@Baud: Same here. The only time I see T is during a Seth Meyers or Colbert diatribe.
5.
oatler.
Let’s all you guys go fight this war!
6.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: The Russians are arming the Taliban right now. It’s kind of a reverse Charlie Wilson’s War type of things.
7.
Schlemazel
DAMMIT! I just ate, don’t do this to me
8.
SiubhanDuinne
I’m watching. After sitting 9+ hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic today, I need some relaxation and comic relief!
9.
Yarrow
I’m not going to watch or listen to this shit. If he can read a teleprompter and not go off script he’ll be declared Presidential and the media will slobber over how Kelly has everything under control and pivot, pivot, pivot.
@schrodingers_cat: Or John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Jim Jefferies… but yes, unless I’m listening to a comedy show, I won’t be subjecting myself to the president*’s voice. I suspect Adam will be able to provide us a roundup of everything important, anyway.
@Adam L Silverman: That’s certainly a karma kinda thing. Why did we not assume them doing this.
13.
SiubhanDuinne
I thought this was going to be from the WH. Taht’s what they were saying earlier today. Was the change of venue a last-minute thing, or did MSNBC get it wrong?
I said I wasn’t going to watch but here I am with Rachel on waiting for Dolt 45 to make his yuuge entry.
15.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: You know, there are actual comedies you could watch instead of the Idiot in Chief. I have a hard time imagining how seeing him is relaxing. I tense up every time. Turns my stomach.
@schrodingers_cat: Agreed. Anthony Atamanuik has the best Trump impression, followed by Alec Baldwin, probably. Of the main late night hosts, I think Colbert’s is my favourite.
36.
kilo50
His idea of gravity and seriousness is some kinda bad acting. He can’t carry off a basic speech with any kind of respect. No matter how hard he tries.
37.
Adam L Silverman
@kilo50: We’ve got a societal and national short, medium, and long term memory problem.
38.
clay
So, he’ll announce the troop expansion, and it won’t accomplish much… it’s inevitable that he will then blame it on the generals: “That was a plan they came up with, it wasn’t my idea.” We already saw it with the botched Yemen raid. The buck stops anywhere else.
39.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Just sent you an email of pics Mike took in Brasstown, NC. It took him two hours to go and about four to come home, but he said it was well worth it.
40.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
Whole thing is incredibly weird so far. It’s like he can’t catch his breath. He’s in bad shape. Some speech slurring.
Not only karma. What we did to the Russians in Afghanistan was, quite consciously, doing to them what they’d done to us in Korea and Vietnam. That is, stay away from the fight, let your enemy be the one that actually spills blood trying to control thing, while you act only through proxies.
You would think the lesson had been learned that this, not surge after surge of troops, is how you win wars in the third world. And you would be wrong.
@schrodingers_cat: I can only take so much of that, even. Comedians like Colbert, yes. And I thought Alec Baldwin’s portrayal was very good. But I can only handle it for a few minutes. Then I have to turn it off.
@Adam L Silverman: is that rally in Phoenix still happening? I thought the mayor had basically begged him not to come. Oh, right. This *is* Trump we’re talking about, after all.
@SiubhanDuinne: If it’s something I’ve learned over the past 8 months, it’s that “terrible and obviously insincere cliche” is translated to “utterly godlike speechifying” by Trump’s supporters.
54.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Okay you guys are really going to make me turn it back on…
At first it sounded like he was pretending to be serious, but then the breathing problems convinced to turn it off.
55.
Quinerly
@Miss Bianca:
Rally tomorrow. Republican governor NOT attending.
it’s a day ending in Y after 1/19/17. Of course it is.
58.
kilo50
Oh he studied AFG. How could we not be assured and safe that this military scholar has the special one of a kind insight to protect us all. And its always some one else’s fault.
59.
clay
Someone tell me when it’s over so I can turn on Rachel.
60.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Stephen Miller is the principle speech writer. Though I expect that tonight’s got a good working over by LTG McMaster, Gen. Kelly, and Secretary Mattis.
Trump is not only full of shit, but tonight he sounds like shit as well.
63.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: When I saw the Mayor of Phoenix interviewed at the end of last week he indicated that the Trump 2020 campaign and the White House had rebuffed his request.
He did. Surprised he didn’t make a big L sign on his forehead.
78.
Gravenstone
@SiubhanDuinne: dear god, please tell me that’s not an actual quote.
79.
Yarrow
If anyone was curious about the “okay” hand signal and its use as a white power gang symbol, and Trump’s use of it, this Twitter thread is really interesting. You have to keep clicking “more replies” to see all the tweets, but it’s got loads of photos of people in his orbit flashing the gang symbol.
It's time 2 separate evidence of practiced, patterned, deliberate behavior from "conspiracy theory."Media Training & Hand Signals-THREAD–— Lincoln's Bible (@LincolnsBible) August 13, 2017
Also, when did Trump start doing this? It’s the main hand signal that Trump does–all the comedians who imitate him do it. But he used to do the “You’re fired” hand signal. When did he change? Why?
80.
chopper
Oy, this stupid “we shouldn’t announce our moves” thing is obviously his idea, as it’s idiotic and of course cause he brought it up first.
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s strange. Some of the themes are clearly Miller’s neo-nationalism. Some of what he’s talking about is clearly the details he got from McMaster and Mattis.
It’s strange. Some of the themes are clearly Miller’s neo-nationalism. Some of what he’s talking about is clearly the details he got from McMaster and Mattis.
@MomSense:
And some slurring of speech. I’m not sure he knows what he is reading. It’s just off. The rhythm, something.
90.
Old Dan and Little Anne
I remember looking forward to watching Obama speak on tv. Sigh… The only time I’ve heard the orange shit stain since 11-7 is when he’s being made fun of on late night tv. Instead I’m watching Dirty Dancing. The last scene had a waiter try to give baby “The Fountainhead” to read. I learned about Ayn Rand through Balloon Juice. It all makes sense now.
91.
raven
@TenguPhule: Yea, we’ll shock and awe these dead enders into fucking mush.
92.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh, fuck CNN. Just got a breaking headline from them saying “Trump Calls for Unity.”
@Chris: On a couple of NPR reports I heard today, it was almost comical that they said the added troops would be to “help train the Afghan army”. Just about anyone who has been paying attention must realize how comical that is. It was the recurring refrain in Iraq, and has been for 10 years or more in Afghanistan. :-/
There are too many warlords, too many competing factions, too many people who know that the only way to survive is to get what one can while one can (graft, corruption) because there’s no sign of things improving.
We can’t fix the world by ourselves. As long as Afghanistan’s neighbors are more interested in fighting among themselves and in beating up on the USA and NATO, then it will continue to be a mess.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
96.
kilo50
No nation building, not again. Now he is threatening Pakistan. Oh yeah let’s threaten them too. The tribal areas are not somewhere we should think we want to go.
My God, this guy hates his job. Did anybody else see how hang doggy he looked lumbering up to the lectern when they played Hail to the Chief? He looked like he was shambling up the gallows to the waiting noose. This was ’sposed to be fun, God damn it!
102.
Tim C.
@Adam L Silverman: I’m not sure he will. The Trump style seems to be he’s a bit too chicken hearted to do much of anything beyond posturing. Bet he tries to have it both ways by saying how unfair and wrong bigot Joe’s treatment was by the legal system, but I don’t think Trump has the intestinal fortitude to pardon him.
103.
Gravenstone
@raven: convenient how it rhymes with the original. Not convenient- morbid maybe?
104.
misterpuff
Oh Goodie Threatening Pakistan and backhanding India. Pay yer share!
“Three and a half more years,” he’s telling himself as he sleepwalks through this speech, “Three and a half fucking more years of this shit! Fuck. I could be playing golf and looking for my next wife, and here I am up here reading this dumbass speech with all these hard fucking words. Shit! Why the fuck did my bitch wife and snot nosed kids make me do this? I didn’t want to do this, damn it, I never should have listened to them, I never should have let them make me do this, this is all their fucking fault! Bastards…”
124.
mai naem mobile
Tiny little handed man needs to continue to need to criticize black guy with yuuuge hands. What a pathetic creature.
125.
Adam L Silverman
@Tim C.: I’m not sure anyone actually knows what he’s going to do.
126.
Yarrow
Is he still talking? How long is this stupid speech supposed to be?
This walking pile of dog vomit makes me sick to even look at his ridiculously coifed mango head. He started out with one lie after another: “The 9-11 attacks were planned and coordinated from Afghanistan”, WRONG – read the 9-11 Commission Report. While Osama bin Laden may have lived in Afghanistan, the tactical planning was done by KSM in Hamburg, Germany, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and Las Vegas, Nevada. And on and on and on… This ignorant degenerate rapist knows nothing and deserves not a molecule of respect. LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!
@Quinerly: Oh, that’s funny. Did Trump steamroll over Ryan’s live townhall?
141.
SiubhanDuinne
The only thing that surprises me about this speech is that (so far — it’s not over yet, although he is in his peroration) he has not blamed Obama or Crooked Hillary by name.
142.
mike in dc
He’s reading this speech like he’s sounding it out phonetically. Good luck with that whole “getting Pakistan to help us” thing.
143.
Mike in NC
Refuse to watch the buffoon. Did he blame Obama for the mess he inherited?
144.
different-church-lady
He’s gonna keel over in Phoenix.
145.
lgerard
Interesting that he provides his own signing for the deaf
He also looks like he is speaking from a laundry room or the back room of a dry cleaning establishment
Holy shit. Yeah, let’s strong arm Pakistan and India. At the same time.
“Only an idiot would fight a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts.” -Londo
The heir to the throne has been found!
147.
Adam L Silverman
@donnah: @TenguPhule: Warfighter is actually a term of art that is used quite frequently so that one doesn’t have to keep saying “Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines”.
148.
different-church-lady
@mike in dc: Get off his back: his eyes are still blurry from staring at the sun.
Now he is threatening Pakistan. Oh yeah let’s threaten them too.
He’s desperate to go to war with somebody. Maybe Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela,…. There are so many to chose from. He just hasn’t narrowed it down yet.
Edit: Fort Myer, VA, near Arlington, I think. Still not sure why MSNBC spent much of the day making a point that it was going to be from the White House.
I don’t know if the soldiers have been told how to act but they don’t seem to be acting like theyre particularly happy. The events with Obama with soldiers always seemed to have them with big smiles.
@Major Major Major Major: I am thinking of redoing my kitchen cabinets using chalk paint, so I was curious if anyone had used chalk paint and their experience with it.
He basically told us he wouldn’t tell us what he plans to do.
That has been true since 1/20/17.
199.
JPL
@TenguPhule: Phew.. At least we are looking at a profit, because the don normally makes his money declaring bankruptcy.
200.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Didn’t watch
Daniel W. DreznerVerified account @ dandrezner 22m22 minutes ago
In case you were wondering, “so I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle” was when I laughed out loud.’
glad I didn’t
201.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: I don’t even think we have a base in India. Does Diego Garcia count?
I have also ordered our boats to stop sailing into other boats.
I didn’t hear the whole speech. And I can’t really believe I’m even ask this, but, well, it is Dear Leader, so I have to ask: He didn’t really say that, did he? I mean, I don’t think he’d have said that, but as I said, it is Donald Trump, so I don’t want to assume too much.
