400.

ProPublica has gathered all the very, very quiet hires of the current regime, many of which were lobbyists, who love themselves a swamp. All are ‘loyalists’ to the regime.

While President Trump has not moved to fill many jobs that require Senate confirmation, he has quietly installed hundreds of officials to serve as his eyes and ears at every major federal agency.

ProPublica has obtained a list of many of them. They include dozens of former lobbyists, Trump campaign staffers and some affiliated with the online far-right.

You can see the database here, and the related story here.

Sunday Facepalm.

Big Cartel.

Rick Wiles is going full court paranoid with yet another screed, this time claiming that the Tiny Tyrant is under house arrest. I’d be okay with that, actually, perhaps he’d finally pretend to do his fucking job, rather than behaving as though the election hadn’t happened. According to Wiles, there is a terrible conspiracy going on, to hush the far right, to still all those screeching voices, oh my yes. And who is doing all this horrible hushery? Why, the Deep State, of course. I think that must be the new name of the Illuminati or something. I can’t keep up with it all.

Wiles said that O’Reilly’s firing from Fox News over numerous sexual harassment allegations and Jones’ custody battle are the work of the deep state, which he claimed is out to silence influential voices on the Right. Trump, according to Wiles, has also been muzzled by this “shadow government.”

“I’m not sure he’s sending out the tweets,” Wiles said. “I think, more than his Twitter privilege—hey, I’m going to go ahead and say it, this is what I think—I think Donald Trump is under house arrest by the deep state. I think they’ve put him under house arrest. He’s changed. He doesn’t even act the same anymore. He doesn’t behave the same. He’s not the man we elected. Something’s happened to him.”

Yes, something happened. He has been elevated, a la The Peter Principle, to a position so far over his level of competence that even he can’t ignore it anymore. Golly, presidenting is hard! Who knew it was so complex! As for his “twitter privilege”, people have been desperately trying to separate Mr. Tweet from his phone from day one. I’m sure most of us are quite grateful for that effort, too. It’s a pity his house arrest won’t prevent him from heading back out on the Yeehaw Rally campaign trail.

“I think the shadow government said to him, ‘You were not supposed to win, but you did it, but we’re going to allow you to stay in the White House under our terms,” he continued. “I honestly believe the man is under house arrest. I believe that they have locked him down, they have isolated him and he has been surrounded by the deep state goon squad and they are making the decisions … I do not believe he is the president of the United States anymore, I believe he is a figurehead.”

He was never the president. Never. He’s an unstable bully, perched in a position of power, who has realized that his usual bully tactics aren’t suited for government, and who doesn’t have the spine to commit to a full tyrancy. Apparently, he’s not the only one who doesn’t know how government is supposed to work. If anyone has isolated Trump, it’s the man himself.

Wiles later cited the news of O’Reilly’s firing, Jones’ trial, and the retirement announcement of Rep. Jason Chaffetz as proof that the deep state is “taking out” powerful conservatives “one by one.”

Oh gods. Chaffetz? Who the hell cares? At least Chaffetz finally had the sense to realize that he was fucking up on the behest of Trump multiple times, which was going to kill his career if he didn’t get out. That puts him a bit ahead of the other rethugs. As for O’Reilly, well, perhaps if the man had stopped doing everything penis first, he would not have lost his job. As it stands, he got millions of dollars in a golden parachute, and is going to start doing podcasts. I don’t see the slightest sign of him being silenced.

“Alex Jones may not survive what’s happening to him right now,” he said. “They’ve got his lawyer on record in the courtroom saying, ‘He’s just acting, he’s a performance actor.’ I mean, that’s from his own lawyer.”

Wiles claimed that Jones may have been set up by the supposed deep state, saying, “They just took down Bill O’Reilly. Now Alex Jones is on the ropes. Who is next? Who is the next person that’s going to be taken down? They are eliminating all opposition to the shadow government.”

Jones is professional liar. He lies, and if that isn’t swallowed, he tries a different lie. He’s also claimed that eating chili affects his memory, and he smokes weed once a year to test potency. As for who is going to be next? Does the shadow government have a request line, because I’d be happy to submit your name, Mr. Wiles.

Via RWW.

A Profile in Avoidance.

The couple with Donald’s daughter Ivanka at the 2004 Met Gala.
By Evan Agostini/Getty Images.

Vanity Fair has an interesting profile of Melania Trump, who, it seems, simply wanted a life of quiet avoidance cushioned by a great deal of money. Interesting reading, but also truly sad, a look at brittle, splintery, unhappy lives.

