The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    jollyroger's picture

    Trump Taint strikes: VA administrator designate death watch

    By jollyroger on Tue, 04/24/2018 - 2:19pm |

    Trump is like the Bernoulli effect at the bottom of a toilet--a whirlpool that sucks in all who venture close.

    Poor Ronny Jackson!  Served multiple presidents with no exposure of his flaws, widely respected and liked.

    Obama liked him.

    All he had to do was slight science for sycophancy in his White House Physician's report on Trump's health, and next thing you know, he's under the predictable nominee scrutiny lens.

    Hi jinks ensue...

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-24/trump-s-pick-for-va-c...

    Trump puts in the shiv:

    President Donald Trump signaled White House physician Ronny Jackson should consider withdrawing his nomination as Veterans Affairs secretary as a Senate panel opened a review into "serious allegations" regarding his management and behavior.

    Trump said at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday that if he were Jackson he would withdraw under the circumstances but nonetheless defended him

    “I’d let it be his choice,” said Trump, who called him “an extraordinary person.”

    You are never as imperiled as when you bask in the full confidence of Deadbeat Donald.

     

    Comments

    In the back of my mind, I sorta remember him being surprised, ie, not previously asked whether he wanted it, by the nomination...I'll try and confirm.


    by jollyroger on Tue, 04/24/2018 - 2:48pm

    The real scandal is not vetting Jackson at all, just letting it be done by press and after-the-fact reports.

    Apparently there was quite enough background skinny (CNN & CBS - hat tip Palmer Report) where this shouldn't have gotten past square one (and Jackson should have never gotten carried over as Presidential physician, much less head of VA.)

    But if Jackson was handing out various drugs to Trump and already had developed a relationship (loyalty, you know), it would explain why that presidential physical was so very strange.

    Amazing that even Trump can still surprise me, though obviously not in a good way.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 5:36am

    It's incredibly funny to see some snowflakes try and use these unproven claims to discredit the facts that Trump was found to be healthy enough to be president and sharp enough mentally to be Hegemon. PP starts a rumor/gossip meme that the good doctor was Trump's candyman to project real observations of something very wrong with the Red Queen onto the healthy Trump. There are two possible explinations about why Dr Jackson continued in service after these earlier charges. They were determined to be without merit or someone, perhaps his friend Obama, interfered with the internal process and protected him. One can never be sure of the timing or planning behind these stories but Trump has shown the ability to stay way ahead of the snowflakes. He now leaves DR Jackson to decide his own fate while his other embattled director Pruitt enacts a huge change in how the EPA operates using secret science that will now be exposed to transparency.

    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 10:27am

    Fox News:

    Dr. Ronny Jackson, President Trump's pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, previously exhibited "unprofessional behaviors" amid a power struggle over the White House medical unit, according to a 2012 report by the Navy's Medical Inspector General.... The report stated that the "vast majority" of those interviewed said Kuhlman had "irrevocably damaged his ability to effectively lead."


    by NCD on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 10:41am

    The Fox story is more complete and shows that Jackson had a nemesis in the earlier conflict. Someone decided the IG's recommendation of removing Kuhlman was the correct path forward and that Kuhlman had not irrevocably damaged Jackson's ability to lead. Jackson's performance since that time seems to support that judgment. This brings us back to today and what appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to an incomplete story showing another case of flaming Trump Derangement Syndrom applied through an easy target.

    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 12:33pm

    The VA has 377,805 employees. It took an IG to deal with his conflicts with one employee.

    But the TV  Reality Show President says Jackson looks good on TV.


    by NCD on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 1:04pm

    Do you believe that Jackson is qualified to run the VA?


    by rmrd0000 on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 2:14pm

    We have had a number of supposedly qualified leaders of the VA that have presided over huge failures there. Jackson has been called on by his CiC to rise to the challenge of properly managing the VA. If Jackson can survive this political gauntlet his actions as the head of the VA may answer your question and I wish him luck.

    by Perter (not verified) on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 4:06pm

    Well, Perter, let's just put Barron Trump on it then - as long as Ivanka' negotiating with the Norks and Jared's solving the Mideast, Barron can cut his teeth on something small and not too demanding - we can leave Ronny to hand out roofies or whatever it is he does besides accurate height and weight measurements.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 4:22pm

    You didn't waste any time showing us what a real idiotic comment sounds like while projecting your and other's retardation towards Trump who speaks clearly to thise who listen.

    by Peter (not verified) on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 5:52pm

    another link for Peter (not verified) and (possibly from another planet):

    Republican support for Jackson collapses/The VA nominee needs every GOP senator to back him. So far, few are.