214.
Yarrow
@rikyrah: Haven’t they changed their name twice since Blackwater?
215.
Adam L Silverman
@JPL: I have no idea. I didn’t hear any clear ends/objectives delineated. Nor did I hear specific ways and means. I heard the Pakistanis have to get their act together, India and others have to keep paying more, the war, to this point, has been a waste of blood and treasure, he might order a limited troop increase, and we’re moving to a conditions based assessment for ending our operations in Afghanistan.
I’m sorry but the difference between the new strategy and old strategy must be a little too nuanced for me to tell the difference. Wasn’t that basically just a pep talk before sending more people off to die?
Both he and Defence Minister Parrikar stressed that the new agreement does not allow for US bases to be set up on Indian soil nor for troops to be stationed there.
At least we are looking at a profit, because the don normally makes his money declaring bankruptcy.
That’s Trump’s profit, not America’s.
224.
MomSense
Just switched to fuck you Paul Ryan.
225.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman: Let’s pull the transcript about Pakistan and India…that section. Is the transcript up? I’m confused and couldn’t follow. I’m blaming a day of eclipsing.
The amazing part of Trump’s speeches to me is that he seems to be reading them for the first time. He firmly addresses the teleprompter panels, swaying from side to side to provide variety (do they put a “turn” instruction into the speech?), hardly looking at the audience. He stumbles over words and fails to read sentences to bring out their meaning. I find it hard to listen to his speeches because he provides no coherence to the thoughts. In other words, he doesn’t understand what he is reading.
@jl: you have to be kidding me? Tuckers a moron. I swear somebody needs to tell Dolt 45 to absolutely not run up to Marine One holding a huge umbrella while it’s rotors are still turning. Also to absolutely not run down the AF1 steps real fast with his shoelaces untied.
I heard the Pakistanis have to get their act together, India and others have to keep paying more, the war, to this point, has been a waste of blood and treasure, he might order a limited troop increase, and we’re moving to a conditions based assessment for ending our operations in Afghanistan.
So extra shit sandwich with more ketchup?
236.
mike in dc
“We’re going to build a wall along the Afghan border, and Pakistan and India are going to pay for it.”
@schrodingers_cat: I prefer normal paint, personally. But I don’t care too much for most faux weathered looks either, so.
240.
Adam L Silverman
@mai naem mobile: Telling a room full of uniformed personnel that one of the two wars they’ve been fighting, and in which almost everyone in that room knows at least one person wounded and/or killed in action in said war, was a waste of blood and treasure is not something that goes over well. I once watched a colonel break down in tears asking the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff if all of her friends, colleagues, and Soldiers who were wounded or died did so for no good purpose. Even senior officers that recognize that we’ve been adrift in Afghanistan for well over a decade, for a variety of both simple and complex reasons, get emotional when the discussion moves in this direction.
241.
Yarrow
@Cheryl Rofer: Among many reasons (like I can’t stand to look at or listen to him), that’s why I don’t watch him give speeches. It’s useless. If you really want to know what the speech says, just read it. He adds nothing and in fact takes away from the meaning. Only interesting if he goes off script and then you can catch that on the news, on Twitter on late night comedy shows.
I’m confused and couldn’t follow. I’m blaming a day of eclipsing.
This is normal. The symptoms will pass once Trump is ejected into the Moon.
243.
NorthLeft12
Count me with the others that cannot stand to hear Deadbeat Donald speak. I normally just read transcripts or see snippets of him.
He is the perfect storm of awful speaking; the quality of his voice, the sneering superiority that seeps out every time, the abysmal grammar, the ignorance, his annoying verbal and physical tics, and finally the unmeasurable level of mendacity in every sentence he spews. He is the worst and to top it all off, he thinks he is the greatest speaker since forever.
As far as substance goes, he says there will be no nation-building, just killing terrorists. Strategy will be driven by conditions on the ground. The sunk cost fallacy will be followed. Victory will be well-defined: all terrorists will be killed, people will be able to live their lives, and it will all be happily ever after. Pakistan and India need to get behind the program. Pakistan must stop doing bad things. India has significant trade with the United States, so it must pay up its share. And we’re not going to tell you any more about what we’re doing.
@Digital Amish: That is exactly what that speech was.
247.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It begins…
Matthew YglesiasVerified account mattyglesias 10m10 minutes ago
Hahahahahahahahahahaha
It’s all happening
Philip RuckerVerified account @ PhilipRucker Tonight is a new President Trump: Acknowledging a flip-flop and talking about gravity of office, history & substance.
Maggie HabermanVerified account @ maggieNYT “We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists,” says POTUS, in one of his more forceful/best lines of address
I’m a bit surprised at Rucker. “Forceful” should get Maggie a call on her cell.
248.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: No, that was taken off the list of options when Bannon was fired and Erik Prince was excluded from the meetings on Friday.
Telling a room full of uniformed personnel that one of the two wars they’ve been fighting, and in which almost everyone in that room knows at least one person wounded and/or killed in action in said war, was a waste of blood and treasure is not something that goes over well.
Trump will certainly find a way to one up tonight’s performance. Maybe whizz on a coffin at Andrew’s Airforce base.
250.
Quinerly
@mike in dc:
Makes more sense than that garbled mess I just heard.
Wrong. It’s a new strategy. He’s just not telling us what it is.
Not telling us what it is was the old strategy too.
252.
Waratah
Does he want Pakistan and India to pay for this whatever it is?
I thought at first he was going to declare war with them.
With Mexico paying for the wall.
253.
SiubhanDuinne
“My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts,” Mr. Trump said. “But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office — in other words, when you’re president of the United States. So I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle.”
Well, considering that infamous photo of Ivanka sitting at the Resolute, I suppose it’s a good thing he clarified.
Victory will be well-defined: all terrorists will be killed, people will be able to live their lives, and it will all be happily ever after.
And you get a pony and you get a pony!
255.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Blackwater is now Academi, which is owned by a larger defense contractor. Prince has nothing to do with them these days. His current company is headquartered in Hong Kong and his funding is from the Peoples Republic of China.
Not to mention waving his hands like he is being attacked by a swarm of gnats
257.
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Our sad little media. So desperate for a pivot they’ll see one anywhere.
258.
kilo50
@TenguPhule: That is a unique portrayal. Fairly accurate as well
259.
different-church-lady
@Miss Bianca: It’s what I do in the post-season that counts.
260.
Betty Cracker
@Adam L Silverman: And yet, that’s the only true thing he said, though he said it bubble-wrapped in lies about how it will be different now that more needless death will be sold under the Trump brand.
261.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Susan GlasserVerified account @ sbg1 17m17 minutes ago
bottom line: a few thousand more troops, no new policy. there’s nothing dramatic about it except that trump acknowledged flipflop
Daniel W. DreznerVerified account @ dandrezner 14m14 minutes ago
My take on the speech: status quo. No fundamental change in policy. The best parts were the sections Trump barely cared about.
The acres encompassing Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery were called Arlington Heights when they were owned in the 1800s by Mary Anna Randolph, granddaughter of George Washington Parke Custis. Custis was Martha Washington’s grandson. Mary Anna Randolph married Robert E. Lee when he was a young Army lieutenant. Lee helped rescue the estate from financial disaster in 1858, left the area in April 1861 to lead the Confederate Army, never to return.
The land was confiscated by the government for military purposes when the Lees were unable to pay their property taxes in person. Part of the estate became Arlington National Cemetery and the remainder Fort Whipple, named in honor of Maj. Gen. Amiel Weeks Whipple, a division commander at Fort Cass which was established where the stables are today in August 1861. Gen. Whipple fought in the Civil War battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville in Virginia. He died of his wounds from Chancellorsville in 1863.
AMMAN (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that he had directed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to carry out President Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy after a rigorous interagency review which he would discuss with NATO allies.
“I have directed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to make preparations to carry out the president’s strategy,” Mattis said in a statement.
“I will be in consultation with the Secretary General of NATO and our allies—several of which have also committed to increasing their troop numbers,” he added.
Much strength. Impressive strategery.
:-/
“Pay attention and prepare to do something! We don’t know what it is yet; it depends on another review and we don’t know when that will be done, but be prepared!!1”
The amazing part of Trump’s speeches to me is that he seems to be reading them for the first time.
He leans on words and phrases that are negligible, and slurs over punchy words and phrases that deserve emphasis.
Public speaking instructors, debate coaches, and the leadership of Toastmasters International should use videos of his speeches as examples of all the things not to do when addressing an audience. Especially if your purpose is to persuade.
Reporter commentary comes in two flavors: “Trump is now presidential” (yes, I have seen one person doing that) and “Wait for the next tweet,” which is much more plentiful on my Twitter feed, but that’s probably because of the people I follow.
I don’t much like to listen to or watch Trump either. He was doing his finger mudras again, or white supremacy gestures, if you like. I tend to think it’s a tic rather than anything else, but he sure needs to learn not to do it. But I think I need to see how he presents himself and the ideas attributed to him. Sun Tzu:
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
@Quinerly: : Why in God’s name will India do that?
275.
hueyplong
My first Trump speech. Several times while Trump was talking, I vowed never to watch another. Reactions:
1. A lot of generalized tough talk of the type you hear from old relatives you normally shun. No doubt it will mostly be forgotten, but it’s like he’s owned a vow to perform tough guy “winning” that will look bad every time we don’t perform miracles that frankly seem kind of unlikely.
2. The insanity of inviting India to get involved in Afghanistan makes no sense to me. I can’t imaging India thinking that’s cool, and I really can’t imagine Pakistan thinking that’s cool. Is Trump planning on opening a hotel in India or something?
3. How can any sentient being listen to him for five minutes in a row without getting irritated?
4. I’ve never been much of a fan of using dead servicemen as the top reason to do something that doesn’t have a better top reason.
5. Happily, I didn’t hear any mention of that Prince guy.
276.
SgrAstar
@TenguPhule: and fanatical devotion to the pope. ?
He can barely sound out the words and he doesn’t understand what he is saying. That’s why it is so difficult to listen to him. It doesn’t make any sense.
@gene108: He is going to unite India and Pakistan against his stupid. India remembers what happens when they let white people establish “factories”, hence no bases.
280.
d58826
@Adam L Silverman: Oh and I thought I missed something. But at one point I did think he was going to declare war on Pakistan.
281.
Miss Bianca
Wow. So, is it just me, or does no one else finding themselves thinking about what happened in Yemen earlier this year vanishing straight down the old memory hole, as opposed to the endless drum-beating about Benghazi? And wondering how anyone, anywhere, could think that anything Donald Trump had to say on the subject of Afghanistan could be worth the electrons needed to blow it up on the teleprompter?
Why is he lurching toward Afghanistan, anyway? I mean he’s been busy shaking his schlong at North Korea for days and days now, why the sudden pivot towards Afghanistan?
282.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: I think so. I’ve never really drilled down to who is at McNair in DC (other than the NDU schools) and who is at Myer.
In Arlington VA, actually, right off US-50.
For whatever, it’s also the headquarters and barracks for the US Army Band.
284.
