Every day that goes by without World War III starting is a good day.
Every hour that goes by without WW3 starting is a good hour.
But the anxiety level is getting to me.
On the one hand, I am glad DJT has no idea what he is doing with respect to North Korea, because that probably means his wiser more experienced and cooler heads might be making military decisions for him.
On the other hand, I am terrified that DJT has no idea what he is doing with respect to North Korea, because that probably means his rogue tweets or loose cannon tongue might end up instigating something that Mattis and McMaster could not manage to walk back in time. Secretary of State Tillerson tried to lower the temperature with a statement that diplomatic negotiations with North Korea were still in the works but if a bright flash appeared in the sky right now I would not be completely surprised.
So is it good that DJT doesn't know what he is doing, or is it bad? I just can’t tell any more.
But it is clearer with every passing day that he does not know what he is doing.
The dog in the title photo looks cute and probably isn’t doing any harm, even though he doesn’t know what he is doing in his red tie and reading glasses.
But could he just by accident hit certain keys and delete the entire hard drive? Or accidentally download a virus or other malware that would freeze the lap top forever?
Let’s start off easy with the “this gentleman” gaffe.
“I hope things work out well. I hope there’s going to be peace, but you know, they’ve been talking with this gentleman for a long time. You read Clinton’s book, he said, ‘Oh we made such a great peace deal,’ and it was a joke... You look at different things over the years with President Obama. Everybody’s been outplayed, they’ve all been outplayed by this gentleman and we’ll see what happens.”
OK. So the current President* of the United States does not seem to know the difference between Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un. And may not even know there are three different people involved.
This is just nuts. I mean, Kim Jong-un just took power during the Obama administration. You don’t have to remember back very far to know that he is the new kid on the block. And anyone who remembers David Letterman's running gag during the Bush Administration about Kim Jong-il “and his brother Mihn Tae Lee Il” [mentally ill] knows that Kim Jong-il was the one before him.
Admittedly, you have to be a little bit of a political junkie to remember that Kim Il-sung was still the “supreme leader” in 1994 when Jimmy Carter made a famous trip to attempt to persuade North Korea to negotiate with the Clinton Administration about the nuclear situation then. When Kim Il-sung died that summer Kim Jong-il took over, and he was the ruler of the country when the peace deal DJT called a “joke” was actually signed in October. Anyone talking about the Clinton Administration and nuclear deals with North Korea might even want to specify whether they were referring to Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il because they were both involved.
As always, Stephen Colbert nailed the absurdity of the "this gentleman" reference (have I said lately how much I love Stephen Colbert?)
“Why does he keep calling him ‘this gentleman’? Are they going to a strip club together? Either that, or the best nickname he can come up with is ‘this gentleman.’ And, Mr. President, you’re known for your nicknames. Your Lyin’ Ted, your Crooked Hillary. This guy is a name bonanza. There’s so many you could try; how about Shiitake Mushroom Hair, the Dear Eater, or Chairman Cow, or the Dictator Tot, or El Presidumpty, or the Glorious People’s Re-Piglet?”
Even if it is considered a “gotcha” question to expect the President* to know the leader of every foreign country, it does make sense for him to know at least the last 25 years worth of history and the most recent leaders of a country he is playing nuclear footsie with, or “chicken”, or Risk, or any of a number of other games that could be bouncing around in his addled mind.
It also raises questions about how much information he retains from his briefings (if any) when Jarvanka isn’t around to cover for him, and other ageist speculation about whether he is still in complete possession of his faculties (which has been in doubt for quite a while if you ask me).
Next, a riddle for you:
Q — How the frak do you lose an aircraft carrier?
A — You don’t.
Actually it’s not a riddle. Or a joke. And it’s not funny.
