Originally published at: In An Ominous Sign, ABC News Rolls Over For Trump
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. What The Hell? A day after a judge ordered Donald Trump and ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos to sit for four-hour depositions this week, the Disney-owned TV network settled Trump’s defamation case against it by agreeing…
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The 2nd Trump Administration is going to be a “Scouring of the Shire” moment (The Scouring of the Shire - Wikipedia). I try not to be defeatist or hyperbolic, so I am not arguing that the American experiment is now over. America will survive Mr. Trump: the Dems will win the next midterm elections and enough institutions will hold to maintain American democracy. However, in the next 2 years, Mr. Trump will cause vast, totally unnecessary suffering and chaos, and reputational damage that will never be totally recovered. I think our only hope of surviving the next 4 years is to copy former Japanese soccer star Yoshida Maya, and develop the resilience of an “Unbeatable mind”. Unbeatable Mind: Yoshida, Maya: 9780008289331: Amazon.com: Books
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It will be interesting to watch the CEOs grovel for one of those coveted positions closest to Trump’s anus.
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New frontiers in bribe money.
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Mr. Trump “raped” her as many people commonly understand the word “rape.”
Just want to note this for future reference.
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Yet another reason to not watch the TeeVee.
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ABC News asserts their membership in the ranks of spineless bastards. Disgusting.
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As disappointing as the ABC capitulation was, I did get a good laugh out of “Trump library.” Wonder how much he’ll charge to get in?
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Fascism is insidious, even when out in the open.
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I’d believe “affluenza” for the trumpers over “economic anxiety”. Look at the big-ass pickups, SUVs, bass boats and the like that they all seem to own.
And firearms! You may not have priced these Artefacts of Red America, but they are not cheap; the day of the “Saturday Nite Special” is three generations past. Not to mention ammunition for said guns. In many cases, a box of shells will run you well over a dollar apiece.
Also, these folks can travel the country, wait for days in line just to see their Annoited Gawd-King: have they no jobs?
No, the idea that they’re well off and just resentful for something to do, because hate feels good, is much more compelling. And Democrats need to wise up and figure out how to counteract this. To wake “the better angels” of their natures, for example.
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Look at the entire business world take the knee for a guy that never worked a day in his life.
Business genius: man who went bankrupt multiple times
Christian leader: multiple adulterer and rapist.
Tell me how I know there is a propaganda stranglehold on the country.
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I cannot imagine why ABC folded like that. What do they gain, really? George has no credibility after that anyway. Will anyone believe anything coming from them? So, why bother? I am thinking Trump threatened them. But even then going public with the threat would make more sense than humiliating yourself and your network in front of the whole damn world.
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While it is true that corporations* will generally do a cost-benefit analysis of defending a lawsuit and will often decide that it is cheaper and easier to pay the nuisance value of the lawsuit in order to make the plaintiff go away, this is still weird and sets a bad precedent. It looks like ABC is acquiescing to the merits of trump’s suit, when, in fact, it was all but unwinnable for trump. The legal hurdles to proving a case of libel are almost insurmountable for a public person. ABC would have won on the merits, but it would have also been tied up in appeal for approximately forever and it would have certainly cost more than the $15 million that ABC paid out. ABC decided to cut their losses, regardless of the horrible optics. Expect more where this came from.
*I am a corporate atty. I know this firsthand.
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So when the fat fuck walks into, say, Jamie Dimon’s office and says, “Hand over a billion dollars or I cripple this bank and send you to prison,” what the fuck is anyone going to do?
Oh, wait I know. They’re going to wave their hands and roll their eyes and say, “That’ll never happen.” Please explain why not? Because YOU can’t imagine it? Because that fat fuck can.
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My guess is, all the books will already have been colored. With sharpies.
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Yup. The “Trump Library Foundation” does not even have a webpage. Has it even been incorporated? Where?
P.S. The National Archives does have a Trump Library webpage, but that is a totally different thing.
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An ominous sign? No shit, Sherlock?
People like Snyder call this paying in advance. Hitler demanded x amount of money from German businessmen up front. They did it. Our businessmen are doing it according to the model for ascendant fascism.
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Shareholder owned company must maintain their ability not to be legislated against by a moral infant.
The tidal wave of shite looks just like a normal wave when it’s out at sea.
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