Freak Out Friday – October 13, 2017

Friday the 13th; what could possibly go wrong?

Got a lot to cover since I wasn’t able to do Freak Out Friday last week, so buckle up.

1). Did I say that? I didn’t say that.. In light of the Senate’s thankful inability to get rid of health care, Trump has stated that he’s going to do it himself. He tweeted that he is going to use “the power of the pen to give great healthcare to many people FAST!” The fact that many people already have great healthcare eludes him. Plus so does the irony of the fact that executive orders were something that he relentlessly criticized Obama for, condemning them as “major grabs for authority.” He even shut down DACA precisely because Obama created it and he said that Obama lacked the executive authority to do that.

Now you know what? If he really believes that executive orders shouldn’t be used to bypass Congress, I can totally respect that. Except he obviously doesn’t believe it because he’s not hesitating to use them when they benefit him. This is hypocrisy at an executive level and someone, somewhere has to sit this idiot down and convince him that he cannot have it both ways. I mean, when your own secretary of state says you’re a f’ing moron, you should really take seriously the reasons he’s saying that.

2). Oh please. Please take him up on it. . Speaking of Rex Tillerson, Trump declared that he wanted to challenge Tillerson to an IQ test. Here’s what I think: I think Tillerson should not only take him up on it, but I think he should attach some stakes to the wager. What stakes? Simple: the loser resigns. If Tillerson resigns, he’d probably be happy to do it. If Trump is gone, that could solve a LOT of problems.

3). Really? Is that all? According to the Washington Post, Trump has been lying, on average, five times a day since taking office. Most recent ones include saying that he was against invading Iraq (he was for it), that the hurricane wind speeds in Puerto Rico were 200 MPH (topped out at 155), and claiming that the USA is the most highly taxed country in the world (it actually averages between 17th and 30th.). He’s currently up to 1318 lies, which will doubtless be higher by the time you read this.

4). How many fronts can we fight a war on?. Trump is making noise that he is going to fail to renew the Iran deal, declaring falsely that they have refused to keep to it. Except that’s not true (of course). Do they still support terrorism? Yes. But that’s outside the scope of the deal. A former senior diplomat stated that it will prove to the world that “American cannot take ‘yes’ for an answer.”

5). The what before the what? During a White House dinner Trump sponsored for the military brass, he said, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe the calm before the storm.” It was like a teaser moment during a trailer for a TV show where they want you to tune in next week. What did Dean Winchester mean when he said that? Except that’s fiction. When the President of the United States says something like that, and then refuses to elaborate on it, it immediately terrifies any thinking person into going, “Oh my God, now what?!” Considering that Trump still hasn’t figured out that you can’t treat the nuclear-loaded Kim Jong un like he’s a contestant on “The Apprentice,” it really doesn’t bode well.

6). Towels? Seriously? WTF?. So after excoriating a Puerto Rican mayor who had the audacity to say they needed help, Trump bought his reality show presidency on the road to the hurricane devastated country. How did it go? As bizarrely as you might expect. He claimed Puerto Rico had ruined the US budget (a charge he did not bother to level at either Texas or Florida, states that, y’know, can vote for him), praised the number of people we sent over there to help (Texas got 30,000, Florida 40,000, Puerto Rico 10,000) threw paper towels into a crowd as if he were walking the baseline in Citi Field firing t-shirts to the fans out of a gun, and pronounced the country’s name “Pwerrrto Rico,” a pronunciation you can only get away with if you Rita are Moreno about to launch into a rendition of “I Like to Be in America.” So basically it was a screw up on every possible level.

But it gets better. He recently started making noise about abandoning Puerto Rico entirely. Claiming that the country’s infrastructure was already in trouble before the hurricane, he’s now acting as if a country where the citizens have no potable water and the hospitals are failing basically brought it on themselves and are now looking for the US to fix their problems. He still hasn’t quite grasped that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and cannot be abandoned…except that is exactly what he is intending to do.

7). On the other hand, maybe Pence wouldn’t be better. Mike Pence stormed out of a Colts/49ers game when, to his shock, several players kneeled during the anthem. It was a completely spontaneous, unpremeditated action.

Kidding. It was planned from the get go. We know this because Pence’s staff told the pool reporter traveling with him not to bother going in because there was “a chance” that there would be an early exit. And how many tax dollars were spent so that Pence could plan a cheap political demonstration that Trump subsequently tweeted about in enthusiastic support? The flight from Las Vegas to Indianapolis and then to Los Angeles was estimated by CNN to run around $242,000. A quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer money so Trump could attack the NFL again. Unfortunately since Pence was his accomplice and has yet to offer a word of criticism, it seems unlikely that he’s going to invoke the 25th Amendment to get this nut out.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is already using the stunt for fundraising for Trump’s reelection.” Yes, that’s right, they spent nearly a quarter of a million in tax money so they could send around emails telling people to stand with them and their respect for the flag by sending them money to get a bumper sticker.

