The Loyal Opposition

[BigV]

I am the loyal opposition.

Tonight I attended my first Women's March, 10 Actions in 100 Days meeting. It was great. Last Sunday, when BelovedDaughter and I went for our hike, she asked me what I'd done yesterday (Saturday) and was a bit shocked to learn that I hadn't marched with the 100,000 *other* loyal opponents in Seattle.

Tonight it was about sending direct messages to our representatives in Congress, being specific, to the point, personal. If they're going to represent us, they'd better know how we feel about the issues. And they will. It's important to recognize that absent any communication from the constituency, an elected official will have cause to think they're doing a good job and truly representing their people. By the time they're in office, the consent of the governed is presumed.

Well, fuck that shit.

I DO NOT consent to much of the madness going on in (the other) Washington lately. The executive orders, while legal, are not expressions of how I believe our country should act. The basket of deplorables representing the bulk of his cabinet nominations are unacceptable. Mattis and Tillerson are the least revolting but Jeff "good people don't smoke marijuana/good ol' boy" Sessions and Beverly "no public school for me or my children-ever" Voss horrify me. My representatives had better vote NO if they want to act on my behalf. Let's not get started on that clown, Perry, who wants/wanted to eliminate the the agency he's now been nominated to head. JFC.

It's **crucial** that I do my part, that I do my best to be an informed citizen. The success of our country depends on it and depends on you in the same way. Having informed myself, I will exercise my right to free speech (while it lasts, Steve "the media should keep its mouth shut" Fucking Bannon, I'm looking at you). See something, say something. This emperor has no clothes, (and no brains and no class and no maturity, I could go on) and by God, I'm going to say something.

I am the loyal opposition and I object!

[BigV]

I Object!

There's so much material here, I'm literally overwhelmed. It's a tsunami of bad decisions made by our government. I think of this thread every day. Today I'm extending it.

***

Remember Obama's "red line" comment about chemical weapons in Syria and how that ill-advised well-meant but no-room-to-maneuver played out? Badly, politically, yeah. And worse for the poor people who caught the chlorine bombs. Fucking Assad.

Anyhow.

Trump recently (well, it seems a thousand lies ago, but it really was not too far back) made his own "red line" remark in an ill-advised over-reaction to his administration's flirtations with Mother Russia. He said (through Spicer)

Trump has "made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea. At the same time, he fully expects to and wants to get along with Russia."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4LrbBgL4I&t=7m4s

Watch the whole thing if you're running low on bullshit. It's helpful to wind it back before the statement start to get the context of the situation, Flynn being asked to resign.

This, this after he said the opposite (shocking, I know) in the middle of the campaign. Back when he was on the campaign trail, he called for (a lot of shit including) the possibility of recognizing the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

The question came from Mareike Aden, a German reporter, who asked him whether a President Trump would recognize Crimea as Russian and lift sanctions on Moscow imposed after its 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian territory. The candidate’s reply: “Yes. We would be looking at that.”

So, what the FUCK is it gonna be?

Many, many statements by Trump indicate a strong desire to capitulate to cooperate with Russia. But using the new promise of lifting existing sanctions in return for surrendering the sovereign territory of Crimea back to Ukraine strikes me a especially fanciful, even from the fluffy head of Trump. Where's your vaunted bargain from a position of strength, Mr President?

[sexobon]

I object to your objection on the grounds that it objectifies an object of objectification.

Would you rather Trump did a Dubya and just told Russia to Bring it on!

Trump is doing what he's good at. He can't dazzle 'em with brilliance; so, he's baffling 'em with bullshit.

It's a technique. Don't knock it, it got him elected!

[BigV]

campaigning is for candidates.

governing is for incumbents.

[sexobon]

He hasn't been vested with the authority to govern the world. He's still a candidate on the global venue.

Have a bowl of fish head soup. You'll feel better in the morning.

[BigV]

Another worrisome item before I retire tonight. This is a first draft.

It's not only the wrong-headed actions of the Adminstration I oppose, it's the wrong-headed actions of the Congress as well. For example, the well publicized and proportionally poorly thought out actions of the Congress to attempt to eviscerate the Ethics Committee.

House Republicans, led by Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, had sought on Monday to prevent the office from pursuing investigations that might result in criminal charges. Instead, they wanted to allow lawmakers on the more powerful House Ethics Committee to shut down inquiries. They even sought to block the small staff at the Office of Congressional Ethics, which would have been renamed and put under the oversight of House lawmakers, from speaking to the news media.

“It has damaged or destroyed a lot of political careers in this place, and it’s cost members of Congress millions of dollars to defend themselves against anonymous allegations,” Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, said Tuesday, still defending the move.

But such resolve crumbled Tuesday morning, as thousands of phone calls flooded lawmakers’ offices and both conservative and liberal ethics groups issued statements condemning the vote. Some Republicans joined in, saying the measure sent the wrong message to the public. (Internet searches for the words “Who is my representative” surged after news of the plan broke Monday night and peaked Tuesday morning, according to Google.)

What the fuck were they thinking?

