#Russia's state TV is having a panel discussion as to where to find 8 trillion rubles needed to implement Putin’s domestic policy goals. Female host says: "Looks like we found it. Trump is withdrawing US from the #Iran nuclear deal. Oil prices should go up, which is good for us." pic.twitter.com/GSkoUL0L2u
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) May 8, 2018
Thing is, he didn’t even need instructions from the home office in Moscow. Trump’s strongest instinct is to do whatever he think makes him look like The Manly Leader, right this minute, — he can’t think far enough ahead to imagine what might happen next week, much less by November, or next year, or next decade…
The single biggest reason Iran's regional position has gotten so much stronger is….the Iraq war. In other words, the last time neoconservatives got their preferred policy outcome they created the very problem they are now decrying. So what do you think happens next?
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 8, 2018
Saved this David Rothkopf link from the LA Times last week:
… In his short time in office, Trump has revealed himself to be unlike his predecessors in several important ways. Although all presidents have egos, Trump has spent his career promoting his own personal brand, inscribing his name in big gold letters wherever he could. He has shown himself to be extraordinarily self-absorbed, providing a constant stream of self-congratulatory remarks.
He has claimed credit for economic recoveries that started years before he assumed office, for launching the career of Lady Gaga and for business deals he had nothing to do with — not to mention the supposedly record-breaking inauguration crowd that wasn’t.
All of this sends a message to other world leaders. As one former U.S. Cabinet official who deals regularly with foreign leaders put it to me: “They know he can be played.” Or, as a prominent business leader said during a trip to China in April: “He is so vain. He’s like a child — easy to manage if you know what he wants.”
It’s not just Trump’s sensitivity and insatiable hunger for the spotlight that make him easy pickings. He has institutionalized his egotism in a way no previous American president did.Trump has demoted and devalued entire departments and processes that once distributed power through the government. He has concentrated power in the Oval Office and made it clear that he will not tolerate being upstaged by his Cabinet. His administration’s cringe-worthy fawning over him shows that the members understand their public service is all about serving one man.
The institutions of our government are supposed to depersonalize the process of governing, to offset the power and interests of individuals. As Trump undercuts these institutions, putting himself and his feelings at the center of everything, he has made global affairs revolve around his own vanity and foibles.
This is dangerous in the best of times. It is especially dangerous when the leader in question is under siege, ill-informed and impulsive — and when those who seek to influence him know it.
As these circumstances worsen, and as more power is concentrated in one self-absorbed man, it is increasingly likely that the challenges of our time will be resolved not according to their merits, but by how Trump feels they make him look when he looks in the mirror.
And every godsdamned Republican is complicit in this slow-motion destruction of our country.
ETA:
This op-ed headline gets stupider with every passing day. pic.twitter.com/rGcam1nYqY
— Dan Entwistle (@Garcian_Smith) May 8, 2018
… along with the head office of the FTFNYTimes.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
What a fucking witch. Sure, who gives a fuck who has to die, as long as it benefits us.
Mary G
They are all traitors, including the ones that are retiring rather than tell the truth.
More and more I think of all those Democrats who voted yes on the ACA knowing that it would likely end their Congressional careers, which it did. Talk about selfless patriotism. The contrast is shocking and sad.
Major Major Major Major
fuckem, as they say.
Gonna get ready for bed so I can wake up a year older!
NotMax
Repeating.
Had to drive someone to the eye doctor and back way too early today (non-emergency). While in town noticed that regular gasoline is now at or above $4.
After Dolt 45’s stupidity today, that”s bound to go up, up up.
So much winning….
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major: Happy birthday! How young will you be?
Mike J
@Major Major Major Major: Fucking wormholes. They’re the worst.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Thirty-three.
@Mike J: Trump is worse!
SFAW
@Major Major Major Major:
Happy birthday, youngster, and many more!
SFAW
@Major Major Major Major:
Fixed
SFAW
@NotMax:
Thanks, Obama?
Ruckus
Look at the tie on that dude. Does he shop at the same cheap ass store as drumpf or what?
Mike J
@Major Major Major Major: Trump is fond of superlatives, so it’s natural we call him worst.
September 6 you’ll be 33 and 1/3. I suggest you celebrate with Earth, Wind, and Fire on vinyl.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major:
I thought so because I thought you mentioned your age recently before.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: It’s relevant sometimes. Gotta prove my cred as an early millennial.
Major Major Major Major
@Major Major Major Major:
Ah, that’s right, I installed the Millennials-to-Snake-People extension.
prostratedragon
@Ruckus: My prayer for someone to end the style of the tie-flashing jacket cut might have been answered.
cursorial
When I see news about the Trump building in Panama they took his name off, or the condo building they went to court to keep his name on, he just seems too easy to bait. At first I thought they should have auctioned off the rights to pry the letters off the building, instead of letting some maintenance guy do it. Now I think we should crowdsource money to start renaming his buildings after Obama, just to troll him.
