Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

No one could have predicted…

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

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

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Bark louder, little dog.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / {Facepalm} Open Thread: A Little, Little Man in A Very Big Job

{Facepalm} Open Thread: A Little, Little Man in A Very Big Job

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I think the real “news” here is that the Wingnut Welfare Wurlitzer is apparently trying to make Paul Ryan the new Nancy Pelosi — an all-purpose excuse for their collective failures:


(… because there were only so many futile attempts to subpoena the clouds in Jerome Corsi’s head that even Paul Ryan was willing to undertake… )

Yeah, that’s the problem: America hasn’t slid anywhere near down the economic greasy pole as Russia… and even in his younger fitter days, Donald was nowhere near as physically intimidating as Vladimir:



Barring some kind of extinction-level socioeconomic event, the only terroristic support Trump can muster will come from sad solitary incels and his own neglected adult sons…

Can’t stop a would-be dictator from dreaming out loud, though:

Reader Interactions

146Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    The 2018 elections effectively neutered Trump’s rhetoric. We just need to finish the job of taking the country back next year. And then keeping it.

  3. 3.

    khead

    This is so much bullshit. Same bunch of folks on my FB feed who threaten “to come whoop my ass” and then delete me for “being so mean to them”.

  4. 4.

    feebog

    I just can’t get the image of Artie Johnson tipping over on his tricycle out of my mind.

  6. 6.

    lamh36

    Best thing I saw today…Nancy Pelosi laughing at Kasie Hunt’s dumb azz question bout Beto O’Rourke’s experience

    @KasieDC
    Follow Follow @KasieDC
    More
    [email protected]: “Do you think that the experience [@BetoORourke] has here in the House is a strong enough foundation to jump to the Oval Office?”

    @SpeakerPelosi: “And you ask me that when we have a President of the United States who never – you know – please. Yes, the answer is yes.”
    https://twitter.com/kasiedc/status/1106235143021346816?s=21

    Anyone else felt that …”what stupid fuq’n question” tone in Nancy’s answer…LOL

  7. 7.

    hells littlest angel

    His enemies can’t get him for his witness tampering and threats of violence, so they’re trying to get him for tax crimes — just like poor Al Capone!

  14. 14.

    Chip Daniels

    I recall seeing a documentary on the Hell’s Angels, and someone remarked abut how the Angels flunked every test they were ever given.
    They couldn’t or wouldn’t be a trusted ally and disciplined force working for any ideology or group, because of fucking course how could they?

    They like being undisciplined and rowdy and telling anyone who objects to eff themselves. They aren’t going to meekly listen to orders from Hair Furor and fall into line.

  17. 17.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @joel hanes:

    Herr Trump : Who will rid me of these turbulent Democrats?

    It confuses the Hell out of him that the answer is cricket chirping. The people who have the guts won’t. He’s a chickenshit president for a chickenshit movement. Thank goodness.

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: I’m not on the Beto Express, but one wonders if Kasie Hunt could tell you, off the top of her head, what Abraham Lincoln’s pre-presidential resume looked like?

    also, Buchanan, Nixon and Bush père had great resumes

  20. 20.

    Dave

    @khead: It’s one of the more frustrating things about Trump. He is the President; that rhetoric is very dangerous and we shouldn’t accept it. At the same time he’s an inept coward. It isn’t going to happen (not logically impossible just very unlikely) so how do we react? Do we take the rhetoric the same way we would from a more typical occupant of the Oval Officer or do we mostly role our eyes and make jerk-off motions while not denying this is how you end up with more stochastic terrorism. Neither seems proper and the boot his ass out the door response that would be appropriate isn’t in the cards. So we are stuck in this really strange space of how to respond to this crap.

  22. 22.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @lamh36: I loved that Nancy never misses a chance to tell it like it is with Trump.
    I like that she doesn’t fake like she respects his azz at all!

    true, I have some problems with her statement on impeachment, but I love that she folded in “he’s not worth it”

  23. 23.

    FelonyGovt

    @Dave: You’re right. You don’t know whether to laugh at the idea that these lazy MAGATs might actually get off their sofas, or be really appalled that an American President is talking like a tinpot dictator and implicitly threatening violence.

