Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Let there be snark.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

We won’t go back.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

You cannot shame the shameless.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

We’re not going back!

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / China Comes to Mar-A-Largo: It’s Those Little Details That Tell the Story

China Comes to Mar-A-Largo: It’s Those Little Details That Tell the Story

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The Washington Post reports:

President Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping here Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate, kicking off a two-day summit that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said would include “very frank discussions” over North Korea and trade…

The un­or­tho­dox location of the summit is intended to lessen the formality of the first meeting between the two leaders, White House aides said, and help establish a working relationship, if not rapport, between Trump and Xi after moments of tension during the U.S. election season.

Xi will spend just over 24 hours here, including a working lunch on Friday, officials said. Xi and the Chinese delegation will not stay overnight at the resort but rather at a nearby hotel.….

Somebody read those stories about Trump listening in on Mar-A-Largo guests’ phone calls.

How about “rolled”? What are the odds ya got rolled, Mr. “President”?

… While the Chinese are strategic and conservative in their policy and diplomacy maneuvers, Trump has earned his reputation as brash and somewhat unpredictable, often venting governing frustrations on Twitter in 140 characters or less.

“[The Chinese] know that you cannot conduct foreign policy by Twitter, by tweeting, and brashness,” former Ambassador to China Max Baucus told NBC News.

During his presidential campaign, Trump stridently criticized China, tweeting that the Asian nation is a currency manipulator and bashing their trade practices to cheering crowds across the country…

Two senior administration officials say the topics have not been scripted in advance in order to allow the leaders the ability to raise whatever issues are on their mind, bucking the usually highly-scripted talking points characteristic of bilateral summits…

Also, Donald Trump is incapable of following a script that can’t be printed out on cue cards, so why waste the time?

… On the domestic front, Xi is heading into a critical political meeting later this year. He needs to show that he can deal with the US leader as an equal and eliminate the potential for unwelcome surprises in the run-up to the event that could assure his power for years to come…

Amid such high stakes, Xi plans to offer “win-win” gifts calculated to make it easy for Trump to make concessions while burnishing his hard-charging, deal-making public persona.

Top of the list, according to a source briefed on Xi’s plans, will be a package of Chinese investments aimed at creating more than 700,000 American jobs – the number pledged to Trump by China’s regional rival Japan, during Prime Minister Abe’s February Mar-a-Lago visit.

There may also be offers to further open China’s auto and agricultural markets, insiders say, and even some concessions on Chinese banks’ transactions with North Korea, a vital financial lifeline for the country.

He may also offer Chinese assistance in Trump’s infrastructure renewal plan and a stake in China’s newly established infrastructure bank.

In exchange, according to the source, Xi will ask Trump to delay planned weapons sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on biotech and water treatment sectors.

Xi’s main objective will not be establishing a relationship “for the next three or four years, but stable ties during the next three quarters” through China’s 19th Party Congress, according to the source….

So, Xi will offer Trump some media-friendly rube-bait, plus presumably a little side deal for Princelings Jared, Don & Eric, in return for turning a blind eye to whateverthehell happens on the other side of the globe for the ‘next three quarters’. Of course, Lord Smallgloves won’t be able to hold up his end of the deal — he hasn’t got that much focus — but then, Chinese businessmen are kinda notorious for regarding a signed contract as the point at which one starts serious negotiations, so Trump’s kids are bound to get shafted anyways. As long as the President-Asterisk doesn’t sign away Guam and maybe the Philippines…

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  3. 3.

    Kay

    I’m supporting the 2020 Democrat in the primary who proposes the strongest anti-nepotism and ethics laws.

    This is gross. They look like a royal family in these photos I keep seeing.

    Kushner touring Iraq looks exactly like a royal family member tour, except sometimes members of royal families actually serve in the military, so it’s worse.

    Outlaw this. Quickly.

  6. 6.

    randy khan

    I see that the jobs report shows only 98,000 jobs created in March, versus an average of 180,000 per month or so in 2016. Heckuva job.

