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George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

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Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#261

Post by xname2 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #249
xname2 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe there are so many people here suggest DJT should totally give up his business. This is basically the same as saying no business person should run for the president, so just leave it only to career politicians. Gets lots of downvotes for no reason. The hates toward DJT are crazy.

>>Gets lots of downvotes for no reason Not for no reason. You are being downvoted because you apparently don't understand what a conflict of interest is, and yet have the audacity to suggest that the criticisms towards Trump are "crazy".

All you guys said just proved my point: This is basically the same as saying no business person should run for the president, so just leave it only to career politicians. If you don't see this, it is simply because your crazy hate towards DJT blocked your mind.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#262

Post by dragonwriter »

shard972 wrote: post #32
beloch wrote: post #17

I must admit, I'm really confused by how impeachment works in the U.S.. Clinton was impeached for perjury and abuse of power because he took advantage of his position (and a political intern) and then lied about it. Now we have a president who is not giving up his business interests while in office and who has already told some absolute whoppers, including the release of official press releases that were nothing but…

> "alternative facts" I think people are taking this and running at breakneck speed without stopping to look at what they actually mean by this. After watching the first few press conferences and Kelly Anne's interviews where she said that, it seems clear to me they weren't trying to say there were more people physically at the inauguration in their "alternative facts" but what they are referring to specifically is t…

> After watching the first few press conferences and Kelly Anne's interviews where she said that, it seems clear to me they weren't trying to say there were more people physically at the inauguration in their "alternative facts" but what they are referring to specifically is the viewership.

In the original claim, Spicer explicitly claimed Trump's audience was the greatest both in-person and by remote media (and stated I. a way which clearly implied this was beyond debate and supported by incontrovertible evidence), and, in any case, the only metrics I've seen anyone bring out for the revised claim (for which, incidentally, the Administration provided no evidence) also are indicative of it being false (but not absolutely conclusive on that pointz as published metrics aren't available for all media channels, particularly many non-YouTube online channels.)

At best Spicer both seriously misspoke and referenced separate standards when he meant to reference an aggregate and, even so, presented rank hopeful speculation as certain fact.

But even that stretches plausibility considerably.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#263

Post by brennebeck »

toyg wrote: post #238
TheGRS wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what people have been noticing during and since the election, you can't pin down Trump on anything because he is a controversy machine. He says something ridiculous and the media gives it attention and even begins to get some momentum on the story, but a week later, sometimes even days later, he does or says something that's even more ridiculous and now most people are concentrating on that new thing. Its har…

Berlusconi used to do the same. They know the media cycle and play it to their advantage. It's a sort of "fire and motion" strategy where you keep enemies talking about the previous position while you're already gaining a new one. Anyone can play it, but your "suppressing fire" must be strong enough to distract effectively; that sort of bombastic bravado doesn't come naturally to "reality-based" personalities on the…

I think your description is definitely spot on and Trump has also been playing this game — in one form or another — since the 80s.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#264

Post by rat87 »

downandout wrote: post #243
int_19h wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump claimed that he will do so with hotel profits, but we have no evidence that he's actually doing that. This is exactly the place where his finances should be disclosed, at a minimum, to a bipartisan ethics commission for review. And it's not like he only has hotels. He owns, or has stake in (not necessarily controlling, but still enough to derive profit) many other businesses. Some of which aren't even in US. As…

>Trump claimed that he will do so with hotel profits, but we have no evidence that he's actually doing that. Given how hard he fought for the Presidency, I seriously doubt that he would endanger his ability to continue in office just to keep a few tenths or hundredths of a percent of his overall hotel revenue.

Given how he actually used one of his campaign speeches as a hotel infomercial I have no doubt that he will use the office for his own benefit.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#265

Post by warrenpj »

jaredklewis wrote: post #74
shard972 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "alternative facts" I think people are taking this and running at breakneck speed without stopping to look at what they actually mean by this. After watching the first few press conferences and Kelly Anne's interviews where she said that, it seems clear to me they weren't trying to say there were more people physically at the inauguration in their "alternative facts" but what they are referring to specifically is t…

Direct quote from Sean Spicer: > This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in-person and around the globe If "in-person" doesn't mean "physically at the inauguration" what does it mean then? It is not ambiguous. Spicer made an unsubstantiated claim, and has since been defensively walking it back to the equally unsubstantiated second part of "around the globe." "The media" is a very b…

The phrase "both in-person and around the globe" is ambiguous. It could mean either that there were more witnesses in person, and more witnesses around the globe, or it could mean that the total number of witnesses, anywhere, was the largest ever. This is the (terrible) beauty of it: a supporter can believe the former, while the administration needs only to defend the latter.

