The Trump Presidency

[iceaura]

Another in the general category of

Fascists Do Not Make The Trains Run On Time

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...e-gi-bill-benefits-months-due-ongoing-n934696

While it is unclear how many GI Bill recipients were affected by the delays, as of Nov. 8, more than 82,000 were still waiting for their housing payments with only weeks remaining in the school semester, according to the VA. Hundreds of thousands are believed to have been affected.
- - - - - -
At the July 17, 2017, hearing in the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs — before the bill was passed into law — Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity Curtis Coy highlighted this as his core worry in response to one of the few questions asked during the hearing.

“My biggest concern is two words: IT,” said Coy at the time. “We have an IT system in much or almost all of these sections that requires some degree of changes.”

After Coy retired this year, the VA cut his position and the Office of Economic Opportunity. - -
- - -
More than 45,000 jobs sit vacant at the VA, according to the agency’s own numbers, and it has not had a permanent chief information officer since LaVerne Council departed the office after Trump’s election.
- - - it remains unclear if the VA will be able to catch up before January, or if it will be inundated with new requests next year and fall even further behind.

The VA declined to share how much the IT system failures, overtime payments and the 202 additional workers hired to address these problems have cost taxpayers.

There is also the matter of how much they have cost the veterans themselves, their families, and the taxpayers of better governed communities: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...00-veteran-students-risk-n925666?icid=related

With about 12,000 New York City student veterans at risk of eviction from their homes in the coming months, city officials on Monday announced a plan to provide emergency rental assistance.

A pair of city agencies — the Department of Veterans' Services and Department of Social Services — are streamlining the process for those student veterans to get evaluated for financial assistance, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

 

[Tiassa]

Who took McCain's seat .?

It is now apparently called: Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has won the U.S. Senate contest in Arizona↱. This flips the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

The seat previously held by the late Sen. John McCain's was appointed to retired and now reactivated U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R)—Flake's predecessor—who until his appointment was most recently helping a certain beer-loving, perjuring, accused sex offender get a Supreme Court seat. Kyl will hold this seat until January, 2021; a special election is slated for November, 2020, to elect a Senator to serve the last two years of the Class 3 Senate term.
____________________

Notes:

Associated Press. "Democrat Kyrsten Sinema wins Arizona US Senate seat". 12 November 2018. APNews.com. 12 November 2018. http://bit.ly/2Dzy1nd

 

[Quantum Quack]

Haven't seen any tweets from Trump on the current Ukraine/Russia tensions.
What's up?
I suggested a while ago that it will not be what Trump does but what he doesn't do regards his relationship with Putin.
From what I see he has gone very quiet on Russian aggression.
Will he support NATO or is going to roll over?

Now that the Dems control congress perhaps Putin is now motivated to capitalize on any influence he might have regarding the POTUS before he loses that influence.

 

[iceaura]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...notated/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a51d4d962e9f
The highlights are from WaPo, showing items factchecked or otherwise commented on.

DAWSEY: You said yesterday when you were leaving that you were skeptical of a climate change report that the government had done. Can you just explain why you're skeptical of that report?

TRUMP: One of the problems that a lot of people like myself — we have very high levels of intelligence, but we’re not necessarily such believers. You look at our air and our water, and it’s right now at a record clean. But when you look at China and you look at parts of Asia and when you look at South America, and when you look at many other places in this world, including Russia, including — just many other places — the air is incredibly dirty. And when you’re talking about an atmosphere, oceans are very small. And it blows over and it sails over. I mean, we take thousands of tons of garbage off our beaches all the time that comes over from Asia. It just flows right down the Pacific, it flows, and we say where does this come from. And it takes many people to start off with.

Number two, if you go back and if you look at articles, they talked about global freezing, they talked about at some point the planets could have freeze to death, then it’s going to die of heat exhaustion. There is movement in the atmosphere. There’s no question. As to whether or not it’s man-made and whether or not the effects that you’re talking about are there, I don’t see it — not nearly like it is. Do we want clean water? Absolutely. Do we want clean air to breathe? Absolutely. The fire in California, where I was, if you looked at the floor, the floor of the fire, they have trees that were fallen, they did no forest management, no forest maintenance, and you can light — you can take a match like this and light a tree trunk when that thing is laying there for more than 14 or 15 months. And it’s a massive problem in California.

