The Ledes

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Washington Post: “Rescue teams raced to submerged homes, scoured collapsed buildings and steered thousands from overflowing dams as Helene carved a destructive path Friday, knocking out power and flooding a vast arc of communities across the southeastern United States. At least 40 people were confirmed killed in five states since the storm made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 behemoth, unleashing record-breaking storm surge and tree-snapping gusts. 4 million homes and businesses have lost electricity across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, prompting concerns that outages could drag on for weeks. Mudslides closed highways. Water swept over roofs and snapped phone lines. Houses vanished from their foundations. Tornadoes added to the chaos. The mayor of hard-hit Canton, N.C., called the scene 'apocalyptic.'”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Dec212018

The Commentariat -- Dec. 22, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Margaret Brennan of CBS News: "Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had been planning to exit his post in February 2019. But sources tell CBS News that he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will accelerate his departure due to a strong disagreement with President Trump's snap decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, effectively abandoning U.S. allies in the region. McGurk submitted his resignation on Friday, just one day after Defense Secretary James Mattis quit his post citing fundamental disagreements with the commander-in-chief -- including one over the importance of honoring U.S. alliances."

*****

Updated. Again. Julie Davis & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The federal government shut down early Saturday after congressional and White House officials failed to find a compromise on a spending bill that hinged on President Trump's demands for $5.7 billion for a border wall. It is third shutdown in two years of unified Republican rule in Washington, and it will stop work at nine federal departments and several other agencies. Hundreds of thousands of government employees are affected. Any hope of a compromise ended about 8:30 p.m. Friday, when both the House and the Senate had adjourned with no solution in sight. Talks are expected to begin again on Saturday. A burst of late-afternoon activity could not break the deadlock, even as Vice President Mike Pence met with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, and senior House Republicans, searching for a solution to a logjam that Mr. Trump has shown little interest in breaking." (This is another update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In an earlier update to this story, we learned, "Mr. Trump shelved plans to go to his winter estate in Florida...." Boo-fucking-hoo. A Trumpertantrum forces Trumpty-Dumpty to postpone his golfing vacation. Mind you, earlier this week, pence assured Senate leadership that Trump would sign the continuing resolution that the Senate passed Wednesday, a plan foiled by Trump's fear of criticism by such political philosophers as Ann Coulter & Rush Limbaugh. ...

... "Shutdown? More Like a Breakdown." New York Times \ Editors: "The spectacle began gearing up early last week, when, in an Oval Office tête-à-tête with ... Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the president boasted that he would be 'proud' to bring parts of the government to a halt if Congress did not hand over $5 billion for his border wall. He stuck with this position for basically a week, until, come Tuesday, he executed a tidy flip-flop, sending word via his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that he would, in fact, accept a stopgap bill that did not include money for a border wall. Lawmakers promptly slapped together such a plan, zipped it over to the White House and hit the road for Christmas break.... [Then] Unable to bear the scorn of [Ann] Coulter and Rush Limbaugh and his cheerleaders at 'Fox & Friends,' Mr. Trump promptly reversed course. On Thursday, he rejected Congress's temporary funding deal, declaring that either he'd get his $5 billion for a wall (or as he now calls it, 'steel slats') or Americans would get a 'Democrat shutdown.'... By Friday, he was in full attack mode. During morning Executive Time, he let loose with a classic Twitter barrage.... At an afternoon bill signing, the president continued trying to shift blame onto Democrats...." ...

... Wait, Wait. There's More. Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "... President Trump late Friday called on Senate Democrats to approve funds for border security in a video recording posted to Twitter, in which he paired sweeping references to crime with incendiary footage of people moving in large crowds. 'It's very dangerous out there,' Mr. Trump said, as the screen flashed to groups of people, including a scene of a crowd banging on a fence. 'Drugs are pouring in, human trafficking, so many different problems, including gangs like M.S. 13. We don't want them in the United States.'... He stressed the need for border security, which he described as 'a wall or a slat fence or whatever you want to call it.'" Includes video, which is unintentionally funny. ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the White House staff dispatched to the hill to try to hammer out a compromise that will mollify the Whiney Baby in the White House, as well as the screaming Freedom Caucus (of which he was a founding member), is all-purpose aide & soon-to-be chief-of-staff Mick Mulvaney. What with the mollification factor being (the) Great Wall of Trump, the following is ironic:

... Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "Mick Mulvaney once called ... Donald Trump's views on a border wall and immigration 'simplistic' and 'absurd and almost childish.'... [Mulvaney said in August 2015,] 'The fence doesn't solve the problem. Is it necessary to have one, sure? Would it help? Sure. But to just say build the darn fence and have that be the end of an immigration discussion is absurd and almost childish for someone running for president to take that simplistic of [a] view.'... 'The fence is an easy thing to sell politically,' Mulvaney said. 'It's an easy thing for someone who doesn't follow the issue very closely to say, "oh, well that'll just solve everything, build the fence."'"

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently everybody -- House, Senate & President* -- agrees on most of terms of funding. The only sticking point is (the) wall. So my suggestion to break the impasse is that the House & Senate vote to send a huge bill to Mexico for (the) wall to comport with Trump's campaign promise. Problem solved. More seriously, the "slat fence" aside is a big concession. We already have "slat fencing" at the U.S.-Mexico border, and Democrats don't oppose adding to & repairing it. So redefining "wall" as "slat fence" may be the real way to end the shutdown. Plus, I think a fence will work very well:

** Matthew Lee & Susannah George of the AP: "... Donald Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved in the fight against the Islamic State group, according to U.S. and Turkish officials. Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two U.S. officials and a Turkish official briefed on the matter told The Associated Press." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: According to the report, even "Erdogan cautioned Trump against a hasty withdrawal...." When you read the back-and-forth, you'll likely agree with Jeet Heer:

     ... Jeet Heer: "From [the AP's] reporting, it seems likely that it was never Erdogan's intention to get the United States to withdraw. Rather he made the demand as a bargaining move, to get other, lesser goals. Trump, displaying his mastery of the art of the deal, gave in to Erdogan's maximum position." So it turns out that not only is Trump a bad negotiator because he doesn't begin to understand or appreciate the stakes, he also doesn't comprehend basic negotiating strategy. As we've learned again & again, Trump's "dealmaking strategy" is simply to be untrustworthy; that is, to make a commitment, then renege on it.

     ... ** Update. Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: "When he spoke to President Trump on the telephone a week ago Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's agenda had not changed from when they met two weeks earlier at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.... The Islamic State, according to Trump himself, had been defeated, Erdogan said. Turkey's military was strong and could take on any remaining militant pockets. Why did some 2,000 U.S. troops still need to be there? 'You know what? It's yours,' Trump said of Syria. 'I'm leaving.' The call, shorthanded in more or less the same words by several senior administration officials, set off events that, even by the whirlwind standards of Washington in the Trump years, have been cataclysmic. They ended, for the moment at least, with Thursday's resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. This account of the tumultuous past week is drawn from interviews with government officials in the White House and across national security departments...." ...

... Andrew Desiderio of the Daily Beast: "The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee revealed on Friday that the U.S. military was planning a 'major clearing operation' targeting ISIS before ... Donald Trump decided abruptly this week to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. '... We were six weeks away from a major clearing operation that has been planned for a long time. I got briefed on this a year ago -- with ISIS in the Euphrates River Valley,' Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said Friday on Capitol Hill.... Corker said 'at least 20,000' ISIS fighters are still in the region. The 'major clearing operation ... would have changed the dynamic tremendously' in Iraq and Syria, where ISIS has lost significant territory in recent years.... 'So to pull the plug -- it's just hard to understand,' Corker said.... 'If you want to move away from Syria, why wouldn't you do it after you've done the work that you've been planning for so long?'"

