GreatGrey wrote:Right now the United States has no ambassadors. Anywhere.
yes:
As many as 80 ambassadors for countries, agencies and issues - such as the ambassador for global women's issues - have been discarded at once.
The move now threatens leaving many countries without Senate-confirmed envoys for months and cutting off a direct line to the President, and some in countries which have sensitive relations to the US.
RoadScholar wrote: "Well, you know, it's a good thing we still have those 'second amendment solutions,' like Sarah Palin talked about."
After I let them sputter a bit, I tell them "I wasn't serious... I in no way support violence against people in government, or anywhere. But how did it feel? That moment when someone implied a hypothetical assassination of your president, just like your guys did to ours?"
The Golden Rule sometimes needs a mirror.
The trouble is, those people will never see or understand the hypocrisy. They will merely see your use of the phrase "second amendment solutions" as proof that that is the correct way to engage in political discourse. "Everybody does it".
That would be true if I just let it lie there, as though I were serious. That I can't do. I always follow up with the contextualizing disclaimer.
The bitterest truth is healthier than the sweetest lie. X3
GreatGrey wrote:Right now the United States has no ambassadors. Anywhere.
yes:
As many as 80 ambassadors for countries, agencies and issues - such as the ambassador for global women's issues - have been discarded at once.
The move now threatens leaving many countries without Senate-confirmed envoys for months and cutting off a direct line to the President, and some in countries which have sensitive relations to the US.
There are competent State Department officers in most or all of those embassies. They do not have the money or the celebrity status of the ambassadors that Trump will appoint, but they will represent the U.S.
“The truth is, we know so little about life, we don’t really know what the good news is and what the bad news is.” Kurt Vonnegut
TollandRCR wrote:There are competent State Department officers in most or all of those embassies. They do not have the money or the celebrity status of the ambassadors that Trump will appoint, but they will represent the U.S.
Yup - but iirc they usually have little competence, espcially they would not act without instructions, while the ambassador can go ahead and implement government policies.
Wikipedia wrote:A chargé d'affaires (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁʒe dafɛʁ]), often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes to charge-D (abbreviated in colloquial English), is a diplomat who heads an embassy in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with (in charge of) matters". A female diplomat may be designated a chargée d'affaires, following French declension.
A chargé enjoys the same privileges and immunities as a regular ambassador. However, chargés d'affaires are outranked by ambassadors and have lower precedence at formal diplomatic events.[1] In most cases, a diplomat would only serve as a chargé d'affaires on a temporary basis in the absence of the ambassador. In unusual situations, a chargé d'affaires may be appointed for an indefinite period, in cases where disputes between the two countries make it impossible or undesirable to send agents of a higher diplomatic rank.
TollandRCR wrote:There are competent State Department officers in most or all of those embassies. They do not have the money or the celebrity status of the ambassadors that Trump will appoint, but they will represent the U.S.
.....and they have always done most of the work anyway even when the Ambassador is there
TollandRCR wrote:There are competent State Department officers in most or all of those embassies. They do not have the money or the celebrity status of the ambassadors that Trump will appoint, but they will represent the U.S.
.....and they have always done most of the work anyway even when the Ambassador is there
But they all have been contaminated by 8 years of the Obama State Department and Secretary Clinton.
Some of the permanent State Department staff have been faced with enormous challenges, such as Joseph Kennedy's willingness to deal with Hitler while serving as FDR's Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
“The truth is, we know so little about life, we don’t really know what the good news is and what the bad news is.” Kurt Vonnegut
But I truly wish this is what he is really doing today. I don't even want to hear what the Executive Orders are about. How many think he will outpace pretty much every modern day president in number of executive orders signed
OK, another serious question - how many believe he will embarrass himself by putting out executive orders that have to be "rescinded" because he's attempting to do something beyond what is allowed for an EO?
Funny or Die has this photo with a caption: President Trump breezing through stacks of EO's the way you agree to new iTunes terms and conditions.
"I know that human being and fish can coexist peacefully"
--- George W Bush
The new President couldn't be bothered to do much of what is expected during the transition, but he sure did plan ahead to dismantle all past attempts to extend basic human rights to non-white, non-Christian, non-heterosexual, etc. No surprises here, either, I'm afraid.
I should have stayed home today. And drank. Alcohol.