    Of course, I expect the Administration to tout the decrease in the official unemployment rate (a statistic Trump derided during the campaign) and ignore the increase in the number of people not in the labor force (a statistic Trump used all the time during the campaign), rather than talking about the actual jobs number.

  7. 7.

    Major Major Major Major

    Xi’s main objective will not be establishing a relationship “for the next three or four years, but stable ties during the next three quarters”

    China showing their usual penchant for long-term thinking–they’re planning out their relationship for Trump’s whole time in office already.

  9. 9.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Such a lie that we value merit and hard work in this country. Flat-out lie that we strut around telling everyone. Everything we do and say contradicts it. We can’t even fake it! The staged photos even contradict it.

  11. 11.

    MikeEss

    @Baud:

    For China to have Drump by the balls, they’d have to take Putin’s hands off them first. Maybe they can come up with some kind of shared custody arrangement…

  12. 12.

    Betty Cracker

    @The Moar You Know: Obligatory sound track for your comment.

    @Kay: Amen. A smart Dem contender would put together a whole raft of proposed legislation to outlaw the type of behavior we apparently once counted on tradition and common decency to weed out.

  14. 14.

    Yarrow

    @Kay: Agreed. The nepotism is disgusting. We need strong laws to make this sort of thing impossible in the future. No family members, whether kids or in-laws–in official or unofficial jobs in the White House. No “unpaid adviser” jobs at all, certainly not with offices in the White House. First Lady or a person taking that designated role excepted.

    Requirement to release 10, no make that 20, years of taxes to be eligible to run.

    Divestment from all business interests and requirement to have those legal forms checked by a non-partisan office to make sure it has really happened.

    A doctor other than the candidate’s usual doctor to perform independent health assessment, including mental health–and neurological examination if the candidate is over X years old (65? 70?)–and results released to public.

    After this shitshow we need to carefully vet our candidates for president and make sure they are qualified and are legally kept from turning the country into a banana republic if elected.

  15. 15.

    Villago Delenda Est

    These vile creatures…the entire Trump crime syndicate and every appointee to include Gorsuch…need to be removed from power and placed in a secure facility with no access of any kind to the outside world.

  16. 16.

    hovercraft

    Wait what happened, I thought Michelle going sleeveless was crass and undignified, did I miss something?

  17. 17.

    ?eric

    @Betty Cracker: I love you and Kay, but i think that there will be no non-Hillary voters brought to the table in swing states because of anti-nepotism laws. Trump is now what he was when he was running. If the were not inclined to vote when he was rabidly anti-muslim and quoted chatting about sexually assaulting women, I see no way anti-nepotism moves the meter.

  18. 18.

    Thoroughly Pizzled

    @Betty Cracker: Trump represents a catastrophic failure of nearly all American institutions. We need something on par with Reconstruction or the New Deal to repair the damage. By the time 2020 rolls around, I think the bold agenda will be popular politically.

  21. 21.

    hovercraft

    @randy khan:
    As I said in the last thread, the February number was a stupendous number based on the job creators euphoria over Twitlers inauguration. The March number is the hangover effect of President Obama and his policies.

  22. 22.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: R rule represents an occupation more than democracy which requires the consent of the governed.

    They have more seats in the House of Representatives, Senate and the Presidency inspite of getting less votes than Democrats. And now the Supreme Court.

  24. 24.

    father pussbucket

    My biggest discomfort with Hillary was the dynasty thing, especially after two Bushes. Ironic.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    @?eric: Well, it’s the right thing to do in any case since our institutions have proved insufficient to ensure good governance. But perhaps the political environment in 2020 will be quite different than it was in 2016; I’d argue it already is since Trump’s poll numbers are rapidly approaching Crazification Factor levels.

