The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making

[septimus]

@asahi

I now see why Mnuchin is one of the few survivors of the original Trump cabinet. He sells total horse shit and he somehow looks believable doing it, probably attributable to the fact that he’s among the least cartoonish personalities there.

Wash your mouth out with soap! Secretary Treasury is one of the most important jobs in an Administration.

SecTreas Alexander Hamilton decided that the U.S. should assume states’ debts, thereby cementing the Unity of the Thirteen States.
SecTreas Albert Gallatin founded the Second Bank of the United States; he arranged financing for the Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812.
SecTreas Salmon P. Chase introduced paper money guaranteed by the United States. (His face appears on the $10,000 bill.)
SecTreas John Sherman orchestrated the restoration of the dollar, and arranged a compromise on the silver money controversy. Under his leadership greenbacks, once 30¢ on the dollar, traded at par value.
SecTreas Henry Morgenthau Jr. helped design and finance the New Deal; and helped finance U.S. participation in World War II. He was key to the Lend-Lease program.
SecTreas Nicholas F. Brady steered carefully during the crises of S&L failures and 3rd-world debt.
SecTreas Robert Rubin coped with severe global financial failures in the late 1990s earning the John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official.
SecTreas Henry Paulson identified income inequality as one of America’s major problems, created the Hope Now Alliance, and steered a country on the brink of disaster through the 2008 credit crisis.

And now SecTreas Steven Mnuchin joins this select company with his historic Compromise of 2020:

The President insisted on signing each of the stimulus checks personally, so that Americans knew who to be grateful to. Underlings speaking privately worried that this might delay the arrival of the checks in Americans’ mailboxes.

It was none other than Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the United States Treasury, who thought of a brilliant solution! The check-writing software could be modified to write Trump’s name on the memo lines of all the checks, thereby eliminating the need for personal signature. Americans could get their checks with only modest delay, but would still know who was giving them the money. With that one creative inspiration Secretary Mnuchin earned his year’s salary several times over.

[SuntanLotion]

@Colibri

Well, the Sun hasn’t been darkened, and the Moon is still giving its light, and the stars haven’t begun to fall.

Yet.

Since star don’t fall, I took that to mean the earth would spin too fast for a minute. Nitpick over.

[Ike_Witt]

@SuntanLotion

Since star don’t fall, I took that to mean the earth would spin too fast for a minute. Nitpick over.

Funny, you look to actual science for this of all things.

[MikeF]

@dasmoocher

I’ll let Trump answer that himself:

Donald Trump tells biographer he’s the same now as he was in first grade
So when people call Trump a man-child, they’re describing him pretty accurately according to Trump himself.

And there is the disconnect. You seem to think Trump is behaving like a spoiled first grader. What you are missing is that, even at the young age, he could do no wrong. From the womb, he was destined for greatness. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

…and now this: Trump tweets he’s ordered Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” Trump tweeted.

Trump did not cite a specific event in his tweet, or provide details. The White House had no immediate comment.

Apparently there was an encounter last week. (Hey Donald, you don’t really “shoot down” things that aren’t “up”. You shoot down airplanes; you sink ships. Duh.)

A U.S. Navy video last week showed small Iranian fast boats coming close to American warships as they operated in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait, with U.S. Army Apache helicopters.

On Sunday, the Revolutionary Guard acknowledged it had a tense encounter last week with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, but alleged without offering evidence that American forces sparked the incident.

The Guard and the Navy routinely have tense encounters in the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil passes.

Is a “tense encounter” the same as “harassment”? I suppose we’ll find out.

Oh, the article also offers this bit of news:

Trump’s tweet came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had put the Islamic Republic’s first military satellite into orbit, dramatically unveiling what experts described as a secret space program with a surprise launch Wednesday that came amid wider tensions with the United States.

The launched immediately raised concerns among experts on whether the technology used could help Iran develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.

[CalMeacham]

As of this morning, we are just a hair shy of having as many confirmed coronavirus cases as the next five largest corona country cases combined. We have more than four times as many as the next-heaviest infested country, Spain. But we still have about 0.319 (almost 1/3) of all the reported cases in the world. (Based on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus site)

And it’s still going up.

Edited to add

Although the curve IS flattening

Covid in the U.S.: Latest Maps, Case and Death Counts - The New York Times’

[Maus_Magill]

@CalMeacham

As of this morning, we are just a hair shy of having as many confirmed coronavirus cases as the next five largest corona country cases combined. We have more than four times as many as the next-heaviest infested country, Spain. But we still have about 0.319 (almost 1/3) of all the reported cases in the world. (Based on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus site)

And it’s still going up.

