#1 story @ WaPo: "Trump is out of control"

By artappraiser on Mon, 06/05/2017 - 7:31pm |

only 2 hours old, jumped to top of list, Op-Ed by Eugene Robinson, June 5 @ 5:21 pm

The statements President Trump issued on Twitter in recent days lead to a chilling conclusion: The man is out of control.

I know that is a radical thing to say about the elected leader of the United States, the most powerful individual in the world. And I know his unorthodox use of social media is thought by some, including the president himself, to be brilliant. But I don’t see political genius in the invective coming from Trump these days. I see an angry man lashing out at enemies real and imagined — a man dangerously overwhelmed [....]

URL:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-out-of-control/2017/06/05/9665c9a4-4a21-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?tid=pm_pop&utm_term=.2a857dfce4b9

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@ Politico.com, June 5:

Trump National Security Team Blindsided by NATO Speech

They thought the president would commit to the principle of collective defense. They were wrong.

Trump's tweets prompt backlash from GOP lawyers

Prominent attorneys are concerned the president is undermining his own administration's case for preserving his controversial travel ban policy.

Kellyanne Conway's husband mocks Trump's tweets on travel ban

Trump intensifies criticism of London mayor on Twitter

Theresa May backs London mayor after Trump tweet

by artappraiser on Mon, 06/05/2017 - 7:58pm

But... But... Forget all that...

So what if there's a totally out of control nutjob in the White House undermining our nations security, there's bigger fishes to fry when it comes to Intelligence/National Security news.

'This is huge': National-security experts were floored by the leaked NSA document on Russia's election hack

Business Insider - ‎4 hours ago‎

A leaked NSA document which found that hackers connected to Russian military intelligence tried to breach US voting systems days before the 2016 election has national-security experts and former intelligence officials reeling. Russian military ...

Intelligence Contractor Is Charged in First Leak Case Under Trump

New York Times - ‎2 hours ago‎

The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, in Washington last month. “Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nation's security and undermines public faith in government,” he said.

Contractor Charged With Leaking Classified Information on US Election Hacking

The Wire - ‎8 minutes ago‎

Accused leaker clashed with Trump's views before contract job

New York Daily News - ‎3 hours ago‎

DOJ charges contractor with leaking classified material to news outlet

CBS News - ‎4 hours ago‎

~OGD~

by oldenGoldenDecoy on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 3:43am

OGD & other readers: there is a thread on that story by PP 3 entries down, been up for nine hours, with some discussion:

RUSSIA ATTACKED VOTING MACHINES & OFFICIALS. SUCCESS?

thanks for all the extra cites.

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 4:00am

But it's not like this leak wouldn't have been exposed within 2 or 4 years anyway when they'd finished the investigation for the next administration.

It's not like we were in any hurry to know this stuff - it was only an election.

Nixon Era: it's not the crime, it's the coverup

Clinton Era: it's not the crime, it's the appearances

Trump Era: it's not the crime, it's the leak (and fake investigation!!!)

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 4:00am

That reads like a meta modern free verse hyperlink poetry. HA.

(ok I confess I still don't know what metamodern means)

by Obey on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 9:43am

It means what you want it to mean except when it doesn't.

I once meta'd girl or should I say, she meta'd me.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 1:01pm

AP FACT CHECK: Trump contradicts homeland security secretary

By CALVIN WOODWARD and JIM DRINKARD, June 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump can’t be counted on to give accurate information to Americans when violent acts are unfolding abroad.

The latest deadly London attacks, like one in the Philippines last week, prompted visceral reactions from Trump instead of statements shaped by the findings of the U.S. intelligence and diplomatic apparatus. He got ahead of the facts emerging in Britain’s chaos Saturday and got it wrong in the Philippines case, calling the episode there a “terrorist attack” when it was not.

A look at some of his weekend tweets about the London attack and rhetoric that came from the president and his aides about climate change and more last week [.....]

by artappraiser on Mon, 06/05/2017 - 8:05pm

Trump’s defense secretary is trying to clean up the president’s messes. It’s not going well.

Trump is making Mattis’s job harder.

