COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, February 02, 2017

CHAOS

Why chaos in the Trump White House is bad for business
Donald Trump thrives on chaos, but American businesses don’t.

RexNutting


In the first 13 days of his four-year term, the new president has unleashed a torrent of inconsistent and, at times, incoherent orders, threats and promises that have only increased the uncertainty that business leaders say they abhor.

Increasingly, American citizens and businesses are beginning to realize what a Trump administration means: A national government untethered to the rule of law or to constitutional principles, devoid of an overarching ideology or purpose except blind nationalism, and the care and feeding of a wounded child-president’s ego.

In addition to the normal sources of uncertainty, American businesses must now contend with chaos. They must recognize that the usual procedures, the institutionalized checks and balances, and the continuity of American traditions and values no longer apply.

So far, foreign-student applications to major U.S. colleges are stable or have increased for the next academic year, but higher education officials are bracing for the potential impact of President Trump’s executive order to temporarily suspend travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Here’s what’s at stake. Photo: Rajah Rose for The Wall Street Journal

I’m not exaggerating. Trump promised to change the way Washington works, and he has.

Chaos is Trump’s signature move in business, on his reality-TV shows, in campaigning and now in governing, writes political reporter/pundit Chris Cillizza. Trump likes to make the decisions, and he likes to keep his underlings guessing what he’ll do next.

That kind of management structure can produce spectacular successes, but also spectacular failures. That might be acceptable in a private business owned by a single person, but not in a democracy of 325 million, particularly when the president did not win a plurality of votes, much less a majority.

“His presidency is in chaos, and it’s apparent to all but most of his serious defenders,” said Carl Bernstein on CNN.

It’s not just liberals and reporters who think it’s been a mess so far.

Newt Gingrich, a big supporter of the president, said the early days of the Trump administration were like an off-Broadway play that wasn’t quite ready for the big time. And one anonymous White House official lamented that Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was “under-competent.”

As harmful as chaos is to our democracy, it’s really bad for business.

If the president can declare unilaterally that hundreds of thousands of people who have entered America legally and who have complied with all of our laws for decades are suddenly too dangerous to enter the country, what else could the president do? wondered Matt Levine of Bloomberg View. “The reason the U.S. is a good place to do business is that, for the last 228 years, it has built a firm foundation on the rule of law. It almost undid that in a weekend,” Levine wrote.

“Investors need to feel that there is fairness and a set of rules that everyone must adhere to,” said Josh Brown on The Reformed Broker blog. “No one would build a house on quicksand and no one would exchange currency for pieces of paper in an environment where legal protections no longer mattered.”

Stunning incompetence


It’s not just the words of Trump’s executive orders that makes these observers call Trump’s style “chaotic.” It’s also the process of stunning incompetence, in the words of Benjamin Wittes, editor of the Lawfare blog, which specializes in national security policy.

Rex Tillerson Sworn In as U.S. Secretary of State

Former Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State by Vice President Mike Pence in the presence of President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

The executive order to ban the entry of visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries didn’t go through the normal channels of government, with input from experts who could assess its legality and its wider implications. The process was chaotic and insular, leaving even the White House chief of staff uncertain as to what the order actually required. The people at Customs who had to implement the order were equally in the dark.

This is a pattern in the Trump White House, and it’s probably a deliberate one.

Most businesses want a policy process that’s transparent, fair and orderly, but what they get from Trump is a process that depends a lot on what is on Trump’s mind (or what his gut feels) at the time the decision is made. Instead of laws, regulations and principles guiding us, we have the whims of one man.

We’re only 13 days into the administration, but already we’re more uncertain than ever about what Trump will mean for a lot of really important issues.

Trade, taxes and the dollar policy


For instance, what will Trump do about foreign trade? Already, he’s withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, signaled his intention to withdraw from NAFTA if it can’t be renegotiated to his satisfaction, and angered our third-most important trading partner by demanding that it pay for the Mexican border wall. His top trade adviser has said that American companies need to eliminate their global supply chains and relocate them to America.

Will Trump brand companies that have global operations as un-American? Will he declare China to be a pariah? Impose punitive tariffs on imports from China, Mexico or perhaps on all imports? Will he start a trade war with Germany? We don’t know, and we don’t know how these decisions will be made.

What about corporate tax reform? Trump has been vague and contradictory about Republican proposals for a border adjustment tax as part of a comprehensive reform plan. In another display of stunning incompetence, his press secretary first told reporters that Trump wants to slap a 20% tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall, then he told them that the tax would apply to all imports, and then he backtracked on the idea, saying it was just one of many options.

That’s not the way to gain the confidence of business leaders, or of our global partners. Or of reporters. Not that Trump cares about any of that.

What about the foreign-exchange value of the dollar? Does Trump want a weaker dollar to encourage American manufacturing, as trade czar Peter Navarro has been saying? Or does he want a stronger dollar, as incoming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said? Trump himself, as on so many issues, seems to have endorsed both views.

Health care and federal spending

There’s just as much chaos in other important areas. Will there be a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and what will it look like specifically? Will there be a big increase in federal spending on infrastructure, and how will those dollars be apportioned?