The phrase "alternative facts" too is ambiguous and, in the way it was used by Conway is classical doublethink. Doublethink involves two actions: a public lie and wilful self-delusion. One interpretation (without context) of the phrase "alternative facts" is that the facts are merely unknown and up for debate. But one merely needs to look at a photo of the inauguration to see that the facts are that Obama had higher attendance in 2009. [1] To claim otherwise is a lie.

Another is that the _true_ facts are known, but Conway is explicitly stating: these are the facts which I am telling you to believe. This is the wilful self-delusion.

From 1984:

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan, "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink."

[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38716191

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#266

Post by dagw »

Gupie wrote: post #237
rabboRubble wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did a spot of research on the emoluments clause and found three instances where specific events were evaluated for breaching this clause: 1 - Theodore Roosevelt. Nobel Peace Prize. He accept both the cash award and the medal. 2 - Barack Obama. Nobel Peace Prize. He accepted only the medal. ... and most interestingly ... 3 - Ronald Reagan. Receipt of pension payments from the state of California as a former Governor…

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is not a "foreign state".

No, but the committee is directly appointed by the Norwegian parliament, so the argument could reasonably be made that they're essentially accepting a prize from a foreign state.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#268

Post by edblarney »

int_19h wrote: post #236
edblarney wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"This is probably a good time for people to be reading 1984." This is ridiculous. The hate for Trump has caused people to go into utterly misguided tizzies, and it's pathetic. I loathe Trump - but he's not a totalitarian. He has given no indication of encroaching on civil liberties, there's no indication he wants to socialize large parts of the economy, or expand control by government, or even expand surveillance pro…

> He has given no indication of encroaching on civil liberties You mean, except for that part where he mentioned that he wants to strengthen the [non-existent] libel laws, so that "press can't get away with lies about me"? Or his early remarks on Muslims? Surveillance etc? > A 'mild' social conservative totalitarian might roll back laws on gay marriage, abortion etc. - but Trump hasn't mentioned it at all. Now we're…

1)

" he wants to strengthen the [non-existent] libel laws, so that "press can't get away with lies about me"?"

The press has called him out for his lies - but they have also blatantly lied about him - and others.

There is nothing 'totalitarian' about being able to sue someone for printing lies.

2)

You're blaming me for having 'alternative facts' when you're inventing them?

The video indicates that 'campaign trail' Trump indicated that he was pro-life - because he was asked. (Of course, his whole life before that he was pro-choice, but to get GOP votes, he had to have this position publicly).

But in the very video you offered as 'evidence' - he didn't at all indicate he'd be legislating on the issue. In fact - he said it would be decided in the courts.

So a president indicating that issues 'decided in the courts' is now a 'Hitler totalitarian'?

Just today, on Charlie Rose - the leftist PBS commentators were indicating that he's made no real indication of anything related to social justice.

He did not mention 'abortion' in any of his policy docs, nor during any of his major speeches.

I'd argue you're making up facts if you think Trump has any plans to press the abortion issue in any meaningful way. There will be zero legislation.

But it doesn't matter - there's nothing at all in Trump's outlined policies that hint at 'totalitarianism'.

Nothing.

Obama murdered American citizens without a trial via drone strikes - and oversaw a massive expansion of the surveillance state. Those are 'scary totalitarian' things.

And I don't even like Trump.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#269

Post by xname2 »

If you guys really understand 1984 you would know your popular hates toward DJT already proved he has nothing to do with 1984.

Ironically, it is your guys' crazy love towards HRC proves the point of 1984. Even there is strong evidence shows HRC is a shameful corrupted politician, you HRC supporters just love her with full heart. She even got warmly welcome when she appeared at Broadway show, after there was direct evidence revealed her team cheated in Democrat nomination process. It is what 1984 is.

What is worse is your guys love toward Obama, who is apparently a failure. Racial division increased during his presidency, but you guys blame on DJT. It is what 1984 is.

Re: George Orwell’s 1984 is currently the top selling book on Amazon

#270

Post by rollthehard6 »

pavanred wrote: post #200
beloch wrote: post #17

I must admit, I'm really confused by how impeachment works in the U.S.. Clinton was impeached for perjury and abuse of power because he took advantage of his position (and a political intern) and then lied about it. Now we have a president who is not giving up his business interests while in office and who has already told some absolute whoppers, including the release of official press releases that were nothing but…

I really wish people and the media stop over emphasizing about every gaffe and focus on real news stories. For instance, the "alternative facts" comment/incident is being talked about everywhere, from TV news channels to news parody shows to talk shows to social media etc. But, at the same time it seems like there is so much more important news that one would think deserves more attention like the executive orders, w…

Yes, and that is exactly the way Trumpet wants it, bait and switch.
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