Mother, mother, mother - there's too many of you crying.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I'm sorry -- I don't follow. If you think I'm saying this only because it's Israel that he outed, I don't think that's fair.

Have you ever criticized Netanyahu for taking partisan sides in US politics? Not to defend Kerry, but if he is making Netanyahu look bad personally at the expense of US-Israel relations more generally, that's not a good thing, but he certainly didn't start it.

This isn't kindergarten, so the second sentence is weird. Kerry criticized more than Netanyahu, so the first sentence doesn't compute.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

eta: To make this about leaking rather than about Kerry, Netanyahu and Israel, here is a good column about recent Trump leaks.

Leaking is a time-honored tradition. The amazing thing about the Trump leaks is that they are mostly people looking to undermine the administration they are a part of. I wonder whether some of this is to protect a reputation later on, so X can say, I may have been part of the administration, but I wasn't part of and object to the idiotic thing they did on Y.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

This isn't kindergarten, so the second sentence is weird. Kerry criticized more than Netanyahu, so the first sentence doesn't compute.

Political leaders know that what they say behind closed doors often gets reported, if not the next day in the newspaper then at some later point in memoirs, etc. I'm surprised that you have a problem with what Kerry said. He obviously believes too many people, including many foreign leaders, think conflict with Iran will solve something.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Leaking is a time-honored tradition. The amazing thing about the Trump leaks is that they are mostly people looking to undermine the administration they are a part of. I wonder whether some of this is to protect a reputation later on, so X can say, I may have been part of the administration, but I wasn't part of and object to the idiotic thing they did on Y.

I don't think they're trying to undermine the Administration. In some cases they are trying to get an airing for views that they don't think are being heard by normal channels, something that makes a lot of sense when the President appears to be most influenced by what he hears on Fox & Friends. In other cases they are trying to undermine specific people in the administration for their own personal advanced. Olivia Nuzzi's recent article about Hope Hicks (in New York magazine) makes it sound like this is a full-time job for Corey Lewandoski, and he's not the only one. Sometimes the leaks are about things like who is dating who, and who is squandering taxpayer dollars on what, but since government does policy and outsiders actually care about, sometimes these leaks drift into policy matters as well. But Trump doesn't care all that much about policy, and he attracts strivers who don't either, so they all care less about the harm they do there.

The President likes conflict among his subordinates, so he essentially encourages this.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I don't think they're trying to undermine the Administration. In some cases they are trying to get an airing for views that they don't think are being heard by normal channels, something that makes a lot of sense when the President appears to be most influenced by what he hears on Fox & Friends. In other cases they are trying to undermine specific people in the administration for their own personal advanced. Olivia Nuzzi's recent article about Hope Hicks (in New York magazine) makes it sound like this is a full-time job for Corey Lewandoski, and he's not the only one. Sometimes the leaks are about things like who is dating who, and who is squandering taxpayer dollars on what, but since government does policy and outsiders actually care about, sometimes these leaks drift into policy matters as well. But Trump doesn't care all that much about policy, and he attracts strivers who don't either, so they all care less about the harm they do there.

The President likes conflict among his subordinates, so he essentially encourages this.

The there is this one. This may have been the unauthorized disclosure situation Hank was really looking for.

DO NOT CONGRATULATE!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

The there is this one. This may have been the unauthorized disclosure situation Hank was really looking for.

DO NOT CONGRATULATE!

Yes, that sounds like national security staff disgusted with a President who won't listen to them.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by tyrone slothrop

yes, that sounds like national security staff disgusted with a president who won't listen to them.

Also:

DO NOT TELL HIM HE IS BUFF. DO NOT ADMIRE HIS STRENGTH. DO NOT GIVE HIM SMALL COUNTRIES.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Bolton. Wilford Brimley after a six month meth binge. Aesthetic jokes aside, possibly the most dangerous pick. This is seriously scary.

[Adder]

The one "pleasant" surprise from this administration is that it hasn't openly started any new wars. Bolton makes that highly unlikely to continue.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Adder

The one "pleasant" surprise from this administration is that it hasn't openly started any new wars. Bolton makes that highly unlikely to continue.

Trump is full of bluster, but I don't think he's inclined to start any wars. He doesn't really care what other countries do, so long as he gets respect. He wants to be liked by other national leaders. He has no ideology to export. He has other ways of riling up his base behind him. And he's not going to want to do the work of having generals explain matters to him and ask him to make hard choices.

Sure hope I'm right.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

Hey Sebby, you're a criminal justice reform guy, right? Have you checked your local urban DA out?

Holy shit. This is amazing.

TM

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Trump is full of bluster, but I don't think he's inclined to start any wars. He doesn't really care what other countries do, so long as he gets respect. He wants to be liked by other national leaders. He has no ideology to export. He has other ways of riling up his base behind him. And he's not going to want to do the work of having generals explain matters to him and ask him to make hard choices.

Sure hope I'm right.

We are enabling a total shit show in Yemen at the moment. If Bolton wants to send troops there, we've got a full blown war that's already sent us an engraved invitation.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Every time this idiot says or does something I'm again reassured that the country made a wise choice in 2004.

This is the dumbest shit you've said in quite some time.

TM

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Holy shit. This is amazing.

TM

Larry's the man: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/...n-philadelphia

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Adder

The one "pleasant" surprise from this administration is that it hasn't openly started any new wars. Bolton makes that highly unlikely to continue.

I think everyone is fatigued right now from all the departures. This has led to a "meh" response to Bolton's appointment.

If you thought Sessions was an ominous pick, and he was, Bolton is 10X more troubling. The only silver lining is the guy is such a staggering asshole, and so full of himself, there's no way he'll last even a year.

However, a lot of damage, lasting damage, can take place in one year.