Adam L Silverman
@Waratah: I thought he was working towards something like that too. And who knows, because he provided almost no details, he may have authorized GEN Nichols to strike at terrorist targets across the Afghan border in Pakistan.
285.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Not watching, just reading you guys, but this is reminding me of the big event he held to announce something important and it turned out to mostly be a promotion for one of Trump’s properties.
This sounds like “Hey, look over here, I’m gonna say something really important, or at least pretend that I’m going to, so stop talking about what a Nazi fuck-up I am” event.
@hueyplong: As I understood the reasoning, the United States does a lot of trade with India, so India should be contributing more to fighting in Afghanistan.
This, like so much Trump stuff, is blindingly stupid. Trade has nothing to do with military alliances. India is currently confronting China. They don’t need another fight.
288.
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: Yep. It is a hard truth to stomach for anyone who has been even when we know it is the truth and one that should be spoken often in regard to how things have gone poorly.
OTOH, I predicted he wouldn’t go off script, and he didn’t. A couple of little asides. You can tell they’re asides when he looks at the audience rather than the teleprompter.
291.
Immanentize
It was probably mentioned by someone else, but his sanctimonious five minute intro about how we are all in this together — the military is a band of Brothers and Sisters! Fighting for love and diversity and loviness — made me scream considering his trans ban tweets.
WASF
292.
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat: I did a 100 year old armoire for the beach place with chalk paint in the spring. It was pretty nasty to start with…5 layers of oil, lead based paint. The premixed chalk paint is pretty expensive. I ended up mixing my own. A lot of info on line. If you want to email me, I can send you some info. I used an on line formula but made a lot of it up as I went along. Electric palm sander was my friend.
@Miss Bianca: It’s all about the theatrical effect. He’s not going to do any thing new or worthwhile in Afghanistan.
300.
NorthLeft12
@Adam L Silverman: We went through something like this ourselves [in Canada] too when we withdrew [mostly].
There were many comments from families of slain soldiers that to leave without winning was a betrayal of their lost family member. Those discussions angered me as the awful and most honest response was that Canada did not want to create any more grieving families just to “justify” the sacrifice/loss of the previous soldiers. I know that answer is harsh, but the plain fact is that some/most of these wars are not critical to the national interest or survival and while there may have been a reasonable political/altruistic reason to get involved, there are limits and we reached our limit years ago.
I am not a pro-military person, but I value their lives and their service. That is why I feel they should only be deployed in very important circumstances. We rightly stayed out of Iraq, with much damage to our relationship with the US, but jumped into Afghanistan to prove our worth as an ally and our belief in multilateral military action. I am very leery of pretty much any military involvement.
@gene108: The diplomats at Chanakyapuri are vily mother fuckers, they must be laughing their ass off.
305.
Adam L Silverman
@hueyplong: Actually there are several Trump branded properties under development in India.
The reason that India is not directly involved in Afghanistan is to keep Pakistan from becoming upset over it. This is the same reason we don’t have the Israelis helping out in Iraq or Syria – so as not to upset our Arab coalition allies. As a result of tonight’s remarks Islamabad is in full pucker and the US Ambassador to Pakistan is tap dancing.
306.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Chris: remember when we dropped “the mother of all bombs” and the war was over?
307.
Immanentize
Also too,. Trump’s invocation of honor and ‘something’ was just straight out of the Nixon “Peace with honor” playbook.
WASF
it turned out to mostly be a promotion for one of Trump’s properties.
Well he did brag about all of the great military victories since Jan 20th. He was more than happy to take credit for Mosul even thought it was the strategy laid out by that guy with the funny name.
He also promised not to reveal battle plans before winning the battle. I guess if things go wrong he can always say that it wasn’t part of the unannounced plan.
In all seriousness Afgan. is made up a number of tribes and ethnic groups that do not like each other. They have not liked each other for hundreds of years. The Pashtuns in the south are not going to break bread with the Tajiks from the north. The Pashtuns in northern Pakistan are not going to turn on their tribal relatives in southern Afgan.
There is no victory there. There are no performance baaed milestones that we can achieve. The plan laid out by Der Fuhrer if implemented honestly means that Americans will be fight in Afgan well into the next century.
309.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: If you had to sleep with Mr. Greenspan you’d be concerned too.
310.
Adam L Silverman
@d58826: I was actually starting to write that comment in real time when he didn’t, so I deleted it.
311.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: That would be the one. But I had forgotten how he had plugged all his various loser product lines. He would have been selling snake oil out of a wagon if he had been born in an earlier time.
312.
hueyplong
@Cheryl Rofer: Your possibly correct explanation for the India jabber is even worse than my hope that it was just random word association.
Oh, I was thinking of the one where he promised a big press conference, held it at the then brand-new Trump International Hotel (Old Post Office in Washington, DC); finally, breezily, after singing great praises for his own property, acknowledged that President Obama actually was born in Hawaii — and then walked off to give a tour of the hotel and refused to take any press questions.
314.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca:
1) There’s no Yeman raid drumbeat because there are GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress.
2) Things are going poorly in Afghanistan. And unlike in North Korea, Americans are dying there. So…
I was thankfully otherwise engaged, but from the comments can we assume this was really a poitical, not military speech. Get onstage, avoid defecating, don’t defend a Bull Connor statue, no jokes about recruiting accountants from a shtetl, and hope that’s enough for some of the wavering knee-walker supporters that his polls stabilize above 30%?
317.
Immanentize
@d58826: not kidding — from people I know who have spent a lot of time — years — in Afghanistan:. One cannot underestimate how stoned the males are in the countryside all the time in that country.
Yemen? Charlottesville is already circling the Memory Bowl, only 10 days on…
324.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: So, the press won’t ask any further questions about what happened in Yemen and why Trump as CiC wasn’t ultimately responsible for a botched raid, because the GOP aren’t going to frog-march Secretary of Exxon Tillerson in to testify in front of Congress. Goooooot it…
325.
Adam L Silverman
@NorthLeft12: No arguments at all from me. The stupidest argument for continuing a war of any type is “we have to because of everyone who has already been wounded or died”.
The idea that trade means the Indians owe us is fucking ridiculous. Trade isn’t charity that we give other countries because we feel bad for them. Trade happens because they have shit we want and we have shit they want so we buy their shit and they buy our shit.
This is like saying that, because I buy groceries from the guys at the organic market, they have a moral duty to help me with my roach problem.
330.
Adam L Silverman
@Chris: We do two things in Afghanistan right now:
1) Counter-terrorism operations.
2) Working with our coalition partners in NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTMA) to build the capabilities of the Afghanistan National Security Forces.
331.
The Thin Black Duke
@Miss Bianca: Trump’s puppet masters in China told him to knock it off.
332.
gene108
India’s doing more than I realized:
NEW DELHI: While agreeing that Pakistan has raised concerns about India’s growing role in Afghanistan, the top commander overseeing American operations in the war-struck country has welcomed New Delhi’s participation in strengthening local forces.
Snip
“I can understand India has been calibrated because of this (Pakistan) concern. I can only answer this from a military perspective and there we welcome the role India has been playing, particularly in training thousands of Afghan soldiers,” said Nicholson, when asked about India’s role in the country.
The US commander made a case for increased Indian assistance, particularly for the Afghan air force that consists of Russian origin aircraft.
The General said that while the four Mi25 helicopters provided by India are of great help, the Afghan air force needs much more, pointing out that while there are several donors lined up to help Afghanistan, most of them have sanctions on Russia.
The officer said a repair and overhaul facility for helicopters would be welcome in Afghanistan and given that many nations do not want their funds to be used for purchasing spares from Russia, India could be a good option to take on the work.
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I figured as much, but it just makes me sick. One of the reasons I’d love to see the Democrats take over Congress again, frankly.
@Immanentize: Good to have you back among us, Imm. You have been missed.
343.
Quinerly
Did Trump use the words “radical Islamic terrorism/terrorists”
I swear I don’t think I heard them but I was struggling to follow it. Left the room a couple of times.
344.
Quinerly
@Immanentize:
Glad to see your posts. My condolences to you. So sorry about your wife.
Dear All,. Thank you. I’ve been random lurking and I see stuff people write and I weep How is it that the kindness of virtual acquaintances moves me so? Dunno. But it does. I hope/want to be back with y’all soon.
347.
Adam L Silverman
@Immanentize: My sincerest condolences for your loss.
348.
kilo50
@chopper: I heard nothing that led me to believe there was anything other than this is the “new and improved Afghanistan war” line. It wasn’t even particularly well done bullshit either.
349.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: Would telling you to fuck off help? We can do that too.
the Secretary General of NATO and our allies—several of which have also committed to increasing their troop numbers
NATO countries are brimming over with confidence and gratitude for Trump right now.
351.
Immanentize
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m a mess! That made me laugh and weep…..
ETA Through this five month shitshow, I could steel myself for all the awful news and results. Totally stoic But when someone showed true caring concern or heartfelt sorrow, I collapsed. Heaved great big blubbering heaves Go figure.
352.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: All-service blog and all. Isn’t Arguments down the hall? Or would that be Abuse?
Yes, on occasions when I have posted especially bad (usually health) or especially good (usually granddaughter) news in this space, I have been overwhelmed by the jackals’ responses. Used to be, at least – am not any more.
354.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman:
Still odd. That’s Mattis, McMaster, Kelly influence, I guess. I thought the thugs and losers part was an ad lib.
@Immanentize: {{{ }}} to both you and Immp. Also, take care of yourself and may Mrs I rest in peace.
359.
Immanentize
@efgoldman:
Immp is amazing. I know you predict acting out. That is likely later. But he said the sweetest thing to me before J died — “Well, I was thinking about this last night and I guess I don’t get to have my ‘i hate my parents phase’ because I learned how important you are.”.
I of course told him he was free to hate on me anyway.
Hope you’re being kind to yourself, as in not listening to Trump’s drek.
361.
Captain C
@MomSense: Mooch’s actual purpose was to deliver a bleepload of the good Bolivian Marching Powder, then make his escape by being fired.
362.
Immanentize
Later gators.
363.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: It almost scares me sometimes, how fast *someone* in the BJ community will twig a cultural reference, from the highest of the high-brow to the lowest of the low. Well-done, us!
Actually he has one overriding principle: ME ME ME ME….
371.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh, NOW we see the violence inherent in the system!
372.
japa21
How long will it be before Trump talks about how well received the speech was, and how the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs called him to tell him it was the greatest speech he’s ever heard given to the troops?
373.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Are we switching from the show to movies? Or is this free form?
374.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That was one uninspired speech. So in the end Trump is being made to act like an adult. He’s dead meat now because he clearly sucks at it and his base is only in it for the the thrill.
375.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ll have the lot, all mixed up together in a bucket, with the eggs on top, and don’t skimp on the paté.
376.
Yarrow
@Immanentize: Good to see you here. Deepest condolences. So very sorry for your loss.
377.
Ruckus
@Immanentize:
Condolences and better days to you and Immp.
