Current Affairs Donald Trump POS: Judgement cometh and that right soon

[abelard]

The funniest thing about the right's "deep state" palliative-du-jour is that most of the leaks are actually coming from Trump loyalists and appointees. His reluctance to confirm anyone who hadn't backed his campaign from the outset is well-documented, and a big part of the reason why so many critical positions remain unfilled.

Trump's hand-picked supporter-appointees leak with the accompanying explanation that it's the only way they can capture his attention. They note that he ignores conversations or memos, and only responds to stimuli via the medium of cable news.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/15/donald-trump-fake-news-238379

As an aside, I once spent six months researching at the Nixon Library, which, in order to become a national presidential archive, had to first be decontaminated and de-propagandized. The Nixon Foundation, consisting of wealthy long-time local Nixon patrons, had previously run the show when it was only a private museum, and it did not take kindly to the cruel encroachment of reality by outside forces. They launched what they thought would be a very clever act of subterfuge, worthy perhaps even of the great jowlsy [Poor language removed] himself, by revealing to scandalised local news outlets that the incoming director was gay. "Guys," he replied, "this is not a secret about me. I've been out since college. In the rest of the country, this hasn't been a big deal in decades."

The good burghers of Orange County were forced to retreat, flummoxed.

And as a result, they were unable to prevent the imposition of fact upon their painstakingly crafted Watergate exhibit, which had portrayed what happened to Dear Beloved Dick in exactly the same way that the right now clings to in order to absolve itself of Trump: Nixon was a modest, decent, upstanding, entirely innocent man, protector of the little (white) people, yet inevitably and tragically betrayed by a coup d'etat at the hands of cynical, sinister, amorphous Babylonian forces. The Vietnam War and most other exhibits are still an embarrassing whitewash, but at least the Archives & Records admin (aka "the deep state") managed to historify away all of the blatant (but now-resurgent) lies about Watergate.

There's a certain irony to seeing conservatives who came of age decrying Nixonian big government abuses now shrieking indignantly 180 degrees from where they started. I wonder (mirthfully, of course) if any of our enlightened forum conservatives, beleaguered bastions of common-sense holding out bravely against the incoherent and belligerent encircling SJW forum hordes, can explain or have even stopped to consider how they've ended up on the other side of the fence.

Edit: oh dear, poor language removed? should have stuck with "Richard" ; )

 

[Drummond]

The funniest thing about the right's "deep state" palliative-du-jour is that most of the leaks are actually coming from Trump loyalists and appointees. His reluctance to confirm anyone who hadn't backed his campaign from the outset is well-documented, and a big part of the reason why so many critical positions remain unfilled.

Trump's hand-picked supporter-appointees leak with the accompanying explanation that it's the only way they can capture his attention. They note that he ignores conversations or memos, and only responds to stimuli via the medium of cable news.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/15/donald-trump-fake-news-238379

As an aside, I once spent six months researching at the Nixon Library, which, in order to become a national presidential archive, had to first be decontaminated and de-propagandized. The Nixon Foundation, consisting of wealthy long-time local Nixon patrons, had previously run the show when it was only a private museum, and it did not take kindly to the cruel encroachment of reality by outside forces. They launched what they thought would be a very clever act of subterfuge, worthy perhaps even of the great jowlsy [Poor language removed] himself, by revealing to scandalised local news outlets that the incoming director was gay. "Guys," he replied, "this is not a secret about me. I've been out since college. In the rest of the country, this hasn't been a big deal in decades."

The good burghers of Orange County were forced to retreat, flummoxed.

And as a result, they were unable to prevent the imposition of fact upon their painstakingly crafted Watergate exhibit, which had portrayed what happened to Dear Beloved [Poor language removed] in exactly the same way that the right now clings to in order to absolve itself of Trump: Nixon was a modest, decent, upstanding, entirely innocent man, protector of the little (white) people, yet inevitably and tragically betrayed by a coup d'etat at the hands of cynical, sinister, amorphous Babylonian forces. The Vietnam War and most other exhibits are still an embarrassing whitewash, but at least the Archives & Records admin (aka "the deep state") managed to historify away all of the blatant (but now-resurgent) lies about Watergate.

