Robert Reich is 10 feet tall.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
What He Promised
Don't get sucked into an argument with this bullshit: "He's doing what he promised to do".
Robert Reich is 10 feet tall.
Robert Reich is 10 feet tall.
Bad Optics
No, the title of this post doesn't refer to what the asshole ammosexual said as he was gearing up to kill Jews in Pittsburgh last Saturday.
I'm talking about the bad optics of having to wonder "Which of the myriad scandals, by which cabinet member?"
The combinations and permutations are practically infinite.
MSNBC:
(BTW, I think the lede oughta begin with: "It's kinda hard to believe it's not every day, but...")
It’s not every day that a federal cabinet secretary is referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, though as the Washington Post reported, that’s precisely what happened yesterday to one of Donald Trump’s most controversial cabinet members.
I'm talking about the bad optics of having to wonder "Which of the myriad scandals, by which cabinet member?"
The combinations and permutations are practically infinite.
MSNBC:
(BTW, I think the lede oughta begin with: "It's kinda hard to believe it's not every day, but...")
It’s not every day that a federal cabinet secretary is referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, though as the Washington Post reported, that’s precisely what happened yesterday to one of Donald Trump’s most controversial cabinet members.
The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General has referred one of its probes into the conduct of Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department for further investigation, according to two individuals familiar with the matter.
Deputy Inspector General Mary L. Kendall, who is serving as acting inspector general, is conducting at least three probes that involve Zinke. These include his involvement in a Montana land deal and the decision not to grant two tribes approval to operate a casino in Connecticut. The individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly, did not specify which inquiry had been referred to the Justice Department.
It’s probably premature to say that Zinke is now under criminal investigation, but the agency’s inspector general has apparently determined that the cabinet secretary may have committed criminal acts. An IG isn’t empowered to do criminal investigations, which is why the matter has been sent to Justice.
The article added that a senior White House official said the investigation is apparently looking into whether the secretary “used his office to help himself.”
If we ever get around to pursuing even a representative sample of the shit being perpetrated by Cult45, DoJ will be busy with it for decades.
Vox Finally Gets It
Tengrain over at Mock Paper Scissors said it: "Vox owes Driftglass a drink".
There's too much money in politics and too much CO2 in the air.
Concentrate on those two issues, and the world starts to get better.
One of the greatest achievements in political propaganda is illustrated by the willingness of Americans to shrug and say "Oh well - they're both fucked up - it's an evil duopoly - why bother..."
Concentrate on those two issues, and the world starts to get better.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
What We're Paying For
A typical work day for a US president is 10 or 12 hours, which means he makes about $125 per hour, and he earns every penny.
45* puts in about 3 hours a day, which means he's pulling down close to $500 per hour.
The guy might as well be Calvin Coolidge for all the time he doesn't spend doing the job he was hired to do.
Bess Levin, Vanity Fair:
Back in January, Axios obtained an inside look at Donald Trump’s schedule, revealing that the president of the United States was doing far less work than in the early days of his term, and demanding large blocks of “Executive Time,” a euphemism created by Chief of Staff John Kelly so that White House aides didn’t have to write dick around on Twitter and shout at the TV on official documents. Now, nine months later, Politico has revisited Trump’s schedule, and it turns out that the most powerful person in the world is somehow doing even less work every day than he was earlier this year. Moreover, when Trump does deign to do his job, it’s mostly in the form of signing ceremonies and shouting at aides to craft policy around something he saw on Fox & Friends.
Last Tuesday’s schedule, for instance, reportedly included a whopping nine hours of “Executive Time,” or triple the time that was allotted for actual work. Trump’s first commitment of the day came at 1 P.M., and while he had a 30-minute call with C.E.O.s here and a quick briefing and dinner with senior military leaders there, the rest of the day consisted of doing whatever the hell he wanted, sometimes for stretches as long as two hours and 45 minutes. (What he wanted, apparently, was to trash Puerto Rico’s elected officials and tweet clips of himself fear-mongering about immigrants.) And while Tuesday included more free time than any other day that week, it was in no way an outlier:
45* puts in about 3 hours a day, which means he's pulling down close to $500 per hour.
