The failing NY Times opens with a bit of a spy-thriller suspense:
E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email.
WASHINGTON — One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an “environmental catastrophe.” Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, from Philadelphia, went to a rally where he protested against agency budget cuts.
Three different agency employees, in different jobs, from three different cities, but each encountered a similar outcome: Federal records show that within a matter of days, requests were submitted for copies of emails written by them that mentioned either Mr. Pruitt or President Trump, or any communication with Democrats in Congress that might have been critical of the agency.
Different jobs, different cities, a letter, a private lunch - Trump's spies are everywhere!
Or not. Readers who press on with diligence and care will eventually piece together that a private citizen (by night) who doubles as a media consultant to Republicans by day actually - get this - follows the news and flags EPA employees who are publicly blasting the Trump-based EPA leadership. He then files FOIA requests to see just how out-of-control the Federal bureaucracy is.
The article notes that the EPA employees have the right as private citizens or union leaders to voice their concerns. Less empohasis is given to the fact that as a citizen and taxpayer I (for example) have the right to file an FOIA request and see what the Feds are doing on my dime.
Of course, Hillary found all these rules about archiving and providing emails tedious so she set up a private server to side-step Republican oversight. Maybe these minions could try the same ploy and see how that works for them.
As to who is involved: the Times eventually tells us that Nicole Cantello is one aggrieved employee. A quick Google search shows her making news in the Boston Globe and Think Progress.
The letter writer is identified as Michael Cox, who wrote a widely publicized letter on his way out the door. The WaPo:
EPA staffer leaves with a bang, blasting agency policies under Trump
The third employee, the rallier in Philly, is a union leader named Gary Morton who made the news in March and June. All of this public activity is basically buried by the Times "reporting". Here, for example, is their discussion of Michael Cox:
Michael Cox, who worked at the E.P.A.’s Seattle regional office for 25 years, learned this weekend from an article in The New York Times that he had been among the employees under scrutiny.
Mr. Cox wrote to Mr. Pruitt in March — on the day of Mr. Cox’s retirement from the agency — to tell him that he was “increasingly alarmed about the direction of E.P.A. under your leadership,” and to urge Mr. Pruitt to “step back and listen to career E.P.A. staff,” the letter said.
Their link is to a .pdf of the letter but does not mention that it was widely publicized. I wonder why not?
Resist!
It's gone from "muh Russia" to "muh EPA" flacks who quit already anyway?
Posted by: henry | December 18, 2017 at 05:15 PM
The Swamp creatures are scared and speaking out to save their miserable lives. Good.
Go to DC, rent a car and drive around the Beltway, MD. Va. and Dc. count all the Fox News is Fake News and # Resist bumper stickers. You won't be surprised.
Posted by: Jim Eagle | December 18, 2017 at 05:21 PM
Sounds like PDJT's admin is using Alynski tactics on..gasp..Alynski-ites :-)
Posted by: glasater | December 18, 2017 at 05:22 PM
One career EPA staffer's disaster is another American citizen's jump for joy moment.
Posted by: hoyden | December 18, 2017 at 05:23 PM
The Wall Street Journal @WSJ
"FBI agent’s ‘insurance policy’ text wasn't intended to suggest a secret plan to harm then-candidate Trump"
And just how in the hell would the WSJ know that?
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 05:29 PM
https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2017/12/child-refugees-in-britain-had-beard-and.html?m=1
After the Jungle refugee camp in Calais closed last year, 750 “vulnerable minors” were granted sanctuary in the UK as part of a deal struck with France. Concern was raised at the time that a number of them appeared to be over 18.
Tony Smith, former director-general of the UK Border Force, said: “I am not confident all the vulnerable minors brought over from Calais were children. In fact, I am confident some of them were not and were actually adult economic migrants posing as children.
“Some would have sworn on their mothers’ lives they were only 16 even though they had a beard and were balding.
Posted by: JimNorCal | December 18, 2017 at 05:40 PM
@JamesComey:
(Edmund Burke 1787): I was for Al Franken's Resignation before I was against AL Franken's Resignation.
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 05:41 PM
JNC,
I can count on my rosary the number of times I have taking Eurostar from Brussels or Paris and have watched the conductor escort refugee stowaways to the on board cell. Yes, they have one just for that encounter.
One time, in first class, I had two of them come and sit down in the seat across the aisle from me. They tried to act like they were invisible when the conductor came by. He was not impressed.
Posted by: Jim Eagle | December 18, 2017 at 05:48 PM
Shy dragon worshipers are like kali cultists not to be mocked.
