Don't worry, America: Elon Musk says he'll have a word with Trump Apparently confirming that the United States of America has become its own strange reality TV show where brash billionaires and pantomime villains make decisions and everyone else has to clean up after them, Elon Musk has announced he will resolve the immigration crisis that has enveloped the Trump Administration over the past …
Not to worry. tRump will run out of steam soon enough, as soon as these idiotic ideas start coming back to haunt him, as well as being unable to enact most of this nonsense without the house or congress. There is not a majority of tRump support in either of those buildings, despite the hold of their party. This is not a party acting in unison. This is one idiot running amok trying to make a name for himself distracting the public eye away from the real crimes being done behind the scenes. This is an administration that completely hates what America used to stand for, and wishes to wipe it all away and make it their own. Hitler wanted to do the same thing, and the world said "fuck you." We are already at the "fuck you" point with tRump. This is a non-leader running up to greet his impeachment with a stupid grin. Whatever garbage he does manage to spill will be cleaned up by his replacement in short order. He has no idea what he is doing, and will not be able to guess his way out. It's almost comical to see him try and make every single move some sort of grand victory. When in reality he's done nothing other than show his great fear of a religion that is just as stupid as the silly, white man in the sky he pretends to pray to.
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tRump will run out of steam soon enough, as soon as these idiotic ideas start coming back to haunt him, as well as being unable to enact most of this nonsense without the house or congress.
He pretty much controls both, and he just sacked the AG who had the courage to ask questions about legality. I'm not even sure you could get an impeachment process started now.
@Andrew Moore Since she knew it was a temp position anyway I imagine she didn't really care and was in a position to do as she wished. From her perspective it makes little difference if he fires her today or whenever his nominee, be that Sessions or not, is approved.
Seems more like kids stuff; DT: "Do this!" SY: "F you!" DT: "You're fired!" SY: "Meh"
Be sure to use short words, Elon, and be sure to say 'murica at least twice in every sentence if you want to hold his attention. For example, diplomacy is too big a word. Tact would seem to be short enough but I don't think he grasps that one, either.
At least the name fits: A trump is when you hear from an arsehole.
I found what Scott Adams is saying about Trump to be interesting. He says that this immigration order is just Trump being Trump - he always make a ridiculous "first offer" ("setting an anchor") then negotiates from there toward something more reasonable.
Adams was one of the few who believed during the early primaries that Trump would win not only the nomination, but the general election. Adams based that on Trump's persuasion skills which he says are world class. He's been right a lot, so maybe he's right about this too. You can read what Adams has to say about the immigration order here. IMHO, it's definitely worth looking at, whether you hate Trump or love him.
Good article in the link. It's the kind of thing that makes one go "hmmm....." I suspect Adams is on to something and given Trump's past, it's probably right. Go big and then back off, but he is playing the left vs. right and that puts him in the firmly in the crosshairs of both sides. I think a large bag of popcorn is needed for this... and maybe a few adult beverages. It's going to be a long haul.......
Here's why:
1. An executive order is NOT a negotiating position. It is an order from the executive.
2. Unlike a private business negotiation, an executive order cannot be walked back without the executive losing face. My perception is that Trump does not care for losing face.
3. An executive order goes into effect immediately. Again, this is not a negotiating position, it is an executed act (in the action sense, not the legislative sense).
What these orders show is that Trump is a noisy businessman who does not understand how government works. He does not understand the Constitution, nor its curbs on legislative and executive powers. He does not understand the complexity of international relations, of economic interconnections, or the importance of the American legal system.
Trump is 70 years old, with a narcissistic personality formed in his youth. He will not learn how to govern; it would require him to unlearn everything that he learned selling used cars golf courses. On another thread, Big John opined that we are in for a bumpy ride. BJ is right, though not for the reasons his fantasies suppose. America has a fool in the Oval Office, and he is an old fool who cannot learn new tricks. (And before somebody brings up Reagan: Reagan spent two terms running the most populous state in the USA, experience which is a relatively good precursor to dealing with the US Congress, Constitutional law, and so on. And anyway, Reagan's personality was nothing like Trump's.)
