# 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:** 1630
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32585 "2019-05-17T18:19:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > “..so-called minors…” > Trump’s assholes love that “so-called” dismissiveness, don’t they? I’d argue that Trump is a so-called president. I said it before, he doesn’t want to do the actual job but play president at his rallies and on TV, which he seems to spend the majority of his day watching and tweeting about. [9 hours of ‘Executive Time’: Trump’s unstructured days define his presidency](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/29/trump-daily-schedule-executive-time-944996) _The president’s schedule shows huge swaths of his day unplanned, allowing his whims and momentary interests to drive White House business._ > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump had about three times as much free time planned for last Tuesday as work time, according to his private schedule. The president was slated for more than nine hours of “Executive Time,” a euphemism for the unstructured time Trump spends tweeting, phoning friends and watching television. Official meetings, policy briefings and public appearances — typically the daily work of being president — consumed barely more than three hours of his day. Probably the most demanding job in the world and Trump puts in three hour days. There’s a reason why even young non-so-called presidents like Clinton, Bush, and Obama leave office looking greatly aged as compared to when they came in. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32586 "2019-05-17T18:28:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Kushner can do that as much as ex-waitress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can (no offense nor endorsement intended for either of them). 1-She’s an ex-bartender, not waitress. Different skill set. 2-In high school, she came in second in the Microbiology category of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a microbiology research project on the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. As a result, a small asteroid was named after her. 3-In high school, she took part in the National Hispanic Institute’s Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session. She later became the LDZ Secretary of State while she attended Boston University. 4-During college, she served as an intern in the office of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, in his section on foreign affairs and immigration issues. 5-She graduated cum laude from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011, majoring in international relations and economics. 6-She launched publishing company Brook Avenue Press. 7-She worked as lead educational strategist at GAGEis, Inc., a consulting company serving clients in the educational sector. 8-She worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign. So tell me again how she’s just a waitress. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32587 "2019-05-17T19:10:01Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Probably the most demanding job in the world and Trump puts in three hour days. There’s a reason why even young non-so-called presidents like Clinton, Bush, and Obama leave office looking greatly aged as compared to when they came in. Trump looks like shit, too. But not from overwork. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32588 "2019-05-17T19:17:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Kushner can do that as much as ex-waitress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can (no offense nor endorsement intended for either of them). Your analysis of politics is about as perceptive as your [analysis of slavery](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19035881#post19035881). > [@Controversial kids coloring book with happy US slaves - Acceptable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-kids-coloring-book-with-happy-us-slaves-acceptable/743579/61): > > The view that slaves were mostly dissatisfied with their lives is probably false. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32589 "2019-05-17T19:25:03Z")
:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32590 "2019-05-17T20:29:25Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > 1-She’s an ex-bartender, not waitress. Different skill set. > 2-In high school, she came in second in the Microbiology category of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a microbiology research project on the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. As a result, a small asteroid was named after her. > 3-In high school, she took part in the National Hispanic Institute’s Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth Legislative Session. She later became the LDZ Secretary of State while she attended Boston University. > 4-During college, she served as an intern in the office of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, in his section on foreign affairs and immigration issues. > 5-She graduated cum laude from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011, majoring in international relations and economics. > 6-She launched publishing company Brook Avenue Press. > 7-She worked as lead educational strategist at GAGEis, Inc., a consulting company serving clients in the educational sector. > 8-She worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign. > > So tell me again how she’s just a waitress. Firstly, bartender or waitress aside, there was no “just” in my statement. You read that in, assuming that my statement meant something for or against the individuals being discussed, rather than just accepting the text as written. Secondly, while that is a more impressive resume than I was aware of, if I had been aware of it and thought that it negated her as being a good example of what I was discussing, then I simply would have used some other Congressperson. As said, my statement had nothing to do with AOC or Kushner, pro nor con, just the reality of how things work. Thirdly, while her credentials are better than I had been aware, it still remains that none of it makes her know anything about Macroeconomics. I’m a smart guy, I graduated from college, I watch Numberphile and SciShow, I read CBO reports, etc. But, factually, if I was to legislate on any topic outside of software development, I’d just be a massive idiot to think that I really knew what I was talking about. Government works because the people we hire (ideally) listen to the experts and work with them to try and grasp the options at the high level and make a reasonable decision on what to do, based on that understanding. If you think that AOC isn’t doing that or shouldn’t be doing that, you’re overestimating the relevance of microbiology research to CIA oversight. I would posit that there is basically none. The important thing for a politician isn’t that they’re experts in anything, it’s that they’re at least reasonably smart and, specifically, smart enough to know that they don’t know anything. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32591 "2019-05-17T20:36:33Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Firstly, bartender or waitress aside, there was no “just” in my statement. You read that in, assuming that my statement meant something for or against the individuals being discussed, rather than just accepting the text as written. Pretty sure nearly everyone saw it as pejorative. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32592 "2019-05-17T20:39:56Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Pretty sure nearly everyone saw it as pejorative. True. Kind of like when people insist on using Obama’s full name. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32593 "2019-05-17T20:50:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Thirdly, while her credentials are better than I had been aware, it still remains that none of it makes her know anything about Macroeconomics. Not even this part? > [@](#): > > She graduated cum laude from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011, majoring in international relations and economics. I mean, I guess it’s possible that she graduated with a degree in economics and learned nothing about macroeconomics, but it seems unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32594 "2019-05-17T20:52:59Z")
[Government audit: Carson’s $40K office purchases broke law](https://apnews.com/d44002c186bf4525a3818e9455053fd4) > [@](#): > > Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson violated the law when his department spent more than $40,000 to purchase a dining set and a dishwasher for his office’s executive dining room, government auditors concluded. > > In a report released Thursday, the Government Accountability Office said HUD failed to notify Congress before exceeding a $5,000 limit set by Congress to furnish or make improvements to the office of a presidential appointee. The dining set cost more than $31,000 and the dishwasher cost nearly $9,000. > > Carson told lawmakers last year that he was unaware of the purchase and canceled it as soon as he learned about it in news reports. He also told a House Appropriations subcommittee that he left furniture purchasing decisions to his wife. But emails released by watchdog group American Oversight suggested that Carson and his wife, Candy Carson, both played a role in choosing the furniture. Oh, what a surprise that someone in the Trump administration would misuse taxpayer money and tell lies! :rolleyes: No one could have foreseen this kind of thing happening now, more than 2 years into this administration! No one! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32595 "2019-05-17T21:00:22Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Your analysis of politics is about as perceptive as your [analysis of slavery](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19035881#post19035881). In the sense that Rick Kitchen’s post seemed to be a case of him reading a meaning into what was said that had nothing to do with what was said, it would be a fair comparison. To summarize the other thread: People adapt to their situation. Back when people lived on mud floors, had their daughters kidnapped and raped by the neighbor tribe, and would likely die of dysentery in their 40s, they were mostly happy and satisfied in their lives. This is true across all situations in life throughout history and if anyone wants to make an argument that, for whatever reason, that wouldn’t be true of the one specific case of slaves in 18th century America, while remaining true across the rest of history and the globe, then you are free to make that argument. I have not seen such an argument, let alone one that was compelling in any way. The problem of slavery is not that people were unhappy or mistreated or whipped - **everyone** was mistreated and whipped in those days be they factory workers, soldiers, wives, children, or anything else (though far less frequently than a slave), it’s a) that it was unjust that they had no choice in life except to be in that position, and b) rape was almost certainly the greatest horror of the era not whipping. The fact that we live in a world where [Jefferson in Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_in_Paris) is a film that was created and passed by with little comment as possibly one of the most offensive film ever produced, while everyone celebrates any movie where a black man is whipped is insane. The orthodox view of what was wrong with slavery and why we don’t want it is wrong, gleefully ignores the rest of history, the basics of human psychology, and serves to reduce any fight against slavery ever happening again, because it focuses on corporal punishment rather than basic human rights. I continue to disagree with the orthodox and I think it is harmful to understanding history and to ensuring that we don’t recreate it. But you need to accept the concept that being non-orthodox is not the same thing as being opposed to the aims of the orthodox. Because I disagree about the **presentation** of a thing is irrelevant to what I think **the thing**. So unless you can find a place where I say, “Woohoo! Let’s open up the slave auctions again!” Or even saying anything at all in support of human ownership, you should consider whether you’re reading what was actually written or simply too tied up with trying conform to what society says you have to say to think about the subject in any way. I would argue that any real thought about the subject will bring you to a larger hatred of slavery than accepting the commonplace viewpoint on what it was about the thing that made it bad. So if you want to have a hatred-fest for slavery, then start that thread and we’ll take votes as to who is actually in greater opposition of the two of us. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32596 "2019-05-17T21:23:18Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > So if you want to have a hatred-fest for slavery, then start that thread and we’ll take votes as to who is actually in greater opposition of the two of us. First, it’s not about a “hatred-fest for slavery.” It’s about what constitutes a reasonable historical understanding of the slave experience. Second, that thread’s already [been done](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=781748), and I made my own contribution to it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19041683#post19041683) and in subsequent posts. Feel free to weigh in you like. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32597 "2019-05-17T21:23:24Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Not even this part? > I mean, I guess it’s possible that she graduated with a degree in economics and learned nothing about macroeconomics, but it seems unlikely. I skimmed. Sorry, swap the word “Macroeconomics” to “Diplomacy”. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32598 "2019-05-17T21:39:51Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > First, it’s not about a “hatred-fest for slavery.” It’s about what constitutes a reasonable historical understanding of the slave experience. And I believe that you have a smaller and less full historical understanding of the slave experience that diminishes your ability to measure the topic. One of us is wrong, but neither of us supports slavery. Neither of us ever has said anything except that it was horrible and offensive. I’m willing to explain why others are wrong, and I do believe that you and others would get a better and deeper understanding than you currently have if you were interested in hearing that explanation. As it was, no one had any interest and assumed that because I did not describe things in a specific way that everyone else describes it, that I could not provide my alternative which may well be larger, more thorough, and more compelling. Am I wrong? Or was I simply shouted down? You can believe the former, but I remember Jefferson in Paris. No one else even recalls that there was such a movie. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32599 "2019-05-17T21:41:03Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I skimmed. Sorry, swap the word “Macroeconomics” to “Diplomacy”. Skimming again? > [@](#): > > She graduated cum laude from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2011, majoring in international relations and economics. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32600 "2019-05-17T21:47:04Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Am I wrong? Or was I simply shouted down? You can believe the former, but I remember Jefferson in Paris. No one else even recalls that there was such a movie. I can’t help you, I’m afraid. I get most of my understanding of the slave experience not from movies, but from the actual narratives written by slaves, and scholarly works written by historians. I could provide you with a list of the books and articles I’ve read on the topic (some of which I referenced in my above-linked post), but you seem uninterested in such things. Anyway, I’m done on the topic of slavery here. If you want to resurrect the debate, feel free to go back to the other thread. If not, focus your efforts in this thread on misrepresenting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez instead. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32601 "2019-05-17T21:55:11Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If you think that AOC isn’t doing that or shouldn’t be doing that, you’re overestimating the relevance of microbiology research to CIA oversight. I would posit that there is basically none. I’m not sure I’m reading this right, but since the CIA is almost certainly monitoring foreign actors who may be trying to develop biological and especially genetically modified biological weapons such as, say, CRISPR-modified anthrax or plague, some basic knowledge of microbiology research is warranted, IMO. [Anticipating emerging biotechnology threats](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30348235) > [@](#): > > **Abstract** > This article discusses the contingencies and complexities of CRISPR. It outlines key problems regarding off-target effects and replication of experimental work that are important to consider in light of CRISPR’s touted ease of use and diffusion. In light of literature on the sociotechnical dimensions of the life sciences and biotechnology and literature on former bioweapons programs, this article argues that we need more detailed empirical case studies of the social and technical factors shaping CRISPR and related gene-editing techniques in order to better understand how they may be different from other advances in biotechnology - or whether similar features remain. This information will be critical to better inform intelligence practitioners and policymakers about the security implications of new gene-editing techniques. > > **KEYWORDS:** > CRISPR; biological weapons; biosecurity; diffusion; gene editing; intelligence; off-target effects; replication; technical challenges [Genome editing as a national security threat.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30152471) > [@](#): > > **Abstract** > Testimony from the intelligence community in the United States connecting genome editing with national security threats was a noted departure from past assessments of the implications of modern enabling biotechnologies. Rarely are individual biotechnologies included on lists of potential security threats. When they are, a broad range of advances are usually considered collectively - in terms of both risks and benefits. Given the classified nature of the rationale as to why gene editing tools were singled out, we are unlikely to fully understand for several decades what prompted this statement. This paper considers three ways in which these tools might impact national security: i) enabling the development of advanced biological weapons; ii) facilitating the development of new bioweapons based on ecological applications of genome editing, and iii) enhancing future generations of people in ways which could have an indirect impact on security, for example by improving a nation’s cognitive ability and/or the physical endurance of its soldiers. Their implications are different and so are the possible policy and regulatory responses. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32602 "2019-05-17T21:55:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Government audit: Carson’s $40K office purchases broke law](https://apnews.com/d44002c186bf4525a3818e9455053fd4)Oh, what a surprise that someone in the Trump administration would misuse taxpayer money and tell lies! :rolleyes: No one could have foreseen this kind of thing happening now, more than 2 years into this administration! No one! To be fair…it’s Ben Carson, who was a fuckstick long before he became part of Trump World. It’s not like he got tainted during the past two years. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32603 "2019-05-17T22:07:49Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > To be fair…it’s Ben Carson, who was a fuckstick long before he became part of Trump World. It’s not like he got tainted during the past two years. It’s actually sad. Carson as a young man was a world-class neurosurgeon and the youngest department head in the history of Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the most prestigious in the world. Now he comes across as a befuddled loon. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32604 "2019-05-17T22:58:35Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Government audit: Carson’s $40K office purchases broke law](https://apnews.com/d44002c186bf4525a3818e9455053fd4) > > > [@](#): > > > > Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson violated the law when his department spent more than $40,000 to purchase a dining set and a dishwasher for his office’s executive dining room, government auditors concluded. > > > > … The dining set cost more than $31,000 and the dishwasher cost nearly $9,000. What kind of a dishwasher costs $9,000? Or even “nearly” $9,000? Apart from that: I’m glad that the audit was carried out and that those doing it resisted whatever pressure they may have faced to exonerate this Trump cabinet member. We can’t take that for granted anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1629) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1631)