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The problem is that most of those 18 people are just random folks picked on the premise of just one qualification: THey'd be Yes Man/Woman!! They aren't career

The problem is that most of those 18 people are just random folks picked on the premise of just one qualification: THey'd be Yes Man/Woman!! They aren't career professionals. I believe that explains the mess they've created and their incompetent approach to their duties. It's still not too late to impeach that entire shack of clowns.

ModernMech 2y ago
> It's still not too late to impeach that entire shack of clowns. The problem is that the people in control of the power to impeach are also picked for being yes men/women. It's yes-men all the way down by design.
- jimbokun 2y ago
  It’s Trump’s one true talent. He got the Supreme Court and the judiciary leaning his way in his first term. Congress is controlled by either his Republican primary candidates, or Republicans who are too afraid to cross him. Now he’s purging from the federal branch anyone who is not completely ideologically loyal to him. That is the true purpose of Doge.
  - 3np 2y ago
    Vance' offices response is very telling of his priorities and supports this view.
    - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
      Vance has to be the world's biggest boot licker. I cannot understand at all the complete lack of self respect he must have, solely for the acquisition of power.
      - belter 2y ago
        “My fear with Trump was always that he didn't have great solutions.” - J.D. Vance “People listen to what their political leaders are telling them, and my view is both that Trump is tapping into some racially ugly attitudes, but also that he is leading people to racially ugly attitudes.” - J.D. Vance “I’m a Never Trump guy” - J.D. Vance “My god what an idiot” - J.D. Vance (on Trump) “Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.” - J.D. Vance “I can’t stomach Trump.” - J.D. Vance “I think there’s a chance, if I feel like Trump has a really good chance of winning, that I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton.” - J.D. Vance “Trump's biggest failure as a political leader is that he sees the worst in people, and he encourages the worst in people.” - J.D. Vance
        jimbokun 2y ago
        This would have been an amazing Harris campaign ad. Missed opportunity.
      - jimbokun 2y ago
        As far as I can tell almost every current Republican politician is roughly tied for this honor. The rest retired or got primaried.
  - deepsun 2y ago
    For years I've been taught that US political system is based on checks and balances. Now I see that just like in any other country it was based on morals of people: voters, elected, and appointed.
    - pjc50 2y ago
      Like running both your "redundant" fiber through the same conduit, there isn't a second backup public to demand better. People demanded this and they got it eventually.
      - intended 2y ago
        The power of controlling information marketplaces. Also I suppose it’s crucial to point out that it’s not just controlling the marketplace for news, it also needed one party to be absolutely focused only on winning elections, and eschewing bipartisanship.
      - deepsun 2y ago
        Yes and no: nowadays third-parties can steer the people demands themselves. It became much easier with internet and "web brigades" (recently started utilizing AI as well). So on one side yes, people demanded it. But on the other side, they were manipulated to think one issue is more important than the other, to think that "the whole system is broken" etc.
    - Maken 2y ago
      Every political system is based on how much people believes on it. Laws are not magic incantations, and there is nothing forcing people to follow what they say.
      - deepsun 2y ago
        Yes, and a big problem is that the belief itself can be manipulated easier by adversaries using internet.
    - __turbobrew__ 2y ago
  - nobody9999 2y ago
    How dare you! Donald Trump "is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."
    - belter 2y ago
      Also known as the Golden Grovelers: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s8PdOgVMg48 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s8PdOgVMg48
      - defrost 2y ago
        If only the US had of had a real choice other than shite and shite-lite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxQ5fmiI9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxQ5fmiI9M
      - nobody9999 2y ago
        >the Golden Grovelers I don't know what those are. I'm sure they're whatever you think they are. Even though it really kills the joke when you have to explain it, I'm guessing there are generational and national barriers to getting that reference. I was comparing Donald Trump to Raymond Shaw[0]. You can assume I'm doing so facetiously or you can assume I'm serious. I'm not sure myself. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962_film)# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962...
        belter 2y ago
        "A Groveler is a surfboard specifically designed to make the most of weaker or smaller waves"
  - StackRanker3000 2y ago