Not sure about that.
1. (Seeing as we're doing numbered lists). The executive orders are temporary. That's brilliant - it gives him 90 (120) days for people to 'get used to' the idea, then he can put something in place that's not as severe and everyone thinks they've won concessions.
2. The 'Government isn't business' line concerns me. This is the Hillary Clinton approach - "this job is too small for your small ape brains, let me do it". Both America and the UK have built up a huge government machine that is dedicated to oiling its own machinery. Laws only get more complex, lawyers only get richer and the civil service has so many offshoots and branches that genuine change is almost impossible. The end result is that successive governments are increasingly only able to tinker around the edges because "this is how it's always been done". That's not to advocate Twitter diplomacy, but to recognise that government has become incredibly self serving lately - one of the reasons we got Brexit and Trump.
Good points, Andy.
Executive orders are, by default, permanent. NOAA was established by executive order (Nixon, 1970), for example. The travel ban issued by Trump had specific language limiting its duration; to my knowledge the order on eliminating regulations is permanent.
I disagree with the "Hillary Clinton approach" though. My point, not very well articulated, is that a knowledgeable chief executive would consult his lawyers, he would consult his business partners (in this case, the legislative branch) and he would consult experts in the area affected.
Trump is doing little of this. He's shooting from the hip. It's an amateurish, botched job. Adams credits Trump with a nuanced, deal-maker's approach; I don't see that. I see a headstrong exec with a record of bad decisions bulling his way in a situation he is ill-equipped to understand.
Trump is doing little of this. He's shooting from the hip.
No, no, no. It's far worse; that would just make him monumentally incompetent. (He IS monumentally incompetent, but the clique of Nazis and Russian stooges he's surrounded himself with are a bit more with the old "ruthless efficiency" thing.) What he's actually doing is deliberately, with malice aforethought and careful planning by the core group, circumventing all the controls the Constitution supposedly offers to restrict the actions of a President such that they can't turn America into tyranny.
This it's the first serious test -- Nixon was a crook, but not actively trying to harm the country -- and I have to say it's not looking good for the fans of running your country according to 250 year old parchments, no matter how clever they might sound to schoolchildren. (Fun exercise: print off a political map of Europe. Colour the countries according to the age of their Constitutions. Mmmmmm.)
The problem here, it's not a ridiculous first offer. It's actual actions, with actual impact on real people. Persons. With families, lives. Honest people who played by the rules, followed them to the letter and now found themselves subject to arbitrary detention and deportation. They are not pawns to be sacrificed to the side of the check board.
However Adams wants to make them sound more palatable, he is definitely a rich white man sure in his knowledge that he will never be impacted by those actions.
This is simply not a business contract negotiation.
now found themselves subject to arbitrary detention and deportation
Two things that are far scarier than that: there are multiple reports that people are being asked their opinions of President Trump, and what their religion is.
The CPB and DHS are ignoring Court Orders. It's a coup.
Scott Adams is certainly worth reading, but for me he crossed the line into evil months ago. Much of his "persuasion" amounts to saying whatever will get the result he want, whether or not it is true. This applies to what he writes in his blog, which is often misleading or simply false. He admired and privately endorsed Trump even while claiming to endorse Clinton. He gave a tutorial on increasing the Trump vote by manipulating friends who are Clinton supporters into not using their vote - and said that because it was legal, it was OK. He has written that fake news is OK if it supports Trump.
You seeing any signs of revolt in Congress? I'm not. 95% of his base are delighted by his actions so far. (And check the UK sewer press enthusiastic leaping on his big idea! "Muslim ban? Brilliant, when do we get ours?" is the line from trash papers like the Express, Mail, Torygraph and Sun.)