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 05:51 PM
"And just how in the hell would the WSJ know that?"
I saw their lips moving. They don't.
Posted by: hoyden | December 18, 2017 at 05:57 PM
A useful roundup on the current composition of the Circuit Courts
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/12/how_liberal_is_your_federal_circuit_court.html
Posted by: JimNorCal | December 18, 2017 at 05:57 PM
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump
33m33 minutes ago
70 Record Closes for the Dow so far this year! We have NEVER had 70 Dow Records in a one year period. Wow!
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 05:59 PM
I love that.
Posted by: Extraneus | December 18, 2017 at 06:01 PM
hoyden,
Fusion GPS was started by two Wall Street Journal reporters.
From this WSJ comment I conclude that Fusion GPS people are going around trying to help the
bad actors craft suitable cover stories.
I also believe that those Fusion GPS people are being monitored by certain agencies.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:01 PM
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/black-unemployment-rate-lowest-17-years
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:02 PM
And speaking of the environment, I read today that the Vatican is the first nation to be carbon-neutral. With an area of about a hundred acres and a population of less than 2,000, this should have been easy - especially given the prosperous nature of the state.
But, no - they had to purchase a forest in Hungary to be compliant! A country the size of our duck hunting farm can't organically meet the requirement, yet the enviroweenies think the idea is scalable. Sure it is. You just need moar unicorn farts.
Posted by: Beasts of England | December 18, 2017 at 06:13 PM
It is always useful to have at hand the quotes from former EPA Senior Official, Al Armendariz:
“I was in a meeting once and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement. And I think it was probably a little crude, and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I’m going to tell you what I said.”
“It is kind of like how the Romans used to conquer the villages in the Mediterranean — they’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere and they’d find the first five guys they saw and they’d crucify them. Then that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.”
“And so, you make examples out of people who are, in this case, not complying with the law. You find people who are not complying with the law and you hit them as hard as you can and you make examples out of them. There’s a deterrent effect there. And companies that are smart see that. They don’t want to play that game and they decide at that point that it’s time to clean up. And that won’t happen unless you have somebody out there making examples of people.”

Merry Christmas, Al!
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:17 PM
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/12/18/fbi-damage-control-and-justification-part-ii-cointel-agent-peter-strzoks-turn/
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:19 PM
Down in the comments some gal said she could have done a better job protecting this country when she was a little girl playing Honey West, and then all of the people who remembered about that show chimes in on how cool Honey West was.
Here is Honey West with her pet ocelot with the diamond collar:
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:24 PM
daddy, I'd follow you into battle against these motherfuckers. How can it be that nobody has inconvenienced that scumbag after all this time, nevermind beat the shit out of him?
Posted by: Extraneus | December 18, 2017 at 06:24 PM
Beasts,
You a member of a duck hunting farm?!?!
When does the season start:)
Posted by: Buckeye | December 18, 2017 at 06:24 PM
EPA staffer leaves with a bang, blasting agency policies under Trump
Maybe we can get the French to hire him too, mais oui?
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:25 PM
EPA Al needs to be crucified. Ironically, of course...
Posted by: Beasts of England | December 18, 2017 at 06:26 PM
Luke RosiakVerified account @lukerosiak
New #AwanBrothers filing: Prosecutors say Imran knew he was being investigated (for Capitol Hill misconduct) which is why he transferred $300k to Pakistan+his wife fled. They think he'd get a Pakistani passport+flee w/o a GPS monitor.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:27 PM
I know your ID guy, Ex. Have for many years. Italian. Dad was a cop in NYC. Crazy interenets coincidence.
Posted by: lyle | December 18, 2017 at 06:27 PM
It's a family farm, Buckeye. We've killed mainly Mallards, Gadwalls and Mergansers so far - a few weeks into the season. Funny thing: there were four Canvasback pair and three Bluebill pair about two-hundred feet off of my verandah this afternoon. I haven't seen a Canvasback in a long time. Gorgeous (fast) birds. I was excited. :)
Posted by: Beasts of England | December 18, 2017 at 06:30 PM
very fine comey tweet, daddy.
Posted by: Clarice Feldman | December 18, 2017 at 06:31 PM
Here is Honey West with her pet ocelot with the diamond collar:

Miss M,
I'm surprised those bacon colored stipe's on Honey's ocelot haven't triggered Hilary Rosen into declaring them "Anti-Semitic."

Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:32 PM
JENNIFER RUBIN is HITLER.
