# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070 "2016-12-07T00:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 140
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2781 "2017-03-28T22:16:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Remember Sally Yates? The Deputy Attorney General whom Trump fired for refusing to defend his Muslim ban? She was scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on the Department of Justice’s investigations into the Trump/Russia connections. But the White House said she could not testify about anything under executive privilege. Sean Spicer said this was not true, of course, she could testify if she wanted to, all she had to do was ask the White House for permission. > > So Devin Nunes circumvented the entire thing by just canceling the hearing altogether. > [The controversy over Sally Yates’s planned testimony before Congress, explained - Vox](http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/28/15092754/trump-sally-yates-devin-nunes) How long are the Republicans going to keep carrying on this charade? It has become pretty obvious that Trump’s whole team is implicated in the scheme to work with the Russians to influence the election. Donald Trump Jr. Roger Stone Jared Kuschner Micheal Flynn Devin Nunes Jeff Sessions JD Gordon Wilbur Ross Paul Manafort Felix Sater Rex Tillerson They are all connected to this whole stinking, treasonous mess, and are currently in the middle of a desperate bid to cover everything up. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2782 "2017-03-28T22:20:21Z")
[What, me worry?](http://media.al.com/news_impact/photo/jeff-sessions-5d1de6bee42a7beb.jpg) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2783 "2017-03-28T23:13:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > You can dance next to a hippo but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not only do they fling excrement all around themselves with their tails, they also attack anything they find vaguely threatening or different with manic and unreasoned fervor. > > I’m talking about hippopotamuses, here; semi-aquatic, herivorous, even toed unglates from sub-Saharan Africa. I don’t know why anyone would think I am subltly alluding to some other individual or political party affiliation. That would be silly. Many republicans don’t even \*have \*tails. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2784 "2017-03-28T23:24:14Z")
Kayleigh McEnany tries to outdo fellow sTrumpet [Katrina Pierson](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/03/katrinapiersonhistory-twitter-bashes-trump-spokeswoman-who-blamed-obama-2004-death-captain-khan/87987646/#) in revisionist history. > [@](#): > > “You have President Obama who, after the ― I believe it was after the beheading of Daniel Pearl ― spoke about how upset he was and then rushed off to a golf game,” McEnany said on CNN on Monday night. > > McEnany may have been referring to freelance war correspondent James Foley, who was killed by terrorists in 2014. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2785 "2017-03-29T00:06:42Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Kayleigh McEnany tries to outdo fellow sTrumpet [Katrina Pierson](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/03/katrinapiersonhistory-twitter-bashes-trump-spokeswoman-who-blamed-obama-2004-death-captain-khan/87987646/#) in revisionist history. She may still have the vapors over [watching Dubya’s drive.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3p9y_OEAdc) That dreamy hunk of man, he was what a President really should be. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2786 "2017-03-29T00:07:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It has become pretty obvious that Trump’s whole team is implicated in the scheme to work with the Russians to influence the election. > > Donald Trump Jr. > Roger Stone > Jared Kuschner > Micheal Flynn > Devin Nunes > Jeff Sessions > JD Gordon > Wilbur Ross > Paul Manafort > Felix Sater > Rex Tillerson Why did you leave out James Comey? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2787 "2017-03-29T03:30:05Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Why did you leave out James Comey? And, for that matter - The Smiler (Carter Page) Rosa Klebb ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2788 "2017-03-29T04:01:16Z")
…Lotte Lenya, and ol’ Lucy Brown! ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2789 "2017-03-29T04:14:24Z")
Whatever happened to Michael Cohen? ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2790 "2017-03-29T04:31:29Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And pit ponies. Fuckin’ stupid ponies. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2791 "2017-03-29T04:46:45Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > …Lotte Lenya, and ol’ Lucy Brown! The line forms on the left, babe, now that Donnie’s back in town. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2792 "2017-03-29T04:56:19Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > …Lotte Lenya, and ol’ Lucy Brown! I remember a scavenger hunt a couple decades ago where one of the items to find was a page from TV Guide with the same actor on two different channels at the same time (but not just the same show running on two channels). For some reason that stuck with me and I still notice it when it happens. A few months ago, Lotte Lenya was on two channels at the same time, and neither of them was _From Russia With Love_. And every time I hear _Mack the Knife_ I think that Lucy Brown would be Lucy Van Pelt’s name if she married Charlie Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2793 "2017-03-29T05:00:53Z")