@ Vox.com, June 5

by artappraiser on Mon, 06/05/2017 - 8:59pm

They think they're being patriotic. But they really aren't. Their only serve to try to draw the great green curtain closed telling the world that adults are in charge and to ignore the crazy orange man operating all the machinery back there. It's like the Wizard of Oz except the crazy old man has nuclear codes and not just a smoke machine. And the curtain is wide open. World to McMaster and Mattis: WE CAN SEE HIM HE IS RIGHT THERE!

There must be a better metaphor.

by Obey on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 10:02am

A facet of Peracles' whole Government is not like business' schtick: In business it is less important what you say, how often you change your mind, how reliable you are. You can be lying sack of shit who doesn't want to pay. As long as the lying sack of shit signs the contract, and you include the relevant enforcement clauses, then you can ignore all the crap he spouts. The government comes in and enforces the contract whether or not the lying shit sack wants to keep his commitments. In international relations, looking like someone capable of commitments is essential. You can't get ANY deals, much less "better deals", by being an unpredictable old jerk, because deals have no external enforcer - so the deal depends entirely on your ability to get the other side to believe in your ability and desire to abide by your commitments.

A second facet of that whole Goverment is not like business: in business you can be a dick and still get competent people to work for you because for the most part it's not your job to keep him from being a dick to others, that is the job of law-enforcement inspectors and so on. But when the guy you're working for is in a position to shape and fight law enforcement and law making, well you're in more a moral quandary. Hence stuff like this.

by Obey on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 10:58am

I am not sure I buy it, but Catherine Rampell at WaPo counters Robinson today like this: if they didn't have the out-of-control Trump of Oz show, everyone could then look behind the curtain and see that

The problem with the Republican platform? There is no Republican platform.

What’s holding back the Republican agenda?

It’s not the toothless Democrats, despite what you may have heard from President Trump. Five months ago, when Trump moved into the White House, they lost their grip on their last lever of significant Washington power.

Likewise, it’s not Trump’s infernal nocturnal tweets, unhelpful though they may be.

Neither is it the distraction of nonstop news about Trump’s aides’ ties to Russia or the president’s own possible attempts to obstruct justice.

Nor is it leaky White House staffers, nor the operatives of the “deep state.”

So what’s actually obstructing the Republican agenda? It’s the fact that there is no Republican agenda.

For years Republicans, including and especially the party’s current standard-bearer, have promised magic bullets for nearly every social, economic and global ill, no matter how complex. But this was not a policy platform; this was a series of bluffs disguised as a policy platform.

The latest bluff arrives this week, as the White House promotes its grand plan to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure. This promotional effort comes despite an acknowledgment from National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn that no such grand plan exists. (A month earlier, Trump claimed his administration’s infrastructure proposal was already “largely completed.”)

On other domestic issues, Republicans have been touting the superiority of their woolly policy agenda for ages. Trump merely added a little color to the con.Republican members of Congress voted dozens of times to repeal Obamacare, knowing full well that their ill-conceived bills would never become law. [....]

Tax reform, arguably the GOP’s top priority, is on hold as well. And again, not because Democrats are undermining it — but because Republicans can’t figure out what their priorities are, or how to achieve them.

They have promised to cut rates for everyone and somehow not cost the government a dime. Predictably, Republicans cannot agree how this magical revenue-neutral tax reform proposal would work. Proposed revenue sources, such as a “ border adjustment ” tax or the elimination of the state and local tax deduction, remain contentious, and even those would not fully cover the cost of steep rate cuts.

Sometimes the White House claims these tax cuts will pay for themselves through additional economic growth, and sometimes it says they won’t. The administration is so ambivalent about its own fiscal policies that last week Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, disavowed the tax portion of his own budget.

“I wouldn’t take what’s in the budget as indicative of what our proposals are,” he told the Washington Examiner.

This confusion about what the party — and the presidency — stands for extends to foreign matters as well [.....]

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 4:19am

Still no one to prosecute any bad hombres, been too busy going wack, criticizing mayors across the pond, telling temp D.O.J. how to argue their case, gonna do it all by hisself, so there---

Where Are the United States Attorneys?