Mnemosyne
I’m reposing Yarrow’s comment from the thread below because it fits this thread so well:
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
“In Russia, oil go up, tie go down. To floor.” Sartorial cousins.
Platonailedit
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Why the fuck would a russian reporter care about amurkan interests especially given that they repeatedly elect a traitorous party to all levels of a corrupt governance?
piratedan
and to be fair, I’m not sure which pisses me off the most…
That DJT is essentially bought and paid for as a Russian asset… and as such, looking thru that lens makes everything he says and does look “rational”
or…
That GOP is perfectly fine with that because they don’t care as long as they’re making dosh and they get to do what they want, with no self examination whatsoever.
TeezySkeezy (formerly the T S you hate)
@piratedan: I suggest rage lobe enlargement surgery. I can now fully feel what I was missing before. You’ll have room to be as angry as possible at multiple things at once.
I’m not a medical doctor, that is not medical advice….just GOOD advice! Who can argue with elective brain surgery, amirite?
TeezySkeezy (formerly the T S you hate)
@Mnemosyne: It’s hard to believe for some people, I guess. I mean…it IS a pretty crazy thing. However, yeah, the resistance to seeing the truth is getting pretty pathological, for sure.
Patricia Kayden
And oil going up will hit Trump supporters as hard as the rest of us. I’m still trying to figure out what that precious White Working Class (which has been so widely covered by the MSM) has gotten from the Trump administration.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: …or 33 1/3 by Harrison.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Patricia Kayden: Being that the WWC love their big ass trucks, higher gas prices will hit them harder.
bystander
@Patricia Kayden: When you want to get your hate on, who you gonna call? Some woman? Or a manly white man who’s tuff on the coloreds?
?BillinGlendaleCA
My photo website is now live and can be accessed by clicking on my nym.
lumpkin
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
I think you do not recognize mockery of the idiot that created this situation.
ETA: I thought your comment referred to the Russian lady. If it was Maureen Dowd, I agree with you.
mai naem mobile
George Deukmajian died. Hope that’s a sign for whatever is left of the GOP in California. Turn it solid blue in Congress. Get rid of Nunes,Rohrbacher, McCarthy,Issa,McClintock,Denham,Walters…tthe whole lot.
NorthLeft12
Funny, I can remember when Al Gore was relentlessly mocked by the MSM about claiming undeserved credit. I guess things are different now.
mai naem mobile
There’s an outbreak of Ebola in a small area in the Congo. I am waiting to see when Fox News and CNN will turn it into a 24/7 scarefest of ‘ebola’s coming,ebola’s gonna come get you,ebola is going to get you in the subway and on the plane, ebola ebola ebola…’ I believe I will be waiting for a long time. Dolt45 will use it as an excuse to not let black.blackity blackity people from Shithole countries in Africa enter the US.
Sherparick
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: She would be a perfect Republican.
MattF
@mai naem mobile: I recall the manufactured panic last time. A Trumpy co-worker got all worked up about it– I reminded him that he’d have to catch Ebola from someone. He quieted down, after a moment or two of thought.
Dolly Llama
@?BillinGlendaleCA: There’s “War at 33 1/3” by Public Enemy.
Luthe
@Major Major Major Major: A fellow snerson (snake person)! Albeit nearly a year younger than my majestic self…
jonas
@Patricia Kayden:
Their myriad resentments constantly stoked and affirmed.
The Pale Scot
@Patricia Kayden:
It will also bail out shale oil producers that are pumping it out below cost. Texas fur instance get happy. So does N. Dakota, but they’re politically irrelevant.
Add: And don’t forget the Sauds, our bestist friends ever, that might forstall the coup for a year or so.
(They can’t stop pumping because they borrowed money from WS and have to have an income stream to pay off the vig.)
The Pale Scot
FYWP,
And don’t forget the Sauds, our BFFs
Ruckus
@Patricia Kayden:
It’s not difficult to see what they got.
Fucked.
Difference is I think they secretly wanted it. We understand it isn’t enjoyable, they seem willing to fuck themselves and hard, as long as whoever the hate de jour is is getting it as well. I don’t think they like themselves at all, they imagine that suffering is the preferred emotion for everyone.
MattF
@Ruckus: Ressentiment.
Ruckus
@MattF:
Knew there was a term for their stupidity other than conservative.
Neldob
So a Russian oligarch paid to keep Stormy quiet??!! or am I the last to know. Leave it to Putin.
jc
I think the message Trump’s presidency sends is: there are a *lot* of very poorly informed “citizens” in this country. Or are they willfully oblivious? Or just really dumb suckers?