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "'Fox and Friends' host Brian Kilmeade on Friday morning tore into Trump's ... controversial decision ... to pull U.S. troops out of Syria -- and he did it right to the face of Trump's own press secretary, Sarah Sanders. Kilmeade even went so far as to say that the president was paving the way for a revitalized Islamic State, also known as ISIS. 'He also is doing exactly what he criticized President Obama for doing,' Kilmeade told Sanders. 'He said President Obama is the founder of ISIS; he just re-founded ISIS, because they have 30,000 men there and they are already striking back with our would-be evacuation. The president is really on the griddle with this. 'Leaving is helping,' Kilmeade added, repeating: 'Leaving is helping.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... David Sanger of the New York Times: "... more convinced than ever that his initial gut instincts about retreating from a complex world of civil wars and abstract threats was right, Mr. Trump has rid himself of the aides who feared the president was undercutting America's long-term national interests. Now the president appears determined to assemble a new team of advisers who will not tell him what he cannot do, but rather embrace his vision of a powerful America that will amass a military that will enforce national sovereignty and bolster American deal-making -- but not spend time nurturing the alliance relationships that Mr. Mattis, in a remarkable resignation letter, makes clear are at the core of American power."

... Conservative Bret Stephens of the New York Times has some words of advice for Anonymous: "In September, you acknowledged that you were a member of the 'quiet resistance' within Donald Trump's administration. You told us that you and others were 'working diligently' to 'frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.'... You also believed that your efforts to resist Trump were often successful.... You were wrong.... A president who sticks it to his own team while sticking with a foreign strongman is not worth sticking by.... You must know by now that you are no longer keeping a bad thing from getting worse. All you are doing is disguising how bad it is, thereby helping it to become worse."

Eliana Johnson & Burgess Everett of Politico: "... Donald Trump faces a dangerous erosion of support among rank-and-file Republicans thanks to a series of jarring recent moves that have alienated even some close GOP allies. From his defense of Saudi Arabia's crown prince over the murder of a dissident journalist to his abrupt decision to pull American troops out of Syria to his demand for a government shutdown, Trump has been angering friendly lawmakers, leading some who typically kept their disagreements to themselves to speak up.... 'Going to the base of the base means that Republican senators are going to start disagreeing with you, because that's not their party,' said Matthew Continetti, editor-in-chief of the conservative Washington Free Beacon.... Also aggravating Republicans is Trump's sheer unpredictability, which was evident from his unclear and shifting positions on the budget talks." ...

... Ditto. Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's near-simultaneous decisions this week to force a government shutdown over his demand to fund a border wall and withdraw American troops from Syria and Afghanistan have imperiled the fragile Republican coalition, exacerbating the party’s fears about what may become of his presidency -- and its own electoral prospects in 2020. By placating the far right on immigration, embracing his instincts on foreign policy and unnerving investors with his trade wars and policy gyrations, Mr. Trump is elevating the nativist and noninterventionist elements of his party. In doing so, he is deeply straining his most important links to mainstream Republican governance, and the national security hawks and conservative business executives who have long been pillars of the right. And by disregarding the counsel of seasoned advisers, Mr. Trump demonstrated that he does not grasp how damaging his impulsive behavior was to his party in last month's elections, when his party lost 40 seats in the House, senior Republicans said Friday." ...

... Yes, But Russia Is Elated. Julia Davis of the Daily Beast counts the ways, from the Syrian pullout to the lifting of sanctions against Oleg Deripaska's aluminum producer Rusal. "Discussing the planned departure of the U.S. from Syria, state TV host Olga Skabeeva pondered why Trump suddenly decided to leave at this point in time: 'Americans say, it's because he is beholden to Putin. Is that logical? Yes, it is.'"

Bob Mueller, Take Note. Laura Jarrett & Pamela Brown of CNN: "... Donald Trump has at least twice in the past few weeks vented to his acting attorney general, angered by federal prosecutors who referenced the President's actions in crimes his former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Trump was frustrated, the sources said, that prosecutors Matt Whitaker oversees filed charges that made Trump look bad. None of the sources suggested that the President directed Whitaker to stop the investigation, but rather lashed out at what he felt was an unfair situation.... The first known instance took place when Trump made his displeasure clear to ... Whitaker after Cohen pleaded guilty November 29 to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow.... Over a week later, Trump again voiced his anger at Whitaker after prosecutors in Manhattan officially implicated the President in a hush-money scheme to buy the silence of women around the 2016 campaign -- something Trump fiercely maintains isn't an illegal campaign contribution. Pointing to articles he said supported his position, Trump pressed Whitaker on why more wasn't being done to control prosecutors in New York who brought the charges in the first place, suggesting they were going rogue."

