Been a banner week for Dolt 45, as he has been basically rolled on all fronts. He has:
1.) Dropped his bellicose BS with China over Taiwan, and has agree to adhere to the One China policy. That’s playing well in China:
The phrase bandied around after Trump’s Thursday night phone call with Chinese Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping is “paper tiger.” James Zimmerman, the former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters that Trump’s threatening to repudiate the One China Policy and then backing down “confirmed to the world that he is a paper tiger … someone that seems threatening but is wholly ineffectual and unable to stomach a challenge.” The international affairs expert Shi Yanhong told the New York Times, “Trump lost his first fight with Xi and will be looked at as a paper tiger,” while The Guardian headlined a piece about the call, “China U-turn is latest sign Trump may turn out to be a paper tiger.” (Mainland Chinese media has, generally speaking, taken a gracious — one might even say victorious — attitude towards the phone call.)
2.) Got the military kicked out of Yemen (which might be a good thing so we can no longer wage Saudi Arabia’s war):
Angry at the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first commando raid authorized by President Trump, Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terror groups in the country, according to American officials.
Grisly photographs of children apparently killed in the crossfire of a 50-minute firefight during the raid caused outrage in Yemen. A member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, Chief Petty Officer William Owens, was also killed in the operation.
3.) Got beat up by the 9th circuit for being a fucking bigmouthed idiot, said he would take them to court, and now is backing down:
The White House sent conflicting signals on Friday evening, with chief of staff Reince Priebus saying the administration was still considering an appeal to the Supreme Court after a lower court soundly rejected its request to reinstate the order.
Priebus’s statement came roughly an hour after a White House official said it was not planning to challenge the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the ban.
And Trump himself has said a new order on security could come next week.
Speaking of threatening to go to court and then not following through, when is he going to sue all the women he sexually assaulted?
4.) Got screwed in the ass and had his VP made to look like the fool by the wingnut he has advising him:
National security adviser Michael Flynn spoke privately with Vice President Pence on Friday in an apparent attempt to contain the fallout from the disclosure that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with that country’s ambassador and then allowed Pence and other White House officials to publicly deny that he had done so, an administration official said.
The conversation took place as senior Democrats in Congress called for existing investigations of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election to expand in scope to scrutinize Flynn’s contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak weeks before the Trump administration took office.
5.) Had his other advisor almost banned from CNN and then beat down for promoting Ivanka’s clothing line.
In other news, intelligence agencies are corroborating the Russian dossier and Trump hates his job and his staff and Republicans everywhere are getting screamed at by angry constituents.
This would be funny if it weren’t so damned tragic.
amk
shouldn’t it be called a bannon week?
Frankensteinbeck
I don’t think it’s worth the human fallout, but credit where it’s due: Heightening the contradictions actually seems to be working this time.
PeakVT
Week three. Week three.
I so want to wake up from this nightmare.
zhena gogolia
@Frankensteinbeck:
God, I know, I hate to think it, but people are getting so “woke.”
Gin & Tonic
Very common mistake, but it’s “minuscule” and not “miniscule.”
Gin & Tonic
@PeakVT: Only 205 to go.
Manyakitty
That headline might be enough to bring me back from the edge of a rage stroke. Well done.
scottinnj
Trump should just declare America is Great already, declare victory, and quit.
patrick II
All those things sound terrible, however I am coming here from Mr. Numbers (Kevin Drum) place and since all of these f*$k-ups, Mr. Trump’s favorability rating has gone up over three points (41.8 to 45.1). Also now, by a 51-23 percent margin, Trump voters believe the “Bowling Green Massacre” is something that actually exists. Perhaps when Trump screws with their social security and medicare they will start paying attention.
father pussbucket
With Pence gone, fellow Republicans undo his work in Indiana
chris
Saw this somewhere and it seems appropriate: What if Mexico and Canada both build a wall and we all chip in for a lid?
