The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 2)

[Coriolanus]

@Smapti

And he suggests that telling the difference between a lion, giraffe, fish, and hippo is “not easy”.

As I understand the test, you see a page of animals. Then maybe you try and draw a comprehensible clock and proceed with the test. At the end of the test, what animal did you see? I saw a giraffe! When the doctors recover from this intelligence mastery, they look at your clock and say "Clocks are round, have ‘hands’ that point to the minute and hour’. Actually, I don’t think they give your brilliant “grade” even if your clocks look like Salvadore Dali.

@Smapti

Anyone in the White House Press Corps could probably cause a constitutional crisis just like that by asking him “Mr. President, what year is it?”

Way too easy. The thing with the cognitive test is spatial understanding and being able to render something anyone in a normal state can. “It’s 20 to 6” is difficult to do correctly even for pre-dementia/alzheirmers people yet not difficult for 79 year olds. I doubt he would “ace” it.

[Coriolanus]

I dunno. It won’t lead to his removal from office.

Yet perhaps the press might find a way to inquire of him, “It is 7:20” right now. Could you use your left hand to point in the general direction your watch is pointing right now for hours, and with your right hand approximate where the minute hand is pointing.

[smithsb]

Our Cyber Security acting dude fails a polygraph test back in June. Retribution taken against staffers.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/21/cisa-acting-director-madhu-gottumukkala-polygraph-investigation-00701996

[Coriolanus]

Polygraphs suck.

I passed one in the 80s for a cruddy security job - no problem with theft or crime, yet when we got to drug use I was thinking of being on the moon, and walking on it. Completely blanked my mind and flatlined the paper graph.

Worthless.

[Monty]

Wouldn’t you say that it’s either there’s such a thing as a criminal mind or polygraphs are of no use?

That’s what I’ve always thought about that particular “investigative tool”. To my mind, a polygraph won’t work on a criminal mind so the entire endeavor is pointless.

[Smapti]

Polygraphs are pure pseudoscience, IMO.

Fun fact: The inventor of the modern polygraph had a bondage fetish, was involved in a bisexual relationship with his wife and another woman (who continued to live together as a couple for 47 years after his death), and also created Wonder Woman.

William Moulton Marston

[Coriolanus]

I have heard psychopaths (think Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman) can easily fool polygraphs.

They measure pulse, blood pressure and somehow perspiration. Perhaps nowadays they scan your brain.

The results are usually instant. Yet sure, trash a guy’s reputation days or weeks later by saying he failed the omnipotent polygraph. Isn’t Hegseth doing that with the Penataon, though he is likely saying what he expects the outcome to be. “Ms. J, you failed the polygraph. I would like your resignation within the hour else consider yourself terminated at the end of the day”

In my case, I didn’t have a brain-scanner and “out-of-bodied” just enough to say “no” and “yes” as called for. Call it lying or selectively telling the truth. Morally, I felt it none of their business if I’d used Cocaine or LSD, and kept the same frame of out-of-body when Heroin (I swear I’ve not used it!) as relief on telling the truth can alert them to ask about the other things again.

Relax, breath deep and keep your heart rate steady throughout, go out of body - thinking of The Moon worked for me.

ETA: I reckon Trump would pass a polygraph. As I understand it, psychopaths absolutely believe their answers are completely truthful..

[DWMarch]

@Fear_Itself

unusually energized, restless, with rapid speech, visible agitation, dilated pupils, excessive sweating, jaw tension, frequent sniffing, and an intense emotional presentation reflected in rigid posture and exaggerated gestures.”

Judging from my own experiences with prescribed dextroamphetamine, there is a reason why they call it speed and it is all of the above.

@Smapti

Mad King Donald was flying first class on the Adderall Express for his speech the other night. Sounds like the underlings have decided they need to follow his example.

We know for a fact they hand the shit out like candy at the White House Pharmacy. Downers too, which it sounds like Rubio took a pass on.

[Der_Trihs]

@Coriolanus

I have heard psychopaths (think Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman) can easily fool polygraphs.

As I understand it anyone can with a few simple tricks, it’s just a stress detector not really a “lie detector”. My brother recommended putting a pebble in your shoe, as the minor discomfort screws up the baseline stress level the device detects. Don’t know if it “works”, but he did pass, so…

[Monty]

We are truly Through the Looking-Glass now. (The bolding is mine.)

