Trump 23: The Death Eaters Have Taken the Fucking Country

[sawasdee]

I find it incredible that GOP Senators are willing to weather the abuse heaped on them by the TT. Couldn't some of them declare themselves to be Independent for the duration - or would that be electoral suicide? Do they not have their own bases in their constituencies, who could see the need? And if it is electoral suicide, at least they could sleep at night (and they would still have their pensions and benefits...). Or has the entire GOP gone insane?

The moral deficiency in the GOP is, for me, one of the most frightening aspects of this nightmare we are all sharing.

[GreyhoundFan]

"‘Art Of The Deal’ Co-Author Tony Schwartz Predicts Trump’s About To Resign"

Spoiler

Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal co-author Tony Schwartz is predicting that the president is getting ready to call it quits ― and that the resignation will happen soon.

He wrote on Twitter Wednesday: 

...

In followup tweets in response to questions, Schwartz predicted Trump would make a deal for immunity in the Russia investigation in exchange for his resignation.

“The Russia stuff will be huge,” he wrote. “He doesn’t want to go to jail.”

He also urged Trump’s opponents to keep up the pressure, and he slammed the president’s elder children.

... <multiple tweets -- this is my favorite:

Eric & Donald Trump Jr., dumber versions of their father. Ivanka Trump fake human and enabler. They all suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) August 16, 2017

>

Schwartz has been predicting resignation as Trump’s endgame, making similar comments in May.

“I surely believe that at some point over the next period of time he’s going to have to figure out a way to resign,” Schwartz told CNN at the time. 

Despite authoring a book with Trump, Schwartz advised the campaign of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for free. 

“This is my penance for having created a man who has become a monster,” he said in September. “I’ve spent 30 years feeling bad about it.” 

Schwartz also said he would donate his share of the profits from Art Of The Deal to the National Immigration Law Center, an organization that helps low-income immigrants.

 

[Cartmann99]

51 minutes ago, sawasdee said:

I wish I could upvote this a million times - the first belly laugh I've had in ages.....

Ah, shucks. * kicks ground, blushes*

 @JMarie , if Trump does eat somebody, you know I'm going to beg you to do the Hannity recap, right? 

*JMarie runs away screaming*

[sawasdee]

 An unbalanced and patently incompetent man is at the apex of government, and in charge of the nuclear codes.

And for the GOP, the hope of  TAX CUTS FOR THE 1% is  more important? So they won't challenge his insanity?

WTF? Who could vote for anyone that is willing to endanger the future of the entire nation, from threats within and without, to please their owners donors?

I know the electoral map is against the Democratic Party in the 2018 elections - but surely there are enough informed people to at least try and save the Republic?

Please Rufus, Charlottesville and its aftermath will convince a sufficiency that enough is enough.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

29 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"‘Art Of The Deal’ Co-Author Tony Schwartz Predicts Trump’s About To Resign"

  Reveal hidden contents

Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal co-author Tony Schwartz is predicting that the president is getting ready to call it quits ― and that the resignation will happen soon.

He wrote on Twitter Wednesday: 

...

In followup tweets in response to questions, Schwartz predicted Trump would make a deal for immunity in the Russia investigation in exchange for his resignation.

“The Russia stuff will be huge,” he wrote. “He doesn’t want to go to jail.”

He also urged Trump’s opponents to keep up the pressure, and he slammed the president’s elder children.

... <multiple tweets -- this is my favorite:

Eric & Donald Trump Jr., dumber versions of their father. Ivanka Trump fake human and enabler. They all suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) August 16, 2017

>

Schwartz has been predicting resignation as Trump’s endgame, making similar comments in May.

“I surely believe that at some point over the next period of time he’s going to have to figure out a way to resign,” Schwartz told CNN at the time. 

Despite authoring a book with Trump, Schwartz advised the campaign of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for free. 

“This is my penance for having created a man who has become a monster,” he said in September. “I’ve spent 30 years feeling bad about it.” 

Schwartz also said he would donate his share of the profits from Art Of The Deal to the National Immigration Law Center, an organization that helps low-income immigrants.

 

If only it were true!

[sawasdee]

GOP Senators criticising his racism? Bah, humbug. Nonstop censure and publicity over Russia by the MSM? Fake News. Industrialists leaving his committees in droves? They're all snowflakes. Emoluments clauses? He'll make enough money before they are enforced he doesn't care. Falling poll figures? FAKE! His base loves him! Look at his rallies!