  25. 25.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    A great resume is not a guarantee of presidential success, nor is a thin one a guarantee of failure, but that’s how the smart money bets. A good resume- where good requires the person with the resume have done a good job in their previous post, not just have held it- at least serves as a reasonable promise the person has the technical competence to do the job. FWIW, I don’t think lack of executive competence was the flaw of any of Buchanan, Nixon, or Bush Sr.

  27. 27.

    Jeffro

    @Dave: Ideally, the Democratic Party Super Avatar would put Donnie in a headlock and give a short speech:

    “…this (smack) is what it looks like (smack) when a demagogue gets hold of an utterly unprincipled party (smack) and gets its leaders (LOL) to go along with all kinds of nonsense (smack) in the service of their scams and undemocratic schemes (double-smack)…”

    (Avatar throws DJT over the top rope out of the ring)

    After that, who knows? I guess the ref DQ’s the Dems on account of not respecting ‘both sides’? I dunno…

  29. 29.

    Dave

    @Baud: That I get. He plays with extremely dangerous forces but it’s hard to treat it as seriously as it should be because he is such a dumpster fire. He’s so lacking in just about every human virtue that he’s less dangerous than he would otherwise be. This entire thing is like twisted morality play.

    It’s important to remember that he isn’t the root of the problem just a particularly distasteful and painfully embarrassing symptom of the deeper rot. It’s the entire thing is absurdity; not the most absurd thing I’ve encountered but pretty high up there.

  30. 30.

    Adam L Silverman

    He’s not really calling for the Bikers for Trump. He’s calling for Putin’s bikers to back him up.
    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article157640179.html

    MOSCOW
    Out-of-town money pouring into South Florida real estate is as old as Henry Flagler.

    But the tale of Igor Zorin offers a 21st-century twist with all the weirdness modern Miami has to offer: Russian cash, a motorcycle club named after Russia’s powerful special forces and a condo tower branded by Donald Trump.

    Zorin is a Russian government official who has spent nearly $8 million on waterfront South Florida homes, hardly financially prudent given his bureaucrat’s salary of $75,000 per year. He runs a state-owned broadcasting company that, among other duties, operates sound systems for the annual military parade that sends columns of soldiers and tanks rumbling through Moscow’s Red Square.

    Zorin has other Miami connections, too: His local business associate, Svyatoslav Mangushev, a Russian intelligence officer turned Miami real-estate investor, helped found a biker club called Spetsnaz M.C. Spetsnaz is a group of motorcycle-loving South Florida expatriates who named themselves after the Russian equivalent of Delta Force or Seal Team Six.

    Spetsnaz members once asked for official recognition from Russia’s biggest biker gang, the Night Wolves, an infamous group that has strong ties to Russia’s security services. The Night Wolves played a role in the Ukrainian uprising, once had their flag flown in outer space by Russian cosmonauts and are under U.S. sanctions.

    Much more at the link. The question has to be asked: how many of his Little Green Men has Putin been able to infiltrate into the US?

  33. 33.

    Wapiti

    I’d offer that likely 90%+ of the active duty military understand that political violence will result a court martial. Of the 10% who don’t understand that, some tiny fraction might do violence, but they will still be subject to courts martial, and if convicted, likely a bad conduct discharge and possibly hard prison time.

    I expect there will be letters from the Chief of Staff of the Army (top general) to the entire Army, read to soldiers in formation, to remind them of their oaths and the prohibitions on political activity in uniform. I’d expect this before the election, and in the event of right wing violence from any military or reservists. Sometimes taking care of soldiers means reminding them not to do boneheaded things.

  34. 34.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @FelonyGovt: This reminds me of the Birthers during the Obama presidency. The majority of the “fighters” would roll up in their hoverrounds. The only ones that actually tried to do something were the comically inept ones. Stealing evidence from a Court room for instance, and when said bozo was jailed for his crimes, his online buddies set out to “free” him. One of them was arrested the minute he crossed the border in his pick up truck armed with a cache of weapons and (wait for it) a pink dildo in the back of his truck. These people are not the sharpest tools in the shed. The only worrying thing is that yes they are armed, but in general they tend to be more of a danger to themselves than they are to anyone else.