So I’ve read the comments and didn’t listen to the “speech” and nothing was different or better than expected. drumpf is a horrible baboon and has managed to destroy any good will that this country built up in the last 200 yrs. Most of Europe should be gone, what with his nazi bullshit. The middle east was probably lost in the first month. As of this evening he’s managed to piss off India and Pakistan. He’s made good headway on starting a war with NK, which of course would piss off anyone left in Asia. He managed to piss off over half the country by “winning” the presidency and has continued that delicate work with pretty much every word he’s uttered. I’d bet the active duty military isn’t all that thrilled with him either. He’s managed to pretty much ruin his own brand to the point that even his Russian owners can’t be all that delighted because where else are they going to launder money?
Anyone left he can piss off?
Wanna bet on the nazi simps that are his base being next?
378.
Yarrow
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: He’s going to head out to AZ tomorrow and get some of that rabid crowd energy he so desperately needs. He’ll tell them all “his” generals told him it was the best speech they ever heard, better than any of Obama’s speeches.
Yes, I tend towards the view that if the U.S. were ever put through a decade of communist occupation followed by half a decade of Mafia wars followed by half a decade of (a rose by any other name) Ku Klux Klan rule followed by another decade or two of foreign occupation, Afghanistan is exactly what we would look like. (With shittier rugs).
He’s going to head out to AZ tomorrow and get some of that rabid crowd energy
Aren’t both open and concealed carry legal out there?
I expect some kind of riot, and the non-compensated Secret Service will have to hustle him the fuck out of there.
@efgoldman: I think they are. I would guess the Secret Service will be screening the crowd pretty carefully. Who knows what will happen in the line to get into the place. I’d expect protesters somewhere, but wonder if they’ll be allowed anywhere near the venue.
I’ve seen some discussion of non-fans getting tickets and then getting up and walking out when he shows up.
It took over Rachel Maddie’s block of programming tonight and it was as painful & incoherent as ever, even as he completed sentences and used proper noun-verb subject agreement thanks to timely teleprompter assistance.
NO real original strategy.
NO realistic committed strategy for victory and terrorist defeat or what not compared to either of the previous two administrations.
NO acknowledgement or proper syncing of the 10001 other positions on foreign policy and war matters he took on the campaign trail or on his 1984-hellscape-brought-to-life of a Twitter account from years past.
All I can say is I despair of our country and what comes next in the absence of a proper resolution to impending nuclear war to North Korea and this godforsaken orange tanned fool controlling our own atomic warfare.
388.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Yarrow: Might be interesting to see what happens there if the Generals took Trump to the woodshed. Trump doesn’t have Bannon doing whispering hate into Trump constantly. Trump doesn’t sound like a man with any real ideas of his own.
389.
Yarrow
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Supposedly Kelly is controlling who gets to see Trump. I wonder if he’s also controlling who Trump talks to. Seems like Bannon could still call him up. And Miller is still there.
@Chris: A good question. It appears that, aside from irritating Pakistan and India, there is not much new about this plan. More secrecy and probably more deaths, but no clear endpoint or strategy.
@Chris: As far as I can understand Trump’s views, trade comes first. Everything else springs from that. He misunderstands the balance of trade, which complicates things, but that has never slowed him down. I agree that it’s a dumb way to view things, but it seems to be his.
392.
tobie
I tuned in late to the whole thing because I couldn’t stomach having to hear or see Trump. The response to the speech on Brian William’s show seems to be fairly muted. But I heard yet another journalist say regarding domestic politics that the Democrats have no message. This is become in annoying meme. A guest on Morning Joe said the same thing. The party did just come out with “A better deal.” What is the Republican Party message? Why is it that no one ever asks this?
@Immanentize: Thinking good thoughts for you and the Immp.
394.
efgoldman
Can have a new non-pedicure thread?
395.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: i doubt it. Best of luck. See you on the other side if we both make it.
396.
NorthLeft12
@sm*t cl*de: I call bullshit on that. There are numerous NATO allies [Canada included] who agreed to spend more on their military, but I doubt more than two agreed to increase the size of their armies.
@Immanentize: That is sweet! He sounds like a great kid, you (and I’m sure Julie) are rightly proud of him. Take care of yourself, we’re here when you’re up to it.
398.
JAFD
To zag a bit here…
Has anyone ever read _Caravans_, the novel James Michener wrote about Afghanistan, in 1963. What did you think? Worth reading ? What’s different now than when ’twas written ?
schrodingers_cat
Its going to be great and huge. I propose a joint Russo-American task force, we play the great game together, and win bigly.
THE END
TenguPhule
I can’t bear to watch.
Someone else please sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
Baud
I think I’ll pass.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Same here. The only time I see T is during a Seth Meyers or Colbert diatribe.
oatler.
Let’s all you guys go fight this war!
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: The Russians are arming the Taliban right now. It’s kind of a reverse Charlie Wilson’s War type of things.
Schlemazel
DAMMIT! I just ate, don’t do this to me
SiubhanDuinne
I’m watching. After sitting 9+ hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic today, I need some relaxation and comic relief!
Yarrow
I’m not going to watch or listen to this shit. If he can read a teleprompter and not go off script he’ll be declared Presidential and the media will slobber over how Kelly has everything under control and pivot, pivot, pivot.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@schrodingers_cat: Or John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Jim Jefferies… but yes, unless I’m listening to a comedy show, I won’t be subjecting myself to the president*’s voice. I suspect Adam will be able to provide us a roundup of everything important, anyway.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Who are we arming, Northern Alliance?
kilo50
@Adam L Silverman: That’s certainly a karma kinda thing. Why did we not assume them doing this.
SiubhanDuinne
I thought this was going to be from the WH. Taht’s what they were saying earlier today. Was the change of venue a last-minute thing, or did MSNBC get it wrong?
MomSense
@SiubhanDuinne:
I said I wasn’t going to watch but here I am with Rachel on waiting for Dolt 45 to make his yuuge entry.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: You know, there are actual comedies you could watch instead of the Idiot in Chief. I have a hard time imagining how seeing him is relaxing. I tense up every time. Turns my stomach.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh fuck. Hail to the Chief.
khead
Make up comment for “That’s too bad.”
Quinerly
Sounds like he’s out of breath less than 2 minutes in. That breathing/snort thing is very pronounced.
MomSense
Me thinks he is highly medicated for this gig. Low energy. SAD!
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: It is funny to watch comedians imitate him. I make generous use of the mute button!
SiubhanDuinne
Huh I do not have permission to edit my own damned comment.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Hail to the Thief?
JPL
Well I just turned it off, the breathing/snorting thing was bothering me.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Regular morning commute in Atlanta?
Chris
Oh, this is going to suck isn’t it.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: It won’t last. Tomorrow’s rally in Phoenix is going to be a mess.
MomSense
Dude you don’t have to turn your entire body to read the teleprompters. You look like a malfunctioning Disney animatronics exhibit.
SiubhanDuinne
He got a haircut. And he’s dyed his hair.
And he’s doing that weird breathing thing.
AliceBlue
The man’s face and voice are just unbearable. Two seconds of him is too long.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: eclipse, it was a breeze going to Elberton.
Baud
@Chris: That’s quite a stretch there.
Adam L Silverman
@schrodingers_cat: The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
khead
Using the military to say – “Can’t we all get along?”
SiubhanDuinne
There’s the White Power gang sign.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@schrodingers_cat: Agreed. Anthony Atamanuik has the best Trump impression, followed by Alec Baldwin, probably. Of the main late night hosts, I think Colbert’s is my favourite.
kilo50
His idea of gravity and seriousness is some kinda bad acting. He can’t carry off a basic speech with any kind of respect. No matter how hard he tries.
Adam L Silverman
@kilo50: We’ve got a societal and national short, medium, and long term memory problem.
clay
So, he’ll announce the troop expansion, and it won’t accomplish much… it’s inevitable that he will then blame it on the generals: “That was a plan they came up with, it wasn’t my idea.” We already saw it with the botched Yemen raid. The buck stops anywhere else.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Just sent you an email of pics Mike took in Brasstown, NC. It took him two hours to go and about four to come home, but he said it was well worth it.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
Whole thing is incredibly weird so far. It’s like he can’t catch his breath. He’s in bad shape. Some speech slurring.
Chris
@kilo50:
Not only karma. What we did to the Russians in Afghanistan was, quite consciously, doing to them what they’d done to us in Korea and Vietnam. That is, stay away from the fight, let your enemy be the one that actually spills blood trying to control thing, while you act only through proxies.
You would think the lesson had been learned that this, not surge after surge of troops, is how you win wars in the third world. And you would be wrong.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Used to be, back in the day. This was the eclipse commute to SC and back.
MomSense
This is really bad.
SiubhanDuinne
Are his speech writers even remotely capable of writing a sentence that is NOT a cliché?
Adam L Silverman
@raven: There was an eclipse?//
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: I can only take so much of that, even. Comedians like Colbert, yes. And I thought Alec Baldwin’s portrayal was very good. But I can only handle it for a few minutes. Then I have to turn it off.
MomSense
@Quinerly:
He’s inhaling through his teeth or something.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: is that rally in Phoenix still happening? I thought the mayor had basically begged him not to come. Oh, right. This *is* Trump we’re talking about, after all.
Quinerly
Pivot!
MomSense
White power sign.
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: Same here. I had to check out the infamous press conference, but I did it through the late night filter.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
I do not like this sickening irony.
MisterForkbeard
@SiubhanDuinne: If it’s something I’ve learned over the past 8 months, it’s that “terrible and obviously insincere cliche” is translated to “utterly godlike speechifying” by Trump’s supporters.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Okay you guys are really going to make me turn it back on…
At first it sounded like he was pretending to be serious, but then the breathing problems convinced to turn it off.
Quinerly
@Miss Bianca:
Rally tomorrow. Republican governor NOT attending.
Baud
@Quinerly: There’s going to be a riot.
TenguPhule
@Chris:
it’s a day ending in Y after 1/19/17. Of course it is.
kilo50
Oh he studied AFG. How could we not be assured and safe that this military scholar has the special one of a kind insight to protect us all. And its always some one else’s fault.
clay
Someone tell me when it’s over so I can turn on Rachel.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Stephen Miller is the principle speech writer. Though I expect that tonight’s got a good working over by LTG McMaster, Gen. Kelly, and Secretary Mattis.
SiubhanDuinne
“A little terrorist group I like to call Isis.”
hilts
@Quinerly:
Trump is not only full of shit, but tonight he sounds like shit as well.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: When I saw the Mayor of Phoenix interviewed at the end of last week he indicated that the Trump 2020 campaign and the White House had rebuffed his request.
Chris
@TenguPhule:
All days ending in Y after 1/19/17 suck, but some days ending in Y after 1/19/17 suck more equally than others.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
But this is pap.
Adam L Silverman
If you had “I’m a problem solver, I solve problems” please claim your bingo prize from Anne Laurie on the way out. Also, DRINK!
MomSense
I can’t even pay attention to the speech what with all the snorting, weird sniffing, and breathy delivery.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I’ll update your file.
mai naem mobile
Idiot thinks he’s in a war movie. Dog help us all.
MisterForkbeard
@SiubhanDuinne: Generals aren’t necessarily good speechwriters.
Also, it had to be simple enough that Trump would think he was strong and patriotic while reading it.
chopper
did he just refer to terrorists as “losers”?
SiubhanDuinne
Left-handed White Power!! Drink!!
