Wednesday’s Forum

FILED UNDER: Open Forum
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Not the IT Dept. says:

    I mentioned last night that Mike Huckabee is the new Ambassador to Israel. TPM took a look at his attitude to the area. Going to be a tense time for the next few years:

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things-stand/trumps-ambassador-to-israel-believes-palestine-is-a-mythical-land

    Apparently Yassar Afafat ‘invented’ a ‘Palestinian nation’ in 1962, and before then “the term applied to ALL who lived in the region, including the Jews.”

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  2. Not the IT Dept. says:

    And on a separate note, again following up on what I commented yesterday, Putin’s people are making some playful references to what Trump owes those who helped him. Quote:

    “Does the incoming change of power in the U.S. carry any positive changes for Russia?” the reporter asked.

    “To achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations,” Patrushev replied. “And as a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.”

    Source: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/putin-aide-takes-time-to-troll-trump-over-us-election

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  3. wr says:

    @Not the IT Dept.: I’m going to have to work really hard to summon up even a shred of sympathy for the Arab-Americans in the midwest who voted for Trump to punish Harris for Biden’s Gaza policy.

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  4. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @wr:

    Which has what exactly to do with Huckabee’s appointment as Ambassador to Israel? Regardless of how Americans voted, this is a foreign affairs issue.

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  5. Jen says:

    @Not the IT Dept.: I mentioned this Huckabee appointment to my husband last night, noting this was potentially Very Bad News. During my time in politics, the people who unnerved me most were the religious conservatives who were hoping for the Second Coming, brought about by End Times. They *want* that part of the world to kick off a war, because they believe it will separate the damned from the righteous. It’s creepy and weird.

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  6. just nutha says:

    Granted, the link is weak, but there’s some amount of irony in Arab Americans voting for Trump (or staying home?) only to see Trump nominate an ambassador to Israel that believes Palestine is an “invented nation.”

    On the other hand, not the first time and certainly not the last.

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  7. just nutha says:

    @Jen: As an erstwhile evangelical Christian, the most unnerving part is that these people believe that they can cause the Second Coming/End Times, or worse yet have a calling from God to do so.

    The weirdness of the idea is bad enough, but, while not a concern for the secularly inclined, the theology of the idea is worse.

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  8. JohnSF says:

    @Not the IT Dept.:
    In purely historically terms, he has a (more or less) a couple of reasonable points.
    But he’s trying to make a political point in which that has about as much relevance to current reality as arguing:
    “Pakistan was not a separate entity before 1947, therefore Pakistan cannot have an identity as such now.”
    You’d think an American might be able to grasp the concept that a new national identity can develop.
    Or else he may care to return to his true allegiance to His Majesty, King Charles III?

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  9. becca says:

    Has anyone read about the FourB movement that started in South Korea and is spreading here and other countries? Women are committing to not marry, date or have sex with men during the Trump presidency.
    Of course, Trump will probably order mass rapes if he gets wind of it. I mean, cavemen used to clonk cavewomen on the head and drag them back to their lairs, dint they? I’m sure he saw that in a cartoon, so it must be historically accurate, right?

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  10. DrDaveT says:

    @becca:

    Has anyone read about the FourB movement

    Yes. My immediate reaction was “We don’t need that now — we needed a large and vocal Lysistrata movement before the election.”

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  11. charontwo says:

    @wr: Lots of folks fucked around this election, not just Arabs.

    A lot of them will find out.

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  12. Paine says:

    Press Sec KJP on Biden’s invitation to Trump to visit the White House:

    “It is important not just because it’s important to him, but it’s important to the American people. The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power. They deserve a smooth transition. And that’s what you’re going to see.”

    I’m finding the Dem’s commitment to being high-minded during such trying times more and more difficult to bear. This meeting obviously is not important to the American people otherwise they wouldn’t have returned to power the guy that skipped it four years ago just prior to coercing a mob to storm the capital.

