Sound The TRUMPets! A Thread for Presidential Pondering 2016-2020(?)

[SimonNZ]

Actually the term "machiavellian" has nothing to do with what the man himself thought. 

I wasn't really being serious. But I believe Machiavelli's "Machiavellian" reputation comes from the chapter in The Prince on the acceptability of lying and not having to keep your word, though I also know The Prince isn't representative of his writing.

[SimonNZ]

Trump press secretary backtracks claim Obama officials left 'You will fail' notes

"The White House press secretary has backed down from her claim that Obama administration officials left behind notes for Trump staffers saying "You will fail" and "You aren't going to make it", after a number of aides denied the allegation.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham said she and her colleagues had encountered the notes upon entering White House offices.

"When we came into the White House, I'll tell you something, every office was filled with Obama books, and we had notes left behind that said 'You will fail', 'You aren't going to make it'," she said. "In the press office, there was a big note taped to a door that said that 'You will fail'," Grisham told the John Fredericks Show.

Grisham retracted her claims, however, after a full-throated rejection from former Obama staffers.

"This is absolutely not true," Chris Lu, a White House cabinet secretary in the Obama administration, wrote on Twitter.

"Obama repeatedly and publicly praised Bush cooperation during 2009 transition, and pledged we would provide same cooperation to whoever followed us. And that's what we did. If Grisham is correct, why has it taken three years to come out?"

Susan Rice, who served as Obama's national security adviser, was similarly dismissive.

"This is another bald-faced lie," Rice wrote on Twitter.

Other Obama officials, including Joanna Rosholm, the former press secretary to Michelle Obama, posted photos of the notes they had left behind. None of the notes said "You will fail".

Peter Velz, who worked as an assistant to the director of communications in the Obama administration, posted a photo of a note which said: "Best of luck to you and your team."

After the backlash Grisham walked back from her initial remarks. She issued a statement saying the controversy was "silly" but did not expand on why she had made the claims.

"I certainly wasn't implying every office had that issue," Grisham said.

"I was talking specifically (and honestly) about our experience in the lower press office – nowhere else. I don't know why everyone is so sensitive!"

[Rinaldo]

I see today went well.

[BasilValentine]

Yeah ^ ^ ^, the Republicans are becoming parodies of themselves, grinding away with less energy and conviction day by day on conspiracy theories spun in Russia and publicly stated by Putin.

I must confess my addiction: I have watched all but about an hour of the impeachment hearings thus far. Part of the fun has been seeing members of Congress of whom I had no prior knowledge in action. One standout for me in the last two days of testimony has been Sean Patrick Malony (D of NY). Lordy, I wish he was my representative rather than that twisted weasel-greaser Elise Stefanik. On Tuesday during the five-minute rounds, Maloney bled Kurt Volker pale with a variation on the "But Brutus is an honorable man" routine. Started out with affected sympathy for Volker's failure to make the connection that "Burisma means Biden." Then he spun out one by one the numerous quotations, actions, and publicly available statements known to Volker that seem to make the connection obvious, each time noting Volker's increasingly dubious claim of ignorance. All but called him a liar to his face, the implication hanging in the air. Classic. And then the way he finally got Gordon Sondland to state the obvious accusation against Trump — and in the end laid waste to Sondland by observing that it had taken the committee three tries to drag the truth out of him.

[JBS]

Yeah ^ ^ ^, the Republicans are becoming parodies of themselves, grinding away with less energy and conviction day by day on conspiracy theories spun in Russia and publicly stated by Putin.

I must confess my addiction: I have watched all but about an hour of the impeachment hearings thus far. Part of the fun has been seeing members of Congress of whom I had no prior knowledge in action. One standout for me in the last two days of testimony has been Sean Patrick Malony (D of NY). Lordy, I wish he was my representative rather than that twisted weasel-greaser Elise Stefanik. On Tuesday during the five-minute rounds, Maloney bled Kurt Volker pale with a variation on the "But Brutus is an honorable man" routine. Started out with affected sympathy for Volker's failure to make the connection that "Burisma means Biden." Then he spun out one by one the numerous quotations, actions, and publicly available statements known to Volker that seem to make the connection obvious, each time noting Volker's increasingly dubious claim of ignorance. All but called him a liar to his face, the implication hanging in the air. Classic. And then the way he finally got Gordon Sondland to state the obvious accusation against Trump — and in the end laid waste to Sondland by observing that it had taken the committee three tries to drag the truth out of him.

