Trump transition team asked D.C. Nat'l Guard general to leave in the middle of inauguration. Now want him to stay https://t.co/QGmgOukasf
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) January 15, 2017
The grifters / nitwits / true believers in President-Asterisk Trump’s entourage are busily stumbling from one unforced error to another…
The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump asked the head of the D.C. National Guard to remain in command throughout Inauguration Day after media reports that he would leave in the middle of the ceremony created controversy, the Guard said.
Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz told The Washington Post on Friday that he will be removed from his post immediately after Trump is sworn in as president. That irked at least one D.C. Council member because Schwartz will have to abandon his post during one of the Guard’s most important operations, helping maintain security and order during Washington’s highest-profile event.
As is customary for presidential appointees, Schwartz had offered his resignation after Trump was elected. In an interview Friday, Schwartz said he learned he would be replaced on Jan. 20. He said the transition team ultimately asked him to stay in the job for a few additional days, but only after the report of his departure had been published Friday on The Washington Post website.
Schwartz said he turned down the transition team’s offer because, by then, he had begun packing up his office and notified his staff. He said he believes the offer came only as a result of the negative attention his departure attracted…
Transition officials for the new administration on Friday said the team asked Schwartz to stay on through the inauguration to maintain continuity. They did not immediately respond Saturday to questions about when and how that offer was extended…
*Somebody* thought it would be a fine display of alpha-male dominance to order That Black Guy’s old staffers out the door the very minute His Short-Fingered Lordship was crowned inaugurated. Or maybe they just didn’t know enough to realize this guy had an actual job to do, what with all those Very Important People scheduled to stand around in a very public space. Either way, bad optics!
4 Presidents and most of government all being in the same open air space is the PERFECT time to fire the guy charged with all their security
— Zeddy (@ZeddRebel) January 13, 2017
Huh. This is either a negligent discharge by @realDonaldTrump + @transition2017, or it's a pretty huge civ-mil relations foul. https://t.co/o9LtiU523b
— Phillip Carter (@Carter_PE) January 13, 2017
… So now we’re supposed to pretend to believe this was all a minor clerical error — either Maj. Gen. Schwartz didn’t understand what Trump wanted, or else he’s a Democrat partisan who just wants to embarrass the President-Asterisk. Or maybe the “Fakeington Post” made it all up, as the Lugenpress will do! Because Trump cannot fail, he can only be failed!
Guy isn’t even in office yet, and he already has his cult members on high alert. NOT. NORMAL.
Elizabelle
What an idiot. I wonder what’s in his heart on this one.
And if Trump didn’t order this personally, who did?
Villago Delenda Est
Utter, unmitigated incompetence on parade.
These assclowns couldn’t organize a one car funeral.
NotMax
Someone has to double check in which direction those 21 guns are pointed.
Yarrow
Speaking of idiot Republicans, Dinesh D’Souza is on Twitter slamming Rosa Parks and John Lewis:
Meanwhile, John Lewis’s “March” is the number one book on Amazon and they sold out of it.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: That’s the Old Guard/3rd Infantry Regiment. They’re under the Commander, Military District of Washington, DC.
Major Major Major Major
Slate has a fun roundup of the metaphors GOP congress critters are using for the Obamacare… whatever they’re doing process.
NotMax
@Yarrow
Can’t have public book burnings without the books.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: @efgoldman: @Villago Delenda Est: Couple of quick points: 1) MG Schwartz has offered to retire when President Obama was elected in 2008 and again when he was reelected, both times President Obama turned him down. 2) So this is sort of pro forma. 3) I have two former students who are now Brigadier Generals in the National Guard, when I emailed them on FRI when the story broke they hadn’t heard anything through the NG grapevine. 4) Both agreed with me that this was tone deaf and bad for morale as normally you provide time for a change of command and retirement, if the officer is not moving to an new assignment. 5) Both indicated that the 4 star who runs the NG Bureau would not be pleased.