    And yes, the American people deserve those things, which is exactly why you don’t give the orange PoS this sort of courtesy because he is the guy that didn’t give the people what they deserved four years ago.

    I know it’s not Biden’s style but I would love nothing more than for him to come out and say that as long as he is president Trump is not welcome to the White House.

    Grrr…

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  13. Kathy says:

    @JohnSF:

    Don’t you know Jehovah created America on the seventh day? They may have rested that day, but only to engage in their hobby of placing America at the center of the universe. it’s in the Bible.

    As to allegiance, sucking up to the man with the tampon fantasies sounds about right for the self-abasement obsessed MAGAts.

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  14. Kathy says:

    @Paine:

    I’d have a janitor meet him at the door, tell him the President left him a note, give him the wrong note, and close the door on his orange face.

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  15. @Not the IT Dept.: I have profound concerns that someone who was once a theologically conservative Evangelical pastor should have that job. Huckabee will view the whole situation through a Sunday School version of the OT and of the “End Times.”

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  16. Brandon says:

    James, interested to hear your take on this plan to purge generals:

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  17. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @Steven L. Taylor:

    Exactly. I have a feeling that Netanyahu is not going to like this appointment as much as he might expect.

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  18. CSK says:

    The repellent little cockroach and Trump dinner guest Nick Fuentes has a new mantra: “Your body, my choice. Forever.”

    He’s promoting not just forced pregnancy but forced sex. I.e., rape. And he’s acquired a huge number of fans by doing so.

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/13/your-body-my-choice-maga-men

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  19. just nutha says:

    @Not the IT Dept.: Having actually heard Huck preach, my concern goes the other way. Huck is a strong “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you” kind of guy. With an extra helping of “all governments are ordained by God.” I’d be happy for you to be right, though.

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  20. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @CSK:

    And there are a lot of women who are replying back to him: “Your balls. My foot/knee.”

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  21. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @just nutha:

    Netanyahu is a supplicant, he’s going to be always asking for things, he’s not going to be able to do much for the Trump Administration. (It’s not just Democrats who got fed up with him.) Huckabee dropping into Netanyahu’s office and responding to requests for additional resources with things like “Let’s pray about that” isn’t going to help much.

    Also, Trump likes what he sees as winners. Putin will crush Ukraine once he knows Trump will look the other way, and that’s a winner as far as Trump is concerned. Netanyahu still hasn’t “beaten” Hamas and has now started up with Iran’s proxies. Netanyahu needs America on a daily basis but he doesn’t look like he can deliver anything, even a win for his own side. Trump will get tired of the begging quite quickly.

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  22. just nutha says:

    @Not the IT Dept.:

    Huckabee dropping into Netanyahu’s office and responding to requests for additional resources with things like “Let’s pray about that” isn’t going to help much.

    I think you’re perception of this is myopic but will be overjoyed if you’re right. Let’s all hope for cracker being ignint again. [fingers crossed emoji]

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  23. just nutha says:

    Also, Trump likes what he sees as winners. Putin will crush Ukraine once he knows Trump will look the other way, and that’s a winner as far as Trump is concerned. Netanyahu still hasn’t “beaten” Hamas and has now started up with Iran’s proxies. Netanyahu needs America on a daily basis but he doesn’t look like he can deliver anything, even a win for his own side. Trump will get tired of the begging quite quickly.

    Unless he decides to encourage and green light a more genocidal approach than Bibi could get Biden to approve. We live in interesting times. And we seem to be retreating back into the foreshortened era of “why can’t we just nuke them?” Will Hegseth know the answer?

    I have my doubts, but then again, lots of people say I’m too cynical. Bigly.

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  24. DK says:

    @Paine: It’s maybe less about being courteous to Trump, it’s more about drawing contrasts. Mature stoicism vs sore loser crybaby tantruming.

