What is slightly surprising is that the administration is getting more and more chaotic and dysfunctional the longer Trump is president. https://t.co/M2sdJ5Kkay
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) July 26, 2017
Fewer and fewer holdovers from the Obsma administration https://t.co/ZWW7lFA5wv
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 26, 2017
“This morning two senators were caught on a hot mike calling President Trump crazy. And when the news came out, literally every member of the Senate was like, ‘Wait, was it me?’” — JIMMY FALLON
Only the sane members of Congress, and they don’t have a majority. Per the Washington Post:
At the end of a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday morning, someone sitting near Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) didn’t switch off a microphone. Collins was recorded discussing the federal budget and President Trump’s lack of familiarity with the details of governing with a colleague — apparently Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee.
After Reed praises Collins’s leadership of the hearing, she laments the administration’s handling of spending.
“I swear, [the Office of Management and Budget] just went through and whenever there was ‘grant,’ they just X it out,” Collins says. “With no measurement, no thinking about it, no metrics, no nothing. It’s just incredibly irresponsible.”
“Yes,” Reed replies. “I think — I think he’s crazy,” apparently referring to the president. “I mean, I don’t say that lightly and as a kind of a goofy guy.”
“I’m worried,” Collins replies.
“Oof,” Reed continues. “You know, this thing — if we don’t get a budget deal, we’re going to be paralyzed.”
“I know,” Collins replies…
“You’ve got [Budget Director Mick] Mulvaney saying we’re going to put in all sorts of stuff like a border wall. Then you’ve got [Treasury Secretary Steve] Mnuchin saying it’s got to be clean,” Reed continues. “We’re going to be back in September, and, you know, you’re going to have crazy people in the House.”…
The old man squatting in the Oval Office is losing his grip on day-to-day tasks, he’s surrounded by bigots and grifters, and the best hope for the rest of us is that the organic brain failure will progress swiftly enough Lord Smallgloves shows up for an on-camera event wearing no pants.
Say it with me: THANKS, REPUBLICANS!
As he reverts to the simple clan slogans of his misbegotten youth…
IN AMERICA WE DON'T WORSHIP GOVERNMENT – WE WORSHIP GOD!??https://t.co/jIejSgVnnA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Wow, pretty surprised you'd let ISIS guest tweet. https://t.co/kLBIgEdqJ3
— Oliver Griswold (@originalgriz) July 26, 2017
different-church-lady
What is at all surprising about it?
Major Major Major Major
Guh, what a shitshow of a day, everything going on has me all anxious, and it’s not yet 2pm.
Here, have a nice picture I took of yesterday’s lovely summer afternoon in SF.
sphex
@Major Major Major Major:
Me too. And while that picture really is lovely, I fear I’m going to need something a bit… stronger.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
says the guy who never goes to church (ie TWO Corinthians walk into a bar)
oatler.
“The Madness of King Donald”
Wapiti
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: And self-deals/steals from his own charity.
FlipYrWhig
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: And who asked the Presbyterian ministers who visited him, who corrected him when he seemed to indicate he thought they were evangelicals, if they were Christians.
rikyrah
@Major Major Major Major:
AWE….beautiful
Major Major Major Major
@sphex: Every little bit helps!
rikyrah
Schumer: “There’s no such thing as ‘skinny repeal.’ It’s a ruse to get to full repeal.” pic.twitter.com/pUQ7MqDscu
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 26, 2017
rikyrah
Up next: Many more amendments. And a likely vote on GOP “skinny repeal” — with big consequences — is still looming. https://t.co/kMm2DZDjbY
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) July 26, 2017
BREAKING: Insurers say “skinny” repeal will destabilize markets and lead to “steep premium increases and diminished choices” pic.twitter.com/xmQHZtEprs
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 26, 2017
NEW: Premium rate shock by state under “skinny” repeal. https://t.co/BkuT9PnSzA pic.twitter.com/LaFDD8GW32
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 26, 2017
The latest: @SenDeanHeller rejects ACA repeal, says he will vote for “skinny repeal” if Medicaid is left intact. https://t.co/KRkUdLpXWV
— Megan Messerly (@meganmesserly) July 26, 2017
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Executive order to have Collins and Reed arrested and summarily executed in 3..2..1..
hueyplong
Only “surprising” if you gave any credence to the early excuses using the phrases “new to this” and “inexperienced politician.”
