Trump, who has routinely (and falsely) promoted himself as the candidate who would stop âendless wars,â now wants to lead a new conflict just south of our nationâs border. But at this moment, it is, in the words of one Trump adviser, âunclear how far heâll go on this one.â This source adds: âIf things donât change, the president still believes itâs necessary to take some kind of military action against these killers.â
Another source close to Trump describes to Rolling Stone what they call a âsoft invasionâ of Mexico, in which American special forces â not a large theater deployment â would be sent covertly to assassinate cartel leaders. Indeed, this is a preliminary plan that Trump himself warmed to in private conversations this year.
How Trump Could Remake the CIA Trumpâs top intel picks, John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard, are on a collision course as Republicans plot a political takeover of U.S. intelligence agencies
Political interference, mind control, domestic spying, and generally speaking, making America worse (again). These are just some of the many grievances Donald Trump and his allies have leveled against the intelligence community in recent months. They have been repeated on podcasts, on YouTube shows, and at rallies since Trump began a vendetta against spy agencies he says colluded to destroy his 2016 campaign and presidency.
Now, the full scope of Trumpâs planned war on the deep state is coming into focus thanks to the president-electâs nomination of John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard to top intelligence posts.
Taken together, interviews with current and former intelligence officers, a close read of the Project 2025 intelligence playbook, and the biographies of Trumpâs top two intel picks reveal a radical, if confused, agenda for member agencies of the U.S. intelligence community. Among the proposals likely to be attempted inside the Central Intelligence Agency are a centralization of control over other agencies, an expansion of covert operations, and a shift from the War on Terror to competition with China. (...)
But whether the intelligence agencies can be dragged into the light and forced to heel at the presidentâs table remains to be seen. As a former intelligence officer tells Rolling Stone, âIf thereâs one place the CIA thrives, itâs in chaos.â
This story is getting some debate down here. Coupled with the deportation plans and tariff talks he's really not making a lot of friends. Can't wait to see the international reactions, much less the domestic ones when he opens a hot (or at least warm) war on his own border with an ally over an issue with roots in his own country.
I believe there were some stern warnings, not so long ago, about invading one's neighbour.
Article 2.4: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."
A government in a democracy will have a bureaucracy; perhaps several bureaucracies.
The âDeep Stateâ characterization is more appropriately applied to those with de facto authority, a sweeping agenda and ulterior motives. In my opinion, Musk and Ramaswamy appear ready to fill that bill.
This story is getting some debate down here. Coupled with the deportation plans and tariff talks he's really not making a lot of friends. Can't wait to see the international reactions, much less the domestic ones when he opens a hot (or at least warm) war on his own border with an ally over an issue with roots in his own country.
Location: Perched on the precipice of the cauldron of truth
Posted:
Nov 27, 2024 - 12:06pm
kurtster wrote:
No, imho. They are receiving no compensation for their efforts.
However they would be a natural reaction coming after defeating a kakistocracy.
A government in a democracy will have a bureaucracy; perhaps several bureaucracies.
The âDeep Stateâ characterization is more appropriately applied to those with de facto authority, a sweeping agenda and ulterior motives. In my opinion, Musk and Ramaswamy appear ready to fill that bill.
Itâs an achievement of sorts to be banished from Donald Trumpâs court due to a lack of ethics, but Trump attorney Boris Epshteyn may yet pull that off. A report that Trump requested from several of his other attorneys has documented that Epshteyn attempted to shake down various aspirants for high-level Trump appointments, offering to talk them up with the president-elect if they saw their way clear to paying him âconsulting feesâ to do just that.
According to the report, Epshteyn told hedge fund manager Scott Bessent that heâd recommend him to Trump for the post of Treasury secretary if only Bessent could pay him a monthly retainer of $30,000, or, that failing, invest a cool $10 million in a three-on-three basketball league in which Epshteyn had an interest. When Bessent turned down these enticements, Epshteyn made clear just who, exactly, Bessent was spurning. âIâm Boris Fucking Epshteyn!â he declared, and followed up with what sundry Mar-a-Lagoans have reported as an intimidating exchange with Bessent in front of various Trump courtiers.
The report goes on to say that Epshteyn sought a $100,000 monthly fee from a defense contractor, adding that the offer amounted to a âdo or dieâ proposition for the contractorâs hopes of landing either a gig or a much-desired contract.
