Good King Trump

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

For whatever good this does.

Bill to rejig the NSC.
http://stephaniemurphy.house.gov/new...?DocumentID=17

[The Man]

Twitter thread.

You guys: I have a theory about Trump's weirdly angry call with Australian PM that's so stupid & implausible I'm almost sure it's true. 1/

— Karin Robinson (@karinjr) February 2, 2017

For those who can't access Twitter right now, the Cliffs Notes are that Trump probably assumed that, because Turnbull's party is called the Liberal Party, they are U.S.-style liberals rather than the centre-right party they actually are, and thus took a hostile attitude with Turnbull purely on those grounds. It is incredibly depressing that we live in a world where an explanation like this is not just plausible but probably the most likely explanation.

[Zehava]

I find it more likely Trump is just an asshole. This is how he treats those he deems beneath him (which is pretty much everyone in his estimation).

[The Man]

I don't really find that explanation sufficient. We all know Tangerine Trujillo is an asshole, but by all accounts he treated Turnbull far worse than he treated any of the other leaders he called. Cheeto Caligula being an asshole isn't a sufficient explanation for why he treated Turnbull so horribly. There has to be more to it than that.

One of Josh Marshall's readers has an alternate suggestion (which overlaps somewhat with Robinson's suggestions, but not entirely). Meanwhile, this thread from Foz Meadows is also well worth reading.

Internets, we need to take a moment to discuss the implications of Trump's failed phonecall with the Australian PM, Malcolm Turnbull.

— Foz Meadows (@fozmeadows) February 2, 2017

In other news, Idiot Amin loses another lawsuit for $6 million. And in other, other news, he and his doctor may have been somewhat less than truthful with the American public about his health.

edit: also, lulz via Tumblr.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by The Man

I don't really find that explanation sufficient. We all know Tangerine Trujillo is an asshole, but by all accounts he treated Turnbull far worse than he treated any of the other leaders he called. Cheeto Caligula being an asshole isn't a sufficient explanation for why he treated Turnbull so horribly. There has to be more to it than that.

Narcissist loses his blessed mind at being told 'no'. That's all it is.

Originally Posted by The Man

Idiot Amin

[JoeP]

From the Foz Meadows tweetsong:

... this is terrifying.
Why? Because it means that either Trump is too arrogant to civilly negotiate with even a major ally, or he physically can't control himself.

To which I say: yes. Both.

[The Man]

We must never allow ourselves to forget the tragic events of the Bowling Green Massacre.

(Spoiler alert: there was no massacre at Bowling Green, nor was one ever planned. You already knew this, because Kellyanne Riefenstahl lies as habitually as most people draw breath.)

(Also, this comparison may be unfair to Leni, who presumably had more craft in her pinky finger than Kellyanne has in her entire body.)

[JoeP]

lol:
Former Norway PM held at Washington airport over 2014 visit to Iran | US news | The Guardian

In which it is shown that Customs and Border Protection are totally on board with the new administration. They've been "liberated" from the former regime's laxness, rather like Crimea has.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by JoeP

What's the long term* fall-out from Lord Dampnut** behaving like this with other world leaders?

Some speculative answers from Vox:

It's 14 days into the Trump presidency, and "normal Trump tantrum" is already a thing foreign leaders say - Vox

Trump seems to believe that chaos and unpredictability are good in and of themselves because they can keep US adversaries trying to guess what Washington will do next. That’s a remarkably simplistic view of foreign policy, which is predicated on consistency.

Trump’s bizarre, dangerous calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia, explained - Vox

America has made formal alliances, most notably NATO, that work because US allies have faith that the United States will come to their aid if attacked. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, underwriting the global financial system, because nations the world over have faith in American stability. Dozens of countries count on America to keep the peace globally and keep trade routes open, so they mostly go about their own business.

And if the US becomes as unpredictable and inconsistent as Lord Dampnut wants it to be, all these things break down.

[Angakuk]

Originally Posted by The Man

there was no massacre at Bowling Green...

My father and I played catch with a frisbee in Bowling Green in 1973. He massacred me.

[The Man]

Finding these Bowling Green Massacre jokes to be a little too soon. Out of respect, we should wait until it takes place.

— Justin Shanes (@justinshanes) February 3, 2017

Fearful Americans Stockpiling Facts Before Federal Government Comes to Take Them Away - The Onion - America's Finest News Source

[Watser?]

THE BOWLING GREEN MASSACRE VICTIMS FUND

[Watser?]

Originally Posted by The Man

Twitter thread.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You guys: I have a theory about Trump's weirdly angry call with Australian PM that's so stupid &amp; implausible I'm almost sure it's true. 1/</p>&mdash; Karin Robinson (@karinjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/karinjr/status/827094009835290624">February 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

For those who can't access Twitter right now, the Cliffs Notes are that Trump probably assumed that, because Turnbull's party is called the Liberal Party, they are U.S.-style liberals rather than the centre-right party they actually are, and thus took a hostile attitude with Turnbull purely on those grounds. It is incredibly depressing that we live in a world where an explanation like this is not just plausible but probably the most likely explanation.

Oh, he'll like our liberals too then.

Also the Freedom Party, which sounds suspiciously liberal-like to me.

[Jerome]

lol @ CNN pushing the narrative that the riots in Berkeley were a false flag conspiracy by the right

[Ari]

I like how a few things set on fire in a localized area by a small group of people is a riot.

[Stephen Maturin]

Ups to GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins for opposing Betsy DeVos, quite possibly the least qualified and stupidest (or maybe second stupidest, slightly behind gibbering idiot Ben Carson) person ever nominated for a cabinet job. Will one more Republican senator display a modicum of backbone? Stay tuned!


Also, lol @ Little Donnie taking Propecia, a drug for narcissists AND sociopaths.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by Ari

I like how a few things set on fire in a localized area by a small group of people is a riot.

[Stephen Maturin]

The US military on Friday took down the link to a video that it said it secured from a raid in Yemen last week just hours after posting it, having realized that far from showing off the intelligence gained from the raid, the videos were a decade old.

lol

[The Man]

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the status of... pretty much anything these days, but it looks like a federal judge has issued an injunction against the whole of the Muslim travel ban.

Federal judge issues issues nationwide restraining order against Trump travel ban - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Of course, whether this will actually accomplish anything remains to be seen, because it looks like significant portions of our country's "law enforcement" couldn't care less about court orders.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Proposal for a new USA National Anthem:

-Yakety Sax- Music - YouTube

[Stormlight]

Swedish deputy prime minister apparently mocks Trump with all-female photo | Environment | The Guardian

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Former Norway PM held at Washington airport over 2014 visit to Iran | US news | The Guardian

This would be hilarious if not for all the nukes.

[The Man]

To be fair, if the Norwegian PM had been planning to being lutefisk into the country, that would be a perfectly justifiable response. I'm not saying he definitely was, but you have to be prepared for this sort of thing. I'm not certain it's actually possible to overstate the amount of danger lutefisk poses to civilised society.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

I'm wondering if any international calls in the future should start with the not-American saying, "Obama's was bigger, you know." Just to speed up the meltdown a bit and get back to whatever they were doing prior, like rearranging their paper clips. I'm sure it would be more productive.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Watser?

THE BOWLING GREEN MASSACRE VICTIMS FUND