    Your genius "businessman" president needs to get himself a new Senate (and probably a new political party, too. A loon might be an appropriate party symbol, i.e. elephant, donkey).

    Comes to mind he actually fired or pushed out most of the smart businesspersons he started out this little caper with. (I'm convinced Mnuchin is still there because he believes he and his buddies would lose their shirt if he didn't stay. That and then there's that personally he's just a really strange cookie.)

    Let's go back months past the Tillerson's and Cohen's...he had all those Advisory panels remember those? The ones that all disbanded because the members were dying of embarrassment and couldn't afford to be associated with your genius anymore?


    by artappraiser on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 7:33pm

    and another, oh goody, the show all geniuses make sure to watch and snowflakes always seem to miss:

     


    by artappraiser on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 8:09pm

    Why do you sound so worried under the bravado and hate? The drama over people come and gone seems minor so long as Trump remains and his agenda continues to accelerate. No more secret science at the EPA driving unwarrented regulation was this weeks contribution. It appears the SCOTUS will affirm Trump's executive power to control our borders soon for valid non-discriminatory reasons. North Korea's Kim is walking across the DMZ border to join peace talks with SK and meet with Trump, who would have thought that possible so few months ago.

    by Peter (not verified) on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 12:58am

    Never saw the sun shinin' so bright!
    Never saw things goin' so right!


    by NCD on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 1:11am

    ah hah, red herrings galore! SAD! Stick to the thread topic: his ability to make this (very important domestic) appointment competently and staff appointments in general, and just generally manage anything. 

    (BTW, I'm not worried. I'm not worried if the Senate's not worried. I'm not a snowflake, I can deal with Republican governance within reason, have done so just fine for quite a bit of my life.)


    by artappraiser on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 1:18am

    p.s Heck, I'd give some credit if you could come up with an episode of Apprentice where he looked half as competent as like, Rex Tillerson. I'm not worried, I'm embarrassed that we have a bozo for president messing the government up bad, gonna cost us all a pretty penny and a lot of pain to fix. Ok, I 'll give you one bone on the red herrings: EPA/Pruitt: pffffffft! 

    Edit to add: let's be clear what's really been going on, shall we? There's a phony businessman in the presidency who is really like a narcissistic child behaving badly who managed to surround himself at the start with grownups who covered his ass for all his idiotic mistakes (One upside for those of contrarian political desires: he doesn't have much of a clue how to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.) One by one, those grownups are leaving. And are being replaced by: more incompetents, because competents don't want to work for him anymore. Not only that, the staff that is left behind leaks like the sieve with the biggest holes ever created. And they are the ones who are most scared.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 1:40am

    I don't understand why Trump supporters think this is some sort of accomplishment. Kim Jong un wasn't forced to negotiate by sanctions. It's been long standing policy for decades for NK to request direct negotiations with the US president. It was possible for any president to engage in direct negotiations with NK. All they had to do was choose to. The past four presidents have declined that request. Two democratic and two republican presidents  decided not to engage in direct negotiations with NK when they requested it. We can certainly debate whether their reasons for refusing to engage in direct talks was wise. We could look at Trump's reasons, if he has any, for changing that long standing US policy and debate whether that change is wise. What we can't do is claim that Trump has accomplished something, something that was readily available to past presidents, simply because he made a different choice.


    by ocean-kat on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 2:33am

    His “agenda” LOLOLOLOLOL... 

    You just broke the scrotometer, it can no longer measure the orange hued tears of Trumpkins who claim their savior is the bestest at everything. Hahahahahahaha.


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 8:02am

    Be easy on him - I'm not sure English is his first language, so he may think "agenda" is just plural for "agents" (sounds kind of similar to Italian "omertà", another prized commodity in Trumpistan)


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 9:49am

    Can we all agree that if Jackson gets dumped, Trump and Squirrel Lady will take zero responsibility, and will blame "terrible unfair loser"  Democrats "who hate our heroes" and "the failing Fake News media" ?


    by NCD on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 8:28pm

    Percocet gauntlet, it appears, plus out of control drinking, wrecked cars, and a bit of drunken harrassment. Of course we won't know for sure until the investigation, but in the old days the professional politicians would vet their nominees ahead of time, rather than the obscene dragging if obviously grossly unfit people through the public nomination pricess ((and then watching partisan Republicans approve them anyway).

