Breaking news from The Post, and nope, I am not making this shit up:
For much of the past year, President Trump has declined to participate in a practice followed by the past seven of his predecessors: He rarely if ever reads the President’s Daily Brief, a document that lays out the most pressing information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies from hot spots around the world.
Trump has opted to rely on an oral briefing of select intelligence issues in the Oval Office rather than getting the full written document delivered to review separately each day, according to three people familiar with his briefings.
Reading the traditionally dense intelligence book is not Trump’s preferred “style of learning,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The arrangement underscores Trump’s impatience with exhaustive classified documents that go to the commander in chief — material that he has said he prefers condensed as much as possible. But by not reading the daily briefing, the president could hamper his ability to respond to crises in the most effective manner, intelligence experts warned.
Soon after Trump took office, analysts sought to tailor their intelligence sessions for a president with a famously short attention span, who is known for taking in much of his information from the conservative Fox News Channel. The oral briefings were augmented with photos, videos and graphics.
After several months, Trump made clear he was not interested in reviewing a personal copy of the written intelligence report known as the PDB, a highly classified summary prepared before dawn to provide the president with the best update on the world’s events, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
I’m pretty confident Fox & Friends IS the PDB. Seriously, if you follow both Fox & Friends and Trump on Twitter, it’s obvious he’s live-tweeting the show, and viewpoints expressed by the ghouls and charlatans who appear on Fox & Friends eventually dribble from Trump’s oafish mouth or are pounded out by his stubby Twitter thumbs later that day.
Maybe the intelligence analysts could get Ainsley Whatzerface (Not-Gretchen) to come READ the briefing to Trump? Maybe the opportunity to ogle her boobs up close would keep him on task? Just a thought.
More from The Post:
Michael Anton, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Trump “is an avid consumer of intelligence, appreciates the hard work of his briefers and of the entire intelligence community and looks forward every day to the give and take of his intelligence briefings.”
Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, said in a statement that “any notion that President Trump is not fully engaged in the PDB or does not read the briefing materials is pure fiction and is clearly not based on firsthand knowledge of the process.”
He added that Trump’s routine sessions with senior intelligence advisers “demonstrate his interest in and appreciation for the value of the intelligence provided. In fact, President Trump engages for significantly longer periods than I understand many previous presidents have done.”
I swear to Christ, they sound like helicopter parents making lame-ass excuses for their hyperactive brat. Fuck every single person who voted for that shitbag, and screw all of his goddamned enablers. Except maybe Mad Dog. The end.
Obvious Russian Troll
Any notion that President Trump is fully engaged in the PDB or does read the briefing materials is pure fiction and is clearly not based on firsthand knowledge of the process.
Assholes.
different-church-lady
Laziest president ever.
Michael Demmons
I, for one, am glad the President doesn’t pay attention to national security briefings.
If he knows what’s in them, then god only knows who else he’ll tell!
Roger Moore
It’s amazing that the Republicans managed to pick a candidate who’s worse than George W Bush in every way. It’s even more amazing that he managed to steal the election.
dr. bloor
Wasn’t it already common knowledge that he had no interest in the PDB? I seem to recall reading something similar months ago.
Kristine
Pence is the de facto president. They’ll cover that up as long as they can.
I hate these people. I want them all gone.
Rasputin's Evil Twin
Recently President Obama said he never watched cable news while he was in office, as the PDB told him what he needed to know days if not weeks earlier.
God, I miss having a SMART man as president.
JPL
@Kristine: That can’t be because Pence is always out of the loop.
My concern is that Fox will dictate what country Trump should bomb.
Montysano
@Roger Moore:
Well, a certain segment of the population had been pushed past the breaking point by the presence of the dusky-hued Hussein Obama in their White House.
Chyron HR
Yes but at least we’ve driven a stake into the vile dynastic presidential aspirations of Hillary’s grandson, Wormwood.
Betty Cracker
@dr. bloor: There was a story months ago that analysts were shortening the copy, adding pictures and placing mentions of DONALD J. TRUMP on every page so he’d read it. As far as I know, it’s news that he’s not reading it at all.
@Kristine: I think it was the plan to have Pence run things, but I don’t think he is either — too dumb, out of the loop or both. The country is on autopilot.
oatler.
@Chyron HR: “Even my cold cereal doth taste of wormwood.”– L. Van Pelt, 1960
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: The only thing that is not on auto-pilot is screwing over immigrants. President Kelly is in charge and he is efficient like a Nazi general.
cain
Maybe they should just give the PDB to Fox and Friends. [/sarcasm]
cain
@oatler.:
“good grief, how depressed can you get?” – L. Van. Pelt
rikyrah
Exclusive: Trump administration may target immigrants who use food aid, other benefits
Yeganeh Torbati
hueyplong
@Michael Demmons: Yes, ask the Israelis what happens when Trump actually obtains a piece of intelligence.