And in case anyone thinks this is a new thing in Republican politics:

So I’m doing deals, and I’m not being accommodated by the Fed. I’m not happy with the Fed. They’re making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me.

Compare:
"I'm not a textbook player. I'm a gut player." - W
https://www.alternet.org/story/39530/things_get_ugly_when_bush_'trusts_his_gut'
https://www.counterpunch.org/2003/02/22/the-fabled-gut-of-george-w-bush/

 

[Quantum Quack]

Am I seeing the news right?
Trump pulls troops from Afghanistan and Syria?
Mattis resigns due to major disagreement with Trump.

Does he have any idea how much Australia has invested in Afghanistan and how that would potentially be entirely wasted due to his unilateral abandonment of the mission there?
Is he nuts!?

41 Australian soldiers have been killed and 261 wounded (including two sailors and one airman), the majority since October 2007.
What are we supposed to do, just hang in there with out USA support?
Unbelievable!!

 

[iceaura]

There's something beautiful about the Republican Congress's scurrying these days. It's like watching the Blue Planet videos of roiling fish
https://twitter.com/kasie/status/10...ublicans-trump-wall-funding-attorney-general/

On the House floor, leaders scrambling to see if they can pass $5 billion in wall funding as Republicans say they want President Trump to tweet before they say “yes.”

“That’s what the fuck serving in Congress has come to,” one GOP member of Congress tells me.

Anybody else remember when the Republican complaint about Obama was the imperial nature of his Presidency? That was just dignity, an aspect of governance by grownups they weren't accustomed to.

They've got the real thing, now - what an imperial Presidency is actually like.
Somebody should make an oil painting, like the one of Washington crossing the Delaware, to hang in the lobby of the Republican Party headquarters: the Republican Congressional leadership, all those committee heads, sitting around a fancy big conference table with a Twitter screen in the middle. "Waiting For Donald To Tweet".

 

[Quantum Quack]

There will be one long lasting legacy of the Trump administration and that is the loss of trust in the USA. Much to Putin's delight.

 

[Quantum Quack]

When the USA and allies pull out of Afghanistan they better take all their Afghani collaborators and families with them. It's going to be a massacre!

 

[Schmelzer]

When the USA and allies pull out of Afghanistan they better take all their Afghani collaborators and families with them. It's going to be a massacre!

Not necessarily. This is a tribal society, not a nationalist one, so there is no nationalist motivation to genocide others. One can easily switch sides, there is no hatred against traitors of the Afghan nation or so.

There will be one long lasting legacy of the Trump administration and that is the loss of trust in the USA. Much to Putin's delight.

You forgot the delight on the side of China, Iran, NK,...

But you are right, this will be long lasting. Because this is not a problem related with Trump. With some Obama2 taking power in Washington, the split of the US elites will not go away. So, nobody can be sure that there will be no Trump2 4 years later.

Trust in the US was possible only because the game named democracy did not matter at all in the past, the foreign policy was controlled by the deep state and therefore did not depend on elections and so on. But this depends on the deep state being a unified force. Today, some deep state players (even if only a minority) support Trump, and this is the long term problem for the empire.

 

[iceaura]

Not necessarily. This is a tribal society, not a nationalist one, so there is no nationalist motivation to genocide others. One can easily switch sides, there is no hatred against traitors of the Afghan nation or so.

Living and learning about tribal societies.
Or is that slide from massacre to genocide a calculated preparation? You don't usually say things quite that obviously naive.

Trust in the US was possible only because the game named democracy did not matter at all in the past, the foreign policy was controlled by the deep state and therefore did not depend on elections and so on. But this depends on the deep state being a unified force.

A fascist uprising getting control of the most powerful military in the world doesn't worry the guy whose primary worry - just a little while ago - was nuclear war.
That's one of the problems with repeating agitprop canards about "deep state" and the like: you fool yourself, after a while.
The "deep state" hasn't been a unified force controlling US foreign policy since Reagan if not earlier. And the last time the Trumpside guys took power they invaded Iraq.

Today, some deep state players (even if only a minority) support Trump, and this is the long term problem for the empire.

