# 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:** 843
**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:** [February 15, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16845 "2018-02-15T23:15:20Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Ok. This old Nixon joke is for you youngsters: > > President Nixon got up one snowy morning and looked out of the window of the Oval Office. Written in the brand new pristine snow were the words “Fuck Nixon” in yellow. Needless to say, the President was furious! He called in his closest aides and demanded that this be investigated immediately! Later in the day, the top aide comes back into the Oval Office sheepishly and says, “Mr. President, we’ve determined the origin of the message. The good news is that it’s urine, and it’s Henry Kissinger’s. The bad news is that the handwriting is Pat’s.” > > There’s nuttin’ new under the sun. I have a book titled _Pissin’ In The Snow And Other Ozark Folktales._ Here’s an excerpt in [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Pissing_in_the_Snow_and_Other_Ozark_Folk.html?id=CGP0_AhD0J0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false) that is the original joke/story dating from the very late 1880-90s. Scroll down to the table of contents, you can read the original story. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16846 "2018-02-15T23:25:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > There’s nuttin’ new under the sun. I remember that from the Nixon administration. But the original version of the joke was collected decades before that by Vance Randolph, published as _Pissing in the Snow: and Other Ozark Folktales_. It wasn’t published until 1976, because it was the dirty-joke collection, but the material had been collected back in the 1920s–30s. Edit, too late: Curse you, ninja **running coach**! ---
**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:** [February 15, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16847 "2018-02-15T23:44:20Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I remember that from the Nixon administration. But the original version of the joke was collected decades before that by Vance Randolph, published as _Pissing in the Snow: and Other Ozark Folktales_. It wasn’t published until 1976, because it was the dirty-joke collection, but the material had been collected back in the 1920s–30s. > > Edit, too late: Curse you, ninja **running coach**! But it’s pretty damned awesome that there’s at least two of us who are aware of what is probably a very obscure book. And only 10 minutes apart. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16848 "2018-02-16T00:25:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I have a book titled _Pissin’ In The Snow And Other Ozark Folktales._ > Here’s an excerpt in [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Pissing_in_the_Snow_and_Other_Ozark_Folk.html?id=CGP0_AhD0J0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false) that is the original joke/story dating from the very late 1880-90s. > > Scroll down to the table of contents, you can read the original story. Sadly, I first read the joke in [_The Official Rednecks Joke Book_](https://www.amazon.com/Official-Rednecks-Joke-Book/dp/0553241060). My 10th grade geometry teacher (god rest her soul) confiscated it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16849 "2018-02-16T01:07:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I have a book titled _Pissin’ In The Snow And Other Ozark Folktales._ > Here’s an excerpt in [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Pissing_in_the_Snow_and_Other_Ozark_Folk.html?id=CGP0_AhD0J0C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false) that is the original joke/story dating from the very late 1880-90s. > > Scroll down to the table of contents, you can read the original story. > [@Johanna](#): > > I remember that from the Nixon administration. But the original version of the joke was collected decades before that by Vance Randolph, published as _Pissing in the Snow: and Other Ozark Folktales_. It wasn’t published until 1976, because it was the dirty-joke collection, but the material had been collected back in the 1920s–30s. > > Edit, too late: Curse you, ninja **running coach**! > [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Sadly, I first read the joke in [_The Official Rednecks Joke Book_](https://www.amazon.com/Official-Rednecks-Joke-Book/dp/0553241060). My 10th grade geometry teacher (god rest her soul) confiscated it. I believe the original joke was discovered written in hieroglyphics when they [opened King Tut’s Tomb](http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/archaeologist-opens-tomb-of-king-tut), which BTW was 94 years ago tomorrow (Feb 16). ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16850 "2018-02-16T02:05:34Z")
[FCC Chair Ajit Pai is under investigation by the FCC Inspector General](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-ajit-pai.html). :eek: > [@](#): > > Last April, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, led the charge for his agency to approve rules allowing television broadcasters to greatly increase the number of stations they own. A few weeks later, Sinclair Broadcasting announced a blockbuster $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune Media — a deal those new rules made possible. > > By the end of the year, in a previously undisclosed move, the top internal watchdog for the F.C.C. opened an investigation into whether Mr. Pai and his aides had improperly pushed for the rule changes and whether they had timed them to benefit Sinclair, according to Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey and two congressional aides. > > “For months I have been trying to get to the bottom of the allegations about Chairman Pai’s relationship with Sinclair Broadcasting,” Mr. Pallone, the top Democrat on the committee that oversees the F.C.C., said in the statement to The New York Times. “I am grateful to the F.C.C.’s inspector general that he has decided to take up this important investigation.” 😃 ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16851 "2018-02-16T02:19:43Z")
Fuck the FCC. I mean, F the CC… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIoCafn27Ds) ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16852 "2018-02-16T03:30:59Z")
Goddamit. I wasted my precious time Googling PISSING IN THE SNOW by Vance Randolph, too. Now, everyone go out and buy a copy of his OZARK MAGIC AND FOLKLORE. It’s a fascinating Americana read. But no pee jokes. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16853 "2018-02-16T03:31:34Z")
Trump’s Inauguration Committee raised 107 million. [50 million](http://start.att.net/news/read/article/the_associated_press-2_firms_paid_50_million_by_trump_inaugural_committ-ap/category/finance) went to two event planning companies. > [@](#): > > The filings for the Presidential Inaugural Committee show that the organization paid nearly $26 million to an obscure event planning firm based in Southern California. The company, WIS Media Partners, is described in the tax filings as an “event production” firm, but **California state incorporation records do not list the firm’s owner.** > > But The New York Times reported Thursday that the firm was started by Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, a New York event planner who has been an adviser to first lady Melania Trump. **Winston-Wolkoff, who is a longtime friend of the first lady’s, was known to be involved in the inauguration’s planning.** > > **A second event planning firm, Hargrove Inc., based in Lanham, Md., was paid $25 million** for its work producing the event. **The same firm had been paid about $5 million** for event production work in 2009 for Obama’s inaugural committee. The firm’s CEO, Tim McGill, was not immediately available for comment. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16854 "2018-02-16T05:06:48Z")
