As bad as AIs are as sources of information in general, they’re even worse for something like this. The only way an AI could say that is if they’re either basing it on something Trump said, in which case the cite should be to what Trump said, not to Alexa… Or the AI just made it up out of whole cloth. This isn’t something where the information is just kind of nebulously floating around out there-- If the information exists at all, it can only have one possible source.
That’s why I don’t read AI cites, either is something outsourced from somewhere (in which case I’ll want the original source to evaluate it, or is something the AI hallucinated.
According to the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me this morning, it’s the job you get when you don’t know enough about how to run DHS, but still know too much about the Epstein files.
I mean, AI might actually be a good source to ask, for instance, about the meaning of some new slang. That’s information that doesn’t have one singular definitive source, and which exists in a complex gestalt of a great many different information sources. Extracting information from a complex gestalt of many sources is what AIs are good at.
But not here.
except now they need a Shield from us, since Trump is talking about invading their countries “pursuing drug dealers” (sic)
Money may not be a direct motivation for el donald. He’s sicker than that. It just bruises his ego to see someone with more than him.
She had a bit to do today.
This is from Costa Rica media:
Trump Brings Latin American Conservative Leaders to Florida Summit
From USA Today:
Noem debuts as Trump envoy at Latin American leader summit after DHS ouster
So, it looks like the Envoy hangs out with Trumpy Latin American leaders and tries to make them feel appreciated when DJT doesn’t have time for them. Rubio also does that, but maybe he’ll offload a bit of the hand-holding to her.
Aside from showing up at today’s meeting, it probably is unclear what her job entails. It’s the old a-job-is-what-you-make-it. If she can do this in a way that pleases Trump and doesn’t make an enemy of Rubio, maybe she’ll be back in the cabinet at some point. I can see her at interior or agriculture if one of those secretaries flame out or quit.
Noem sort of explains here what she is planning:
Most of it is vague, but this is specific:
I suppose she means her government cell phone, not her personal phone; a reporter should look into this.
Will they (as in, Latin America’s strongmen and caudillos) actually call her? Probably not often, but maybe they will if they can’t get through to Trump or Rubio quick enough.
Why? She’s been sidelined and is out of the loop. What useful info could she possibly give them about anything? It sounds like a desperate effort to stay relevant.
Rubio’s phone number?
Yes it does.
The job sounds duplicative of that of the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. But web search indicates that Trump hasn’t appointed anyone to go through the senate confirmation process for that job.
Even before Trump 47, the State Department was understaffed (argued here). So in theory there is needed work not being done that she could find. I doubt she will.
I would not be so sure this is a make-work job.
Building a shadow government bureaucracy that operates outside the official wiring diagram and outside the legal requirements of that diagram is exactly the sort of thing constitutional dictatorships do. Think of the parallel party and government bureaucracy structures of the Soviet Union or current China.
Yes, Noem is in idiot. But so is everybody around trump.
She has demonstrated that she’s totally OK with what ICE has been up to. Her being in the role of expanding ICE-like behavior all over the Americas with us having divisions of DEA or ICE folks just slaughtering “drug dealers” or “terrorists” all over the Americas would be exactly on-brand for trump and for Noem.
So, are we to believe Trump has once again installed a functionary, illegally, in contravention of congressional oversight and confirmation? That is completely beholden only to him personally? Cuz that’s what it’s increasingly sounding like.
Agreed 100%. And I’m going to quote myself here from earlier in the thread.
I know this is all completely speculation as we don’t know what the hell Noem is actually going to end up doing/accomplishing as “The Envoy to the Shield of What the Hell Ever” isn’t actually a recognized federal position. But that might be the actual point. Musk and DOGE had zero official power outside of a made up appointment by Trump but Musk snapped his fingers and it led to the destruction of USAID, and god knows what else Musk did behind the scenes.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but this has Stephen Miller’s fingerprints all over it. It’s tempting to laugh at Noem because, yes, she’s an idiot, but to take anything this regime does lightly is a mistake I think. Trump, and maybe more importantly who ever is whispering in his ear, has just created, out of whole cloth, an ambassadorial type position with a remit over the entire Western Hemisphere. What happens next? I don’t know. But I don’t think it’s “nothing.”
I see two possibilities, not mutually exclusive, for the “Shield of the Americas”:
Just as the “Board of peace” is meant as a fascist replacement for the UN Security Council, the “Shield of the Americas” will be a fascist replacement for NATO. Basically it will be in charge of enforcing the Donroe doctrine.
Also, through military means, the “Shield of the Americas” could enforce selective taxation / protection racket / embargo for sea-based trade around the Americas. Say, Canada trading with Europe or with Asian countries. Or Greenland (inside the shield) trading with Denmark (outside the shield).
'Zactly. This is not a laughing matter.
Or the OAS.
The appointments clause in the U.S. constitution says he “shall” nominate people to positions required by law to be confirmed by the Senate.
To me, the fact that Trump has only nominated half the people he is supposed to nominate, instead having unconfirmed acting leaders, is unconstitutional. But SCOTUS would probably say that the appointments clause isn’t self-executing.
As to whether Noem’s new job requires congressional authorization, beats me. It may depend on the pay grade. Is her new job in the Senior Executive Service?
I can’t vouch for the source, but it appears that part of the envoy’s job is to socialize with neo-fascists:
It appears to be a forum for discussing security matters on Latin America, led by the US.