Will Trump crack down further on legal immigration, as suggested by a report that he wants to deport immigrants who take jobs from Americans and deport immigrants who don’t have jobs? Are there any immigrants — aside from Melania — that he doesn’t want to kick out?

Will Trump continue to shame and bully American companies that have global operations? Will CEOs continue to cower before him? Will he eliminate regulations that businesses depend upon to ensure a level playing field and a vibrant economy? Will Trump use his office and the entire government apparatus to further his own business interests, which are shrouded in the utmost secrecy? Will Trump pack the Federal Reserve to maintain low interest rates forever? Will he gut Social Security and Medicare, as congressional Republicans and his own budget director want?

Fear of Trump

Perhaps the most important unknown is how much independence Congress will assert over these matters. So far, the Republican leaders have completely fallen behind Trump, and not because they think Trump is a wise ruler. The Republicans fear their president more than they admire him.

It’s normal for the early days of an administration to be bumpy and uncomfortable, but what makes the Trump administration so different is that no one knows what Trump (and his small inner circle) wants, beyond a vague promise to put America first.

Where is Trump’s North Star — in his navel?

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has told us that we need to judge Trump on what’s in his heart, not on what he says. But businesses need more clarity than that: They want a nation where the laws and rules are written in books after due process, not in the fickle heart of one man ruled by emotions.

104 comments:

  1. Why pick a fight with Australia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Was it a fight? Who LEAKED the phone call and why? Is this really much to do about nothing? The basic idea that Australia wanted to TRADE 1250 unveiled islamists for 1250 Central American refugees is in fact absurd.

      I heard that the deal stands, but Trump got his point across, no more nonsense.

      To me? I see a pattern. Stop the bullshit. If you can stand up to your friends? You can stand up to your enemies.

      Delete
  2. I supported Trump for a damn good reason: Hillary Rodham Clinton.

    Washington needed to be rattled.

    Things needed to be changed.

    Priorities need to be set and followed. The OJT phase of being a president is desperately short. Someone better get that message to Trump and do it fast.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Things do need to level out a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. " A national government untethered to the rule of law or to constitutional principles, devoid of an overarching ideology or purpose except blind nationalism, and the care and feeding of a wounded child-president’s ego."

    ===

    Bullshit.

    Not one cite of unlawful acts (There are none.) simply a bunch of quotes from fellow hacks, all the way down to the Chris Cillizza room of the least newsworthy MSM outlet, the Washington Post.

    Trump is a mild mannered shy guy compared to the ego of Jeff Bezos.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What I want to know is why in hell Australia's jihadis are headed here in the first place.

    Australia is a huge place.

    Can't they park them out by Alice Springs somewhere ?

    WTF ?

    I'd be pissed too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What happened with that phone call with Australia’s prime minister?
      POSTED AT 2:01 PM ON FEBRUARY 2, 2017 BY ALLAHPUNDIT


      American politics increasingly feels like a novel whose events are retold by two unreliable narrators, Trump being one and the media being the other. The truth, or something close to it, is in there somewhere between the two of them. But where? Case in point: After a lot of media heavy-breathing yesterday about Trump telling Mexico’s president he might have to use cross-border force to stop “bad hombres,” CNN came through with this much more sober version of their phone call.

      According to an excerpt of the transcript of the call with Peña Nieto provided to CNN, Trump said, “You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with. We are willing to help with that big-league, but they have be knocked out and you have not done a good job knocking them out.”

      Trump made an offer to help Peña Nieto with the drug cartels.

      Not a military threat, just an offer of military assistance, however untactfully relayed. Bearing that in mind, where does the truth lie in WaPo’s account of Trump’s conversation with Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull?

      President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refu­gee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.

      At one point, Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladi­mir Putin — and that “this was the worst call by far.”…

      “This is the worst deal ever,” Trump fumed as Turnbull attempted to confirm that the United States would honor its pledge to take in 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center.

      Trump, who one day earlier had signed an executive order temporarily barring the admission of refugees, complained that he was “going to get killed” politically and accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers.”

      Delete
    2. The first sign that WaPo’s account is unreliable would be a series of stern denials by both sides — but interestingly, those are absent in this case. The NYT’s story, citing “a senior Trump administration official,” corroborates the last paragraph above about the Boston bombers and claims that the call “ended abruptly after Mr. Turnbull told the president it was necessary for the refugees to be accepted.” CNN also hears that the call was contentious and that Turnbull reminded Trump that the deal to accept 1,250 refugees is contingent upon each of them passing scrutiny by U.S. refugee vetters. Anyone who misses the cut wouldn’t be sent to the U.S. (CNN also notes that Trump was tired after a long day of phone calls with other world leaders, which sounds pretty … low-energy.) Turnbull was grilled about all of this earlier today by Australia’s press and pointedly didn’t deny the Post’s reporting. All he said was that private conversations are best kept private and that Trump had agreed to honor the refugee deal, however unhappy he may be about it. (Turnbull did say that Trump hadn’t hung up on him.) That was his best effort to smooth over the flap between the two countries. And then Trump picked up his phone and dropped this:

      Follow
      Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
      Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!
      7:55 PM - 1 Feb 2017

      Doesn’t sound to me like he’s agreed to honor the deal.