    ETA I do not know about the Police but the Military swear an Oath to the Constitution and not to POTUS. There are enough Senior Officers who stand by that to put a stop to any of Trump’s kind of nonsense.

  35. 35.

    BC in Illinois

    @Dave:

    . . . how to respond to this crap.

    Now, I’m not the most military guy around, but I was in the Navy (in Bethesda MD) when Nixon was going down. (He even came to the Naval Hospital for some procedure while I was there.) And I can only imagine the reaction of various Chief Petty Officers, if someone said that we were going to take to the streets to save Richard Nixon. Even if there was some inclination to keep the nation from falling into the hands of the McGovernites, I can picture the voice of authority putting an end to it: “We will do our duty. No one will leave the base. Do I make myself clear?”

    Nixon–and Trump–are temporary. No one with any sense of being on the right side of things tomorrow would give up everything to overthrow the Government for Trump — a man without law, loyalty, or honor.

    Even if people figured that it was time to go out and bash heads, that desire would be balanced with the realization that stepping off base at that moment would be the end of their career. (And for us non-career-minded* E-5’s, the prospect of time in the brig and a dishonorable discharge would focus the mind.)

    * As a Hospital Corpsman, I once heard a Navy Nurse tell us to be on our toes when ________ came on the ward: “She’s a real career woman.” After she left, we remarked on the fact that we had just heard an Officer describe a fellow-Officer as a Lifer.

    ETA – – or what Wapiti #33 said.

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Wapiti: I’ve been thinking St Mattis, the legendary Warrior Monk, to make some of the bound-to-go-viral remarks he used to. Maybe St Colin could even put a speaking fee at risk for the sake of his country. He owes us.

  38. 38.

    JMG

    @Adam L Silverman: You are a professional and I respect your thoughts accordingly (also because they’re good thoughts), but that seems like an awful and unnecessary risk for Putin. If Ivan Doeski goes up on a federal rap and is identified, the stink would outweigh whatever possible gain there could be. If Trump appears to be sinking, wouldn’t Putin just say, well, sunk cost out of which we got plenty and move on? It’s not like there won’t be other American pols to suborn. He’s probably has some in the same hold he’s got Trump right now. Let’s ask Lindsay.

  39. 39.

    Baud

    @Dave: I think we should take him seriously. Not because his threats are likely to result in mass violence, but because some things should be beyond the pale for real life. This is not some TV parody. I certainly don’t oppose mocking Trump’s impotence to weaken him, but it’s not entertainment.

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Adam L Silverman: Bingo. As noted above, US biker gangs tend toward libertarian anarchism and can’t be relied on by “the establishment” in any guise (and Bikers for Trump are just poseurs.) The Night Wolves, on the other hand, are genuinely worrying.

  42. 42.

    Patricia Kayden

    So are the military and police going to speak out against Trump’s claim that they’re tough and support him? Or are they comfortable with the idea that they’re Trump’s private army to be wielded against his enemies? This is not normal.

  44. 44.

    Dave

    @BC in Illinois: I’m not concerned the military would play along; It’s clear the majority of General Officers, even including the more reactionary amongst them, have utter contempt for the dude.

    I managed to back my way into a really kludged together army cough career cough pretty much unintentionally and even our more zealotry reactionary types wouldn’t go for it unless they had active orders from up top and that isn’t happening. My point is that it is rhetoric we should take very seriously only because of the official authority he has and the office he occupies (I’ve never been one for respect the rank/office not the individual a buffoon is a buffoon regardless of title) but at the same time he’s schmuck (except that’s too kind) so we end up in this very surreal space. And every once in awhile I think about it and then regret that.

  45. 45.

    oldgold

    Trump does not have support of the toughest people.

    The toughest people in this country are the millions of mothers, with children, who are employed outside of their homes.

    Trump does not have the support of these truly tough women.

    Driving a big motorcycle to the bar in a half-assed costume is not tough. Staying up all night with a sick child and then going to work is tough.

  47. 47.

