Links - 8th May 2019 (1) (Trump)

New York prosecutors throw out Constitution to charge Manafort - "This month, the greatest off Broadway production should be titled “The Prosecutors,” starring Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James. As in another dramatic comedy, “The Producers,” the state case against former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort seems designed to fail, leaving its prosecutors with the convenient windfall of public support and none of the burden. The New York state charges that Vance filed against Manafort appear to run afoul of state and federal protections against double jeopardy, or being prosecuted twice for the same underlying conduct. The timing of the charges alone seemed right out of the playbook of “The Producers” character Max Bialystock, the corrupt Broadway figure who insisted that in New York the rule is “if you got it, flaunt it, flaunt it.” Accordingly, Vance waited just minutes after the Manafort sentencing to hit him with state charges, guaranteeing the maximum exposure and credit for his effort.The problem is that the case appears not only constitutionally flawed but ethically challenged, coming right out of the Max Bialystock School of Prosecution. I have long been one of the longest and loudest critics of Manafort. He is a corrupt and despicable person who deserves the two sentences that could keep him in jail for the rest of his life. However, it is not his crimes but his association with President Trump that has driven the manic effort to charge him in New York. In this current age of rage over Trump, Manafort is a readily available surrogate for selective prosecution."

CNN Poll: Seven in 10 say economy in good shape - CNNPolitics - "Americans give the nation's economy glowing reviews in a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, and Donald Trump's approval rating may be reaping the benefits.Overall, 71% say the nation's economy is in good shape, the highest share to say so since February 2001, and the best rating during Trump's presidency by two points. A majority give the President positive reviews for his handling of the nation's economy (51% approve), and his overall approval rating has ticked up to 42% in the new poll. The 51% who say they disapprove of the President's job performance overall represent the lowest share to do so in CNN polling since the start of his presidency"
Thanks Obama! But of course if Trump loses in 2020, everything good that happens from 2021 will be thanks to the new person, while everything bad will be Trump's fault

Economists agree: Trump, not Obama, gets credit for economy - "The Wall Street Journal asked 68 business, financial and academic economists who was responsible for the strengthening of the economy, and most “suggested Mr. Trump’s election deserves at least some credit” for the upturn. A majority said the president had been “somewhat” or “strongly” positive for job creation, gross domestic product growth and the rising stock market.The pros cite the White House’s push for lighter regulation and the recent tax bill as critical to a pro-growth environment; more than 90 percent of the group thought the tax bill would boost GDP expansion over the next two years. A year ago in the same survey, economists awarded President Obama mixed grades. Most saw his policies as positive for financial stability, but neutral-to-negative for GDP growth and negative for long-term growth. By contrast, Trump was seen as neutral to positive for long-term gains. Why would Trump rate higher than Obama with this group? Economists point to the upturn in business confidence that accompanied Trump’s election, and tie that to increasing business investment... So far, Democrats are winning the messaging war, using President Trump’s unpopularity to sour Americans on everything the White House does.In a recent Quinnipiac poll, a record 66 percent of those surveyed graded the economy as “excellent” or “good” but 49 percent of those surveyed credited Obama while only 40 percent named Trump... Even the New York Times, no friend to President Trump, has described the “wave of optimism” sweeping over Americans business leaders"

U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops To 3.7 Percent, Lowest In Nearly 50 Years

Gad Saad - Posts - "When @realDonaldTrump took office, an endless litany of my colleagues & friends proclaimed that the end of civilization was near. He'd usher a nuclear holocaust; he'd break up our democratic institutions; he'd implement martial law; & endless other very very very dire outcomes. He is now halfway through his first term. I satirized, mocked, and ridiculed all those who exhibited mass hysteria and Collective Munchausen and I guaranteed that no such thing would happen. Are any of the "Trump is going to bring the end of the US" highfalutin crowd willing to walk back some of their hysteria, or are you doubling down that the nuclear holocaust will take place in the second half of his term? I'll be waiting here."

Meme - "Elizabeth Warren: Slavery Is a Stain on America & We Need to Address It Head on. I Believe It's Time to Start a National Full-Blown Conversation About Reparations. I Support the Bill in the House to Support a Congressional Panel of Experts So That Our Nation Can Do What's Right & Begin to Heal"
"There Are an Estimated 27 Million People Enslaved on Earth Today. It's Mostly in the Middle East & Africa. Why Do Liberals & Progressives Never Want to Talk About This Awful Reality?"

Thread by @UnStumpable_16: "Today I tried my 3rd edit of the Wiki page for the Charlottesville event, in which I added context for Trump's "fine people" comment, attemp […]" #fakenews - "Today I tried my 3rd edit of the Wiki page for the Charlottesville event, in which I added context for Trump's "fine people" comment, attempting to help @ScottAdamsSays correct the #fakenews being spread by CNN... This one lasted 13 minutes before it was scrubbed. All I did was add Trump's *own words*, along with a citation to the source... Attn: @Wikipedia. Dozens of users have tweeted in this thread that they intend to stop donating to your platform because of the censorship issues highlighted here. Can you respond with your plan of action to deal with the abuse of editorial powers by some members of your site?"
If you repeat a lie often enough...