Drunkenhausfrau
Anyone else nostalgic for Dubya nonsense?
amk
@father pussbucket: wow, lot of mike dense’s fuck-ups there to undo.
Feebog
The Russia connection is what is going to sink him. Hopefully, he will take down some of the worst assholes with him.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Pivot
Emma
@patrick II: They will NEVER accept reality. Their alternative Universe is all they see. We need to stop caring so much about what they think or say or do, because nothing can reach them. All we can do is first contain and then roll back the madness.
amk
@patrick II: pox news bubble. hard to prick it.
Omnes Omnibus
I volunteered to take a VAWA /immigration pro bono case from our local legal aid folk. I will find out next week if I get assigned to the case.
Bobby Thomson
@zhena gogolia: problem is, unless it’s part of your history and culture – and it isn’t for most white folks – that awakening is shortlived.
trollhattan
@patrick II:
Was trying to work out a Bowling Green Balloons Massacre mashup to no avail. Anyone?
guachi
@patrick II:
Don’t think too much of the bump in Trump’s favorable ratings.
It’s more useful to look at changes in any given poll from one survey to another.
For example, Gallup polls every day and comes out with a three day average. That average has held steady at about 43-52 for about two weeks.
PK
@patrick II:
No they won’t. It’s not lack of attention. It’s lack of analytical skills. They’ll believe whatever explanation the republican leadership comes up with.
CaseyL
@patrick II: I looked at those other HuffPo polls, and they make for some really depressing reading. I think people respond to “success,” so the fact that all of his Cabinet nominees were approved, and the Dems couldn’t stop a single one, has the Shitgibbon and the GOP on an upswing, and the Dems on a downswing.
SiubhanDuinne
John, I love you, but please spell it right: “minuscule” (not “miniscule”). Thanks, okay?
ETA: G&T @ 5 got there first.
Lyrebird
@Omnes Omnibus: WooT!!! Go you & go justice!
FWIW this week, for all my sympathies with (LGM’s) Campos’ book about why not to go to law school, I’m feeling super-grateful for the law schools that educated the 9th Circuit judges & alla them honest state AGs like the ones from WA and MA.
Frankensteinbeck
@PK:
They’ll tell the Republican leadership what explanation they’ll accept: Obama did it, by giving more to brown people when obviously it’s brown people who are the problem. I’ve seen Republican leaders try to tell their base the truth. They ain’t having it. Racists know their problems are the fault of the Other.
Mnemosyne
I made a giant pot of spaghetti sauce on Tuesday night and kept some of it out of the freezer so I could make lasagna today. We’ll see how it turns out, but it won’t be the fault of the sauce.
BTW, you can make lasagna for two in a bread loaf pan so you don’t have to eat it for days on end afterwards. Who knew?
Omnes Omnibus
@Lyrebird: WRT Campos on law school – I would say that if your dream is to be a lawyer, follow it. If you are looking for a solid upper middle class job and you can’t get into a top 30 school, look elsewhere.
Mary G
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you. That is a great action.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mary G: Let’s see if I get the gig.
Yarrow
@Feebog: Yes. This. The Russia thing is going to be what takes him down. I can only hope he takes all the Republican leadership with him. They all knew. They’re all guilty.
Frankensteinbeck
@Omnes Omnibus: and @Mary G:
Yeah, thank you for walking the walk. Everyone out there helping clean up Trump’s mess is a hero.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: How’s your mom?
Edit: @Mnemosyne: And how’s your mom coming along?
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: Doing well. She is home now. My dad and my brother reconfigured a guest bedroom to suit her needs. She has started to do PT. All is good. Thank you for asking.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: Good! Glad to hear she’s home and doing well.
satby
@Omnes Omnibus: How’s Momnibus today?
Edit: asked and answered, also glad she’s doing better.
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: That poll was a mess based on its methodology.