I think the tipping point will be if Mueller threatens to make public his tax returns - showing he is nowhere near as rich as he claims - and maybe even owned by his creditors. That is the one public humiliation he cannot endure - and he will resign rather than let it happen. (Please, Rufus, please - Mueller threaten him SOON!)

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"‘Art Of The Deal’ Co-Author Tony Schwartz Predicts Trump’s About To Resign"

  Reveal hidden contents

Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal co-author Tony Schwartz is predicting that the president is getting ready to call it quits ― and that the resignation will happen soon.

He wrote on Twitter Wednesday: 

...

In followup tweets in response to questions, Schwartz predicted Trump would make a deal for immunity in the Russia investigation in exchange for his resignation.

“The Russia stuff will be huge,” he wrote. “He doesn’t want to go to jail.”

He also urged Trump’s opponents to keep up the pressure, and he slammed the president’s elder children.

... <multiple tweets -- this is my favorite:

Eric & Donald Trump Jr., dumber versions of their father. Ivanka Trump fake human and enabler. They all suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) August 16, 2017

>

Schwartz has been predicting resignation as Trump’s endgame, making similar comments in May.

“I surely believe that at some point over the next period of time he’s going to have to figure out a way to resign,” Schwartz told CNN at the time. 

Despite authoring a book with Trump, Schwartz advised the campaign of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for free. 

“This is my penance for having created a man who has become a monster,” he said in September. “I’ve spent 30 years feeling bad about it.” 

Schwartz also said he would donate his share of the profits from Art Of The Deal to the National Immigration Law Center, an organization that helps low-income immigrants.

 

I could actually see him quitting if it will get him out of trouble with the Russia stuff. He loved running for president, he has never liked BEING president. I just hope that no one cuts a deal with him. He needs to be held responsible. 

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

Ah, shucks. * kicks ground, blushes*

 @JMarie , if Trump does eat somebody, you know I'm going to beg you to do the Hannity recap, right? 

*JMarie runs away screaming*

I won't scream.  I'll pop some popcorn and plop in front of the TV for a very exciting evening!!!!!!!

_____________________________________________

 

Trump's all about making money, right?  So what happens when people boycott his hotels?

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/17/news/companies/cleveland-clinic-trump-mar-a-lago/index.html

Quote

The Cleveland Clinic and the American Cancer Society are abandoning plans to hold fundraisers at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Toby Cosgrove, the Cleveland Clinic's CEO, was among the executives on the White House business councils that imploded this week after Trump blamed both sides for the violence at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.

It will be the first time in eight years that the Cleveland Clinic has not held the fundraiser at the Trump resort.

"We thank the staff of Mar-a-Lago for their service over the years," the hospital group said in a statement. It did not give a reason. The announcement was reported earlier Thursday by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

A few hours after the Cleveland Clinic's announcement, the American Cancer Society followed suit.

The nonprofit said in a statement that it had planned to host its 2018 gala at Mar-a-Lago "based on a variety of factors, including costs and venue requirements." But the organization said "it has become increasingly clear" that hosting its fundraiser on Trump-owned property presents a "challenge" to its values.

The nonprofit -- which has hosted the annual event at Mar-a-Lago for at least the past decade -- has not yet selected another venue. The decision was reported earlier by the Palm Beach Post.

Mar-a-Lago declined comment. The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a message.

The health organization last hosted its gala in Trump's Palm Beach club in February of this year.

That event coincided with a visit from Trump, who was in Florida the same weekend to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

It's not clear whether Trump attended any portion of the American Cancer Society's event, but he is known to pop in on fundraisers. In fact, Trump served as a co-chair for the American Cancer Society's annual event in 2014, the organization said.

The Cleveland Clinic is a hospital group based in Cleveland, but it has a health center in South Florida. Proceeds from previous Mar-a-Lago galas have helped pay for medical equipment, nursing education and wheelchairs, according to the organization's website.

A spokeswoman said the event raises about $1 million each year on average. She said the Cleveland Clinic has not yet decided on a date or new location for the 2018 gala. The 2017 gala was in February.

The clinic had received criticism for hosting the annual event at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier this year, protesters organized outside the Cleveland center to pressure the hospital to cancel the event, according to local media reports.

And in July, nearly 1,700 people -- including doctors and medical students -- signed an open letter asking the clinic to hold the fundraiser somewhere else.