    SiubhanDuinne

    HERE IS A NICE EFG UPDATE FOR YOU

    Got a call a while ago from mrs efg, to let me know that our beloved efg was moved out of the ICU this afternoon (which came as a big surprise to me, as I guess I hadn’t realised he was in Intensive Care in the first place) and is now in a normal hospital room. He is such an intensely private guy that I don’t feel comfortable sharing any of the medical details. Suffice to say that he is vastly improved, even from a day or two ago, has regained some appetite, and is evidently returning to his curmudgeonly status quo.

    He has already received several cards — THANK YOU, Jackals! — and would love to get more. Again, for those who missed or misplaced it, here’s the best address:

    E. F. Goldman
    c/o M. Ross
    32 Anthony Drive
    Cumberland, RI 02864

    I know a couple of people said in an earlier thread that they were planning to write to him, and I hope lots of you will. Postcards, greeting cards, casual notes, long printed-out screeds, anything and everything legal to send through the U.S. Mail — all lift his spirits greatly.

    Happy to be able to share some good news, and may repost this when the night crew signs in.

  48. 48.

    Dave

    @Patricia Kayden: Pretty sure the military brass has decided to just ignore him and slow roll as much as possible without actually going so far as to actively step outside of their comfort zone.

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @raven: He’s doing good, work is keeping him busy which is good cause it takes his mind off things. He worked 44 hours this week which is great. If this keeps up he should be able to save the application fee in no time. BTW I had the area that he was living wrong, he is living in East Point, GA not La Vista (the street he lives on is called Vesta Avenue which was why my confusion). He would be happy to work 60+ hours a weeks to keep him occupied so it’s all good. It has certainly taken the pressure off me. I am grateful for that.

  52. 52.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    @lamh36: Saving this for when anyone questions whether the media holds Democrats to a higher standard.

  59. 59.

    Brickley Paiste

    @FelonyGovt:

    Well, for what it’s worth, armed right resistance doesn’t seem like a joke to me

    Many if not many most mass shooters are RWNJs or at least RWNJ adjacent

    They lack discipline and organization but the anger and desire to destroy the left is there. Yes it’s just talk now, but it’s fuel ready to ignite.

    When Charlottesville happened, I thought “Okay it is starting to happen”. Thank god that has sort of died down

    The thing I am dreading is the formation of an organized cadre of Trump supporters- even if it’s non-violent at first – that could be steered towards violent.

    If Trump or someone like Bannon or Fox News started promoting Americans Against Litter and started organizing monthly trash pickups in parks or something equally innocuous, I think they would warrant very careful monitoring.

  61. 61.

    Leto

    @Wapiti: This is one of the differentiations between the services. The AF doesn’t need the CoS to do this. We do this at the NCO level.

    @Patricia Kayden: The military won’t come out directly and contradict Trumpov. They’ll reaffirm their oaths to the constitution and rule of law. It’ll be an indirect rebuke. Police? Nah, they’ll fall in line to continue to use their military toys on the civilian population.

  62. 62.

    NotMax

    @joel hanes

    Was kind of hoping someone would bring that up just so could provide this snippet.

    Altamont was the product of diabolical egotism, hype, ineptitude, money manipulation, and, at base, a fundamental lack of concern for humanity. Source

  63. 63.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @raven: Yeah, close enough to MARTA that he can walk to work or get the bus depending on what he feels like. Getting to the gym is a bit more of a pain, two buses and a train but again it gives him down time, and of course he gets a MARTA card every month so it doesn’t cost him anything more. He is getting to know his surroundings better. Only downside, he misses my cooking and absolutely hates cooking for himself :) His apartment mate has a habit of hogging the freezer and smoking *things* but other than that is a good guy who he gets along with. He said the only downside of living near the airport is that every time he hears a plane go over head he wishes he was on it back to me. *sniff*

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    He said the only downside of living near the airport is that every time he hears a plane go over head he wishes he was on it back to me.

    So, about every 20-30 seconds then? Well done, Litlebrit, well done!

  69. 69.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Donald not only vastly overestimates his popularity with the military, he cannot comprehend how seriously most military members take their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. He’s been positioning himself to be a domestic enemy of the Constitution since he took the oath of office with purpose of evasion.

  70. 70.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mandarama:

    Thank you so much for keeping tabs on the efg family!