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Bet he can’t solve problems involving partial differential equations or ordinary differential equations for that matter.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: I expect it will be ugly. I expect if he actually pardons Arpaio it’ll get worse from there.
Quinerly
@hilts:
I think he had too much eclipsing today. He’s a tired, sick, out of shape, evil, old man
raven
Hoorah and all that fucking bullshit. . .
and it’s one, two, three what are we fightin for,
don’t ask me I don’t give a damn, next stop Afghanistan. . .
SiubhanDuinne
@chopper:
He did. Surprised he didn’t make a big L sign on his forehead.
Gravenstone
@SiubhanDuinne: dear god, please tell me that’s not an actual quote.
Yarrow
If anyone was curious about the “okay” hand signal and its use as a white power gang symbol, and Trump’s use of it, this Twitter thread is really interesting. You have to keep clicking “more replies” to see all the tweets, but it’s got loads of photos of people in his orbit flashing the gang symbol.
Also, when did Trump start doing this? It’s the main hand signal that Trump does–all the comedians who imitate him do it. But he used to do the “You’re fired” hand signal. When did he change? Why?
chopper
Oy, this stupid “we shouldn’t announce our moves” thing is obviously his idea, as it’s idiotic and of course cause he brought it up first.
DHD
Our chief weapon is surprise!
TenguPhule
@SiubhanDuinne:
No. This has been another edition of SATSQ.
SiubhanDuinne
@Quinerly:
And he looked at the sun without solar glasses because “You are not the boss of me, NASA.”
Chris
@chopper:
I actually don’t mind that so much.
TenguPhule
@DHD:
Surprise and Fear.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s strange. Some of the themes are clearly Miller’s neo-nationalism. Some of what he’s talking about is clearly the details he got from McMaster and Mattis.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
So the sum is the worst of its parts?
Betty Cracker
@chopper: Yes. Yes, he did.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
And some slurring of speech. I’m not sure he knows what he is reading. It’s just off. The rhythm, something.
Old Dan and Little Anne
I remember looking forward to watching Obama speak on tv. Sigh… The only time I’ve heard the orange shit stain since 11-7 is when he’s being made fun of on late night tv. Instead I’m watching Dirty Dancing. The last scene had a waiter try to give baby “The Fountainhead” to read. I learned about Ayn Rand through Balloon Juice. It all makes sense now.
raven
@TenguPhule: Yea, we’ll shock and awe these dead enders into fucking mush.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh, fuck CNN. Just got a breaking headline from them saying “Trump Calls for Unity.”
Adam L Silverman
@chopper: Yes, yes he did.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
You make this sound like a bad thing.
Another Scott
@Chris: On a couple of NPR reports I heard today, it was almost comical that they said the added troops would be to “help train the Afghan army”. Just about anyone who has been paying attention must realize how comical that is. It was the recurring refrain in Iraq, and has been for 10 years or more in Afghanistan. :-/
Meanwhile, the soldiers and police they have that have already been trained haven’t been paid for months.
Maybe training isn’t the problem??
There are too many warlords, too many competing factions, too many people who know that the only way to survive is to get what one can while one can (graft, corruption) because there’s no sign of things improving.
We can’t fix the world by ourselves. As long as Afghanistan’s neighbors are more interested in fighting among themselves and in beating up on the USA and NATO, then it will continue to be a mess.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
kilo50
No nation building, not again. Now he is threatening Pakistan. Oh yeah let’s threaten them too. The tribal areas are not somewhere we should think we want to go.
TenguPhule
@SiubhanDuinne:
Screw Unity.
hilts
@SiubhanDuinne:
Very true, but how many assholes will soon appear on CNN and the other networks and say that he sounded presidential tonight?
MomSense
This is the lowest energy speech ever. Poor Jeb must be throwing heavy objects st his teevee.
JPL
@Adam L Silverman: Is this the pivot that msm has been waiting for?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
My God, this guy hates his job. Did anybody else see how hang doggy he looked lumbering up to the lectern when they played Hail to the Chief? He looked like he was shambling up the gallows to the waiting noose. This was ’sposed to be fun, God damn it!
Tim C.
@Adam L Silverman: I’m not sure he will. The Trump style seems to be he’s a bit too chicken hearted to do much of anything beyond posturing. Bet he tries to have it both ways by saying how unfair and wrong bigot Joe’s treatment was by the legal system, but I don’t think Trump has the intestinal fortitude to pardon him.
Gravenstone
@raven: convenient how it rhymes with the original. Not convenient- morbid maybe?
misterpuff
Oh Goodie Threatening Pakistan and backhanding India. Pay yer share!
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman:
I can’t follow it.
khead
Holy shit. Yeah, let’s strong arm Pakistan and India. At the same time.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Pretty much.
raven
@Gravenstone: a box is a box
donnah
“Our war fighters…”
Um, what? Aren’t they better known as “soldiers”?
Baud
@Tim C.: That’s a safe bet. He cowardice is in constant conflict with his stupidity, so you never can be completely sure what he will end up doing.
TenguPhule
@Chris:
As we looked from the Nazis to the Trumpsters we could not tell where one ended and the other began.
Yarrow
@Tim C.: Trump is a coward. I agree that he won’t pardon Arpaio.
dmsilev
@SiubhanDuinne: Can we get him to order the tide not to come in?
MomSense
@Quinerly:
Maybe they said “drone” in his briefing and he thought they were talking about his speech delivery.
SiubhanDuinne
@Gravenstone:
I might have paraphrased, just a tad.
TenguPhule
@donnah:
Meatbags are inefficient. Droid Troopers are the future!
debbie
He won’t tell us what his plan is. We have to trust him. Oh boy.
Adam L Silverman
@JPL: No. There is no pivot.
la caterina (Mrs. Johannes)
@chopper: Of course! I think that might have been an ad lib.
raven
@donnah: Sometime in the mid 2000s, a strange new word started to get popular: “warfighter.” It catapulted out of obscurity from the military, quickly becoming the de facto label for all active-duty and reserve personnel. This word is seriously misleading; it presents the exact opposite of military reality at a time when Americans need to be questioning our role in global security more than ever before.
Felonius Monk
@schrodingers_cat:
Oh, c’mon. Fucker has trouble adding 2+2. And judging by his comments about Charlottesville he’s not adept at integration.
dmsilev
@SiubhanDuinne:
To be fair, he’s well on his way to uniting the country in its hatred of him.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
“Three and a half more years,” he’s telling himself as he sleepwalks through this speech, “Three and a half fucking more years of this shit! Fuck. I could be playing golf and looking for my next wife, and here I am up here reading this dumbass speech with all these hard fucking words. Shit! Why the fuck did my bitch wife and snot nosed kids make me do this? I didn’t want to do this, damn it, I never should have listened to them, I never should have let them make me do this, this is all their fucking fault! Bastards…”
mai naem mobile
Tiny little handed man needs to continue to need to criticize black guy with yuuuge hands. What a pathetic creature.
Adam L Silverman
@Tim C.: I’m not sure anyone actually knows what he’s going to do.
Yarrow
Is he still talking? How long is this stupid speech supposed to be?
Chris
@Another Scott:
You would think it would be impossible for any post-Vietnam administration to use that phrase with a straight face.
I mean, this is like coming back from a diplomatic conference proclaiming “peace in our time.” Or it ought to be. Alas.
MomSense
@khead:
What could possibly go wrong?
Zinsky
This walking pile of dog vomit makes me sick to even look at his ridiculously coifed mango head. He started out with one lie after another: “The 9-11 attacks were planned and coordinated from Afghanistan”, WRONG – read the 9-11 Commission Report. While Osama bin Laden may have lived in Afghanistan, the tactical planning was done by KSM in Hamburg, Germany, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and Las Vegas, Nevada. And on and on and on… This ignorant degenerate rapist knows nothing and deserves not a molecule of respect. LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!
TenguPhule
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
We should test this theory.
kilo50
“Lifting restrictions in the field. Overwhelming force”. So it appears increased troops and more qualitative violence is the strategy for victory.
Adam L Silverman
He’s just declared himself a realist. Bannon’s going to blow a gasket.
Quinerly
@hilts:
I guess Paul Ryan’s live town hall on CNN is immediately after. I’m on MSNBC, though.
SiubhanDuinne
@Another Scott:
Not unlike our own Secret Service. Or hundreds and hundreds of Trump employees and contractors and vendors. A pattern seems to emerge.
Major Major Major Major
Am I missing anything by listening to Beck instead and reading a summary later?
ETA: because it sounds like I made the right choice.
MJS
I’m not watching. Has he made reference to his heel spur yet, so everyone knows he’s not actually going to Afghanistan himself?
chopper
this is the most generic fuckin thing ever. this is like some kid trying to fake a history report in front of the class.
MomSense
@Major Major Major Major:
Nope.
schrodingers_cat
@khead: Wait what?
Yarrow
@Quinerly: Oh, that’s funny. Did Trump steamroll over Ryan’s live townhall?
SiubhanDuinne
The only thing that surprises me about this speech is that (so far — it’s not over yet, although he is in his peroration) he has not blamed Obama or Crooked Hillary by name.
mike in dc
He’s reading this speech like he’s sounding it out phonetically. Good luck with that whole “getting Pakistan to help us” thing.
Mike in NC
Refuse to watch the buffoon. Did he blame Obama for the mess he inherited?
different-church-lady
He’s gonna keel over in Phoenix.
lgerard
Interesting that he provides his own signing for the deaf
He also looks like he is speaking from a laundry room or the back room of a dry cleaning establishment
TenguPhule
@khead:
The heir to the throne has been found!
Adam L Silverman
@donnah: @TenguPhule: Warfighter is actually a term of art that is used quite frequently so that one doesn’t have to keep saying “Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines”.
different-church-lady
@mike in dc: Get off his back: his eyes are still blurry from staring at the sun.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: That is surprising.
schrodingers_cat
@Felonius Monk: Very good at division, though.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat: Nice.
raven
Peace with honor and we can’t get out cuz all these other people got killed doing this shit. Sound familiar?
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
Even worse. “Principled” realist.
kilo50
He is taking on all responsibility for this project. He is draping his slouching shoulders with this albatross of Afghanistan. I hope he chokes on it.
Jinchi
@kilo50:
He’s desperate to go to war with somebody. Maybe Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela,…. There are so many to chose from. He just hasn’t narrowed it down yet.
Baud
@raven: Fuck Trump.
SiubhanDuinne
@lgerard:
LOL
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Why? The obvious lie is rather obvious.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: It’s like that “tip of the spear” bullshit.
Adam L Silverman
Now that he’s done speaking I’m not sure exactly what the new strategy is, other than it being rooted in principal realism.
Yarrow
@raven: Yes. Yes it does.
SiubhanDuinne
Huh, that sounds like VERY muted applause, followed immediately a VERY loud band!
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
From those suffering in our stead, it appears not.
different-church-lady
“I have also ordered our boats to stop sailing into other boats.”
kilo50
@raven: Yup. I heard nothing new here. Just more war. Better violence done better. That’s all this was. How anticlimactic.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman: Interesting. I was sure he would go with realistic principles instead.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
“Previous administration” wasn’t close enough?
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Not surrealism? I’m not sure Trump is playing with a full set of paints here.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: but the American voters rejected principled realism.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Where was he giving the speech?