    Democrats’ facilitating a traditional transfer of power is small bore compared to contrasts to be drawn in the fight ahead. But right now, Democrats are not giving Trump voters any reason to play victim and shift blame, like they love to do.

    Per Gustopher, voters have insisted on touching the stove (again). Biden calmly meeting with Trump at the White House is akin to saying, “Y’all were warned. Good luck, suckers.”

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  25. DK says:

    CA Dems got good news yesterday from our state’s slow vote counting.

    Democrat Dave Min defeats Scott Baugh in critical California House race (NBC News)

    Whitesides captures L.A. County congressional seat in a major victory for Democrats (L.A. Times)

    Min’s district was represented by Katie Porter. It’s an affluent, very white Orange County swing district that was a longtime Reagan/Bush Republican stronghold.

    Whitesides’s district is on the outskirts of L.A. It’s working/middle class and largely Hispanic. It had been Republican forever till Katie Hill flipped it in the 2018 blue wave. She resigned amid scandal in 2019; the odious MAGA Republican Mike Garcia had held it since.

    Local Democratic clubs kept pouring resources into Garcia’s ouster, so Whitesides’s win is especially sweet.

    These are more results that seem incongruent with prevailing narratives about the national mood and with Republicans on the verge of a federal trifecta again.

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  26. CSK says:

    John Thune is senate majority leader.

    The MAGAs are suicidal.

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  27. Mikey says:

    @CSK: We will learn to treasure these moments of relative sanity.

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  28. CSK says:

    @Mikey:

    Thune prevailed over Cornyn 29 – 24. Scott was eliminated on the first round.

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  29. Monala says:

    @just nutha: I haven’t read the Bible in a long time, but isn’t there a scripture that says, “No one knows the day or hour [of the rapture], not even the Son of Man [Jesus himself]”? And not to believe anyone who says they do.

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  30. Jack says:

    The negativity depresses. All the faux intellectual arguments boil down to “I don’t like him or her; I would choose an establishment figure” and “I’m already declaring failure.” And then there is Mr Reynolds idiocy. When does Putin’s buttboy start? High quality commentary there.

    Why do people not understand that government is failing, at bloated costs, miserably, and Trump ran as a disrupter? And that’s what people voted for.

    Its America, you can complain all you want. But I have to observe that most of the last two days here looks more like a bunch of petulant brats than anything else.

    Me? I’ll watch and see. As I’ve said, its on Trump now – WH, Senate and House, and his picks. Perform. Or he’s a lame duck in 2 years.

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  31. Kathy says:

    @CSK:

    It would be too easy to argue that a good Republiqan majority leader is a contradiction in terms. but I feel about an atom’s worth of relief it was anyone but Scott. After all, the distance from bad to worse to worst to the felon’s rubber stamp is not huge, but it’s not nothing.

    I assume the thinking is they are safe from having their face eaten if they’re riding the leopard. The problem, even if they’re right, is that they can’t get off at all.

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  32. CSK says:

    Holy shit! There was just gunfire and an armed carjacking about 100 feet from my place.

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  33. just nutha says:

    @CSK: Even so, USA Today is calling it a rejection of the more MAGA-ish choice of Musk, Ramaswani, and Trump loyalists in the Senate–Rick Scott. Maybe Thune is the least worse. I dunno.

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  34. just nutha says:

    @Monala: Yes. That’s one of the smaller theological obstacles to NAR and the Seven Mountain Mandate–they’re centered in questionable Bible interpretation. (At best, a few people toss the term “heretical” around as a description.)

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  35. wr says:

    @Not the IT Dept.: “Which has what exactly to do with Huckabee’s appointment as Ambassador to Israel? ”

    I thought this was kind of obvious, but I’ll try to explain:

    Arab-Americans in the Midwest were angry at Biden over his Gaza policy, so they either didn’t vote for president or voted for Trump.

    Trump is elected with their help.

