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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

JBC31187 Since: Jan, 2015
#165426: Jan 5th 2017 at 5:05:39 PM

If it helps (it doesn't really help me), the Republicans have been planning this kind of power grab for a decade. Running for every open position, sabotaging the Obama administration...

What I mean to say is, God's not on their side. They won through a mix of hard work, luck, and the fact that a bunch of very stupid voters are only now realizing what a Republican victory means for them. There's a lot of fear and anger in the US, and it can be aimed at the people who want to take away the Planned Parenthood, VA and Obamacare benefits that so many use.

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#165427: Jan 5th 2017 at 5:33:39 PM

I was at the grocery store and one of the tabloids (National Enquirer, I think) had a headline saying that Trump has already restored dignity to the White House. If I wasn't in a public place I would've laughed out loud.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#165428: Jan 5th 2017 at 6:13:08 PM

I work at a grocery store and I see them all the time. The National Enquirer was always on Trump's side. The one the week before the election was    TRUMP MUST WIN    or something like that. Then right before Thanksgiving it was    TRUMP MUST BUILD THE WALL   .

Then right around Christmas it was talking about which family members were doing what.

edited 5th Jan '17 6:14:02 PM by tclittle

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#165429: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:02:07 PM

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition staff has issued a blanket edict requiring politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day, according to several American diplomats familiar with the plan, breaking with decades of precedent by declining to provide even the briefest of grace periods.

The mandate — issued “without exceptions,” according to a terse State Department cable sent on Dec. 23, diplomats who saw it said — threatens to leave the United States without Senate-confirmed envoys for months in critical nations like Germany, Canada and Britain. In the past, administrations of both parties have often granted extensions on a case-by-case basis to allow a handful of ambassadors, particularly those with school-age children, to remain in place for weeks or months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/politics/trump-ambassadors.html?_r=0

What the fuck?

New Survey coming this weekend!
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#165430: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:06:33 PM

[up] ... So, what's a "Politically Appointed" Ambassador? Anyone Obama appointed?

I wonder if Putin convinced Trump to do this because of Obama forcing several Russian Personnel out of the US?

CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#165431: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:08:01 PM

Assuming this decision was thought out and not a snap decision disregarding how hard it is to actually staff federal positions, (the transition team should know that by now) one can look at the message as a way to pressure Congress to rush through the administration's appointments less they leave very critical positions understaffed. Though even that latter plan isn't sound for anything but ego satisfaction. Ambassadors cannot just show up and get results. Learning the country one is in takes time, and human relationships and knowing cultural cues support many, many agreements and informal partnerships.

edited 5th Jan '17 7:31:35 PM by CenturyEye

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#165432: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:17:59 PM

[up][up][up]

...breaking with decades of precedent...

Story of this whole goddamned administration.tongue

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#165433: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:19:31 PM

What, does Trump plan to have diplomatic actions done by the White House instead of a team of diplomats in each country? Like how does that work, logistically? I thought that foreign policy was one of the functions of government that the GOP didn't want to torch.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#165435: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:25:57 PM

[up][up]He might. Diplomats in countries that aren't him means he's going to have other people doing work and potentially taking credit. I feel like he wants to avoid that.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#165436: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:27:43 PM

Seriously, if this is going to be Trump's approach to diplomacy, can we just appoint Germany as Leader of the Free World (with Canada as Deputy) already? The Americans are going to become irrelevant simply because they don't have qualified officials in place. And if Trump seriously believes his staff can just dictate his will internationally...

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#165437: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:29:29 PM

See, I don't think that's it. I think Trump expects that to be his job. He probably thinks he can just tweet and make the rest of the world jump into action.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#165438: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:32:08 PM

And if that's the case, then he's an even bigger idiot than I thought.

Welp, China and India taking over the world economically isn't the worst thing that can happen... better than Russia at least.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
JBC31187 Since: Jan, 2015
#165439: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:41:24 PM

Oh, yes. Even if China was out to grind us in the dirt, I'd rather they win than the asshole who's been screwing around all through the West.

One of my many, many fears these days is that Putin is planning for this possibility and is going to set Trump on East Asia. Worse than he is now, anyway.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#165441: Jan 5th 2017 at 7:49:33 PM

[up][up] I share that fear. Trump has been deliberately antagonizing China ever since the election. And who stands to gain from the US and China breaking up with each other? Putin, among other people.

Not to mention it makes China into a convenient new bad guy for the GOP to scapegoat everything on, and allows them to then play on racial prejudices to boot. We already saw Trump and his cronies try to blame the election hacks on them. Expect to see that continue.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#165442: Jan 5th 2017 at 8:10:30 PM

Who's paying for the wall? Mexico American taxpayers.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#165443: Jan 5th 2017 at 8:18:40 PM

[up] I wonder if that'll piss off his base. I'm sure they loved the idea of the brown people paying for it. But it turns out they'll be the ones paying for it.

House GOP revive obscure rule that allows them to slash the pay of individual federal workers to $1.

I'm sure this is completely unrelated to them seeking a list of all the people who worked on things like climate change or women's rights.

The process towards authoritarianism continues.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#165444: Jan 5th 2017 at 8:25:38 PM

Does....Trump think that all the ambassadorships are ceremonial posts and that he can simply call up any world leader and deal with them one-on-one?????

Gilphon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#165445: Jan 5th 2017 at 8:40:59 PM

This is what comes of electing a guy who runs on being both a political outsider and a strong man. You elect a guy who has no idea how anything works and refuses to listen to advice.

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#165446: Jan 5th 2017 at 8:55:36 PM

[up]Unless it's from his daughter. Because Gods knows, if you can't trust your family, who can you trust?tongue

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#165447: Jan 5th 2017 at 9:09:14 PM

I wonder if Trump's gonna spend most of his time as POTUS tweeting insults at various companies to lower their stock prices while his family buys stock in them and signing whatever Congress sends to him without even looking at it.

Disgusted, but not surprised
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#165448: Jan 5th 2017 at 9:10:50 PM

Wow, what do we have here: another round of "I we sure this is not latin america"

"Ambassadors cannot just show up and get results. Learning the country one is in takes time, and human relationships and knowing cultural cues support many, many agreements and informal partnerships."

not surprise at all, this is all tie into how mad they become, since they dont have to be seft critical since loyaty to the party is the only virtue they have now, they belive they can make thing work by sheer power of FUCK YOU, THAT IS WHY.

"Trump think that all the ambassadorships are ceremonial posts and that he can simply call up any world leader and deal with them one-on-one?????"

No, he think they can replace them in no time or that nothing bad will happen because nothing bad cant happen when he choice something.

And no, im not even kidding, that is actually their thought process, is as cartoonishly pointless as you can think....and more.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#165449: Jan 5th 2017 at 9:16:42 PM

Trump recalling the ambassadors stateside reeks to me of how China and North Korea withdrew their students and trainees from the Warsaw Pact countries during The '60s in order to thoroughly examine them for pro-Soviet leanings and/or purge them outright.

I'm hunching on Trump announcing that the diplomatic service needs to be set with a "clean slate" sooner or later, and promptly lays off or reassigns all Democrat ambassadors to replace them with Republican ones.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated

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