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 06:35 PM
Child refugees in Britain "had a beard and were balding"


I am 100% certain that WaPo reporter Dave Weigel would kill to have facial hair like "child refugees in Britain."
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:39 PM
Al Armendariz, went to the SIERRA CLUB.
If I was HITLER, I'd send some boyzzz down to the CLUB and have AL beaten with a baseball bat.
That way the EPA will be pacified for a few years.
I think that's what AL ARMENDARIZ was trying to say.
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 06:44 PM
Look what AL ARMENDARIZ has been up to!!
He needs a visit from the BOYZZZ. I mean that's what the ROMANS would do. RIGHT??
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 06:50 PM
Daddy, it would appear that Dave Weigel and LISA Page use the same shampoo!
GEE YOUR HAIR LOOKS GREASY!!
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 06:52 PM
Jibing with JimNorCal's link to bearded child refugees in Britain, here's Sweden's record of Kumbaya:
The latest results of tests on asylum seekers in Sweden subjected to a new method of medically assessing their age show that over 80 percent tested were judged to be older than 18
Plus there's this good news: 92% percent of all "severe rapes" in Sweden were carried out by "people with a migratory/asylum background,
Even better: nearly half the rapes (43%) are committed on children:
I always love it when Muslim immigrants take Jesus's statements in the Gospel of Matthew as a how to manual: "suffer the little children."
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:54 PM
Daddy, Obama said it was Mommies with 3 year olds.
OBAMA is HITLER.
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 06:56 PM
Thanks, Clarice!.
You never know what whacky Edmund Burke quote Comey's gone tweet out next:)
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 06:57 PM
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump
With the strategy that I announced today, we are declaring that AMERICA is in the game and AMERICA is DETERMINED to WIN!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/942904686125965312
Video at link.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 06:58 PM
Ari FleischerVerified account @AriFleischer
31m31 minutes ago
Just a reminder that CNN, CBS and MSNBC have yet to explain how numerous “independent” sources all misread the date on an email in calls to each of those three outlets. No explanation. None.
===========================
Leave the dark side, Ari. Walk towards the light and warmth of Trump America....
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:00 PM
My electrician's son who works for him came in today to change out a GFI outlet on the front portico. He has a blind off of Munn's Point on Meadow Lane by the Osprey nest. He was very successful this year with 3 geese and 6 ducks.
He has dressed them all and offered a goose to me but we are in Florida. Normally, if here, I would take the goose for Christmas dinner.
.
Have to go with the Rib Roast this year with Yorkshire pudding
Posted by: Jim Eagle | December 18, 2017 at 07:00 PM
IRONY ALERT!
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cfpb-warren/senator-warren-hits-out-at-effort-to-politicize-u-s-consumer-agency-idUSKBN1EC2OX?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a384f7f04d301391d2f9fcd&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Sundance on Twitter says:
TheLastRefuge @TheLastRefuge2
24m24 minutes ago
TheLastRefuge Retweeted Reuters Top News
Ha, that's rich. 🤔The political founder of a consumer agency, that was established entirely around the principal of using said agency for one-sided political benefit, is complaining about the foundational politicization of the agency becoming public knowledge. 🙄Go figure.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:03 PM
Bruce Ohr was supposed to testify today but it never happened.
Does anyone know why?
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:05 PM
Brit Hume has a droll sense of humor:
https://mobile.twitter.com/brithume/status/942891071620644864?p=v
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 07:07 PM
FAKE SQUAW WARREN is HITLER
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 07:11 PM
Beasts
Mallards and Gadwalls are pretty common in Ohio. I don't recall ever seeing a Merganser here, at least not the hooded variety.
When we lived in Maryland sometimes saw Canvasbacks on the bay.
Posted by: Buckeye | December 18, 2017 at 07:13 PM
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/12/17/0200000000AEN20171217002100315.html
Drills in South Korea with US military rehearsing removing nukes from the Norks.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:14 PM
If anyone cares, here's "Crucifier Al's" Twitter account 3 hours ago:
Al Armendariz Retweeted
Senator Tom CarperVerified account

@SenatorCarper
3h3 hours ago
More
I'm asking @EPA's Inspector General to investigate Administrator Scott Pruitt's $40,000 trip abroad. Taxpayers should know why Administrator Pruitt traveled to Morocco to talk about natural gas exports—an issue EPA doesn't even oversee
Latest I can find from Goolag is that he is the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign director, so you and me are probably still paying Al's Salary.