Omnes Omnibus
@satby: Here.
frosty
@Omnes Omnibus: A different joint but my sister had double knee replacements this summer. Everyone she talked to who didn’t think it was successful slacked off on the PT. She pushed the therapist for more and is doing fine. Hope your mom does well too.
amk
Peale
@patrick II: he didn’t issue any exutive orders since before the super bowl that had an immediate impact. And he’s gone ten days between threats to foreign leaders.
Yarrow
So what’s this deal with being rude to the Japanese leader’s wife? I didn’t catch the details.
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
Very well! I talked to her on the phone today and she sounds much better. They want her to stay until Monday to finish the respiratory therapy, but she’s definitely not in crisis.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: Missed you last night, only got to send best wishes in a later thread. Glad to hear everything is going well.
And on the topic of trump being an idiot:
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: That’s good news! I’m sure you’re relieved. it’s good they’re keeping her. Let the professionals take care of her and make sure your brother takes a break now before she’s home and he has to do more.
Omnes Omnibus
@frosty: My mom is a list person. Give her a list of exercises that she must do 2 times each day, she will do it. It is on the list.
When I had my ACL/MCL/Meniscus surgery nearly 20 years ago, I busted my ass in PT. It worked.
Gin & Tonic
@Yarrow: Neither the President’s wife nor the Vice President’s wife escorted Mrs. Abe around town. Mrs Abe apparently had a couple of meetings scheduled, and she went on her own. It is customary for the First Lady to take a visiting male head of government’s wife around.
Gin & Tonic
@Mike J: As I said in an earlier thread, I guess it’s good that the Japanese are not known for adherence to customs and protocol.
jl
Question I have is Trump very slowly incrementally growing up, and if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
So damn many important questions with no answers these days.
I just heard on the news that instead of a loser ‘SEE YOU IN COURT!’ approach, Trump has apparently listened to some people who understand the law and is going to redraft the EO on immigration to make it easier to pass muster. I dunno. maybe someday Trump will come up with a hideous idea that is worth making incrementally less hideous. Trump has some strong competition in ignorance and bad judgement and ill intent in the GOP Congress. So possible, for example, that Congress hashes up health care so bad, a Trump idea might be, hard to believe, a better alternative after it is improved by competent hands, maybe Dems in Congress if they can stick together and Trump gets a wild hair up his ass to work with them. I wouldn’t bet on that happening, but I suppose it is a remote possibility. And, if the GOP Congress pisses Trump off, he might do it out of spite..
But, the Trump immigration EO is all bad news from start to finish in every way I can see it. I don’t care what Trump tries to do, the opposition to it needs to be absolute.
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Ohh….that’s rude. And protocol and politeness is such a big deal in Japan. This administration is so embarrassing.
sharl
@father pussbucket: Damn. During his tenure I’ve seen accounts of the havoc wreaked by Pence in Indiana, but never in such a single-story concentrated form. And I’m sure it’s not a complete documentation of the atrocities.
Getting a little nostalgic for Doghouse Riley here…
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: @Yarrow: Years ago in the army, I had to do some protocol related stuff in Germany. Complicated. I so do not envy the pros at State.
jl
@Yarrow: That makes HW puking all over his state dinner in Japan look like the epitome of class and winning.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: I can imagine. What a nightmare it must be right now.
efgoldman
This is actually my most favoritest part.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: I have a couple of fraternity brothers who ended up at State. One was a reporter who served as Kerry’s spokesbot – so he is safely gone now. The other is a State lifer – spent the last 10 years in Africa, back in DC now. Poor bastard. Hell of a rugby player though.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Yes. It is a good thing.
rikyrah
@Emma:
Amen
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
Good idea about the bread loaf pan
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Rhode Island’s new state slogan: We’re small but pedantic.
rikyrah
@Omnes Omnibus:
Doing everything that the therapist says is key to her recovery.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Fucking Roger Williams.
rikyrah
@Yarrow:
His wife was left to wander around DC. No Melania . No Ivanka. No Mrs. Pence even. Huge breach of protocol.