    I’m going to respectfully disagree with you there. Trump’s success as a politician is solely down to three factors. Firstly, he has an insatiable desire for attention, admiration, and generally benefitting himself. That’s what causes his drive. Secondly, he has no scruples or adheres to any morals or ethics whatsoever, he is completely ruthless. This allows him to do and say whatever serves him the most in any given situation. Lastly, he has a specific type of charisma that has purchase with a certain segment of the people. That’s is the full extent of it. He has no other skills or useful attributes. Anything else, especially if it’s at all technical or practical, comes from the people he’s surrounded himself with. To interact with your point, he’s not even particularly adept at enlisting sycophants. Remember his first administration, when numerous aides and associates had both public and private disagreements with him (as one example out of many, I’ll refer to Rex Tillerson calling him a ”fucking moron”). The reason things are different this time is that another set of people are running the show, and they’ve realized that including old establishment Republicans, that have to at least pretend to be serious members of society, would have been a barrier to their agenda. Turning the judiciary red across the country is especially not something you can attribute to Trump. It’s been a systematic effort by the Republicans (and adjacent organizations such as the Heritage Foundation) over the span of decades. He just happened to be in the position to make the appointments.
    - verisimi 2y ago
      Attention, lack of scruples and charisma, are prerequisites for ALL politicians. Obama, Reagan, Clinton were the same, no?
      - StackRanker3000 2y ago
        > Attention, lack of scruples and charisma, are prerequisites for ALL politicians. Sure, to some extent. Trump is an extreme outlier though, at least on the first two. And my main point was mainly that he doesn’t have anything else. > Obama, Reagan, Clinton were the same, no? Again, to some degree. Obama and Clinton especially were also shrewd politicians and had skills and strengths in addition to the attributes mentioned above.
deleted 2y ago
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refurb 2y ago
[flagged]
- chairmansteve 2y ago
  They pick competent, experienced people who are aligned with their policies. Not Fox News presenters and YouTube influencers.
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  It's a pretty big false dichotomy to present "people directly opposed to their policy platforms" as the sole alternative to people "picked on the premise of just one qualification: they'd be Yes Man/Woman".
  - refurb 2y ago
    Yes, I was using a false dichotomy to highlight the absurdity of the statement. Every President surrounds themselves with people who are aligned with their policy platforms. For some reason, Trump is the one President where suddenly it's an issue.
    - rat87 2y ago
      No because Trump is interested in weasels who put loyalty to him above the law or the good of the country. Trump doesn't give a shit about policy. He doesn't know anything about it and can't be bothered to learn. Its just a viral racist corrupt scream all the way down.
    - klipt 2y ago
      > For some reason, Trump is the one President where suddenly it's an issue. Because Trump is the first president whose hirelings 1. Used Signal to violate laws requiring retention of communication 2. Got caught by incompetently inviting a journalist to their high security chat?
    - zeven7 2y ago
      There’s a difference between (a) hiring smart people you respect and generally agree with to give you their own opinions and help shape your decisions and (b) hiring people who will go along with anything you say and holding their careers and families’ safety over the fire.
davidw 2y ago
These are the same folks who scrubbed the Navajo Code Talkers from the DoD web site for being "DEI" or some such.
- fragmede 2y ago
  we replaced them with DUI hires.
  - MandieD 2y ago
    That is brilliant, and it’s heartbreaking that it’s brilliant.
    - fragmede 2y ago
      I can't take credit for it, I think it traces back to Lauren Tucker's substack, but someone certainly did before that. Then again, someone else popularized it given recent events. https://dowhatmatters.medium.com/dei-to-dui-cronyism-undermines-hiring-quality-not-diversity-312ea441f8cd https://dowhatmatters.medium.com/dei-to-dui-cronyism-undermi...
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      - anonfordays 2y ago
        [flagged]
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  - feb 2y ago
fuzzfactor 2y ago
>U.S. national-security leaders Those aren't leaders, quite the opposite, nothing but typical Trump-like non-leaders disgracing leadership positions. >those 18 people are just random folks OTOH if you picked 18 random patriotic Americans, odds are none would be that far below average at defending what normal Americans have always held dear.
bigbacaloa 2y ago
[dead]
nla 2y ago
On the subject of a 'shack of clowns,' now do the Afganistan withdrawal.
- pathOf_aFineMan 2y ago
  Kind of off topic as that was the previous Trump administration, but they were also a 'shack of clowns'