    Trump repays them by appointing an ambassador to Israel who believes that the West Bank belongs entirely to Israel and they should do with it as they please. And another official (I think the defense secretary, but may be confusing him with someone else) who says that God gave all of Israel to Abraham, so the current government can do whatever they want with the entire region.

    Presumably, the Arab-American voters who went for Trump because they didn’t like Biden’s policies will like Trump’s policies even less, especially once he gives Netanyahu the green light for total ethnic cleansing. (Sorry, that’s a phrase I really loathe, but if I were to use the “g” word this whole thread would spiral into a familiar and tiresome set of arguments…)

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  36. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @wr:

    Yeah, probably they will feel angry about it. Least of my concerns is how Trump voters come to regret their choice.

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  37. just nutha says:

    @Jack:

    Trump ran as a disrupter?

    Yeah. I get that. I got that 8 years ago, too. And four years ago, people voted for the oldest, least successful Democratic candidate in 40 years to replace the “disrupter.”

    My question is *how does choosing Trump this time not fit the definition of insanity as choosing to take the same action while expecting a different result*?

    And I’ll watch and see, too. I like a clown car act as much as anyone. But Trump is already a lame duck. He’s not eligible for reelection. And Republicans have history as not handling being in the majority well. Interesting times. Good to be old.

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  38. just nutha says:

    @CSK: WA!!
    Stay safe!

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  39. DK says:

    @Jack:

    The negativity depresses.

    I’m not depressed. Do you need a hug? Hahaha.

    I have to observe that most of the last two days here looks more like a bunch of petulant brats than anything else.

    And yet here you are again — depressed and hanging on every word of smart, decent, patriotic people who disregard your observations.

    *sigh* Win, lose, or draw…at least we’ll always have MAGA tears to bathe in. It’s rather nice lol

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  40. just nutha says:

    @wr: I used the “g” word and got away with it. People must have lower expectations of me because I’m an ignint cracker. 😉

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  41. DK says:

    @just nutha: Slowed GDP from Obama to Trump, a grossly mismanaged pandemic, NATO in shambles, and record job loss were certainly disruptive. No one can deny that.

    I wonder what furthur future “disruptions” await? Debt default? Tarrif-fueled inflation? Xi and Putin eating Pete Hegseth for lunch?

    How could anyone look away?

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  42. Kathy says:

    @CSK:

    Are you okay?

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  43. Kathy says:

    @wr:

    The point in all of this is how much influence the ambassador has in shaping policy.

    It will depend on what, if any, policy the felon has. Then what and how the ambassador, such as he is, decides to report back on local politics and overall conditions. And finally how that influences the felon, and who speaks to him last.

    As to giving Bibi the green light, I predict more of disinterest or outright indifference about what Bibi decides to do.

    Should the felon for some reason express public approval of developments like annexing Gaza and/or the West Bank, then he will not only defend such a development when it happens, but also claim it was what everyone always wanted as well.

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  44. becca says:

    @CSK: yikes! Let us know you’re okay, okay?

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  45. CSK says:

    @just nutha: @Kathy
    : @becca:

    Thank you all for asking. I’m fine. I know it’s an appalling cliche to say that things like that don’t happen around here, but normally, they don’t.

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  46. Jack says:

    @just nutha:

    Do you think his named cabinet picks so far are similar to 2016? I don’t.

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  47. Jack says:

    @DK:

    You just keep tellin’ yerself that.

    Last time I looked I’m not the one bichxing and moaning about all things Trump.

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  48. DK says:

    @Jack: Sure, snowflake. You took a break from your usual bitching and moaning about all things OTB to admit our observations about Trump’s obviously unqualified DEI hires has left you depressed.

    I love that for you.

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  49. CSK says:

    @Jack:

    Regarding Trump, there’s quite a lot about which to complain. He constantly boasts about hiring the “top” people. Then he fires them a few weeks or a few months or a year after hiring them for being incompetent.

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  50. wr says:

    @Not the IT Dept.: “Least of my concerns is how Trump voters come to regret their choice.”

