Day: November 6, 2017

Closing Thought–06Nov17

Trump takes to Twitter to condemn Clinton, rag on Sessions, bitch about Comey, rail on about Mueller and pick in”Rocket Man…..in other words he belittles anyone that will not kiss his ass….instead he should be chest thumping about the economy and especially the unemployment rate that has come down under his regime….

US employers added a robust 261,000 jobs in October as the economy recovered from hurricanes that slammed the Southeast in September, per the AP. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate declined to 4.1%, the lowest in nearly 17 years, from 4.2% in September. The burst of hiring (though it was actually below estimates of 325,000, per the Wall Street Journal) mostly reflects a rebound from a trio of hurricanes that temporarily depressed job gains. But it also shows that for all their fury, the storms did not knock the economy off course.

“Now that the storms have passed, the focus can return to the central question for the United States job market: With unemployment low, when will wage growth accelerate?” writes Ben Casselman at the New York Times. Average hourly earnings continue to rise at about 2.5% year-over-year, below the annual rate economists would predict when unemployment is this low. Over the past three months, hiring has averaged 162,000. That is similar to the pace of hiring before the hurricanes. Employers added just 18,000 jobs in September, as thousands of businesses were forced to close. That figure was revised higher from a previous estimate that showed a loss of 33,000.

This is great news for the economy that he, Trump, could take credit for doing but instead he takes to Twitter like the spoiled brat that he is and just shows his stupidity with every new Tweet.

It is tiring writing about the idiot that we put in the White House…if he only had a brain.

That is it for me for today….TTFN….chuq

Trump And Foreign Policy

AS I have been harping for almost a year…..Trump is a nightmare when it comes to foreign policy…..he has no idea what he is doing and he hires yes men to do what he desires…..as a foreign policy wonk I shudder ever time this mental midget opens his mouth concerning world affairs…….right now there is a plethora of vacancies at State that need to be filled if this country’s foreign policy is to survive….but Trump thinks differently……

President Trump sat down with Laura Ingraham Thursday night, and when the Fox News host pressed him on why there are still so many vacancies for top posts in the State Department, he seemed nonplussed. “Let me tell you, the one that matters is me,” Trump said, per the Hill. “I’m the only one that matters because when it comes to it that’s what the policy is going to be.” He also reminded Ingraham that he comes from the business world and that he often tells his own teams, “When you don’t need to fill slots, don’t fill them.” He also put some of the blame on “[Chuck] Schumer and the Democrats” for “obstructing” nominees he’s made for these positions, though a Washington Post/Partnership for Public Service tracker points out he’s made far fewer nominations than the four presidents before him by this time in their tenure.

Trump did touch upon one slot that’s filled at State: Rex Tillerson’s post. Per Politico, the president was asked if the secretary of state would remain with his administration “for the duration,” to which Trump replied: “We’ll see. I don’t know who’s going to be [here for the] duration.” He did add that Tillerson was “working hard” and “doing his best.” Also receiving mentions from Trump: Pyongyang and Putin. Trump called North Korea a “thing that I think we will solve,” per Fox News. “If we don’t solve it, it’s not going to be very pleasant for them. It’s not going to be very pleasant, I guess, for anybody,” he said, without giving further details. As for the Russian president, Trump noted he wouldn’t be against meeting with him during his upcoming trip to Asia. “Putin is very important because they can help us with North Korea,” he said. RealClearPolitics has clips from the interview.

Only a megalomaniac would think in such terms.  A president that cannot spell the names of the countries he visits and yet he is all we need in the arena of world affairs.  What an egocentric douche!

He is on his way to a 10 day visit to Asia oh my bad it is called Indo-Pacific in the Trump world.

President Trump is known for hisnicknames, his unusual suggestions for what to call new legislation, and now, perhaps, for rebranding an entire region. As he starts the first leg of his 10-day visit to Asia on Friday, the AP reports that Trump and administration officials are moving away from using the term “Asia-Pacific” to describe the area and instead opting for “Indo-Pacific.” In a pre-trip presser, National Security Adviser HR McMaster used the moniker several times, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it 15 times in a speech two weeks ago, and Trump himself mentioned it during a Wednesday Cabinet meeting. While the AP notes the term has been bandied about in foreign policy circles and among countries like Australia and India, some say it could be meant as a thumb in China’s eye—and maybe even an attempt to distance himself from former President Obama, who’d made it a priority to steer foreign policy toward dealings in a 21st-century “Asia-Pacific.

ON this trip he will visit South Korea…….what are the odds that he will wimp out and not go to the 38th parallel and look into North Korea?