    I’m hoping the next candidate won’t have a quarter century-old wingnut media vendetta to overcome. And after four years of non-stop incompetency and grift that affects the nation’s fortunes, maybe some fence-sitters will turn out to help rid of us of Trump. It was a lot easier to be complacent when President Obama had things running fairly smoothly.

  26. 26.

    ?eric

    @Major Major Major Major: it was said int he context of a smart dem contender, and i see no reason why it would matter for any contender to raise the issue to bring in new voters. It may energizes folks, but i think much much less than everything else about Trump. What moves the meter against Trump can be many things, but i dont see nepotism as the one.

  28. 28.

    SFAW

    @The Moar You Know:

    It’s such an amateurish PhotoShopping that even I can spot it. Or does Melania’s right wrist, in real life, have a big chunk of angled flesh sticking out of it?

  29. 29.

    Kay

    @?eric:

    I want the laws to stop the bleeding. The Trump Family are setting precedents. Other Presidents will follow them.

    I also genuinely believe it makes the country look bad. You can’t run around crowing about how bootstrappy you are as a country with this crazy fake royal family in charge! Every fucking photo, there they are, the grown children who were installed based on nothing except their father and father in law is President.

    Images are powerful and this is the image the Trump Family CHOOSE. They want these photos out there. This is deliberate.

  30. 30.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: You know who is boot strappy, the people that T regime loves to shit on when the going gets tough. Immigrants from the doctors working in rural areas, to the laborers doing back breaking work in the farms.

  31. 31.

    SFAW

    @?eric:

    I see no way anti-nepotism moves the meter.

    Actually, given the collective stupidity/racism of Shitgibbonistas, those laws would probably be looked on as a plus: “Hey, those Nepotians are taking away jobs from Real Americans! Send them back to Nepotistan!”

    ETA: Yeah, I realize it’s not logically consistent. Just trying to fit in with the current Rethug Partei.

  32. 32.

    Trabb's Boy

    Can’t get past this back-up power handshake thing. I saw a picture of him doing this to Nancy Pelosi, too. Lift the hand and drop the elbow to make the other person look limp-wristed and weak. The vile pettiness of it just sums up him and his entire world view.

  33. 33.

    gvg

    how big as deal was Bobby Kennedy being attorney general during JFK’s time? I believe he actually did fairly well? Had the background and was confirmed? Were there others? John Quincy Adams was Minister to Prussia under his father President John Adams. He served under Washington first though and his father had taken him on diplomatic missions before he was President. Both of them were more noted as diplomats than Presidents per Wiki. So relatives can serve well, but not as someone with no experience, the first time in government. How do we codify that though? And how can we not leave it up to a partisan Congress to enforce? I actually think we already have laws about this but we aren’t enforcing them this time.
    They should not be able to run without disclosing verified taxes. I think the copies should actually be form the IRS not the candidate. Also a plan to divest which goes into effect on election results by trustees not the candidate because I think Trump would just lie and not follow through.

  34. 34.

    Chris

    @Kay:

    I also genuinely believe it makes the country look bad.

    That and it signals to everybody what kind of leadership you have and therefore how you can deal with them. If you’re the kind of shallow nepotistic dimwit who hands out major government positions as thanks for being part of your own family, you’re also signaling things in terms of how (and how easily) foreign governments can buy you off or make you happy.

  35. 35.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    It came out yesterday that Ivanka and Jared chose the dept of ed leader who is under DeVos. It “came out” because they planted it in newspapers.

    There are 50 million public school children in the US. Why were these two random people handed this power and why do they work so hard to make it seem legitimate? They’re not fighting this impression. They promote it!

  37. 37.

    randy khan

    @hovercraft:

    As I said in the last thread, the February number was a stupendous number based on the job creators euphoria over Twitlers inauguration. The March number is the hangover effect of President Obama and his policies.

    Well, that explains it.

  38. 38.

