And this administration’s line is perforated.
(Cue Arrowsmith…)
♫ Flipper’s got a gun (chick-a-wang-wang)…♩
I saw this on MSNBC today. There’s film of this question and answer. Sarah did not say “fuck, no”, she tap danced. It’s off to a sooper-sekrit start. I’m not sure how this would work or if it’s even legal. Can one set up a “private” agency to spy on the government? It sounds questionable, which means I can absolutely believe that Trumpy-whumpy is considering it.
One thought I console myself with is how many agencies The Orange One is angering on a daily basis. I like to imagine they keep the brakes on at some level, even if it’s just leaking all of this shit.
I’m not that clever but you raise a good one. “Adversary” and spelling ain’t my strong suit…
Putin is the advisor; China is the adversary.
It’s usually “free rein” too.
But under the circumstances, the other way actually works pretty well.
[/obsessive pedant]
They will probably dress it up as something like “logistical assistance to the Central Intelligence Agency,” in the form of “background investigations” and “security detail,” though in reality it will be probably used to conduct surveillance on people in the CIA to make sure they’re toeing the line. I would assume that some of what they do will be completely illegal and if the Democrats take over in the House they’ll probably threaten to investigate and de-fund these sorts of activities. But a lot of damage could be done before then.
The government’s use of private contractors has been a worry of mine since day one with this authoritarian administration. I suspect Trump will attempt to do something similar with domestic security and law enforcement agencies. But even if he doesn’t go completely in that direction, let’s not forget Nixon’s tactics of using CIA agents to infiltrate protest groups. Trump’s administration is absolutely going to use private “security” forces to disrupt and intimidate opposition. It’s just a matter of time, and it will get worse the longer he’s in office.
Erik Prince was bad news from the start. This just confirms our worst suspicions.
Blackhawk meets the Office of Special Plans.
Wonderful.
With overtones of the old Soviet Zampolit/Political Officer. (I wonder where they got that idea?)
Did you mean Blackwater?
I suspect he did. But the Blackhawks were a private security team working for US interests. However, they were more inclined to fight against fascists than for them.
Just an odd thing to share: I clicked “random” a few time on Cracked the other day, and this article came up: 5 Ways Donald Trump Perfectly Mirrors Hitler’s Rise To Power. The article was published on October 1, 2015.
The White House has apparently pointedly not invited reporters from gay and black news organizations to the White House Christmas party, for the first time in about twenty years.
“President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday and announced plans to relocate the US Embassy there, a move expected to inflame tensions in the region and unsettle the prospects for peace.”
IMO, this was done for two main reasons:
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Because Obama did not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Everything Trump does is pretty much based on Anti-Obama.
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This will inflame tensions, and may lead to protests, disruptions, and nasty comments about the USA. Trump needs to fan the flames of anti-Americanism, because there were too few “bad Muslims” to point a finger at in the past year. Mass shootings and recent terrorism in the US have been perpetrated by good old white men. It’s hard to gin up some good hatred of Muslims when the headlines are all full of the most recent white guy who has gunned down a few dozen people.
This last reason may be a bit too in-depth for the Cheeto-faced Shitgibbon though. More likely someone else’s idea, but they used #1 to convince the Donald.
Ignorance fought! From these various recent news articles on the subject, I learn that Erik Prince is Betsy DeVos’s kid brother :eek: (Did everybody here know that but me?)
I was happier in my ignorance.
I think the more compelling reason for this Embassy moving to Jerusalem bullshit is that way too much time is being spent in print and TV media about Mueller’s investigation developments and the fact that he is potentially facing sexual harassment charges while supporting a child molester. He created the biggest shit storm he could think of in order to change the subject.
Probably not everyone, but probably most of us here.
I really don’t think this is a clever ploy. He really was planning to do this all along for a multitude of reasons that might make sense to Trump.
It’s just as likely he did this as his way of saying “Fuck you” to Rex Tillerson and the State Department. I mean despite this issue being one that has consumed about as much of the Department’s time and energy than any other over the past 4-5 decades, where was Rex Tillerson to be found?! Who’s doing the behind the scenes work here? Jared - effing - Kushner?!
Excellent point!
The capital recognition / embassy move is Trump’s version of the Reichstag fire. No President, not Trump, not Bush, not anyone, would directly attack Americans for the sake of fanning the flames of bigotry (alluding, as I am to the “9-11 was in inside job” bullshit), but … this is the perfect move for him.
“What? What did I do? I mean I just recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. I mean, why wouldn’t we move the embassy there? It just makes sense? And now all these darned Palestinians, who obviously hate our freedoms, are going crazy for no reason. See, I told you them Mooslems were bad guys.”
It plays right into Fox n Friend’s morning arc.