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/us/politics/ronny-jackson-veterans...


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 5:39pm

    What I don't understand about all this, and have yet to see any reporting on it, is how exactly all these accusations of "misconduct" (for lack of a better word) happened over a period of years, with no apparent documentation or paper trail, when alleged by personnel in a militarily controlled office?  I don't doubt the flood of verbal testimony; I question why it's all so new to seemingly everyone.  Doesn't make sense.  There's a 2012 IG report out there now - did it appear from nowhere?   It's also been reported that some of the drunken behavior and prescription abuse was reported through HR and the chain of command ... where did it go?  The behavior we're hearing about now allegedly happened during Obama's presidency (thus far), so the fault for any coverup falls on who was the person(s) who was in charge of oversight and the recipient of internal complaints, etc. ... or not?

    Just seems like what Jackson did/didn't do shouldn't be rising to the surface only now, once he was nominated to a big job.  A bit late.


    by barefooted on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 8:39pm

    It is very hard to report bad behavior of someone who is senior to you.  Add on that he is a physician who, evidently is very good at “managing up.”  That means that a person successfully gains respect, or even adoration by those whom he/she serves, but they belittle and harass those that are on the next echelon down. 

    It is easy for me to imagine, having experience in both the medical and military hierarchy.  Who are you going to believe?  The Admiral, or the corpsman? Is it worth losing their jobs?  Their military futures?  The only reason this happened is because a group of co-workers (more than 20) decided that Ronny as the Secretary of the VA was just too much.

    Let’s face it.  Why is the donald still in office?  When will a majority suddenly get a conscience?


    by CVille Dem on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 9:24pm

    All of that makes sense, of course and unfortunately.  But it doesn't explain the IG report and the reporting that some things were sent up the chain.  Where it/they go and why wasn't he fired long ago? 


    by barefooted on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 9:58pm

    That is, frankly, totally irrelevant to the issue of his confirmation as head of the VA by the Senate.

    The vetting level for a Cabinet level position like the VA, is obviously more intense than for retention of any of the 216 Navy admirals.

    Recall the ship COs, and XOs of the CINCPAC ships that negligently collided with freighters the last year or two resulting in 20 or so dead US sailors.  It led eventually the sackng the ship officers, and of CINC of the Pacific fleet. Roberts transgressions were far less, perhaps not uncommon for many Navy brass.


    by NCD on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 10:29pm

    Perhaps.  But it seems relevant to why he was in a position to be nominated at all.


    by barefooted on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 10:23pm

    His position was he did a physical on Trump, and seemed loyal in Trumps eyes, and Trump said he looked good on TV.  No normal Prez would have nominated him, or most of Trumps other people.


    by NCD on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 10:32pm

    I will concede the improbability, but I can't shake a delightful fantasy thqt the poor bastard got the news on the TV, (sorta' mirror world Comey...)


    by jollyroger on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 11:03pm

    ....Trump has shown the ability to stay way ahead of the snowflakes. He now leaves DR Jackson to decide his own fate....

    Wow you are way more deluded with Trump worship than I thought!  With you Trump cannot ever make a mistake, he is always a breathtaking managerial genius, it is not possible he makes a mistaken appointment, if all else fails in finding every decision of his to be pure genius, it must be the fault of the Obama admin hiding something.


    by artappraiser on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 3:12pm

    loud and proud "snowflake" pile-on:

    The Real Ronny Jackson Scandal Is That Trump Nominated Him

    By  @ NewYorker.com


    by artappraiser on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 4:08pm

    and just for you, Macron really isn't a fool, he just knows how to play one:

    After the hugs and kisses, Macron rips Trumpism @ CNN.com

    ....a speech punctuated by multiple standing ovations and cheers....


    by artappraiser on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 4:12pm

    All good and well, but many have gone spelunking up Trump's ass for sport and never made it back out to daylight. Kind of an anal vampire type. But if Macron can play the game, more power to him.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 4:25pm

    Peter, Trump sounds like an idiot when he speaks - I don't need a physician to tell me that. The White House is called "The White House" and not the "Tippy Toppy Building". And where I come from, you don't direct a speech about the economy and defense spending to toddlers and grade schools lined up for an Easter Egg roll. Somehow Trump has some business skills, crooked as they are, but outside that he's a moron, and an obnoxious one at that. And for a guy who continually praises himself for his Wharton (bachelors) education and intelligence, he can't spell worth shit. Are you going to deny that one, or spin it to be some sign of übermensch qualities? Go ahead, surprise me.