    Jeffro

    Here’s one thing all of us can agree on: like a stopped clock, even Brooksie is right on occasion

    And boy do I love the phrase “golden age of malfunction”

    I just read that the Trump administration has filled only 22 of the 553 key positions that require Senate confirmation. This makes me worry that the administration will not have enough manpower to produce the same volume and standard of incompetence that we’ve come to expect so far.

    Granted, in its first few months the administration has produced an impressive amount of ineptitude with very few people.

    On his worst days Sean Spicer can produce more errors than 10 normal men on their best days. Kellyanne Conway can flail her way through television confrontations 24/7 and still have the stamina to lose to the Teletubbies on Saturday morning.

    The White House staffing system is successfully answering the question, How many scorpions can you fit in a bottle? And in general, the personnel process has been so rigorous in its selection of inexperience that those who were hired on the basis of mere nepotism look like Dean Acheson by comparison.

    But still, I worry that at the current pace the Trump administration is going to run out of failure. So far, we’ve lived in a golden age of malfunction. Every major Trump initiative has been blocked or has collapsed, relationships with Congress are disastrous, the president’s approval ratings are at cataclysmic lows.

    But can this last? By midsummer, during the high vacation and indictment season, we could see empty hallways in the West Wing and a disorienting incompetence shortage emanating from Washington.

    The executive branch could simply go dark. CNN’s ratings will plummet. Columnists will wither and die. Liberals will have to go without the delicious current of schadenfreude and their daily ritual baths of moral superiority.

    Now I’m not underestimating the president’s own capacity for carrying on in an incompetent manner almost indefinitely. I don’t think we’ve reached peak Trump.

    The normal incompetent person flails and stammers and is embarrassed about it. But the true genius at incompetence like our president flails and founders and is too incompetent to recognize his own incompetence. He mistakes his catastrophes for successes and so accelerates his pace toward oblivion. Those who ignore history are condemned to retweet it.

  39. 39.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    Ivanka doesn’t get it at all. She’s defending her intentions. Hey nitwit! This power you grabbed is illegitimate. It doesn’t matter what’s “in your heart”.

    I think I’m very nice. I don’t pretend I’m on the city council! She’s doesn’t get this at all.

  40. 40.

    Jeffro

    Also this:

    Trump’s ignorance is not just an absence; it is a rich, intricate and entirely separate universe of negative information, a sort of fertile intellectual antimatter with its own gravitational pull.

    It’s not so much that he isn’t well informed; it’s that he is prodigiously learned in the sort of knowledge that doesn’t accord with the facts of our current dimension.

    he must have been reading Alexandra Petri last week…=)

  41. 41.

    bystander

    What a brilliant idea! Get Xi to relax so he can get to know Don in a relaxed atmosphere of relaxation.

    Our media eating the stupidity up and spewing it back. Kristen Welker and Cris Jansing are having fun on the tire swing, so that’s all that matters.

  42. 42.

    Major Major Major Major

    @?eric:

    it was said int he context of a smart dem contender, and i see no reason why it would matter for any contender to raise the issue to bring in new voters

    Perhaps that’s why it was said about the primary, where one tries to fire up the base and proposes aspirational policies to help the country.

  44. 44.

    lollipopguild

    @Kay: Getting ahead thru hard work is for the little people and used to happen back when we valued work and the people who did the work. The economy changed and people got rich by shipping jobs overseas rather than creating them here. Trump is the natural outcome of this as well as the right wing media like fox news and rash limpdick.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    Did Trump have authority to do what he did last night?
    – Cruz: There’s a difference b/t what he did last night & protracted involvement

    Here’s my weekly reminder that Congress has enormous power under our system. Huge power. All the power they could possibly need.

    They CHOOSE not to use it. The problem isn’t an executive who over-reaches, because that’s a given. They will. The problem is Congress running away and the executive filling a void they leave. This works out for both of them because if it didn’t Congress would pick up the power they have and use it.

  47. 47.

    hovercraft

    @father pussbucket:

    My biggest discomfort with Hillary was the dynasty thing, especially after two Bushes. Ironic.

