"Flooding the Zone"

[Nostra]

Actual numbers don’t support that
Sometimes up and sometimes down

Same for Trump

Never up under Tater.

 

[Nostra]

Those who held their nose and voted for him because the price of eggs was too high -- and that's not a small number of people -- may end up having to look in the mirror.

If you can’t afford eggs try getting a marketable education.

 

[sartre play]

So that’s a no. You have no proof Trump wants to gut SS. Carry on with your hysterical rant.

No that is not what I said, In fact at this POINT Trump does not want to mess with SOCIAL security.
That's a loser for him. You ARE NOT LOOKING AT the full picture. Only looking at the full picture
gives a MORE honest view, That's hard to do, As really all we get is extreme views of everything.

 

[Nostra]

You only hear about downward revisions. It’s called reporting bias.

So easily manipulated.

Show us the upward revisions

 

[rightwinger]

Never up under Tater.

Link

 

[The Duke]

If he nominated inmates from an asylum … would that be ok? I mean if it’s what he wants right?

How about a slate of pole dancers??

What kind of pole dancers? Raunchy stripper ones or the kind that are practically gymnasts?
Do they go 20 feet up the pole?

 

[The Duke]

Show us the upward revisions

I know that never happened. They lied and revised next month.

 

[The Duke]

'Flood the zone': NYT report reveals top Trump aide's plan to crush foes​

The New York Times has written a lengthy profile of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, who will be more powerful than ever in the president-elect's second White House.

The profile contains a number of tidbits about Miller's strategy for the second Trump term that will include radical executive orders aimed at curbing immigration into the United States.

Among other things, the orders being drafted by Miller and his allies include "attempting to end birthright citizenship; designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations; and reinstating Title 42, which allows the United States to seal the border with Mexico if there is a public health threat," writes the Times.

Miller is also calculating that he will succeed by what the Times describes as "flooding the zone" — that is, by doing so many outrageous things that Trump's political opponents will simply grow exhausted and give up fighting.

'Flood the zone': NYT report reveals top Trump aide's plan to crush foes

The New York Times has written a lengthy profile of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, who will be more powerful than ever in the president-elect's second White House.The profile contains a number of tidbits about Miller's strategy for the second Trump term that will include radical executive orders...

www.rawstory.com

Note to Steve. Fuck you. We're coming for you and Dotard.

Mmk. You've got them right where they want you!.

 

[berg80]

Mmk. You've got them right where they want you!.

Over the weekend, billionaire Elon Musk gained some level of access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system, thanks to the pliancy of newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk, the highest ranking civil servant in the department, had reportedly fought Musk’s access since before the inauguration, and sought backup from Bessent last week. None came, and Lebryk abruptly retired Friday after being put on administrative leave.

Anonymous sources on Saturday sought to smooth the reporting on Musk’s takeover, telling Politico that Musk and his stooges’ access is “essentially a read-only operation,” and the New York Times that they “have yet to gain operational abilities and no government payments have been blocked.”

It’s a cold comfort, given that Musk and his allies now have access to the payment spigot through which runs trillions of dollars annually disbursed from various agencies, and which houses highly sensitive data on the millions of Americans who receive tax refunds and other federal payments, including Social Security checks.

“Career Treasury officials are breaking the law every hour of every day by approving payments that are fraudulent or do not match the funding laws passed by Congress,” he tweeted, part of a nonstop flurry of posts over the weekend.

Democrats are mustering a response. Both Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ranking members on Senate Finance and Banking, respectively, sent Bessent letters seeking information about what exactly Musk’s control entails. “I am alarmed that as one of your first acts as Secretary, you appear to have handed over a highly sensitive system responsible for millions of Americans’ private data — and a key function of government — to an unelected billionaire and an unknown number of his unqualified flunkies,” Warren wrote, demanding answers to a list of questions including the names and functions of the systems Musk has been given access to.

Democrats Respond To Musk ‘Illegally Seizing Power’ Over Treasury Payment System

Over the weekend, billionaire Elon Musk gained some level of access to...

talkingpointsmemo.com

 

[OKTexas]

Given that the only qualification trump is interested in is sycophancy he hit the ball out of the park.

So you can't name a single one, GOT IT!!!!!

.

 

[martybegan]

Insubordination is a fireable offense
Reporting what Trump says or does is not

What about if it's regarding classified material?

 

[martybegan]

You only hear about downward revisions. It’s called reporting bias.

So easily manipulated.

Those always seem to happen when Dems need good numbers at a certain time, like near elections.

 

[hadit]

The High Price Of Kakistocracy

As we inch toward the holidays and the news slows, I wanted to step back and offer a bit more context on the slew of absurdist Trump nominations. The sheer number of unqualified miscreants that Trump has chosen to cast for his second season is overwhelming to the mind and to the mechanisms in place to screen out the worst and dimmest.