So we are effectively in the hands of people horrible enough to be willing to be part of Trump’s team.
different-church-lady
@Kristine: Hey, it’s a step up from Bannon being de facto president.
rikyrah
Amen
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: IIRC they had floated this last year but put it on ice after they got the push back on the Muslim ban. They seemed to have got it out of the cold storage again.
JPL
@cain: Are we sure that they don’t?
Betty Cracker
Every time I hear another report like this that underscores Trump’s staggering incompetence, I think back to that meeting he had with President Obama shortly after the election. A reporter asked PBO what they’d discussed, and he wasn’t specific, but he did say something like, “I tried to convey the gravity and magnitude of the job to him, because no one is really prepared for it until they get behind that desk.”
That’s not an exact quote — I can’t bear to look it up — but it captures the gist. I wonder what goes through PBO’s mind when he reads a story like the one highlighted above. I mean, he knows the nature of the information in the PDB — probably had it read by 7 AM every day and ordered additional information on worrisome issues! And now this fucking clown is his successor. It’s beyond depressing. And dangerous.
GregB
@JPL:
It appears Venezuela is in the bomb/invasion mix now.
Chris
@Betty Cracker:
I think they were hoping for a Dubya Bush style presidency with a lazy disengaged asshole in the White House who was happy to leave the actual governance to his vice-president and cabinet members. The problem is, Trump may be lazy and an asshole but he isn’t disengaged, and keeps meddling, overruling his cabinet members, and firing them.
cain
@JPL:
Those dim bulbs wouldn’t even know what to do with it. I’m hoping though they would be scared shitless of what’s going on in the world and wake the fuck up. But most likely not.
It seems to me the Deep state should just have a TV show where they talk about the PDB like it was Fox and Friends. It might improve things.
OGLiberal
@Betty Cracker: Yeah, Pence is not up to the task. He couldn’t run Indiana. Remember the story of how Don Jr. approached Kasich about being VP, telling him that he could basically run everything. Kasich asked what Trump would be doing and Jr. responded, “Making America great again”. I translated that to – “My dad just wants to have signing ceremonies and hold rallies where his racist/sexist/idiot/white supporters cheer for anything the man says”. That, of course, is what is happening, only Pence is far less competent than Kasich so the folks running shit in the country are various unqualified staffers, the lead of whom may change on any given day.
And fuck Kelly and McMaster – I actually expected this of Kelly but not of McMaster. Neither is doing anything to make shit less worse. “They took their roles out of a sense of duty to the country, to save the country from Trump.” Bullshit – they took the jobs out of pure opportunism and maybe – especially with Kelly – some level of agreement in what Trump believes in. (and what he believes in basically amounts to “Trump” and “brown people bad”)
Kristine
@Betty Cracker: @JPL: Happy to be wrong because Pence would be horrible. Like Betty, though, I expected it. I figured he’d handle the day to day boring stuff that really winds up having an impact while his boss distracted everyone by flinging poo.
That said, Kelly is a disaster in his own special way. Damn, but they are all garbage.
Time to suit up and clear some snow. Winter Storm Mateo passed over northern IL overnight. 5-7 inches fell around here, it looks like–haven’t been outside yet. Could get a couple more smaller shots of snow over the weekend.
Montysano
@Betty Cracker:
I like to think that PBO got him behind closed doors, and in his subtle and elegant way (of course), filled Trump with abject terror at what he’d gotten himself into.
Evinfuilt
When do we get the special White House Week of Fox & Friends, with their very special guest, The President. All week, all from the Lincoln Bedroom.
Sponsored by McDonalds
Chris
@rikyrah:
They can pay taxes, but they can’t benefit from them.
gvg
In Florida, everyone gets free preK if they sign up. I don’t think there is any way to pay or any reason to. Also kids who don’t get preK are more likely to be behind and a burden later on plus it hurt society. they don’t even know or care what the programs are for.
People who are fleeing death threats or revolution who come here probably don’t start with much so by definition they need public assistance at first but studies show it pays off for the country in the longer run. Basically they don’t want us to be a safe refuge and it’s aid and comfort to tyrants. Very unchristian by the way.
Olivia
The enablers could provide better cover for his idiocy, but they always have to make him sound like superman. They never defend him like he was a normal human. He’s always “super engaged” or “amazingly aware” with ” lightening fast speed reading capabilities”.
Most people know that what they are saying sounds like code words for “really dim”,”has the attention span of a guppy” and “can barely read his own name”
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Because of Rs we are going to lose the position we enjoy internationally. I have no idea why
Schumer made the deal with McConnell. We are all going to pay the collective price for their misdeeds. For a long time to come.
joel hanes
@different-church-lady:
Laziest
Yes, but that’s only part of what’s going on here.
Trump is America’s first functionally illiterate President.
He won’t read the PDB because he is incapable of comprehending it, even after it was dumbed down.