Baud
@different-church-lady: Heh.
Felonius Monk
@lgerard:
And now, live from the service employees rest room in the WH basement we bring you CinC Orange Droolius doing the Afghan two-step.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman:
And making India pay more.
schrodingers_cat
OT: Has anyone used chalk paint?
JPL
So what’s the plan?
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Unless your a Ranger, or a SEAL, or a Air Force Forward Observer Control, or a Green Beret, or a Scout.
Matt McIrvin
@kilo50: Moar atrocities! Hearts and minds!!!
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major: Hell, they rejected all forms of realism.
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
You’re not meant to know. None of us are.
SiubhanDuinne
@Yarrow:
Fort Something, Virginia.
Edit: Fort Myer, VA, near Arlington, I think. Still not sure why MSNBC spent much of the day making a point that it was going to be from the White House.
schrodingers_cat
@Quinerly: Pay more for what?
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Every branch should be accorded the respect they’re due.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: I have, why?
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: I’ll prepare the memo for them. They should be notified.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: Yea, you know exactly how many of them there are in relation to the rest of the “war fighters”.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman: If you knew, then so would the Taliban.
It’s a surprise.
MomSense
We learned nothing from that speech. He basically told us he wouldn’t tell us what he plans to do.
SFBayAreaGal
I can’t stand looking at him, and I hate the sound of his voice.
Thank you to those that have sacrificed yourself for the greater good.
I am humbled and so appreciative
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Who was the audience that applauded so quietly?
TenguPhule
@JPL:
Step 1. More Troops
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit!
mai naem mobile
I don’t know if the soldiers have been told how to act but they don’t seem to be acting like theyre particularly happy. The events with Obama with soldiers always seemed to have them with big smiles.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
Most of all to those poor souls about to ship out to Dead Man’s Land.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Ft. Myer, VA. It abuts Arlington National Cemetery.
debbie
@MomSense:
He also told us we were going to learn to get along with each other, for the soldiers.
SiubhanDuinne
@Yarrow:
A whole lot of guys in camo fatigues.
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: I am thinking of redoing my kitchen cabinets using chalk paint, so I was curious if anyone had used chalk paint and their experience with it.
Yarrow
@MomSense: Not really a surprise.
Is the media drooling over how “Presidential” he was tonight?
TenguPhule
@MomSense:
That has been true since 1/20/17.
JPL
@TenguPhule: Phew.. At least we are looking at a profit, because the don normally makes his money declaring bankruptcy.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Didn’t watch
glad I didn’t
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: I don’t even think we have a base in India. Does Diego Garcia count?
rikyrah
Did he announce anything to do with Blackwater?
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks.
@SiubhanDuinne: So, sounds like some branch of the military.
jl
Didn’t watch the speech. Can read it later, if it contained anything.
I got some laughs reading things like:
Claire Phipps
@Claire_Phipps
Fox News Tucker Carlson: Trump watching eclipse w/out glasses “perhaps most impressive thing any president has done”
https://twitter.com/Claire_Phipps/status/899795678968258561
Edit: I have to wonder whether Tucker Carlson (even Tucker Carlson) is snarking the pres.
Felonius Monk
@SiubhanDuinne:
Fort Meyer, VA. You know, the old Robert E. Lee plantation.
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat:
Afghanistan
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That is funny.
raven
India And US Agree To Share Military Bases: Your 10-Point Guide To New Deal
mai naem mobile
What are the chances that Dolt45 even knows Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan? He can name the leader? The Afghan ambassador?
Baud
@jl: Haha.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: Its in the Indian ocean, same difference, right?
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I laughed when he talked about always going with his gut instincts, until the generals sat him down.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@different-church-lady:
I didn’t hear the whole speech. And I can’t really believe I’m even ask this, but, well, it is Dear Leader, so I have to ask: He didn’t really say that, did he? I mean, I don’t think he’d have said that, but as I said, it is Donald Trump, so I don’t want to assume too much.
Yarrow
@rikyrah: Haven’t they changed their name twice since Blackwater?
Adam L Silverman
@JPL: I have no idea. I didn’t hear any clear ends/objectives delineated. Nor did I hear specific ways and means. I heard the Pakistanis have to get their act together, India and others have to keep paying more, the war, to this point, has been a waste of blood and treasure, he might order a limited troop increase, and we’re moving to a conditions based assessment for ending our operations in Afghanistan.
raven
@Yarrow: It was a mixed audience.
MomSense
@rikyrah:
No?
SiubhanDuinne
@different-church-lady:
Don’t get me all excited like this.
Digital Amish
I’m sorry but the difference between the new strategy and old strategy must be a little too nuanced for me to tell the difference. Wasn’t that basically just a pep talk before sending more people off to die?
Baud
@raven:
Another Scott
@Adam L Silverman: Diego Garcia is the UK’s isn’t it?
Google’s and Microsoft’s heads (families) came from India, so maybe that’s why he wants India to pay more.
Hey, that’s how Donnie “thinks” based on his past pronouncements. :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Yep.
TenguPhule
@JPL:
That’s Trump’s profit, not America’s.
MomSense
Just switched to fuck you Paul Ryan.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman: Let’s pull the transcript about Pakistan and India…that section. Is the transcript up? I’m confused and couldn’t follow. I’m blaming a day of eclipsing.
SiubhanDuinne
@Felonius Monk:
For real? I should probably have known that, but I didn’t. But if so, that’s pretty meta of him, given the past week.
catclub
@SiubhanDuinne:
Another thing that needs fixing vis a vis Treasonous Generals – naming US military bases after them. FT Lee, FT Hood, for starters.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Military personnel assigned to Ft. Myer, as well as members of the Cabinet and White House staff.
debbie
@Digital Amish:
Wrong. It’s a new strategy. He’s just not telling us what it is.
Cheryl Rofer
The amazing part of Trump’s speeches to me is that he seems to be reading them for the first time. He firmly addresses the teleprompter panels, swaying from side to side to provide variety (do they put a “turn” instruction into the speech?), hardly looking at the audience. He stumbles over words and fails to read sentences to bring out their meaning. I find it hard to listen to his speeches because he provides no coherence to the thoughts. In other words, he doesn’t understand what he is reading.
different-church-lady
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): It’s Poe’s Law, not mine.
mai naem mobile
@jl: you have to be kidding me? Tuckers a moron. I swear somebody needs to tell Dolt 45 to absolutely not run up to Marine One holding a huge umbrella while it’s rotors are still turning. Also to absolutely not run down the AF1 steps real fast with his shoelaces untied.
Yarrow
@raven: Thanks.
@Adam L Silverman: Also, thanks for the detail.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Parrikar is now the Chief Minister (like the Prime Minister but at the state level) of Goa. That must be an old meeting.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
So extra shit sandwich with more ketchup?
mike in dc
“We’re going to build a wall along the Afghan border, and Pakistan and India are going to pay for it.”
Miss Bianca
@different-church-lady: you keep on winning the Internets lately, don’t you?
TenguPhule
@Cheryl Rofer:
What do you mean seems? He is reading them for the first time. What, you actually thought he PRACTICES before hand?
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: I prefer normal paint, personally. But I don’t care too much for most faux weathered looks either, so.
Adam L Silverman
@mai naem mobile: Telling a room full of uniformed personnel that one of the two wars they’ve been fighting, and in which almost everyone in that room knows at least one person wounded and/or killed in action in said war, was a waste of blood and treasure is not something that goes over well. I once watched a colonel break down in tears asking the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff if all of her friends, colleagues, and Soldiers who were wounded or died did so for no good purpose. Even senior officers that recognize that we’ve been adrift in Afghanistan for well over a decade, for a variety of both simple and complex reasons, get emotional when the discussion moves in this direction.
Yarrow
@Cheryl Rofer: Among many reasons (like I can’t stand to look at or listen to him), that’s why I don’t watch him give speeches. It’s useless. If you really want to know what the speech says, just read it. He adds nothing and in fact takes away from the meaning. Only interesting if he goes off script and then you can catch that on the news, on Twitter on late night comedy shows.
TenguPhule
@Quinerly:
This is normal. The symptoms will pass once Trump is ejected into the Moon.
NorthLeft12
Count me with the others that cannot stand to hear Deadbeat Donald speak. I normally just read transcripts or see snippets of him.
He is the perfect storm of awful speaking; the quality of his voice, the sneering superiority that seeps out every time, the abysmal grammar, the ignorance, his annoying verbal and physical tics, and finally the unmeasurable level of mendacity in every sentence he spews. He is the worst and to top it all off, he thinks he is the greatest speaker since forever.
Cheryl Rofer
As far as substance goes, he says there will be no nation-building, just killing terrorists. Strategy will be driven by conditions on the ground. The sunk cost fallacy will be followed. Victory will be well-defined: all terrorists will be killed, people will be able to live their lives, and it will all be happily ever after. Pakistan and India need to get behind the program. Pakistan must stop doing bad things. India has significant trade with the United States, so it must pay up its share. And we’re not going to tell you any more about what we’re doing.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: The Old Guard too, right?
kilo50
@Digital Amish: That is exactly what that speech was.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It begins…
I’m a bit surprised at Rucker. “Forceful” should get Maggie a call on her cell.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: No, that was taken off the list of options when Bannon was fired and Erik Prince was excluded from the meetings on Friday.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Trump will certainly find a way to one up tonight’s performance. Maybe whizz on a coffin at Andrew’s Airforce base.
Quinerly
@mike in dc:
Makes more sense than that garbled mess I just heard.
different-church-lady
@debbie:
Not telling us what it is was the old strategy too.
Waratah
Does he want Pakistan and India to pay for this whatever it is?
I thought at first he was going to declare war with them.
With Mexico paying for the wall.
SiubhanDuinne
Well, considering that infamous photo of Ivanka sitting at the Resolute, I suppose it’s a good thing he clarified.
TenguPhule
@Cheryl Rofer:
And you get a pony and you get a pony!
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Blackwater is now Academi, which is owned by a larger defense contractor. Prince has nothing to do with them these days. His current company is headquartered in Hong Kong and his funding is from the Peoples Republic of China.
lgerard
@Cheryl Rofer:
Not to mention waving his hands like he is being attacked by a swarm of gnats
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Our sad little media. So desperate for a pivot they’ll see one anywhere.
kilo50
@TenguPhule: That is a unique portrayal. Fairly accurate as well
different-church-lady
@Miss Bianca: It’s what I do in the post-season that counts.
Betty Cracker
@Adam L Silverman: And yet, that’s the only true thing he said, though he said it bubble-wrapped in lies about how it will be different now that more needless death will be sold under the Trump brand.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Felonius Monk
@SiubhanDuinne: Here’s the skinny:
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne:
If only he’d followed his instinct when he was with Ivana.
hilts
@Cheryl Rofer:
Practicing in advance is not how Trumpenstein rolls.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Yes, I’m aware. But Blackwater did become Xe and now Academi, so I wasn’t too far off, even if Prince is no longer involved.
MomSense
@debbie:
Lol! Believe me.
raven
Yea, don’t worry about getting all our shit through Pakistan, they’re cool.
Another Scott
@Cheryl Rofer: Thank you.