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD @ NYTimes.com, JUNE 6, 2017

Three months after President Trump abruptly fired half of the nation’s 93 United States attorneys, following the resignations of the other half, he has yet to replace a single one.

It’s bizarre — and revealing — that a man who called himself the “law and order candidate” during the 2016 campaign and spoke of “lawless chaos” in his address to Congress would permit such a leadership vacuum at federal prosecutors’ offices around the country. United States attorneys are responsible for prosecuting terrorism offenses, serious financial fraud, public corruption, crimes related to gang activity, drug trafficking and all other federal crimes [.....]

The problem is, the Democrats couldn’t obstruct any United States attorney nominations if they wanted to because Mr. Trump has not made any.

It’s possible that Mr. Trump is having a hard time luring competent, experienced candidates to work for an administration mired in perpetual chaos and widening scandal. Since Mr. Trump considers loyalty the highest qualification for federal office, that might be. But United States attorney is a highly coveted job under any president, and there should be no shortage of people eager to be considered.

For now, local offices are being run by acting United States attorneys, often career lawyers or deputies held over from the Obama administration. They’re able to manage day-to-day operations, but don’t have the authority to push forward major policy changes. While those changes, like Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s ordering prosecutors to seek more severe punishments, may be ill-advised, a serious president needs to have the people in place to implement the programs that supposedly matter to him.

[,....]

While his hiring freeze, which is leaving many lower federal jobs unfilled, is part of a broader strategy to hobble or suffocate entire federal agencies, this seems less deliberate and harder to understand. The prosecutors certainly won’t be coming on board anytime soon. Even in a fully functioning administration, it takes months for nominees to be screened by the F.B.I. and approved by the Senate.

One familiar rationale — that Mr. Trump wasn’t prepared because he never expected to win — may account for some of the delay, but it’s an increasingly embarrassing excuse. You don’t run for president on a major-party ticket as a lark, and you don’t pink-slip top federal prosecutors en masse without a long list of qualified candidates in your back pocket.

There are two other obvious, and perhaps simpler, explanations, and both may be correct. Mr. Trump does not actually believe in or care about his campaign claim of “lawless chaos” in our streets. And Mr. Trump is not a good manager — not of his businesses, certainly, and not of the vastly larger, more complex organization he now runs, the one that matters to the well-being of every American.

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 5:38am

Trump's size is bullshit - and if the media had done their job, we'd know that his management skills are for a few hundred employees and a team of lawyers keeping score/lawsuits on hundreds of outsourced/licensing deals - not what you typically count as "employees" when the bullshit 22,500 is waived around.

Hillary was managing 56,000 employees with a $50 billion annual budget. Of course the permanent staff does most of the work, but compare that with what the Wall Street Journal bills as $160m in pretax income, and half of the deals are LLC's with recurring financials and nothing much to manage.

Of course if you go bankrupt every few years, it's easy to divest yourself of the big complicated parts of your estate.

Here are the Top Ten Commercial Real Estate companies. Note that #7, Marcus & Millichap, is portrayed as closing 3.7 transactions per business hour. How many deals could Trump pay attention to? #8 is working with $26 billion in financing - Trump's flattering Forbes estimate has him at $3.5 billion valuation.

I looked at Glassdoor and there are a paltry 17 employee comments on the site - some of them obviously sock puppets. Indeed has over 200, but even more sock puppets. On LinkedIn, Trump Mortgage has 22 employees. Trump health & wellness has 21. Trump Beach Resort lists 257. The Trump Organization claims 10,000+ employees, but there are only 416 employees on LInkedIn. Sure, the gardener won't be on LinkedIn, but these resort and office building jobs are very unlikely to be majority direct hire - cleaning crews, car fleet, and a variety of temp agencies. In the NY Times profile they note:

Mr. Trump often boasts of the size of the Trump Organization. "It's a big company," he said in the interview last spring. A spokeswoman said the business employed "tens of thousands."

But industry experts estimate that no more than 4,000 people work for the Trump Organization worldwide. And executies say that the three floors that make up the headquarters appear to have no more than 150 employees.

