How smart is Trump really?

[TopHatter]

One could argue that what he did was was more destructive than constructive.

lol yeah that list is just ripe for ripping apart. In fact, it already has been.

"Constructive judicial appointments" = "As long as they're against abortion"

We'll ignore the hundreds of unnominated positions over a year into his term.

*raises his hand*

When I'm in a non-professional, informal settings, and I'm not around children, roughly every fifth word I speak is the 'f'-bomb, and variants of it. I use is as an adjective, verb, noun, combine it with other words in a novel way as a compound word, etc.

I don't think Trump's problem is dropping 'f'-bombs. It's stringing together a coherent sentence. Especially one that isn't filled with lies or undeserved self-praise.

[Double Edge]

One could argue that what he did was was more destructive than constructive.

He's a disruptor. Disrupt is the word i'd use

[snapper]

Narcissist is the word I would use.

[Double Edge]

As a personal attribute but that isn't what gets people worked up is it

Many things you thought as settled thus far are now up for question and possibly subject to change

[DOR]

As a personal attribute but that isn't what gets people worked up is it

Many things you thought as settled thus far are now up for question and possibly subject to change

Like manners.
Col Yu once said, “a well armed society is a polite society.”
That always stuck with me, and now I see that it isn’t as accurate as it could be.
Great quote, but we now have a society that is both armed to the teeth and extremely rude.

From the top.

[WABs_OOE]

Col Yu once said, “a well armed society is a polite society.”

I said that? There must have been more scotch in me than blood at the time. Civil wars are places where everybody is armed and nobody is polite.

[Double Edge]

Like manners.
Col Yu once said, “a well armed society is a polite society.”
That always stuck with me, and now I see that it isn’t as accurate as it could be.
Great quote, but we now have a society that is both armed to the teeth and extremely rude.

From the top.

Not OOE but by Robert Heinlein in Beyond this Horizon, circa 1948

Well, in the first place an armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. For me, politeness is a sine qua non of civilization. That’s a personal evaluation only. But gunfighting has a strong biological use. We do not have enough things to kill off the weak and the stupid these days. But to stay alive as an armed citizen a man has to be either quick with his wits or with his hands, preferably both. It’s a good thing.

But its been used here by the following members

However, what do you want to bet the possession of a concealed firearm affects our posture and walk moving the average Joe from sheep to sheep dog which is why criminals (wolves) tend to sense and avoid the armed civilian. There is a lot of truth in the old maxim that an armed society is a polite society.

You know what they say. An armed society is a polite society. The criminal scum wouldn't have tried that shit if everybody there was armed. Too bad they wasn't? And this is Texas?!

Nevermind, guns and alcohol don't mix.

Gun control is not the answer to criminals using guns. Addressing the root causes of crime, and, when necessary, greasing the perps, is a better, though not perfect answer. Absent universal lobotomy or the Second Coming, crime is going to exist. I, for one, would not like to see the United States emulate the British practice of reacting to every horrific highly-publicized episode of mass mayhem by further curtailing their citizens' rights to own and use firearms. This sort of policy holds the entire law-abiding populace hostage to every nutcase with an AK-47 and a bad attitude. Indeed, one can make a reasonable case for more widespread possession of firearms by the general public, particularly in potentially high-risk locales. If the profs at Virginia Tech had owned sidearms and known how to use them, Seung-Hui Cho would probably not have been able to waste 33 innocent fellow students and faculty members. This example is not meant to be facetious. I believe that law-abiding citizens who carry and respect firearms are like white cells circulating in the blood: instantly available to do battle against forces inimical to the body politic. In Texas, we like to say that a well-armed society is a polite society.

Every year, several thousand Japanese civilians pay thousands of dollars to travel to Hawaii for the privilege of firing off a few .22 LR rounds. It is called "gun tourism". To our British friends, I extend the invitation to come over here, go to one of our ranges and fire off a few rounds. I think that you will find it very therapeutic.

To those who rail against the anti-gun Democrats, I applaud your sentiments, but I must say that it broke my heart when the Governator himself, a Republican, confiscated the Californians .50 BMGs. Since no crime has ever been committed in California using a .50 cal weapon, I have no doubt that this policy will be highly effective in achieving its intended goal....

[Oracle]

DEs' memory is bizarre. *claps*

[Double Edge]

DEs' memory is bizarre. *claps*

'Search' is much better : D

[Ironduke]

There are ways to avoid becoming a target besides carrying a gun around. I've spent a lot of time in sketchy/bad neighborhoods in any number of cities, at all times of both day and night. I've never carried a gun, never been mugged/robbed, and have never been the target of an act of violence.