Gravenstone
Learning is not Trump’s style, period.
schrodingers_cat
@Chris: That is true even now actually for most immigrants.
NotMax
BJers ought to already be familiar with what a scurrilous, bigoted, racist piece of foul work the Pence-chosen propagandist Michael Anton is.
japa21
I actually believe this. After all it takes longer when you have to speak very sloooooowly and repeat everything three or four times and have to spend time answering stupid questions.
Leto
@Betty Cracker: @OGLiberal: NYT: Donald Trump Wants His VP To Be In Charge Of ALL Policy
Like Betty said, autopilot. Only a matter of time before the iceberg “sneaks up on us”. Whocudduhseenit?!?!
Betty Cracker
@OGLiberal: Mattis is the only one who has pushed back on the Shitgibbon’s worst impulses, as far as I can tell, specifically, he has vocally opposed the transgender ban and deportation of soldiers in DACA status. Also the Iran issue as linked above. It would normally be troubling to have a general interfering with civilian rule over the military like that, but in this case, it’s the lesser of two evils for sure.
joel hanes
@Roger Moore:
It’s even more amazing that he managed to steal the election.
You do know that the amazingly-well-placed margin of victory in the Rust Belt states all comes from electronic voting machines that are impossible to audit, yes ?
And you do know that it’s now been confirmed that the Russians succeeded in penetrating a number of election computers (although it’s not been revealed precisely which ones) ?
Computers are a completely inappropriate technology for recording ballots.
Insist on hand-marked paper ballots.
japa21
@schrodingers_cat: We already have lost it. It had been downgraded after Bush the Lesser, greatly improved by 8 years of yeoman work by the Obama administration (including Hilary email Clinton), and totally destroyed in less than a year by Trump.
Gravenstone
@rikyrah: How’s about we apply the same scrutiny to his cracker base (no offense, Betty)? Lots of po’ white folk are currently a ‘burden’ on the government as well. Maybe we should reconsider their citizenship…
trollhattan
@GregB:
Good times. Been awhile since we had a proper jungle war–those always go well.
How much more would Fox be trolling Trump if Ailes were still in charge?
Gravenstone
@Chris: Plus, neither his VP nor Cabinet are competent to fill the obvious void. Fun times.
NotMax
“Why should I have to read anything about all these places? Most of them are sh*tholes and that’s all I need to know.”
Leto
@japa21: Think about the Dem response memo to the Nunes memo. It got to $hitgibbon Monday and he has 5 days to read it before making a decision. 5 days is today. Kelly said he was still looking at it on Tuesday/Wednesday because it was “fairly long”. It’s 10 pages. I’m sure that War and Peace for him.
schrodingers_cat
@japa21: I am not just talking about bragging rights. Fall from grace where it will affect the economic well being. As in the dollar losing its position as the world’s reserve currency. It happened to the pound sterling, if we continue on this trajectory, that’s where we are headed.
Fred
If Preznit Hairbrain read the dammed thing it wouldn’t do any good. Hell, might make matters worse. Anything the gob sticks his nose he turns into a nightmare.
Chris
@schrodingers_cat:
Yeah, I know. They’re just taking a shitty principle and making it even worse.
gene108
How demoralizing it must be to be a career government employee,busting his or her ass everyday to produce a quality PDB knowing it will never be read.
Chris
@japa21:
Abigail at LGM has made the point a few times that the problem with Trump isn’t just Trump, but the fact that he’s coming on the heels of Dubya and clearly speaks for a large and loud part of the American polity. He’s proof that Dubya wasn’t just a freak incident, but represents deeper problems that aren’t going away and are in fact going to continue getting worse. So you can’t just wait out his presidency until America “goes back to normal;” you have to accept that it’s the new normal and act accordingly.
schrodingers_cat
@Chris: Yes the current President represents the R party and their principles. He is not an aberration or an exception.
Leto
@hueyplong:
It’s not just the Israelis, but every other partner we have. I’m sure that newspaper is probably missing a few sections because our allies are afraid to share what they have for fear of it being passed on in such a non-chalant manner, with Repubs waving it off as, “The president can declassify whatever he wants, whenever he wants, for whatever reason he gives.” National security? Liars. Fiscal responsibility? Liars. Just about everything they say/do: lies.
danielx
This man does not learn. If he doesn’t already know about it, it’s not important.
FlipYrWhig
ISTM that Trump knows that the letters on a page correspond to words and sounds, but has no comprehension of how letters on a page signify concepts. His brain can’t turn print into information.
Ken
@Roger Moore:
I think of it as like some twisted version of Captain Marvel, combining the worst aspects of each Republican president. The incompetence of GWB! The senility of Reagan! The paranoia of Nixon! The cluelessness of GHWB!
Enhanced Voting Techniques
So they found some blonde to read the briefings to Trump.
trollhattan
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Just how many jobs does Ivanka have? Monsters!