Mush-brains Musk should realize Blowhard operates in a different manner than any conventional pol. Blowhard is trying to shake up the opposition in such a way that they will make a reasonable bargain if they bother to read his book. Blowhard opens negotiations with an extreme position that he plans to negotiate from to get a deal. Part of this is flushing out real position of opposition and get a feel for what they will concede.
The incredible part here is that it's not clear whether Musk understands that.
Sadly, if true, it means The Donald is a better negotiator than Obama ever was. Perhaps an accident of history, being the first black President, he HAD to stay away from extreme positions and HAD to be willing to move to the middle. In any case, his strategy seemed to be meeting the opposition halfway... except the opposition never moved an inch, ever. As any mathematician worth their salt will tell you, eventually you end up on the opposition's side. Then the opposition leaped further back from where they were, and Obama said "fuck it!" and pushed his now-modified agenda through with his Democratic majority, until he didn't have that.
The difference is stark.
Donald Trump's illegal immigration ban begins by invoking 9/11 three times. 9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon. None of those countries are banned. None of the major attacks committed or attempted in the United States since 9/11, including 9/11, were committed by people who were from any of the seven countries included in the illegal ban. Donald Trump is insane. He must be removed from office.
"Donald is insane, he must be removed from office, just how is the problem. I think the constitution never envisioned this."
The founders of the US did foresee this event and invented the Electoral College to forestall it - unfortunately what that didn't expect was the gerrymandering that would put the Republicans firmly in power with less than half the actual votes.
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows for it.
'Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.'
Sadly though, Trump's cabinet are weak fools who won't stand up to him and the real power in the WH - Steve Bannon; and, on Capitol Hill, Paul Ryan has yet to evolve a spine.
> ...the constitution never envisioned this
It surely did, there is a process for removing or suspending a President (or other Officer of State) if they are ill, mad, etc. The practical problem in doing so is that half of the USA knows that he isn't ill, mad, etc. (Their "knowledge" is not in any way verifiable of course, but that's not relevant to the issue.)
Considering that the majority of the alleged 911 hijackers are still alive and well in their respective countries (according to several sources including the Biased Broadcasting Corporation), it is very hard to say which country the actual terrorists came from. Not unless you have some information you should be sharing with the CIA and FBI.
"Trump has just increased the restrictions in place for said countries."
What do you mean by "just"?
Stopping already vetted people, with green cards, who actually have their homes in the US, from coming home, is "just increasing restrictions"?
I see it more as a fascist state running amok.
It's the same "something must be done" mentality you get when politicians make technical security decisions.
A list of people to subject to extra security when flying = good idea.
Preventing 3 year old American children with the same name as long dead journalists on Nixon's enemy list, flying to Disneyland = stupid
In the first three weeks of January, this year in Chicago 221 people were shot and 42 of those were fatalities, I think the last thing the US needs are any terrorists, they've got enough home grown problems to deal with.
But this is not the answer and sends the wrong message in a big way.
I wonder what news publications he reads?
Helping a friend the other day and he was taken aback by one of my thumbnails 'The Israeli Times', I mean why shouldn't I read it?
Love to see a list of what you lot read online and would give mine too on the forum if anyone is interested?
The news in the UK is so SHIT, you don't get to see or hear what's really going on in the world.
The article was brill BTW. Taa!
"But both seem to have convinced one another that government is just a big company with too much red tape....."
The funny thing is, that up until some time between WW1 and WW2 many government departments, were companies and corporations that had been given responsibilities via statutes. Local councils were corporations. Someth g came to mind this morning when I read about Trumps decree that for every new law, 2 old laws must be repealed. That's something we could do with in the Uk. We still have many statutes on the books relating to the East India Trading Company that have never been repealed!
"But both seem to have convinced one another that government is just a big company with too much red tape in need of some big personalities who know how to get things done."
Thus, we see the dawn of William Gibson's cyberpunk future, where governments have been replaced by mega corporations.
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