U.S. And International Politics

[John Corbett]

   It is NOT Costing the US Taxpayers 1 dime to build the ballroom. The Ballroom reaction we see above and elsewhere is simply TDS. And this includes those Hack Judges that continually display that they also have TDS. There is No rational reason to oppose the construction of this ballroom. None.

While an accidental AR-15 discharge that fired a wild shot with the bullet going in some indeterminate direction is theoretically possible, I find it hard to believe. The shot would have been earsplitting to anyone in the limo as well as any nearby spectators on Elm St. such as the Newmans.  Maybe I could believe the other agents would cover for one of their own, but David Powers and Kenny O'Donnell were in the car too. What reason would they have to provide cover. Anyone who has been trained in firearms knows one of the cardinal rules of gun safety is you don't put your finger on the trigger until you have identified a target and are ready to shoot, just to guard against such an accidental discharge.

[Royell Storing]

While an accidental AR-15 discharge that fired a wild shot with the bullet going in some indeterminate direction is theoretically possible, I find it hard to believe. The shot would have been earsplitting to anyone in the limo as well as any nearby spectators on Elm St. such as the Newmans.  Maybe I could believe the other agents would cover for one of their own, but David Powers and Kenny O'Donnell were in the car too. What reason would they have to provide cover. Anyone who has been trained in firearms knows one of the cardinal rules of gun safety is you don't put your finger on the trigger until you have identified a target and are ready to shoot, just to guard against such an accidental discharge.

   I do Not know what a single discharge from an AR-15 sounds like. Witt/Umbrella Man testified as to his hearing screeching brakes and squealing tires. An AR-15 discharging 1 shot amidst this cacophony could have been missed.
   Regarding the gun safety stuff, I believe you are giving SA Hickey too much credit. He is reported to have carried the AR-15 into Parkland Hospital. Then instructed to get it out of the building. Hickey was a green horn. 

[John Corbett]

   I do Not know what a single discharge from an AR-15 sounds like. Witt/Umbrella Man testified as to his hearing screeching brakes and squealing tires. An AR-15 discharging 1 shot amidst this cacophony could have been missed.
   Regarding the gun safety stuff, I believe you are giving SA Hickey too much credit. He is reported to have carried the AR-15 into Parkland Hospital. Then instructed to get it out of the building. Hickey was a green horn.

Even a greenhorn would be trained in the basic rules of gun safety.

[Royell Storing]

Even a greenhorn would be trained in the basic rules of gun safety.

   Not saying Hickey doesn't know gun safety. I am saying he was inexperienced. SA Hickey was primarily the wash-n-wax man on the cars. That's not the guy I would select to handle the AR-15.

[Joe Elliott]

. . .
Obama played over 40 times a year and nobody cared. A symptom of TDS is that a person will find fault with anything and everything Trump says or does.
. . .

Do I find problems with Obama playing golf 41 times a year? I would if he insisted he needed a huge ballroom that would dwarf the White House itself for safety reasons, while still going golfing 41 rounds a year. It is inherently harder to guard a President on a golf course than at the Washington Hilton.

If Trump insists he needs a ballroom, while the Washington Hilton seems adequate, the would-be shooter never got close to him, but insists on going golfing 50 times a year. Golfing is not a security threat but not having the Golden Ballroom is. Makes no sense.

[Royell Storing]

Do I find problems with Obama playing golf 41 times a year? I would if he insisted he needed a huge ballroom that would dwarf the White House itself for safety reasons, while still going golfing 41 rounds a year. It is inherently harder to guard a President on a golf course than at the Washington Hilton.

If Trump insists he needs a ballroom, while the Washington Hilton seems adequate, the would-be shooter never got close to him, but insists on going golfing 50 times a year. Golfing is not a security threat but not having the Golden Ballroom is. Makes no sense.

  The golf stuff above is age old Fake News clap trap. You demean yourself by willfully becoming nothing more than a myna bird.

[John Corbett]

Do I find problems with Obama playing golf 41 times a year? I would if he insisted he needed a huge ballroom that would dwarf the White House itself for safety reasons, while still going golfing 41 rounds a year. It is inherently harder to guard a President on a golf course than at the Washington Hilton.

If Trump insists he needs a ballroom, while the Washington Hilton seems adequate, the would-be shooter never got close to him, but insists on going golfing 50 times a year. Golfing is not a security threat but not having the Golden Ballroom is. Makes no sense.

I don't see what the ballroom has to do with Trump playing golf. They are completely unrelated. The ballroom isn't being built for security reasons. That's just a fringe benefit. The ballroom will be a much more impressive venue for holding state dinners than the East Room which hosted last night's dinner with King Charles. I can't imagine he was too impressed by that.

But let's not bother with going ahead and finishing the ballroom. Let's just leave a pile of rubble there as a memorial to the East Wing.

Most of our recent presidents were avid golfers. Biden probably didn't play much while he was POTUS because of his decline, but he was an avid golfer while Veep. Obama, both Bushes, and Clinton played a lot. Clinton even played a round in the Bob Hope Pro-Am in front of thousands of spectators along with former presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. Reagan played on occasion. Carter didn't play at all. Ford loved the game and was famous for his fiery temper. He played a lot after he was out of office including in Pro-Ams. I got to see him up close when he played in the Memorial Tournament Pro-Am which he did for several years. Nixon and LBJ played rarely. JFK was an avid golfer until his back pain forced him to give the game up shortly before he was assassinated. He was probably the best golfer of the presidents until Trump came along. Ike probably played golf more than any president while in office and became a member of Augusta National before he even became POTUS. There was even a tree named for him in the 17th fairway because he had lobbied to have it removed because he kept hitting it with his tee shots. A few years ago, a windstorm blew it over. I wonder if Ike had a hand in that. The earliest golfing presidents were Taft and Wilson, both of whom loved the game.

I have no problem with any president who wants to play golf.