As the gorgeous wife of a Manhattan billionaire, Melania has had every opportunity to become a fixture on the gala-going benefit circuit. But that would presume an interest in social status or a cause. As Bytner recalls, “She was passionate about . . . Well, I can’t think what she was passionate about.”

[…]

Trump decided not to run in 2012, saying he wasn’t ready to leave the private sector. Four years later, the time had come. Trump’s official story is that he consulted with his family about his decision to run, and they all agreed. A former campaign aide recalls a conversation in which Melania told this aide that she didn’t want Donald to run, because she was terrified he might win. According to another Trump insider, “She never wanted this, and never had any interest.” (Grisham maintains that “Mrs. Trump has always been supportive of all her husband’s endeavors.”) Tolerating his boorishness—that she could do. Repeating a couple of lame sound bites to Joy Behar—fine. But serious campaigning for one’s spouse required far more actual effort.

Melania seemed to do her best to ignore the new reality, on the grounds that she wanted to be home for Barron. Over the course of Trump’s 17-month campaign, she rarely joined her husband at rallies, and the speeches she gave could be counted on one hand. Compare that with Michelle Obama, who spoke all over the country on Barack’s behalf, though she too had young children. During the primaries, Donald made do by re-tweeting a picture of Melania next to an unflattering shot of Heidi Cruz, Ted’s wife, with the caption “The images are worth a thousand words.”

But then he clinched the nomination, and more Melania participation was required—which, alas, did not do her any favors. In February 2016, in an interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, Melania expounded on illegal immigration, using her personal story as an example of model behavior. “I followed the law . . . . And you should do that. You should not just say, O.K., let me stay here. And whatever happens happens.”

The full article is here.

European Larch.

European Larch, one of Charly’s Bonsai trees.

“European Larch Larix decidua. Over 20 years old tree, grown as a bonsai for approximately 15 years. It was found as a seedling near train track where it would be destroyed in subsequent years. I am not too fussy about my trees adhering to Japanese bonsai styles, I do not use the wire or grafting too much and I let the trees mostly “choose” their form by themselves with me only slightly guiding the process through cutting. To a Japanese professional this would probably look as very shoddy work. This year the tree actually bloomed and I find larch blossoms very beautiful, which is why I am sending these as first.”

Back in SoCal, we grew Bonsai trees, and had around 50 of them. We did ours traditionally, our nursery owners were a lovely Japanese couple, who also provided a tree sitting service for when you had to be away, which was so very nice. I did go light on the wire, and tended more toward judicious trimming and cutting. To my eyes, this tree is absolutely beautiful, and I think Charly has done sterling work with it. Click for full size!

© Charly, all rights reserved.

The Daily Bird #331.

A Greater Spotted Woodpecker from Charly, such a beauty! “This time it is a male. He has a strategy for cracking the sunflower seeds, which I was lucky enough to capture – he picks them one by one, places them in a nook between one column and the elevated edge of the feeder bottom where he hammers them to bits. I find this to be quite clever of him, he is the only one whom I spotted to do this and it was not a fluke – he did this multiple times, on the same spot.” That’s one thing that makers of bird feeders don’t take into account, all the birds who use the shove in a crevice and hammer method to get at the nutmeat. A good feeder has some nice cracks or crevices built in! Click for full size.

© Charly, all rights reserved.

Oh Gods, Stop Campaigning. Just Stop.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images).

The Incredible Thin-Skinned Man With The Terrifyingly Fragile Ego can’t cope with the upcoming White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Oh, whatever is a compleat loser to do? Why hold a campaign rally, of course! Rather than face the slightest criticism, or gods forbid, a witty and cutting remark, Trump is going back, back, back to the campaign trail, the only place apparently, where he felt sufficiently loved and somewhat successful. Problem being, of course, that the fucking campaign is over, and he got the job he professed to want. Might be nice if he did the damn job, rather than run back to the campaign crap, yet another pacifier for the Tiny Tyrant. Everyone knows that no matter much how he tries to avoid what has become a presidential tradition, he’s going to take in every remark, every witty jab, every tiny criticism, *poof* into Mr. Tweet and have one fit after another, so why not just go, and pretend to be an adult for one night? Christ, what a waste of space.

President Trump on Saturday announced plans to hold a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on April 29, marking his 100th day in office.

The White House did not offer additional details about where the rally would take place or what Trump’s focus would be, referring questions to Trump’s campaign apparatus. The campaign listed on its website an event scheduled for that night at 7:30 p.m. in Harrisburg, Pa.