Holding the fundraiser there "symbolically and financially supports a politician actively working to decrease access to healthcare and cut billions of dollars in research funding from the National Institutes of Health budget," read the letter, which was posted on Medium.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Now you can see what Donald Trump sees every time he opens Twitter"

Spoiler

For all of the work John Kelly has put into his new role as White House chief of staff, instituting new limits on whom President Trump speaks with and what information he sees, Trump has an escape hatch: his phone. Put limits on who can reach Trump at the White House? Fine, but then Trump just calls them from his cell later that night. Limit the data that lands on his desk? Great, until he fires up Twitter and sees whatever he wants to see. (Twitter, Axios reported in May, is the only app on his phone.)

Much of what Trump learns about the world is filtered through two lenses: what he watches on cable news (particularly Fox) and what he sees on Twitter. Wired’s Ashley Feinberg linked the arguments from Trump’s Tuesday news conference about the violence in Charlottesville last weekend to rhetoric that he may have picked up from Twitter or from watching Fox. The liberal site Media Matters put a fine point on that latter connection, pairing Trump’s language with similar statements that had previously aired on Fox.

Users of Twitter will understand, however, that it can be tricky to know what someone else sees when he or she fires up the application. Everyone follows a different group of people, and that colors the information they receive.

To that end, we’ve created @trumps_feed, an account that checks whom Trump follows every five minutes and then retweets any new tweets from them over that period. The net result is a replication of what Trump would see on those occasions that he switches over from the Mentions tab.

It’s this. This is what Trump would see right now if he opened Twitter.

...

Again, this account will update every five minutes with any new accounts that Trump follows.

Whom does he follow right now? Twitter allows us to see all 45 of those accounts right now, and, interestingly, the order in which he followed them.

That order, from earliest to most recent follow, goes like this:

1. Ivanka Trump
2. Donald Trump Jr.
3. Piers Morgan
4. Greta Van Susteren
5. Bill O’Reilly
6. Eric Trump
7. Seven Trump properties
8. The personal account of Dan Scavino, his social media director
9. Vince McMahon, head of the WWE
10. Golfer Gary Player
11. Producer Mark Burnett
12. Fox News’s Eric Bolling
13. Geraldo Rivera
14. Rivera’s wife (whom he followed after he followed Geraldo)
15. The account for “Fox and Friends”
16. His attorney Michael Cohen
17. Former spokeswoman Katrina Pierson
18. TV personality Katrina Campins
19. The duo of Diamond and Silk
20. Ann Coulter
21. Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski
22. Fox Nation, a Fox News social account
23. Sean Hannity
24. Lara Trump, Eric Trump’s wife
25. Vanessa Trump, Trump Jr.’s wife
26. Drudge Report
27. A campaign account called Team Trump
28. Vice President Pence
29. Laura Ingraham
30. His other daughter, Tiffany. (He followed his own daughter after Pence — whom he obviously started following only last summer.)
31. Two more Trump Organization accounts
32. Actress Roma Downey
33. Reince Priebus
34. Kellyanne Conway
35. Dan Scavino’s White House account
36. The White House
37. Fox News’s Jesse Watters
38. Fox News’s Tucker Carlson

Of the 45 accounts he follows, nine are for the Trump Organization and seven are linked to his other favorite business, Fox News.

And what do they tweet about? We took all of the tweets from those accounts this month (except the Trump Organization ones) and created a word cloud.

They tweet about Trump.

... <word cloud shows lots of Agent Orange>

The Trump name is mentioned 389 times in August tweets from these users. His Twitter handle is mentioned 230 times. Fox News’s Twitter handle is mentioned 184 times. The word “president” comes up 164 times and the news of the month, Charlottesville, 120 times.

Anyway. If you’re ever curious what’s spurring Trump’s views on something out there in the world, take a dip into @trumps_feed and see. If it’s not being discussed there and it’s not on Fox News, maybe it’s something that his senior staff decided he should focus on.

But we’d recommend starting with Twitter or Fox News.

 

Narcissistic ass.

[GreyhoundFan]

Spoiler: Not much. "So, what’s up with Melania Trump during these interesting times?"

Spoiler

The always smoldering dumpster fire of the Trump presidency is at four-alarm levels, but at least one inhabitant of Trump World is managing to have a low-key summer: the first lady.

Since returning just over a month ago from Paris, where she accompanied her husband on a high-profile trip, the typically publicity-shy Melania Trump has been all but invisible. Of course, summers are for whatever your version of Netflix-and-chill is, but we’re just sayin’, you know who is not slowing down during the dog days?

Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife, has been comparatively swamped with work — she’s in South America now with her husband, and while there her days have been packed. She recently announced a plan to hire Indiana artists to paint flowers on the china for the vice president’s residence, accompanied her husband to Eastern Europe, and went to Montana to champion her pet cause of “art therapy.” (Too busy, surely, to read about all those “Pence 2020” rumors her husband has denied.)

So far, Melania Trump’s post-Paris public appearances have amounted to a tennis game at her husband’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., a brief introduction at Trump’s July 27 campaign-style rally in Ohio, and a meeting with the president and health officials on the nation’s opioid crisis — that was during the Trump family’s vacation (make that a working vacation, the president’s aides insisted), as the family departed Washington for a 17-day stay at the Bedminster club.

So what has Melania Trump been up to?

Well, tweeting, for one. Her response to the violence in Charlottesville over the weekend at a rally of white supremacists notably came before her husband’s.

...

Other than that, a spokeswoman says the first lady has been spending time with the couple’s 11 year-old son, Barron, before he goes back to school in Washington. And a little work, too — she “has had many meetings with staff to prepare for several upcoming events,” including the U.N. General Assembly and the Invictus Games — Melania Trump will lead a delegation to Toronto on her first solo trip abroad as first lady.

Summer is fast coming to a close, so that means we’ll be seeing more of the first lady, right?

 

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Spoiler: Not much. "So, what’s up with Melania Trump during these interesting times?"

Has she just given up on the whole anti-cyberbullying campaign?

[Destiny]

36 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Has she just given up on the whole anti-cyberbullying campaign?

I mean, doesn’t she kinda have to? The irony would make me go insane in her place. 

[Cartmann99]

10 minutes ago, Destiny said:

I mean, doesn’t she kinda have to? The irony would make me go insane in her place.

I thought it was nuts when she proposed it, but she did come up with the idea herself. She could always look up what other First Ladies have done for ideas of things that might be more doable for her.

I don't really understand her. 

[mausi]

3 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I could actually see him quitting if it will get him out of trouble with the Russia stuff. He loved running for president, he has never liked BEING president. I just hope that no one cuts a deal with him. He needs to be held responsible. 

I can't. He will not admit he was wrong about a damn thing.

[Cartmann99]

Hey everyone, 

I know I took the humor to a really dark place on Thursday, and that not everyone is used to that sort of thing. In my family, we sometimes use humor as a way to express our deepest fears in a way that feels safe. I apologize if I hurt anyone by seeming to make light of murder, torture, necrophilia, or cannibalism. I'm just honestly at a place where all matter of horrors are starting to feel like possibilities, and that scares me to death. Pitch black humor is my coping mechanism.

Those of you of a certain vintage will remember the television show Cheers. I've always liked the theme song. I like to think of this little piece of the internet as our virtual bar.

Quote

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. 
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. 

Wouldn't you like to get away? 

Sometimes you want to go 

Where everybody knows your name, 
and they're always glad you came. 
You wanna be where you can see, 
our troubles are all the same 
You wanna be where everybody knows 
Your name. 

You wanna go where people know, 
people are all the same, 
You wanna go where everybody knows 
your name. 

You wanna go where people know, 
people are all the same, 
You wanna go where everybody knows 
your name. 

We're all in this mess together, and in the words of our friend @47of74, Donald Trump, you and your Nazi pals can go fornicate yourselves. 

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

Trump's twitter feed cloud

put together by the WaPo. Am I the only one who's disturbed by how big the word "white" is? By now it's no wonder just another confirmation.

ETA I noticed that Charlottesville is big too, in fact it's pretty normal as the cloud considers only August feed. The word "white" preminence must be all his condemning of white supremacists /sarcasm

Anyway I 'd love to see a cloud with his twitter feed since January or November.

[fraurosena]

Think of him what you like, this message is powerful.

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

See even Terminator would have been a better President.

I agree with who said that publication of his taxcondition returns will be his undoing and probably trigger his resignation. I hope sooner than later. I'm not as worried by Pence, he's as personally appealing as a dead fish with no charisma and zero cummunication skills. His only pro is being less crazy and scary than SCROTUS, considering that anyone but Bannon, Miller and the crazy blond trio looks like Einstein next to Trump it's that much of a feat.

[fraurosena]

How a butch Charlottesville racist became a whiney little bitch.

 

And if you want to do something about those racist marches, heres a wonderful idea!

 

[Howl]

Thanks for sharing that with us, @fraurosena!  That brilliant idea is bringing sunshine to my day! 