Darkrose
@Yarrow: D’souza is a lying, delusional racist sack of shit who supported apartheid. He isn’t fit to carry John Lewis’s jockstrap.
Mary G
Good for the general for not agreeing to stay.
I also like that all the port-a-potties rented for the inauguration are from a company named “Don’s Johns.” The inaugural staff has been covering the name up on each and every one with tape.
Dinesh D’Souza whines when someone is mean to him on twitter. He would have sat in the back of the bus his entire life, because he is a toady to authoritarians.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow:
tobie
I wish the term FUBAR were not used so frequently since this historical moment seems uniquely fitting for the description: we are effed up beyond all Recognition, Redemption and Repair. Maybe the term should now have 3 r’s: FUBARRR. The daily display of idiocy, pettiness and incompetence is staggering. The Congressional Republicans rush to undo the last vestiges of the New Deal is the icing on the cake.
BTW: Am I reading this correctly? Has Schwartz said he won’t stay on? Why should he given the disrespect he’s been shown.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mary G:
I really need to go to bed and not read any more BJ tonight, but that story has me simply sobbing with laughter. I may be awake and chortling for another hour at this rate!
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: Ta.
@SiubhanDuinne: you can’t make most of this up.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Darkrose: You left out “convicted felon’.
Adam L Silverman
@Villago Delenda Est: If this was done by the inauguration committee, which is my guess because the DOD transition team is run by a former DASD from the Bush 43 Administration and would know better, then it was the work of Boris Epshteyn. He’s under court ordered anger management to defer a conviction for assault and battery in a bar fight in Arizona. He’s also connected to the Moscow business development community, which is basically a front for the Bratva.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: Ta?
James Powell
I wish I could believe that the whole lot of them are stupid and I’m sure many of them are. But until the evidence compels a different conclusion, I’m going with evil. These people are just evil.
Elizabelle
Ringling Brothers Circus is closing. Will put up link in a few.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: does that mean “thank you”? Heard it in some Irish movies….
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Britishism for “thanks.”
NotMax
@Elizabelle
Definitely used in New Zealand.
RealityBites
@Yarrow: YES!!!
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
What is to become of the clowns?
BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: I hear they’re all moving to Madison, WI.
ETA: @efgoldman: Damn you and your quick fingers.
Major Major Major Major
@efgoldman: that’s what I heard.
@SiubhanDuinne: I saw a movie with clowns earlier today.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major:
I’m sorry, were you convicted of something and it was court ordered punishment?
Another Scott
BBC: Kerry went back to the Mekong Delta:
We need to remember that “war is politics by other means”.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
Yeah, we’re on the same page. All those unemployed clowns, and the incoming Trump admin firing everything in sight. Serendipity?
From ringling.com:
Ringling says they lost too much business without the elephants.
I wonder if all those crazy scary clown sightings last year did a number too.
Didn’t Ringling just promote a woman to be ringmaster, the first ever? Figures ….
humboldtblue
Come on you guys, Trump’s team never thought for one moment that Errol R. Schwartz was a black guy.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
@BillinGlendaleCA:
@Major Major Major Major:
I set up the question knowing the responses would come instantly, and what they would say. The only suspense was who would get there first.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman:
And now I am wondering about Adam not knowing slang for “thanks” in not exotic languages.
I would bet he knows how to say “f*ck you” in multiple tongues. Hmmmm ….
Major Major Major Major
@BillinGlendaleCA: it was a short in a festival. Very upsetting stuff.
Viva BrisVegas
@Adam L Silverman:
“Ta” is thankyou. Mostly for the Scottish/Irish and their diaspora, of which I am one. In Australia it’s one of the easiest ways to tell apart those of English descent and those of Scottish/Irish.
I think that it would be the English goodbye. Outside of that I’ve only heard it said as the result of a shout (round of beer). But then I’m not English.
Elizabelle
@humboldtblue: That’s actually kind of funny, because isn’t “schwartz” German for black?
Like Zeller Schwartz Katz. Here’s illustration of the label.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: I’ve heard it when I lived in Scotland. It was the lack of context in the reply.
Ummach ismach Hassan!
Aleta
@Another Scott: The lies about him in 2008 that were not denounced by Republicans were one of the turning points that brought us here, imo.
The Lodger
@humboldtblue: So the “SCHWARTZ, E.” uniform patch wasn’t a giveaway?
Elizabelle
@efgoldman: Yeah, I think I saw that too. A shame.
At least the Ringling animals are not wearing huge Swiss cowbells. Or are they?
Aleta
@efgoldman: yeah, tried to correct but …
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
I did a bit of a double take when I saw her photo and the caption in the WaPo story on the closing. She looks a lot like a friend of mine — whose name, freakily enough, is almost identical to this woman’s. Slight spelling variation is the only difference.
I must say, on behalf of the animals, I am pleased at this news. So many of them are horribly maltreated, and even with good intentions and good care, it’s not what you would call anything close to a natural life for them. Cirque du Soleil saw the handwriting on the wall years ago and developed their iconic spectacles using no performing elephants or lions or bears or seals.
NotMax
@Elizabelle
True tale, told previously.
When they came to play in NYC, the circus trains were tracked across the river and would move equipment and especially large animals through the tunnel into Manhattan at 3 or 4 in the a.m.
Anyhoo, as lived with a roommate only a few blocks from the tunnel mouth in Manhattan at the time, we decided to grab a bunch of beers and go stand at an overlook to watch. Just us two there, otherwise the street was empty.
Time passed. Nothing. More time passed. Still nothing.
Eventually a cop came up and questioned what we were doing, making note of the empty beer bottles.
“We’re waiting for the elephants.”
“Say what now?”
“We’re waiting for elephants to come out of the tunnel.”
“Maybe you boys better come with — oh my god!”
Couldn’t have timed the first elephant appearing any better.
Adam L Silverman
@Viva BrisVegas: When I lived in Scotland cheers was used as thank you for everything. Ta was used infrequently. Cheerio was occasionally used for goodbye.
philpm
If I were the owner of Don’s Johns, I’d be instructing my employees to go pick up each and every one to prevent them from continuing to be defaced.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major:
That goes without saying.
Elizabelle
@NotMax: That’s a great story.
I regret that I never saw the elephants parade into town. You always think you will have another opportunity …
I guess with Ringling it’s partly changing tastes, more entertainment options, animal rights/animal cruelty questions, and a fiendishly expensive traveling show.
Will we find it’s financial maneuvering too? Who knows.
Mnemosyne
I left a temp job that way, one time. It was very satisfying.
(Basically, after being there about 6 weeks I went in at the end of the day on Friday to say goodnight and the boss said she wouldn’t need me on Monday. I nodded, had her sign my timecard, got up to go, and a brief look of panic crossed her face and she said, Uh, wait, can you leave some notes for Monday? I said, “No,” and I left the building. Called the temp agency immediately to let them know so she couldn’t give me a bad report, but this woman already didn’t have a great reputation with them.)
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Anything beyond sláinte is almost unnecessary.
;)
Major Major Major Major
@BillinGlendaleCA: you have no idea.
@NotMax: what a great story! Thanks for sharing.
Mnemosyne
@philpm:
Why bother? You know the inauguration attendees will be pulling the tape off anyway, just to see what’s underneath.
philpm
@Mnemosyne: Oh, but can you imagine the absolute panic that would ensue amongst the transition team with all of these people coming to the inauguration and no place to go?
RealityBites
@SiubhanDuinne: speaking of poor treatment of animals – Brian Klippenstein is on the shitstain’s transition team. He is with Protect the Harvest, a front group that gets support from extremists that promote such things as cock fighting. The group fights for the puppy mill industry, fights against humane treatment of farm animals, and against food safety regulations. Can’t link on phone, but Google it and you’ll see an article from the humane society of the united States near the top of your search.
So you can add animal cruelty and unsafe food to the Republicans anti-regulation goals.
philpm
@efgoldman: Only if they’re attractive enough. I don’t really expect much of that out of his voters.
planetjanet
I have a song in my head that won’t quit. It was an 80s punk song and at one point just repeated “I want to go to Idaho. I want to go to Idaho”. I have googled it, but can’t find it. Does anyone know the band or rest of the song?
SiubhanDuinne
@RealityBites:
I will Google him (haven’t yet), but didn’t Kansas or one of those states recently pass — or at least introduce — some kind of legislation to protect puppy mills? Or vote down legislation that would outlaw or regulate them, or something?
NotMax
Posted a link at the time multiple threads downward, but for those who want to read about the potties, here ya go.
philpm
@SiubhanDuinne: Here in Missouri, we had a voter passed bill become law to ban puppy mills. Our ‘pub legislature promptly killed it.
SiubhanDuinne
@planetjanet:
I’m going to take a wild guess that it isn’t this.
JGabriel
@humboldtblue:
I’m pretty sure it’s not any better if they discriminated against the Black guy because they thought he was Jewish.
Librarian
We don’t need the circus anymore, because the greatest circus of all, headed by the greatest clown of all, is about to enter the White House for a 4 year continuous performance. Ringling Bros. can’t possibly compete with that.
SiubhanDuinne
@philpm:
That’s probably what I’m thinking of.
Ta :-)
Another Scott
@planetjanet: Not the B-52’s Private Idaho?
Cheers,
Scott.
Neurotic
you’re living in your own private Idaho
B-52’s
planetjanet
@SiubhanDuinne: certainly not.
Peale
@Yarrow: With that, I would like to just remind our pro Putin foreign policy “Deep State PermaGov” fearing “progressive” deep thinkers just whose side they are now on.
amk
p t barnum: I just fucking give up.
planetjanet
@Another Scott: no, that us more of a rocking song. It was a quirky song I only heard on college stations
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Hmmmmmm. Something about this stinks, if you will forgive my phrasing it that way.
Elizabelle
@Librarian: and the unbelievable orange hair, too.
RealityBites
@SiubhanDuinne: and Maine and Arizona recently had anti puppy mill laws vetoed. Anyone that investigates groups such as Protect the Harvest will be revolted by their cruelty in the name of profit.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
As long as the elephants weren’t pink.
BTW, LOL
RealityBites
And now we have more reason to dread the coming of the kkklowns.
SiubhanDuinne
@RealityBites:
@RealityBites:
I had a quick look at the site and, yes, I’m revolted.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ruckus:
Obligatory.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I had given my 2 week notice about a week before this but the CEO asked me a question and I gave him a smartass answer. He said, “You know you still work here and I can still fire you.” I responded “Please do, I get a weeks pay for every year I’ve been here and I could always use the 10 weeks pay.” I said it smiling. And giggling. His reply? “Fuck.” And then he walked away. It was almost as good as the day I gave notice. Almost.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
Couldn’t remember the exact cartoon but remember that I’d seen it somewhere. Thanks!
RealityBites
I do animal rescue and can’t really block some people that I would like to block on Facebook because they are part of the overall rescue community and often post useful information about such things as grant money for low cost spay/neuter. But they are rabid Obama and Hillary haters and occasionally post ugly stuff. But Brian Klippenstein? How can they justify that their hero Trump would have such an evil person on his team? I.just.dont.get.it.
Ruckus
Also I have to say that this general is a stand up guy. Stayed on when ready to retire because his president asked him to and then gets slapped in the face by someone who isn’t fit (also probably not capable) to shine his shoes. It will be amazing if the executive branch works at all by the 21st, unless all the department heads actually pay no attention to the boss with the tiny hands. I think the old saying is wrong, it’s not the trouser snake/hand size that has a correlation, it’s hand size – smarts.
Viva BrisVegas
@Adam L Silverman:
Ah, but you were probably trapped amongst the lowlanders.
@SiubhanDuinne:
Does Trump have his own line of portable outhouses? At least they’d be yooge and classy.
SiubhanDuinne
@Viva BrisVegas:
Gotta tell you, I’m loving the thought of portapotties in the shape of Trump Tower, complete with the yooge classy gilded “TRUMP” on the facade of each one.
RealityBites
I am horribly disappointed that I can’t go to the March. But I am helping with some $ for someone else to be able to go.
Only been sampling the threads here for the last week. Too much going on. But I HAD to look when I saw Trump had attacked John Lewis. Really enjoyed seeing everyone’s response. Especially Rikyrah!
Hope to check in more often this week to keep my morale up. I also noticed that both Mnemosyne and I had similar thoughts about Robert Hanssen. I was thrilled to be in such good company. Thanks everyone.
cckids
@SiubhanDuinne:
Probably headed to DC to work for the assclown-in-chief’s administration.
Major Major Major Major
@SiubhanDuinne: I really do think trump might colloquially mean shit by the time this is all over.
Mary G
@Ruckus: I would imagine that with the House invoking the Holman Rule that they can arbitrarily lower any civil servant’s to as low as $1 any time they feel like it, and having to look at Trump’s official portrait that will be going up in offices, that anyone who is even marginally competent or able to retire is packed up already.
Anne Laurie
@Major Major Major Major:
I remember a Blackadder skit where the cruel, stupid Prince discovers that his name has been… repurposed: “People say, whoops, smells like I stepped in an edmund!”…
But I can’t find it on YouTube. You might have better luck!
Calming Influence
Let’s please not fall into the trap of thinking what Trump is doing is stupid. It seems obviously ridiculous to many of us. It does not seem obviously ridiculous to almost half of th United States. He is dangerous. Every tweet chips away at normalcy
Ruckus
@Mary G:
So if everyone left and it grinds to a halt at about 12:01pm 1-20-17 that might be a better outcome than if they stayed? I don’t know. These are (normally!) good jobs, pay, benefits, retirement. Do you give all that up at a moments notice just because the boss is an ass? OK absolutely incompetent ass and I understand of course that you wouldn’t want the smell of drumpf on your resume but if you are working in civil service and planned to retire from there, where are you going to go? And maybe you might just have a bit of actual patriotism and want to do a good job, especially if the boss is that big of an incompetent ass. It’s a big thing, this federal government we have, lots of moving pieces and all and I’m pretty sure that the new boss couldn’t do any of the jobs, including the one he stole.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@SiubhanDuinne:
The clowns are all moving into the White House and rebuilding their act “The Aristocrats!”
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@efgoldman:
Yeah – the circus was expensive as shit and not really worth it. My recollection from when my kids were small is that it was something like $30 a head.
Zinsky
@Yarrow: Dinesh D’Souza is truly a horrible person. Just a shitty, worthless waste of good oxygen. As an immigrant himself, he should be at best skeptical, if not downright fearful, of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and bluster. Instead, the Vichy Indian is so stupid and full of hate from hanging out with human sewage like Ann Coulter that he cheers on Trump! What a fool! I wonder if the wormy little man will be cheering when Trump starts rounding up people like him for deportation or worse!
CarolDuhart2
@efgoldman: I wonder if this will become a “reorganizing”. The name is worth something, I imagine, and the acts that don’t use animals will need a job. A stationary Ringling would make money (think Circe du Soleil) without the animal or travel costs.
CarolDuhart2
I certainly am not looking forward to seeing Orange Cheeto’s and his minion’s faces in my lobby Thursday afternoon. While I rarely go in that direction, except for meetings, I will never get accustomed to it. Close enough to retirement to almost smell it, and a lot of people I know are making plans to do so (for other reasons). But only financial distress will make people stay longer than they have to, and I imagine a lot will try to apply for whatever they can while it still exists.