What has happened is that he has gotten more experienced at being irresponsible and monstrous with power. Of course it’s getting worse
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I dunno, would that play well with the base? More likely to see Trump trying to re-arrest Chelsea Manning, today.
Barbara
@different-church-lady: They still haven’t got it through their heads that Trump is fundamentally not normal. They are thinking back to Bill Clinton, where everything was a little chaotic at first, but settled down (until 1998, of course). Trump is just going to get worse and worse. The high point for stability was the inauguration.
Chyron HR
On the same day the President tweeted “No Trannies in the Army” and “WORSHIP GOD!(film projector emoji)”. The first was apparently intended as an official executive order, should we take the second tweet to be one also? If not, what’s the difference?
TenguPhule
@different-church-lady:
You have to remember these are the same people who thought Trump would grow into the role once the weighty responsibilities of the office sank in.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major:
Got nothing to do with the base. He’s losing more of his mind day after day. I really don’t know how much longer he can last.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Chyron HR: What was with that projector emoji and the all caps? He’s losing it. And the people at my local paper and commenters on disqus are delusional
Immanentize
@Major Major Major Major: I am feeling this same way! I am really having a tough time today with all this stuff. I am back to believing that I might actually have died on November 9, 2016 and this is my purgatory.
TenguPhule
@Chyron HR:
Kneel before Zod isn’t intended to be actionable policy.
TenguPhule
@Immanentize:
You couldn’t possibly have committed a sin bad enough to be condemned to this.
TenguPhule
@Barbara:
More like the first step on the banana peel.
jl
@different-church-lady: I am slightly surprised it is getting so chaotic and dysfunctional so quickly, and almost entirely, so far, a result of Trump’s own personal dysfunction. But not surprised that things would steadily go that way.
Immanentize
@TenguPhule: That’s what I thought!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@FlipYrWhig:
You mean the guy who claims to be a Presbyterian?
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I clicked through and I think it means that he’s linking to a video. It went to a video on his Instagram. Which is why I decided to post that picture from my own Instagram.
jl
Also, I hear on news that repeal and delay goes down with seven GOP ‘nos’. So, I think the major option left is the mini-skinny-flimsy repeal.
If that goes down, then they start really winging it, totally on the fly, from whole cloth?
Mom Says I'm Handsome
To support our Overlords I took the bait and clicked on the ad for “LibertyNation”, where I have taken up a modest position as an antagonist to… I’m not sure yet. The articles are mostly libertarian in nature, which means they’re 90% FYIGM and 10% sensible (e.g. anti-asset-forfeiture, and anti-killing-immigrants-by-baking-them-in-a-trailer-in-a-San-Antone-WalMart-parking-lot — although the latter article made repeated and predictable dehumanizing reference to “illegals”). It feels better to tweak some Ayn Rand acolytes than read the “real news” about what our Senate is doing to fuck over everyone.
Felonius Monk
Someone over at LGM refers to him as Orange Droolius. Kinda apropos, I think.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s from his freak show in Youngstown.
Here’s a sampling of comments on IG:
Barbara
@jl: He has no reference point for norms of government, no talent for real negotiation, where he does not have all the leverage. He has no background understanding of anything important, whether it is military policy, health care policy, or foreign policy, that would allow him to even begin to understand how to weigh complex trade offs. His main goal is to keep his money fountain flowing and he never dreamed that he would not be able to control investigations that threaten to expose sketchy transactions and campaign shenanigans. He lives for adulation and instant gratification and that’s why he keeps reliving the campaign. Over and over again.
Major Major Major Major
@jl: you’re assuming they aren’t already.