There are challenges that the US will face with Asia oh my bad Indo-Pacific……

President Donald Trump departs on Friday for his first trip to Asia. He has a grueling 12-day itinerary ahead with stops in five countries that will test both his stamina and his team’s ability to think strategically about the United States’ role in the world’s most dynamic region. To date, the Trump administration’s Asia policy has been consumed by bungled attempts to counter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and ineffectual efforts to address the persistent U.S. trade imbalance with the region. Trump can scarcely claim a victory on the latter, and he has made the situation with North Korea even worse. Perhaps more importantly, Trump’s lack of strategic vision for the United States’ broader relationship with the region in the long term has sown great uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to building a regional order in Asia that is beneficial to the United States and its allies.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2017/11/01/441991/5-challenges-trump-will-face-asia/

Does anyone want to bet on how he plays in Asia….damn my bad….Indo-Pacific?

This man is a nightmare for diplomacy….(can he spell diplomacy?)

Will the US diplomatic corps ever recover from the ignorance?

Another Horrific Shooting

Just last month we had a horrific shooting with multiple deaths and injuries in Las Vegas and while I was in the hospital I believe their were a couple other shootings with deaths and injuries.

There seem to be an epidemic of gun violence….an epidemic no one wants to confront……

Yesterday a man walked into a church in Texas and started shooting……

At least 20 people are dead after a gunman entered the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday morning and started firing, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt tells CNN. Other reported estimates have gone as high as 27. Tackitt says the shooter has been killed and that there is no active threat. Authorities say many others were injured; KSAT‘s report puts the number of wounded at 30. Children are reportedly among the victims.

The San Antonio branch of the FBI says it currently has no indication of the gunman’s motive. The gunman entered the church around 11:30am local time; a witness reports hearing at least 20 shots fired while a church service was underway. The shooter fled in a vehicle; after a brief chase into a neighboring county, he was killed, CNN reports. It’s unclear if he shot himself or if he was killed by a police officer. Sutherland Springs, with a population of just under 400, is located about 30 miles east of San Antonio.

Of course the Tweeter-In-Chiet sent out a Tweet with condolences and prayers for the families and that he was monitoring the situation from Japan….how very sweet of him….but people prayers are comforting but in reality Go cannot fix this problem…..it is up to society.

This man shot and killed over twenty people but did you know that according to our president it is not a GUN problem?

President Trump says the mass shooting at a Texas church “isn’t a guns situation,” but is a “mental health problem at the highest level.” Devin Kelley, the man authorities have identified as the gunman, was discharged from the Air Force in 2014 for allegedly assaulting his spouse and a child, according to an Air Force spokeswoman. While no officials have publicly questioned Kelley’s mental health, Trump said that “is your problem here.” He offered no details. This was, “based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time,” Trump said when asked about the shooting as he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a joint news conference in Tokyo Monday.

Authorities say after Kelley left the scene, he was confronted by an armed resident who engaged the suspect. Kelley was later found dead in his vehicle. Trump said “fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction otherwise it (wouldn’t) have been as bad as it was. It would have been much worse.” He added: “But this is a mental health problem at the highest level. It’s a very, very sad event.” At the press conference, he ignored shouted questions about whether the US needs to consider tightening gun laws. At least 26 people died in the shooting, including several children.

Not GUN problem…the perp was confronted shot and killed….was it a GUN solution?  If so then it is a GUN problem in my book.

FYI……mass shootings list…….1982-2017……

Editor’s note: This dataset originally covered 1982-2012 and has since been expanded through 2017. For full context and analysis on this data, see our Guide to Mass Shootings in America.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/

Thoughts?

Bergdahl…..Period

I have unable to keep up with the news as usual…..too many trips for doctors and such….but I see that Trump is losing his mind over the decision that Bowe Bergdahl would not get prison time.

Trump took to his fave fake news source Twitter so that he could reach the limp wristed turds that worship him (sorry about that but I have NO use for these people) about Bergdahl decision…..

He faced life in prison, but Bowe Bergdahl will serve no jail time at all for abandoning his military post in Afghanistan and endangering the troops sent to search for him. Instead, he will receive a dishonorable discharge, the New York Times reports. The military judge in the case also reduced his rank from sergeant to private and ordered him to forfeit $1,000 a month in pay for 10 months. Judge Col. Jeffery Nance, who CNN notes Bergdahl picked over a jury, didn’t provide reasoning for the sentencing. “Sgt. Bergdahl has looked forward to today for a long time,” his civilian attorney says. “He has lost nearly a decade of his life.” Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty last month, has a job offer from an animal sanctuary and may get a gig helping a military official design survival training, the AP reports.

