Trump Administration 2.0

[Bact PhD]

Some things are already decided—Susie Wiles, his FL campaign poo-bah, has been tapped for the Chief of Staff position. Elise Stefanik has been nominated for Ambassador to the United Nations.

And then…there’s this beaut (they can’t say they weren’t warned…if they give a rat’s ass):

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/10/trump-rick-scott-senate-cornyn-thune-mcconnell/

Trump, who last year promised that he will be dictator “for Day One” of his presidency and has repeatedly expressed admiration for authoritarian leaders, insisted that the next Senate Republican leader make it possible for him to fast-track his nominations over any opposition.

Writing on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said: “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”

Natch, potential new Majority Leader (p)Rick Scott is 110% on board with this:

Within minutes, Scott vowed to fulfill Trump’s request if he becomes Senate Republican leader, writing on X: “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.”

Top Trump allies — including billionaire CEO Elon Musk — and a number of far-right influencers have quickly lined up behind Scott’s bid.

[Bact PhD]

At least some sanity prevailed in the Senate with Scott NOT getting the Majority Leader’s post.
However, when I heard who is being put up for AG I had to ask whether it was an April Fool’s joke…Matt Gaetz? Really?!? I have to confess, I didn’t see that one coming.

Truly, we live in interesting times.

[goldenvalley]

This guy Hegseth (nominee for Department of Defense) is quite the head case. The Bulwark has an article about his tattoos.  He seems to think he's a latter day Crusader.  This guy is dangerous...good thing he isn't in military service anymore.

I thought Crusaders were the bad guys...invading the Middle East for mostly wanting to plunder but claiming some sort of religious reason.  As I've traveled in Europe running across places where they been (Durnstein, Austria) I've been amazed at how far these folks traveled to beat up on people.  

[goldenvalley]

This whole release of Trump's proposed appointments is pure Trump id.  He's carrying out his retribution by appointing people he thinks will exact his revenge and piss off every enemy, plus keep Putin happy and ensure he is in the Dictator Club that he imagines Putin is the president of. 

Republican senators did their one minor act of defiance voting a secret ballot to make Thune the Majority Leader.  

[Bact PhD]

And the collection of members of the Rogues Gallery continues. TBH, the RFK Jr nom for HHS Sec was far less of a surprise than the Quintessential Florida Man getting tapped for AG.

(shakes head)

[indy]

Tulsi Gabbard in charge of national intelligence, RFK Jr in charge of health, Matt Gaetz in charge of Justice.

Irony is not only dead, it has been atomized and scattered into the winds.

[goldenvalley]

Nov 15, 2024 2:28:28 GMT indy said:

Tulsi Gabbard in charge of national intelligence, RFK Jr in charge of health, Matt Gaetz in charge of Justice.

Irony is not only dead, it has been atomized and scattered into the winds.

It appears to be all about who can be the biggest stick in the eye of Trump's perceived enemies.  And a bonus is if they've been on tv like Hegseth and Duffy.  They have the look he likes. He'll never pick a Keebler elf looking guy like Jeff Sessions ever again. 

[andydp]

Score one for the deep state woke warriors:

Gaetz withdraws nomination.

Borowitz chimes in:


Guardrail Protecting Democracy Turns out to be Venmo

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—After worrying that there would be no limits on Donald J. Trump’s presidential power, on Thursday experts agreed that a robust guardrail does in fact exist: Venmo.

According to the constitutional law scholar Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, “The framers of the Constitution could not have envisioned this, but our nation’s most powerful protection against tyranny is an app.”

“While Republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court cower at Trump’s feet, Venmo knows no fear,” he said.

Logsdon added that today’s developments should also send a strong message to the nation’s business leaders, noting, “Venmo has more balls than Jeff Bezos.”

[goldenvalley]

Nov 21, 2024 18:55:58 GMT andydp said:

Score one for the deep state woke warriors:

Gaetz withdraws nomination.

Borowitz chimes in:


“While Republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court cower at Trump’s feet, Venmo knows no fear,” he said.

Great line! And I agree that while the Reps could ignore the leaks from the lawyer as just so much activity to set up a financial shakedown by lying bitches that impressive looking chart of Venmo transactions was a visual representation of the disgusting nature of Gaetz' activities with his buddy Greenberg.  

[Bact PhD]

Boy, that didn’t take long; it’s almost as if Team Trump knew the whole time that Gaetz was going to be a no-go. Florida Man replaced by Florida Woman! From WaPo, in full:

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that he plans to nominate former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to become attorney general, hours after his initial pick, former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), withdrew from consideration. Bondi previously worked in the Trump White House, serving in a rapid response unit during the first impeachment.

I’m no fan of Bondi, but she’s probably the best of the lot that was likely to get picked,

[goldenvalley]

Nov 22, 2024 0:03:33 GMT Bact PhD said:

Boy, that didn’t take long; it’s almost as if Team Trump knew the whole time that Gaetz was going to be a no-go. Florida Man replaced by Florida Woman! From WaPo, in full:

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that he plans to nominate former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to become attorney general, hours after his initial pick, former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), withdrew from consideration. Bondi previously worked in the Trump White House, serving in a rapid response unit during the first impeachment.

I’m no fan of Bondi, but she’s probably the best of the lot that was likely to get picked,

She has the looks that Trump likes and I guess she ran up to Philadelphia in 2020 to support Giuliani.

[indy]

In case you happen to live under the same rock I do, Bluesky seems to have become the new old twitter. Once again I can just see who and what I want to see without all the BS. I'm sure it will also eventually go to the dogs, but for now it is enjoyable to see pictures of deep space and hear from people who don't wear their grudges on their sleeves.

bsky.app/

[AnBr]

I setup an account a while back, but have not used it much. Mostly a matter of waiting for it to hit critical mass, which it seems to be getting there. Now if we could have a reasonable replacement for Facebook, too.

[indy]

Nov 22, 2024 21:30:35 GMT AnBr said:

I setup an account a while back, but have not used it much. Mostly a matter of waiting for it to hit critical mass, which it seems to be getting there. Now if we could have a reasonable replacement for Facebook, too.

Something like 20 million new users since the election is what I read. I consume but don't engage and right now it seems mostly filled with weird and nerdy stuff. Right up my alley.

[goldenvalley]

I just established a Bluesky account and deleted my Twit X.  I don't post but I follow certain journalists and California legislators made big use of Twit X.  I need to keep up with them.  I assume the legislator will shift to Bluesky.  It's nice to not see Musk's posts and all the other people that repeat untrue things.  It was beyond annoying to have my feed dominated by people I didn't follow...and stupid ads.

I got a laugh the other day when I heard the Legal Defense Fund president call Blue-sky Bluski like a Polish name.  I'm not the only old trying to keep up with the new stuff!

[goldenvalley]

Did you hear me cursing?   

The special counsel Jack Smith asked two courts on Monday to effectively shut down the federal criminal cases he brought against President-elect Donald J. Trump last year, bowing to a Justice Department policy that says it is unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents.

The twin requests by Mr. Smith — made to judges in Washington and Atlanta — were an acknowledgment that Mr. Trump will re-enter the White House in January unburdened by federal efforts to hold him accountable through charges of plotting to subvert the last presidential election and holding on to a trove of highly classified material following his first term in office.

I couldn't read the rest of this through the red that obliterated my vision.  The dismissal of the documents case makes me incandescent with rage.  The man drags classified documents out of the White House, lies to investigators about turning over the documents, and who knows who has received copies of them since Jan 21, 2021.  How can our laws allow this to be dismissed?