      Three obvious questions here. One: Of all the countries on Earth, why would he pick a fight with Australia, arguably America’s most loyal ally and a key strategic partner in the Pacific? Trump has already signaled in his travel-ban order that he might be willing to accept up to 50,000 refugees globally this year, as Conor Friedersdorf notes. Australia’s 1,250 are a drop in the bucket. The Aussies are already nervous about their position within China’s expanding sphere of influence and they just had the rug pulled out from under them on trade when Trump tore up TPP. Does Trump want Australia to be neutral between the United States and China? What on earth for?

      Two: How much time will Rex Tillerson, assorted members of Trump’s inner circle, and various foreign-policy players in the Senate spend over the next four years massaging allies after Trump has some needless blow-up with them? McCain reportedly phoned Australia’s ambassador after the news broke about his chat with Turnbull to reaffirm America’s commitment to the relationship. A lot of calls are going to be made like that over the next four years, nudging diplomats abroad to take Trump neither seriously nor literally. In fact…

      Follow
      Jim Acosta ✔ @Acosta
      Source familiar with Trump foreign leader calls says the POTUS convos are turning faces "white" inside the WH.

      Which brings us to question three: Who leaked this to the Post? There can’t be many people so high up the chain inside the White House that they’d be privy to Trump’s phone calls with world leaders. It’s tempting to blame the Australians, but as noted, the Times cites a “senior Trump administration official.” Why are people of that caliber whispering to newspapers, knowing the damage this will do to him? Is this mysterious official another holdover from the Obama administration, a la Sally Yates, or is this some mainstream Republican appointee a la Reince Priebus who doesn’t like how business is being done by the pugnacious Bannon wing and is trying to undercut them?

      Here’s Kellyanne Conway being asked about leaks: video

      http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/02/so-what-happened-with-that-phone-call-with-australias-prime-minister/

      Delete
    3. It ain't Priebus!

      The most obvious thing is the MSM makes up most of it almost from whole cloth.

      Delete
    4. I read about them refugees a long time ago.

      They were kept on an island for quite a while.

      Australia evidently didn't want them on the mainland.

      Fancy That.

      No Problemo: "Obama" will take them. (ie - US !)

      Delete
  6. In the previous thread, I wrote:

    "Right: Goodwin makes no points outside the courts, in QuirkWorld's balanced opinion from his reading list of 80 percent MSM and 20% HuffPo, Think Progress, and etc.

    In fact he notes MANY examples for which no Republican analogs can be found in the early days of the Obama Presidency.

    Not to mention the MSM's unprecedented irresponsibility and dishonesty.

    Do you claim that is a balanced situation also?"
    ===
    (Note: We are two weeks into The Donald's Presidency.)
    ===

    Quirk responds with a list of GOP Horrors over YEARS of Obama's Presidency.

    The reader is free to peruse them.
    Or not.

    Didn't take the time to see if he defended the MSM in there leap to new heights in Fake News, Falsehoods, and rabble rousing.

    (How would he be aware, he never reads other POV's beyond the point necessary to spout off with his daily namecalling)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      (How would he be aware, he never reads other POV's beyond the point necessary to spout off with his daily namecalling)

      Why would I perversely seek out sites like jihadwatch, frontpagemag, Pamela Geller, Breitbart (home of Milo Y), and other blog sites no one has ever heard of, when I know that any legitimate news they might stumble across will have already been published in more reputable publications AND that their weirdest conspiracy theories and fake news will eventually end up here anyway?

      To assure I get both sides of an argument, along with the other media I read or view I visit RealClearWorld and RealClearPolitics which usually will give at least two articles showing the two sides of the argument on any particular issue.

      As for POV, 'we have voter fraud in this country and that's a big problem' is a POV. 'We have voter fraud in this country but examples of it are so few it is not a serious problem' is also a POV. 'We have voter fraud in this country, a lot of it; in fact, 3-5 million illegal votes were cast in the last election ALL for my opponent' is not a POV. It's fake news and batshit crazy.

      An opinion is one thing as is a POV, but pulling shit out of your ass with no supporting evidence that can be checked and confirmed is not news. It's fake news. It's not even the difference with news stories and editorials. It's bull.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      What I usually find is that foreign papers give a view of the US and its politics that are a nice relief from what we see in the US press.

      For instance, in the UK I check out The Telegraph (conservative) and the Guardian (liberal).

      In Israel, it's The Times of Israel (balanced), The Jerusalem Post (conservative). I would read Haartz (liberal) but I won't pay for the subscription.

      .

      Delete
    3. I invite you to find ONE instance in which I claimed Trump's claims about the magnitude of voter fraud were true.

      ...as you said I did in the previous thread.

      Delete
  7. Cop's dog murders good Samaritan.