While a life sentence was on the table and prosecutors were asking for 14 years in military prison, Bergdahl’s defense argued he had been punished enough during five years of tortuous captivity at the hands of the Taliban and “probably should not have been in the Army” due to an undiagnosed severe personality disorder. President Trump had called for the “dirty rotten traitor” to be executed in comments Nance called “disturbing.” (The judge rejected a request to dismiss the trial over Trump’s comments, but said he would factor them into sentencing.) Following Friday’s sentencing, the president tweeted: “The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.” Bergdahl is appealing his dishonorable discharge, which must be upheld by a general and the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals. If it stands, Bergdahl will lose most or all of his veterans’ benefits.

Trump being an idiot and ignorant of the UCMJ, that his interference in the process probably had a lot to do with the decision….he should have done something that he is incapable of doing….shutting the Hell up.  But if spout off maybe he should bone up on the Uniform Code Of Military Justice (UCMJ)…..

http://www.ucmj.us/

I also read that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a “gold mine” of intelligence, helping the military better understand insurgents and how they imprison the enemy, two agents testified Tuesday as defense attorneys sought to show the soldier’s contributions since he was returned in a prisoner swap.

That also could have been taken into consideration when the decision was made.

I also read a piece by a Viet vet that wondered off camp in Vietnam and what he had to say about Bergdahl…….

Let us stipulate in advance that young men are often foolish. This I know because I have been both young and foolish.

Let us further stipulate that under the stress of war, foolish young men often do stupid things. This I know because I have done stupid things while a young fool under the stress of war.

Like me, Bowe Bergdahl was also a foolish young man, and under the stress of war he did a stupid thing. The stupid thing he did was to walk off his post, and disappear into the waiting arms of the Taliban. There are conflicting accounts as to why he walked away. In his own account, it had to do with what he described as “poor leadership” in his battalion. How walking away was supposed to change that is unclear, but apparently he hoped to trudge 18 miles to find a general who would listen to his objections. We can only smile at the fantasy of a general taking seriously the complaints of a PFC against his superiors.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/a-prayer-for-bowe-bergdahl/

WE can condemn but without knowing all the facts about why did what he did then we are doing a disservice to the man.

He is paying for what he did and he has to live with his action…….. a chore I do not envy.

The Presidential Trip

How boring, I know…..just to let you know what will be on the agenda…..that is if he sticks to an agenda.

Our president will be on a 11 day road trip through Asia….oh my bad ….Indo-Pacific….(Trump’s term not mine for Asia) a record length trip….not since 1991 has a president been on such a long and tiring road trip.

What does he hope to accomplish?  Is it about North Korea and their nukes?  Or is he just looking for accolades…..a good ego massage from foreign leaders….what is this trip about?

President Trump’s ambitious 11-day, five-country trip to Asia occurs against the backdrop of yet another bout of regional anxiety over the United States’ commitment to remain an active power in the region. These worries have been exacerbated by U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Paris climate agreement; its dithering on whether it is worth the president’s time to attend the East Asia Summit; its transactional approach to relationships, including with China; and China’s concurrent efforts to position itself at the center of major regional initiatives.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/11/03/trumps-visit-to-asia-will-he-choose-substance-or-symbolism/

The 3 most important countries of the 5 he will visit….Japan, South Korea and China……how should he handle these 3?

Geopolitical experts like to overcomplicate matters. Donald Trump’s first trip to Asia as president is, in reality, simple. All he has to do on the three initial stops—the most important of the five visits—is listen to Japan, talk with South Korea and dictate to China.

The selection of the first stop is significant. Fortunately, long gone are the days when American leaders signaled Chinese preeminence by beginning Asia trips with Beijing.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/trump-trip-listen-japan-talk-south-korea-dictate-china-23033

There is serious diplomatic business to be had on this trip…..the question is can Trump take advantage of the time he has in Asia….oh sorry….Indo-Pacific?  Or will he just be himself and appear as a child fighting over a teddy bear?

Donald Trump‘s upcoming tour of Asia offers plenty to keep the US president cheerful, from lavish state banquets to honour-guard pomp and even a chummy round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

That’s where the fun stops. It also represents a gruelling 12-day slog of speech-making, summits, and tricky sit-downs on a range of trade disputes – and the intractable policy headache of North Korea’s nuclear arms programme.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/donald-trump-asia-pacific-challenges-171103130933273.

First stop Japan….and he had lots to say……after patting himself on the back about telling troops about his accomplishments….and nothing about their part in the grand scheme of things Asian….

Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he will likely meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam to discuss the rogue nation, CNN reports. Trump’s arrival in Japan came on the same day a report in the Japan Times claimed the president questioned the country’s decision not to shoot down North Korean missiles earlier this year. The source said Trump, while speaking on the phone with South Asian leaders, expressed disbelief that a country of “samurai warriors” didn’t strike back.

Personally I think this is a waste of time…..he will accomplish little on this trip…..he will only illustrate his incompetence in world affairs.