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You know, "pressing" the AG "to control prosecutors" has to be right there on the definitions page of the DOJ manual on obstruction of justice. Plus, here's a fun question: Who leaked this exchange? Obviously, it was someone who wanted to protect the Mueller investigation. Now that it's out that Trump urged Whitaker "to control prosecutors," Whitaker absolutely cannot do that without implicating himself in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. ...

... Josh Marshall: "It is clear as day that Jeff Sessions was fired and replaced by Whitaker because Trump wanted an AG who would represent him and protect him." Marshall figures Whitaker hasn't come through for Trump because (a) Rob Mueller & Rod Rosenstein "are major DC law enforcement and national security heavyweights who have a lot of clout, reputation and experience. Whitaker meanwhile is basically a punk...." and (b) He was quickly overtaken by his own scandals and possible legal jeopardy."

Sadly, Trump is not content to shutter the government, destroy U.S. international policy & curb the Mueller investigation. Now, he wants to upend the markets, too: ...

... Jennifer Jacobs, et al., of Bloomberg News: "... Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week's interest-rate increase and months of stock-market losses, according to four people familiar with the matter. Advisers close to Trump aren't convinced he would move against Powell and are hoping that the president's latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays, the people said on condition of anonymity. Some of Trump's advisers have warned him that firing Powell would be a disastrous move. Yet the president has talked privately about firing Powell many times in the past few days, said two of the people. Any attempt by Trump to push out Powell would have potentially devastating ripple effects across financial markets, undermining investors' confidence in the central bank's ability to shepherd the economy without political interference."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "A divided Supreme Court on Friday refused to allow the Trump administration to immediately enforce a new policy of denying asylum to those who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ... sided with the court's four liberals in denying the request, which lower courts had stopped after finding it a likely violation of federal law. For the first time on a contested issue, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh ... noted his agreement with the court's other conservatives. He and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch ... would have granted the administration's request to let the order go into effect. The decision was about whether to lift a lower court's stay of Trump's new asylum regulation, not on the merits of his plan. The legal fight on that could return to the Supreme Court."

Dan Berman of CNN: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had two cancerous nodules removed from her left lung Friday at a New York hospital, the Supreme Court announced. There is no evidence of any remaining disease, says a court spokesperson, nor is there evidence of disease elsewhere in the body." (Also linked yesterday.)

Comments Off

Reader Comments (9)

Krugman’s column yesterday about Right Wing World’s complete flip flop on monitory policy (IOKIYAR) is especially relevant as trump floats trial balloons about firing the Fed chair.

Raising interest rates Must be the cause of stock market losses. Couldn’t possibly be any of the insane actions of the Dear Leader.

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterNiskyGuy

@Nisky Guy: Yeah, from everything we've observed, Trump's MO is this: (1) He does something stupid, usually against the advice of experts, & the stupid thing has the consequences the experts expected. (2) He has to believe his "insane actions" did not cause the problem. (3) So he scapegoats somebody else, belittles that somebody, maybe fires him, & in the process makes the situation worse.

It's a vicious cycle, because (3) is really a version of (1), i.e., something stupid, so he has to rinse & repeat. This is a presidency that started off much worse than we hoped (and even worse than some of us thought) and has spiraled downhill from there.

December 22, 2018 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Lotsa doin's in D.C. Very busy place. Hell of a week. Producing more news than is fit to print. Almost like something is really happening.

But maybe more like "The Apprentice," the show that made this travesty of government possible. I know. I checked. Never watched the thing but this morning wondered what business the show was built around? What did it actually produce but ratings?

Now I know. "The corporations complete business-related tasks such as selling products, raising money for charity, or creating an advertising campaign, with one corporation selected as the winner based on objective measures and subjective opinions," says Wikipedia.

In other words "The Apprentice" was built around nothing, a garishly lighted cruise ship with lotsa noise, erratic course changes, but nothing in the hold, going nowhere.

Really miss that No Drama guy.

