The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues

[jsc1953]

@Coriolanus

The reason is tear-gas. If it doesn’t get in your eyes and you do not breathe it in, it’s a major waste of government tear-gas.

Oh, I’m sure that law enforcement has good reasons for not wanting protesters to wear masks. But Trump issuing a pronouncement on his favorite platform doesn’t make it happen.

[Dr.Winston_OBoogie]

@Monty

Elon Musk was exaggerating the achievements of the Department of Government Efficiency,

I am shocked. Shocked.

@Monty

An international neo-Nazi terrorist organization is boldly continuing to build in the US and planning a new paramilitary training event without fear of local authorities or the FBI,

I am shocked. Shocked.

@Monty

A former senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation, said he was struck by the large amount of resources the DOJ put into investigating Abrego Garcia.

“They came hard at a relatively low level guy, which does not necessarily make it improper — just odd. Perhaps they wanted the last word, which seems childish,” said the former official. “Typically, you work up the chain, not down it. That said, at least he gets his due process rights this time around.”

(bolding mine) I think he’s hit the nail on the head. They f-ed up; they know they f-ed up; now they’re doing everything possible to find some imaginary link between Garcia and MS13.

[smithsb]

They should just show the tatoos on his fingers. Diaper Don said it was conclusive, he had a picture.

/s Donnie’s already forgotten about his great reveal.

[Horatius]

@Dr.Winston_OBoogie

They f-ed up; they know they f-ed up; now they’re doing everything possible to find some imaginary link between Garcia and MS13.

I can’t wait to see this in court. There’s no way they found enough evidence in the last few weeks to support the kind of massive charges they’re laying on this guy. And if they had even a fraction of that evidence, they’d be crowing about it all over Fox News.

This is going to make the “Stolen Election” trials look like nothing.

[dasmoocher]

@Monty

[quoting article]
To fix this, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has put out calls to the Middle East to bankroll a renovation or two—which could include rehabbing its VIP suites and even building a marina next to the venue so the nautical elite can pull up and enjoy the center’s programming from the water.

I’m not sure the yachts of the “nautical elite” can reach the Kennedy Center to dock. The bridges across the Potomac in DC aren’t known for their high clearances. This link shows a river cruise ship that is specifically low enough to get upriver to the Center. It’s main pic shows the boat and how low the Arlington Memorial Bridge is by the Lincoln Memorial, which is downriver of the Kennedy Center:

Odyssey DC

Odyssey DC is a one-level climate-controlled glass-enclosed vessel - elegantly sailing North under the low bridges of Washington DC for up close views of the monuments.

Another stable genius plan by Trump.

[ThelmaLou]

@dasmoocher

The bridges across the Potomac in DC aren’t known for their high clearances.

He can probably get one of those big ol’ beat-up barges for a song and just spray-paint the whole thing gold, amirite? Add some lounge chairs and a few potted palms. People will love it just for the chance to be near him.

Like this:

AI-generated

[Atamasama]

@ThelmaLou

AI-generated

The flag-bearer with a mangled hand and legs ending at the knees suggest it.

[OttoDaFe]

Then this would probably appeal to him.

[Coriolanus]

@jsc1953

But Trump issuing a pronouncement on his favorite platform doesn’t make it happen.

Maybe he’s testing the limits there too. If it sticks to the wall, it’s law. If not, he never said it.

[dougrb]

This didn’t age well, from 2020. (1 min)

Look… we have laws. We have to go by the laws. I can’t move in the National Guard.

https://youtu.be/3jnx-PhiJq0?t=159

[ThelmaLou]

@Atamasama

The flag-bearer with a mangled hand and legs ending at the knees suggest it.

Hey, don’t mock the disabled.

---

@OttoDaFe

Then this would probably appeal to him.

Hehe. Definitely.

[Atamasama]

@ThelmaLou

Hey, don’t mock the disabled.

I see the person as a victim of AI run amok.