    Yeah, that was my original point. Sorry if I was unclear about that. Could have saved us a little back and forth…

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  51. JohnSF says:

    @CSK:
    John Thune?
    Who he?

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  52. wr says:

    @Jack: “Why do people not understand that government is failing, at bloated costs, miserably, and Trump ran as a disrupter? And that’s what people voted for.”

    Actually, that’s what Trump ran as in 2016. This time, he ran as the president who presided over a great economy with no inflation and he promised to return to that.

    Maybe the “your body, my choice” bros want what you claim he’s peddling, but that wasn’t his campaign, and when his tariffs and his disruption of labor via deportation cause prices to skyrocket, you can’t say “people don’t mind inflation as long as they’ve got Trump fucking up the government.” Ain’t gonna work like that.

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  53. wr says:

    @Kathy: “As to giving Bibi the green light, I predict more of disinterest or outright indifference about what Bibi decides to do.”

    Until Bibi points out the beachfront property in Gaza and how good a Trump resort would look there.

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  54. JohnSF says:

    @CSK:
    Crikey!
    Keep your head down, OK?

    Whereabouts are you, roughly, if I may ask?
    You may have mentioned before, but I can’t recall.
    When that sort of thing comes close, it’s disturbing.

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  55. CSK says:

    @JohnSF:

    I will, thank you. I’m in a very affluent, highly educated, and normally extremely peaceful town in northeast Essex County, Massachusetts. Somehow I don’t think whoever did this is a local person.

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  56. JohnSF says:

    Meanwhile, in Crimea.
    Russian submarine captain Valery Trankovsky comes to an unfortunate, and rather messy, end in Sevastopol.
    As an Xitter commenter said:

    Another reminder that Ukraine’s version of Mossad is eventually going to make Mossad look like the Teletubbies.

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  57. Bill Jempty says:

    @Jack:

    The negativity depresses. All the faux intellectual arguments boil down to “I don’t like him or her;

    Jack,

    Rubio is a lightweight and not Sec of State material. I voted for him in 2010 when I didn’t know him as well as I do today.

    The Sec of Defense nominee is a bad joke.

    In both cases, Trump could have found some ranking/chairperson Foreign Relations or Armed Services member who would be better choices. Think of what I suggest for a second.

    As for other Trump selections I don’t have strong opinions or any at all.

    The Marx Brothers Duck Soup

    Groucho after appointing Chico Sec of War asks why Fredonia should have a standing army

    “So we can save money on chairs.”

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  58. charontwo says:

    Really depressing piece from Krugman, unfortunately paywalled, The New Republic interview.

    First thing Trump types do is interfere with government statisticians so published data on inflation, unemployment, deficits spending etc become completely unreliable, great for making their work easier for people like Jack.

    Krugman expects lots of aggressive deportations with attendant economic damage, Trump and the people around him are dead serious on white supremacy fanaticism.

    Much briefer version in the NYT:

    Gift

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  59. CSK says:

    @JohnSF:

    Thune is a senator from South Dakota. He’s been serving as Senate Minority Whip, just below McConnell. According to the MAGAs, he’s a Deep State RINO commie.

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  60. Bill Jempty says:

    @CSK:

    I’m in a very affluent, highly educated, and normally extremely peaceful town in northeast Essex County, Massachusetts. Somehow I don’t think whoever did this is a local person.

    For 15 years I worked in the radiology department of JFK Hospital in Atlantis Florida. Atlantis is a small and very affluent community.

    The patients who come to JFK come from mostly outside Atlantis. In 1997 or 1998, the victims of a gang war were brought to JFK’s ER. I was working that night. Some gang members were expected at the hospital and there were fears there could be more violence at the hospital. In response, it seemed everybody on the Atlantis police force turned out to put a clamp on any more violence.

    It worked but it was one very nerve wracking shift for me.

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  61. CSK says:

    The Republicans have won the house, according to NBC.