    Hillary and Bill are a power couple, she is very accomplished in her own right, the fact that she’s married to an ex-president should not preclude her from earning peoples votes for the presidency. Dynastic rulers get to rule based on their last name and nothing else. Hillary and Bill earned everything they have no one handed them anything, the comparison with the Bushes is bullshit. Shrub was a failure his whole life but because of who his dad was, kept failing upwards. Now if Chelsea wakes up one day saying she wants to run for president then you can talk to me about dynasties, till then back off. Casting her as just the next in a dynasty diminishes her very real accomplishments. While it’s true that her last name opens doors, her hard work was in large part responsible for that name eanring the cachet it has, and the value of that name has diminished over the last 16 years, she had to work hard to walk the line between touting her husbands success and distancing herself from his record.

  48. 48.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: I don’t get R jihad against teachers, perhaps because my mother was a high school science teacher and I come from a people that revere education and the teacher (guru) more than one parents or God.
    गुरु ब्रम्हा गुरु विष्णू
    गुरुः देवो महेश्वरा
    गुरु शाक्षात परब्रम्हा
    तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः
    Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Hindu trinity)*
    Guru is the manifestation of the Supreme and I bow before thee

  50. 50.

    bystander

    @Kay: Gayle King had such a hard hitting interview with Ivanka. Every inch the same quality journalist as Ivanka is governmental genius and design maven.

  51. 51.

    Feathers

    @Yarrow: The problem with that is what we are seeing now, that if one party controls the Presidency and Congress there is no enforcement, no matter what is on the books.

    One path that might be fruitful, although I don’t know if it would stand up in court, would be for California and other large blue states to require tax returns and divestment to be on the ballot for federal and statewide elections.

  53. 53.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Jeffro:

    Liberals will have to go without the delicious current of schadenfreude and their daily ritual baths of moral superiority.

    I’ve got news for Brooksie: every last one of us has earned moral superiority to the vile likes of him.

  54. 54.

    Major Major Major Major

    @gvg: I agree that we should codify releasing tax documents. The thing that taxes have, that things like additional nepotism laws, or mental health screenings and such don’t, is that they’re quantifiable and they’re to the same standard as everybody else. Medical diagnosis is not really either, especially in something like mental health, and nepotism is in a similar though much less troubling boat.

  55. 55.

    Betty Cracker

    @gvg: I’m okay with excluding family members by law in the future, even though it might bar otherwise qualified people who would do the job honorably.

  60. 60.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: Continuing with the education theme. The educational system, in this country, especially university education is the envy of the world. With their cuts to scientific funding Rs want to burn that down too. United States maintained its post War superiority by investing in science. Make America Regressive should be their motto.

  61. 61.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Feathers: Yet it was not always this way. The parties used to both be broad coalitions with their own internal checks and balances, but a bunch of outright fascists decided that they needed a “conservative” party to push their neo-feudalist agenda and targeted and took over the GOP, which is now nothing if not the right wing version of the Bolsheviks. Senators and Representatives used to jealously guard their prerogatives under the Constitution against any President, regardless of party. Even LBJ sometimes did not get his way (see Abe Fortas) despite having his party in control of the Senate.

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    @Major Major Major Major: I agree with y’all too, but from my own circle of Democratic friends, I know the “dynasty” thing was a real sticking point. The folks I know who felt that way all sucked it up and voted for Hillz regardless, but with less enthusiasm than they otherwise might have. Fortunately, I don’t think this’ll be an issue in the future. My guess is Michelle Obama would rather swallow hot coals than run for president.

  63. 63.

    Barbara

    @Kay: Not many people could bring themselves to admit that they are nothing without their father’s name and their own merit is utterly irrelevant to where they are. She is uncomfortable with the idea that her position is purely dynastic. She has that much integrity, and not a smidgen more.