[enipla]

@ThelmaLou

Hey, don’t mock the disabled.

I thought it was Musk, but it works both ways.

[Coriolanus]

I dunno where the “rule” or “tradition” that it’s somehow tantamount for Americans to treason to say bad things about America. I dunno if the “Dixie Chicks” recovered their musical careers. And that was when things were only a little bit fucked up. Yet the old, untalented guy who routtinely plays 3+ hour shows said, in non-American Manchester before performing “My City of Ruins”:

Now, there's some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now.

In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.

In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.

In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers, they’re rolling back historic Civil Rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society, they’re abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.

They’re defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They’re removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.

A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.

They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American. The America that I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people.

So we’ll survive this moment.

Now, I have hope because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, in this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like. But there’s enough.

Let’s pray.

Bruce is somewhat optimistic.

I like how ol’ Neil Young both backed Bruce and said somewhere, to Trump, “I am not scared of you”, Trump will post on his social thingie that Neil Young has lost his citizenship. And when he does, I’m turning in my unused Blue Passport to the useless London Embassy.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

@smithsb

They should just show the tatoos on his fingers. Diaper Don said it was conclusive, he had a picture.

He probably got forcibly tattooed with that in El Salvador before they sent him back.

[crowmanyclouds]

That those new tattoos in no way resemble the tattoos ‘’‘in the photo’‘’ is yet another example of fake news.

[Monty]

Military dot com has the stories of the namesakes of the ships Pickled Pete wants to rename.

I’m just going to list the names and the person’s importance.

Harvey Milk ~ Gay rights icon and activist (he was an activist for many others besides Gays)

Lucy Stone ~ Abolitionist and suffragist

Dolores Huerta ~ One of the founders of the National Farm Workers Association (now United Farm Workers)

Thurgood Marshall ~ First Black associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States

Ruth Bader Ginsburg ~ First Jewish woman on the Supreme Court of the United States

Harriet Tubman ~ Union spy, scout, and nurse during the Civil War

Cesar Chavez ~ Another founder of UFW

Medgar Evers ~ Civil Rights activist

All of these vessels are USNS, not USS. I don’t know how significant that is.

How does the administration adore the military? Certainly not enough to take care of their living quarters.

One of the Army’s largest installations has disbanded its teams responsible for routine and preventative maintenance of soldier housing, according to a service spokesperson, a move that comes amid a federal hiring freeze and deep cuts to the government workforce.

Fort Cavazos, Texas, home to the 1st Cavalry Division and 3rd Cavalry Regiment, phased out its “dedicated barracks sustainment team.” The decision leaves no staff to perform routine or preventative maintenance on troops’ living quarters.

“The Fort Cavazos senior commander directed that the dedicated barracks sustainment team be phased out,” Chris Haug, a base spokesperson, said in a statement. “Maintenance for soldier barracks remains a top priority, and urgent and life, health and safety work orders will continue to be addressed.”

In practice, the move means non-emergency plumbing, electrical work and other upkeep may have to be ignored, as the sparse staff on the base will have to triage only emergency work.

Relax. All is well! The Marines are coming. And don’t worry about them going Rambo on civilians. They’ve got a little card (maybe)! (The bolding is mine.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.

U.S. Northern Command said it is sending 700 Marines into the Los Angeles area to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are coming from Twentynine Palms, California, and will augment about 4,100 National Guard members already in LA or authorized to be deployed there to respond to the protests.

The forces have been trained in deescalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, Northern Command said.

But the use of the active duty forces still raises difficult questions.

The Marines are highly trained in combat and crisis response, with time in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan. But that is starkly different from the role they will face now: They could potentially be hit by protesters carrying gas canisters and have to quickly decide how to respond or face decisions about protecting an immigration enforcement agent from crowds.

According to a U.S. official, troops will be armed with their normal service weapons but will not be carrying tear gas. They also will have protective equipment such as helmets, shields and gas masks.