This is a non-exhaustive list, but a few of my tips:

• generally, being situationally aware in public at all times
• never look at or use your cell phone in public places (distraction, robbery target)
• wear a cheap, digital watch (e.g. Casio), never look at your cell phone to see what time it is (distraction, thieves often ask what time it is before stealing your phone)
• do not wear earphones or listen to music in public (distraction)
• wear sunglasses to mask the direction of your gaze
• wear sunglasses to mask your emotional state
• avoid interacting with anyone in bad neighborhoods, do not provide anyone with any information about yourself, if you must speak, use a low pitched, confident tone, and speak as briefly as possible
• know your surroundings, know the city grid, never get lost or appear lost. In Europe and Old World cities without an American-style grid, know your landmarks, church steeples, clock towers, minarets for use in navigating, etc. and never get lost or appear lost.
• dress up just a little in bad neighborhoods - a pair of Dockers, button-up casual dress shirt/polo, comfortable, slightly scuffed up leather walking shoes
• in general, be able to "look" in different directions without turning your head, including:
• paying attention to who is walking behind you on the basis of sound alone, be attuned to the sound of footsteps, be able to differentiate from those footsteps whether it's a man, woman, their size, etc.
• if the sun is behind you in the evening/morning hours, you can see the shadows of people behind you, being cast in front of you, which often allows one to distinguish gender, size, height, age, etc. without turning around
• look at side mirrors on cars, and look at reflections in storefront window/bus shelter glass to see people without turning your head
• if you're concerned about someone you can hear behind you, and cannot otherwise discern anything about them on the basis of sound, shadows, or see them in reflections, do one of the following: slow your pace and casually move a couple feet to your left or right, stop to check the time on your watch, light a cigarette, check a bus/train schedule at a bus/train stop, look at items on display in a storefront, then allow them to pass you to be able to see them
• keep your ID flipped upside down in your wallet, so no one can see your address, name, etc. when using your wallet at the register in local stores/establishments. Using cash (only carrying just enough), prevents people in line from seeing your name on the credit/debit card as well
• do not allow any paper from any sort of document, mail, envelope, address/name from any delivered package, bus/train ticket, or receipt to make it into any garbage can or receptacle. Keep a small trash can, fill it with hot water, laundry detergent, and pulp all paper, stir until it dissolves, and pour it down the toilet once a week.

Generally, thieves, muggers, and criminals will avoid you and pick an easier target to victimize. Identity thieves will be unable to get any useful information from the garbage. Pulping bus and train tickets prevents burglars from going through your trash to establish your schedule.

It also helps if you're a big, strong guy, and are still relatively young or middle-aged while out in public, so this advice may not be applicable to all.

[Bigfella]

...back on topic....

Trump strikes me as a great example of someone of average intelligence & ability in most respects who was given about the best education money can buy, a guaranteed high paid job at the end and a mountain of money.

His main talent seems to be relentless self promotion. Without all his other advantages that wouldn't have got him close to anything big, especially as he wouldn't have had the money & connections to shield him from the consequences of his actions. In another life he would be one of those guys with his jacket over his head running away from a camera crew who are asking him about defrauding people of money.

So, he isn't stupid, but neither is he as smart or accomplished as his image suggests. A great example of how entrenched privilege can create success, just as entrenched poverty can create failure.

[Mihais]

I said that? There must have been more scotch in me than blood at the time. Civil wars are places where everybody is armed and nobody is polite.

Well,you don’t have a society if it comes to civil war.
And is better to be armed ,just in case.

[DOR]

Not OOE but by Robert Heinlein in Beyond this Horizon, circa 1948



But its been used here by the following members

I stand corrected, as well as in awe.

[hboGYT]

I said that? There must have been more scotch in me than blood at the time. Civil wars are places where everybody is armed and nobody is polite.

You can say that, a civil war, is not so civil. XD

God damn I love puns.

[TopHatter]

Trump strikes me as a great example of someone of average intelligence & ability in most respects who was given about the best education money can buy, a guaranteed high paid job at the end and a mountain of money.

His main talent seems to be relentless self promotion. Without all his other advantages that wouldn't have got him close to anything big, especially as he wouldn't have had the money & connections to shield him from the consequences of his actions. In another life he would be one of those guys with his jacket over his head running away from a camera crew who are asking him about defrauding people of money.

So, he isn't stupid, but neither is he as smart or accomplished as his image suggests. A great example of how entrenched privilege can create success, just as entrenched poverty can create failure.

OK I am totally stealing that, word-for-word. You should see a royalty check in the mail shortly.