Well, that was really really helpful for the Times to tell us this basic info 6 weeks after the election when America's expecting this jackass to make a business out of government, when he's running a much smaller company than say Dillard's.

It's a mirage. Here's The Donald's desk - a love letter to himself with all the magazines where he's profiled, except for a few stacked bills or contracts in 5 piles directly in front of him, probably just stuff needing his signature or autograph.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 8:52am

great research work appreciated. Intriguing picture as to: no computer. To look at like:spreadsheets and stuff, you know, complicated analysis. Everything on the little cell, and then, I am sure, there as several TV screens on the wall across. And the facial expression is a classic, he must be tweeting!

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 1:22pm

For nearly two decades, since he last declared bankruptcy for his casinos, Trump"s business model has been to create a degree of fame so that other companies will pay him to put his name on their product, be it steaks, ties, bottled water or whatever. It's an advertising ploy. And to be famous enough that a sufficient minority of viewers will watch his tv program. He achieved this goal mainly by saying things that were outrageous or offensive enough to get MSM attention. Most people don't care or pay attention to the lifestyles or pronouncements of the rich and famous so he was largely ignored by the majority of the population. But it didn't matter because he only had to get the attention of a small group of people. The Apprentice only gets several million viewers.

Offensive statements made prior to his presidential run never even came onto the radar of most Americans. How many people heard him on Howard Stern's radio show, or read about his sexual exploits and comments, or his divorce proceedings? He was just another Paris Hilton without the sex tape. His strategy for popularity by either fame or infamy worked when he was attempting to appeal to a small subset of the public and the majority couldn't care less what he said. But everyone listens to what the president of the US says, or tweets. The problem he's having is everyone is listening now and most people find the things he says offensive or ill informed.

by ocean-kat on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 4:08pm

Just read this article that dovetails nicely with my comment.

Has anyone told Donald Trump that he runs the government?

Trump was never the omnicompetent CEO he played on television. His core business was licensing his name out to other people who actually ran businesses. He’s a genius marketer, not a genius manager. The “Trump” brand appeared on steaks, on vodka, on eyeglasses, on lamps, and on fragrances, to name just a few. But he didn’t run those companies or manage the people who did. He didn’t take responsibility for those products or those teams.

Among the many problems with Trump’s presidency is he appears to be treating it much as he treated his branding empire. He runs his White House, and feels responsibility for certain decisions he makes personally — like pulling out of the Paris agreement, or sending cruise missiles to Syria. But the further a decision gets from his core interests and nearby staffers, the less responsibility he feels for it.

This is the difference between a CEO and a brand licenser. Trump doesn’t look at the Justice Department and see Trump’s Justice Department. He looks at the Justice Department and sees the Trump-branded Justice Department — his name is in the lobby, but no one could fairly hold him accountable for everything that happens in the building.

If this doesn’t sound like the way good chief executives run their organizations, it’s because it’s not. Imagine, for instance, being a Department of Justice employee who worked late nights trying to save Trump’s travel ban from being shredded by the courts, only to see the president criticize your work on Twitter later.

by ocean-kat on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 5:03pm

I've read others make similar points before (including Trump ghost writers and biographers) but Ezra Klein nails it so much better, as he often does. (It's like he doesn't write on something unless he first has complete clarity on it, and then he's a great writer.)

Trump is really truly simply incompetent for this job. Way beyond the Peter Principle theory. Even fans of his persona/brand should see that by now if they are not delusional. Quotes I've seen in articles about Trump voters suggest that many do, except that they are still in somewhat of a denial stage, they say they still want to "give him a chance to adjust." But it's clearly getting worse, like Eugene Robinson points out, he is getting more frustrated and responding illogically even for his own modus operandi.

The strange thing is that as a narcissist, he should see it by now. Good humored ribbing tit-for-tat tweets with Arnold are over. He is miserable without praise and respect. He gets a lift from the rallies and group visitors and going to Mar-a-Lago where he is king, etc., but still, I am just not seeing how this can last four years. Especially as it gets harder and harder to get workers he trusts (caused by no one but himself), he can only go further downhill.

