More on Trump

[libby]

I'd like to know what our resident Trumpateers think about the Flynn situation.

Very scary because he's a former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and could have already done irreparable harm. Who knows how much Trump knows about what has been going on... 

... and speaking of, I watched Rachel Maddow tonight, and Flynn was the subject. She interviewed two men who were part of the Hillary Clinton campaign; they apparently began tracking Flynn some time after the news of Russian hacking surfaced. 

[libby]

Does anyone besides me find this concerning?



EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR REORGANIZING THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Purpose.  This order is intended to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the executive branch by directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) to propose a plan to reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies (as defined in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code), components of agencies, and agency programs.

Sec. 2.  Proposed Plan to Improve the Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Accountability of Federal Agencies, Including, as Appropriate, to Eliminate or Reorganize Unnecessary or Redundant Federal Agencies.  (a)  Within 180 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall submit to the Director a proposed plan to reorganize the agency, if appropriate, in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of that agency.

(b)  The Director shall publish a notice in the Federal Register inviting the public to suggest improvements in the organization and functioning of the executive branch and shall consider the suggestions when formulating the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section.

(c)  Within 180 days after the closing date for the submission of suggestions pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the Director shall submit to the President a proposed plan to reorganize the executive branch in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of agencies.  The proposed plan shall include, as appropriate, recommendations to eliminate unnecessary agencies, components of agencies, and agency programs, and to merge functions.  The proposed plan shall include recommendations for any legislation or administrative measures necessary to achieve the proposed reorganization.

(d)  In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consider, in addition to any other relevant factors:

(i)    whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are appropriate for the Federal Government or would be better left to State or local governments or to the private sector through free enterprise;

(ii)   whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are redundant, including with those of another agency, component, or program;

(iii)  whether certain administrative capabilities necessary for operating an agency, a component, or a program are redundant with those of another agency, component, or program;

(iv)   whether the costs of continuing to operate an agency, a component, or a program are justified by the public benefits it provides; and

(v)    the costs of shutting down or merging agencies, components, or programs, including the costs of addressing the equities of affected agency staff.

(e) In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consult with the head of each agency and, consistent with applicable law, with persons or entities outside the Federal Government with relevant expertise in organizational structure and management. 

Sec. 3.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    March 13, 2017.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/13/presidential-executive-order-comprehensive-plan-reorganizing-executive

YES!  I do.

[libby]

  Very scary because he's a former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and could have already done irreparable harm. Who knows how much Trump knows about what has been going on... 

... and speaking of, I watched Rachel Maddow tonight, and Flynn was the subject. She also interviewed two men who were part of the Hillary Clinton campaign; they apparently began tracking Flynn some time after the news of Russian hacking surfaced.

The two former Clinton campaigners were Robby Nook and Russ Gucifer. 
 

[Exterminator]

By Rosa Figueroa:

1. He called Hillary Clinton a crook.
You bought it.
Then he paid $25 million to settle a fraud lawsuit.

2. He said he'd release his tax returns, eventually.
You bought it.
He hasn't, and says he never will.

3. He said he'd divest himself from his financial empire, to avoid any conflicts of interest.
You bought it.
He is still heavily involved in his businesses, manipulates the stock market on a daily basis, and has more conflicts of interest than can even be counted.

4. He said Clinton was in the pockets of Goldman Sachs, and would do whatever they said.
You bought it.
He then proceeded to put half a dozen Goldman Sachs executives in positions of power in his administration.

5. He said he'd surround himself with all the best and smartest people.
You bought it.
He nominated theocratic loon Mike Pence for Vice President. A white supremacist named Steve Bannon is his most trusted confidant. Dr. Ben Carson, the world's greatest idiot savant brain surgeon, is in charge of HUD. Russian quisling Rex Tillerson is Secretary of State.

6. He said he'd be his own man, beholden to no one.
You bought it.
He then appointed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, whose only "qualifications" were the massive amounts of cash she donated to his campaign.

7. He said he would "drain the swamp" of Washington insiders.
You bought it.
He then admitted that was just a corny slogan he said to fire up the rubes during the rallies, and that he didn't mean it.

8. He said he knew more about strategy and terrorism than the Generals did.
You bought it.
He promptly gave the green light to a disastrous raid in Yemen- even though all his Generals said it would be a terrible idea. This raid resulted in the deaths of a Navy SEAL, an 8-year old American girl, and numerous civilians. The actual target of the raid escaped, and no useful intel was gained.

9. He said Hillary Clinton couldn't be counted on in times of crisis.
You bought it.
He didn't even bother overseeing that raid in Yemen; and instead spent the time hate-tweeting the New York Times, and sleeping.