This deep state of yours has more shapes than a set of Legos. (You can't get a handle on it because you can't allow the actual influences at issue to be identified as not governmental. The capitalist corporate elite, the free enterprise libertarian heroes, are not allowed to be the bad guys).
Meanwhile, you're missing the governmental elephant in the room: Trump is just the face of chaos - the problem the empire faces is the fascist takeover of the Republican Party. The Mussolini wannabes are not all going to be incompetent mental cripples Putin can keep in his pocket, and chaos is opportunity.

 

[Schmelzer]

Living and learning about tribal societies.
Or is that slide from massacre to genocide a calculated preparation? You don't usually say things quite that obviously naive.

Of course, some mass killings are possible in tribal societies too. In fact, very long ago this was the usual way to win a war - killing the men, and taking women and children. Such societies had no use for slaves, this was a later invention.

The other side of this is that such a threat works also in the other direction - one knows that every village will defend itself up to the last man alive, and therefore one prefers to make peace if possible. If, instead, a nation wins a war, nothing prevents it from genociding the loser.

A fascist uprising getting control of the most powerful military in the world doesn't worry the guy whose primary worry - just a little while ago - was nuclear war.

What you name "fascist uprising" is something I name the less evil side winning. Ask Hillary, if she supports the withdrawel of the US out of Syria. Certainly not, I bet.

That's one of the problems with repeating agitprop canards about "deep state" and the like: you fool yourself, after a while.

Nice try.

The "deep state" hasn't been a unified force controlling US foreign policy since Reagan if not earlier. And the last time the Trumpside guys took power they invaded Iraq.

The deep state was as unified as necessary. You may have seen some conflicts in Reagan time, fine. The split now is much greater. And it is not the split Republican/Democrats. Bolton, Pompeo and Mattis have tried to prevent this, I have heard, without success.

(You can't get a handle on it because you can't allow the actual influences at issue to be identified as not governmental. The capitalist corporate elite, the free enterprise libertarian heroes, are not allowed to be the bad guys).

Nonsense. The big corporations are certainly part of the deep state. I'm not a Randian who presents big business as heroes.

Meanwhile, you're missing the governmental elephant in the room: Trump is just the face of chaos - the problem the empire faces is the fascist takeover of the Republican Party. The Mussolini wannabes are not all going to be incompetent mental cripples Putin can keep in his pocket, and chaos is opportunity.

The problem of the empire is that China and Russia, together, are already too strong for the US to win against both. They don't want open war but are ready for this too, thus, will not step back. So, the empire has to choose: open confrontation or acceptance of a new, multipolar world order. This is, of course, an internal fight, even if the warmongers have a strong power base in Europe too. Who wins is not clear. Actually, it looks like the peace faction wins - but we have to wait, the US troops are not yet out of Syria. If they go really out of Syria, or even more out of Afghanistan and Iraq, this would be a huge win.

But if, instead, the warmongers win, so what, this is what was expected before the Trump election. Sorry for not caring about the fate of the 99 other genders in the US and other internal policy issues, I leave this to you, and care only about the war vs. peace factions.

 

[Write4U]

Has anyone realized the Trump is black-mailing half a million federal employees?

"Approve and finance my wall with your taxes or I won't pay your salary for working in my federal company."

This strategy may work in the business world, but not if you pretend to represent the people you are black-mailing.

Seems to me that these employees can refuse to work altogether and if the intent is to shut the government down, let's close the doors and shut it down for real.

Then see what happens. I'd give it one day.

 

[Quantum Quack]

But if, instead, the warmongers win, so what, this is what was expected before the Trump election. Sorry for not caring about the fate of the 99 other genders in the US and other internal policy issues, I leave this to you, and care only about the war vs. peace factions.

If this were true then you should research the fall of any empire and what subsequently happens shortly after it.
Take the Ottoman Empire's collapse as good example. (end of WW1)
Creating a power vacuum can have incredibly devastating effects. Detente goes out the window for starters and in this modern age we all know what that means.

 

[iceaura]

What you name "fascist uprising" is something I name the less evil side winning

We noticed. The evils of fascism would almost have to be invisible to anyone supporting Putin, of course.
- - - -

Of course, some mass killings are possible in tribal societies too.