There's a certain irony to seeing conservatives who came of age decrying Nixonian big government abuses now shrieking indignantly 180 degrees from where they started. I wonder (mirthfully, of course) if any of our enlightened forum conservatives, beleaguered bastions of common-sense holding out bravely against the incoherent and belligerent encircling SJW forum hordes, can explain or have even stopped to consider how they've ended up on the other side of the fence.

Edit: oh dear, poor language removed? should have stuck with "Richard" ; )

What are you saying here mate?

 

[mezzrow]

The funniest thing about the right's "deep state" palliative-du-jour is that most of the leaks are actually coming from Trump loyalists and appointees. His reluctance to confirm anyone who hadn't backed his campaign from the outset is well-documented, and a big part of the reason why so many critical positions remain unfilled.

Trump's hand-picked supporter-appointees leak with the accompanying explanation that it's the only way they can capture his attention. They note that he ignores conversations or memos, and only responds to stimuli via the medium of cable news.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/15/donald-trump-fake-news-238379

As an aside, I once spent six months researching at the Nixon Library, which, in order to become a national presidential archive, had to first be decontaminated and de-propagandized. The Nixon Foundation, consisting of wealthy long-time local Nixon patrons, had previously run the show when it was only a private museum, and it did not take kindly to the cruel encroachment of reality by outside forces. They launched what they thought would be a very clever act of subterfuge, worthy perhaps even of the great jowlsy [Poor language removed] himself, by revealing to scandalised local news outlets that the incoming director was gay. "Guys," he replied, "this is not a secret about me. I've been out since college. In the rest of the country, this hasn't been a big deal in decades."

The good burghers of Orange County were forced to retreat, flummoxed.

And as a result, they were unable to prevent the imposition of fact upon their painstakingly crafted Watergate exhibit, which had portrayed what happened to Dear Beloved [Poor language removed] in exactly the same way that the right now clings to in order to absolve itself of Trump: Nixon was a modest, decent, upstanding, entirely innocent man, protector of the little (white) people, yet inevitably and tragically betrayed by a coup d'etat at the hands of cynical, sinister, amorphous Babylonian forces. The Vietnam War and most other exhibits are still an embarrassing whitewash, but at least the Archives & Records admin (aka "the deep state") managed to historify away all of the blatant (but now-resurgent) lies about Watergate.

There's a certain irony to seeing conservatives who came of age decrying Nixonian big government abuses now shrieking indignantly 180 degrees from where they started. I wonder (mirthfully, of course) if any of our enlightened forum conservatives, beleaguered bastions of common-sense holding out bravely against the incoherent and belligerent encircling SJW forum hordes, can explain or have even stopped to consider how they've ended up on the other side of the fence.

Edit: oh dear, poor language removed? should have stuck with "Richard" ; )

Thanks, Abe. Old conservative Republicans in Orange County were probably embarrassingly racist, too - we just don't have an example as clear as the anecdote you have shared with us here. Imagine the Nixon Foundation wanting to control the library they built with their money and privilege. They probably looked at you the way those ladies at the LBJ library looked at Robert Caro with his endless requests for documents.

Will he ever finish that last volume?

You were going to share your thoughts on Evergreen, but I haven't seen anything yet. I'm interested to hear your interpretation regarding the events to date. The mindset there is so far outside my frame of reference, it's like the first time a primitive man sees water come out of a faucet. The student body is busy communicating with the University president here.

Lord of The Flies, or Brave New World?

In the words of Charley Partanna, "which of dese?"