    (Open in Incognito Window to evade the pay wall.)

    http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article130371564.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grover Beach officer charged with felonies in deadly dog attack

      https://www.google.com/search?q=Grover+Beach+officer+charged+with+felonies+in+deadly+dog+attack&rlz=1CAACAO_enUS720US720&oq=Grover+Beach+officer+charged+with+felonies+in+deadly+dog+attack&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So, what do you guys think about the US government collecting biometric data on anyone crossing into or out of the US? A nice little file containing your fingerprints, retina scan, and a facial image (run though facial recognition software) on you at DHS? Seems what Deuce's man Trump wants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, I am ok with all of that, Ash. I wouldn't worry about it unless I had something to hide. Knowing you cross the border regularly, I don't think you would have a problem. You can still come down, play our golf courses, eat good food, criticize the government and how we drive, and still go back home. That's the great thing about the good ole USA. That's what makes it exceptional.

      Delete
    2. They can build up quite the database on US citizens that way. Why not expand it an require everyone to have an identity card?

      Delete
    3. They already have one of those on me. It's called a Global Entry Card.

      Delete
    4. Those and passports are for travel. How about for everybody in the homeland?

      Delete
    5. You don't think they are mining that info for other uses?

      Delete
    6. They got it all on me.

      I got Concealed Carry. Gave up my fingerprints, face, records....I got nothing to hide, or hide from....nice feeling.

      Delete
  10. Favorite lawsuits so far:

    CAIR

    and

    San Francisco, the Sanctuary City.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Donald Trump Threatens to Cancel Berkeley Federal Funds After Riots Shut Down Milo Event

    President Donald Trump reacted to the massive rioting at UC-Berkeley in response to a scheduled campus speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos.
    “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” Trump wrote on Twitter early Thursday morning.

    News of the rioting made cable news last night as students smashed ATMs and bank windows, looted a Starbucks, beat Trump supporters, pepper sprayed innocent individuals, and set fires in the street. Others spray painted the words “Kill Trump” on storefronts.

    The speech was canceled by UC-Berkeley police as security failed. Yiannopoulos was evacuated from the area.

    “The left is profoundly antithetical to free speech these days, does not want to hear alternative points of view, and will do anything to shut it down,” Yiannopoulos told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview on Wednesday night. “My point is being proven over and over and over again.”

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/02/donald-trump-threatens-cancel-federal-funds-berkeley-riots-shut-milo-event/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More and more cities seem to be telling cops to do nothing.

      Tiny San Luis Obispo CA had a greater show of force at Milo event the night before than Beserkley.

      Result?

      No Violence

      Delete
  12. I woulda fed it and given it a warm room, but that's just me:

    http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/offbeat/police-rescue-trapped-deer-from-canal

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Normal low 17
      Normal high 32

      Not fit for human, nay mammal, existence.

      Delete
    2. Video
      http://www.democratandchronicle.com/videos/news/2017/02/02/watch-firefighters-rescue-deer-stuck-icy-erie-canal/97396190/

      Delete
  13. Still teaching the kid how it's done:

    http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Dell-Curry-pregame-shot-was-so-good-even-son-10903347.php

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Bitch is Immortal !

    "In the middle of all the Wednesday fretting, a Ginsburg sighting! She took to the stage for a livestreamed Q&A at Virginia Military Institute. She wore a gray suit, matching gray gloves, and a lace jabot, as has become her trademark. A questioner asked about her health.

    She regularly does push-ups, she told the crowd, as well as situps and "something called a plank." She can do more than 20 push-ups.
    She does the full push-ups, not the knee variation.

    She has a personal trainer. This personal trainer also now works with Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen G. Breyer, too.

    "He does his best to keep us all in shape," Ginsburg reports."

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Can-she-eat-more-kale-Hordes-of-liberals-want-10903762.php

    ReplyDelete
  15. How many deaths are the MSM responsible for with there "Hands Up Don't Shoot" and hundreds of other inflammatory Fake Memes?

    ---

    ...prompted by Kellyanne's comment about the media giving these know nothing, violent, destructive anti Trump a-holes free coverage.
    (Moral Judgement Not Included)

    ie: Bashing heads, burning property?

    No big deal.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hell, the Australians had the jihadis isolated on some island off the coast.

    Perfect.

    What the hell are they coming here for ????

    ReplyDelete
  17. Look at this horse shit -

    Schumer, Leadership Team Refuse To Meet Gorsuch...DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Democrats boycott Pruitt vote, GOP advances his nomination anyway
      Feb 2, 2017 1:21 PM by John Sexton


      http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/02/democrats-boycott-pruitt-committee-vote-gop-advances-his-nomination-anyway/

      The Democrats are making asses out of themselves.

      Acting like 12 year olds.