    Tulsi Gabbard will be Director of National Intelligence.

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  62. Jen says:

    Tulsi Gabbard has been named Director of National Intelligence.

    Dear lord.

    ETA: Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. OMFG.

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  63. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @DK: It’s why people watch NASCAR and buy seats on the third turn at Talladega.

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  64. Scott says:

    absolutely no comment.

    Trump taps firebrand Matt Gaetz for attorney general

    President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named firebrand Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, as he moves swiftly to assemble a Cabinet.

    “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump said in a statement announcing the pick, which would be subject to confirmation by the Republican-majority Senate.

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  65. Gustopher says:

    Matt Gaetz as AG. Why am I finding all of this very, very funny?

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  66. CSK says:

    Again, holy shit:

    TRUMP HAS PICKED MATT GAETZ AS ATTORNEY GENERAL.

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  67. Joe says:

    @Gustopher: I had the same reaction. Trump wants to test how pliant his Senate is and he wants to test that hard.

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  68. a country lawyer says:

    @CSK: The laughs keep coming.

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  69. Mikey says:

    Trump says he will pick Tulsi Gabbard for DNI. Another indication his administration will be exceptionally friendly to Russia.

    The WaPo is reporting he’ll nominate Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, which means rule of Trump will come before rule of law.

    I’m sure whoever Trump chooses to head the FBI will be someone who will have no problem pushing for investigations of Trump’s enemies, regardless of the presence of a valid predicate.

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  70. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @Jack: They don’t look similar to me, but I am not familiar enough with any of the names to know if the choices are qualitatively different. Then again, I don’t think I’ve been lamenting the choices at all. I noted that Stefanic going to the UN seems like a step backwards, but that’s the only comment I recall making other than Huck going to Israel. That strikes me as a bad move, but I wouldn’t put a millennialist anywhere in the ME. They’ve lost their way theologically and that makes them wild cards.

    If your question was prompted by my clown car act comment, understand that I don’t think Trump is qualified for the job, never have, never will. That’s an article-of-faith-type item for me. I disagree with your assessment of Trump’s first bite of the apple, but you be you. Whatever challenges I’ve made to your assertions these past few days have been based on how my world view differs from yours.

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  71. Scott says:

    Just a reminder:

    Trump ally Matt Gaetz says House Ethics panel issued subpoena for him in sex, drug probe

    Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said the House Ethics Committee will subpoena him as it investigates whether he engaged in sexual misconduct or illicit drug use.

    The controversial congressman declared he will “no longer voluntarily participate” in the committee’s investigation.

    Just two months ago.

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  72. JohnSF says:

    Gabbard?
    Gaetz?
    WTHFF?

    “Turn off the oven, Mum! The America’s cooked.”

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  73. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @JohnSF: That was my question, too. Then again, I’d never heard of Mitch McConnell until he became the top of the GOP Senate food chain either. It’s the “does the man make the times or do the times make the man” question.

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  74. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @CSK: I looked where you live up. A good friend of mind either grew up in or went to school in Marblehead. He passed away way too young. I still miss him occasionally when his memory pops up. But it’s always a nice memory, so thank you for triggering it today.

    And stay safe.

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  75. Jen says:

    @Gustopher: Same. I am wondering if it’s some kind of stress response? There’s nothing funny about naming these grossly incompetent and potentially compromised individuals, but my immediate response has been laughter.

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  76. JohnSF says:

    @Just nutha ignint cracker:
    Or in the case of ol’ Mitch, “doth the turtle nip your nethers?”
    I’d actually heard of McConnell before he became SML, though I’m damned if can now recall where exactly.
    I think it was something to do with the NATO enlargement votes. Which shows how much of a political junkie I am, lol.

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  77. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @charontwo: I got that article today as a Greg Sargent podcast, people should be able to get it wherever they listen to podcasts from (but I don’t know for sure, because I don’t do podcasting).

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  78. Lucysfootball says:

    I’m on a semi-blackout of news, so I had to check to make sure that the Gaetz thing wasn’t a joke. Since there seems to be some outstanding picks, I propose this one:
    Rick Scott as Deputy Administrator and Director of Center for Medicare
    I think this would be an inspired pick, kind of like when companies hire programmers who’ve hacked their systems.
    Scott should be an expert in Medicare fraud, he can just take 25% of all the fraud he identifies.

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  79. CSK says:

    @Just nutha ignint cracker:

    Thank you again. I’m not in Marblehead, but it’s a very nice place.

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  80. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @Just nutha ignint cracker: @Jack: I’ma have to modify my statement to you above just a little. The appointment of Gabbard and Gaetz strikes me as, forgive the term, weird. Gaetz is no Bill Barr, or even Jeff Sessions, and both of them seemed to be partisan hacks to my view (YMMV). Tulsi Gabbard as DNS is just gob smacking. YIKES!

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  81. Kingdaddy says:

    @Jack: I’m sure if the incoming Harris administration had picked Oprah for Secretary of State, Michael Avenatti for Attorney General, and Adam Driver for Secretary of Defense, you would have no opinion on the matter.

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  82. becca says:

    @CSK: my husband grew up in Cape Cod and Marblehead. Used to play chess at The King’s Rook. He lobstered and would scuba down to the bottom and bring up flounder on a knife. He still misses the ocean.

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  83. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @Jen: Years ago, someone became offended when I laughed at some outrage at work that they had told me about. I replied that I had to laugh because if I wasn’t laughing about this my reaction would be to go get a shot gun, kick the office door open, and fire until the muzzle flashes showed from the back of the chair.

    I’m not the flaming asshole I was in those days anymore. And even then, I wasn’t the flaming asshole I’d been at the time of the beating the customer with a longshoring hook story. These are both good things. And laughter IS the best medicine. Particularly if Trump is going to start doing “hold muh beer” tricks.

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  84. Kathy says:

    @JohnSF:

    Gabbard is a cost saving measure. now instead of US embassies each running a CIA station, they can just set up shop at the Russian embassies’ FSB stations.

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  85. CSK says:

    @becca:

    If you’re looking to move, you could do worse than pick somewhere in these parts. A lot worse. Cuddles to Ms. Sadie.

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  86. JohnSF says:

    Seriously: Gabbard at DNI is a five alarm siren for Europe.
    Starmer just this week appointed Jonathon Powell as National Security Adviser.
    I suspect he’s not going to be having a happy fun day tomorrow.

    This is genuinely doubleplusungood for “continuity in national security”.
    Possible need to prep for Five-Eyes shut-down.
    *gulp*

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  87. JohnSF says:

    In times of trouble cometh a lol:

    I’m tempted to say America is fucked.
    But I think she’s too old for Matt Gaetz.

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  88. @Jack: Somehow I don’t think you think that that TV host is a good fit for SECDEF, that Gaetz is a good fit for AG, and the Gabbard is good for DNI.

    If you do, defend them.

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  89. JohnSF says:

    @JohnSF:
    Fuck, if Gabbard is confirmed, possible need to cut off all UK/US connections on RN SSBN/SSN deployment.
    This is insane.

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  90. @Just nutha ignint cracker: Barr and Sessions were partisan hacks, but they were qualified hacks.

    Gaetz is another kind of appointee altogether. He is not qualified in any real sense and he is beyond being a partisan hack.

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  91. becca says:

    @CSK: I tried to upvote this in acknowledgment, but nada. We would love to live in Massachusetts. Provincetown and Cape Cod National Seashore. Natural beaches in Truro. We have family in Maine. I envy your neck of the woods, for sure.

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  92. JohnSF says:

    Gabbard.
    My God.
    That noise of cackling laughter that can be heard now echoing across Europe, from London to Berlin to Warsaw to Rome, is the shade of every French government since 1945, saying, from beyond the grave:
    “We told you so, you damned fools!”