 

[DanEFC92]

 

[abelard]

Thanks, Abe. Old conservative Republicans in Orange County were probably embarrassingly racist, too - we just don't have an example as clear as the anecdote you have shared with us here. Imagine the Nixon Foundation wanting to control the library they built with their money and privilege. They probably looked at you the way those ladies at the LBJ library looked at Robert Caro with his endless requests for documents.

Will he ever finish that last volume?

You were going to share your thoughts on Evergreen, but I haven't seen anything yet. I'm interested to hear your interpretation regarding the events to date. The mindset there is so far outside my frame of reference, it's like the first time a primitive man sees water come out of a faucet. The student body is busy communicating with the University president here.

Lord of The Flies, or Brave New World?

In the words of Charley Partanna, "which of dese?"

cheers Muzzruh

I hope I haven't put you off with my snark. Internetting is so boring without any.

I will find time to comment on Evergreen, especially as you've asked.

On that issue, I contain, dare I suggest, multitudes.

Just to quickly clarify: the Nixon Museum (as opposed to the Library) was funded and administered by the Foundation. How they channeled their wealth and privilege was never a problem for anyone (apart from historiographically and aesthetically) until they took on the extensive federal funding required to make it a Presidential Library and Museum, at which point, minimum standards of historical and archival accuracy began to apply (with Gerald Ford, for example, they are separate sister institutions a hundred miles apart). The Foundation still manages its Museum, and has nothing to do with the Library, but the overall institute director has final authority over museum content - hence the kerfuffle over its Watergate de-Pravdafication. I'm sure on the same general principle though you'd likewise embrace the Obama Foundation's right to, say, inform the public that Operation Fast & Furious was in fact a secret subversive NRA attempt to bring the 2nd Amendment to Mexico, provided that the tax-payer's sacrosanct wallet was left deflowered, eh?

Unsurprisingly, we indeed have extensive examples of the Nixon patrons' racism ("I believe in white supremacy until blacks are educated to a point of responsibility," one of their most famous benefactors once publicly declared), and in fact, the town where I stayed enforced an informal curfew/ban on African-Americans within city limits after dark well into the 1970s. But the museum people these days are lovely - at least until you tell them that you want the Library (you have to enter the Library through their gift shop, which features full-replica Oval Office desks ($5000), Roman-style Nixon busts, and Pat "People Were Her Project" mugs and t-shirts). Then they sigh, slump their shoulders, and reluctantly point the way.

I don't think Caro will get to it - the fourth one was originally meant to cover all of Vietnam (where he was planning to travel and interview extensively), and he barely made it to '63. He's very old now. And (IMHO) the quality of the fourth really declined from the first three. Plus, so many others have covered that period already, with all the newly-available sources, and I'm not sure he'd have much to add. I do enjoy the first three though.

And on that note, amidst all the deep state handwringing/conspiratorializing, it's worth observing that perhaps the most prescient Trump parallel is not Nixon but LBJ - during the final years, he grew increasingly emotional, paranoid, resentful, and unhinged. His aides worried about how easily he grew distracted from matters at hand by indulging in delusional rants about suspected plots and subversion, so much so that many began to suspect dementia or some sort of mental illness. They even began channeling and curating his access to information, as they worried he could no longer be relied upon to react responsibly. Sound familiar? Of course, back then they all closed ranks, so much of this has only emerged recently.

We might consider whether or not the public had any right to know about any of all that going into the '68 (or 2018) Election, and whether his aides had any responsibility to disclose the source of their grave misgivings. Principle, ideally, should always transcend partisanship.

 

[verreauxi]

You were going to share your thoughts on Evergreen, but I haven't seen anything yet. I'm interested to hear your interpretation regarding the events to date. The mindset there is so far outside my frame of reference, it's like the first time a primitive man sees water come out of a faucet. The student body is busy communicating with the University president here.

Lord of The Flies, or Brave New World?

In the words of Charley Partanna, "which of dese?"

Here's an article about the Evergreen ruckus. The accused professor seems to have made some generally sensible--and certainly not hateful--statements, and is now being accused of racism.