To clarify, Hess was buried in this town, but he was exhumed in 2011 and the gravesite destroyed.  Here's the Guardian's excellent article.  German town tricks neo-Nazis into raising thousands of euros for anti-extremist charity

Spoiler

 

Neo-Nazis gathered in a small German town found themselves the target of an anti-fascist prank this week when they inadvertently raised €10,000 for an anti-extremist organisation.

For decades, far-right extremists have marched through Wunsiedel in Bavaria every year, to the despair of those who live there. This year, the organisers of Rechts gegen Rechts (Right against Right) took a different approach.

Without the marchers’ knowledge, local residents and businesses sponsored the 250 participants of the march on 15 November in what was dubbed Germany’s “most involuntary walkathon”. For every metre they walked, €10 went to a programme called EXIT Deutschland, which helps people escape extremist groups.

Campaigners hung humorous posters to make the march look more like a sporting event, with slogans such as “If only the Führer knew!” and “Mein Mampf” (my munch) next to a table laden with bananas. They even hung a sign at the end, thanking the marchers for their “donations”.

Neo-Nazis are attracted to the town because Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess was once buried there. Though his remains were exhumed in 2011 and his grave was destroyed, far-right extremists still flock to the town year after year. Residents have attempted protests and numerous legal complaints to no avail – Wunsiedel is still treated as a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis all over Europe.

One of Rechts gegen Rechts’ organisers Fabian Wichmann, an education researcher at EXIT, told German news agency DPA: “We want to show what else you can do, what other courses of action you have. You can do more than just block the street or close the shutters.”

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

9 hours ago, mausi said:

I can't. He will not admit he was wrong about a damn thing.

Oh, he'll never admit fault for anything, but you know how he can twist the facts. I would assume he'd say something like he was resigning because he was the greatest president ever and he wants to show the idiots that you go out on top or some such nonsense.

 

"Trump said to study General Pershing. Here’s what the president got wrong."

Spoiler

A sordid tale of General John J. Pershing executing Muslim insurgents in the Philippines at the turn of the century is a favorite of President Trump.

“They were having terrorism problems, just like we do,” Trump told a throng of cheering supporters in South Carolina in February 2016.

“[Pershing] caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people. And he took the 50 terrorists, and he took 50 men and he dipped 50 bullets in pigs’ blood — you heard that, right? He took 50 bullets, and he dipped them in pigs’ blood. And he had his men load his rifles, and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said: You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years, there wasn’t a problem.”

It’s a story Trump has repeated, and echoed again Thursday after what authorities have called a terrorist attack in Barcelona that killed at least 13 people and left many more wounded when a driver smashed his van onto a busy sidewalk.

...

“Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!” he tweeted.

Brian M. Linn, a history professor at Texas A&M University, did just that nearly two decades ago when he published “Guardians of Empire,” a book on the U.S. military presence in Asia from 1902 to 1940.

His verdict on Trump’s claim?

“There is absolutely no evidence this occurred,” he told The Washington Post.

“It’s a made-up story. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times people say this isn’t true. No one can say where or when this occurred.”

But Trump’s claims, and the wider belief in a routinely debunked story, has far-reaching effects. Not only is the story untrue, but the convenient twist — of an insurgency defeated only with the use of brutal war tactics — points to precisely the opposite lessons Pershing and his troops learned in the Philippines campaign from 1899 to 1913, Linn said.

“The U.S. military learned escalating counterterrorism was not effective, and they took great steps, including Pershing, to de-escalate,” Linn said.

Who was John J. Pershing?

Pershing was a U.S. Military Academy graduate who first earned distinction in the Indian-American Wars, and later his nickname, “Black Jack,” after commanding the all-African American Buffalo Soldiers unit.

He was an astute and battle-experienced captain who first arrived in the Philippines in 1899, where he learned the value of defusing tribal grievances among the Moro, the followers of Islam on the archipelago engaged in tribal violence and insurrection against the United States. The Philippines were acquired after the United States won the Spanish-American War in 1898, and an insurrection arose following attempts to pacify the country as it sought independence from colonial rule.

Pershing studied the Koran and drank tea with tribal leaders to emphasize he was there to put down violence, not continue a religious war the Spanish had waged for centuries.

“He did a lot of what we would call ‘winning hearts and minds’ and embraced reforms which helped end their resistance,” Lance Janda, a military historian at Cameron University, told PolitiFact. “He fought too, but only when he had to, and only against tribes or bands that just wouldn’t negotiate with him.”