Trying hard not to let the mass of opinion posted here influence me, still I don't see how it can continue for long.Unless he gets help from a shrink that he truly trusts: fat chance.

And the description of how he did business just fits this to a tee: when things don't work out and are too difficult, he just moves on to something else.

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 6:41pm

P.S. This is a very good point you make

Offensive statements made prior to his presidential run never even came onto the radar of most Americans

I am reminded about relatives and friends from flyover country, reasonably informed and left side of the aisle, asking me last year a New Yorker's opinion of Trump. They would ask: what do New Yorkers think of him, as in "he doesn't seem as bad as most Republicans." And I'd say: New Yorkers in general just think he's an ass! They didn't pay attention to all the tabloid and gossip stuff we saw in the 80's and 90's, they just knew "The Apprentice" and maybe Trump tower and some casinos things, they were thinking maybe a version of Bloomberg with tacky taste and bloviating style.

We should keep in mind that for people who aren't news junkies, the enormity of the mess will probably take more time to sink in.

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 6:54pm

Control? I'll show you to control! Terrorism solved, see? Don't need no damn State Dept or briefings when you have Trump, king of kings, they listen

Trump Suggests He Led Saudis to Isolate Qatar Over Terror Ties

By MARK LANDLER @ NYTimes.com 11:36 AM ET

“During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology,” President Trump said on Twitter. “Leaders pointed to Qatar — look!”
Mr. Trump’s tweets have huge potential strategic consequences in the Middle East, where Qatar is a crucial military outpost for the United States.

Excerpt:

A peninsula that juts into the Persian Gulf, Qatar is home to the forward headquarters of the United States Central Command. It is a major intelligence hub for the United States in the Middle East and the base from which the United States plans and carries out airstrikes on the Islamic State.

It has also built deep ties to American academia, providing funding and real estate to build Middle Eastern campuses for six major universities, including Cornell, Georgetown and Northwestern.

But do they have any Trump hotels?

Over at Al Jazeera, home base: Qatar: Trending stories list:

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 1:24pm

Phillip Bump @ WaPo has made a list of people who are "not nuts" (The Trump administration has a recruiting problem)

For FBI Director:

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) withdrew from consideration May 15.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) withdrew May 16.

Former FBI official Richard McFeely withdrew May 20.

Former Connecticut senator Joseph I. Lieberman withdrew May 25

Also

Three of Trump’s picks to head the Army and Navy have withdrawn from consideration, Vincent Viola (Army), Philip Bilden (Navy) and Mark Green (Army). His first pick to run the Labor Department withdrew. His pick for deputy treasury secretary withdrew, as did his pick for deputy commerce secretary. Trump’s first pick to run the Office of Drug Control Policy, Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), withdrew. Monica Crowley, his pick for National Security Council spokesperson, withdrew. A lawyer on the shortlist for solicitor general withdrew.

Even Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George, withdrew from consideration for a top job with the Justice Department [....]

Not all of those who withdrew from administration positions did so out of concern over the behavior of the president — some dropped out due to scandal or the requirement to eliminate financial conflicts. For others, it’s pretty safe to assume that the direct reason was Trump.

And

Yahoo News reported Tuesday that four different major law firms declined to represent Trump in the investigations into his campaign’s possible relationship with Russian actors during the 2016 campaign.

Reporter Michael Isikoff explains a key reason for the firms’ decisions:

“[A] consistent theme, the sources said, was the concern about whether the president would accept the advice of his lawyers and refrain from public statements and tweets that have consistently undercut his position.”

Another factor cited was that representing Trump would “kill recruitment” for the firms — that, in other words, an association with Trump would hurt their bottom lines.

Then for contrast there's a short list of some of the "nuts":

For individuals considering positions with the administration, there’s another risk. Trump insists upon loyalty from his workers (including, according to a New York Times report, from Comey) but is not always generous with returning the favor. He has publicly disparaged or undercut advisers and staffers including Stephen K. Bannon, H.R. McMaster, Sean Spicer, Rod J. Rosenstein and Mike Pence.