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  93. Gustopher says:

    After spewing out the “your body, my choice” rant, Trump dinner guest Nick Fuentes had his home address leaked online and had people showing up to his door.

    https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/far-right-extremist-nicholas-fuentes-doxxed-after-vile-election-rant/

    You have to be pretty amazingly awful for the NY Post to describe you as a far right white supremacist, or vile.

    There had been some fake news yesterday about someone burning his house down, which was followed by comments like “what was the house wearing?” “Was it sending mixed signals?” “We really have to think about fire’s reputation” etc.

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  94. Beth says:

    @JohnSF:

    The Gaetz nomination increases the likelihood that I will be visiting Kathy before moving on to London.

    Oh yeah, my partner was approved for a transfer to their London office. All we’re waiting on now is an idea of how long the visas are going to take. Once we get their we’ll put in my citizenship paperwork. The solicitor thinks that will go well. The biggest wrinkles were I was briefly an illegitimate child in the 70’s and that I’m trans. Lucky for me, while Illinois is a screwed up place and looooooves to do stupid crap, it’s been an intensely progressive state on a lot of things.

    Maybe if I get lucky again Starmer and Labour (I’m gonna fucking hate that U) will see the horrible shit happening to trans people here and stop being idiots. Have you heard anything about the Levy review? I’m assuming it’ll be as horrific as the Cass report.

    I’ve actually been thinking of the 5 eyes situation for a while and wondering how the UK and Australians were going to take it. I’m guessing that they are done.

    Also, if I were a U.S. spy right now I think I would quit and disappear somewhere.

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  95. Kathy says:

    @becca:
    @DrDaveT:

    I really hope the good women engaging in this action take advantage of their second amendment rights, and begin to pack a big f**ng gun.

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  96. The Q says:

    “Arab-Americans in the Midwest were angry at Biden over his Gaza policy, so they either didn’t vote for president or voted for Trump.

    Trump is elected with their help”

    If we follow this logic, Trump got elected with the “help” of White women who wanna be raped, Latinos who wanna be deported, consumers who wanna pay 50% more for their electronics made in China, Farmers who wanna see markets for their products overseas shrivel and black males who want their “jobs” back and of course the white working class who think Republicans love labor.

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  97. Jack says:

    @DK:

    xoxoxo

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  98. Kathy says:

    Amazon to sell even cheaper crap online.

    Note the low, low prices of good shipped directly from Amazon warehouses in China.

    Oh, Lex, do you think you’ll escape the tariffs if they come?

    Granted, Lex Bezos no longer runs Amazon, but it’s where most of his wealth resides. He needs it for his hobby (at that, I wish him lots of luck in his hobby). Rockets are expensive.

    Oh, well. Amazon might wind up selling their tchotchkes online to customers in other countries. Seeing as retaliatory tariffs on US goods ought to free up some disposable income, and Temu is already all over the globe.

    I haven’t tried Temu. In the early 2010s I tired some Chinese cheap clothing online stores. They often look nice and some of them fit, but they don’t last at all, and the quality is mediocre at best.

    Last year I tried some chepo kitchen gadgets from local online stores. Some didn’t work, others didn’t work well. At least it was a cheap lesson.

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  99. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    Late to the site, but my query is exactly how many clowns can fit in the Oval Office (or in a Cyber Truck for that matter)? Unlike how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may soon know.

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  100. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @JohnSF:

    Fuck, WHEN Gabbard is confirmed, (there’s an ABSOLUTE need to cut off all UK/US connections on RN SSBN/SSN deployment.

    Fixed that for you.

    As an aside, this should eliminate the threat from the Jewish Space Lasers.

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  101. Jax says:

    @The Q: Yep, that’s pretty much where it’s at.

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  102. just nutha says:

    @Steven L. Taylor: No objections from this corner. I did note that he’s not Barr or Sessions. I shoulda elaborated better.

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