Reuters:
Much strength. Impressive strategery.
:-/
“Pay attention and prepare to do something! We don’t know what it is yet; it depends on another review and we don’t know when that will be done, but be prepared!!1”
Clowns. Dangerous, incompetent clowns…
Grr!
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@Cheryl Rofer:
He leans on words and phrases that are negligible, and slurs over punchy words and phrases that deserve emphasis.
Public speaking instructors, debate coaches, and the leadership of Toastmasters International should use videos of his speeches as examples of all the things not to do when addressing an audience. Especially if your purpose is to persuade.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: Full, flash transcript can be found here:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?432890-1/president-trump-addresses-nation-us-policy-afghanistan
Calling for India to assist in Afghanistan is going to go over poorly in Islamabad. That’s going to push every Pakistani button.
different-church-lady
@SiubhanDuinne:
PHRASING!
Cheryl Rofer
Reporter commentary comes in two flavors: “Trump is now presidential” (yes, I have seen one person doing that) and “Wait for the next tweet,” which is much more plentiful on my Twitter feed, but that’s probably because of the people I follow.
I don’t much like to listen to or watch Trump either. He was doing his finger mudras again, or white supremacy gestures, if you like. I tend to think it’s a tic rather than anything else, but he sure needs to learn not to do it. But I think I need to see how he presents himself and the ideas attributed to him. Sun Tzu:
gene108
@Adam L Silverman:
As far as I know, no foreign country has a base in India.
India’s been paying a lot to rebuild Afghanistan. India is one of the top donors for infrastructure spending.
India has not sent in military personnel for various reasons.
I think Trump may have offended both India and Pakistan.
schrodingers_cat
@Quinerly: : Why in God’s name will India do that?
hueyplong
My first Trump speech. Several times while Trump was talking, I vowed never to watch another. Reactions:
1. A lot of generalized tough talk of the type you hear from old relatives you normally shun. No doubt it will mostly be forgotten, but it’s like he’s owned a vow to perform tough guy “winning” that will look bad every time we don’t perform miracles that frankly seem kind of unlikely.
2. The insanity of inviting India to get involved in Afghanistan makes no sense to me. I can’t imaging India thinking that’s cool, and I really can’t imagine Pakistan thinking that’s cool. Is Trump planning on opening a hotel in India or something?
3. How can any sentient being listen to him for five minutes in a row without getting irritated?
4. I’ve never been much of a fan of using dead servicemen as the top reason to do something that doesn’t have a better top reason.
5. Happily, I didn’t hear any mention of that Prince guy.
SgrAstar
@TenguPhule: and fanatical devotion to the pope. ?
MomSense
@SiubhanDuinne:
He can barely sound out the words and he doesn’t understand what he is saying. That’s why it is so difficult to listen to him. It doesn’t make any sense.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman:
Mrs. Greenspan is indeed concerned.?
schrodingers_cat
@gene108: He is going to unite India and Pakistan against his stupid. India remembers what happens when they let white people establish “factories”, hence no bases.
d58826
@Adam L Silverman: Oh and I thought I missed something. But at one point I did think he was going to declare war on Pakistan.
Miss Bianca
Wow. So, is it just me, or does no one else finding themselves thinking about what happened in Yemen earlier this year vanishing straight down the old memory hole, as opposed to the endless drum-beating about Benghazi? And wondering how anyone, anywhere, could think that anything Donald Trump had to say on the subject of Afghanistan could be worth the electrons needed to blow it up on the teleprompter?
Why is he lurching toward Afghanistan, anyway? I mean he’s been busy shaking his schlong at North Korea for days and days now, why the sudden pivot towards Afghanistan?
Adam L Silverman
@raven: I think so. I’ve never really drilled down to who is at McNair in DC (other than the NDU schools) and who is at Myer.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
In Arlington VA, actually, right off US-50.
For whatever, it’s also the headquarters and barracks for the US Army Band.
Adam L Silverman
@Waratah: I thought he was working towards something like that too. And who knows, because he provided almost no details, he may have authorized GEN Nichols to strike at terrorist targets across the Afghan border in Pakistan.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Not watching, just reading you guys, but this is reminding me of the big event he held to announce something important and it turned out to mostly be a promotion for one of Trump’s properties.
This sounds like “Hey, look over here, I’m gonna say something really important, or at least pretend that I’m going to, so stop talking about what a Nazi fuck-up I am” event.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat:
Winning! See, he really does unite people.
Cheryl Rofer
@hueyplong: As I understood the reasoning, the United States does a lot of trade with India, so India should be contributing more to fighting in Afghanistan.
This, like so much Trump stuff, is blindingly stupid. Trade has nothing to do with military alliances. India is currently confronting China. They don’t need another fight.
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: Yep. It is a hard truth to stomach for anyone who has been even when we know it is the truth and one that should be spoken often in regard to how things have gone poorly.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
That is exactly what it was.
Cheryl Rofer
OTOH, I predicted he wouldn’t go off script, and he didn’t. A couple of little asides. You can tell they’re asides when he looks at the audience rather than the teleprompter.
Immanentize
It was probably mentioned by someone else, but his sanctimonious five minute intro about how we are all in this together — the military is a band of Brothers and Sisters! Fighting for love and diversity and loviness — made me scream considering his trans ban tweets.
WASF
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat: I did a 100 year old armoire for the beach place with chalk paint in the spring. It was pretty nasty to start with…5 layers of oil, lead based paint. The premixed chalk paint is pretty expensive. I ended up mixing my own. A lot of info on line. If you want to email me, I can send you some info. I used an on line formula but made a lot of it up as I went along. Electric palm sander was my friend.
Omnes Omnibus
@TenguPhule: A riot is an ugly thing.
/Inspector Kemp
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@SgrAstar: That’s an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.
Timurid
@Adam L Silverman:
No way that comes back to bite them in the ass, Nope. None at all.
Adam L Silverman
@gene108: All that sounds about right to me.
schrodingers_cat
@Cheryl Rofer: He thinks he can dictate India’s foreign policy, based on what exactly? A speech by a superior man of a superior race?
I crack myself up!
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Maybe you’re remembering his ‘press conference’ during the campaign?
(sigh)
Cheers,
Scott.
kilo50
@Miss Bianca: It’s all about the theatrical effect. He’s not going to do any thing new or worthwhile in Afghanistan.
NorthLeft12
@Adam L Silverman: We went through something like this ourselves [in Canada] too when we withdrew [mostly].
There were many comments from families of slain soldiers that to leave without winning was a betrayal of their lost family member. Those discussions angered me as the awful and most honest response was that Canada did not want to create any more grieving families just to “justify” the sacrifice/loss of the previous soldiers. I know that answer is harsh, but the plain fact is that some/most of these wars are not critical to the national interest or survival and while there may have been a reasonable political/altruistic reason to get involved, there are limits and we reached our limit years ago.
I am not a pro-military person, but I value their lives and their service. That is why I feel they should only be deployed in very important circumstances. We rightly stayed out of Iraq, with much damage to our relationship with the US, but jumped into Afghanistan to prove our worth as an ally and our belief in multilateral military action. I am very leery of pretty much any military involvement.
WaterGirl
@Adam L Silverman: We dodged a bullet on that one.
Chris
@Cheryl Rofer:
Is this actually terribly different from what we’ve been doing?
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
India wants to avoid another Kargil type conflict, which is why India is contributing to infrastructure spending.
But I don’t see India engaging militarily. India tried this in Sri Lanka and it didn’t accomplish much. Also got Rajiv Gandhi asassinated.
schrodingers_cat
@gene108: The diplomats at Chanakyapuri are vily mother fuckers, they must be laughing their ass off.
Adam L Silverman
@hueyplong: Actually there are several Trump branded properties under development in India.
The reason that India is not directly involved in Afghanistan is to keep Pakistan from becoming upset over it. This is the same reason we don’t have the Israelis helping out in Iraq or Syria – so as not to upset our Arab coalition allies. As a result of tonight’s remarks Islamabad is in full pucker and the US Ambassador to Pakistan is tap dancing.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Chris: remember when we dropped “the mother of all bombs” and the war was over?
Immanentize
Also too,. Trump’s invocation of honor and ‘something’ was just straight out of the Nixon “Peace with honor” playbook.
WASF
d58826
@WaterGirl:
Well he did brag about all of the great military victories since Jan 20th. He was more than happy to take credit for Mosul even thought it was the strategy laid out by that guy with the funny name.
He also promised not to reveal battle plans before winning the battle. I guess if things go wrong he can always say that it wasn’t part of the unannounced plan.
In all seriousness Afgan. is made up a number of tribes and ethnic groups that do not like each other. They have not liked each other for hundreds of years. The Pashtuns in the south are not going to break bread with the Tajiks from the north. The Pashtuns in northern Pakistan are not going to turn on their tribal relatives in southern Afgan.
There is no victory there. There are no performance baaed milestones that we can achieve. The plan laid out by Der Fuhrer if implemented honestly means that Americans will be fight in Afgan well into the next century.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: If you had to sleep with Mr. Greenspan you’d be concerned too.
Adam L Silverman
@d58826: I was actually starting to write that comment in real time when he didn’t, so I deleted it.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: That would be the one. But I had forgotten how he had plugged all his various loser product lines. He would have been selling snake oil out of a wagon if he had been born in an earlier time.
hueyplong
@Cheryl Rofer: Your possibly correct explanation for the India jabber is even worse than my hope that it was just random word association.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
@Another Scott:
Oh, I was thinking of the one where he promised a big press conference, held it at the then brand-new Trump International Hotel (Old Post Office in Washington, DC); finally, breezily, after singing great praises for his own property, acknowledged that President Obama actually was born in Hawaii — and then walked off to give a tour of the hotel and refused to take any press questions.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca:
1) There’s no Yeman raid drumbeat because there are GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress.
2) Things are going poorly in Afghanistan. And unlike in North Korea, Americans are dying there. So…
donnah
@raven:
thanks!
p.a.
I was thankfully otherwise engaged, but from the comments can we assume this was really a poitical, not military speech. Get onstage, avoid defecating, don’t defend a Bull Connor statue, no jokes about recruiting accountants from a shtetl, and hope that’s enough for some of the wavering knee-walker supporters that his polls stabilize above 30%?
Immanentize
@d58826: not kidding — from people I know who have spent a lot of time — years — in Afghanistan:. One cannot underestimate how stoned the males are in the countryside all the time in that country.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman:
Do we have one or is that position still open?
NoraLenderbee
@different-church-lady: Please god.
Timurid
@Cheryl Rofer:
If there’s no nation, you’ll never run out of terrorists.*
*To be somewhat fair, nation building in Afghanistan is very, very hard (if not impossible).
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: I felt nauseous when raven mentioned Trump had talked about Peace with Honor. Ugh.
It’s really good to see you here. So very sorry for your loss.
Adam L Silverman
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/b6/15/41b6155a2622155bc7ed9b8fb44bcb70.jpg
Timurid
@Miss Bianca:
Yemen? Charlottesville is already circling the Memory Bowl, only 10 days on…
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: So, the press won’t ask any further questions about what happened in Yemen and why Trump as CiC wasn’t ultimately responsible for a botched raid, because the GOP aren’t going to frog-march Secretary of Exxon Tillerson in to testify in front of Congress. Goooooot it…
Adam L Silverman
@NorthLeft12: No arguments at all from me. The stupidest argument for continuing a war of any type is “we have to because of everyone who has already been wounded or died”.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
He’s a monster.