FlipYrWhig
@danielx: He has a pretty good memory of things he’s seen on TV. Even relatively obscure ones like “red plastic ‘Russian reset’ button” and “Iranian boats pester American warships.” He probably would say he’s a “visual learner.” But the further problem is that what he learns from visual stimuli has to sync with all the things he already knows in his gut, unless a family member, rich dude on the phone, or a macho army man (who intimidates him) can change his mind.
danielx
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Well, you want him to pay attention, right? Maybe she could feed him grapes too?
Amir Khalid
There is effectively no President of The United States. The man with the title isn’t interested in the job and never was. The ostensible Vice-President is kept out of the loop — maybe he’s an obvious dunce, maybe he’s out of favour because he was Reince Priebus’ choice, maybe both. General Kelly, held out to the public as a bringer of discipline and professionalism, has deserted his chief of staff post and joined in the chaos. The White House staff is leaderless and running wild. Is it an exaggeration to call this a Lord Of The Flies situation?
JGabriel
Because his briefers have to keep explaining things over and over again to the addled traitorous dolt, you ridiculous nitwit.
FlipYrWhig
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I bet it’s Kirstjen Nielsen.
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid:
Yes. They are all older.
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: I fear you are right. At this rate, a decline like the British empire’s is the best case scenario, the fall of Rome the worst.
Feebog
Autopilot is a good description of where we are at. Trumpov is only interested in photo ops, cable television and what’s for dessert. Kelly is steering, but you get the feeling the wheels are going to come off any moment.
Leto
@danielx: And this point, that condition is never going to change. That job requires you to continually learn. Situations are ever changing, relationships are ever changing, the world is ever changing, and you have to learn how to adapt to that. Of course the basic foundation of conservatism is: Fuck you, I’m not changing! Nothing’s ever changing!
Raoul
So when Trump’s “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in USA” moment comes, we can fully expect the entire Right in this country to blame Killary and Obummer and somehow escape blame?
F*ck me, this is incredibly dangerous stupidity. Not that I think Trump reading the PDB would matter, but it signals an admin that is in about 150 feet over it’s head. Shit.
eric
allow me to offer the observation that America’s decline in the World is not necessarily something to lament. Relying on an often hypocritical hegemonic power to direct world affairs is itself a problem. America has never been the moral force people believe it has been, but it has been lucky enough that the World’s other historic “colonial” powers have been so god awful. America lags Western Europe in many key indicators (infant mortality and health care among them), to the point that the way we treat our own people has long been at odds for how we demand the rest of the world treat its own. Sure, it is not a good thing that China and Russia take on a larger presence on the world stage, but there other ways to lead and we have failed at those, though cloaked in the international comfort of our military arsenal for power. In other words, we have led not with moral suasion, but with military strength.
jonas
In fact, President Trump engages for significantly longer periods than I understand many previous presidents have done
Well, when you’re dumber than a bag of rocks, it obviously takes longer for stuff to be explained to you.
Betty Cracker
@Feebog: We’ve been lucky so far that there hasn’t been a genuine crisis that requires quick decisions from the executive branch. That luck can’t hold indefinitely.
Leto
@Amir Khalid:
I don’t really want to see who’s going to be Piggy or Simon in this.
Edit: @Gin & Tonic: Only physically. Mentally? Nah…
eric
how will they save Kelly? wait for it…..wait for it…..BLAME THE WOMAN!
Miss Bianca
@gvg: And refugees are ROUTINELY assigned government benefits like TANF and food stamps and housing subsidies. So, what, now no refugees are eligible for citizenship?
Actually, now that I think about it, this maybe EXACTLY what this is about. Next thing will be President DT saying that we won’t take any more refugees because ZOMG they use government benefits! So they won’t be eligible for citizenship! We’re just saving the poor things from themselves by refusing to let them in!
Amir Khalid
@Feebog:
The White House is not on autopilot. That device got hurled out the cockpit window last year.
Raoul
@Betty Cracker: Yup, this.
Trump’s real role in global history will be to mark the ‘pivot’ from US hegemony to Chinese/Asian dominance. We are indeed roughly where Britain was post WWII.
My catching up with The Crown is making for some interesting viewing as the 50s/60s saw the dissolution of much of the Commonwealth (if not nominally, since places like Canada are still in, but being in doesn’t matter much anymore). We haven’t quite had our Suez Canal moment, but we will.
I suppose I was expecting a soft landing in our own End of Empire saga. But, nope!!
joel hanes
@Ken:
The cluelessness of GHWB!
Ah, you fell for the disguise.
GHWB was, in his prime, the furthest thing from clueless. Secretive, devious, subtle, cunning, close-mouthed, connected — he did almost all his serious work behind the scenes, and his fingerprints were never found on any of it.
d58826
Any one seen if the 10 page D response to the Nunes document been released? Wasn’t it supposed to be released today??
joel hanes
@FlipYrWhig:
He has a pretty good memory of things he’s seen on TV
So did Chance, the gardener.