The guy might as well be Calvin Coolidge for all the time he doesn't spend doing the job he was hired to do.
Bess Levin, Vanity Fair:
Back in January, Axios obtained an inside look at Donald Trump’s schedule, revealing that the president of the United States was doing far less work than in the early days of his term, and demanding large blocks of “Executive Time,” a euphemism created by Chief of Staff John Kelly so that White House aides didn’t have to write dick around on Twitter and shout at the TV on official documents. Now, nine months later, Politico has revisited Trump’s schedule, and it turns out that the most powerful person in the world is somehow doing even less work every day than he was earlier this year. Moreover, when Trump does deign to do his job, it’s mostly in the form of signing ceremonies and shouting at aides to craft policy around something he saw on Fox & Friends.
Last Tuesday’s schedule, for instance, reportedly included a whopping nine hours of “Executive Time,” or triple the time that was allotted for actual work. Trump’s first commitment of the day came at 1 P.M., and while he had a 30-minute call with C.E.O.s here and a quick briefing and dinner with senior military leaders there, the rest of the day consisted of doing whatever the hell he wanted, sometimes for stretches as long as two hours and 45 minutes. (What he wanted, apparently, was to trash Puerto Rico’s elected officials and tweet clips of himself fear-mongering about immigrants.) And while Tuesday included more free time than any other day that week, it was in no way an outlier:
A bulk of the president’s time last week was spent traveling to and from political rallies and campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates ahead of next Tuesday’s midterm elections. On Wednesday, which began with an 11:30 A.M. meeting with John Kelly, Trump delivered brief remarks on the opioid crisis and sat for a media interview before departing for an evening rally in Wisconsin. The rest of his day, according to his schedule, was open.
Last week’s schedules are remarkably light on policy discussions. The president spent a little more than two hours of his week in policy briefings, according to the schedules, and he was scheduled to receive the President’s Daily Brief on just two of the five days reviewed.
What's Wrong With Congress
Ryan Costello (R-PA06) went on All In last night and couldn't manage to say much of anything except that it all makes him sad.
MSNBC - Pressure building to expel Steve King
(MSNBC sucks green weenies when it comes to embedding their video)
BTW - I'm not interested in bashing the Dem for "soft-peddling" on this. Boyle made his point even though I'd like to hear it made in much sharper terms.
Here's the thing, Mr Costello - you have to put your money where your mouth is. You have to stand up in public, and in Congress, and tell King straight out: "I won't be voting with you on anything. I won't support or endorse or co-sponsor anything you propose. Ever. And Mr Speaker, until you do something about Mr King, I won't be voting with the Republican caucus on much of anything either."
Stop blaming his asshole constituents for a problem they refuse to solve when you refuse even to help them identify the problem as a problem.
You're a leader - so fucking lead already.
MSNBC - Pressure building to expel Steve King
(MSNBC sucks green weenies when it comes to embedding their video)
BTW - I'm not interested in bashing the Dem for "soft-peddling" on this. Boyle made his point even though I'd like to hear it made in much sharper terms.
Costello (and Repubs in general) refuse to confront the problem. They speak in neutral terms - like Costello saying it's up to the people to vote Steve King out. He says the voters need to send King the message that they're not with him.
Here's the thing, Mr Costello - you have to put your money where your mouth is. You have to stand up in public, and in Congress, and tell King straight out: "I won't be voting with you on anything. I won't support or endorse or co-sponsor anything you propose. Ever. And Mr Speaker, until you do something about Mr King, I won't be voting with the Republican caucus on much of anything either."
Stop blaming his asshole constituents for a problem they refuse to solve when you refuse even to help them identify the problem as a problem.
You're a leader - so fucking lead already.
Robin DiAngelis - On White Supremacy and why being nice isn't going to end racism:
Monday, October 29, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
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