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 07:16 PM
https://nypost.com/2017/12/18/trumps-first-year-is-starting-to-look-like-a-big-win/?utm_campaign=applenews&utm_medium=inline&utm_source=applenews
Pretty good article until he gets to the last paragraph where he accuses Trump of having a "shambolic style of governing" and "a toxic persona."
Spoken like a true beta male who doesn't understand how Trump works because he was too arrogant to look at and understand his business, and who thinks that all of us are put off by Trump's style (which I happen to love).
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:21 PM
MM:
Did Wasserman /Schultz testify?
Both will probably take the 5th.
Posted by: maryrose | December 18, 2017 at 07:24 PM
I have only been duck hunting twice, both times when I was a kid with my dad and his brother.
They did the shooting, I got to tend the dog:)
Posted by: Buckeye | December 18, 2017 at 07:25 PM
Winning the future is beyond coal,
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 07:26 PM
maryrose,
I have seen zero news about Wasserman-Schultz. I will keep an eye out.
If she did testify, I assume it was a closed hearing.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:28 PM
Narciso, beyond coal is unicorn farts, the magical power source of the progs. Or the go to Walmart for a giant pack of batteries. Anything but coal.
Posted by: henry | December 18, 2017 at 07:29 PM
https://twitter.com/FarrahFazal/status/942903902218997760
Shots fired inside Minneapolis City Hall. Police on scene.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:31 PM
Yrs turbinium or unobtainium, got it. Btw the Amtrak train xidnt have positive train control, this time on the west coast.
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 07:32 PM
don't recall ever seeing a Merganser here, at least not the hooded variety.
We get them up here. The only reason I know that is that a couple owning an Old English Sheepdog, Rugby, who plays with Teddy are avid birders and have pointed them out to me. They've also pointed out loons to me which I didn't know we had; when I heard that I went on Youtube to hear what they sounded like: I thought I'd been hearing owls all this time!
Posted by: Captain Hate | December 18, 2017 at 07:32 PM
As we suspected:
https://mobile.twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/942868736008220673?p=v
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 07:37 PM
From Miss M's 07:03, think how miserable your life would be if you had to be one of the sad flunkies whose job was to run around every day chasing Liz Warren for pix and quotes.

I can hear the press corp banter even as I type:
"Mind if I borrow your Seppuku knife once you've finished plunging it into your belly?"
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 07:37 PM
Have to go with the Rib Roast this year
Same for us. Fortunately, this year, one wandered close enough to our blind.
Posted by: sbw | December 18, 2017 at 07:37 PM
who thinks that all of us are put off by Trump's style (which I happen to love).
Honestly after I voted for him I didn't know how he'd come off as a President with his emphatic hand gestures and all. Having seen him in action, and don't get me started on the mincing developmentally challenged child he follows, he comes off exactly like I want a leader of The #1 Country in The World to behave.
Posted by: Captain Hate | December 18, 2017 at 07:40 PM
https://twitter.com/PierceSheriff
This Twitter feed is from the Sheriff's office for the area in which the train derailment happened. I am posting it here because there are statements and multiple photos of the accident site as you scroll down, which I thought Man Tran and others would find interesting.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:42 PM
Brit Hume
@brithume
So you see, Strzok was just trying to move the investigation along so that possible Trump administration officials wouldn’t be plagued by the probe if Trump won. Strzok was actually trying to help an administration headed by a man he despised. Got it. (link: https://twitter.com/delwilber/status/942875277209849858) twitter.com/delwilber/stat…
Brit Hume
@brithume
I don’t doubt that this is actually the explanation being offered on Strzok’s behalf and I commend @DelWilber for at least trying to get answers. I’m just skeptical of the answers he got.
---------------------
OK, which one of you guys slipped the magnesium and testosterone into Brit Hume's Tea?
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 07:48 PM
Captain Hate,
There is only one problem with President Trump:
He's going to be a hard act to follow.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:48 PM
EPA staffer leaves with a bang, blasting agency policies under Trump
A foreign service gal also got 15 min. of fame for bashing the Trump State Dept.
"Foreign Service Officer Elizabeth Shackelford, a midlevel officer assigned as a Political Officer to U.S. Embassy Somalia based in Nairobi resigned from the State Department on December 8. Her resignation letter (PDF) was published by Foreign Policy on December 10."
https://diplopundit.net/2017/12/15/a-foreign-service-officers-parting-shot-gets-media-attention/
These EMPLOYEES seem to think they get to call all the shots. That the agencies must do what THEY want. It really is odd.
What hubris.
Who do they think they are?