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 2:57pm

    Lest we allow any scandal to go unremarked:  trump blaming the “disgusting” process of vetting on the press is also a very big scandal.  His disdain for the press may be one of his biggest Achilles Heels, as he continues to demonstrate his fear of exposure for his many crimes.  

    His reckoning is coming.  I am beginning to believe it.  


    by CVille Dem on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 9:33pm

    4/25/2018 I think he’ll be gone by tonight. :) Maybe tomorrow at the latest.


    by tmccarthy0 on Wed, 04/25/2018 - 9:33pm

    You're our psychic connection, lady. Are operators standing buh-bye?


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 9:38am

    Miss Cleo died, I took over her empire.


    by tmccarthy0 on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 8:50pm

    Surely a major death knoll:

    Military Times/Veterans Section: Trump’s Ronny Jackson disaster will make fixing the VA a lot harder

    By:     15 hours ago

    (About  :Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies.)


    by artappraiser on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 2:30am

    Same piece was run yesterday at the Army Times here

    Both publications also have reporting up on the misconduct allegations.

    The topic is the #1 on most popular lists at both publications.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 2:35am

    Good marketing for the Dems - hard to blame Ronny on liberal obstruction, and more than a few military types might draw some needed conclusions.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 6:05am

    The snowflakes should have celebratory marches to show the power of their resistance to use unverified accusations and repetition to disrupt the appointment process. This is a form of mob rule we should expect more of if they regain power.

    by Peter (not verified) on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 10:29am

    Hahahaha Peter, the appointment process "disruption" is mandated in our Constitution.

    It is there to assure Presidents like Trump who are liars and demagogues cannot put incompetent toadies in critical positions.

    The Senate hearings, where witnesses and the nominee testify under oath is where you disprove or prove allegations, and Jackson withdrew because he knows the allegations are true.


    by NCD on Thu, 04/26/2018 - 10:44am

    The cornflakes broke off from their locker room talk in order to refuel the tiki torches. They needed them now more than ever because Darkness has fallen over the Hegemon. Their champion has been brought low by the Clintonites he vowed to slay. All the perverted people have once again pushed the normal people back into bunkers and hedges they have been inhabiting since some undefined moment in the past.

    The crispy crunch of cornflakes has been drowned in the milk of a Liberal tyranny that demands equal rights and consecutive thought. The soggy mass at the bottom of the bowl is now ready to be spooned up by the victorious elites in charge of the mindless mobs.


    by moat on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 12:09am

    Oh noes, is this a "write like Peter" challenge? Could get messy, very messy.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 12:27am

    Not a challenge. I was trying to be accurate in regards to the message given.
    The unverified agent is not making an argument, just telling a story.
    Anyone could repeat it.


    by moat on Mon, 04/30/2018 - 8:14pm

    make up your mind:mob rule takes over or deep state takes over, you can't have both


    by artappraiser on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 8:09am

    this tweet goes with the above; suggesting that there were a bunch of military people who were not going to let this happen, this guy in charge of the VA:

    The strange case of Ronny Jackson: @shearm @npfandos & @sherifink on how Trump’s doctor could be universally loved in the West Wing, yet loathed by his military colleagues https://t.co/M2v0FfOu0l

    — Mark Landler (@MarkLandler) April 27, 2018

    by artappraiser on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 3:52pm

    Trump’s Ever-Mounting Scrap Heap

    The president is under fire, but it’s the people in his orbit who end up in disgrace.

    By Michael Kruse @ Politico Magazine, April 26

    Everything he touches,” Fred Trump once said of his son, “turns to gold.”

    That was in 1973. Things are … a little different now [....]


    by artappraiser on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 1:46am

    Haberman & Baker's version:

     


    by artappraiser on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 2:37am

    The snowflakes didn't take long to begin gloating about their dirty-work and now onto projecting their slime trail as Trump's mistakes. After a year of petty and pernicious resistance the mob has ended right where they started, begging for Trump to quit to relieve their misery. Because he has done nothing illegal Trump can continue the punishment indefinately.

    by Peter (not verified) on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 8:19am

    Trump said that he knew nothing about Stormy Daniels

    He now says that his lawyer handled the Stormy Daniels matter

    If he has to testify to clear this up, Trump will implode. 

    His Fox & Friends rant shows that he is not stable.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 8:42am

    Trump said he knew nuttin' 'bout Stormy,

    That his lawyer cleaned up when he's horny

    In a court he'd explode

    Like an oven-baked toad

    But his Fox rant was whack (and suborny)

             (Limerick for Mr. Smith)


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 9:48am

    We are watching a car wreck in slow motion.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 10:25am

    [Stop writing stoopid - snowflake moderator]


    by Peter (not verified) on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 12:45pm

    Let us see him explain it to Mueller. 

    Edit to add:

    By the way, the lawyer who wanted to supply the Trump campaign with dirt on Hillary was working for the Russians

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/natalya-veselnitskaya-trump-tower-russian-prosecutor-general.html


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 1:08pm

    Repeating old NYT fake news still leaves the story line fake. No one produced any emails at that meeting and I wonder why you describe what would have been Clinton's writing as dirt and not facts. It looks like Mueller is going to drag things out into the next election cycle to show people what partisan meddling in elections is really about.

    by Peter (not verified) on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 4:37pm

    Trump again calls media 'enemy of the people'

    Trump calls media 'very dishonest people'

    70 Venezuela media outlets closed in 2017, attacks on journalists rose as Presidente Maduro worked to ‘silence’ discontent:


    by NCD on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 8:29pm

    It takes a strong man

    To stand on his own two feet

    While they're in his mouth.

     


    by barefooted on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 2:04pm

    Oh no, Peter - there's a better route. (note the American flags - 100% certified)


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 10:42am

    Nice


    by Mrcos (not verified) on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 3:54pm

    One of the finest men Trump ever met but personally he's gonna stay with this new doc anyhow.

    Edit to add: the whole thing offered great chance to bash Tester, everything worked out well.


    by artappraiser on Mon, 04/30/2018 - 11:03am

    Exclusive: Pence's doctor alerted WH aides about Ronny Jackson concerns last fall

    By Manu Raju, Senior Congressional Correspondent @ CNN.com, Updated 9:32 PM ET, Mon April 30, 2018

    I am skeptical about the reason for this leak.


    by artappraiser on Mon, 04/30/2018 - 10:06pm

    Trump doc meets Trump thugs as they take back all his medical records.


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 2:41pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 7:42pm

    I am shocked—shocked—to find that gambling is going on in here!  devil


    by barefooted on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 7:58pm

    At what point in this farce does Dr. Dude incur serious licensure jeopardy?  Surely that point has come and is receding into the past.


    by jollyroger on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 10:58pm

    Worse!  They took the rug, which really held the room together...


    by jollyroger on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 10:55pm

    I don’t get what the big deal is.  Every time I need my medical records I send a couple of thugs over to the dr’s office to grab the originals and bring them to me.  What other method is there?


    by CVille Dem on Wed, 05/02/2018 - 2:49pm

    I know I wish I had thought of trying it when I had to try to get my records from Columbia University Dental School. I still kind of like the idea of sending some thugs over there. devil


    by artappraiser on Wed, 05/02/2018 - 2:55pm

    It is my impression that Mr. Schiller finds himself at present with time to devote to new clients.

     


    by jollyroger on Thu, 05/03/2018 - 12:23am

    I should acknowledge this comment, enjoyed it.wink


    by artappraiser on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 1:47pm

    Can't say that Trump White House Medical doesn't have consistent rules, political loyalty uber alles:

    Pence doctor resigns after Jackson debacle

    By Matthew Nussbaum Updated 05/04/2018 01:25 PM EDT

    [....] Dr. Jennifer Peña, who like Jackson is a military physician detailed to the White House, was among those who detailed claims of professional misconduct against Jackson to senators considering his nomination, according to a person familiar with the events.

    “The Vice President’s office was informed today by the White House Medical Unit of the resignation. Physicians assigned to the Vice President report to the White House Medical Unit and thus any resignation would go entirely through the Medical Unit, not the Vice President’s office,” Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a statement.

    Peña claimed in memos that Jackson may have violated Karen Pence’s patient privacy rights by sharing details of a medical incident involving the second lady to chief of staff John Kelly. The memos were first reported by CNN.

    The allegations were troubling to many in Pence’s office and the White House, who felt that Pena misrepresented the severity of the situation in an effort to harm Jackson, according to the person familiar with the situation [....]


    by artappraiser on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 1:46pm

    Holy shit!  The taint not only spreads downward through his subordinates, it is also a contagious "Gelding Gilding Virus"

     

    Evidently Macron was contaminated in the overlong handshake, and now he's on to the stupidly vulgar displays of disposable income (preferably other people's money).


    by jollyroger on Wed, 07/11/2018 - 2:40pm