Common, in fact. Well known and occasionally - especially with modern organization and weaponry - significant. The example of Iraq after the destruction of the national government is ready to hand, right next door.

Such societies had no use for slaves, this was a later invention.

Nonsense. Where do you get these idiocies?

If, instead, a nation wins a war, nothing prevents it from genociding the loser.

Nations have no more - and often much less - reason for massacre after war than tribes. Governed populations are after all resources, for a nation - valuable. That may explain the generally less murderous aftermaths of war between nontribal nations, as history records.

And all of this misses the original point - that those now allied with the Americans in Afghanistan and Kurdistan and so forth are in serious danger if the Americans pull out.
- - - - -

The deep state was as unified as necessary. You may have seen some conflicts in Reagan time, fine. The split now is much greater.

Your difficulty, the reason you post this foolishness from agitprop media feeds, is that you have no idea what you are talking about with this ever-shifting reference to a "deep state".

Bolton, Pompeo and Mattis have tried to prevent this, I have heard, without success.

Bolton and Pompeo would be part of any splitting - active agents, promotors - if you were making sense.

The problem of the empire is that China and Russia, together, are already too strong for the US to win against both.

They aren't together. And Russia is too weak to be a problem for US strength against foreign enemies.
The rise of fascism and its takeover of a major Party is far more of a problem to the US than Putin. The biggest problem the US has with Russia is its corruption of US elections and internal governance, abetting that fascist rise - as a foreign power, it's an oil well with nukes and little else. Its mob run economy is about as powerful as Italy's, and nobody - nobody at all - wants to import Russian governance, culture, or social standards.

Actually, it looks like the peace faction wins

There is no "peace faction" in a fascist takeover. Who, exactly, are you talking about? The newly elected Democratic Congresscritters?

 

[iceaura]

Trump's political base is in poor health - literally: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2018-annual-report/findings-state-rankings

 

[sculptor]

Gee darn
I just got a letter from my aluminum supplier announcing that they were raising their prices.
And, of course, they blamed it on the tariffs imposed by T Rump.
I suppose that I can't bitch too much, it is less than half a penny per pound....................
(those pennies do add up)

 

[iceaura]

The first (stereotypically) black President of the United States:
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/12/first-black-president

- - The only word that captures {Obama’s} work habits while holding the most important job in the country is “shiftless.” (Sorry snowflakes, please don’t get triggered just because I’m telling it like it is). - - -

(Also shares features with the first stereotypical Jewish President, of course: conniving greed, conspiratorial foreign alliances, all manly virtues and honest community standards discarded in mean pursuit of lucre, no personal courage - hires out the dirty stuff)

The Republican Party personified.

 

[Write4U]

Hehe, Mad Dog Mattis quit, but Trump tells the nation that Mattis can't quit, because he is firing him.
Can you believe this astounding egocentric narcissism?

Mr. Trump’s sudden announcement that he was firing a man who had already quit was the exclamation point to a tumultuous week at the Pentagon, where officials have been reeling from day after day of presidential tweets announcing changes in American military policy.

 

[sculptor]

Hehe, Mad Dog Mattis quit, but Trump tells the nation that Mattis can't quit, because he is firing him.
Can you believe this astounding egocentricity narcissism?

I worked nights and weekends for an electrician/ entrepreneur during high school
when it ended
It was something like this
You can't quit--I fire ya
You can't fire--I quit ya
repeat

Ok
in retrospect, it seems that we both knew that our time together was coming to an inevitable end.

as/re Mattis/T rump:
It seems that neither of these guys liked the other's philosophy.

 

[Write4U]

Question; if the government is closed, what do we pay our taxes for?
Will I have a legal case to sue for "no taxation without representation" or "no taxation without services"?

And what is this holding the taxpayers hostage for paying for that infernal wall, which Mexico is supposed to pay for.

When did this shift in who shall carry the burden happen? Now it has come to Trump declaring that the US tax payers must pay for my wall or I'll shut down the government services which the tax payers pay for now, unless I get my way?

Doesn't that have the names of "mob mentality" and "protection racket"? Can I expect to get my fingers or legs broken?