TV is not about thinking.
Amir Khalid
@Raoul:
I think you mean the dissolution of the British Empire. The Commonwealth of Nations is still around.
joel hanes
@Amir Khalid:
The ostensible Vice-President is kept out of the loop
as a plausible deniability defense, to prevent being taken down in the same impeachment proceedings that might take down Trump. Pence has no other function.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Raoul:
You wouldn’t even get an “OK, now you’ve covered your ass” out of him. His briefest must have to genuinely insert him into their briefings to keep him interested.
Damned at Random
Given the lack of any filter between his brain and mouth, Trump’s lack of attention to his daily briefs is the only reason he doesn’t blurt out sensitive intelligence at one of his televised pep rallies.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@joel hanes:
Pence being out of all loops is the ultimate GOP “Dead Hand” truck brake lever.
The Moar You Know
Betty, do you teach? That is EXACTLY what they sound like!
“Not only did little Donnie shit himself in class five times this week, they were the best shits ever! A lot of his classmates, they eat even more than he does, but nobody shits himself like my little Donnie!”
Leto
@joel hanes: I was listening to the final episode of Slow Burn yesterday and apparently one of the reasons for picking Spiro Agnew was just in case the specter of impeachment was brought up against Nixon: sure Nixon’s gone, but now you have this guy! Seems like that’s what they were doing with Pence. I also say that because BJ has had more than a few discussions like that: sure Trump’s bad, but if Pence got in there…
MomSense
Anyone notice that Assange was caught trying to give hacked info on Mark Warner to a fake Sean Hannity twitter account by DM. Now, Fox is running stories on Mark Warner texting with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch.
Isn’t Wikileaks a known agent of Russia? Is Fox accepting info from Wikileaks?
Leto
@d58826: It’s 10 pages. He ain’t ever gonna read that. Might as well give him his Sharpie and tell him to color on the pages.
NorthLeft12
@rikyrah: What a mean, cruel, and vindictive policy this is. I was going to say I find it hard to believe that people who purport to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ would support this, but actually this is exactly the state of Christianity today. And just another reason why I no longer belong to any organized religion.
bobbo
“Not my president” should be amended to “not anyone’s president.”
He simply isn’t doing the job.
Yutsano
@NorthLeft12: They are not Christians. They worship the god of Mammon. They only cloak their perversities in Christian garb so they look ore respectable. I’m seeing through all of them. Can’t wait until they get to their pearly gates and find their weight is sorely lacking.
NorthLeft12
@Raoul: Yes, as a Canadian, we don’t get much for belonging to the Commonwealth. My daughter is allowed to vote in elections in the UK [she has been living in London for five years but is maintaining her Canadian citizenship], so there is that.
gvg
I don’t believe he is “significantly more engaged than I understand previous Presiden’s were”. I think that person is a liar. Yes he is stupider than previous Presidents, but he is also known to have a short attention span and no curiosity. He won’t bother to ask questions. He is also more arrogant. there is no way he spends any significant time on it.
I have also concluded that the reason his “executive time” is growing is that he doesn’t carry through on promises and reverses himself all the time. You can’t make a deal with him, the countries who did super flattering shows for him didn’t get much out of it, so nobody is bothering. Now even Congress is just trying to work around him. he signed the budget bill when he said he was holding out for the wall $. Getting his attention didn’t work. Now I think they are trying a strategy of being boring and say you look great when you sign this 1000 page legal document…
I wonder if we could get him to sign his own resignation letter.
J R in WV
@rikyrah:
What business of Homeland Security is it what public resources people make use of? How is that related to our “Security” AT ALL?
It isn’t, it’s pure hate, and everyone who participates in these programs drawing up methods to express hate need to be fired because their units have been dissolved and their funding is GONE.
/S These people are pure-D Nazi monsters and should be sent to summer camp again to learn how to be human.If they use School Buses, deport them!! If they have public water plumbed into their residence, deport them! If they breath our precious, preciouss air, deport them!!!
Brachiator
Isn’t this pretty much known already? Hasn’t Trump often said he is so smart that he doesn’t need briefings? OTOH, this part is interesting:
This is crazy circular. Trump makes shit up, it’s reported on Fox News to transform it into Conservative Gospel, and then Trump regurgitates it into “facts.”
Maybe the PDB is over-rated and there is really not that much danger in the world. Also, too, as others have noted, rather than making America great again as leader of the free world, other countries don’t share timely or important intelligence information. Which actually makes us a second rate nation. The kind where our Dear Leader needs a military parade to give him a little presidential stiffy.
Leto
@gvg:
Make it two pages and small font, he’d 100% sign it.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker:
President Obama’s greatest regret is going to be not eliminating Trump when he had the chance.
Betty Cracker
@Raoul: And as in The Crown, the decline won’t be felt materially in the palaces — it’ll be the rest of us poor shlubs who suffer.