10. He called CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times "fake news" and said they were his enemy.
You bought it.
He now gets all his information from Breitbart, Gateway Pundit, and InfoWars.

11. He called Barack Obama "the vacationer-in-Chief" and accused him of playing more rounds of golf than Tiger Woods. He promised to never be the kind of president who took cushy vacations on the taxpayer's dime, not when there was so much important work to be done.
You bought it.
He took his first vacation after 11 days in office.
On the taxpayer's dime.
And went golfing.

And that was just the first month.

[Locutus]

He is absolutely unfit to be president of the United States when the Director of the FBI, and the Director of the NSA, are being read tweets from the @POTUS account that were made while testifying before Congress.   

[The Troll]

  All of the men and women in the government has stated that Obama did not wiretap Donald Trump's Tower.    What more do you god damn assholes  Republicans want.   

  Stepping on your dicks as usual. 

[The Troll]

  Hey Baby Robin ( The Hawk)  what about your ass hole president that you love so much.      His approval rate is at 37%, how long are you going to hang on.     I think you really should think about it.     

[libby]

Did any of you watch the House Intelligence Committee's interrogation of FBI Director Comey and Admiral Rogers? I dreaded watching it because of the confusion after Comey's brief statements before the election. Wasn't long though until I realized I was watching/listening to a real professional, the kind most people outside the USG seldom if ever come in contact with.  I tuned in about 9:15 and sat there transfixed (mostly) until it ended. 

The high point for me was when Director Comey stated without hesitation that the Russians had been involved in the POTUS election, and their goal, because they hated Hillary so much, was to help Trump win. He also said there was no evidence to indicate that President Obama tried to listen in on Trump Towers. The investigation is not complete. Director Comey cited NSA and CIA concurrence.

[Locutus]

I watched it too.  It was the genesis of my comment above about them being read the tweets that were made from the @POTUS account while they were testifying. 

[libby]

I watched it too.  It was the genesis of my comment above about them being read the tweets that were made from the @POTUS account while they were testifying. 

I wrote and rewrote my reply and was half asleep when I finally posted it. (I accidentally erased it and had to start over.)

What is potentially going on is mind-boggling. 

[Exterminator]

Found on Facebook, original author unknown:

"'Why should coal miners pay for PBS'? This was an actual question asked by the Trump administration yesterday. Obviously a blatantly stupid question. We have questions too. Why should a poor black family in Detroit pay for the President to go golfing? Why should a single mother of 3 who's working 2 jobs in Louisiana be denied health-care so that the CEO of Etna can get a tax-break? Why is the guy washing dishes in Baton Rouge paying for the President's wife's secret service protection so she can live comfortably in NYC? We could do this all day. But here's the real question the Trump administration and the Republicans who empower him need to answer: Do you have a heart? Did no one teach you to care about your neighbors? Do you know what "empathy" means? Did no one ever teach you to "share" when you were in kindergarten? Have you never heard the phrase "do unto others"? I can't think of a group of people who need to watch Sesame Street MORE than the Republican party. Perhaps they would learn some common decency."

[libby]

That is good. And sad. I say sad because it's obvious a lot of people don't know what empathy means, probably because they don't feel it. I had my ah-ha moment from a sentence in a psychology text: Empathy usually kicks in at about age 13, but some people live and die without feeling it.

[Locutus]

Trump is one of them. 

[Palehorse]

Found on Facebook, original author unknown:

"'Why should coal miners pay for PBS'? This was an actual question asked by the Trump administration yesterday. Obviously a blatantly stupid question. We have questions too. Why should a poor black family in Detroit pay for the President to go golfing? Why should a single mother of 3 who's working 2 jobs in Louisiana be denied health-care so that the CEO of Etna can get a tax-break? Why is the guy washing dishes in Baton Rouge paying for the President's wife's secret service protection so she can live comfortably in NYC? We could do this all day. But here's the real question the Trump administration and the Republicans who empower him need to answer: Do you have a heart? Did no one teach you to care about your neighbors? Do you know what "empathy" means? Did no one ever teach you to "share" when you were in kindergarten? Have you never heard the phrase "do unto others"? I can't think of a group of people who need to watch Sesame Street MORE than the Republican party. Perhaps they would learn some common decency."

Absolutely! TRUTH! 

Trump is one of them. 

Absolutely! TRUTH! 

[The Troll]

   Stock Market down, anyone want to bet that the Trump Bump is over.    I would bet it is.   I sure hope that Henry Hawk bought a whole bunch in the last two or three weeks.