Omnes Omnibus
@rikyrah: She will. She did for the first one and it worked well. Thank you.
efgoldman
@Omnes Omnibus:
What was that, about a day and a half in the hospital?
People don’t understand that’s one important way that the health insurance system in this country has screwed people: SEND ‘EM HOME. DO DAY SURGERY!
When our daughter was born, 36 years ago this month, non-C-section moms got 3-1/2 – 4 days in the hospital. Our daughter, 3-1/2 years ago, had a section, yet was sent home in 2-1/2 days. Fortunately she had a good friend that came and stayed for a week or so. They’re sending Momnibus home, and your dad, who’s about the same age and is certainly not a medical pro [is he? or did you say he’s a retired doc?] has to provide services that nurses and orderlies would otherwise have to.
This is now pretty universal regardless of coverage.
Peale
@jl: yep. He’s got that 1952 Act and dreams of Operation Wetback, and don’t you tell him that there’s other immigration laws on the books. That’s the law that gives him the power, and it obviously is above all laws and court opinions.
I honestly don’t want a new “safe” EO. We really need some clarity on what that law means, since his interpretation of it needs to be checked.
Peale
@rikyrah: at the same time, she didn’t have to visit the Old Post Office and be involved in an attempted infomercial for Japanese Tourists.
dww44
@amk: While it’s good to have Trump around to ‘heighten the contradictions’ both Perdue and Isakson voted to confirm DeVoss, Sessions, and Isakson’s special good friend, Price, who will all do serious damage to our democratic institutions, diminish the stature of our government, all the while stepping on the backs of the vulnerable and powerless. In addition, Perdue partnered with Tom Cotton to introduce legislation to cut legal immigration in half over the next couple of years.Reactionaries, the whole lot of them.
So, as bad as Trump is, the focus on his particular chaos also serves to keep the GOP Congress front and center as well and that means they aren’t going to be able to dismantle the entirety of the federal government and the Social Safety net without paying a price, even if its just being screamed at in town halls
sukabi
@Drunkenhausfrau: no, at least this time we don’t have the likes of Tom Friedman opining that in 6 months we’ll turn a corner…
All those assholes are just as horrified as the rest of us.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
When I was born — with no complications, I might add — my mother had a lovely ten days or so in the hospital, getting a chance to rest up and get to know me. That was pretty standard back in the day, so I understand.
efgoldman
@Gin & Tonic:
Well, she can probably find the Washington Monument (it’s kind of obvious) but after that, I’m not sure that Mrs Abe is so interested in Nordstrom’s, Bloomie’s, or Lord & Taylor.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: She is happy to be home. She is mobile with a walker. She can shower and get to toilet. They kept her for four days the last time; she hated it. They tested her on those things before they let her go. Right now, dad’s most onerous duties are helping her get her affected leg into bed and buying and chopping fruit because that is all she wants to eat.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
efgoldman
@Omnes Omnibus:
Their (Roger Williams’) hospital sucks, too.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
My mom isn’t around to ask.
I did once see the hospital bill from my birth. As I recall, it was less than 400 bucks. But I was always a cheap date. It’s also possible that my mom, an RN at that hospital, got an employee discount.
jl
@dww44: Vocal and persistent opposition to GOP Congresspersons is extremely important. And also to hold Dem Congresspersons’ accountable for opposing bad policy.
I don’t know if anyone has any advice for most effective way to do that for people who live far away from a GOPer seat in Senate or House.
PIGL
@Mnemosyne: days on end? If by “days” you mean “tomorrow”.
He can’t spell PIGL without pig.
EriktheRed
Hell, I sure don’t have a problem laughing!
dww44
@jl: Yes, the vocal and persistent opposition is important, particularly when Democrats are totally powerless. If we do nothing but afflict the comfortable (our Republican congress persons) and stiffen the spines of our all too often inclined to waver Democratic minority, then we can hopefully claw back some seats in 2018. I never bothered to check, but who was the lone Democrat to vote for Price? I think the vote was 52 to 47?
sukabi
@Yarrow: she isn’t a 10 by drumpf standards?
