Caroline Kennedy --- 2020

[guido]

That business with Nikki Haley telling everyone at the UN - "we're watching who's with us and who's against us and we're taking names ......." ............ I read that a few times and just thought .. Wow.

Yes. Quite chilling indeed.

[guido]

This is something else though... if you listen to remarks from the Republicans in the Senate and House, they are pretty bent that no one even gave them a heads up. The latest events haven't been about parties... I worry the test is of something far deeper structurally.

The House and Senate are not immune for Trump's shoot from the hip style. He didn't tell anyone what was on the way. The better to disrupt them all. And they can't shoot back because he is the only way to get their agenda signed...

[j44ke]

He didn't tell anyone what was on the way.

Not even Whitehouse counsel! That might have been a good idea.

Acting attorney general Sarah Yates has just ordered the State Department not to enforce the immigration ban due to its potential illegalities. She is a hold-over from the Obama administration, so Trump will likely fire her, but then he will be without anyone to sign off on foreign surveillance warrants. She is still in place due to the slowness and disorganization of Trump's transition. Meanwhile state department civil servants have been signing onto an internal letter of protest re: the immigration ban, and Trump has said they should all resign if they don't agree with him. Since he enacted a freeze on hiring, that would create a big gap in the day to day affairs of the State Department, one of the busier departments in the Federal government. Also without someone to sign foreign surveillance warrants, Trump would have to either act extra-legally or wait to pursue foreign surveillance until Sessions' appointment is approved by Congress.

A fine kettle of fish!

[Corso]

Hey man, I disagree with you on almost anything you say about Trump doing anything good (so far), but I'm with you on these statements. Just trying to find some common ground!

I appreciate it man! As I’ve said on other threads: I wasn’t pro Trump > I was Anti-Hillary.

I’m not going to defend him on everything he does. It’s useless.

But…he won. Half the country is actually happy that the guy is doing what he promised. Very refreshing in a politician.
They just don’t hit the streets to get on television or youtube over it.

I also said I was going to leave the Republican party and become an independent. Still planning on doing that. My current Republican Governor (who publicly boasted he was not voting for Trump or Hillary)--but went to Washington to enjoy the inauguration festivities anyway, is giving me a push away from the GOP. I can’t wait to “not vote” for him when he runs for re-election, and talk to his fund raisers when they ask me “Where did you$ go?

I dislike hypocrisy, on all sides of the fence.

[djg714]

A severe change is a revolution. The left seems to have patented the “rights” to the name and the romantic images that comes with it. Like all the Che posters in Obama’s campaign headquarters.

This is REAL change.

Think of it as a balance to the past 8 years of profoundly left wing agenda/cabinet/government.

You are embarrassing yourself.

[Scott G.]

From the U.S. Naval Institute news....
(note USNI is not part of the Navy)

"Still, the hiring freeze comes as the Navy finds itself thousands of employees short at its four public shipyards, exacerbating a problem that has already hurt Navy readiness. Attack submarine USS Boise (SSN-764) skipped the start of its maintenance availability this summer due to lack of capacity at public shipyards and is now not qualified to submerge – making the sub “essentially a surface ship” until any yard has the capacity to take on the Los Angeles-class sub’s maintenance needs."

Hiring Freeze Includes Navy Shipyards Despite National Security Clause

[dogrange]

Not even Whitehouse counsel! That might have been a good idea.

Acting attorney general Sarah Yates has just ordered the State Department not to enforce the immigration ban due to its potential illegalities. She is a hold-over from the Obama administration, so Trump will likely fire her, but then he will be without anyone to sign off on foreign surveillance warrants. She is still in place due to the slowness and disorganization of Trump's transition. Meanwhile state department civil servants have been signing onto an internal letter of protest re: the immigration ban, and Trump has said they should all resign if they don't agree with him. Since he enacted a freeze on hiring, that would create a big gap in the day to day affairs of the State Department, one of the busier departments in the Federal government. Also without someone to sign foreign surveillance warrants, Trump would have to either act extra-legally or wait to pursue foreign surveillance until Sessions' appointment is approved by Congress.

A fine kettle of fish!

Jorn, I fear that this chaos and dysfunction is the intent, that there is method to the madness. Ensure that the bureaucracy is hobbled and not functional, to exacerbate the prevailing opinion that government doesn't work and weed out everyone on the inside who doesn't like the new (lack of) direction. Plus, the more noise that can be generated in the media and among the citizens who want to resist, the better = sooner or later "protest fatigue" could set in and that would be great (for Trump and his cabal)!

[Corso]

You are embarrassing yourself.

That post was from last week. If your going to engage, at least try to keep up.

[Rich Beaudoin]

Acting attorney general Sarah Yates has just ordered the State Department not to enforce the immigration ban due to its potential illegalities.

And she's fired...as a student of history, this shit really scares me

[j44ke]

Jorn, I fear that this chaos and dysfunction is the intent, that there is method to the madness. Ensure that the bureaucracy is hobbled and not functional, to exacerbate the prevailing opinion that government doesn't work and weed out everyone on the inside who doesn't like the new (lack of) direction. Plus, the more noise that can be generated in the media and among the citizens who want to resist, the better = sooner or later "protest fatigue" could set in and that would be great (for Trump and his cabal)!

Undoubtedly! I think the goal is a power grab for the office of the President - a very Federalist move by a campaign that espoused a states-rights mentality during the campaign, but who cares about the campaign - to allow decisions outside court control like what might be possible during martial law. I think the only surprise is that they got there in 8 days. Customs and Border Patrol is evidently not responding to the decisions of the courts until they receive direct guidance from the Whitehouse or Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Gen. John Kelly (the one who heard about the immigration ban while Trump signed it.) Thus the ban is essentially unaffected, which will be bad for a lot of college students trying to get back for classes (who knew there were so many college students coming from these seven countries, especially Iran? But who cares about college students?) Among many many others.