So he’ll actually pay bills if it’s with other people’s money? ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16855 "2018-02-16T05:59:07Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > But it’s pretty damned awesome that there’s at least two of us who are aware of what is probably a very obscure book. > And only 10 minutes apart. Make that three. I thought about it when I saw the Nixon joke and was trying to remember the name when I scrolled on and saw I was already double ninja’d. That was long, long ago. The only other joke I remember off hand from it ended with someone yelling in a native american language “Wrong hole!” Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16856 "2018-02-16T06:05:48Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump takes credit for GM moving a plant from Korea to Detroit. No, it isn’t. > [https://shareblue.com/trump-takes-credit-for-imaginary-auto-plant-in-detroit/](https://shareblue.com/trump-takes-credit-for-imaginary-auto-plant-in-detroit/) What, a geranium? I’m trying to come up with the logistics of literally moving a whole factory and even if you didn’t want to take the opportunity to upgrade equipment it’s what my Eco teacher called “an interesting exercise in stupidity”. But I suspect there really are people out there who think that ‘they’ literally “moved the plants to India” (or, in this case, Korea). ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16857 "2018-02-16T06:51:09Z")
A federal judge orders Rick Perry to publish regulations in the federal registry despite Perry’s insistence that there is no requirement to do so. > **[Judge orders Trump’s energy agency to implement climate-change rules for...](https://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Trump-s-energy-agency-told-to-implement-12617767.php)** > > A federal judge in San Francisco ordered President Trump’s administration on Thursday to... ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16858 "2018-02-16T07:35:28Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > So he’ll actually pay bills if it’s with other people’s money? It’s not a question of paying bills here, it’s bribery and/or showering his friends with free money from the government. Because food stamps are squandering the public’s tax money on the undeserving but graft is all gravy, baby. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2018, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16859 "2018-02-16T08:58:54Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > It’s not a question of paying bills here, it’s bribery and/or showering his friends with free money from the government. > Because food stamps are squandering the public’s tax money on the undeserving but graft is all gravy, baby. I’m not sure how much the government pays toward the inauguration. I’ve seen references that suggest that some of it is paid for by donors, like the campaigns. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s covered by financing or disclosure rules. I wouldn’t put it past Trump to channel money to friends to get it from one account to another. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16860 "2018-02-16T15:05:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m not sure how much the government pays toward the inauguration. I’ve seen references that suggest that some of it is paid for by donors, like the campaigns. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s covered by financing or disclosure rules. I wouldn’t put it past Trump to channel money to friends to get it from one account to another. All the parties, concerts and festivities are paid for with private donations raised by the inaugural committee. The taxpayers foot the bill for the actual swearing-in ceremony and the increased security required for all events. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-much-does-an-inauguration-cost-and-who-pays-for-what/2016/12/13/d7c1fe96-be48-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe\_story.html?utm\_term=.7c759c281399](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-much-does-an-inauguration-cost-and-who-pays-for-what/2016/12/13/d7c1fe96-be48-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.7c759c281399) The controversy over the Trump inauguration is explained here. > **[Trump's Inauguration Donation Controversy Sparks Change](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-inauguration-donations-funds-missing-steve-kerrigan-congress-714118)** > > The man who organized Barack Obama's inaugural festivities is running for Congress, with the intention of changing the rules so an inauguration like Trump's in 2016 never happens again. In essence, they raised a lot of money, mostly from corporate donors seeking favor with the new administration. In fact, they raised more money than any other inaugural committee in history. And the events were kind of sparse, very little “A” list talent and only 3 inaugural balls instead of the typical 10. The committee had publicly promised to donate leftover funds to charity and watchdog groups soon noticed that no donations to charity were made. That said, it seems like the legal requirements regarding the use of inaugural donations are kind of non-existent ( they can’t be donated to campaign but that’s about the only restriction) and it’s not clear to me if there would be anything illegal about Trump just keeping the extra money. But it would be bad optics. It might be worth noting that indicted money launderer Rick Gates paid a prominent role on the inaugural committee. And now that he’s speculated to be singing like a canary — I wonder if he’s going to expose anything about this issue. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16861 "2018-02-16T15:19:41Z")
I agree that something stinks to high heaven about the inauguration…but it appears to mainly be a mechanism for transferring obscene amount of money from well-connected fat cat donors to well-connected fat cat vendors. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16862 "2018-02-16T15:28:37Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I agree that something stinks to high heaven about the inauguration…but it appears to mainly be a mechanism for transferring obscene amount of money from well-connected fat cat donors to well-connected fat cat vendors. Hey! They needed to spend all that money because it was the biggest crowd in Washington-- _ever_! The cost of security, sunscreen for the security people, porta-potties, toidy paper for the porta-potties, drug-sniffing dogs, treats for the drug sniffing dogs… thatsa lotta moolah. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16863 "2018-02-16T17:01:29Z")
When Trump said he was going to drain the swamp, little did they know that he meant that he was going to drain it _of money_. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16864 "2018-02-16T19:16:10Z")
I think we simply misunderstood - he said “Train the swamp”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=842) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=844)