In one series of campaigns between 1902 and 1903 around Lake Lanao on the southern island, Pershing would focus on more violent religious groups in fortified positions, allowing them room to escape, Linn said.

Pershing then bypassed other factions in the area to show he could easily move his forces around but would not deliberately attack, demonstrating to other tribes he understood which groups posed a threat.

But Pershing was also the commander of aggressive offensives that killed women and children after insurrectionists occupied positions with their families. Still, Pershing was made an honorary Moro chieftain, Linn said.

Other atrocities were committed by U.S. forces during the conflict. After a garrison of Army soldiers was overrun and massacred, a unit of Marines was dispatched in September 1902 to root out insurgents on the island of Samar on the central coast. Major Little Waller, who led the Marine unit, arrived from China and was unfamiliar with the terrain. Fever overtook him, his men panicked and the Filipino porters carrying his equipment mutinied.

Eleven porters were executed in a remote area, but news of the act quickly spread. “Dead men tell no tales, but they leave an awful smell” became a common American saying afterward, Linn said. Waller was later acquitted in a court-martial.

But the episode points to an example of what happens when news of deliberate killings spreads, Linn said, and if Pershing had committed a theatrical massacre, a similar result would have been likely.

Rise of the Pershing myth

Linn began to encounter the Pershing pig blood bullet story after Sept. 11, 2001, when Internet users searched for religious-themed military operations in the wake of the terror attacks in the United States.

“It seemed to me to be coming from sources that were strongly anti-Muslim, not military historians or scholars,” Linn said.

Concerned faculty at the U.S. Military Academy asked him to disprove the story of arguably one of its most storied graduates. Pershing would later head the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I as Commander of the Armies, a rank only held by two generals in U.S. history — Pershing and George Washington, who was posthumously awarded the rank in 1976.

Linn told the U.S. Military Academy, along with fellow Texas A&M professor Frank Vandiver and author of Pershing’s biography, that no evidence existed to back up the story.

Still, the myth persists with another twist of burying insurgents with dead pigs. In Pershing’s memoir “My Life Before the World War, 1860 — 1917,” he says fellow officer Col. Frank West told him at least one Muslim fighters was “publicly buried in the same grave with a dead pig.”

“It was not pleasant to have to take such measures, but the prospect of going to hell instead of heaven sometimes deterred the would-be assassins,” Pershing wrote about juramentados, knife-wielding religious extremists who targeted Christians.

Linn said it probably did happen at one point, but he doubts Pershing was involved or ordered subordinates to commit religiously insulting acts. Other artifacts, like letters and memoirs from soldiers there describing similar events, do not point to credible claims of Pershing’s involvement, Linn said. A 1939 movie about the conflict starring Gary Cooper, “The Real Glory,” also includes a scene that resemble those moments and likely fuels the myth, the historian said.

The Philippine-American War ended in 1902, with the death of more than 4,200 American and 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence and widespread famine and disease, according to the State Department. The Moro Insurrection continued for years.

Pershing served as governor of the mostly Muslim Moro Province from 1909 to 1913, as the rebellion festered. Pershing’s decision to disarm the Moro in 1913 triggered more unrest, culminating in the Battle of Bud Bagsak in the south.

Pershing annihilated the Moro, but Trump’s suggestion of a fabled mass execution leading to peace is incorrect, Linn said.

“There was still lawlessness, homicide and banditry” that arguably continued for decades up to now, he said, as the government continues its brutal crackdown over drug traffickers and users.

Lost in Trump’s falsehood, Linn said, is the distortion of an officer who dedicated his life to a certain code of conduct.

“It’s a terrible defamation of the American soldier,” Linn said. “What does it say about Americans that they would take 50 people and shoot them? It’s a major war crime.”

 

[VelociRapture]

I have nothing important to add. Putting this under a spoiler for anyone trying to eat or really easily grossed out.

Spoiler

But I do have a dog. And sometimes my dog really needs to go poop first thing in the morning - to the point where a little pokes out. Most (normal) people call this a turtlehead. Husband and I? We call it a Mitch McConnell. 

Just felt like sharing. Hopefully someone found this mildly amusing. 

 

And here are some photos - courtesy of google - to help brighten your day a bit:

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[GreyhoundFan]

@VelociRapture -- Thank you for the morning giggles!!