TenguPhule
@jl:
McConnell is going to have strong motivation to play Calvinball with the rules again if skinny billy fails to make the cut. But thanks to their 51 vote yesterday, the Republicans are all now in a bind about getting something passed. Their donors are gonna insist on it and only money talks to Republican ears these days.
So uncertainty will prevail until the actual votes.
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Some one reported a while ago that Trump did ask two Presbyterian ministers whether Presbyterians were Christians. Maybe one of the two ministers reported it. I remember reading someplace that Trump is nominally a Presbyterian himself, or comes from a Presby family.
Mary G
I think they feel they must pass something. Why don’t they pass a bill saying the ACA is now named TrumpCare and be done with it? The base won’t know any different.
Anne Laurie
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
To be fair, I think the projector icon just means that when you click on the following bit, you get switched to an Instagram clip with Trump saying the all-caps crap out loud.
(Which means Trump can’t figure out how to embed the Instagram clip in his tweet properly — you’d think he’d demand one of his interns fix it for him cuz he’s certainly not too shy to promote himself!)
Mike in NC
Ironic that Trump literally worships GOLD and he’s the Shit King Midas.
TenguPhule
Oh Fuck these People.
Fuck them all with a rusty chainsaw.
jl
@TenguPhule: I read that the parliamentarian took a ax to some of the various GOP plans for the votarama that they wanted to ram through on simple majority, in addition to the rulings on the preivous major proposals. So, GOP will be much more hemmed in than they expected.
Immanentize
@?BillinGlendaleCA: All Catholics know neither of those cults are Christian!
TenguPhule
@Mary G:
But the donors will. And money talks.
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: tbh that’s how I would do it.
Mnemosyne
@Chyron HR:
What is up with the camera emoji anyway? Did he hit the wrong key or is there some hidden meaning that the fundies are all creaming themselves over?
ETA: Never mind, Major^4 answered the question.
Brachiator
Collins also had some fun things to say about the idiot politician who wanted to duel with women Congresspersons who didn’t go along with Obamacare repeal.
TenguPhule
@jl: Hence McConnell’s strong motivation to Calvinball and either A) replace her or B) pretend she doesn’t count anymore.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
Post-partisan?
jl
@Major Major Major Major: The votarama starts out with easy questions, and then gets tougher as they enter the lightning rounds.
Barbara
@jl: His mother was Scottish so it is very likely the case that his religious upbringing such as it was, was Presbyterian.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@jl:
The “Bruce Jenner” Health Care option is coming; you get sick, a celebrity sports star shows up at talks to you. Why? It’s the GOP and nothing makes any sense with them.
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major: What disgusts me is that it just might work.
jimmiraybob
“What is slightly surprising is that the administration is getting more and more chaotic and dysfunctional the longer Trump is president.”
Who the F#CK is surprised? What nincompoop that was alive and mildly sentient during the campaign expected anything else? Someone waking now from a comma might be mildly surprised but show them enough campaign footage and, et voila, all surprise gone. I would have won billions of dollars betting on the depths of his fail except that everyone with enough know how to count and use words was betting on the depths of his fail. I’m not even surprised that a colossal idiot would be mildly surprised at this point, I’m pissed. The White House is a black hole of fail. The event horizon keeps growing. The longer he is president the more likely that we’ll all get dragged in the abyss of fail. Prediction: Ever more accelerating fail. There, no more surprise. (walks away mumbling)
Thanks,
I needed that.
clay
@Chyron HR:
This brings up an interesting question… WAS an official order released about the trans ban? There have been quite a few instances where Trump has announced things that turned out to have phantom weight. Does anyone know if there has been an official order signed and released?
It totally wouldn’t surprise me if they neglected that part…
Immanentize
@clay: My understanding from today’s news conference is that the Administration will be working out the details with the military or some such. So, no official order yet. This is frustrating some LGBTQ advocates itching to get into court. Meanwhile, Mattis is on vacation this week and next maybe. Surprise!!