  64. 64.

    sukabi

    @?eric: anti nepotism laws and mandatory tax returns released wouldn’t be to sway voters but to return country to intended function. Get rid of “wiggle room” for the crap that Drumpf is pulling.

  65. 65.

    Yarrow

    @Feathers: The laws aren’t muscular enough. Release 20 years of tax returns or you can’t run. Divest of business, overseen by independent office and managed by independent trustees–not your kids–or you can’t take the oath. All that has to be done prior to taking office or you can’t take the oath. Period.

    As for nepotism, family can’t be appointed or given jobs or unpaid roles in the White House. If done it’s a felony. For both parties–the president appointing them and the person accepting the role.

  66. 66.

    Spanky

    Congratulations to Neil Gorsuch! The smarmy-faced shitass has been confirmed to besmirch our 3rd branch of govt.

  70. 70.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Barbara: kind of OT but the funniest example of this is Megan McCain, who has an angry, heartfelt defense when people point out she’s a celebrity spawn: “I am an award winning blogger with two book contracts!” (this was a couple of years ago, those “books” have already been mulched and sold to organic chicken farmers as roosting material. In 2012 she loudly offered her services to any campaign that wanted her expertise in helping to “kick Obama’s ass”. The phone didn’t ring. Not even Bachman or Cain wanted her.

  72. 72.

    sukabi

    @SFAW: not Photoshop. if you zoom in on the pic, it’s Drumpf jacket sleeve that’s blocking part of Melania’s wrist.

    There were several pictures from the inaugural that show Melania’s hands next to Drumpfs and they are much larger.

  73. 73.

    The Moar You Know

    I agree with y’all too, but from my own circle of Democratic friends, I know the “dynasty” thing was a real sticking point.

    @Betty Cracker: After our adventures with Son of Bush at the helm, I can’t blame anybody who had a problem with that.

    That being said, Hillary was qualitatively different and I didn’t have a problem with her in that respect at all. Was never an issue as far as I was concerned. In part because I considered her far more temperamentally qualified for the job than her husband was.

    But I’d support a “no relatives” law at this point, because it’s obvious that this is going to be an ongoing problem with the current and future presidents.

    ETA: even more so than that, what several others have proposed: all the tax returns, before you’re even allowed into the primaries, no exceptions. Direct from the IRS and not through the candidate.

  76. 76.

    Aleta

    Another of his constant fantasies came true yesterday. And he thinks the launch showed China a thing or two, so it’s swagger time. The timing is awfully good for him.

    Another thing

    Twitter filed a lawsuit Thursday to block an order from the Department of Homeland Security that seeks to reveal the user of an account who has been critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

    Tweets from the account — @ALT_uscis — indicate that it is run by someone who is an employee of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services division of Homeland Security.

    Free speech advocates said the DHS order appeared to be the first time the government has attempted to use its powers to expose an anonymous critic –

    -WaPo

  77. 77.

    SatanicPanic

    It’s not so much the nepotism that’s the problem, it’s that the president is a fucking fool. If it weren’t Jared Kushner or Ivanka, Donald would be relying on some other crank or dumbass to advise him. I guess it’s bad that they’ll profit from their being in government, but since Trump himself is using government to profit they’ll end up with that money either way.

  78. 78.

    mai naem mobile

    I don’t if it’s the lighting but the silverware looks like it’s gold. This is just tacky.

  79. 79.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Major Major Major Major: I often wonder if the first two John Sidney McCains* come to him in dreams to ask if he’s gonna get his balls out of that blind trust and find out just what the Russkies did in our elections

    *both of whom also married heiresses

    ETA: @mai naem mobile: Oh, I’m sure it’s not the light

  81. 81.

    hovercraft

    @Betty Cracker:

    My guess is Michelle Obama would rather swallow hot coals than run for president.