Edited to add

Although the curve IS flattening

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html’

At least until the second week of May, that is. Happy Mothers’ Day from the ICU.

[Rick_Kitchen]

Individual 1 just barred DACA recipients from getting college aid.

Trump administration bars DACA and undocumented students from billions in...

[Colibri]

@SuntanLotion

Since star don’t fall, I took that to mean the earth would spin too fast for a minute. Nitpick over.

You clearly don’t believe in an all-powerful god, then. If he wants the stars to fall, he will make them fall, O you of little faith.

[jasg]

Not only will he shoot down the gunboats, he will sink all the fighter jets.

[Mr.Greenjeans]

@CalMeacham

As of this morning, we are just a hair shy of having as many confirmed coronavirus cases as the next five largest corona country cases combined. We have more than four times as many as the next-heaviest infested country, Spain. But we still have about 0.319 (almost 1/3) of all the reported cases in the world. (Based on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus site)

And it’s still going up.

We are so sick of winning.

[Siam_Sam]

@Colibri

You clearly don’t believe in an all-powerful god, then. If he wants the stars to fall, he will make them fall, O you of little faith.

Yes. Look at Peewee Herman’s career.

[Rick_Kitchen]

Individual 1, Melania, and Mike Pence all ignored social distancing and planted a tree on the White House grounds today for Earth Day. Individual 1’s incomprehensible statement:
“We’re planting 10 beautiful specimen trees. They’re specimens. All specimens. People may think that’s an exaggeration or that’s a Trump term. Actually, they’re sold as specimens. They cost more money but they are better. I buy a lot of ‘em,”

Trump mocked for planting trees on Earth Day amid his continued failure to...

[Great_Antibob]

So, he (or his staff) actually planted 1 and he said 10?

Specimens, eh? He sounds impressed to have recently learned a word with 3 syllables.

[Skywatcher]

@Rick_Kitchen

Individual 1, Melania, and Mike Pence all ignored social distancing and planted a tree on the White House grounds today for Earth Day. Individual 1’s incomprehensible statement:
“We’re planting 10 beautiful specimen trees. They’re specimens. All specimens. People may think that’s an exaggeration or that’s a Trump term. Actually, they’re sold as specimens. They cost more money but they are better. I buy a lot of ‘em,”
Trump mocked for planting trees on Earth Day amid his continued failure to deal with climate crisis | The Independent | The Independent

Reminds me of John Madden trying to suss out what a cantilever is:

@Skywatcher

“And then kinda out, too, and then…that’s probably because it’s a…a cantilever. This is a cantilever field. And, yaknow, ‘cantilever’ I think means this stuff where we’ve got this overhang. See, I think…I think when you go up and come out like that, that means ‘cantilever’…or that’s what ‘cantliever’ means. And we got a cantilever stadium here and…and then we’re up above in the cantilever…the cantilever’s over our head and we’re up above lookin’ down.” - Madden rambling during a game at the University of Washington.

[dasmoocher]

CNN is now reporting that the guy in charge of COVID-19 vaccines, Richard Bright, has been kicked out of his position due to his opposition to hydroxychloroquine.,

Can’t find a link yet. It was reported yesterday he was gone, but now we know what he thinks is the reason

Trump’s ego wins over science.

[Rick_Kitchen]

Individual 1 tweeted that he has ordered the Navy to “shoot down” Iranian boats. Do they have flying boats?

Donald J. Trump

[Skywatcher]

@Rick_Kitchen

Individual 1 tweeted that he has ordered the Navy to “shoot down” Iranian boats. Do they have flying boats?
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1252932181447630848

You’re about seven hours too late.

[Skywatcher]

@dasmoocher

CNN is now reporting that the guy in charge of COVID-19 vaccines, Richard Bright, has been kicked out of his position due to his opposition to hydroxychloroquine.,

Can’t find a link yet. It was reported yesterday he was gone, but now we know what he thinks is the reason

Trump’s ego wins over science.

ITYM “Trump’s ego wins over everything.”

[jshore]

A doctor says he was removed from his federal post after pressing for rigorous vetting of treatments embraced by Trump. Remember all the Trump apologists who thought we were over-reacting over Sharpie-gate? I wonder what they’re gonna say now.