      Delete
    2. The Democrats are babbling and discouraged
      By Ed Rogers February 1 at 4:21 PM

      Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a Jan. 29 news conference on President Trump’s executive order temporarily barring entry to the United States for refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority counties. (Bryan R. Smith/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

      The Democrats are babbling and discouraged. Specifically, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is babbling, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is in tears. They are feeling the impact of their 2016 losses more acutely now than they did in November, as the full limits and consequences of their powerlessness are on full display. The Democratic Caucus is pointlessly attempting to slow the confirmation of President Trump’s Cabinet picks, including boycotting this morning’s Senate Finance Committee votes on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Steve Mnuchin and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee vote on Scott Pruitt. Ouch. How bad do you think the Republican members of those committees felt about the Democrats not showing up? ....

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/02/01/the-democrats-are-babbling-and-discouraged/?utm_term=.ba9c96b0348c

      Delete
    3. .... Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) offered his tight analysis to reporters: “Well, they are idiots.”

      Delete
    4. That's basically what I said.

      Delete
    5. ....Watch the clip, but it’s also worth a full transcription. At the Democrats’ protest over Trump’s immigration orders, a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday night, led by Schumer and Pelosi, Pelosi — after a toe-curling, awkward few moments where she tried to make sense of the sound system — turns to Schumer and is caught on the mic saying, “I want to introduce the real people. I’ll do the real people now.” But the “real people” were nowhere to be found — kind of like the swing-state Democratic voters who have been missing since October. Anyway, when you see a Democratic leader on camera surrounded by a crowd, you can’t help but get the sense that if you filtered out the government employees and those who don’t pay federal taxes, those Democrats would be left standing on stage by themselves.

      Delete
  18. Australia’s alliance with the US has hit its lowest point in decades, in a clash over a divisive refugee deal that led Donald Trump to ­berate Malcolm Turnbull in priv­ate before staging a public retreat from the agreement.

    ...

    Donald Trump’s top officials have tried to smooth over a rift with Malcolm Turnbull over the refugee deal by insisting on the President’s “deep admiration” for the Australian people after an explosive conversation between the two leaders.

    ...

    Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey has reportedly just left the White House; it’s not clear who his meeting was with.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just heard on the news from this little black gay guy that alt-right is code for white supremacy. I almost blew a very good Malbec thru my nose. Where do they come up with this shit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Someone should have asked a follow-up question of him asking what alt-left is code for.

      Delete
    2. Actually, Wikipedia agrees with him.

      Delete
    3. Alt-left is code for anarchists, commies, fascists, Hispanic Supremacists(La Raza)....etc

      People throwing bricks and Molotov Cocktails, basically....

      Delete
  20. Border wall looking to come in under budget and ahead of schedule.....two years, according to DHS Secretary....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well two years....no real schedule has yet been set and no money appropriated other than that left from the former effort....

      I do think it's going to get done.

      Delete
    2. 'course it is. Mexico footing the bill.

      Delete
    3. Not so sure about that part.

      Delete
  21. "Trump on Monday night fired acting US Attorney General Sally Yates over her refusal to enforce his executive order on immigrants and refugees. That happened after a weekend of dissent from both sides of the political aisle since Trump signed the order on Friday.

    While Bernstein said Trump was "within his rights" to dismiss Yates, he added "it was not wise that he did."

    ===

    More total crapola.

    The only thing that was not wise was not dismissing her on day 1.

    http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-presidency-in-chaos-Legendary-investigative-10895910.php

    ReplyDelete
  22. A Reddit user pointed us in the direction of a helpful Atlas Obscura article that says falcons can get their own passports from the UAE to travel. The passport allows a falcon to travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, and Syria, according to the article.
    The passport is valid for three years, according to the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
    A representative for the airline Flydubai told Frank Kane, a reporter for the UAE news website The National, that falcons must have their own seat and are placed on a cloth to avoid accidents. According to Kane, the business-class cabin of his Flydubai flight in April 2015 was reserved for falcons — so this isn't as rare of an occurrence as we may think.
    On Qatar Airways, you can bring a maximum of six falcons in economy class.
    Etihad Airways also allows falcons on its planes.

    http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-bizarre-photo-of-80-giant-birds-on-a-plane-is-10894962.php

    ReplyDelete
  23. But the administration is working with congressional staffers and outside experts on a still-evolving comprehensive plan aimed at hitting as many of Iran's pressure points as possible, including its already restricted nuclear program, its missile development and its support of militant groups in the region.

    Trump's declaration that nothing has been ruled out in response to Iran appears to leave open the possibility of military action, though experts say both sides will take care to avoid armed confrontation in the oil-rich Gulf.

    Still, the US threats of reprisals, coupled with Iran's defiant reaction, could dangerously ratchet up tensions between the two countries.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What's this Milo character famous for other than being a nice looking talkative fag ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His

      "Dangerous Faggot Tour"

      Has ramped up his visibility, but he's quite articulate in describing the pathetic state of our schools, colleges, and other public institutions.

      ...and the damage done to free speech by the Left with their PC Codes.

      Delete
    2. http://www.podcastone.com/the-milo-yiannopoulos-show

      Delete
  25. Donald Trump’s defense secretary has warned North Korea that it would face an “effective and overwhelming” response if it chose to use nuclear weapons.

    ...