“The volume of controversial nominees will force senators to prioritize their battles, allowing some to advance simply due to limited time and attention,” law professor Alan Z. Rozenshtein writes at Lawfare.

I highly recommend Rozenshtein’s piece. It places Trump’s approach to nominations in a broader historical and political context. Here’s a sampling:

Trump’s nominations represent an unprecedented triple assault on constitutional appointment norms: First, many are unqualified or hostile to their agencies’ missions. Second, rather than making a few controversial picks, Trump has flooded the zone, nominating an entire slate of problematic candidates that burdens the Senate’s capacity for proper vetting. And third, Trump has signaled willingness to circumvent the confirmation process through legally dubious tactics such as forced Senate adjournment. Together, these moves threaten to transform the appointments process from a constitutional safeguard into a vehicle for installing loyalists regardless of competence.
Trump Casts The Worst And Dimmest For Season 2

The term "kakistocracy" (rule by the worst) emerged from obscurity during the first Trump administration. The word, which was previously used to describe troubled foreign governments, gained mainstream usage as critics pointed to controversial appointments such as Tom Price at the Department of Health and Human Services and Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency—officials whose qualifications and conduct drew widespread criticism.

With President-elect Donald Trump's imminent return to power, "kakistocracy" is back in public conversation. As the Economist noted by making it “word of the year,” Google searches for the term spiked in November: first after Trump's victory, then after he nominated controversial officials for cabinet positions, including Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of health and human services, and again when Gaetz withdrew his nomination amid criticism. And Trump's recent nomination of Kash Patel to lead the FBI has only intensified concerns about an impending kakistocracy.
The Constitution of Kakistocracy

I had been thinking about writing a post with that title for a while. Due to the number of outrages already piling up. Once I saw the linked article I decided to go ahead. The corruption involving Musk's Tesla car company being advantaged by ending accident reporting for self driving cars, the rampant crypto conflicts of interest following trump's foray in to the crypto biz, the onslaught of unqualified cabinet nominees, the attempts to intimidate the media and political opponents, being some of the more obvious examples.

It brings back memories of the chaos and corruption of trump 1.0. Cabinet nominees being forced to resign for legal and ethical violations. trump firing IG's who were investigating the admin. The refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas. The broken promise, and lies, about the wall. The obstruction of Mueller's investigation. Mike Flynn and Comey being fired within weeks of the inauguration. The lies about the inauguration itself. Many more incidents trumples have stuffed down their memory holes.

Whether by accident or design it can be disorienting. How do you fully examine the background of unqualified cabinet nominees when there are so many of them? How do you stop the cronyism regarding Musk when there's so much regarding crypto? But it must be done. Now it not the time to falter. Now is the time for vigilance.

The Senators doing the vetting were all elected by voters, a majority of whom were influenced to cast their vote by a pretty picture or a panting headline. Let's not wax indignant over the quality of those being appointed when such is true.

 

[Marener]

Those always seem to happen when Dems need good numbers at a certain time, like near elections.

Confirmation bias.

2004 Q3 GDP was reported a week before the reelection at 2.8%. The final estimate revised up to 3.1%.

Dude, you’re just saying shit. It doesn’t matter if it’s true. You didn’t check to see that it’s true. You just say shit because it fits your narrative.

 

[martybegan]

Confirmation bias.

2004 Q3 GDP was reported a week before the reelection at 2.8%. The final estimate revised up to 3.1%.

Dude, you’re just saying shit. It doesn’t matter if it’s true. You didn’t check to see that it’s true. You just say shit because it fits your narrative.

It more with the employment and unemployment numbers.

 

[rightwinger]

What about if it's regarding classified material?

Again a different issue
Releasing classified information is a crime for anyone who is not President

Reporting that Trump three a tantrum or said something offensive is not classified

 

[martybegan]

Again a different issue
Releasing classified information is a crime for anyone who is not President

Reporting that Trump three a tantrum or said something offensive is not classified

It would also get your ass fired at any other company.

You have the right to free speech, not the right to a federal job.

And this isn't like firing people for saying things outside of their work sphere, the President is their boss.

 

[rightwinger]

It would also get your ass fired at any other company.

You have the right to free speech, not the right to a federal job.

And this isn't like firing people for saying things outside of their work sphere, the President is their boss.

Federal Employees have an obligation to respect classified information…..Presidents do not

I have seen managers reported for offensive behavior and unprofessional actions…….same applies to Presidents

 

[martybegan]

Federal Employees have an obligation to respect classified information…..Presidents do not

I have seen managers reported for offensive behavior and unprofessional actions…….same applies to Presidents

The thing is no business tolerates you working to sabotage the actions of management performing the business at hand.

 

[rightwinger]

The thing is no business tolerates you working to sabotage the actions of management performing the business at hand.

Most legitimate businesses expect you to report tyranical managers to HRO
Many top managers have been brought down for sexual harassment