If we assume Kelly is given command and control at the WH, some will be relieved, I, OTOH, ...

Post #419,402 by mmoffitt 8/1/17 8:21:25 AM 8/1/17 8:21:25 AM Reply	If we assume Kelly is given command and control at the WH, some will be relieved, I, OTOH, ... am a little concerned that this might be the first step toward military dictatorship. How many times have we seen this? An incredibly weak leader of a nation being the pawn by which a government is overthrown by the military? I know that's hyperbolic at this point, but I get a little queasy thinking about how much power a former Marine General has in the White House. So much so, in fact, that I'm not too certain we should cheer the "discipline" General Kelly is going to attempt to bring to the looney bin on Pennsylvania Avenue. True, Trump's down to two Generals in the cabinet from three, but that may only be a temporary situation and it is deeply disturbing that Trump's cabinet is in large measure Goldman Sachs + MIC. And for all the creepy cheering that Kelly is getting, he's already shown himself to be the heartless bastard his "experience" might suggest. So, did Kelly turn us away from our course over the cliff? Or did he just stomp down on the accelerator? bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #419,406 by a6l6e6x 8/1/17 11:31:14 AM 8/1/17 11:31:14 AM Reply	You have a point on the heartless claim. But, there's hope he won't cross any legal lines as that would tarnish his honor. He's also not that suited for dealing with the Congress intrigue. Alexander Haig, the last general who was a chief of staff (for Nixon) did not do well. If Trump lasts out the year, I don't think that Kelly will do the same. But, I've been wrong before! :) Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #419,407 by malraux 8/1/17 11:37:49 AM 8/1/17 11:37:49 AM Reply	He'll last until he asserts his authority in a way that Trump disagrees with Like ditching Bannon, interfering with the Trumplets, or because of the Comey thing. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #419,412 by rcareaga 8/1/17 2:05:48 PM 8/1/17 2:05:48 PM Reply	so far, it happens rarely if at all …that anyone who attaches his honor or his reputation to Donald Trump survives the association with these qualities unstained. Of course, that’s not an issue for the several members of the administration who arrived unencumbered with such old-fashioned baggage. cordially,
Post #419,418 by Ashton 8/1/17 7:18:08 PM 8/1/17 7:18:09 PM Reply	Believe this the Master-Disqualification factor, no-matter who, next: until mass-Extirpation occurs.
Post #419,440 by dmcarls 8/2/17 10:14:55 PM 8/2/17 10:14:55 PM Reply	Another perspective >>> "If Trump lasts out the year We shall see, won't we? There's this person's opinion: Why the Trump dynasty will last sixteen years https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/trump-dynasty-luttwak/ It could happen. Bring popcorn.
Post #419,441 by boxley 8/2/17 10:41:14 PM 8/2/17 10:41:14 PM Reply	nice find, thanks "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
Post #419,445 by mmoffitt 8/3/17 8:56:56 AM 8/3/17 8:56:56 AM Reply	The only thing correct about that article concerned income inequality. Luttwak is an idiot. We will see indeed. I agree (and that will be no surprise to the regulars) that the Democratic Party as a whole and their nominee in particular played with fire and got burnt by ignoring income inequality in 2016. But his analysis that income inequality is due to deregulation is as laughable as his 1983 statement that the Soviet invasion into Afghanistan was a success. Similarly, his premonition that Drumpf will be re-elected in 2020 and be followed by an Ivanka Trump Presidency demonstrates the same "insight and wisdom" his theory, just before the Berlin Wall fell, that glasnost and perestroika combined with the Red Army would further empower the Soviet Union. I take some heart in the knowledge that a laughably inaccurate predictor of future events like Luttwak is anticipating a Drumpf 2020 victory. But, thanks for the link, I'd almost forgotten about Luttwak. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #419,454 by a6l6e6x 8/4/17 12:02:39 AM 8/4/17 12:02:39 AM Reply	Re: Luttwak is an idiot. Agree on that point. Even Republican senators are warning Trump not to try to fire Mueller. Heck, McConnell made sure that technically the Senate stays in session during the August recess. No recess appointments for Trump. So, no new AG to do his bidding. Mueller will strike paydirt. It's said he could indict a ham sandwich so it's just a question of time. Trump is panicking and tonight was stirring up the brainless of West Virginia that “They’re trying to cheat you out of the leadership that you want with a fake story.” Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #419,417 by Ashton 8/1/17 7:10:14 PM 8/1/17 7:10:14 PM Reply	"Command and Control", no not that phrase but, the Book ..also PBS presentation: re. the years of Closest-Shaves in recorded history that, despite the details in the book: Not yet--however b a r e l y--has an accidental-Nuke explosion 'happened'. US-wise. Elsewhere we maybe don't know Fershure. (Nuclear, that is:) there have been many fires, explosions of the shaped-charges etc ... and, in one of the examples listed: ALL SAFETIES within the bomb: had FAILED (note: just think about the er Logic-wiring, cabling etc. etc. within every nuke, and the utter Russian Roulette of electrical signals created/stopped by shock. fire and ___ as these progressed within.) What prevented nuclear explosion (or a muddled-"try"?) here was: solely a switch in the plane's cockpit: which was/properly NOT in the 'Armed' position. (This bomb had dropped from the bomb-bay [!!] no fire or other damage save the short 'drop'.) Related to White House Generaldom collection du any jour, next, only obliquely (and it is said that, since the matters in the book, "much"-improved fixes have been applied. That ..will need a later 'book'.) Relevance then: re NK or Iran ..or in the case of This WH: Lichtenstein? could become the excuse for some desperation-play of the Sociopath-in-Chief (as many have pondered well before this latest of the weeklly StartFromSquareOne Band-Aids on this unprecedented clusterfuck-of-All-Clusterfucks.) WILL [This? General] properly restrain the S-in-C in the minutes preceding some declared go-to-war Emergency involving: waking the Bag-Man? Every interested onlooker would Like to Know (but Knows s/he won't ever be Sure.) Unless and Until ripped-epaulets and broken swords happen. Can we come up with a U.S. Southern ~~Cheney Shogunate~~ Caliphate [er, Enclosure?] too, while at it? Talk aboucher dystopian Novelists: Pikers! those.
Post #419,425 by mmoffitt 8/2/17 10:44:19 AM 8/2/17 10:44:19 AM Reply	And it was temporary. Today Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the selection of General Mark S. Inch as the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). "General Mark Inch has served this country at home and abroad for 35 years," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. "As a military policeman for nearly a quarter of a century and as the head of Army Corrections for the last two years, General Inch is uniquely qualified to lead our federal prison system. My confidence that he will be a highly effective leader of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is second only to my gratitude for his willingness to continue his service to this great country in this critical role." General Inch most recently served as the Provost Marshal General and Commanding General of the Criminal Investigation Command and Army Corrections at Headquarters for the Department of the Army. In that position General Inch was the principal military advisor to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army on all policing matters. In that role he was also responsible for developing and executing strategy, policies, plans and programs for the Army’s policing organizations. General Inch previously held the role of Commanding General of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 in Kabul, Afghanistan where he was responsible for Detainee Operations and Rule of Law Development within the Army’s Security Sector. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-announces-general-mark-s-inch-new-federal-bureau-prisons Oh, Goodie. More Generals. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #419,435 by Ashton 8/2/17 4:13:30 PM 8/2/17 4:13:30 PM Reply	Is there a word stronger than 'ludicrous'?
Post #419,436 by mmoffitt 8/2/17 4:48:11 PM 8/2/17 4:48:11 PM Reply	Trump? http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/02/politics/trump-phone-calls/index.html bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #419,461 by Ashton 8/4/17 4:44:22 PM 8/4/17 4:44:22 PM Reply	Geez.. the mofo clearly pisses in Everyone's punch-bowl, willy-nilly. 'Murica-writ HYARGE, larger-than-Liff. Such. a. [Clouseau] fuel. [/Clouseau]

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