 

I wonder if this will incite a tweetstorm: "Three fundraising giants cancel plans for galas at Mar-a-Lago"

Spoiler

Three fundraising giants decided to pull events from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday, signaling a direct blowback to his business empire from his comments on Charlottesville’s racial unrest.

The American Cancer Society, a high-dollar client at the club since at least 2009, cited its “values and commitment to diversity” in a statement on its decision to move an upcoming fundraising gala. Another longtime Mar-a-Lago customer, the Cleveland Clinic, abruptly changed course on its winter event only days after saying it planned to continue doing business at Mar-a-Lago, a leading venue for charitable events in the posh resort town.

The American Friends of Magen David Adom, which raises money for Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross, also said it would not hold its 2018 gala at the club “after considerable deliberation,” though it did not give a reason. The charity had one of Mar-a-Lago’s biggest events last season, with about 600 people in attendance.

The cancellations will undoubtedly squeeze revenue for the private club Trump calls the “winter White House,” where similar-size events have often brought in fees of between $100,000 and $275,000 each.

But the Florida club may face an even deeper crisis of confidence from the local business community. The head of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, of which Mar-a-Lago is a member, called the business “morally reprehensible” on Thursday and said she expected more charities to defect.

“The glitter, the shine has gone from the club,” chamber executive director Laurel Baker said, “and I can’t help but think there will be more fallout from it.”

The rapid rejections of one of the president’s signature businesses revealed a possible financial vulnerability for Trump, who has been fiercely criticized this week for equating the actions of white supremacists and neo-Nazis with counterprotesters during a violent weekend in Charlottesville.

They also come days after Trump faced condemnations from corporate executives on two of the White House’s top business advisory groups, which were disbanded in a stinging rebuke to Trump after his controversial message.

The White House referred questions about the charitable events to the Trump Organization, which did not respond.

At least seven other groups that frequented Mar-a-Lago — including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in New York and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami — have announced in recent months that they would choose other venues, citing reasons such as political differences and security hassles.

Mar-a-Lago’s upcoming winter season, the peak of Palm Beach social life, looks as though it will be the slowest period for charity events in at least a decade, according to a Washington Post analysis of upcoming events.

The Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s leading medical centers, abruptly canceled its event plans Thursday, and spokeswoman Eileen Sheil told The Post that “there were a variety of factors” behind the cancellation. “We’re not elaborating,” she added.

Shortly afterward, the American Cancer Society announced that it was backing out, saying in a statement: “Our values and commitment to diversity are critical as we work to address the impact of cancer in every community. It has become increasingly clear that the challenge to those values is outweighing other business considerations.”

Both health-related groups faced growing pressure to reconsider their support of the president’s business amid Trump controversies. But the cancellations don’t come without risk: The Cleveland Clinic said it had raised about $1 million a year for medical equipment over the past eight years at Mar-a-Lago.

Baker, head of the Palm Beach chamber, spoke vigorously against Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, saying that her directive to nearby charities was “If you’re looking at your mission statement, can you honestly say having an event at Mar-a-Lago, given all that has transpired, is the best stewardship of your efforts?”

“The club is a member of the chamber. But right is right,” she added in an interview. She said her mantra this week is “ ‘The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.’ Especially for nonprofits. Especially for groups who help people who can’t help themselves.”

The Cleveland Clinic had still intended to host its ninth gala there as recently as last week. The move followed weeks of public turmoil, including a letter signed by 1,600 health professionals and others last month that said the Mar-a-Lago booking “symbolically and financially supports a politician actively working to decrease access to healthcare.”

The clinic’s chief executive, Toby Cosgrove, was among the business leaders on the president’s Strategic and Policy Forum who agreed to disband Wednesday. Trump said on Twitter that he would end the forum and a separate American Manufacturing Council “rather than putting pressure on the busi­ness­peo­ple.”

Mar-a-Lago has faced growing scrutiny from supporters of Trump’s “buy American, hire American” agenda because of its recent requests for foreign workers. The club, which has sought dozens of H-2B visas for foreign employees because it argued that it can’t find Americans to do the work, was absent last week at a job fair in West Palm Beach.

The charity moves are a welcome development for other venues, such as the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, where spokesman Nick Gold said calls have increased from groups looking to hold fundraising events.

“There’s a lot of concern from these charities, where their boards of directors are probably not wanting to be at Mar-a-Lago for a variety of reasons,” including reasons related to Trump, he said.