Epshteyn has been omnipresent at Mar-a-Lago since Trumpâs election, and Trump has repeatedly sought his counsel on appointments. One of Epshteynâs strong recommendations, The New York Times has reported, was Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Even if Epshteyn didnât solicit Gaetz for a monthly retainer, there can be no doubt that had Gaetz actually been confirmed for the post, Epshteyn would have come out ahead, assured that the Gaetz Justice Department would never look into Epshteyn-related shakedowns.
Epshteynâs yearslong presence in Donald Trumpâs court is not without precedent; in many particulars, it follows the pattern laid down by Rasputin in the court of Nicholas II. As was the case with Rasputin, most members of Trumpâs court apparently considered Epshteyn unbearable, a source of generally rotten advice to his sovereign and belligerent about it to boot. According to the Times, Epshteynâs influence and access to Trump âjarred a number of people in the incoming presidentâs orbit,â including Elon Musk, who âexpressed surprise that Mr. Epshteyn had been granted so much authority.â (Some feel that about Musk, too, but weâll let that pass for now.) (...)
As a survivor of an entire childhood of PTSD, I found I tend to go for the worst case scenario right off the bat when the shite flies. After repeated smashing of hope; the subconscious only laughs when you try to have any. Only a sense of being prepared for the worst all the time makes it tolerable.
(imagine what its like to never know when or where the bombs will hit. Like kids in Palestine. Dysfunction, Rage, Addiction, Physical Abuse and the twisted coping families do, produces the same corrosive chemicals in the brain. Uncertainty and Fear creates a hyper-vigilant state. These kids brains (along with their bodies) will never be the same.)
The context being, 'it can only improve from here.'
Right there with ya, VV. We get to be right, until - hopefully - proven wrong.
I'm waiting for the huge debacle that will be the immigrant deportations. Deporting a large mass of people takes a large amount of planning and resources. The planning would also include the countries who will be taking in the deportees. If we wants to go down the path that he wants to go down... he would start planning now for a potential rollout of this effort in 2026 maybe 2027. You need all the people hired, trained and in place as well as the facilities, transportation and logistics ironed out beforehand. And NO, just making a declaration that it is going to happen and expecting the National Guard to handle it isn't the answer.
The way it will likely play out is that there will be this intense rush and pressure by Trump on his Border Czar to do something but that "something" will turn out to be a clusterf*ck of epic proportions and when the inevitable blowback happens Trump will blame Tom Holman and Tom Holman will be fired or resign (probably within 6 months). By that point Trump may be tired of everything and move onto something else shiny and new and claim the whole effort as a job well done.
For sure. Communication 101 ... message sent does not always equal message received.
I guess the message I sent was not the one received. I thought that the message I sent was that I was tired of beating my head against a wall to no avail.
Come January we are going to be so f*cked as a Country.
No doubt in my mind that Trump and his minions begin destroying it immediately and the devastation doesn't end until he walks out the door 4 years later.
Come January we are going to be so f*cked as a Country planet.
Come January we are going to be so f*cked as a Country.
No doubt in my mind that Trump and his minions begin destroying it immediately and the devastation doesn't end until he walks out the door 4 years later.
That's been my assessment for the last two weeks.
As a survivor of an entire childhood of PTSD, I found I tend to go for the worst case scenario right off the bat when the shite flies. After repeated smashing of hope; the subconscious only laughs when you try to have any. Only a sense of being prepared for the worst all the time makes it tolerable.
(imagine what its like to never know when or where the bombs will hit. Like kids in Palestine. Dysfunction, Rage, Addiction, Physical Abuse and the twisted coping families do, produces the same corrosive chemicals in the brain. Uncertainty and Fear creates a hyper-vigilant state. These kids brains (along with their bodies) will never be the same.)
The context being, 'it can only improve from here.'
Right there with ya, VV. We get to be right, until - hopefully - proven wrong.
Come January we are going to be so f*cked as a Country.
No doubt in my mind that Trump and his minions begin destroying it immediately and the devastation doesn't end until he walks out the door 4 years later.
Don’t forget to include yourself. It’s called “self care”.
For sure. Communication 101 ... message sent does not always equal message received.
I guess the message I sent was not the one received. I thought that the message I sent was that I was tired of beating my head against a wall to no avail.
Well, I see one major problem right away with this statement. Way too many big words for Trump to digest. Wonder which lackey it falls to explain it to him?
Another miss was not including cartoons to illustrate concepts.
Not a chance in hell that Trump will take any of this to heart. He doesn't like being "explained to" when he already knows everything.
Particularly when it's a woman doing the explaining.