Citizen Alan
@Immanentize:
I have thought that pretty much since election night in November of 2000.
dmsilev
@jl:
As opposed to the carefully laid out plan that they’ve been following so far?
chris
@Immanentize: The possum queen threatened to shut down the news briefing if she was asked about the trans ban again. So, I’d guess nobody knew it was coming.
https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2017/07/26/Press-Secretary-Sanders-threatens-to-end-the-briefing-if-asked-again-about-Trumps-transgen/217397
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@dmsilev: The GOP should just fucking stop. It’s embarrassing and sucking the oxygen out of the room with this the stupid stuff
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Thnking about this; this is Donald Trump. I wonder if all his crazy tweets are because all the attention is on the Senate and Trump is freaking out because he is so needy so keeps on tweeting stupider and stupider nonsense? That would certainly explain the tight lipped replies from the leading Republicans, sort of what they are really saying is “don’t reward Donny with attention or he will just act worse”
Shalimar
Why is it surprising that the administration is becoming more chaotic and dysfunctional over time? That is how all of Trump’s businesses went bankrupt too, inexorably circling the toilet as time went by. It was never just one horrible decision they couldn’t recover from.
catclub
@clay:
only problem is that if you ask and there wasn’t one, they will remember to write one – thanks
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@clay: The Pentagon said they know nothing about it. So, likely just Trump BS.
Van Buren
I take it Ryan Lizza missed the debates. Any person with a brain who watched could foretell that the shitshow would work like compound interest, and just increase exponentially into the future.
Major Major Major Major
@Shalimar:
It makes sense that an idiot might think that, perhaps Ryan Lizza is one of those.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: I know about Trump’s meeting with the ministers, he said he was a Presbyterian at Liberty ‘University’ last year.
SiubhanDuinne
@Barbara:
The inauguration about which, let us not forget, George W. Bush said “That was some weird shit.”
Anne Laurie
@Shalimar:
After normal fustercluck elections — even Dubya’s — there’s a cadre of professionals on the “winning” team who learn stuff once they take over the day-to-day functions of governing. Some smart people, incurable optimists, assumed that even though Trump was clueless/useless, somebody in his orbit — Javanka/Bannon/Priebus — would get it together enough to keep the lights on and the mail delivered.
Of course, this batch of grifters & cultists couldn’t even figure out how to turn the lights on…
Anne Laurie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Way I remember it, his mother sent him to Presbyterian Sunday school when she could. But he switched to the Episcopalians when he first wanted to get married because they have the most photogenic churches — apart from the Catholics who weren’t gonna let him use the facilities without expending more money & effort than he felt he could afford.
Like everything else in Trump’s life, he doesn’t see religion as anything other than a background for the better presentation of Donald Trump, World’s Greatest Man.
Shalimar
@Anne Laurie: Even an idiot like Lizza should have looked around, seen the vast majority of appointed positions in the administration still haven’t been filled, and realized no professionals will work for this clown show.
debbie
Never mind.
debbie
@Major Major Major Major:
Beautiful. I was in SF back in the 1980s and remember wishing I had the means to move out there.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
Coming out of lurkdom, just wanted to mention as I have not seen it in comments on any recent threads: Senator Mazie Hirono (D) Hawaii, is recovering from surgery this spring to remove a kidney and surgery a couple weeks ago to remove a rib. She has Stage 4 kidney cancer that has spread to her chest, and she showed up yesterday to vote against the motion to proceed. She didn’t get a standing ovation or the opportunity to lecture everyone…(re-donning invisibility cloak)
lurker dean
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: senator hirono deserves all the praise the msm is wasting on that asshole mccain.
Sister Golden Bear
@Chyron HR: Unless you’re trans, please refrain from using the t-word — most trans people find it pretty offensive when used by non-trans people. (I’m not personally offended, but “tranny” has a unique and complicated history here in the SF Bay Area, where it was originally used as a provocative self-descriptor before it became widely used as a slur.)
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Caitlyn, her name is Caitlyn. Please don’t dead name trans people. Even those as repugnant as Jenner.
Your PSAs for tonight.