Most recently, the target was Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom Trump undermined with a tweet Monday and with whom, the Times reports, Trump has recently become frustrated

And they had Chris Mooney do a separate piece on science-related appointments:

85 percent of the top science jobs in Trump’s government are without a nominee

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 3:01pm

On the law firms rejecting Trump as a client: (from TPM)

“He deserves representation. Everybody does. But if I got the telephone call, the answer would be no,” said Lanny Davis, the White House special counsel in charge of political and legal controversies during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. “There are people who say, ‘Davis, you’d represent anyone.” But the answer is no, I would not.”

Since leaving the White House, Davis’ list of controversial clients include the dictatorsof Equatorial Guinea and the Ivory Coast, and Penn State, which he advised on rebuilding its image after its child molestation scandal.

Hilarious.

by Obey on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 10:18am

Now that we all know a lot more about what his behavior is like, Trump is really a nightmare legal client, the worst imaginable for them, it's just that simple. Like perfect for a parody for the annual bar association dinner: worst client evah...

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 10:45am

Support for impeachment as of Monday:

Support for impeachment is now higher than Trump's approval rating in virtually every poll.
Approval @Gallup: 36%
Impeachment @Politico: 43% pic.twitter.com/hWTtwlWba0
— Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) June 5, 2017

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 8:22pm

Fox host to Trump: ‘Fake news media’ isn’t the issue, it’s you

@ The Hill, June 6 (with video)

Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Tuesday hit President Trump for his criticism of media outlets' coverage of his Twitter habits. “Mr. President, it’s not the fake news media that’s your problem,” he said on Fox. “It’s you. It’s not just your tweeting, it’s your scapegoating. It’s your refusal to see that sometimes you’re the one who’s feeding your own beast and acting beastly with your own guys.

“Look at the critiques you’re now hearing from usually friendly and supportive allies as sort of like an intervention. Because firing off these angry missives and tweets risks your political discussion.” [....]

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 1:15am

Shock, no awe:

[....] Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was left stunned and speechless when told by reporters of Trump’s tweets.

Told by a reporter that Trump accused Qatar of being a state sponsor of terrorism, Corker responded, in a notably lower register, “The president?” [.....]

Asked Tuesday how that statement squares with Trump’s tweets, the Pentagon had no answer.

“I can’t help you with that,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said in response to a question about reconciling the president’s tweets with the earlier government statements.

No one appeared more stunned than Corker, however, who had a blank look for about 10 seconds when he was told the president had posted the tweets about Qatar on Tuesday morning.

“I, um, I want to go back and see specifically what he has said,” Corker finally said. A reporter later showed the chairman the presidential tweets on her phone, prompting him to shake his head [....]

A former U.S. diplomat in the region said the inconsistencies between Trump’s tweets Tuesday and Tillerson and Mattis’s statements Monday would make it difficult for U.S. diplomats to do their jobs.

“Clearly SecDef and SecState were trying to put the focus on diffusing the crisis and not taking any clear sides; the president’s tweets do change that,” the diplomat told The Hill. “When you’re out there in a different time zone, it’s very difficult if the messages from Washington aren’t consistent. You can use different words, but having the same themes is very important [....]

from Rebecca Kheel & Ellen Mitchell in Trump’s diplomacy-by-Twitter sets off firestorm @ TheHill.com, June 6

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 1:51am

Very surprising and encouraging numbers to me:

Another 53 percent said his Twitter use undermines US standing in the world. The poll found that 51 percent of all voters said Trump's tweets imperiled national security.

from

The Twitter presidency is getting old, according to a new voter survey @ ArsTechnica, June 7.

Indicates half of the country's voters gets the idea of what's going on with his tweets making a mess of foreign policy. Lots of polls in the past Obama and Bush years made it seem that only a dismayingly small percentage gets what's going on in foreign policy. Not to mention suggests they have a deeper understand what's going on with Twitter et.al. than a lot of pundits suggest. Maybe social media helps a lot more people "get" what's going on while at the same time it influences others in the wrong direction?