The rally will coincide with the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, which Trump elected not to attend in a break from tradition.

[…]

Trump’s rally would offer counterprogramming to the annual celebration of political journalism that draws more than 2,000 reporters, celebrities and advertisers to the Washington Hilton. Trump announced in February that he would be the first president in 36 years to skip the dinner. His staff also turned down invitations to be guests at the event.

Counter programming, eh? I’d be willing to place my bet on what will garner the most views, and the most press! The Washington Post has the full story.

And then there’s this problem when he’s not running back to the refuge of pretend campaigning: ‘Anything could happen’: Trump aides fret when he gets free time because that’s when he screws up.

Ruth Hopkins Sums Up.

“Putting Oil CEO Kelcy Warren on a Parks & Wildlife Board is ludicrous. Its like giving Darth Vader a spot on the Jedi Council.”

Yep. Who better to be a steward of wild spaces? Think Progress has the full story.

Oh, Evil Cleavage!

Michael Reagan has decided, in his defense of one Mr. O’Reilly, to focus on … cleavage! Surprised, right? C’mon, no one ever could have guessed that one, no, no. The sheer nerve of women, existing with those inconveniently placed bumps, let alone wearing something low cut. Oooh, the evil.

Conservative commentator Michael Reagan, the son of former president Ronald Reagan, defended Bill O’Reilly this morning over claims that the recently fired Fox News host sexually harassed women.

Reagan, a contributor to the conservative outlet Newsmax, shared posts on Facebook and Twitter insisting that if women wear “low cut dresses,” then men should consider suing “for sexual arousal”

There was a link to that tweet, I removed it as the tweet in question is now gone. It would seem Mr. Reagan got some feedback on that one which he didn’t like.

“If women are going to wear low cut dresses that show cleavage don’t be harassed when we men look. Or shld we sue for sexual arousal?”

Oh, so that’s how it works, women just have to decide we aren’t harassed. Ever. Then everything will be okely dokely!

Another deleted Tweet stated:

Hot Choclare used to be a compliment on your looks today it is called sexual harassment..@oreillyfactor

— Michael Reagan (@ReaganWorld) April 21, 2017

It’s been replaced with this one:

“If someone calls u brown sugar because u are in their eyes gorgeous and blk.2 them it’s a compliment 2 U it’s harrassment, then tell them.”

Oh, the denseness of someone who absolutely refuses to get the point. What you think about anyone’s appearance, and how it affects your boner has no place at all in any relationship other than a mutually intimate one.

Via RWW.

A Trump Tantrum and Government Shutdown.

Toddler Trump, by Sham.

Despite the Tiny Tyrant’s recent reversal on the importance of the first 100 days, he’s absolutely desperate for a “win” of some kind. For the most part, this involves another attempt at repealing the ACA, or failing that, trying to force congress to hand over forty billion dollars for the Grate Wall of Stupidity™.  More and more Americans are standing fast on not wanting the wall at all, and it’s not a remotely realistic “win” to push for, but Mulvaney is dangling an ACA concession, but only if all the money is handed over for the wall. Things were working, more or less, before Trump had to toss a late night wrench into the works, making everything all about his “wins” and nothing more. He has said “yeah, we want to keep government open”, but his actions don’t match that sentiment in any way. As usual, government in this case doesn’t mean jack shit if it doesn’t translate to “wins and approval” for the monstrous ego of Trump.

Trump’s instability has already caused a great deal of damage and irreparable harm; that harm keeps being extended with every rollback, all in the service of making the Tiny Tyrant feel like a big man. Now, he’s looking to toss anything into the cavernous maw of his always hungry ego, and if government shuts down, well who cares? I have no doubt that Trump would see that only as a bully tactic he could use, as that’s the current tactic, and the only one he possesses.

As the deadline for a spending bill looms, the Trump administration is reportedly throwing a monkey wrench into negotiations. The Trump administration is fighting for border wall funding or a crackdown on sanctuary cities, according to Politico, to give the president a victory during his first 100 days in office.

Desperate for a win, the administration is risking a government shutdown by insisting on funding the border wall. Congress has until April 28 to clear a spending bill — but negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate stalled over the last 24 hours after White House officials showed they wouldn’t move on funding the wall, Politico reported on Thursday evening.

A victory! The Tiny Tyrant must have a victory! Once again, language choice reveals a very nasty, unstable mindset. Think Progress has the full story, as does Politico.