How Trump could win reelection in 2020: Early Democrat mistakes - "Democrats accuse President Donald Trump of violating the norms of the American presidency and of the US political system, and in most cases, they're correct.Unfortunately, instead of making clear they will right where Trump went wrong, some members of the party apparatus and 2020 presidential candidates aren't advocating correction. What they're proposing seeks to overcorrect, creating an environment in which Trump can win a second term by labeling Democrats the extremists... Democrats have floated radical proposals designed only to appeal to the far-left progressive wing of the party. Those ideas include stacking the Supreme Court or, at the very least, implementing term limits for justices; pushing for a constitutional amendment to end the Electoral College; reducing the voting age to 16; and ending the legislative filibuster.These do not represent the return to norms and values moderate Americans want... The biggest issue with the proposals Democrats have offered up is the blindness to the reality of politics. Even if Democrats defeat Trump in 2020, they won't be in power forever. The tide always shifts and Democrats will then have to deal with the consequences of their actions.When then-Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada chose to end the filibuster for judicial nominees in 2013, he received a warning from then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that Reid would regret the move he made.When Democrats in 2017 signaled they would filibuster the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, McConnell, now the majority leader, invoked the nuclear option for Supreme Court nominees, fulfilling the very warning he gave."

Trump Is Laying a Trap for Democrats on Immigration - "a majority of Americans—in numbers well beyond Trump’s base—also want immigration laws to be strictly enforced and the border sealed against illegal crossings. A 2018 Harvard/Harris poll reported that 70 percent of voters support more restrictive laws, with 64 percent—including 53 percent of Latinos—in favor of sending back people who cross the border without papers. And although most blamed Trump for the government shutdown, when that skirmish was over, his favorability ratings rose by three points... “Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders, while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. Meanwhile, working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration—reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools, hospitals that are so crowded you can’t get in, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net.”... voters thought the Democrats exploited the immigration issue for political gain more than Trump, by 60 to 53 percent... they risk losing credibility with voters who are not racist or xenophobic but who suspect that Democrats care more about protecting people who cross the border illegally than they do about securing it... Some 76,000 undocumented migrants crossed the border in February, an 11-year high. Forecasts are for another 180,000 by May. The immigration system on our southern border is collapsing"
From the Nation, no less

Trump tells Sean Hannity that 'shooting migrants would be very effective but he can't do it' - "Other countries stand there with machine guns, ready to fire.We can't do that. I wouldn't want to do that, OK? It's a very effective way of doing it but I wouldn't want to do it. We can't do it."
Mischievous headline

Trump administration nearly doubles H-2B guest visa program, which brings many Mexican workers - The Washington Post - "The Homeland Security and Labor departments plan to grant an additional 30,000 H-2B visas this summer on top of the 33,000 they had already planned to give out, the agencies confirmed.The H-2B visa allows foreign workers to come to the United States legally and work for several months at companies such as landscapers, amusement parks or hotels. About 80 percent of these visas went to people from Mexico and Central America last year... the Trump administration is on track to grant 96,000 H-2B visas this fiscal year, the most since 2007, when George W. Bush was president. “It’s ironic that Trump is demagoguing and railing against a so-called dangerous and scary flood of migrants and caravans from Mexico and Central America, and even threatening to shut down the border, while at the same time using his legal authority to grow a guest worker program,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute."
Since all Mexicans are illegal immigrants, this means Trump is still racist and xenophobic since he opposes illegal immigration, including that from Mexico

Emerald Robinson ✝️ on Twitter - "Let's be clear: the mainstream media gambled its credibility on Trump/Russia collusion story. And they lost. You know it. And they know it. Now all they can do is smear or silence the people who told you the truth. And that's what they're doing now."
It's telling now that even those with the most severe form of Trump Derangement Syndrome can no longer pretend that collusion is a thing, there's a sudden pivot to allegations of obstruction

Asians Bullied by Thugs for Wearing MAGA Hats Were Korean Defectors - "An individual who goes by "Bigalow Black" on Twitter proudly posted a short video clip on April 30 showing several street thugs harassing a group of what looked like Asian tourists... The video shows a group of black men surrounding the Asians, grabbing the MAGA hats off their heads, and throwing one of them in the air before stomping on it... "The Asians wearing MAGA hats were not just tourists," Wendy Wright, president of Christian Freedom International, told PJ Media. "They are North Korean defectors and South Koreans who get rice, medicine, and Bibles into North Korea and North Korean defectors out."... The thugs stole three of their hats, but the group didn't call the police, according to Wright. "They were not hurt, but they said that may be because they did not fight back," Wright said.She told PJ Media that the Koreans were shocked that something like this could happen in America."They came from a totalitarian country that does not allow free speech or freedom of thought, and could not believe this assault on belief would take place in the U.S.," she explained. "They were really shocked that this could happen and knew it was not random vandalism but it was an assault on free speech."... 'Two of us were North Korean defectors, who escaped for freedom. They had to save up money for a long time to come. We thought America is a democracy. But we had no freedom to wear a hat? We came here to speak out about human rights abuses. And we had no right to wear a hat? We thank Trump. The sanctions are working. The North Korean regime should be collapsed.'... On a more positive note, Wright told PJ Media that before they left D.C., the Korean aid workers bought three more MAGA hats."
Aparently Love Trumps Hate. I don't want to know what Hate looks like if this is Love

Jeff Bezos Blames Trump for National Enquirer Allegedly Threatening to Publish 'Intimate Photos' - "Bezos’ post practically implied the whole incident “was a politically motivated hit job, possibly orchestrated by or as a favor to President Trump.” On Twitter, prominent anti-Trump activists, including Bill Kristol, Seth Abramson, and Rex Huppke, also floated the conspiracy theory that President Trump had something to do with digging up dirt on Bezos."