Posted by: Janet 🚬 | December 18, 2017 at 07:52 PM
Two words, MM: Tom Cotton.
Posted by: lyle | December 18, 2017 at 07:53 PM
Who do they think they are?
Janet, they know who they are. They are dead wrong, but certain.
Posted by: sbw | December 18, 2017 at 07:54 PM
Janet, they think that they are HITLER.
Posted by: GUS | December 18, 2017 at 07:55 PM
https://securitystudies.org/polished-american-first-national-security-strategy/
This guy likes the new Security Strategy.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 07:57 PM
You forgot to mention that she was an "award-winning" diplomat, Janet. I can't speak for the rest of you but nothing says "probity" like winning awards from other trained seals.
Posted by: lyle | December 18, 2017 at 07:57 PM
he is the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign director,
The Sierra Club is a den of thieves. An investigative journalist could have years of great stories digging into the Sierra Club's grifters game.
sue & settle
pushing for streetcar systems
Who is getting all the money that goes to them? Crony connections.
It is like a mafia business more than an environmental organization.
Posted by: Janet 🚬 | December 18, 2017 at 07:59 PM
Drop Into the sarlaac pit in 3,2,1.. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/18/16791844/star-wars-last-jedi-backlash-controversy
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 08:00 PM
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump
4m4 minutes ago
Together, our task is to strengthen our families, to build up our communities, to serve our citizens, and to celebrate AMERICAN GREATNESS as a shining example to the world....
================================
I like bringing strong families and communities into the national security strategy. When those aren't strong, they are a drain on our national resources including our defense.
It is really amazing it took a New York billionaire to tie economics and the social fabric to national security. He's absolutely right.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 08:00 PM
ManTran, you used the term "panel shift". Not one I've heard, education please?
Posted by: Another Bob | December 18, 2017 at 08:01 PM
Funny that, huh, Miss Marple!! ;)
Posted by: Beasts of England | December 18, 2017 at 08:05 PM
Elizabeth Shackleford? Know your place, public servant, and shut your mouth. We win this war one soldier at a time and you going away smells like victory.
Posted by: Captain Hate | December 18, 2017 at 08:07 PM
are avid birders and have pointed them out to me.
Mrs. Buckeye has a friend who is a duck fan (nut). I will ask her if she has seen Mergansers here.
Posted by: Buckeye | December 18, 2017 at 08:14 PM
Yeah, Lyle. I figured someone might ID him from the horse rescue thing. Life long friend of mine.
Posted by: Extraneus | December 18, 2017 at 08:16 PM
Rich Lowry's last paragraph:
Lowry: None of this is to deny Trump’s failings. Congressional leaders often have to work around his shambolic governing style. Next year could bring a bout of protectionism, and his opposition to entitlement reform during the campaign makes it unlikely Republicans will get a handle on spending. His toxic persona could drive a Democratic wave in the 2018 midterm.
It is as if Lowry has a duty to smear Trump in order to keep alive those unfounded smears to help achieve their self fulfilling prophecy of Trump's destruction. I can only understand it if I look at Lowry as trying to do that in an effort to rescue himself and his cowardly and dishonest NRO buddies from professional oblivion.
Posted by: daddy | December 18, 2017 at 08:16 PM
AB
The structure created by rails and crossties is sometimes referred to as a track panel.
Under certain undesirable conditions (soft ballast, extreme temperature, etc.) it can shift laterally causing alignment problems.
Posted by: Buckeye | December 18, 2017 at 08:25 PM
Seconding the thoughts of Capt Hate @ 0740PM
"he comes off exactly like I want a leader of The #1 Country in The World to behave."
Posted by: pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter | December 18, 2017 at 08:25 PM
These EMPLOYEES seem to think they get to call all the shots. That the agencies must do what THEY want. It really is odd.
Yes, it's hard to see the down side of any of this. /understatement
Posted by: jimmyk | December 18, 2017 at 08:25 PM
One of those top 20 columnists no doubt, tearing down the house that Buckley built, besides chambers, who was a soviet asset of sorts, burnham a fmr trotskyite, same with meyer. Another fmr communist, they knew the enemy and what it was capable of.
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 08:27 PM
Congressional leaders often have to work around his shambolic governing style.
What does this mean? Shambolic means chaotic or disorganized, which I don't think applies here because he has made it very clear that he expects them to follow through on the campaign promises that got him and them elected. With the exception of the tax bill, they haven't delivered much and I don't think any of that is due to his governing style. In fact, he seems to be very focused on getting the government to do its job efficiently while not intruding on the rights of citizens.