8). It’s official. He’s a fascist.. Trump tweeted this on Wednesday: With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

He’s basically sending out a preliminary message that says he will not hesitate to try and shut down news agencies that don’t give him positive coverage, which means that everyone except Fox News is at risk to be put out of business. Can he do it? No, thank God. His tweets indicate that once again he’s talking about things he doesn’t understand, including who owns licenses and what the government can do about it. On the other hand, part of me almost hopes he targets ABC because then it’s Disney versus Trump and that would be freaking awesome. But effectively, this is how dictatorships start. When the dictator takes over the dissemination of news and only distributes to the country what he wants it to hear.

9). Heiling in der Fuhrer’s Face. Remember how he declared that there were problems “on both sides” in Charlottesville? Well, at least we have a name to go with one of the people who seems to have Nazi leanings that Trump thinks is a good guy. Jeffrey Lord, a dìçk who got himself fired from CNN for posting “Sieg Heil!” at a critic on Twitter, got a shout out from Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, describing him as “a good man” and “one of my few sources of truth.” Lord is a right wing extremist who doesn’t hesitate to throw around Nazi slogans and that puts him on Trump’s A-list.

10). Hope you’re healthy. With a stroke of his pen–once again, the kind of executive order that he used to condemn Obama for–Trump dealt a lethal blow to Obamacare. His new order makes it easier for employers to join up and obtain lower cost insurance, even purchasing insurance across state lines. Now on the surface, you may say, “What’s wrong with that? Lower insurance? That’s great!” Except you’ve forgotten the old saying that you get what you pay for. Why would the insurance be lower? Well, it will lower insurance for younger, healthier customers while jacking the insurance costs up for the older patients who really need insurance. Not to mention that these cheaper plans may not contain coverage for such things as newborn care, maternity care, prescription drugs, addiction treatment, and mental health care. Because when your whole approach to gun control is that the shooters require mental treatment, that’s certainly an aspect of health care you want to get rid of.

Did he do anything right? No.

PAD

15 comments on “Freak Out Friday – October 13, 2017

  1. Just a note on Iran. It is very convenient for idiots and people who aggressively refuse to educate themselves to claim that Iran is a monolithic totalitarian regime. It is not. More than half the population was born after the revolution and chafe under the current government. Over the years several attempts have been made to change the government. By attacking Iran, Trump plays into the hands of the Supreme Leader and the military who need an enemy to justify their excesses. Standard Machiavelli. I would suggest the excellent book, Children of Paradise: The Struggle for the Soul of Iran, by Laura Secor (http://a.co/a2ZfeKc – Amazon link to the Audible book) to the president. Unfortunately, not merely is he ignorant but refuses to acknowledge that fact. If the beginning of Wisdom is to recognize what you do not know, Trump will forever remain a fool.

  2. Peter David: He still hasn’t quite grasped that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and cannot be abandoned…

    Luigi Novi: Or that it was the United States that invaded PR in the first place, which is what made it involuntarily a part of the U.S. in the first place.

    1. Well, leaving aside the issue of the whole background of the Spanish-American War, the US did, at least, wait until the war to invade Puerto Rico.

  3. Peter David: Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is already using the stunt for fundraising for Trump’s reelection.
    .
    .
    And this despite the fact that in July 2016, Trump criticized Barack Obama for using Air Force One to join Hilary Clinton on her campaign trail at taxpayer expense, even though the DNC reimbursed the federal government for its portion of the costs incurred for this, in keeping with rules requiring it.
    .
    Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pays-president-travels-campaign-events/story?id=40361545

    1. Don’t forget: It was the GOP which used the “2016 election campaign” as a reason to deny any hearings on the Garland nomination to the Supreme Court.

      Why isn’t Trump’s BLATANT “reelection campaigning” not keeping the GOP Senate from refusing to hold ANY judicial nominations?

      Don’t bother. I know the answer: IOKIYAR.

  4. “He still hasn’t quite grasped that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and cannot be abandoned…”
    .
    Donald Trump told the press that he met with the President of the Virgin Islands.
    .
    The U.S. Virgin Islands.
    .
    Oh good lord…

    1. Technically, he’s right. In fact, there’s probably no one else who talks to him that he pays more (any?) attention to.

      Of course, he’s talking to a moron…

  5. My question is for all 2nd amendment enthusiasts. Trump is exactly what the founding fathers warned us about. Why are they not mobilizing against him ?

  6. I don’t know why he’s worried about re-election.
    Colbert ran a clip where Trump said that he expected that “(soon to be terminated Trump staffer)” would be with him for the remaining seven years of his term. At which point Colbert did a spit take.

    Oh, the re-election must be for a second eight years…

    God help us.

  7. I think we’ve found the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots, to use Londo’s phrasing.

  8. It’s amazing
    .
    Ten years ago i was sure that Bush Minor had pretty well nailed down the “All-Time Worst President” title so solidly we could retire the trophy.
    .
    Nowadays, i’m like “Come back, George – all is forgiven!”
    .
    And i’m sort of nostalgic for the wonderful Nixon years…

    1. I would never have guessed that an idiot in orange would make me nostalgic for an administration that lied the U.S. into a quagmire…

      Peter David, please keep writing your opinions… it’s important and sane.

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