Sloane Ranger
In response to multiple comments. I was born and brought up in the Midlands (Northamptonshire) and “Ta” is slang for “Thanks” while Ta Ra” means “Goodbye”. Both are falling out of use, however.
randy khan
@Zinsky:
That’s admitted felon and adulterer Dinesh D’Souza.
Gindy51
@RealityBites: The AKC makes a bucket of cash from the registrations sent in by puppy mills. TONS of cash. They fight legislation to regulate them all the time…
Just google AKC puppy mills and get pissed.
Inmourning
“Protect the Harvest,” how very Orwellian. These people are dreadful!
We actually now have a constitutional right to farm in Missouri, in response to the attempt to rid the state of puppy mills.
ET
I am going with negligence due to extreme ignorance. Par for the course from what we have seen and what we will see.
Daniel'sBob
@Inmourning:
Debbie1
@SiubhanDuinne: Re: Ringling Brothers closing. You ask what is to become of the clowns? Haven’t you heard, they’re on their way to Washington, D.C. this Friday.
laura
@Darkrose: you left out covicted felon and hypocrite cheater, so I’m offering them in the spirit of good will Darkrose.
Spaniel
@Yarrow:
Always interesting when folks like Dinesh D’Souza criticize others for character flaws — nothing like breaking a few commandments like adultery and thievery and thrown in jail, but then complain about the moral and personal strengths of others.
Spaniel
I am so confused, as said with some sarcasm, with this story. Most folks are saying Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz was being forced out by the Trump transition team, but when I read Alex Jones’ Info Wars, I read that the firing was because of Obama and his desire to have a riot to occur. Who am I to believe?!?
Gelfling 545
@Yarrow: Seriously. I started trying to get it for my nephew for Christmas in late October. I finally got a copy on Dec. 23 and pnly because I have a connection at a bookstore who let me know when it was back in stock. Online or in the store – nobody had it except for wildly expensive copies on ebay.
Gelfling 545
@philpm: might as well as he probably won’t get paid.
rachel
@Gelfling 545: Not if he wasn’t paid in advance. DT didn’t become fabulously wealthy by paying people what he owes them.
Gelfling 545
@Major Major Major Major: I have mentioned before that I have a sweet young relative burdened with that surname. I was speaking with her father yesterday and he mentioned that they are seriously thinking of legally changing it. She has already endured quite a lot of harassment for it including from adults who should know better and they feel it might hamper her in her education & social interaction in future as things deteriorate further in the Trump “presidency”.
Kilgore Trout
@Ruckus: Hence the saying that the best two weeks on any job are the two weeks after you give notice…
randy khan
@Gelfling 545: One of the nicest people I know has that last name. Every time I mention him on Facebook, her name comes up as a suggestion. It’s troubling.
Ella in New Mexico
@Adam L Silverman: Jesus H. Christ this is looking more and more like a joint action by the Russian Mob and Putin’s regime. I wonder what an audit of the entire Trump cabal would turn up?
It’s time for one of our journalistic heroes to publish a list of the people nominated/working with him who has financial ties to Putin and/or Russia. Make sure the FBI and the IC have a copy, too. Before Friday, please.
Captain C
@Yarrow: i’m starting to think Jailbird Dinesh has a self-destructive streak as a major component of his personality.
J R in WV
@RealityBites:
Because they are all evil, all of them, all the way. They live evil lives, doing evil stuff for fun and profit. You can see them on TV most nights, getting caught for murder for personal profit on the cop shows.
Most professional Republicans are professionally evil. That some of them support cock fighting for profit, puppy mills for profit, the abuse of farm animals for profit – no surprise to me. Not at all. Nothing surprises me any more. War for profit, kill thousands of people, kids, mothers, to make millions? Sure!
Nora
One reason Lewis’ book is flying off the shelves is because it won the National Book Award this past year.
Trump has never come close to that kind of honor either.