Mostly drumpfs people don’t know shit, and are too stupid to ask for help / guidance…
Wonder if drumpf met Abe in a dark room for their meeting…
Vhh
@Adam L Silverman: This morning, the news was thst Flynn lied about not discussing sanctions with the Russian ambassador before the inaiguration, a no no for sure, and likely actionable. This evening came the news that the IC has confirmed “some” of the Russian-to-Russian communications described in the Steele dossier, but has not verified the salacious bits. I perused the dossier again, and essentially all of it is based on Russian-to-Russian comms. Sean the Spicer Sheep called it “all fake news” TWICE, awfully difficult to argue when there are no details in what was confirmed. This looks rather like the new version of what was called in Watergate days a non-denial denial. If Flynn news and the dossier news are connected, what is the play here? A signal that the IC is closing in, and open to an exchange of killer info in exchange for lesser charges or immunity for the source? The WH is leaking at the seams, are there some rats in there, too? Meanwhile, our so called Prez is suddenly making nice with the PRC, who just happen to hold a big loan on a Trump property …..
Jerzy Russian
@efgoldman: well, $400 was lot of money 100 years ago ?
Raoul
Also, too: Just tons and tons of leaks. Many seemingly from State and from the various intelligence agencies. I guess when you come in an act like a total ass and piss everyone off, the veneer may crack and some slime may ooze out…
And
Steeplejack (phone)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Good on you.
Mart
How come the US news consumer never gets to see the woman, children, and men being pulled out of the ruble we create? Rest of the world gets to see our war effort. Think of the impact on the US electorate if our drone and special ops war results were not whitewashed.
Zinsky
Amen Cole. I don’t see how this Administration lasts four years, I really don’t. Trump is either going to be impeached, or he gets bored with it and quits or he strokes out or has a massive coronary from eating Big fucking Macs or someone who lost their health care coverage is gonna take him out. There just isn’t any way that this train wreck of a presidency goes the distance….
Zinsky
@efgoldman: You might be surprised – many Japanese are fanatic about shopping in America. I live in the Twin Cities and there are charter flights from Japan that bring Japanese tourists here exclusively to shop at Mall of America. They land at the airport, a shuttle brings them to MOA where they shop all day, they go back to the airport, get on a plane and go home. True story.
Spaniel
@efgoldman:
I find it humorous and very untruthful when the Alt-Right blogs try paint the Utah congressman’s meetings as a “liberal” or “Democratic” plot to seed unrest. Utah has now become a bastion of hippism and liberalism? I never thought I would see the day that was reported.
Gindy51
@father pussbucket: if it can be undone here in red state IN, it can be undone anywhere.
Spaniel
With all of the news of the missteps these past few weeks, I am surprised no one has written what 3-Percenters and other militant Constitutionalists think of Trump so far. Do those nuts still in his corner with the love-Russia path and the empereror’s claim of his proclaimations are unreviewable, even by courts.
cmorenc
@frosty:
With knee replacemements, you MUST scrupulously, vigorously, persistently do the rehab – and your reward in several months is a marvelously functioning new no-pain knee you can again do athletic things on, such as skiing and vigorous hiking (but no double-black mogul runs or marathons). DON’T do the rehab, and you get a balky lame, stiff knee that’s questionably better than what you had before.
Elie
@Mnemosyne:
My thoughts are with you, M — read your Mom is sick…. Don’t know the details but hope she is getting better. Been there and it can be very very scary — no matter how old you are, when Momma aint good, nobody is good…
Elie
@Elie:
Oops sorry — saw it was Omnes…
Elie
@Omnes Omnibus:
Good for you — jumping in and doing what we can, right?
dww44
@Mart: This is what happened with the Viet Nam war. Every night there was actual footage on the tv news and a daily body count. At least, Walter Cronkite did that. I remember it all very well.