    Former US officials and other experts have said the United States essentially has two options when it comes to trying to curb North Korea’s fast-expanding nuclear and missile programmes – negotiate or take military action.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Harry Reid’s gift to the GOP
    Charles Krauthammer
    CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER pic
    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, February 2, 2017, 8:00 PM


    ....The operative word, however, is “eventually.” Such an agreement is for the future. Not yet, not today. Republicans are no fools. They are not about to forfeit the advantage bequeathed to them by Harry Reid’s shortsighted willfulness. They will zealously retain the nuclear option for Supreme Court nominees through the current Republican tenure of Congress and the presidency. After which, they should be ready to parlay and press the reset button.

    But only then. As the young Augustine famously beseeched the Lord, “Give me chastity and continency, only not yet.”


    http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/harry-reid-gift-gop-article-1.2962921

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. St. Augustine's pray above is sometimes know as The Questionable Prayer, or, The "Q" Prayer.

      It is recited by faithful millions of the sexually lax the world over each year.

      "Q" often recites it kneeling at bedside with Maria before they jump into the sack, they only substituting the word 'us' for 'me'.

      Maria and Quirk are lifelong Catholics in good standing with their church and conscience.

      Delete
  27. I'd rather have the shits than be full of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Lord, give me the shits, rather than filling me with it"

      Delete
  28. What Each State Googled Most Frequently Since The Election

    http://blog.estately.com/2017/02/what-each-state-googled-more-frequently-than-any-other-state-since-the-election/

    Examples:

    Montana - National Park Service
    Idaho - General Mattis Quotes
    Iowa - Russian Prostitutes
    Washington State - West Coast Secession
    Arizona - How To Emigrate To Canada

    etc

    ReplyDelete
  29. Tucker Carlson Tonight - 2/2/2017 - Milo Yiannopoulos Interview - Fox News

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALe9p1nn9TY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. CNN - MILO RALLIES WHITE SUPREMICISTS !

      Bastards have blood on their hands.
      And worse.

      Delete

    2. Bloomberg: MILO SPARKS RIOTS!

      Delete
    3. I'm beginning to like this Milo fellow.

      Delete
  30. February 3, 2017
    Marijuana helping (mostly liberal) women give birth to mentally impaired babies
    By Ed Straker

    Liberals are much more likely to smoke marijuana than conservatives. Therefore, it's safe to assume that the vast majority of pregnant women who smoke marijuana are liberals, and they are more likely to give birth to retarded babies.

    As states legalize marijuana or its medical use, expectant mothers are taking it up in increasing numbers .... Marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient — tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — can cross the placenta to reach the fetus, experts say, potentially harming brain development, cognition and birth weight.... In Pittsburgh, 6-year-olds born to mothers who had smoked one joint or more daily in the first trimester showed a decreased ability to understand concepts in listening and reading..... Most troubling, children of mothers who used marijuana heavily in the first trimester had lower scores in reading, math and spelling at age 14 than their peers.


    Depression, anxiety, stress, pain, nausea and vomiting were the most common reasons women reported using marijuana in a 2014 survey of low-income mothers getting federal nutrition help in Colorado. Roughly 6 percent were pot users; a third were pregnant.

    “Women are thinking of this as medical marijuana in that they are treating some condition,” said Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute who researches substance abuse in pregnancy.


    This is only one of the many gifts the legalization of marijuana has brought us.

    Readers of Brave New World will recognize how the Deltas and Epsilon class workers were chemically stunted, physically and mentally, in their embryonic development so they would emerge as simplistic, retarded worker drones.

    Liberal mothers today are echoing Brave New World by creating the next generation of Democratic Party voters, already partially lobotomized in the womb, to be perfect worker drones who won't think for themselves. And marijuana is the 21st century version of the pleasure drug soma, dispersed by the Democratic party to keep the drones distracted while they increasingly run every aspect of society in a more and more centralized fashion.



    Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Machete-wielding man slumps to the ground after being shot in the stomach at the Louvre museum as he attacked French soldiers while screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’
    A man armed with a machete was shot five times in the stomach after attempting to storm the museum
    Police source said the attacker was shouting 'Allahu Akbar' before being gunned down
    Streets around the Louvre have been evacuated and France's interior ministry branded the incident 'serious'
    French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has described the attack as 'terrorist in nature'
    A second person has been arrested, but it is not known if they were linked to the attack
    The identity and nationality of the attacker are not yet known, the interior ministry has said


    By Dave Burke For Mailonline and Peter Allen In Paris for MailOnline

    PUBLISHED: 09:24 GMT, 3 February 2017 | UPDATED: 16:50 GMT, 3 February

    A terror probe has been launched in Paris after a machete-wielding man was shot after trying to attack four soldiers outside the Louvre.

    The suspect was shot five times in the stomach and is in a critical condition.

    He was shouting 'Allahu Akbar' - Arabic for 'God is the greatest' - according to the Paris chief of police, and reportedly had paint bombs in his backpack.

    A source close to the investigation claims the suspect is an Egyptian man who arrived in France at the end of last month.