    Well, in this case it was the efg family keeping tabs on us! But it’s my pleasure to be the liaison.

  73. 73.

    germy

    ?Federal prosecutors are conducting a CRIMINAL investigation into data deals #Facebook struck with tech companies that gave them broad access to user data, sometimes without consent.
    A grand jury in NY has subpoenaed at least 2 smartphone makers.?https://t.co/JrYmADX1Ac— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 13, 2019

  76. 76.

    Duane

    Hope all the tough-guy MAGAt’s that got a happy seeing Junior fondle his precious noticed his soft, supple unblemished hands.

  78. 78.

    Leto

    Military swear an Oath to the Constitution and not to POTUS.

    Not exactly. We do swear an oath to the constitution but also to follow the orders of the officers appointed above us, as well as the orders from POTUS:

    Enlisted:

    I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

    Officers:

    I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces_oath_of_enlistment

    Notice some of the subtle differences. But what we also get, from basic training and onwards, are briefings/training about lawful/unlawful orders. Yes most general officers won’t issue those orders, but it’s also the duty of the officers/NCOs below to make sure those orders are lawful. Just can’t say, “I was ordered to do that.” We continually drill it into everyone that it wasn’t good enough to save the Nazis, it won’t be good enough to save you.

  79. 79.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Roger Moore: Yeah, I actually do think O’Rourke’s light resume is a problem, less because it was three terms in the House than because, even now, he’s not associated with any issue or aspect of gov’t that I can think of. I just find Kasie Hunt to be an almost perfect representative of the unbearable lightness of Conventional Wisdom, and I tend to hate the “qualifications” argument. Over 35 and a native born citizen, those are the qualifications.

    And our whole field, except Biden, is light on foreign policy. People who vote on it, barring some kind of crisis, are rare, but most voters like to have a vague sense that they’re voting for someone who has a good grasp of it, or at least (unfortunately) is ‘tough’. Even Obama, who you could argue owed his move to the top of the Dem field to one foreign policy position, picked Biden– pretty much the incarnation of what Obamaworld calls “The Blob”– as his Veep as evidence of some kind of gravitas. Also both his SoS’s were pretty much Blobbists. There are very few people in the Dem party that I can see who would fill that role for Our Nominee.

  80. 80.

    lamh36

    Oooh…Kamala’s my candidate…but and Abrams/Biden or Biden/Abrams team up…

    That would make things interesting. Remember what I said about the consistent Dem voters who like Biden and would consider a Biden presidency, Obama 2.0!

    Abrams And Biden Meet Privately As Both Weigh 2020 Election Possibilities https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/abrams-biden-private-meeting-2020-election-possibility via @TPM

    I was thinking the other day, would Biden be willing to become a VP to another Black POTUS?

  82. 82.

    joel hanes

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Trump’s hints don’t produce organized violence by Trump supporters

    But that doesn’t make it harmless.

    These guys are angry authoritarian losers, and Trump is purposely tweaking their anger. Because they’re cowards, they won’t take on the cops or the National Guard or the ATF, but they’ll look for someone weaker than they to abuse. So instead of armed rebellion, we get beat-up wives and kids, swastikas painted on synagogues and gravestones, harassment of Muslims, and the occasional white right-wing terror attack.
    https://www.businessinsider.com/extremist-killings-links-right-wing-extremism-report-2019-1

  83. 83.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Raven: It is whatever one is closest to East Point (close to East Point MARTA) It is really funny actually. On his first day in his new place he went there (cause it was the closest place) to get stuff (body wash etc) and at the checkout it was chaos. A customer asked the manager “are you short handed” and the Manager said “yes”. DH waited until the crush died down and approached the manager and told him he was looking for a job, told him his qualifications etc. Manager said fill out the online application and I will hire you and sure enough he did. Nothing like being in the right place at the right time.

  88. 88.

    Raven

    @Leto:

    Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said? He said “War is too important to be left to the generals.” When he said that, fifty years ago, he may have been right. But today war is too important to be left to the politicians. They have neither the time nor inclination for strategic thought.