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 2:05pm

Moments later, faced with a question about Trump’s comments on Qatar, Spicer read carefully from a piece of paper to clarify the president’s remarks.

“The U.S. still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately,” he said.

from Trump’s aides are quickly learning they speak for the president at their own peril

From the travel ban to the FBI director’s firing to new conflict in the Middle East, Trump has undercut his aides and Cabinet secretaries by contradicting their statements. @ WaPo June 7.

My attempt at translation: Trump to staff: when I, Trump, say stupid things, you are to straighten things out without implying that the trouble was because of what I said. So that I can continue to say off-the-cuff things whenever it suits me. Because most of what I say will be brilliant manipulation; uninformed intuitive knee jerk is what I do, I don't listen to experts and don't bother with details, deal with it.

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 2:30pm

Robinson's op-ed was popular because it caught the zeitgeist:

....poll....conducted from May 31 to June 6, also found that a large majority of respondents — 68 percent — believe that the president is “not level-headed” (29 percent say he is). Even among members of his own party, this holds true: 64 percent of Republicans say Trump is not level-headed, while 32 percent think he is.

Majorities of respondents similarly told Quinnipiac that Trump is not honest; does not have good leadership skills; does not care about average Americans; and does not share their values. Sixty-two percent described him as a strong person and 57 percent said he is intelligent.....

from Trump approval rating hits new low in Quinnipiac poll

@ Politico.com, 06/07/2017 02:05 PM EDT

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 4:54pm

Trump Sabotages His Middle East Alliance

By Robin Wright @NewYorker.com's News Desk, June 7

On Tuesday, in a series of startling tweets, Trump threw the leader of oil-rich Qatar under the diplomatic bus.

by artappraiser on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 11:08pm

Karl Rove: ‘Trump lacks the focus or self-discipline to do the basic work required of a president’

@ TheHill.com, 06/08/17 10:04 PM EDT

Karl Rove, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, slammed President Trump on Wednesday, saying that the real estate mogul "lacks the focus or self-discipline to do the basic work required of a president."

"His chronic impulsiveness is apparently unstoppable and clearly self-defeating," Rove wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. "Mr. Trump may have mastered the modes of communication, but not the substance, thereby sabotaging his own agenda."

Rove took particular aim at a series of tweets launched by Trump on Monday that appeared to undermine his Justice Department's argument for an executive order barring citizens of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Trump's insistence in the tweets that the U.S. has already implemented "extreme vetting" measures on travelers from certain countries, according to Rove, reveals that president's own lack of understanding about his administration's work.

"On May 8, a federal appeals court asked a Justice Department lawyer if the administration was drafting new vetting standards. He responded: 'We’ve put our pens down,'" Rove wrote.

"Mr. Trump seems to think the pens are down because the new vetting standards are written. Meantime, his lawyers say the government hasn’t started working on them."

Rove also blasted Trump's argument for withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord last week [....]

by artappraiser on Fri, 06/09/2017 - 12:21am

Trump calls House healthcare bill 'mean'

President as dumb blonde?

by artappraiser on Tue, 06/13/2017 - 6:37pm

In the News

Russia plays weak hand in Palestine
Russia plays weak hand in Palestine

submitted by PeraclesPlease 9 months ago

The intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow has precedent

Russia's hosted such meetings in the past, most recently Feb 2019

Russia has long lamented the US' "monopolization" of the peace process & tried to carve out a niche for itself: mediating among the disunited Palestinians/2
— Hanna Notte (@HannaNotte) February 29, 2024

Read the article at https://twitter.com/HannaNotte/status/1763116222256701787

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Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters
Mother Jones is Reaching out to Alternative Party Voters

submitted by HSG 9 months ago

Here's what I told them: https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

Read the article at https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

2 comments

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Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes...
Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force https://t.co/pCoDg05irX
— Gareth Harris (@garethharr) December 28, 2023

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/28/brazil-law-indigenous-land-rights-claim-time-marker?CMP=share_btn_tw

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Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (...
Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (December 25, 2023)

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Location: U.S. Embassy and residential compounds

Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.