    An unconfirmed report by TV network LCI names the suspect as 29-year-old Abdallah EH, who arrived in France on a flight from Dubai on January 26. He was not known to security services, the network states.

    A source told Reuters: 'According to the investigation's initial indications, it was an Egyptian national.'

    After being refused entry to the Louvre, he pulled out the weapon and was shot by a soldier, officials have confirmed. A paratrooper is believed to have suffered a head injury.

    US President Donald Trump tweeted following the attack in the French capital: 'A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S.'

    A second man was arrested after 'acting suspiciously' close to the scene, but it is not known if he is linked to the attack.

    French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has described the attack as 'terrorist in nature'.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4187460/Lovre-evacuated-Paris.html#ixzz4XdsdUBwO
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    They seem to have upped the security from the days of the one time I went to the Louvre decades ago, thank goodness....

    ReplyDelete
  32. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Good ole team Trump -- oh....my.....god..... it was a BOWLING GREEN MASSACRE!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your attitude speaks for itself.

      Delete
    2. You ought to be out with your like minded, Ash, throwing bricks and Molotov Cocktails and burning shit down.

      Latest outburst was at NYU.

      I want to see a little activism out of you, hoping that you get arrested.

      ;)

      Delete
    3. You should follow this more nuanced approach, Ash -

      Video: Kellyanne Conway on the “Bowling Green massacre” that didn’t happen
      POSTED AT 2:01 PM ON FEBRUARY 3, 2017 BY ALLAHPUNDI
      A nifty example of the point I made yesterday about Americans being stuck between two unreliable narrators and forced to grope their way to the truth somewhere in between. On the one hand, Conway’s wrong on the facts here — not once but twice. There was never any terror attack in Bowling Green, Kentucky; what she’s thinking of (and later acknowledged, in admitting her error) was the arrest in 2011 of two Iraqi refugees who’d been resettled in the city for trying to send money and weapons back home to Al Qaeda to target American soldiers. One Iraqi got 40 years in prison for that, the other got life. The fingerprint of one of them was matched to a fingerprint on an IED recovered in Iraq towards the beginning of the war. Obama reacted to the arrests by order the revetting of 58,000 Iraqi refugees who’d already been admitted to the U.S., which caused a major slowdown in processing new refugees — not a ban, as Conway also erroneously suggests. Unreliable. And when you’re a top White House advisor and the single most ubiquitous surrogate for the president on American TV, unreliability about a terror attack is a very bad trait to display, whether the mistake is innocent or not. Especially when you spend most of your time wagging your finger at the media for their own untrustworthiness.

      But the heavy media coverage of her mistake today, in treating this as a “can you believe it?” mega-gaffe and an example of the “alternative facts” that Conway infamously touted a few weeks ago, is also being unreliable in glossing over her underlying point. She’s defending Trump’s temporary refugee ban by noting that dangerous people have been admitted to the United States before — which is true, and the two Bowling Green scumbags are paradigm examples. There was no “massacre” and she deserves to be called on that, but if you worry about letting people in from Iraq and Syria because you’re afraid they might have an interest in bombs and jihad, well, the Bowling Green incident gives you reason to worry. She misremembered it as a successful attack, but the intent to kill American soldiers was there — enough so to secure federal convictions. ABC News went so far at the time of the arrests as to suggest that the U.S. might have inadvertently let “dozens” of terrorists into the country via insufficiently rigorous vetting procedures for refugees. A fair fact-check of Conway would note all of that, but most of the commentary today involves people posting things like “In Memoriam, Bowling Green Massacre victims” beneath a picture of a blank box. WaPo’s video clip below even resorts to a little “buzzer” to taunt Conway over her error. You can excuse their antagonism if you like by saying that they’re only giving back to Trump the sort of half-truths and sneering disdain that he and Conway heap on them daily, but nothing good will come to the media from trying to fight Trumpian fire with fire. In fact, if you were a cynic, you might speculate that the reason so much scorn is being poured on Conway this morning is because she has a point that there’s precedent for refugees posing a danger to Americans. The logic of the criticism seems to boil down to: If the “Bowling Green massacre” didn’t happen, well, who cares if the Bowling Green terror arrests did?

      Delete
    4. If the press wanted to fact-check Conway effectively on this, they’d skip the buzzers and do what Elizabeth Nolan Brown did, asking the question of just how many refugees have gone bad like the pair in Bowling Green. The answer, according to a 2015 study: Three — out of 784,000. Two were the Bowling Green guys and the third came to America with his parents as a Christian refugee. (The Tsarnaevs weren’t refugees, they were the sons of asylum-seekers, which meant their parents got to stay in the U.S. while they were being vetted instead of being vetted before entry.) There may be a few others who came to the U.S. as refugees as kids and ended up being radicalized here, but the point is that it’s vanishingly rare for refugees to enter the U.S. with bad intentions. Whether you think an indefinite ban on Syrians is worth it anyway from a pure “better safe than sorry” standpoint is up to you, but as I say, this is the point on which a smart critic of the administration would dwell. Not the dumb mistake about a “massacre” (although of course that should be corrected) but why the Bowling Green incident is in itself supposedly good cause to bar thousands of people at serious risk of being caught between the gears of Assad and ISIS in Syria.

      http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/03/video-kellyanne-conway-on-the-bowling-green-massacre-that-didnt-happen/

      Delete
  34. The Purpose Of Sleep Is To Forget, Scientists Say

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/science/sleep-memory-brain-forgetting.html?mtrref=undefined&_r=0

    Interesting.