"I know that human being and fish can coexist peacefully"
--- George W Bush
First White House petition demands Trump release tax returns
The “We the People” petition site created by the Obama Administration has been kept live by President Donald Trump’s team as it relaunches the White House website, and the only petition now on the site, which has been wiped clean of Obama-era requests, demands that the new commander in chief release his tax returns.
“The unprecedented economic conflicts of this administration need to be visible to the American people, including any pertinent documentation which can reveal the foreign influences and financial interests which may put Donald Trump in conflict with the emoluments clause of the Constitution,” the petition reads.
Trump’s taxes were a key issue during the 2016 presidential campaign. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democrats repeatedly pointed out that Trump, by not releasing his taxes, defied his own pledge and the precedents of major party nominees going back decades. Trump has said that he is being audited by the IRS and that he will release his returns when any audits are over.
The petition calling for Trump to publish his returns gathered 2,762 signatures in the first three hours after Trump was inaugurated. The current site policy calls for petitions that get over 100,000 signatures to get a response from the White House.
"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for." - Barbara Kingsolver
First White House petition demands Trump release tax returns
The “We the People” petition site created by the Obama Administration has been kept live by President Donald Trump’s team as it relaunches the White House website, and the only petition now on the site, which has been wiped clean of Obama-era requests, demands that the new commander in chief release his tax returns.
“The unprecedented economic conflicts of this administration need to be visible to the American people, including any pertinent documentation which can reveal the foreign influences and financial interests which may put Donald Trump in conflict with the emoluments clause of the Constitution,” the petition reads.
Trump’s taxes were a key issue during the 2016 presidential campaign. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democrats repeatedly pointed out that Trump, by not releasing his taxes, defied his own pledge and the precedents of major party nominees going back decades. Trump has said that he is being audited by the IRS and that he will release his returns when any audits are over.
The petition calling for Trump to publish his returns gathered 2,762 signatures in the first three hours after Trump was inaugurated. The current site policy calls for petitions that get over 100,000 signatures to get a response from the White House.
I keep trying to sign the petition but am getting an error message to try later. Is that because it's overrun with signers?
It's up to over 5900 signatures now. I am actually terrified to sign with my real name and an email address that I currently use. I have an old one that I rarely use and it uses a "name" that doesn't give a clue to my identity. I never have been concerned about signing petitions before and have always done it under my own real name. Now, I am even more angry.
"I know that human being and fish can coexist peacefully"
--- George W Bush
I signed the petition with an old email account I rarely use. I was directed that I have to go to my Inbox and click the link to verify. But...there is no email to click the link to verify. I have signed other petitions on this White House page and they always worked before.
Edit: Something very strange is going on. When I first went to that petition, it had over 5,900 signatures. I successfully signed it, but never got the link to verify my email address. Now, it is down to 4,965.
Edit again - It's now up again - 7569. I think it's getting hit fairly hard now.
"I know that human being and fish can coexist peacefully"
--- George W Bush
RVInit wrote:I signed the petition with an old email account I rarely use. I was directed that I have to go to my Inbox and click the link to verify. But...there is no email to click the link to verify. I have signed other petitions on this White House page and they always worked before.
Edit: Something very strange is going on. When I first went to that petition, it had over 5,900 signatures. I successfully signed it, but never got the link to verify my email address. Now, it is down to 4,965.
I have the same problem with the e-mail verify issue.
Trump’s WhiteHouse.Gov Disappears Civil Rights, Climate Change, LGBT Rights
WhiteHouse.gov immediately wiped pages on LGBT rights, civil rights, climate change, and health care from its “issues” section after Donald Trump took the oath of office.
The page on climate change was replaced with a page entitled “An America First Energy Plan” that ignores climate change entirely and says, “President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule.”
The new “America First Foreign Policy” page made no mention of Russia or China, instead discussing the defeat of ISIS and the renegotiation of NAFTA and other trade deals. “If our partners refuse a renegotiation that gives American workers a fair deal, then the President will give notice of the United States’ intent to withdraw from NAFTA,” the page read. The same language was repeated on the new “Trade Deals Working for All Americans” page on Whitehouse.gov.
The page on civil rights was replaced with a page entitled “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community” that replaces concerns with how police act with a demand for more cops. It also paints predominantly black inner cities as shooting galleries.
“In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent,” the page claims, which is false: homicides in Washington, D.C. were down in 2016 over 2015.
X3
for space
How many think he will outpace pretty much every modern day president in number of executive orders signed 
x4