What use is coal these days? This is a serious question. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2794 "2017-03-29T05:24:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > What use is coal these days? This is a serious question. Something nobody needs to buy. I was going to say “a drug on the market,” but its desirability doesn’t even reach that. Let’s go with “ballast.” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2795 "2017-03-29T05:33:32Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > What use is coal these days? This is a serious question. There is a coal fired power plant in eastern Nebraska. I often see endless coal trains. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2796 "2017-03-29T06:08:25Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > What use is coal these days? This is a serious question. An awful lot of it is getting shipped overseas to China, where they have more coal-fired power plants than anywhere else in the world. I only know this because corporations with coal interests in Canada, Montana and Wyoming were trying to build railway terminals at various points on the coast here in the PNW and our angry citizenry stopped them (at least here in Oregon, and I think Washington got rid of most of them, too). Was proud to be part of that. I’m sure we’ll have to keep doing it, same as net neutrality is back under attack under a Republican administration. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2797 "2017-03-29T06:18:00Z")
Coal still generates about 1/3 of all the electricity used in the US. That’s down from about 50% just a decade ago. If it weren’t for all those pesky regulations protecting the environment it would probably be close to 100%. If you can put aside any concern for the environment, remove caps on carbon emissions, and pretend global warming doesn’t exist it is a cheap, abundant, easy way to generate power. The visionary that he is, Il Douche is planning to undo decades of hard fought progress in environmental protection and remove any incentive at all for industry to continue a gradual shift to better alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2798 "2017-03-29T06:26:59Z")
The big part of it is the moratorium. [See this Vox article for the skinny.](http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/28/14905546/trump-executive-order-climate-coal) Y’see, the moratorium on leasing federal land for coal mining isn’t solely due to environmental concerns - actually, it’s because the procedures for leasing that land are badly out of date. One-bidder auctions, at below market leasing rates. Basically, it’s a subsidy for coal-mining companies. The moratorium was put into place to review the rules about leasing land, and the rates that should be charged. It was expected that the rates would go up. Coal use has been declining for quite some time. LNG is cheaper, and has surpassed coal in the amount of electricity generated from it. This is not likely to change, unless something happens to make LNG more expensive; as part of the EO is aimed at loosening fracking rules, it ain’t bloody likely. Therefore, coal companies can produce the same amount of coal for lower cost, fattening their bottom line. Unfortunately for the miners, there’s no need for _more_ coal; it would take reactivating old coal-fired plants and building new ones to increase demand. It’s possible, I suppose, that utility companies may choose to do that, but I can’t imagine why they would go to that expense. They’ve already invested heavily in LNG, which appears to be satisfying the need for electricity. Why go backwards? Especially since a later administration/Congress may well reverse the reversal. Even then, increasing automation in coal mining will limit the number of miners needed. Basically, it’s another giveaway to corporations and CEOs, appearing to cater to the miners while in actuality doing nothing for them. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2799 "2017-03-29T06:30:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > How long are the Republicans going to keep carrying on this charade? It has become pretty obvious that Trump’s whole team is implicated in the scheme to work with the Russians to influence the election. > > Donald Trump Jr. > Roger Stone > Jared Kuschner > Micheal Flynn > Devin Nunes > Jeff Sessions > JD Gordon > Wilbur Ross > Paul Manafort > Felix Sater > Rex Tillerson > > They are all connected to this whole stinking, treasonous mess, and are currently in the middle of a desperate bid to cover everything up. You may be right, but I keep having a nagging feeling this isn’t about the election. I honestly believe all this flailing about and distraction from the investigation is because 45 and his cronies are worried about the money trail from Russia. This is about oil and oil leases. Manafort, Tillerson, et al were in deep with the Russian oil biz. I swear in the end, this is going to end up being about the money money money and not about any election interference. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/2800 "2017-03-29T06:52:56Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Coal use has been declining for quite some time. LNG is cheaper, and has surpassed coal in the amount of electricity generated from it. This is not likely to change, unless something happens to make LNG more expensive; as part of the EO is aimed at loosening fracking rules, it ain’t bloody likely. As of 2015 coal and LNG were [tied at 33% each](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3). I’m sure they will continue their current trajectories in the long term despite the Cheeto factor. But without the economic and environmental pressures against using coal I’m not so sure anyone would have had the incentive to switch to LNG and invest in improving its efficiency in the first place. If regulation is lifted on coal pollution and fracking to produce LNG (it’s better than coal but by no means a perfect energy source) there might not be enough incentive for the next better source to be developed and widely adopted for a very long time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=139) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=141)