Jeffro
@Adam L Silverman:
6 squares is too many to contemplate at once, Adam…can we break it down to national short and national long term…um…what was the question again?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: @Another Scott: You are right SD, that was the one! They are all so bad they start to run together after awhile.
Chris
@Cheryl Rofer:
The idea that trade means the Indians owe us is fucking ridiculous. Trade isn’t charity that we give other countries because we feel bad for them. Trade happens because they have shit we want and we have shit they want so we buy their shit and they buy our shit.
This is like saying that, because I buy groceries from the guys at the organic market, they have a moral duty to help me with my roach problem.
Adam L Silverman
@Chris: We do two things in Afghanistan right now:
1) Counter-terrorism operations.
2) Working with our coalition partners in NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTMA) to build the capabilities of the Afghanistan National Security Forces.
The Thin Black Duke
@Miss Bianca: Trump’s puppet masters in China told him to knock it off.
gene108
India’s doing more than I realized:
http://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/us-welcomes-indias-role-in-boosting-afghanistan-military-pakistan-worried/articleshow/53642767.cms
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: We have one. Career foreign service.
Omnes Omnibus
@Another Scott: I am sure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is sitting in a state of cat-like readiness.
Adam L Silverman
@Miss Bianca: I’ve seen it come up in the news, but without a series of congressional investigations it isn’t going to be focused on.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Old Guard is Myer.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Well, that’s good news.
schrodingers_cat
I am not seeing any comments about this speech on the Twitter feed of Indian journalists I follow. Its too early in India, will check tomorrow.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: Completely OT: My deepest condolences.
chopper
@Cheryl Rofer:
“no more nation building. except for the fact that we’ll continue helping improve the Afghan government. but that’s totes different”
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Tracking.
Miss Bianca
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, I figured as much, but it just makes me sick. One of the reasons I’d love to see the Democrats take over Congress again, frankly.
@Immanentize: Good to have you back among us, Imm. You have been missed.
Quinerly
Did Trump use the words “radical Islamic terrorism/terrorists”
I swear I don’t think I heard them but I was struggling to follow it. Left the room a couple of times.
Quinerly
@Immanentize:
Glad to see your posts. My condolences to you. So sorry about your wife.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: Not tonight. Thugs and losers though.
Immanentize
Dear All,. Thank you. I’ve been random lurking and I see stuff people write and I weep How is it that the kindness of virtual acquaintances moves me so? Dunno. But it does. I hope/want to be back with y’all soon.
Adam L Silverman
@Immanentize: My sincerest condolences for your loss.
kilo50
@chopper: I heard nothing that led me to believe there was anything other than this is the “new and improved Afghanistan war” line. It wasn’t even particularly well done bullshit either.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: Would telling you to fuck off help? We can do that too.
sm*t cl*de
@Another Scott:
NATO countries are brimming over with confidence and gratitude for Trump right now.
Immanentize
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m a mess! That made me laugh and weep…..
ETA Through this five month shitshow, I could steel myself for all the awful news and results. Totally stoic But when someone showed true caring concern or heartfelt sorrow, I collapsed. Heaved great big blubbering heaves Go figure.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: All-service blog and all. Isn’t Arguments down the hall? Or would that be Abuse?
efgoldman
@Immanentize: How is the Immp doing? How are you?
Yes, on occasions when I have posted especially bad (usually health) or especially good (usually granddaughter) news in this space, I have been overwhelmed by the jackals’ responses. Used to be, at least – am not any more.
Quinerly
@Adam L Silverman:
Still odd. That’s Mattis, McMaster, Kelly influence, I guess. I thought the thugs and losers part was an ad lib.
WaterGirl
@sm*t cl*de:
Who knew they would get tired of so much winning?
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: I had the same thought, but I couldn’t figure out how to weave it into a comment. Well done.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: My job here is done. Take care of yourself and the Immp.
schrodingers_cat
@Immanentize: {{{ }}} to both you and Immp. Also, take care of yourself and may Mrs I rest in peace.
Immanentize
@efgoldman:
Immp is amazing. I know you predict acting out. That is likely later. But he said the sweetest thing to me before J died — “Well, I was thinking about this last night and I guess I don’t get to have my ‘i hate my parents phase’ because I learned how important you are.”.
I of course told him he was free to hate on me anyway.
debbie
@Immanentize:
Hope you’re being kind to yourself, as in not listening to Trump’s drek.
Captain C
@MomSense: Mooch’s actual purpose was to deliver a bleepload of the good Bolivian Marching Powder, then make his escape by being fired.
Immanentize
Later gators.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: It almost scares me sometimes, how fast *someone* in the BJ community will twig a cultural reference, from the highest of the high-brow to the lowest of the low. Well-done, us!
Jay
@Immanentize:
32 years of unending Civil War, started and sustained by Foreign Powers, will tend to break down societal norms and National cohesion.
efgoldman
@Immanentize:
Even during their worst adolescent moments (and they all have them) kids know what’s important.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Abuse.
ETA: Stupid git
Another Scott
@Immanentize: You and she did well.
Condolences. Rest easy.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Amir Khalid
@Adam L Silverman:
Whereas Trump is neither principled nor a realist.
Adam L Silverman
@Amir Khalid: Yep.
efgoldman
@Amir Khalid:
Actually he has one overriding principle: ME ME ME ME….
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh, NOW we see the violence inherent in the system!
japa21
How long will it be before Trump talks about how well received the speech was, and how the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs called him to tell him it was the greatest speech he’s ever heard given to the troops?
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Are we switching from the show to movies? Or is this free form?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That was one uninspired speech. So in the end Trump is being made to act like an adult. He’s dead meat now because he clearly sucks at it and his base is only in it for the the thrill.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ll have the lot, all mixed up together in a bucket, with the eggs on top, and don’t skimp on the paté.
Yarrow
@Immanentize: Good to see you here. Deepest condolences. So very sorry for your loss.
Ruckus
@Immanentize:
Condolences and better days to you and Immp.
So I’ve read the comments and didn’t listen to the “speech” and nothing was different or better than expected. drumpf is a horrible baboon and has managed to destroy any good will that this country built up in the last 200 yrs. Most of Europe should be gone, what with his nazi bullshit. The middle east was probably lost in the first month. As of this evening he’s managed to piss off India and Pakistan. He’s made good headway on starting a war with NK, which of course would piss off anyone left in Asia. He managed to piss off over half the country by “winning” the presidency and has continued that delicate work with pretty much every word he’s uttered. I’d bet the active duty military isn’t all that thrilled with him either. He’s managed to pretty much ruin his own brand to the point that even his Russian owners can’t be all that delighted because where else are they going to launder money?
Anyone left he can piss off?
Wanna bet on the nazi simps that are his base being next?
Yarrow
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: He’s going to head out to AZ tomorrow and get some of that rabid crowd energy he so desperately needs. He’ll tell them all “his” generals told him it was the best speech they ever heard, better than any of Obama’s speeches.
Chris
@Jay:
Yes, I tend towards the view that if the U.S. were ever put through a decade of communist occupation followed by half a decade of Mafia wars followed by half a decade of (a rose by any other name) Ku Klux Klan rule followed by another decade or two of foreign occupation, Afghanistan is exactly what we would look like. (With shittier rugs).
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And a bloody mary with a beer back? That works.
Aimai
@Immanentize: we are thinking of you and your son. Praying for peace and a return to joy for you oth.
efgoldman
@Yarrow:
Aren’t both open and concealed carry legal out there?
I expect some kind of riot, and the non-compensated Secret Service will have to hustle him the fuck out of there.
japa21
@Chris: Or 8 years with full GOP control.
chopper
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
bon, and the usual brown ales?
Yarrow
@efgoldman: I think they are. I would guess the Secret Service will be screening the crowd pretty carefully. Who knows what will happen in the line to get into the place. I’d expect protesters somewhere, but wonder if they’ll be allowed anywhere near the venue.
I’ve seen some discussion of non-fans getting tickets and then getting up and walking out when he shows up.
efgoldman
@Yarrow:
While a “presidential” visit would never be as wide open, I expect the local police to remember Gaby Giffords all too well.
Ithink
@TenguPhule:
It took over Rachel Maddie’s block of programming tonight and it was as painful & incoherent as ever, even as he completed sentences and used proper noun-verb subject agreement thanks to timely teleprompter assistance.
NO real original strategy.
NO realistic committed strategy for victory and terrorist defeat or what not compared to either of the previous two administrations.
NO acknowledgement or proper syncing of the 10001 other positions on foreign policy and war matters he took on the campaign trail or on his 1984-hellscape-brought-to-life of a Twitter account from years past.
All I can say is I despair of our country and what comes next in the absence of a proper resolution to impending nuclear war to North Korea and this godforsaken orange tanned fool controlling our own atomic warfare.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Yarrow: Might be interesting to see what happens there if the Generals took Trump to the woodshed. Trump doesn’t have Bannon doing whispering hate into Trump constantly. Trump doesn’t sound like a man with any real ideas of his own.
Yarrow
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Supposedly Kelly is controlling who gets to see Trump. I wonder if he’s also controlling who Trump talks to. Seems like Bannon could still call him up. And Miller is still there.
Cheryl Rofer
@Chris: A good question. It appears that, aside from irritating Pakistan and India, there is not much new about this plan. More secrecy and probably more deaths, but no clear endpoint or strategy.
Cheryl Rofer
@Chris: As far as I can understand Trump’s views, trade comes first. Everything else springs from that. He misunderstands the balance of trade, which complicates things, but that has never slowed him down. I agree that it’s a dumb way to view things, but it seems to be his.
tobie
I tuned in late to the whole thing because I couldn’t stomach having to hear or see Trump. The response to the speech on Brian William’s show seems to be fairly muted. But I heard yet another journalist say regarding domestic politics that the Democrats have no message. This is become in annoying meme. A guest on Morning Joe said the same thing. The party did just come out with “A better deal.” What is the Republican Party message? Why is it that no one ever asks this?
Cheryl Rofer
@Immanentize: Thinking good thoughts for you and the Immp.
efgoldman
Can have a new non-pedicure thread?
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: i doubt it. Best of luck. See you on the other side if we both make it.
NorthLeft12
@sm*t cl*de: I call bullshit on that. There are numerous NATO allies [Canada included] who agreed to spend more on their military, but I doubt more than two agreed to increase the size of their armies.
satby
@Immanentize: That is sweet! He sounds like a great kid, you (and I’m sure Julie) are rightly proud of him. Take care of yourself, we’re here when you’re up to it.
JAFD
To zag a bit here…
Has anyone ever read _Caravans_, the novel James Michener wrote about Afghanistan, in 1963. What did you think? Worth reading ? What’s different now than when ’twas written ?
fuckwit
@Adam L Silverman: More like a Charlie Foxtrot.
fuckwit
@Miss Bianca: BEENNNGGHHAAAAZZZIIII!!!!
fuckwit
@tobie: Their message is “Make America White Again”.