Actions to take:

Avoid the area;

Avoid demonstrations and any large gatherings of people;

Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; and

If you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area.

Read the article at https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-december-25-2023/

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Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis
Pakistan Is Creating the World’s Next Refugee Crisis

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

By The Editorial Board @ Bloomberg.com, December 8, 2023

A mass expulsion of Afghan migrants could destabilize the region and fuel radicalization. The West should pressure Islamabad to change course.

Read the article at https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-08/pakistan-s-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees-risks-another-crisis

6 comments

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Internet shut down in Chad
Internet shut down in Chad

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

All eyes on #Chad right now
Chad has two internet trunks coming into the country: One from the Red Sea via Sudan; the other from Cameroon. Not possible for the totality of the country's internet network to be shut unless done centrally. A lot of rumors swirling; few facts. https://t.co/N6bDJZ2ixO

Read the article at https://x.com/_hudsonc/status/1732891968709992511?s=20

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[Economy] where Joe's success falls short
[Economy] where Joe's success falls short

submitted by PeraclesPlease 11 months ago

Read the article at

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[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across...
[CRIME News] 3 loss-prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

BREAKING: Three loss prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed, one of them has died from stab wounds, @PhillyPolice sources tell me. Police converged on the store as the three workers were rushed to Jefferson Hospital. pic.twitter.com/4U1eKycL4W

Read the article at https://x.com/KeeleyFox29/status/1731713272942940365?s=20

38 comments

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Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As...
Former U.S. Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Former US Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba https://t.co/LDwo4ZJI1K
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 4, 2023

Read the article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/manuel-rocha-ambassador-arrested-cuba_n_656d1e2ae4b028b0f3d07478

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[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny
[War in Israel, Chapter II] UNRWA under scrutiny

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

[Chapter I news is HERE, Oct. 7 til today]

You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
It’s all about how for 75 years you have destroyed the future of generations of Palestinians, including my family.
My cousins in Arab countries are still not citizens - not even the… https://t.co/nv6anubGhc
— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) December 2, 2023

Note 'Community Notes' attached to UNWRA's statement.

Read the article at https://x.com/GeorgeDeek/status/1731020551328579863?s=20

58 comments

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Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From...
Maduro, Under Pressure, Holds Vote to Annex Territory From a Neighbor

submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

Imperialism for me but not for thee?

It's wild that Venezuela is now holding a vote on whether 2/3 of Guyana actually belongs to them! Analysts suggest that Modoru may want military action to pump up his sinking popularity.

Could we have a war in South America?!?

"The people who live in Essequibo are largely… pic.twitter.com/QvMEjkkgwy

Read the article at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/world/americas/maduro-vote-essequibo-guyana.html

6 comments

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[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House...
[Where is the GOP headed?] Divisions leave Florida’s House Republicans powerless

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

The lack of a cohesive delegation has allowed attention-seeking lawmakers to act on their own.

McCarthy: “You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail…”

Gaetz: “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.”https://t.co/LctPuz6Pcf

Read the article at https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/divisions-leave-floridas-house-republicans-powerless-00129200

10 comments

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‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-...
‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-Pelosi clashes

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

By Martinn Pengelly in Washington DC for TheGuardian.com, Nov. 30

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells Ryan Grim life in Congress ‘completely transformed’ after Democratic leader stepped down

Read the article at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/30/squad-book-aoc-nancy-pelosi?CMP=share_btn_tw

15 comments

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US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source
US health insurers Humana, Cigna in talks to merge -source

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

@ Reuters, Nov. 29

Read the article at https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/us-health-insurers-humana-cigna-talks-merge-wsj-2023-11-29/

3 comments

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Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-...
Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-proofing

submitted by artappraiser 12 months ago

"Both the AU and the intl community place more weight on whether elections are held than whether they are free and fair. Sanctions/expulsions occur when there is a coup but not necessarily when elections are rigged or if an “institutional coup” occurs." https://t.co/m9dNimJP0D
— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) November 28, 2023

Read the article at https://africanarguments.org/2023/11/central-africas-dinosaur-regimes-and-the-art-of-coup-proofing/

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