ModernMech 2y ago

> It's still not too late to impeach that entire shack of clowns. The problem is that the people in control of the power to impeach are also picked for being yes men/women. It's yes-men all the way down by design.

jimbokun 2y ago
It’s Trump’s one true talent. He got the Supreme Court and the judiciary leaning his way in his first term. Congress is controlled by either his Republican primary candidates, or Republicans who are too afraid to cross him. Now he’s purging from the federal branch anyone who is not completely ideologically loyal to him. That is the true purpose of Doge.
- 3np 2y ago
  Vance' offices response is very telling of his priorities and supports this view.
  - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
    Vance has to be the world's biggest boot licker. I cannot understand at all the complete lack of self respect he must have, solely for the acquisition of power.
    - belter 2y ago
      “My fear with Trump was always that he didn't have great solutions.” - J.D. Vance “People listen to what their political leaders are telling them, and my view is both that Trump is tapping into some racially ugly attitudes, but also that he is leading people to racially ugly attitudes.” - J.D. Vance “I’m a Never Trump guy” - J.D. Vance “My god what an idiot” - J.D. Vance (on Trump) “Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.” - J.D. Vance “I can’t stomach Trump.” - J.D. Vance “I think there’s a chance, if I feel like Trump has a really good chance of winning, that I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton.” - J.D. Vance “Trump's biggest failure as a political leader is that he sees the worst in people, and he encourages the worst in people.” - J.D. Vance
      - jimbokun 2y ago
        This would have been an amazing Harris campaign ad. Missed opportunity.
    - jimbokun 2y ago
      As far as I can tell almost every current Republican politician is roughly tied for this honor. The rest retired or got primaried.
- deepsun 2y ago
  For years I've been taught that US political system is based on checks and balances. Now I see that just like in any other country it was based on morals of people: voters, elected, and appointed.
  - pjc50 2y ago
    Like running both your "redundant" fiber through the same conduit, there isn't a second backup public to demand better. People demanded this and they got it eventually.
    - intended 2y ago
      The power of controlling information marketplaces. Also I suppose it’s crucial to point out that it’s not just controlling the marketplace for news, it also needed one party to be absolutely focused only on winning elections, and eschewing bipartisanship.
    - deepsun 2y ago
      Yes and no: nowadays third-parties can steer the people demands themselves. It became much easier with internet and "web brigades" (recently started utilizing AI as well). So on one side yes, people demanded it. But on the other side, they were manipulated to think one issue is more important than the other, to think that "the whole system is broken" etc.
  - Maken 2y ago
    Every political system is based on how much people believes on it. Laws are not magic incantations, and there is nothing forcing people to follow what they say.
    - deepsun 2y ago
      Yes, and a big problem is that the belief itself can be manipulated easier by adversaries using internet.
  - __turbobrew__ 2y ago
- nobody9999 2y ago
  How dare you! Donald Trump "is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."
  - belter 2y ago
    Also known as the Golden Grovelers: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s8PdOgVMg48 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s8PdOgVMg48
    - defrost 2y ago
      If only the US had of had a real choice other than shite and shite-lite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxQ5fmiI9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxQ5fmiI9M
    - nobody9999 2y ago
      >the Golden Grovelers I don't know what those are. I'm sure they're whatever you think they are. Even though it really kills the joke when you have to explain it, I'm guessing there are generational and national barriers to getting that reference. I was comparing Donald Trump to Raymond Shaw[0]. You can assume I'm doing so facetiously or you can assume I'm serious. I'm not sure myself. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962_film)# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962...
      - belter 2y ago
        "A Groveler is a surfboard specifically designed to make the most of weaker or smaller waves"
- StackRanker3000 2y ago
  I’m going to respectfully disagree with you there. Trump’s success as a politician is solely down to three factors. Firstly, he has an insatiable desire for attention, admiration, and generally benefitting himself. That’s what causes his drive. Secondly, he has no scruples or adheres to any morals or ethics whatsoever, he is completely ruthless. This allows him to do and say whatever serves him the most in any given situation. Lastly, he has a specific type of charisma that has purchase with a certain segment of the people. That’s is the full extent of it. He has no other skills or useful attributes. Anything else, especially if it’s at all technical or practical, comes from the people he’s surrounded himself with. To interact with your point, he’s not even particularly adept at enlisting sycophants. Remember his first administration, when numerous aides and associates had both public and private disagreements with him (as one example out of many, I’ll refer to Rex Tillerson calling him a ”fucking moron”). The reason things are different this time is that another set of people are running the show, and they’ve realized that including old establishment Republicans, that have to at least pretend to be serious members of society, would have been a barrier to their agenda. Turning the judiciary red across the country is especially not something you can attribute to Trump. It’s been a systematic effort by the Republicans (and adjacent organizations such as the Heritage Foundation) over the span of decades. He just happened to be in the position to make the appointments.
  - verisimi 2y ago
    Attention, lack of scruples and charisma, are prerequisites for ALL politicians. Obama, Reagan, Clinton were the same, no?
    - StackRanker3000 2y ago
      > Attention, lack of scruples and charisma, are prerequisites for ALL politicians. Sure, to some extent. Trump is an extreme outlier though, at least on the first two. And my main point was mainly that he doesn’t have anything else. > Obama, Reagan, Clinton were the same, no? Again, to some degree. Obama and Clinton especially were also shrewd politicians and had skills and strengths in addition to the attributes mentioned above.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