Good, I hope Mar-a-Lago loses all the glittery fundraisers.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Trump Makes Caligula Look Pretty Good"

Spoiler

Even before the media obsession with Hillary Clinton’s email server put The Worst President Ever™ in the White House, historians were comparing Donald Trump to Caligula, the cruel, depraved Roman emperor who delighted in humiliating others, especially members of the empire’s elite. But seven months into the Trump administration, we can see that this comparison was unfair.

For one thing, Caligula did not, as far as we know, foment ethnic violence within the empire. For another, again as far as we know, Rome’s government continued to function reasonably well despite his antics: Provincial governors continued to maintain order, the army continued to defend the borders, there were no economic crises.

Finally, when his behavior became truly intolerable, Rome’s elite did what the party now controlling Congress seems unable even to contemplate: It found a way to get rid of him.

Anyone with eyes — eyes not glued to Fox News, anyway — has long realized that Trump is utterly incapable, morally and intellectually, of filling the office he holds. But in the past few days things seem to have reached a critical mass.

Journalists have stopped seizing on brief moments of not-craziness to declare Trump “presidential”; business leaders have stopped trying to curry favor by lending Trump an air of respectability; even military leaders have gone as far as they can to dissociate themselves from administration pronouncements.

Put it this way: “Not my president” used to sound like an extreme slogan. Now it has more or less become the operating principle for key parts of the U.S. system.

Despite this, it may seem on the surface as if the republic is continuing to function normally. We’re still adding jobs; stocks are up; public services continue to be delivered.

But remember, this administration has yet to confront a crisis not of its own making. Furthermore, a series of scary deadlines are looming. Never mind tax reform. Congress has to act within the next few weeks to enact a budget, or the government will shut down; to raise the debt ceiling, or the U.S. will go into default; to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or millions of children will lose coverage.

So who’s going to ensure that these critical deadlines are met? Not Trump, who’s too busy praising white supremacists and promoting his businesses. Maybe Republican leaders in Congress will still be able to wrangle their extremist members, who see crippling the government as a good thing, into the necessary deals.

But the revelation that these leaders were lying about health care all those years has destroyed their intellectual credibility — remember when people took Paul Ryan’s pretense of policy expertise seriously? And their association with President Caligula has destroyed their moral credibility, too. They could keep the government functioning by dealing with Democrats, but they’re afraid to do that, for the same reason they’re afraid to confront the madman in the White House.

For here’s the situation: Everyone in Washington now knows that we have a president who never meant it when he swore to defend the Constitution. He violates that oath just about every day and is never going to get any better.

The good news is that the founding fathers contemplated that possibility and offered a constitutional remedy: Unlike the senators of ancient Rome, who had to conspire with the Praetorian Guard to get Caligula assassinated, the U.S. Congress has the ability to remove a rogue president.

But a third of the country still approves of that rogue president — and that third amounts to a huge majority of the G.O.P. base. So all we get from the vast majority of elected Republicans are off-the-record expressions of “dismay” or denunciations of bigotry that somehow fail to name the bigot in chief.

It’s not just that Republicans fear primary challenges from candidates pandering to the racist right, although they do; Trump is already supporting challengers to Republicans he considers insufficiently loyal.

The fact is that white supremacists have long been a key if unacknowledged part of the G.O.P. coalition, and Republicans need those votes to win general elections. Given the profiles in cowardice they’ve presented so far, it’s hard to imagine anything — up to and including evidence of collusion with a foreign power — that would make them risk losing those voters’ support.

So the odds are that we’re stuck with a malevolent, incompetent president whom nobody knowledgeable respects, and many consider illegitimate. If so, we have to hope that our country somehow stumbles through the next year and a half without catastrophe, and that the midterm elections transform the political calculus and make the Constitution great again.

If that doesn’t happen, all one can say is God save America. Because all indications are that the Republicans won’t.

I so agree with the last sentence. Repugs aren't going to step up.

[GrumpyGran]

1 hour ago, VelociRapture said:

I have nothing important to add. Putting this under a spoiler for anyone trying to eat or really easily grossed out.

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But I do have a dog. And sometimes my dog really needs to go poop first thing in the morning - to the point where a little pokes out. Most (normal) people call this a turtlehead. Husband and I? We call it a Mitch McConnell. 

Just felt like sharing. Hopefully someone found this mildly amusing. 

 

And here are some photos - courtesy of google - to help brighten your day a bit:

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OMG, @VelociRapture, thanks so much! I'm a cat person but I loved this. Ok, time for me to check out for the family vaca and that DAMNED ECLIPSE. I'll catch up with all of you in a few days.

Peace out.