What's the matter with Donald Trump.

[crystalworks]

Maruzo, you must have better things to do. Focus on vetting that beauty of an X5M you were contemplating. Those things are awesome. The wife wants one but I can't justify the maintenance costs on it (right now).

The president can throw whatever hissy fit he wants. The less he's paying attention to running the country the less he can screw things up. Besides, talking about and paying attention to this garbage is what is giving Trump his power. The higher the ratings when talking about him, the more he gets talked about. CNN, MSNBC, etc are literally giving him the green light (and clout) to start his own news channel, or take over/buy OANN.

Covid isn't the #1 cause of death yet? The year is almost over, it will be crazy if it doesn't hit the top spot with how much money and worry has been thrown at this. My views have shifted (now having family catch it and recover and knowing many others though not all did well), but I am still taking my vit D, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and will continue exercising. Just upped my rep counts.

[Happy]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

X5M Those things are awesome. The wife wants one but I can't justify the maintenance costs on it (right now).

Very high maintenance. Only reason I never pulled the trigger.

[Maruzo]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Maruzo, you must have better things to do. Focus on vetting that beauty of an X5M you were contemplating. Those things are awesome. The wife wants one but I can't justify the maintenance costs on it (right now).

The president can throw whatever hissy fit he wants. The less he's paying attention to running the country the less he can screw things up. Besides, talking about and paying attention to this garbage is what is giving Trump his power. The higher the ratings when talking about him, the more he gets talked about. CNN, MSNBC, etc are literally giving him the green light (and clout) to start his own news channel, or take over/buy OANN.

Covid isn't the #1 cause of death yet? The year is almost over, it will be crazy if it doesn't hit the top spot with how much money and worry has been thrown at this. My views have shifted (now having family catch it and recover and knowing many others though not all did well), but I am still taking my vit D, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and will continue exercising. Just upped my rep counts.

The drive shaft and auxiliary coolant pump have recalls on them so free repairs and 2 less things to worry about. The engine itself seems relatively trouble free for the first 100,000 miles.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by Maruzo

That looks easy enough to do!

Thanks BC!

What's the mpg like after the tune?

It is an easy install and they offer tech support if you have questions or a problem. The software if for windows. I don't remember exactly how long it took to download and install the software but it was less than an hour.

Normal acceleration is smoother. I averaged 15.4 miles over a 500 mile trip. Most of the time I was driving at 80-88mph and there many times that I matted it to pass other cars. The speed warning goes off at 105. I have it set there because it is too easy to go beyond that speed.

I wired the exhaust flaps open so the back pressure is reduced without going to performance settings. Sounds much better. I would add downpipes but my wife doesn't want me to do anything more-her daily driver.

My wife noticed the smoother acceleration and how much less pedal she needs to use to accelerate normally.

IMO it is a great performance value.

[AVB-AMG]

President-elect Joe Biden and his new administration will have a huge challenge in front of them, from dealing effectively with the surging COVID-19 virus pandemic, to providing necessary financial assistance to those people and small businesses adversely affected by the temporary shut-downs, as well as all of the continued big issues of global climate change, national healthcare reform, immigration control and the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, etc. I hope, trust and pray that he and they will be more successful in their efforts than Donald Trump and his administration was.

Clearly, this election’s results have revealed that our country is truly very polarized and divided almost 50/50 as to how we view the world, rank our priorities and envision the different paths to deal with important issues. I do not share the fears of some voters who have speculated that now our government is going to drift towards socialism. What will most likely happen is a return to normalcy where we don’t have to be traumatized daily by shocking tweets of lies from the president. My hope is that we will attempt to re-prioritize the importance of character, honesty, integrity in our president, his administration and in Congress.

Yet, I think that we all now realize that the other side is not going away…and that we are going to have to learn how to live with each other peacefully. Neither side got everything they wanted, but maybe with a Democrat as POTUS and a Republican-controlled Senate, we actually may see a renewed attempt at bi-partisan cooperation, negotiation and compromise to accomplish new legislation that will benefit most Americans. Wishful thinking?....Maybe….but I have faith in the American people.

