For the first time since Jimmy Carter’s secretary of state Cyrus Vance resigned on principle (the failed helicopter rescue attempt of the embassy hostages in Iran), a major cabinet official has resigned on principle. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quit the Trump White House because Trump announced his plan to withdraw 2,000 US troops from Syria. Such is the topsy-turvy world in which we find ourselves.
Finally, a Cabinet Member Resigns on Principle. But What a Crazy Principle!
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And of course nobody’s mentioning that Mattis is a certified war criminal who covered up massacres by his subordinates while he was a general during the occupation of Iraq, and was personally responsible for devastating the city of Fallujah (hundreds of dead civilians just in that one battle) and ordering the bombing of a wedding. He didn’t get the nickname “Mad Dog” based on his cheerful disposition. Of course he’s been replaced by a former VP of Boeing, so don’t expect the Defense Department to get less warlike or less wasteful without him.
The DoD must be ashamed to have to give lip service to a doddering old fool who vacillates in front of the sycophantic militarists of the world, whom the US has incited into a murderous frenzy up to this point.
Tough one – we really do need to quit meddling in the Middle East. We can’t make things better with bombs, short-term profits simply don’t justify the long-term damage we’ve done.
But the short-term consequences of a complete pullout will be devastating as well.
The devastation to the EU’s confidence in the competence of the US is a good thing if, because of it, the EU stops following the US around the globe like a lost puppy dog.
The EU has been dealing for years with immigration from the war-torn countries that the US has brought its fake “democracy” to.
I also have a suggestion for the Democrats dealing with Trump’s FIVE BILLION Dollar wall/campaign-issue demand.
The new House should write a law that the wall would be funded by ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS extracted from each of the fifty states, by 50 new state levied taxes payable to the Trump wall/campaign-issue fund.
It would be worth it just to hear the howls from the all the borrow-and-spend state legislatures joining Republican with Democrat state opposition against the wall even if for different reasons.
I was just reading Dave Barry’s year in review – if things get any stupider in the US, Mexico just might build its own wall.
https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article223204095.html
Didja see where there’s a GoFundMe campaign to build the wall? How much do you suppose President Tinygloves has pledged?
Eighteen million is a long way off (not quite four tenths of a per cent) from 5,000,000,000.
So if the 5 Billion is not reached everybody gets their money back?
Seems like betting on a good way to show fake support without really having to pay anything.
More fakery from the fakes.
Maybe the Fake Billionaire can top off the fund so he can collect the money his dupes put up, and then keep their money for himself.
I confess that I have little knowledge about what’s going on in Syria. I’d welcome any clarifications on the parts I’ve gotten wrong in my theory: I assume that what Trump has done is, somehow, an inconvenience to the 1% of the 1%. Despite what the “news” tells us, this isn’t about freedom, democracy, or any of the other buzzwords that types like Hillary Rodham Clinton say out of both of her faces. (Speaking of, did you know that both of those faces have Henry Kissinger, the unindicted war criminal, on their speed dial? Yeah, it’s true.)
If I were Trump, I’d be mighty sure that his plane doesn’t “have to” stop in Dallas. And I’d definitely decline any fishing trips. …
Happy New Year everyone. I wish Bernie Sanders would announce his presidency. I want HRC to have to watch him win in a fair fight. I wan to see her smile like she’s got two big spoonsful of shit in her mouths when asked what she thinks of Sanders’ presidency. If Elizabeth Warren’s the Veep, fine. I don’t mind Warren becoming the FIRST female Veep AND the FIRST female president in 2028. Just, God, please, let HRC be there to see it happen.
… and another happy trip around Sol to you, as well. (along with the rest of the regulars and lurkers)
Didja see that Warren announced her candidacy? Ooops, I meant “exploratory committee.”
Notes to Warren:
1. The 2016 election was an inflection point in American politics. We are heading out of the party-political phase and into the ideological-political phase.
2. The 1% are still manipulating for all they’re worth, trying like hell to keep everyone buying into the dream. However, just like with most dreams, once you become aware of the problem you’ve been missing for so long, once you become aware of how obvious the problem is, you wake up.
3. Once 1 and 2 are considered, Warren’s got to realize that the Sanders people will never vote for her. This article has a pretty good explanation of why.
4. Trump is presented by the media as the shrieking klaxon announcing a red alert on Star Trek. But take an Ambien and just think about it with a little distance. Pick something bad Trump’s done. Look back at the presidencies of Obama, Cheney, Clinton, Bush, and Reagan. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts, there’s an equivalency (or nearly so) for each thing Trump’s done. Is he a disaster? Pretty much, but if the democrats field a really blah candidate for 2020, a lot more people than a lot of us want to admit are just going to sit home. Pauline Kael famously observed once that she was shocked when Nixon won because none of her friends had voted for him (or words to that effect). The Kael Effect will surround Trump as well. I hope Warren understands that.
Alex asks, ” Is he a disaster?”
Oh, heck yeah – but it’s less what he’s done than how he’s done it. Obummer and Bush committed more war crimes, every GOP admin in living memory has fucked up the economy, etc.
BUT Obama was sane and Bush had a clear agenda. Trump is a random nutjob who changes directions faster than a pinball. Would you prefer to share the road with a predictable road-rager, or a drunken fool who’s none too sure how to drive in the first place?
Worst. President. Ever.
To Alex.
To find out what is going on in Syria, search:
“Pepe Escobar” Syria.
Considering, Ted, what miniscule proportion of its existence that the US has not been engaged in a war of aggression abroad, I suggest that Mr Mattis in resigning is standing up for the most basic of the country’s founding principles….
Henri