  91. 91.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JMG: They’ve been using the systema martial arts schools as recruiting centers. This shows they were trying to do the same with a biker club. We already know there are connections with the various secessionist groups and the “patriot” and militia knuckleheads. The question isn’t “is the enemy at the gates?” it is “are they already inside?”.

  94. 94.

    Mike in NC

    @Villago Delenda Est: I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if fucking Trump hadn’t brought up the subject with somebody that he’d like service members take a personal oath to him, just like his idol in Berlin.

  97. 97.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gin & Tonic: I think they were referring to the pro-Russian separatism in east of Ukraine and Crimea. That’s usually how I see it phrased in pro-Russian and pro-Putin sources – that there is an uprising in Ukraine or a Ukrainian uprising against the government of Ukraine.

  99. 99.

    Leto

    @PJ: This can’t be stressed enough. I’d like to hear from our candidates on this issue.

    @Raven:

    W.P.O.R.: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?

  101. 101.

    germy

    Howard Schultz , on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, says "I probably have spent more time in the last decade certainly than anyone running for president with the military." — a claim that veterans Pete Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard might take issue with pic.twitter.com/fctlLKUsuk— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) March 14, 2019

    I remember a Green Beans Coffee at the exchange at Bagram, and a decent espresso machine run by the Italian NATO element at ISAF HQ. But I don’t recall seeing any Starbucks over there… https://t.co/GOkL8Li3r8— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) March 14, 2019

  102. 102.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Leto: Gen. Goldfein has been very good about subtweeting an sub-statementing the President. As have the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Chief of Staff of the Army has not done as well. And that worries me as Gen. Goldfein was passed over to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Chief of Staff of the Army.

  104. 104.

    karen marie

    @Raven: Specific direction.

    The only thing that kept me going through the Bush II maladministration was the belief that it would end and normality would resume. Obama’s eight years was a respite but still fraught. I’ve been close to just walking out to the desert and laying down since Trump was elected. The only thing that stops me is the promise I made to my dog Lucy that I would never abandon her.

  107. 107.

    Leto

    @Adam L Silverman: Does that mean retweeting/reaffirming what Trumpov says? I don’t tweet… also I’ve been laughing too much at Goldfien’s silly AF tv ads. They’re just… bad.

  110. 110.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @lamh36: He got wall-to-wall coverage today on MSNBC. 99% of it positive. More importantly he got a great reception by Iowans in Drumpf country.

    If that was a bad day, I wonder who a good day looks.

  111. 111.

    B.B.A.

    @lamh36: The SPLC has been resting on its laurels for decades now, and hasn’t lifted a finger against the fascist takeover of our country except to beg for more donations. Hopefully the new leadership will get them back on track. They were once such a force for good…

  113. 113.

    Brickley Paiste

    @B.B.A.:

    Yeah I heard Dees speak 20 years ago at Stanford and have sent them a little money every year since then. But with the lawsuit and rumors about, um, personnel matters … no more

    I hope they get back on track

  114. 114.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Leto: No. The CSAF, CNO,MCC, and CJCS have all been very good, when the President tweets or says something bigoted or exclusionary or controversial, to either tweet or say something that contradicts it without directly calling it out. The CSA has done this, but I don’t see him doing it as strongly or as well as his peers.

  117. 117.

    Steeplejack

    @geg6:

    What struck me in that video snippet was that Kasie Hunt was chuckling, like “Ha-ha, Nancy and I are sharing a humorous moment!”

    No, you asked a dumb-ass question and Nancy handed you your ass. Hunt caught the poke at Trump but missed that part.

  118. 118.

    tobie

    @lamh36: Marshall is convinced that O’Rourke was hurt by Kathleen Rice’s endorsement, as she’s a known centrist, but that strikes me as so inside baseball as to be almost meaningless except to political junkies. If endorsements mattered one iota, we could all go to bed secure at night, knowing HRC was steering the ship of state. The weekday announcement may not have generated sufficient splash to create major momentum for the campaign but endorsements mean diddly squat. I’ll be curious what the response is to the March 31 kickoff event.

  119. 119.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    I was thinking the other day, would Biden be willing to become a VP to another Black POTUS?

    That would for sure be a Big Biden Deal!