By the way, you don't get grades at Evergreen (no A, B, C, D, F), you just get these end-of-year 1-page evaluations by professors.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news...rgreen-state-students-demand-firing-professor

 

[LinekersLegs]

I'm amazed it took them so long to do this....the hard part will be to stop Trump from tweeting about it especially if he doesn't feel his lawyer is saying the right things.

 

[DanEFC92]

A nice, sane reaction to the upcoming Far Cry 5 game.

 

[DanEFC92]

 

[mezzrow]

Here's my boyfriend Bill (reference) with my favorite Trump take of the moment...



I'm still asking myself this question, btw.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Well done (surely a staffer wrote this?)

 

[Duncan Disordely]

Guardian reporting that Farage is a person of interest to the Feds in the trump/Russia probe. You just know that little worm will turn rat to save his own skin.

 

[mezzrow]

This latest from my feline sensei will serve for both the European and the American political situation, IMHO.

One can always explain a loss to Napoleon. But how does one justify a loss to a person regarded as a moron? One can lose to a genius without shame; it's harder to avoid mortification at being worsted by covfefe. And Hillary lost to covfefe.

Trump's unexpected competitiveness is a reminder of how low the political bar has fallen. The energy expended on reviling Trump, however satisfying, does little to address voter disgust with the political class as a whole. They sense a helplessness in the face of a growing entropy, both over the world and their lives, that was happening even before the election. They saw the Obama administration come to office on the proposition the Bush policy of intervention failed and elected him to try something else. They also saw his attempts to "lead from behind" and bomb from on high fail too. The Eiffel tower was dimmed for a third time in a week to commiserate with yet another bombing underscoring the fact no one knows the solution. But they do know where wreaths, candles and blinker bulbs can be had and supply them instead.

Maybe Trump doesn't have a clue about how to fix things. But the more serious problem is not many people are convinced Hillary knows either.

Just as the lack of a cure reduces the worth of doctors, elites are on defensive because their stock of knowledge, so useful in the past, is now ineffectual against the present chaos. This helplessness has the effect of lowering their status, as with a priesthood faced with the manifest futility of their rites. Legitimacy is based on working magic and the wizardry is faltering.

It partly explains the resentfulness at being demoted to the level of Donald. The mojo left Hillary when people realized she was just a befuddled old lady. While there is nothing wrong with that there is nothing special either. Without the magic the contest between them was suddenly no longer between a mere mortal and the "smartest woman in the world" but a reality TV host and granny, a much closer fight. On that leveled field even Trump's randomness actually seemed an advantage: a willingness to punch buttons that Hillary would never dare attempt. While that could make things worse, voters in 2016 were desperate enough to try something new.

That desperation has not gone away because the helplessness has not gone away.

https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2017/06/01/when-no-one-knows-the-answer/

 

[abelard]

notwithstanding the irony of your Harvard-educated tech-billionaire-vanity-project-patroned shaman posting this - "Just as the lack of a cure reduces the worth of doctors, elites are on defensive because their stock of knowledge, so useful in the past, is now ineffectual against the present chaos" - i'll allow that he's at least almost coherent so long as he sticks to parroting what others have long since made obvious ; )

 

[LinekersLegs]

Maybe Trump doesn't have a clue about how to fix things. But the more serious problem is not many people are convinced Hillary knows either.
https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2017/06/01/when-no-one-knows-the-answer/

Why is the most serious problem in June 2017 that not many people are convinced Hillary knows either?

She isn't president, Trump is.

Surely at some point voters are going to turn their focus on whether his election has made their lives better or worse. For instance when people are looking for healthcare for 2018 are they really going to be OK on just blaming Obama/Hillary solely for a rise in premiums/deductibles or loss of coverage? Sure some will be willing to give him time but others will recall he said healthcare was easy to fix...

Obama got a lot of mileage out of blaming Bush for the state of the nation, but come the midterms his party were still punished heavily.