OTOH, you will get to vote for Ms. Stefanik's opponent.

[BasilValentine]

OTOH, you will get to vote for Ms. Stefanik's opponent.

Been there, done that. Too many Trumpists out here in the mountains.

Takeaways from yesterday: Did you see that grin on Gordon Sondland's face for most of the day? — except when Sean Patrick Maloney was slapping him into sobriety, of course. That's a man putting his copious FU money to work. When told Trump had just tweeted that he barely knows him, Sondland laughed and said "Easy come, easy go." He meant it. Translation: "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

The whole administration has been accused. Can't wait to hear the pathetic response of the abetters on the committee today. 

[drogulus]

     Fiona Hill wrote a highly regarded book on Putin.

     

     

     

[BasilValentine]

     Fiona Hill wrote a highly regarded book on Putin.

     

Former ambassador Michael McFaul also wrote a book on Putin. Speaking on MSNBC today he recommended Fiona Hill's book, saying: "It's better than mine."

[SimonNZ]

How does it compare to Masha Geesen's book?

meanwhile:

Trump says he won't allow Navy to punish SEAL who posed with dead body

"President Donald Trump has once again weighed in on potential disciplinary action against Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, appearing to override a Navy decision to initiate a review that could result in him being stripped of his status as a SEAL.

The Navy's review could have led to Gallagher's expulsion from the elite warfare community, according to officials directly familiar with the matter.

"The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher's Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!" Trump tweeted Thursday morning.

The Trident Pin, which is worn by Navy SEALs, is awarded following their completion of an intense qualification course and symbolizes membership of the elite military community.

Asked about Trump's tweet, a spokesperson for the US Navy referred all questions to the White House. Defense officials have previously told CNN that the Pentagon does not necessarily view tweets as orders and it is unclear if an official order has been received at this time."[...]

[SimonNZ]

How on earth did a group of Californians elect Devin Nunes four times in a row? Was he, like many Rs, less of an idiot in the pre-Trump days?

[Daverz]

How on earth did a group of Californians elect Devin Nunes four times in a row? Was he, like many Rs, less of an idiot in the pre-Trump days?

Nunes's district, CA-22 outside of Fresno, is a very different place than the coastal areas where most people in California live.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California%27s_22nd_congressional_district

[SimonNZ]

Secret Service spent more than $250K at Trump properties

"The Secret Service spent more than a quarter of a million dollars at President Donald Trump's properties over the course of five months in 2017, newly released documents show.

The documents outline Secret Service credit card expenditures for Trump properties and businesses between Jan. 27 and June 9, 2017, and were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request via the nonprofit watchdog group Property of the People."[...]

[dissily Mordentroge]

Safed is a wierd place. Because of its history (specifically, the place where the great rabbis Isaac Luria and Joseph Caro lived) it attracts a lot of ultra ultra Orthodox.

Trump supporters here are more or less the Religious Zionist and settler movements in Israel. Beyond that, Israeli politics tends to boggle the minds of Israelis, never mind the rest of us.  The most salient fact is that under the impact of the intifada, Hamas control of Gaza, and the demographic growth of the Orthodox community in contrast to the more secular Israelis,  the Right and nationalism are much more influential than they were 15 or 20 years ago.

Excuse a somewhat humous aside ( although my Safed friend didn't think so at the time) She inherited my Tannoy 15" Gold corner horn speakers (google it) and being an avid Wagner lover was want to unleash The Ring cycle etc after a few too many sherries. On one occasion the local orthodox became so incenced they gathered outside her house and stoned it smashing all the windows. When molotov cocktails started raining down my friend had to call the police to get her out. The house was burnt to the ground along with my old speakers. Somehow I think it appropriate they died in that conflagration whilst blasting out The Ring as that was the first thing I played through them.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If we can return for a moment to Presidential Pondering ...... I stumbled across a (prescient?) poem by Walt Whitman last night.