    Agree, she hates politics so she’ll never run, but she is a very good speaker and I think she would be better received by the base. She is much more charismatic and would excite even the progressives, much more than Hillary did, the same people bitching about dynasties would mostly go quiet. Michelle would be harder to attack, they’d have to tread a fine line between trying to tear her down while avoiding chargers of racism, much like they had to do with Barrack. The attacks from the “alt right” would be vicious and beyond the pale, but by in large she’d have an easier time than Hillary. 25 years cements a lot of misinformation, and no amount of advertising can undo it. Fortunately for Michelle she doesn’t have to find out how bad it could have been, she’s off with her Boo, looking happy and relaxed.

  82. 82.

    Cermet

    WTF?

    As long as the President-Asterisk doesn’t sign away Guam and maybe the Philippines…

    If China agree’s to take the Philippines, lets throw in Texas before Putin gets it along with Alaska.

  84. 84.

    Feathers

    @schrodingers_cat: it’s hard to believe, but in much of deindustrialized America, teachers and local government workers are the highest paid people living there. I remember driving through upstate New York, near Utica, and asking who lived in all the pretty little Victorian houses. “Teachers and other city workers” was the answer. They aren’t paid much, but it’s a lot more than the minimum wage retail or health aide everyone else is getting.

  85. 85.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Feathers: I grew up in a leafy suburb, where a friend of a friend of my father, who lived in the leafiest corner of town, was an engineer who had invented and patented something that’s on every garbage truck in the world. He was rich enough that he gave IIRC ten million dollars to his alma mater. When he retired, he ran for school board because he was tired of paying all those property taxes so teachers could have three months paid vacation a year.

    This Galtian hero made garbage collection more efficient.

    That paid vacation, when a lot of teachers get seasonal work to pay the bills, drives a lot of suburbanites, who moved to the suburbs for “good schools”, up the fucking walls.

  87. 87.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The Village’s disgusting orgasmic reaction to the missile firings yesterday only renew and reinvigorate the use of my nym.

    Wipe them out. All of them.

  88. 88.

    Gindy51

    @clay: That can be a very dangerous place to put your dick. Trump is known for biting the hand (dick ) that feeds him…

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    “So, about that whole Great Wall thing. Have your people shoot my people the name and number of the contractor, okay?”

  90. 90.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Xi’s main objective will not be establishing a relationship “for the next three or four years, but stable ties during the next three quarters”

    Well, China certainly has Trump figured out.

  91. 91.

    StringOnAStick

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Keeping the relationship to a 3 quarters time frame just confirms that the Chinese are sure they are going to get 3 to 4 years worth of concessions out of Dump in just a few quarters. Hell, probably more.

  92. 92.

    Jinchi

    @?eric:

    If the were not inclined to vote when he was rabidly anti-muslim and quoted chatting about sexually assaulting women, I see no way anti-nepotism moves the meter.

    The difference is that, before the election people could pretend he didn’t say what he clearly said (see Mike Pence), or that he was just engaging in “locker room talk” rather than seriously confessing to assault (see Jerry Falwell Jr.).

    Now he’s clearly pillaging the government for personal gain.

  93. 93.

    Jinchi

    @Major Major Major Major: @Betty Cracker:

    I agree with y’all too, but from my own circle of Democratic friends, I know the “dynasty” thing was a real sticking point.

    The “dynasty” thing is a real problem in American politics.

    It reinforces the ideal that there not only is a political class in the US, but that there should be. Most Democratic leaning voters recoil from it, likely because they know they are not part of the politically connected class.

    The press loves the idea, because it makes covering politics easy and includes the romantic themes of royalty. It’s why every Kennedy since JFK has been considered a natural and viable contender for the presidency. It’s why George W. Bush was considered qualified, even after he opened his mouth and made a fool of himself, and it’s why Jeb was considered a leading candidate, despite the disasterous presidency of his older brother.

    This was a real problem for Hillary regardless of what you think of her abilities. She was being written up as the likely “first woman president” for 20 years, because she was part of a power-couple, not because of her innate talents as a politician, or for any specific ideological views.

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