    Also:

    Down From The Trees, Humans Finally Got A Good Night's Sleep

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NASA Says Space Travel Can Change DNA

      http://www.realclearlife.com/science/prolonged-time-space-can-change-dna-according-nasa-study/

      Delete
    2. Although these are early test results—that may not be generalizable to other space travelers—researchers were surprised to find that Scott’s telomeres, the caps on the ends of chromosomes, grew longer while he was in orbit. Since telomeres generally shrink over the course of a lifetime, and the stresses of spaceflight were thought to accelerate that process, these results threw NASA for a loop.

      It’s also worth noting that telomere lengthening has been linked to some disease processes and pathologies, hence the researchers’ concern. Thankfully, Scott’s telomeres shrank back to normal once he returned to Earth.

      Delete
    3. Quirk resting in the sunshine after returning from extended space travel in his UltraLight "Q" Space Traveler:


      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopod_(creature)#/media/File:Sciapode.jpg

      Delete
    4. Hoping Q's telomeres shrink back to 'normal'....

      Delete

    5. They aren't connected to anything:

      They just flop around, shrinking and stretching, as he repeats his mantra:

      Islamophobe, Anglophone, Racist, alt Right, Brumotactillophobic, Xenophobic, etc etc.

      Delete
    6. .


      Look at the bright side, Doug. You finally got someone who will take the time to talk to you.


      .

      Delete

  35. Melania to undergo extreme vetting prior to admission to Whitehouse.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Replies
    1. .

      I don't watch MMA all that much but I remember seeing this guy fight at least once.


      .

      Delete
    2. The biggest crime of all:

      "He also claimed police refused to intervene.

      "I went to try to get police assistance, and they said they wouldn't go in there," he said. "People were getting attacked and beat up."

      ===

      This kind of outrageous behavior goes on all across the country in so-called sanctuary cities.

      Trump should have one-time dictatorial power to straighten up all the mayors, police chiefs, and etc.

      Delete
    3. "Dude, you guys got your face covered, you're attacking people - you're being (expletive) fascists," he told one of the masked men as several others milled about.

      Although he'd interrupted the attackers, Shields sensed the situation was quickly deteriorating.

      "I stood around and tried to stop some other people from getting beat, and it just kept getting more and more chaotic, so eventually I left," he said.

      "There were just too many people and too many weapons, so it was time for me to get out of there.

      I tried to get the police to do their job, but they weren't willing to."

      Delete
    4. He ought to be allowed to straighten up Quirk, too.

      If it proves impossible, as it well might, at least something was attempted, and we can, hopefully, learn from the effort.

      Delete
  37. Which Supreme Court Justice will Trump replace next ?

    Pictorial answer here:

    http://media.hotair.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/GinsburgAsleep560.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  38. .

    The Trumps

    I along with a good chunk of America used to complain about the amount of money (our money) the Obama family was burning through for vacations and junkets. Somehow, I fear that after the next four years we will be looking at the Obama presidency as the ‘good old days’ at least in that respect.

    <a href="http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/eric-trump%E2%80%99s-trip-to-uruguay-cost-taxpayers-dollar97830-in-hotel-bills/ar-AAmB9HA?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp“>Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills</a>

    <i>When the president-elect’s son Eric Trump jetted to Uruguay in early January for a Trump Organization promotional trip, U.S. taxpayers were left footing a bill of nearly $100,000 in hotel rooms for Secret Service and embassy staff.

    It was a high-profile jaunt out of the country for Eric, the fresh-faced executive of the Trump Organization who, like his father, pledged to keep the company separate from the presidency. Eric mingled with real estate brokers, dined at an open-air beachfront eatery and spoke to hundreds at an “ultra exclusive” Trump Tower Punta del Este evening party celebrating his visit.

    The Uruguayan trip shows how the government is unavoidably entangled with the Trump company as a result of the president’s refusal to divest his ownership stake. In this case, government agencies are forced to pay to support business operations that ultimately help to enrich the president himself. Though the Trumps have pledged a division of business and government, they will nevertheless depend on the publicly funded protection granted to the first family as they travel the globe promoting their brand…</i>

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It' gonna take a Hell of a lot of trips like that to match the Obama totals which featured his and hers Air Force One Equivalents and etc to Hawaii and the Hamptons, round the World junkets/vacations, etc.

      ...but I have no doubt whatever the outcome, many times more millions will be spent on "ink" covering the Trumps than was spent on the Obamas.

      Doubt if there's any way to get an honest TOTAL of the myriad C 17 fleets carrying limos and etc hither and yon in service of our nouveau riche first family.

      Time will tell.

      My telomeres are telling me to be the optimist here.

      Delete