It was a Trump-era international love story: Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl gets detained by ICE.

But the detention of the Lithuania-born Tatjana Vesiolko is an unusual one, even in an era of increasingly strict immigration enforcement. She is entering her 11th month in an immigration lock-up. Al Dallasta, her American fiancé, can’t understand why.

“She’s essentially lost a year of her life for what?” Dallasta said of his partner – a billiards champ, slender with a chestnut bob who friends call “Tia” for short. “She’s falling apart in there.”

The day President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, he signed seven executive orders that set the stage for a surge in immigration enforcement across the country. Vesiolko was among the first to be swept up in the administration’s mass deportation campaign.

The Trump administration is now detaining more immigrants than at any time since World War II. As of Nov. 30, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported a record 65,735 people in immigration detention.

Deportation flights have become more frequent. But the proportion and number of people like Vesiolko, detained longer than six months, is climbing.

Two years ago, according to ICE data, about 1,300 people or 4% of the detained population, had been held for more than 180 days. That number rose to 6,500 people, or 10% of the detained population, in November ‒ Vesiolko among them.

She entered on a visa waiver in 2009 and stayed, without permission. She has no criminal record, holds a valid Lithuanian passport and comes from a country that accepts its nationals. Immigration attorneys say there are no obvious barriers to her removal.

Provided with the details of her case, the Department of Homeland Security sent a statement: “The delay of her removal was because of the illegal alien’s potential inclusion as a member of a class action lawsuit.”

WTELF? She’s being kept in custody because she might sue? It seems to me that’s the exact thing for which she has ground to sue.

The United States desperately needs something like Prime Minister’s Questions. I can readily imagine how this would be handled by the Rip van Simple.

She’s an illegal. And I hear she’s a shark. Shark! Sharks are predators. Nobody knew that before your favorite president, DJT!!!, told you about sharks. Sharks. Predators. Predator. Like COYOTES!!! They’re predaters. Not the best. And she’s from a country that hates DEMOCRACY!

It’s scary how easy it’s becoming to mimic the felon’s writing.

Photos going missing from Epstein files had nothing to do with the felon.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the Justice Department’s decision to remove over a dozen photographs Saturday that had been released as part of the files on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday “has nothing to do with President Trump" and that it came at the request of victim advocacy groups.

Instead, Blanche said, the removed photographs included unredacted pictures of women, and “that photo will go back up” after Justice Department officials investigate whether they need to make further redactions.

Oh, so it’s the victims who don’t want your boss shown for what he is. Norman, coordinate!

Come to think of it, that episode has another exchange which applies to our situation.

• Captain Kirk]: Well, opinions?
• Chekov: I think we’re in a lot of trouble.
• Captain Kirk: That’s a great help, Mr. Chekov. Bones?
• McCoy: I think Chekov’s right, we are in a lot of trouble.
• Captain Kirk: Spock, and if you say we’re in a lot of trouble…
• Spock: We are.

Old McDotard’s a pirate with a hijacking here, a highjacking there, a hijacking everywhere!

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government.

The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on the operation, comes after the U.S. administration announced Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.

The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, deferred questions about the operation to the White House, which did not offer comment on the operation.

So, I guess this is what we get with a Declaration of Vengeance. Oh, that reminds me of something, something these so-called Christians–the Christian Nationalists, the Evangelicals, and the other Holy Roller types supporting the felon, should know: Romans 12 (The bolding is mine):

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Not that that crew cares even an iota about the New Testament.

Why bother having professionals doing diplomacy?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities.

The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according to two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel moves.

All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration but had survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump’s second term that targeted mainly political appointees. That changed on Wednesday when they began to receive notices from officials in Washington about their imminent departures.

Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president although they typically remain at their posts for three to four years. Those affected by the shake-up are not losing their foreign service jobs but will be returning to Washington for other assignments should they wish to take them, the officials said.

I’m wondering which countries he’s yanking them from. The skeptic in me thinks those he deems “supportive” will be posted to countries where he and/or his family have financial dealings. Strike that. It’s not the skeptic in me. It’s the all of me.

Stumbler-in-Chief sloooooowly navigates the steps from Air Force One.

Donald Trump has fueled new speculation about his health after an awkward descent on Air Force One’s stairs.

A video of the 79-year-old president exiting the plane at Palm Beach International Airport on Saturday morning, posted by MAGA influencer Paul Villarreal, has drawn attention online for Trump’s odd hand movement and slow, careful descent.

In the video, Trump appears at the aircraft door and slaps his right leg three times with his right hand before heading down the stairs. He cautiously navigates the steps while gripping tightly onto the railing, taking about 18 seconds to reach the bottom of the short staircase.

And to top it all off, this completely deranged take on writing ability.

Dishonest Don thinks his blatherings are of the quality of Honest Abe’s oration.

What is the 21st century equivalent of Abraham Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address? President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, according to President Trump.

The president made the bold and self-flattering claim while giving a White House tour to Fox News star Jesse Watters during his first term, Watters said on Saturday. Watters shared the story while giving a speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.

“We go up there, and there’s the Gettysburg Address, and it’s encased in glass,” Watters remembered. “And he’s standing next to it and he says, ‘You know, Jesse, some people say my Twitter account is the modern-day equivalent of the Gettysburg Address.”

All he has to do now is publish some bad Science Fiction and he’ll be today’s L. Ron Hubbard.

[Darren_Garrison]

@Coriolanus

As I understand the test, you see a page of animals. Then maybe you try and draw a comprehensible clock and proceed with the test.

Analysis: The cognitive test that Trump took means more than you think

[Coriolanus]

There was the Man-woman-TV (whatever - I’m not supposed to recall his dementia) and in this one he identified a Lion. Biden would have gone Rhino. You’re supposed to name all three animals you moron!

I just know he’d fail the clock drawing bit. I’ve seen the results of people with dementia or alzheimers and it’s sad to see how warped and misremembered the drawing is. Yet as I said, it seems like the 3rd time in a week he’s not only touted his most perfect score that amazes the doctors as nobody has ever achieve a perfect score - and you are indeed supposed to get 30/30 - yet taken a needless shot at Biden.

Does he bring this up to “prove” his perfect intellect after spending ten minutes on snakes or his wife’s panties?

I want to see just a whiteboard version of the clock test. He will fail it miserably. At least maybe he’d shut up about how his doctors think he has a 2000 IQ.

[Monty]

What torques me more than his blathering about “acing” those cognitive tests is the so-called professional and qualified doctors aren’t saying anything about his nonsense. They’re letting the misinformation roll on.

[CalMeacham]

@Smapti

The inventor of the modern polygraph had a bondage fetish, was involved in a bisexual relationship with his wife and another woman (who continued to live together as a couple for 47 years after his death), and also created Wonder Woman.

Which is why Wonder Woman has that truth-telling lasso.

Marston was surely aware of the limitation of the polygraph. If you read William Poundstone’s book Big Secrets, or anything about the use of polygraphs, it gives you insight into psychology, or at least that of Marston. He was convinced that most people were liars, at least under certain conditions, and used the questions he felt sure people were lying about to calibrate his device. But distracting yourself during questioning, and doubting the machine’s infallibility would let you get around the device. I suspect it’s a lot less effective in these jaded times.

[Gyrate]

@CalMeacham

Which is why Wonder Woman has that truth-telling lasso.

And also why a lot of the early WW comics involve her getting tied up a lot.

[CalMeacham]

@Gyrate

And also why a lot of the early WW comics involve her getting tied up a lot.

After WWII, as well. I think WW got tied up at a statistically greater rate than male superheroes.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

Whew, the things you learn.

[BlankSlate]

There were a lot of evil captors running around back then.

[kaylasdad99]

That’s what you get when a woke DEI Congress passes a HIPAA law.

ETA: /s (partly. The HIPAA does prevent his doctors from revealing his actual results)

[Just_Asking_Questions]

@Coriolanus

There was the Man-woman-TV (whatever - I’m not supposed to recall his dementia)

Well, I guess then you’re not as cognitively robust as the Greatest president EVER! He got them all! Aced it! Just ask him - he’ll tell you!