Don’t cry for Mattis – he was as bad as the other generals that once surrounded Trump

Lucian K. Truscott IV has some harsh words for the outgoing secretary of defense Jim Mattis, touted as the ‘Last Adult in The Room’, just like all the other high-ranking military officers that the media automatically endows with sterling qualities simply by virtue of their office. Truscott says like the other three generals that Donald Trump once had and have now left, Mattis was a toady who went along with pretty much all Trump’s hare-brained ideas, resigning only because his feelings were hurt that he was not consulted about the Syria withdrawal.
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LeBron James lashes out at NFL owners

If there is one athlete in professional sports who is untouchable, that is LeBron James. He is increasingly using that power to speak out in harsh terms against the power structure in professional football and to support the protests of people like Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid who have been punished by NFL owners for their kneeling protest against police brutality, an issue that Donald Trump exploits whenever he needs a distraction from his own problems.
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What ending US military involvement in Syria reveals about the War Party in the US

Donald Trump took pretty much everyone by surprise with his statement that he wanted to pull US troops out of Syria. Why did he do it? Why does he do anything? Trying to figure out what is going on that swirling confusion of rage, narcissism, insecurity, envy, vindictiveness, pettiness, and racism that constitutes his mind is a mug’s game. Not only is it difficult but before one can even start to make sense, he has moved on to yet another confounding statement or action. This time, it is his decision to reverse course and trigger a government shutdown that went into effect at midnight.
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And the political circus continues

As we approach the end of the year, the news that is dominating is the possibility of yet another government shutdown, starting at midnight tonight unless Congress passes a funding bill to keep it open. There has been a lot of posturing on this, with Donald trump demanding $5 billion for the wall and Democrats saying that was not going to happen. The high point was the very public and testy exchange between Trump and Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer where they goaded him into impulsively taking responsibility for any shutdown, saying that he would be proud to do so.
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What is Vladimir Putin up to?

At the end of every year, Russian president Vladimir Putin holds a lengthy and wide-ranging news conference and this event was held yesterday. He was asked questions about all the troubles that Donald Trump was facing and Theresa May’s problems with Brexit. Instead of diplomatically replying that those were matters for the people of those nations to deal with, Putin seemed to relish the opportunity to fan the flames by giving gratuitous advice as well as a mini-lecture on what real democracy should be like.
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Donald Trump – not only a grifter but also a cheapskate

News comes today that amidst a slew of allegations of improper use of its funds that have led to a criminal investigation, Donald Trump has been forced to close the foundation named after him.

The dissolution of President Donald Trump’s charity resolves one element of the attorney general’s civil lawsuit against the foundation, which includes claims that the President and his children violated campaign finance laws and abused its tax-exempt status.

The lawsuit will continue in court because it also seeks two other outcomes: $2.8 million in restitution, plus penalties, and a ban on Trump and his three eldest children serving on the board of any other New York nonprofit.

The agreement to dissolve, signed by both the foundation and Attorney General Barbara Underwood’s office, also allows the attorney general’s office to review the recipients of the charity’s assets. The most recent tax return filed by the foundation listed its net assets at slightly more than $1.7 million.

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Great moments in presidenting

I am sure that readers would be expecting this post to be about Donald Trump, who has given us many great moments in presidenting by virtue of his grifting, incompetence, and sheer brazen lying. But this is actually about Sri Lanka where the president there seems to be trying to give Trump a run for his money when it comes to making impulsive and stupid decisions without thinking things through, feeling that the sheer office of his office was sufficient to make any decision he makes become reality.
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The Israel lobby is seeking loyalty oaths in America

I have written before about how the Israel lobby, alarmed by the rapid rise in support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and the declining support for Israel especially among young people and Democrats, has moved to pressure state legislatures to pass laws that punish people for any involvement in such speech and activities. Glenn Greenwald describes the case of Bahia Amawi, a children’s speech pathologist, who was denied employment in a public school district in Texas because a law in that state now contains a loyalty oath – not to the US but to Israel – that prevents the employment of anyone who takes any action that inflicts economic harm on Israel, such as supporting a boycott or even merely making a decision, as a private consumer, to not buy products made by companies in the Occupied Territories. She refused to sign the loyalty oath.
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The short life and welcome death of the Weekly Standard

The magazine folded last week after 23 years of existence. I have been surprised by the level of mourning that has been expressed in media circles at its death, when the right reaction should be rejoicing. All that one really needs to know to form a judgment as to the quality of this publication was that it was financed by Rupert Murdoch and its founding editor was Bill Kristol and the magazine accurately represented their interests. The fact that Kristol has now been welcomed into some liberal enclaves in the media because of his dislike of Trump is mystifying. Thankfully Jon Schwarz delivers the appropriate epitaph for this nasty and pretentious little rag.
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Great moments in Venn diagrams

The Republican war on logic and math continues with this Venn diagram produced by losing governor Scott Walker to try and persuade people that the legislation passed by the lame-duck legislature and signed by him stripping the incoming Democratic governor of some powers was not a blatant anti-democratic act.

This graphic from The Progressive magazine compared Walker’s idea of a Venn diagram with how it should actually be used.

Don’t these people have aides who have at least some basic knowledge and can stop them from embarrassing themselves?