When troops are overseas, how they can respond to threats is outlined by the rules of engagement. At home, they are guided by standing rules for the use of force, which have to be set and agreed to by Northern Command, and then each Marine should receive a card explaining what they can and cannot do, another U.S. official said.

The flag fucker wants more flags to fuck, but of course he’s installing an “I love me” wall, too.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House broke ground Monday on construction projects ordered by President Donald Trump to pave over the grass in the Rose Garden and install flagpoles on the north and south lawns. The projects are part of a series of personal touches that Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, has added or is adding to the Executive Mansion and its grounds since he opened his second term in January. The projects also include new artwork of himself on walls and gold-toned flourishes in the Oval Office. He also wants to add a ballroom.

The CDC’s independennt vaccine panel is gone.

The 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee are being removed from their posts, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday afternoon.

Kennedy announced the change in an editorial in The Wall Street Journal, claiming that the “committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

Such a claim is “deeply insulting to the many scientists who contribute countless hours to the process,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We are, in fact, a model for the rest of the world.”

“This is manufactured chaos,” O’Leary said.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known more commonly as ACIP, consists of medical and public health experts — including pediatricians, epidemiologists and geriatricians — who make recommendations to the CDC about who should get certain vaccines, including the schedule for childhood vaccinations. Several times a year the committee holds public meetings where data is presented and reviewed.

The committee reports the data to the CDC director, who then reviews the recommendations and can choose whether to adopt them. The CDC director isn’t required to do so, but usually goes along with the ACIP recommendations.

You might think the administration is politicizing the health of Americans. In that case, you would be mistaken. They’re politicizing, leveraging, and causing the deaths of Americans.

So much more winning! (The bolding is mine.)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders in grant funding requirements that LGBTQ+ organizations say are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar said Monday that the federal government cannot force recipients to halt programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or acknowledge the existence of transgender people in order to receive grant funding. The order will remain in effect while the legal case continues, although government lawyers will likely appeal.

The funding provisions “reflect an effort to censor constitutionally protected speech and services promoting DEI and recognizing the existence of transgender individuals,” Tigar wrote.

He went on to say that the executive branch must still be bound by the Constitution in shaping its agenda and that even in the context of federal subsidies, “it cannot weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds to single out protected communities for disfavored treatment or suppress ideas that it does not like or has deemed dangerous.”

Dr. Phil is embedded in the ICE raids in California (The bolding is mine.)

As federal agents prepared to fan out in Los Angeles for a controversial immigration crackdown, the officers were greeted by a familiar face: Dr. Phil McGraw.

The television personality and his camera crew were on hand before and after the raids that took place on Friday and triggered several days of street protests.

McGraw was there “to get a first-hand look at the targeted operations,” according to his conservative TV channel, MeritTV.

McGraw also had “exclusive” access to Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, a spokesperson for the channel said. The two men sat down for taped conversations about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts both “the day before and day after the LA operation.”

The TV personality and Homan were also together at the Homeland Security Investigations field office in L.A. on the morning the raids began.

McGraw’s presence on the ground in L.A. reinforces the made-for-TV nature of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The inciter-in-chief thinks he’s clever.

President Donald Trump drew accusations of inciting violence after he recited a rhyme to reporters on Sunday.

Trump claimed that people who are protesting the federal immigration raids that are being carried out by his administration are now spitting on agents.

Spitting “and worse” is “their new thing,” the president claimed, offering no evidence to back up the assertion.

Then he said, “They spit; we hit.”

You better stock up on some good earplugs.

While the country was utterly enthralled by the public breakup of Donald Trump and Elon Musk playing out on social media, the President signed an executive order last Friday lifting the ban on commercial overland supersonic flights. The ban was imposed in 1973 to protect the public from window-shattering, ear-splitting sonic booms and the domestic aircraft manufacturers from Concorde. Coincidentally, a new American-built supersonic airliner is on the horizon with orders already placed by United Airlines and American Airlines.