DJT claimed we were sending an “armada” (and where did Mr. Third Grade vocabulary pick up THAT word?) led by the USS Carl Vinson, as a show of force to North Korea to discourage them from conducting any more missile tests. Spokesbot Spice dutifully repeated it to the White House press corps. SecDef Mattis sang the same song, telling reporters the ship was "on her way up there because that's where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time." National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster echoed the "prudent" talking point, but he said it on Fox News Sunday, where it is reasonable to assume no Republicon is ever telling the truth.
But you can’t hide something as big as a Nimitz-class supercarrier, and when South Korea noticed the ship hadn't arrived, the whole house of cards came crashing down. We had to admit that the USS Vinson was actually on the way to naval exercises in Australia. And Australia is, generally speaking, in the Southern Hemisphere. As in the opposite direction from the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea by South Korea).
Of course the carrier was never “lost”. Implying that “no one knew” where the ship was and playing “Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego” is just a poetic way of assuming the DJT administration wasn’t flat out lying. But ever single one of those spokesbots from the President* on down knew perfectly well the USS Vinson was not on its way to Korea. Well, maybe DJT didn't know, since he doesn't read... his briefing books.) The nicest way to put it is they thought they could get away with bluffing (bluffing! about nuclear fcuking war!), and their bluff got called. According to CNN, one Korean newspaper openly labeled it the “Carl Vinson Lie”.
This is an embarrassment on so many levels. What is the effing point of a bluff like this? You solve nothing, you aggravate our allies to the South. It actually upsets our allies all over the world, and makes them wonder if they can ever believe anything this administration says (Hint: No.) about foreign policy, or if it is all just a game to them. Chinese Checkers? Go Fish? Monopoly?
Once caught, everyone began moonwalking and claiming yes the aircraft carrier *is* on her way to Korea, just by way of Australia, and would get there eventually! Maybe it was a roundabout trip because Rain Man is afraid to fly and Qantas never crashed? This was especially disillusioning to those who have been hanging their hats on Mattis and McMaster as the voices of reason. They allowed themselves to be played like the dummy hand in DJT’s weekly brinksmanship bridge game.
The cherry on top is that as of late Thursday night, while South Korea watches the waters wondering if the US will dilly dally like this in some future hour of immediate need, the USS Carl Vinson still has not arrived.
And while all this gang that couldn’t shoot straight crap is going on, people on both sides are throwing around tough talk about thermonuclear war.
Lindsey Graham said one of the stupidest things I ever heard a Republicon say (and you can imagine how low THAT bar goes) when he claimed the US launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike would be
...bad for the Korean peninsula, it would be bad for China, it would be bad for Japan, it would be bad for South Korea, it would be the end of North Korea but what it would not do is hit America
Now does the Noted Southern Belle actually believe nuclear war can be contained in this manner? Does he really think that North Korea's allies, who have the bomb, would hesitate to widen the war to teach the US a lesson about preemptive strikes? Can he possibly be that stupid? Or is he just saying what he has been directed to say to keep the deplorables from getting scared and losing sleep like the rest of us?
In direct response to the USS Vinson lie bluff clusterfrak we got this North Korean statement from the Foreign Ministry's Institute for Disarmament and Peace (sounds like the way Republicons name things)
This has created a dangerous situation in which a thermo-nuclear war may break out any moment.
This is not Joshua playing tic tac toe or asking for a nice game of chess! This is GODDAMN SERIOUS BUSINESS that is raising people's blood pressure all over the world!
I don’t have any idea whether DJT has any idea how serious this is.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
But I do know what happens when boys get into a pissing match.
They keep going until one of them loses.
*
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 19: What Huckabee actually DID say, about journalism, was totally outrageous
Apr 18: Another 20 point swing means the Rs are scrambling to regroup
Apr 17: The number of persuadables is growing as people lose confidence in DJT
Apr 16: TBR SUNDAY: He shook up the world—Easter fears can be overcome with Easter JOY
Apr 15: BLUE RIBBONS: David Fahrenthold, Amariyanna Copeny, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the ASAN
Apr 14: Everyone talking, everyone reaching out—is it helping?
Apr 13: Three ways to respond to the stress overload of current political news
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense