Trump desperately wants to be on the phone with Xi Jinping, the dog has poked its nose into the steel trap, and corrupt media pretending to sanewash everything they can by pretending it is all 11...
Things have gotten so bad that Bill Kristol commented that if four Republicans in each house would caucus with the Democrats, we could have Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader and Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker. Bill Kristol!
What if what appears to be the rankest stupidity is instead, the core of Trump’s program to eliminate all sources of power other than his own whims?
You’d get idiots like Don Jr calling “burn it all [the Deep State, I guess] down!”
You’d get brain-damaged demagogues like RFKJr randomly destroying core functions in HHS
Linda McMahon calling for dismantling DoEd bureaucracy, while not hinting that she has an idea of how to protect a “sacred” Congressional mandate of giving every child access to the A-1 Sauce
Soft-power international programs plowed under while the door is flung open to corruption and waste in our hard-power acquisition, all while isolating ourselves from allies and praising those who hate American democracy
White House reporters can't resist stories of palace intrigue and senior official off-the-record comments because its too damn easy. They are being spoon-fed. Whenever they say they got a 'scoop', someone should always ask 'A scoop of what?', because it isn't kitty litter.
When I was a kid back in the 1960s, Mad Magazine had a parody of a right wing talk show., I think it was the Joe Nasty show, and as part of the show, the host denounces a noted cancer researcher as a commie for trying to cure cancer rather than letting people get cancer if they want to. I thought it as ridiculous. Who was in favor of cancer? As a grownup, I've now learned that the Trump administration and the Republican party are along with all the people who voted for them. Who knew cancer had such a constituency? I guess this is part of growing up.
Excellent as always. However when you say "This may well turn into the greatest foreign-policy defeat for the United States since the end of the Vietnam War, at least," I would argue you are grading the second Bush MEOW (Middle East Oil War) on a generous curve. Of course, Bush just destroyed the Middle East whereas Trump is after the world.
RE: PEPFAR. Yes 500,000 dead children in Africa is a tragedy. But to play devil’s advocate, PEPFAR was started in 2003. Was the program intended to last forever? Do African countries have no responsibility to assume more of the cost, or to take over providing care to their own citizens? Did USAID or Congress ever even consider a plan to transition the program at some point in the future? Or is PEPFAR a “forever program,” analogous to the “forever wars” that the U.S. tends to get stuck in?
Congress passed legislation authorizing PEPFAR, right? Constitutionally, the President must spend those funds. Trump unilaterally deciding to end the program is illegal.
Stop for a moment to consider how bad this administration must be for Bill Kristol (let’s pause to savor that for a moment— Bill fucking Kristol) has stepped into I. f. Stone’s shoes and found that he likes the fit. (Bill — If you happen to read this, no offense. All may not quite be forgiven, but, at this moment of history, we’re happy to be brothers in arms.)
Things have gotten so bad that Bill Kristol commented that if four Republicans in each house would caucus with the Democrats, we could have Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader and Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker. Bill Kristol!
What if what appears to be the rankest stupidity is instead, the core of Trump’s program to eliminate all sources of power other than his own whims?
You’d get idiots like Don Jr calling “burn it all [the Deep State, I guess] down!”
You’d get brain-damaged demagogues like RFKJr randomly destroying core functions in HHS
Linda McMahon calling for dismantling DoEd bureaucracy, while not hinting that she has an idea of how to protect a “sacred” Congressional mandate of giving every child access to the A-1 Sauce
Soft-power international programs plowed under while the door is flung open to corruption and waste in our hard-power acquisition, all while isolating ourselves from allies and praising those who hate American democracy
IOW, it’s the Totalitarianism, stupid
A new and expanded Confederacy has definitely risen again. Including but not limited to the South.
It's the Republican shit-hole strategy. They're up front about it. They want to go back to the Dark Ages.
White House reporters can't resist stories of palace intrigue and senior official off-the-record comments because its too damn easy. They are being spoon-fed. Whenever they say they got a 'scoop', someone should always ask 'A scoop of what?', because it isn't kitty litter.
When I was a kid back in the 1960s, Mad Magazine had a parody of a right wing talk show., I think it was the Joe Nasty show, and as part of the show, the host denounces a noted cancer researcher as a commie for trying to cure cancer rather than letting people get cancer if they want to. I thought it as ridiculous. Who was in favor of cancer? As a grownup, I've now learned that the Trump administration and the Republican party are along with all the people who voted for them. Who knew cancer had such a constituency? I guess this is part of growing up.
When will MAGA start seeing reality?
Cruelty is not the byproduct of Grand Ol' Plantation policy, it is the purpose
Excellent as always. However when you say "This may well turn into the greatest foreign-policy defeat for the United States since the end of the Vietnam War, at least," I would argue you are grading the second Bush MEOW (Middle East Oil War) on a generous curve. Of course, Bush just destroyed the Middle East whereas Trump is after the world.
Iraq was worse than Vietnam, because Vietnam didn't have the chance to learn from the lesson of Vietnam.
The Daly Show does it better than those quoted!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib0CqQmCvf0&t=2s
RE: PEPFAR. Yes 500,000 dead children in Africa is a tragedy. But to play devil’s advocate, PEPFAR was started in 2003. Was the program intended to last forever? Do African countries have no responsibility to assume more of the cost, or to take over providing care to their own citizens? Did USAID or Congress ever even consider a plan to transition the program at some point in the future? Or is PEPFAR a “forever program,” analogous to the “forever wars” that the U.S. tends to get stuck in?
Congress passed legislation authorizing PEPFAR, right? Constitutionally, the President must spend those funds. Trump unilaterally deciding to end the program is illegal.
Should PEPFAR is for Congress to decide.
"This may well turn into the greatest foreign-policy defeat for the United States since the end of the Vietnam War, at least."
MacArthur's invasion of N. Korea comes to mind as well.
Stop for a moment to consider how bad this administration must be for Bill Kristol (let’s pause to savor that for a moment— Bill fucking Kristol) has stepped into I. f. Stone’s shoes and found that he likes the fit. (Bill — If you happen to read this, no offense. All may not quite be forgiven, but, at this moment of history, we’re happy to be brothers in arms.)