The order lifting the ban gives the Federal Aviation Administration 180 days to establish an interim noise-based certification. The agency has an 18-month timeline to set up a permanent standard for “acceptable noise thresholds for takeoff, landing, and en-route supersonic operation.” The end of the process would be the FAA issuing its final rules on the matter within the next 24 months. The executive order states:

“By updating obsolete standards and embracing the technologies of today and tomorrow, we will empower our engineers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries to deliver the next generation of air travel, which will be faster, quieter, safer, and more efficient than ever before.”

I’m wondering how one sonic boom can be quieter than another.

Finally, let’s not forget what the multiple felon-in-chief ahas said about protesters.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in many interviews while promoting his book in 2022 that, during a White House meeting to discuss the protests, Trump turned to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and asked: “Can’t you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?”

[Monty]

@crowmanyclouds

That those new tattoos in no way resemble the tattoos ‘’‘in the photo’‘’ is yet another example of fake news.

As is the accusation that Garcia was involved in the deaths of fifty people in Mexico. If that were true, why hasn’t Mexico pushed to have him extradited so they can try him for that crime?

[Coriolanus]

@Monty

All of these vessels are USNS, not USS. I don’t know how significant that is.

Nor do I. Yet who is he asking? Why not anger Neptune and immediately order all these ships repainted with proper new names already? From him down to enlisted/seabee (I forget what those classes are E-5?) there are no butts! I mean buts!

I did his job for him:

please rename these offensive us navy ships and let me know why?

1. USS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206)
   Why someone might object: Harvey Milk was a prominent gay rights activist. Critics who oppose LGBTQ+ advocacy or disagree with its prominence in military symbolism might object to this name.
   Proposed neutral name: USS San Francisco – referencing Milk’s city of influence but with a broader, less politicized identity.

2. USS Lucy Stone
   Why someone might object: Lucy Stone was a suffragist and abolitionist. Some critics argue against naming ships after activists, believing it politicizes the military.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Equality – a conceptual ideal that honors her legacy without tying to a specific person.

3. USS Theodore Roosevelt
   Why someone might object: While Roosevelt is broadly admired, some object due to his imperialist policies and views on race.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Rough Rider – still honors Roosevelt’s military legacy but avoids the full personal name.

4. USS Dolores Huerta
   Why someone might object: Huerta is a labor leader and activist aligned with progressive politics. Critics from more conservative or anti-union perspectives may object.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Liberty Fields – nods to agricultural labor movements without invoking modern political divides.

5. USS Thurgood Marshall
   Why someone might object: As the first Black Supreme Court Justice and a civil rights icon, Marshall is sometimes targeted by critics who view civil rights advancements as politicized.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Justice – honors the concept he stood for, without naming a specific figure.

6. USS Ruth Bader Ginsburg
   Why someone might object: Ginsburg was a feminist icon and liberal Supreme Court Justice. Critics from opposing ideologies may object to honoring her via a warship.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Constitutionality – thematic tribute to legal legacy and justice.

7. USS Harriet Tubman
   Why someone might object: While Tubman is a national hero to most, some extreme revisionist views or racial reactionaries might see the choice as overly symbolic or ideological.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Freedom – preserves her meaning while using a universally celebrated ideal.

8. USS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14)
   Why someone might object: Chavez was a labor and civil rights leader with controversial views on immigration at times, and strong union affiliations. Critics might view the name as politically charged.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Unity – honoring worker solidarity in an abstract sense.

9. USS Medgar Evers
   Why someone might object: Civil rights activist murdered for his efforts. Some may oppose naming warships after domestic activists rather than military figures.
   Proposed neutral name: USS Resolve – reflects his moral courage without invoking direct political memory.

9 buckets of white paint and brushes made available. Make it so sailor!

(Oh - threw in Teddy Roosevelt as a test plant. USS Rough Rider does sound rather cool - yet vaguely gay)

[Monty]

Why can’t he do what he did with the bases? Rename the Harvey Milk after a different Harvey Milk? And the same with the others.