Oh and we are probably in violation of the Geneva Convention. But who cares about the Geneva Convention?

Corso's right - this is a revolution, and just like the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) in 1946, we voted for it!

Don't expect things to be tidy until they are finished.

[Corso]

And she's fired...as a student of history, this shit really scares me

And as a student of history, you must KNOW, as soon as the new AG is approved, she was going to be gone anyway, just like the majority of her department, as it goes with every change of presidents. Her statement today was grand standing, she wanted to go out with a bang, not quietly. I expect tomorrow, the rest of the staff will resign, making a “statement", but like their boss, they are on a short lifeline anyway.

The firing will add duel to the media hysteria fire, and she just lit her own match.

[j44ke]

And as a student of history, you must KNOW, as soon as the new AG is approved, she was going to be gone anyway, just like the majority of her department, as it goes with every change of presidents. Her statement today was grand standing, she wanted to go out with a bang, not quietly. I expect tomorrow, the rest of the staff will resign, making a “statement", but like their boss, they are on a short lifeline anyway.

The firing will add duel to the media hysteria fire, and she just lit her own match.

AG's job is justice, not rubber stamping. She did the right thing. Great move. No one had any illusions what Trump's next step would be.

[lumpy]

AG's job is justice, not rubber stamping. She did the right thing. Great move. No one had any illusions what Trump's next step would be.

Yup, it was her watch and her decision. She stuck up for the rule of law when the choice was in front of her.

[Diablo de Acero]

These are embarrassing times aren't they. Nixon must be finally hearing the angels sing with this display of abuse of the highest office.

[Rich Beaudoin]

And as a student of history, you must KNOW, as soon as the new AG is approved, she was going to be gone anyway, just like the majority of her department, as it goes with every change of presidents. Her statement today was grand standing, she wanted to go out with a bang, not quietly. I expect tomorrow, the rest of the staff will resign, making a “statement", but like their boss, they are on a short lifeline anyway.

The firing will add duel to the media hysteria fire, and she just lit her own match.

Corso, I get it that you are a supporter of trump.
But you don't need to counter every post - I refrain from responding to the majority of ideas with which I disagree.
At least try not to be patronizing.

[Diablo de Acero]

Why people are calling the acting attorney general's firing the 'Monday Night Massacre' - LA Times

[vertical_doug]

Disruption for the sake of disruption and drawing attention to oneself is not necessarily a good thing. I figure Trump is happy as a pig in manure since all the attention is on him all the time.


Jeff Sessions asking Deputy Attorney General if you can say 'No' to the president.

[colker]

Jorn, I fear that this chaos and dysfunction is the intent, that there is method to the madness. Ensure that the bureaucracy is hobbled and not functional, to exacerbate the prevailing opinion that government doesn't work and weed out everyone on the inside who doesn't like the new (lack of) direction. Plus, the more noise that can be generated in the media and among the citizens who want to resist, the better = sooner or later "protest fatigue" could set in and that would be great (for Trump and his cabal)!

Unless Trump brings in an extraordinary level of prosperity i don´t see how this strategy can win.

[Dallas Tex]

Corso, I get it that you are a supporter of trump.
But you don't need to counter every post - I refrain from responding to the majority of ideas with which I disagree.
...............

"Please don't interrupt us while we are agreeing with each other..."

What frightens me much more than anything coming out of Washington is the disappearance of real, vital, critical dialogue that seeks to inform rather than affirm ones own beliefs. Real, honest open discussion that seeks to understand differing opinions is vital to a free society.

I'm honestly shocked that the legacy of the '60s and '70s fire-brand radicals is a sort of pc fascism that rejects and actively avoids any thought that differs from their complete orthodoxy.

[davids]

"Please don't interrupt us while we are agreeing with each other..."

What frightens me much more than anything coming out of Washington is the disappearance of real, vital, critical dialogue that seeks to inform rather than affirm ones own beliefs. Real, honest open discussion that seeks to understand differing opinions is vital to a free society.

I'm honestly shocked that the legacy of the '60s and '70s fire-brand radicals is a sort of pc fascism that rejects and actively avoids any thought that differs from their complete orthodoxy.

And I agree with this!

I saw some FB post from the friend of one of my young (college aged) friends. This woman was attacking a white protester at some march this weekend for holding a sign saying, "We are All Immigrants" because the person holding the sign was white, and white people are Colonists not Immigrants! This is who she's worked up about? Someone who has taken to the streets to stand up for refugees and other new Americans? She doesn't recognize (1) that her analysis is racist (white person = bad) and (2) that she's attacking an ally! There's a real enemy of our open democratic pluralistic society out there, and he's calling shots. The Left is screwed if it thinks this is the moment to go after white people.

How is this young wounded soul ever going to find a way to see common ground with a Trump voter when she sees the person marching next to her as an enemy?

So, yeah, let's find common ground.

This morning I read this quote from Mark Fucarile, who lost a leg on Patriot's Day:

"The president’s job is to protect the people of the United States of America, and I feel that’s what he’s doing," the 38-year-old Fucarile said, crediting Trump for vigilance against the threat of a "Trojan Horse." Fucarile ... told WFXT that "Islamic extremism" needs to be confronted. "They don’t like our ways, they don’t agree with us, and they think it’s OK to kill us. I think people need to wake up and realize, terrorism is a real thing."

I agree with everything he says. I don't want the Bad Dudes here either. I'd just ask him to drill down into who "they" really are. And then we can have a conversation about the actual content of the Executive Order, and about how well it targets likely terrorists.