                         
                          TO THE STATES
            To Identify the 16th, 17th or 18th Presidentiad

Why reclining, interrogating? why myself and all drowsing?
What deepening twilight --scum floating atop the waters,
Who are they as bats and night-dogs askant in the capitol?
What a filthy Presidentiad! (O South, your torrid suns! O
North, your arctic freezings!)
Are those really Congressmen? are those the great Judges? is
that the President?
Then I will sleep a while yet, for I see that these States sleep,
for reasons;
(With gathering murk, with muttering thunder and lambent
shoots we are duly awake,
South, North, East, West, inland and seaboard, we shall surely
awake.)                                                                      1860

[dissily Mordentroge]

Machiavelli would resent the comparison.

I'll settle for just plain evil.Or as a psychiatrist of my acquaintance remarked once about a client "Sometimes you just have to say they're more bad than mad"

[Florestan]

I'll settle for just plain evil.Or as a psychiatrist of my acquaintance remarked once about a client "Sometimes you just have to say they're more bad than mad"

I should have thought there's a professional ethics that forbids psychiatrists from discussing their clients' issues with non-professional third parties.

[dissily Mordentroge]

I should have thought there's a professional ethics that forbids psychiatrists from discussing their clients' issues with non-professional third parties.

Cases can be commented upon if no identity or hint of such is given away. In the example I mentioned I didn't think a particular individual was being referred to so much as a general rule. On the other hand you may have noticed a large number of the profession have broken this rule and commented upon Trump's state of mind. I suggest such is fair given the President of the US has the codes for that red button.

[Florestan]

Cases can be commented upon if no identity or hint of such is given away. In the example I mentioned I didn't think a particular individual was being referred to so much as a general rule.

Fair enough.

On the other hand you may have noticed a large number of the profession have broken this rule and commented upon Trump's state of mind. I suggest such is fair given the President of the US has the codes for that red button.

No serious psychiatrist would diagnose a person without ever speaking to that person, or make any of their diagnostics public. Those commens are politically motivated and have nothing to do with either science or professional ethics.

[dissily Mordentroge]

Fair enough.

No serious psychiatrist would diagnose a person without ever speaking to that person, or make any of their diagnostics public. Those commens are politically motivated and have nothing to do with either science or professional ethics.

Professional ethics may be at stake but to suggest all interaction between psychiatrists and their clients is based on science is absurd,even more so if it's a Frudian psychiatrist and his patient.
You also appear not to understand normal rules do not apply in the case of an individual, who at a whim or in a tantrum, could unleash the destruction of our species.

[Florestan]

You also appear not to understand normal rules do not apply in the case of an individual, who at a whim or in a tantrum, could unleash the destruction of our species.

This is a conjecture based on nothing. Trump's record of bellicose actions --- as opposed to words --- is very thin.

[BasilValentine]

My new personal hero is Fiona Hill, who yesterday laid waste to the republicans and their unfortunate legal counsel, Steven Castor. In her opening statement, Hill called out the republicans for promoting Russian propaganda. Citing one of their main talking points, the incessantly repeated conspiracy theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election, she said: "In the course of these hearings I would ask that you please not promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests." Having little else in their arsenal, the republicans shamelessly continued pushing the theory. 

Here are two exchanges in which Hill handed republican counsel Castor his ass and genitals respectively. The first is Castor's attempt to enlist Hill in disparaging Colonel Alexander Vindman. This is where Castor first realized he had met his match:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bJFleottco

Then, starting at 4:15 (as replayed by Rachel Maddow), Hill answers an attempt to portray her as overly emotional, aggrieved and anti-Trump. It doesn't go the way Castor thinks it will:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbAhw7UB8xM

Hill is brilliant and it's now perfectly clear why the Dems slated her testimony last. The republicans have been left with no moral or legal basis for their continuing defense of the president. The case has been made. All of the facts are uncontested and multiply affirmed by non-partisan witnesses. Any further cover the republicans provide for Trump can only credibly be seen as abetting a corrupt regime and furthering pervasive criminality. History, if there is to be a history worth reading, will pi$$ on their graves.