Posted by: Captain Hate | December 18, 2017 at 08:32 PM
10-4 Buckeye, thanks.
I was much more a locomotive guy than a railroad guy if that makes any sense.
Posted by: Another Bob | December 18, 2017 at 08:38 PM
Meanwhile my inbox is full of begging letters from NR.
Jane, if you check in--How are you doing with this crisis?
Posted by: Clarice Feldman | December 18, 2017 at 08:38 PM
I mean the obvious point is that if people weren't screaming and protesting as they were quitting or getting fired, then Trump would have to be doing something wrong.
Posted by: jimmyk | December 18, 2017 at 08:39 PM
Captain Hate,
For some time now I have been convinced that for these losers it's really all about style.
No matter what the President does or how successful he is, they still cringe at his Queens accent and dislike the fact that he has friends like Vince McMahon. They hate that his wife is a super-model and wears couture. They hate that he likes gold accents and wears fancy suits. They hate that he can talk to plumbers and miners with no hint of snobbery.
Those guys spent their entire careers posing as intellectuals, and Trump has shown them up as know-nothing frauds who don't know beans about the economy, foreign policy or the military. I don't think they will ever get over it.
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 08:42 PM
daddy, do you have a source for those Swedish figures? FB followers want to know.
Posted by: Clarice Feldman | December 18, 2017 at 08:45 PM
Never mind, daddy--got it.
Posted by: Clarice Feldman | December 18, 2017 at 08:46 PM
A rising star at State! why she was the deputy assistant undersecretary for Somali pirate engagement! Or was she in the office of Nigerian e mail scam investigation?
Posted by: matt | December 18, 2017 at 08:47 PM
A theory on what's been going on with the investigations, by @drawandstrike:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/942753607308496897.html
Posted by: Miss Marple the Deplorable | December 18, 2017 at 08:48 PM
MM, that's exactly it. They think the ideal president comes from the places they came from (geographically but mostly otherwise). They HATE that a "lesser" found his way to the throne. They all think they would be better. They hate having to look up to him, because it reminds them that they've been seen through as phony.
Femall.
Posted by: Another Bob | December 18, 2017 at 08:49 PM
I've known him for at least 30 years, Ex. Interesting guy. Just had lunch with one of his buddies last week in addition to talking to another of his Italian compagnos.
Posted by: lyle | December 18, 2017 at 08:50 PM
Clarice, if you are asking about my friend, she has arrived in Maine into the arms of her 2 other kids and her sisters. I can honestly say that is about the worse I've ever been at anything. And I'm exhausted. But I am glad she is with her family.
Posted by: Janeprobably about 10 minutes after getting there | December 18, 2017 at 08:58 PM
Narciso, I read that article you linked about the backlash to 'SW: the Last Jedi'.
Haven't seen it yet. Think I'll save my money.
Posted by: art in newport | December 18, 2017 at 09:03 PM
Interesting about awans associates with a yen for carcdealership:
https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/new-partnership-iraqi-red-crescent-society-help-alleviate-suffering-across-iraq
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 09:05 PM
They don't stop to consider that bad or muddled writing is the problem, I will venture forth and add whether its 'the horror, the horror'
About the hezbollah coke gate, its striking how at the times a whole of periodicals pretending that they were doing doing with jabber the odd man out but ignoring his associate Al metebi who is a Moroccan (how does that sound familiar) and fayad
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 09:16 PM
I can’t tell from the DrawAndStrike unrolled thread whether he considers Comey to be a good or bad guy. I only see him as a bad guy.
Posted by: sbw | December 18, 2017 at 09:25 PM
His that is delusional unless his in a dungeon under the trump hotel, I don't expect him to talk
Posted by: narcisoyea | December 18, 2017 at 09:28 PM
DrawAndStrike seems to be considering Comey and Mueller both as white hats. I will believe it when I see results.
Posted by: Buford Gooch | December 18, 2017 at 09:32 PM
Chief who oversaw police response to Charlottesville rally retires abruptly
https://www.policeone.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/467929006-Chief-who-oversaw-police-response-to-Charlottesville-rally-retires-abruptly/
"The report also said Thomas initially tried to limit Heaphy's team's access to certain information by directing subordinates not to answer certain questions and made officers fearful of retaliation for speaking with investigators. And it said Thomas had deleted text messages relevant to the investigation and used a personal email account to conduct some police business, then denied having done so in response to an open records request."...
Posted by: Janet 🚬 | December 18, 2017 at 09:35 PM