TenguPhule
@Montysano:
No, Trump was too stupid to be educated.
In his case Ignorance truly is bliss.
TenguPhule
@Amir Khalid:
Yes, the British kids in the novel were better organized and had done more long term planning.
d58826
@Leto: make it look like the hotel register at one of his hotels. he’ll think he is checking in and stiffing the taxpayer for the room charge
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: Pretty sure Daddy’s money had A LOT to do with him getting through Penn. It’s amazing what legacy money does to distort education in those institutions.
different-church-lady
@Leto: He never saw the presidency as anything other than a trophy. And he never will.
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
I think it is much worse than Lord of the Flies because they have vast resources to apply to their evil aims, Lord of the Flies only had sticks and stones. But thanks for the metaphor, it’s great!
Trump, Lord of the Flies!
Wonderful thought, thanks for sharing it.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: The only thing that may be saving us is that the world knows Trump is a loose cannon, so they re more careful not to leave him an
opportunityexcuse to nuke them.TenguPhule
@Raoul:
Yes.
I’d place the odds at 50% that it kicks off a wave of rightwing violence against muslims, blacks and “liberals” the likes of which we’ve never seen before in this country.
Mnemosyne
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Look at the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. She’s the one reading it to him.
TenguPhule
@eric:
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Our navy has kept the sea lanes open and fairly free for the post WW II era. Lots of international trade has flowed smoothly based on that certainty that anyone trying to interfere or make trouble would get their ass kicked by us.
Do not expect China or Russia to do what we did so well for so long.
TenguPhule
@Betty Cracker:
We’ve had at least one so far. Puerto Rico.
The media just isn’t paying attention to it.
The next one will be worse.
Captain C
@Montysano: I suspect one of the things PBO told Trump was something along the lines of, “You will have to deal with many willful, stubborn people who have their own power base. They will say ‘no’ to you. You will not be able to fire them.”
KickBoxBanana
He doesn’t read them because the man-baby-in-chief has the reading comprehension of a child.
Aleta
If he’s an ‘avid consumer,’ Intelligence must be a flavor that comes out of the freezer in pint containers.
Mnemosyne
@TenguPhule:
You may need to read up on the history of this country, sweetie. Start with Rosewood, Florida, and the 1919 Chicago race riots and then realize that that happened dozens, if not hundreds, of times in the post-slavery United States.
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne: I think its going to be worse then that. Its feeding on itself.
Barney
Mel Brooks foresaw this – he just didn’t get the level of office right:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzbhbetwYFU
Mnemosyne
@TenguPhule:
“Worse” than burning a town to the ground and slaughtering everyone who lived there?
You do you, pumpkin.
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: Neither Russia nor China (especially China) has anywhere near the naval capacity of the United States. No country has anything close to what we have and in fact a lot of navies around the world have our old castoffs (or old Soviet ones depending) so no one in the world can project naval power like we do. We’re not going to be shrinking that any time soon thanks to this budget deal, so at least for the time being that won’t change.
eric
@TenguPhule: Ask Iran and Central America and the Palestinians
and the Mexicans about American hegemony (often masked under the guise of the World Bank and IMF). A show of military strength is not the same thing as “influence.” What you are saying is that we were the World’s enforcer when needed. I agree, and we did not behave consistently or rightly in that role. I am not saying that we were all bad, I am saying that American influence served American’s needs, where America means American money.
But her emails!!!
Why are these people even bothering to lie about this stuff?
MomSense
@Brachiator:
He said he’s like really smart which is just how someone who is like really smart would say it.
Mnemosyne
@eric:
And now the world is going to be serving Russia and China’s needs.
I have a feeling that most countries are not going to see that as an improvement, even allowing for the US’s previous bad actions. Unlike Russia, we weren’t routinely bombing hospitals in Syria.
Gravenstone
@MomSense: Fox is WikiLeaks, with better graphics, and blondes.
TenguPhule
@Yutsano:
Our navy is so overstretched that they’re crashing into other ships. As Adam Silverman has noted, all the posturing and CRs have fucked up their budgeting and they already had a serious manpower problem. Supporting all of the military activities across the globe came at a price and our naval forces are long overdue for some overhauls.
Our ability to project naval power is going to start going down barring some miracle.
TenguPhule
@eric:
We were the status quo for over 70 years. Our nation’s hands weren’t clean, but the problem is that China and Russia are both shitty alternatives to us and the rest of the world knows that.
The Russian solution to the Palestinian problem is going to be to kill em all. Just for starters.
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne:
Yes.
O. Felix Culpa
You will be shocked to learn that Kelly instructed his staff to lie about his role in l’affaire Porter.
eric
@Mnemosyne: I dont mean to be a dick, but Central America was a war zone in large part because of what the United States did in those countries. I am not saying that China and Russia are an improvement. I think a more collaborative world effort might be more effective and nuanced, though by no means automatically and always better. My point is that this lamentation ignores a lot of what we have done in the name of American righteousness.
efgoldman
@different-church-lady:
Also stupiderist. By far.
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!
Hohohohohohohoh
It would be hysterically funny, if it weren’t so pathetic and dangerous.
PaulWartenberg
all a terrorist has to do is take out the Fox Not-News signal one morning and our government will fall into chaos before 10 AM.
eric
@TenguPhule: Again, I am focusing on “less influence” and not “willful capitulation to Russian interests.” Less influence does not have to mean obsequiousness to Putin; but can mean mean greater cooperation among the entirety of the Globe.
But her emails!!!
@TenguPhule:
The navy gets plenty of cash which it like all the other branches seems to like to flush down the toilet after having set it on fire. What was the last new vessel design that came in at less than 100% of estimates and actually delivered what was promised?
Brachiator
@Yutsano:
Yep, but things change. China seems to be building up its navy, and technological advances may allow nations to neutralize some of the advantages that ships currently have.
Also, in order for a navy to be effective, it’s good to have allies and friendly ports.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@TenguPhule: Distributed Jesus Land works against that – the REAL Americans all fled to the extra-burbs. They would have to come into the scary ethically mix metro areas were they are the minority and the cops don’t like them.
And I am not making that scary metro area stuff up – housemate gf’s brother was babbling on about he needed to carry a gun when he wanted to go to Disneyland and we were mocking him about both me and the housemate lived IN Oakland, CA when it was murder capital USA and never felt the need, yet here is Mr tough real American who needs a piece to just go to see Mickey Mouse.
TenguPhule
@eric:
And in a perfect world there would be a better replacement for US hegemony.
This isn’t that world.
When we go off the international power stage, shit is going to get real. Pacific nations are going to face harassment, blackmail and skirmishes with China. The EU is going to have build up their military forces, with all the problems that implies. Japan may have to do the unthinkable and shred their peacetime constitution in order to fully rearm and rebuild their military forces just to survive. And China and Russia are going to be making their plays in Central and South America, Africa and Australia for resources and catspaws.
The Moar You Know
@O. Felix Culpa: This is my shocked face:
Kelly is a goddamned menace.
Betty Cracker
@TenguPhule: A hurricane doesn’t require split-second decision-making; the Trumpsters have been ignoring Puerto Rico at their leisure. I’m thinking something more along the lines of this:
CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Terrorist Master Mind X has been spotted in Djibouti. We could launch a Hellfire missile, but the resulting fallout could endanger Operation Mountain Thrust. There’s only a two minute window. What do we do, sir?
TRUMP: Mount and thrust whose booty?
TenguPhule
@But her emails!!!:
A lot of that cash is being blown on the new design “next generation ships” which try to solve the manpower issue with more automation. Again, we can’t even crew and train the ships we have right now the way we should.
eric
@TenguPhule: One could make a compelling argument that W’s adventure in Iraq destabilized the globe in ways that we are now seeing as well. We are not in disagreement that American influence is needed, but that it needs to be dramatically tempered. In fact, if we go to war in Iran (not inconceivable) or attack North Korea (again, not inconceivable), people will be wishing for “less influence.”
Chris
@TenguPhule:
Note that a huge part of the appeal behind American hegemony, for a lot of smaller nations, is that it allows Japan and Germany to remain demilitarized. Take that out of the equation, Japan and Germany have no choice but to remilitarize for their own security; a lot of smaller nations are suddenly in freak mode because of their memories of the last time that happened; a few lesser powers like France, Britain, and Australia are trying to figure out how to fill the void the U.S. left without going too far in pissing off Russia and China (or Germany and Japan); naturally, the already-rising tide of nationalism in all these countries goes through the fucking roof because now there’s actually national security threats and not just cultural ones to worry about; and Vlad the Impaler has a grand old time playing all of these countries off against each other for the ultimate greater glory of Mother Russia.
Ken
@gvg:
I wonder if he knew the wall wasn’t in it.
Actually, I wonder who told him “You will get out of bed before eight and sign it.”.
Mnemosyne
@eric:
I am not ignorant of that. In fact, our ongoing problem with illegal workers from Mexico and Central America traces directly to the policies of Carter and Reagan that caused chaos and civil war in Central America and forced people to flee for their lives.
Like it or not, though, Russia is much worse than we are — just ask Chechnya. China’s not great (to say the least), but they are at least smart enough to realize that soft power can get them pretty far.
Mnemosyne
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
This asshole is why we all have to walk through metal detectors and have our bags searched at Disneyland.
The Moar You Know
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: In AHAHEIM? Are you serious?
Jesus, he should relocate to under his bed and have someone collect the soiled sheets every week.
TenguPhule
Nuclear weapons fall, everyone dies.
Return to Page 1 and start over.
Chip Daniels
When I was a Scout leader, I had one parent patiently explain to me that his son suffered from a learning disability that made it “painful for him to perform tasks which were tedious or unpleasant”.
Mnemosyne
@The Moar You Know:
Well, you know, there are a lot of non-white people in Anaheim. Some of them even work for Disney! He never knows when he will suddenly be confronted by an Asian-American woman demanding that he have a “magical day”!
Yutsano
@The Moar You Know: I dunno man. I was just down that way in November. Awful lotta hoodlums running around Garden Grove…//s
@Mnemosyne: I’m so glad I had enough self-control to not bust out loud laughing at that comment. It would not look good to the taxpayer waiting to see me.
Sm*t Cl*de
@Betty Cracker:
“greatly improved by
821 years of yeoman work by theObamaMarcus Aurelius administration, and totally destroyed in less than a year byTrumpCommodus.Brachiator
@Chip Daniels:
Ah, yes. The kid had a chronic case of Assholiosis.
WaterGirl
@Chip Daniels: Hard to argue with that – it is kind of painful to have to do stuff that is tedious or unpleasant. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes a part of life, and he neglected to teach his child that. Arrogant asshole.
Anonymous At Work
Modest Proposal for Public Statements:
1. Replace “Spokesperson” with “Political Appointee/Hire” as appropriate.
2. Add “Politically-appointed” to the beginning of all applicable job titles.
This would enable readers to know when someone is lying out of their ass for their career or if they are an actual federal employee giving it an honest shot.
Yutsano
@Sm*t Cl*de: So who gets to be our Ostrogoths? Asking for a friend.
Captain C
@Chris:
At least until Russia collapses again due to too much time, treasure, and attention spent on foreign adventures and not enough on getting their own shit together. cf. The last 500+ years of Russian History.
Captain C
@Yutsano: I think the Republican Party is auditioning for that role.
Yutsano
@Captain C: Dammit. I was hoping for Mexico because irony.
fedupwithhypocrisy
President PowerPoint
Chris
@Captain C:
That actually sounds kind of like us post-1991. End up on top of the world, then tear yourself to pieces through your own incompetence and dysfunction.
JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo
@Yutsano: I’m reminded of the end of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, where (spoiler) Americans have to emigrate to Mexico to escape the cold
Ksmiami
@TenguPhule: then we hit them back harder let the chips fall where they may
sukabi
@Michael Demmons: the Russians. He’s already proven he’ll share classified Intel with the Russians.
Captain C
@Yutsano: They’re too civilized, and their food is probably a lot better.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@Mnemosyne:
At least the incidents you are talking about were geographically limited, and over with in a few days.
cain
@TenguPhule:
Yes, because if Oregon gets the big one, you can bet Trump will abandon it and the west coast because they didn’t vote for him. We will be treated like Puerto Rico. You can bet on it. If federal govt is not going to protect us because shitgibbon doesn’t want to, I say we should form our own country since west coasters are giving more than they get.
Yutsano
@cain: Hell look at the inaction after the California wildfires. Californians barely got ANYTHING from the federal government. Was there even a FEMA presence? I couldn’t even begin to tell you. If something like the Big One hits Oregon or Washington tomorrow…it would be horrific from the inaction from the federal government.
Boatboy_srq
When I read “Trump is an avid consumer of intelligence,” my first thought is “ZOMG Lord Dampnut EATS BRAINS!”
Mnemosyne
@Aardvark Cheeselog:
I’ll ask you the same question I ask TenguPhule: the three major counties of Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego) cover about 10,000 square miles. How do you picture. a white supremacist militia marching in and controlling that, plus additional population centers throughout the US?
There are more of us than there are of them, and as anyone who served in Iraq can tell you, being more heavily armed only takes you so far.
TenguPhule
@Mnemosyne: Conversely, how do we handle Georgia, Utah, Alabama and Florida’s assholes run amuck without major military intervention?
Hell, part of California’s police were just caught collaborating with Neo-nazis, so I’m not as sanguine about this as you are. Its not about control any more, this is devolving into just hurting and killing other people out of pure tribalism.
J R in WV
@WaterGirl:
Acquainted with a young woman who started a successful BBQ restaurant. Just a lunch counter, really, with take out, beer, pretty good stuff. So one day I stop by for a quick lunch, and she’s in there doing everything by herself…
I ask “Where’s your help?”
She says “He called this morning to say he didn’t want to continue to work here. Said he didn’t like being told what to do!” Now there’s a young man who is going to have a long miserable low-paid life. Who does like being told what to do? I’ve always been willing to do what I’m told, for MONEY.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: I’m completely with you on that. For ENOUGH MONEY.
I shake my heads at people who raise their kids to think they are the center of the universe – they are not doing those kids any favors. Center of YOUR universe, sure, but THE universe? Not a good idea. They’ll likely have trouble at their first job and every job after that.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@Mnemosyne: I’m glad you’re surrounded by allies. I, on the other hand, live in Florida.