[Mountain Mule]

Originally Posted by BigV

Another worrisome item before I retire tonight. This is a first draft.

It's not only the wrong-headed actions of the Adminstration I oppose, it's the wrong-headed actions of the Congress as well. For example, the well publicized and proportionally poorly thought out actions of the Congress to attempt to eviscerate the Ethics Committee.



What the fuck were they thinking?

They were thinking they'd better CYA and do it fast.

The corruption continues Wilbur Ross , just confirmed , was Vice chair of Bank of Cyprus. So what you may ask since atrocities keep pouring in so quickly it's difficult to keep track of them all. Well, here's what according to various reliable sources across the Internet. Here's a snip from the DC Report:

In the midst of the Trump Administration’s many other Russian entanglements, it turns out that Wilbur J. Ross, Jr., the billionaire American investor who is one of Donald Trump’s closest advisors on trade and economics, has direct financial ties to several leading oligarchs from Russia and the Former Soviet Union or FSU.
The U.S. Senate should thoroughly investigate these ties before it votes on Ross’ nomination to be Commerce Secretary when it returns from recess next week.

Central to this inquiry is the question of Ross’s role as Vice Chair and a leading investor in the Bank of Cyprus, the largest bank in Cyprus, one of the key offshore havens for illicit Russian finance. Ross has been Vice Chairman of this bank and a major investor in it since 2014. His fellow bank co-chair evidently was appointed by none other than Vladimir Putin.

The Bank of Cyprus is just one of more than 100 direct and indirect investments that Ross listed on his U.S. Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure form last month. He recently promised to resign as Vice Chairman of the Bank and disinvest from it within the next 90 days if his nomination is approved.

Mere divestiture will not suffice here, even if it was immediate. Exiting a brothel in a hurry doesn’t explain what you were doing there in the first place.

more...

The story in the DC Report appears to be well researched and gives many cites from reliable, nonpartisan sources. Too bad Congress didn't follow the advise of the journalist who wrote that story. But then why should they? The Pussy Grabber crowd are sitting in the cat bird's seat, ready to snack on as many canaries as possible. And as we all know, no one can ever eat just one.

[sexobon]

Just look at the stunts that attention whoring President is pulling now, for his self aggrandizement, shortly before addressing a joint session of Congress:

Trump signs historically black colleges order

President Trump will sign an executive order to bolster historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Tuesday. The order will do this by moving the moving the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which was previously part of the Department of Education, back to the White House.

The administration says this action will encourage strategic partnerships with other agencies and outside groups by giving it greater visibility. The United Negro College Fund had requested that Mr. Trump move the Initiative to the White House and be led by a person “who reports to a senior advisor to the president,” according to The Washington Post.

Dozens of HBCU leaders gathered at the White House on Monday where they briefly met Mr. Trump in the Oval Office before meeting with Vice President Mike Pence. The order is a signal that the Trump administration plans to make HBCUs a priority, boosting Trump’s “urban agenda,” a senior White House office told reporters in a briefing.

The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities was started by President Jimmy Carter, but the Trump administration says the office has “lost track because they didn’t have the full force of the White House behind it.” ...

... The pen-happy President will also sign two bills: the Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers and Innovators and Explorers Act (INSPIRE) act and Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act. INSPIRE, first introduced by Virginia Congresswomen Barbara Comstock, authorizes NASA to encourage women to pursue careers in engineering, science, and mathematics.

The Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act authorizes the National Science Foundation to provide support for women’s entrepreneurial programs. ...

Shameless I tell ya ... shameless.

[xoxoxoBruce]

In the midst of the Trump Administration’s many other Russian entanglements, it turns out that Wilbur J. Ross, Jr., the billionaire American investor who is one of Donald Trump’s closest advisors on trade and economics, has direct financial ties to several leading oligarchs from Russia and the Former Soviet Union or FSU.

I'd be more suspicious of people with ties to trump than to Russians.

The order will do this by moving the moving the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which was previously part of the Department of Education, back to the White House.

1- to elevate blacks to positions where he can blame them for his fuckups and fire them.

2- to prevent charges of racism and backlash as DeVos dismantles the Department of Education.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by sexobon

Just look at the stunts that attention whoring President is pulling now, for his self aggrandizement, shortly before addressing a joint session of Congress:

DeVos didn't help him much, trying to claim HBUs were early examples of "school choice".

[sexobon]

OMG, did you watch Trump's speech to Congress. Oh the humanity! He didn't grab even one pussy. He must've not been feeling well or something. And all his Me, me, me(s) turned into Us, us, us ... such shameless pandering. It's a good thing his daughter Ivanka was there as eye candy; or, the evening would have been a total loss.

[BigV]

I think his speechwriter deserves a raise.

[Mountain Mule]

I think his handlers all deserve a stiff drink of bourbon tonight. Putin must be applying the thumb screws behind the scenes.

[BigV]

This morning we're participating in a "People Power" Livestream Event from the ACLU.

I'll take good notes and deliver my report when I return.

[sexobon]

You'll feel better after "Placebo Power".