[Maruzo]

Originally Posted by AVB-AMG

President-elect Joe Biden and his new administration will have a huge challenge in front of them, from dealing effectively with the surging COVID-19 virus pandemic, to providing necessary financial assistance to those people and small businesses adversely affected by the temporary shut-downs, as well as all of the continued big issues of global climate change, national healthcare reform, immigration control and the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, etc. I hope, trust and pray that he and they will be more successful in their efforts than Donald Trump and his administration was.

Clearly, this election’s results have revealed that our country is truly very polarized and divided almost 50/50 as to how we view the world, rank our priorities and envision the different paths to deal with important issues. I do not share the fears of some voters who have speculated that now our government is going to drift towards socialism. What will most likely happen is a return to normalcy where we don’t have to be traumatized daily by shocking tweets of lies from the president. My hope is that we will attempt to re-prioritize the importance of character, honesty, integrity in our president, his administration and in Congress.

Yet, I think that we all now realize that the other side is not going away…and that we are going to have to learn how to live with each other peacefully. Neither side got everything they wanted, but maybe with a Democrat as POTUS and a Republican-controlled Senate, we actually may see a renewed attempt at bi-partisan cooperation, negotiation and compromise to accomplish new legislation that will benefit most Americans. Wishful thinking?....Maybe….but I have faith in the American people.

Agree with everything except your hope for a bipartisan effort between the 2 parties in tackling the pressing national issues.

I think BC's right, to have anything concrete done we need either the republicans or the democats to control both the senate and the potus post.

4 years is too short of a time to make any lasting change to a serious social/ economic issue. Just look at what happened after Trump came into power 4 years ago.

The minute he sworn in, he began tearing down every major policy initiative started or completed by the Obama administration.

No coherence in policy direction nor any real coordination / acknowledgment between each succeeding administrations. No wonder the other world leaders are on the fence about having the US getting involved in world affairs again.

What for? The minute Biden agrees to a lasting climate accord or peace initiative, the next Republican administration will for sure dismantle all the hard work and efforts their predecessor has done.

[AVB-AMG]

Maruzo:

While I would very much like for the two Democrats to win their respective run-off elections in GA in January, giving the Democrats effective control of the U.S. Senate, I don't think it will happen. So if the Republicans retain control of the Senate then it will be very difficult for anything of any significance in the Democrats platform to be passed, (especially as long as Mitch McConnel remains as the majority leader!)

While thankfully, Donald Trump lost his re-election bid as POTUS, since a majority of voters agreed that it was important to remove this man from public office, who is a unique menace to the foundations of this country, his legacy will continue in the form of “Trumpism”.

What is Trumpism? It is an extremist and anti-democratic belief in an aggressive charismatic and authoritarian leadership that advocates a chauvinistic nationalism, along with the general promise of material gain for its believers. Trumpism includes a strong sentiment of aggrieved masculinity that results in active bullying and attempted domination of others. It has expanded from the older white, working class males to include a growing number of black men and Hispanics. Its adherents demonstrate a narrow-minded prejudice, selfishness and generally crude behavior towards those who do not share their beliefs. They are also motivated by fear of an exaggerated apocalyptic vision, defined in stark binary black and white absolutes of good vs. evil, of what would happen if Democrats gain political power. Trumpism is not a brief interlude that occurred during the Trump presidency, but will be a lasting element in American politics for the foreseeable future.

[AVB-AMG]

In spite of Trumpism, I still believe that the vast majority of the American public is completely exhausted with the tribal polarization and bitter political commentary of the past 4-5 years and truly wants to embrace and support someone who wants to heal these partisan wounds and help our citizens listen to their better angels, to find ways on uniting for the greater good of everyone. So there is still at least one more chapter in the story of Donald Trump.

As much as many of us would like for him to do, he is not going away... We have not seen the last of Donald Trump. While Trump will no longer be POTUS, he is not going to disappear from the political scene. One caveat is that much will depend on how the legal investigations evolve in New York State and if they result in any criminal charges pertaining to financial improprieties or tax fraud by Trump, his family members and/or the Trump Organization that could possibly result in big fines and even jail time, if he/they are found guilty.

I believe that Donald Trump will be a continued thorn in the side of the new Democrat president and his administration by continuing his angry and false statements on Twitter. I think in his continued delusional state, he will envision himself as some form of king in exile, encouraging and provoking his die-hard fanatical supporters to do his bidding while he waits for the 2024 presidential election. He probably has a fantasy of running again in that election, but I think that will be highly unlikely, even though his teaser/threat to do so will sideline most Republicans who envision a run for POTUS.