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Marshall’s argument, best as I could follow it, is that O’Rourke risks becoming the face of the centrists in the Bernie Millennium. I think that’s only a problem if he follows the Klobuchar/Schultz and kinda Hickenlooper model of trying to be the anti-Bernie, a platform of “You’ll get nothing! and like it!“. And I say that as someone who is not fond of Bernie. I don’t think our candidate needs to go full-metal emo-AOC -Sean McElwee-BS , but they gotta offer something to get the yoots and the left, and even fat, phlegmatic, pragmatic old me, excited.

    And looking for that clip, the next one is Rodney Dangerfield on the Jackie Gleason show (live from Miami!) and I gotta save that one for later.

  121. 121.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @germy: Schultz said he had long admired Hewitt. This is a disqualification for serving in any elected office in these United States.

  122. 122.

    Leto

    @Adam L Silverman: Oh, got it. I remember you linking some of their tweets regarding the trans tweet policy Drumpf laid out, and yes, they had appropriate push back. And you’re also correct that TOC coffee is better. :)

  127. 127.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I believe each soldier in Nazi Germany took an oath of allegiance to Hitler, NOT to Germany.

    The leaders–ministers, etc– of the protestant church in Germany were required to do the same. That was one of the reasons Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth organized the Confessing Church. Its statement of principle says that their first allegiance is to God, not to a person or a nation.

  128. 128.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brickley Paiste:

    Aww, look, the blood-gargling NRA troll is trying to pretend that he’s Very Concerned about the same mass shootings that give him a woody.

    You get a Nancy Pelosi clap for that one.

  129. 129.

    Anne Laurie

    @lamh36: Dees is 82 years old, and hasn’t been able to update his behavior since he was the Young Crusader. I just hope his personal disgrace doesn’t destroy the SPLC — the younger PoC and women who protested are doing important work!

    (Also: Dees remind anybody of another shouty old white dude?… )

  131. 131.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Leto: @Villago Delenda Est: When he said yesterday he’d vote members of Congress from bother parties to the White House, if elected president, regularly for coffee, and that it would be Starbucks coffee, I just shook my head and thought: “the beauty of being president is they actually serve good coffee in the White House”.

  135. 135.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: that subtweeting you mentioned upthread?

    GEN(R) Marty Dempsey @ Martin_Dempsey
    Our military reflects, represents, serves, and defends their fellow citizens. They are compassionate or lethal depending on what we ask of them. They are tough in protecting America from external threats. They serve a democratic system never an individual. #Leadership

  136. 136.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    When I see that someone in his early 80s has started saying and doing the opposite of the principles he espoused during his previous 50 years in the public eye, I can’t help but wonder if that person has been sliding into dementia for years and no one was willing to point out that there was something seriously wrong with him.

  137. 137.

    Leto

    @Adam L Silverman: True but they also serve great hamburgers and steaks, yet we have the Hamberderler-in-Chief serving up trays of slop. I know, government shut down but still! :p

  142. 142.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Mnemosyne: I met Dees 20 some years ago when I was in law school. He was kind of an ass. He has done great work, but I am not necessarily surprised that he has behaved poorly.

  145. 145.

    sukabi

    @Mnemosyne: maybe, but documenting and fighting against repressive behavior is not the same as actively embracing and working to elevate the victims of the repression.

  146. 146.

    Adam L Silverman

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: True. My favorite was the first Profession of Arms mini conference. They scheduled it without breaks. Five hours straight through. I was on via VTC from Carlisle Barracks as, at that time given how it was written, I owned one of the lines of effort for the project, which would change by the end of that day’s VTC because GEN Dempsey reorganized the lines of effort and mine got subsumed under someone else’s, which was fine. About an hour in GEN Dempsey asked about the first break. Some idiot colonel who hadn’t scheduled any tried to explain they hadn’t scheduled any, we were just going to plow right through all five hours, and then proceeded to keep going. GEN Dempsey got up, announced he was going to the latrine, everyone else started to stand up, he told them to carry on, he’d be back when he was back. After a couple of minutes someone whispered something to the idiot colonel and he called a break until GEN Dempsey got back. Most amusing thing I’ve seen on a VTC!

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