of stories are extremely critical of the President, and there is little objectivity to the reporting!

    To have such exchanges about a man under constant threat of assassination is a truly low moment for our country.

    See how the game is played!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

    Note: If you are curious about Presidential assassinations, and attempts, see here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots

    1. I just come here to read the comments and have a good chuckle. Squeeky, you never disappoint.

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