While I believe that most of his supporters may continue to embrace Trumpism, many others will want to identify a different, less toxic and bombastic, and more electable individual, as their candidate in 2024, (possibly Nikki Haley...?). Those potential candidates will be walking a fine line of showing how they may appeal to a broader spectrum of voters than Trump, while still courting, but not offending his die-hard supporters.

Donald Trump may even attempt to continue holding his mob-like political rallies with his fanatical loyalists to boost his fragile ego and fuel his malignant narcissism and to prolong his fantasies of regaining power, but will probably charge an admission fee per person, (and his cult followers will pay it...!). I would not be surprised to learn that he is provided a TV show on Fox or joins one of the fledging relatively new far-right conservative TV networks such as OANN or Newsmax, where he is the provocateur pundit where he will continue to spew his inflammatory commentary. But either of those options would require him to expend more effort and work than he has been use to when he was POTUS.

Ideally, I hope that the main stream media just ignores Trump once he is out of office so we can move on from all of the damage he has caused...

AVB-AMG

[AVB-AMG]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Well...... folks we coming down to the wire. Headlines : "Trump’s lawsuits challenging the election have turned into a clown show. Republican officials aren’t just losing. They are embarrassing themselves."
Really it's too sad watching cheeto-man try to get even with people who did him wrong. What a way to go out.

Quicksilver:

I agree with your expressed opinion. To no ones real surprise, Donald Trump is acting like a mean, vindictive child, who has convinced himself of the many far-fetched un-proven conspiracy theories that there was massive voter/election fraud in multiple states that only affected him and not any of the down-ballot Republican candidates. Trump's rapidly diminishing legal team are the "Keystone Cops" of attorneys, led by the Looney Toon Rudy Giuliani, (who now has just tested positive for COVID-19.... what a surprise!!!)

AVB-AMG

[AVB-AMG]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

No, the recordings are not moot. The recordings verify Trump knew the Coronavirus was deadly and choose to downplay it. He is still downplaying the virus. He is still not telling the truth. His excuse was he didn't want to cause panic. It was flat wrong to keep that information from the public. No one here would have panicked. He should have told the truth and championed the issuance of the guidelines and pressured the states to take immediate action and to err on the side of caution. He knew it was not a question if the virus would be a problem in the US it was only when.

This can't be rationalized away. Trump chose to downplay the danger of the virus so the economy and the stock market would not negatively react.

All he had to do is layout the extent and urgency of addressing the problem then and what can happen if we don't all do our part. Here is what your government is doing and a timeline for the implementation of the plan. Here's what we are asking you to do for your country. Just answer the questions of what, when why and how in a plan stating the objectives, strategies and tactics to defeat the virus. Any business person of any consequence should be extremely adept and experienced using the process.

What the Woodward tape exposes is he was and still is OK with betting our lives it would go away then and now that it is under control and we have turned the corner, it's going away. It's not going away.

bcredliner:

I concur with your statements above. Trump's mismanagement and lack of leadership in dealing with the COVID-19 virus pandemic was a disgrace that has contributed to the staggering loss of over 270,000 people in our country.

I am one of the many Americans who were amazed that Trump was able to win the election back in 2016. But after much thought and consideration, I have come to realize that back then Donald Trump recognized and harnessed the anger over racial displacement disguised as economic anxiety, of many Americans, along with their resentment of being ignored by traditional Republicans and Democrats, and then exasperated by their viscous hatred for HRC, to win the presidency.

Aside from all of Trump's many personal faults, I believe that Trump would have been re-elected if he had done just one thing right:
Succinctly: wear a face mask.....

Joking aside, I agree that if back in January, when he learned of the true potential looming disaster of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, if he had immediately responded with a serious, sensible, coordinated national effort to combat the virus spread, we would probably not have lost as many fellow citizens as we have and the virus pandemic would not have cratered his re-election bid. But his denial of its severity and subsequent mediocre and hands-off attitude, cost him the votes of many Americans, regardless of their political affiliation. Ultimately, he will have plenty of free time to ruminate on that in the coming weeks and months…

AVB-AMG