Oh captain, My captain!

Unfortunately, the fearful trip we're embarked on is not done.

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

WEDGEES AT MERRY-LAGO

One wonders whether Dufus will forego his 16 day vacation at his Winter Palace, keep the government closed as well as his mind. I give him two days.

But going back to that W.P. where guests pay an arm and a leg so you would think the food would be extraordinary. Not so, according to this Esquire tid-bit. Even the service is terrible–-if your table is not near the President's, waiters practically ignore you. Here's how the "Trump Wedge Salad" is described:

It's an enormous slab of iceberg lettuce covered with so much glutinous blue cheese dressing that the dish should rightfully be called Trump Wedge Salad Dressing. I'd change that to "Trump's Blue Cheese Wedgee"–––imagine the mouth watering clientele.
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a25653415/mar-a-lago-trump-resort-food-service/

Looks like our favorite Butterball done got hisself in such a farrago that he may do something even more drastic than he already has. The irony here is we are supposed to fear all those refugees when our biggest fear is this dummkopf who poses threats that can cripple our country.

It's hard not to hate as much as I do at this time.

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

This president* must be nearing the long list of "stupid things a
president can do." When I heard him ask McConnell to do the
nuclear (nuculer) option, I immediately thought that a war must
be in the back of his pea brain mind. His own little war to keep
some other things out of the news.
I would suggest he start out small, like Liechtenstein (no military)
or Monaco (he could bankrupt the casino.)

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

@forrest morris: An excellent idea. But both Monaco & Liechtenstein are surrounded by countries with militaries that might put up a defense, so I'd suggest an independent island country, like, say, Grenada.

If he picks an island with no defenses, Trump can even lead the charge. If the admirals play it right, this enterprise could distract Trump for weeks, letting him use sticks to move toy carriers & landing craft around on a huge board, etc., in fun "strategy sessions."

Once soldier "secure" the island, Trump could disembark somehow, stomp around in the sand for awhile & make a Churchillian "we will fight on the beaches" speech. Sure, we'd have to compensate the islanders for the needless havoc, but it might be worth it. Maybe for a few bucks more they would rename the island Donaldia & run cruise ships from Redneck Country, USA, to Donaldia. Thanks to P.D. Pepe, we also know what the restaurant at Donaldia's Trump International Golf Resort would serve.

Anyhow, it seems more & more as if the brass will have to find ways to keep Trump from doing dangerous things, so your idea is first-rate. If during one of these harmless misadventures, the Congress impeached & removed him from office, he might not even notice.

December 22, 2018 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@ Forest: the son of mine who lives in Germany taught an architectural course at one of the colleges in Liechtenstein. He once had a meeting with the Prince about a particular matter involving the college. He was kept waiting for nearly an hour and if I recall correctly nothing to drink or nibble on was offered. Whatever David wanted settled was not; the Prince was stubborn as an embedded burr.

So I think this Prince would scoff at anything Donald tried to engage in–-be it a "little war" or just a "take-over" of some land to build another tower. But your suggestion that Trump might be conjuring up some kind of battle royal is not far fetched.

I keep imagining Trump's big bulk of a body being tied down by those wily Lilliputians––a Swift kick in the arse and a golden shower display. Would make my day!

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@ Marie

While Donny struts his stuff with his chin out across the secured beaches of Granada, can we convince him to sport the same outfit Dubya did while announcing Mission Accomplished on the aircraft carrier....and add some toilet paper to his shoe to boot.

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Over on New York Magazine Frank Rich has his views on the week: "watching an isolated madman " rampaging through the gilded rooms of Mar-a-Lago, wreaking whatever damage he can on the country as the walls of justice continue to close in on him.

"Certainly it is extraordinary that Trump consulted with the Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan when making his abrupt move in Syria but did not bother to consult the American general, Joseph Dunford, who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For all we know, Trump also was directly or indirectly in touch with Putin, the most vocal defender of his actions.

My curiosity wants to know: How is Putin communicating with Trump these days? Who is the go between? Who is sharing messages, POVs, actions? Does Trumpy use his iPhone? Lordy, I hope there are tapes!!!

December 22, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMAG
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