refurb 2y ago

[flagged]

chairmansteve 2y ago
They pick competent, experienced people who are aligned with their policies. Not Fox News presenters and YouTube influencers.
dragonwriter 2y ago
It's a pretty big false dichotomy to present "people directly opposed to their policy platforms" as the sole alternative to people "picked on the premise of just one qualification: they'd be Yes Man/Woman".
- refurb 2y ago
  Yes, I was using a false dichotomy to highlight the absurdity of the statement. Every President surrounds themselves with people who are aligned with their policy platforms. For some reason, Trump is the one President where suddenly it's an issue.
  - rat87 2y ago
    No because Trump is interested in weasels who put loyalty to him above the law or the good of the country. Trump doesn't give a shit about policy. He doesn't know anything about it and can't be bothered to learn. Its just a viral racist corrupt scream all the way down.
  - klipt 2y ago
    > For some reason, Trump is the one President where suddenly it's an issue. Because Trump is the first president whose hirelings 1. Used Signal to violate laws requiring retention of communication 2. Got caught by incompetently inviting a journalist to their high security chat?
  - zeven7 2y ago
    There’s a difference between (a) hiring smart people you respect and generally agree with to give you their own opinions and help shape your decisions and (b) hiring people who will go along with anything you say and holding their careers and families’ safety over the fire.

davidw 2y ago

These are the same folks who scrubbed the Navajo Code Talkers from the DoD web site for being "DEI" or some such.

fragmede 2y ago
we replaced them with DUI hires.
- MandieD 2y ago
  That is brilliant, and it’s heartbreaking that it’s brilliant.
  - fragmede 2y ago
    I can't take credit for it, I think it traces back to Lauren Tucker's substack, but someone certainly did before that. Then again, someone else popularized it given recent events. https://dowhatmatters.medium.com/dei-to-dui-cronyism-undermines-hiring-quality-not-diversity-312ea441f8cd https://dowhatmatters.medium.com/dei-to-dui-cronyism-undermi...
    - deleted 2y ago
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    - anonfordays 2y ago
      [flagged]
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- feb 2y ago

fuzzfactor 2y ago

>U.S. national-security leaders Those aren't leaders, quite the opposite, nothing but typical Trump-like non-leaders disgracing leadership positions. >those 18 people are just random folks OTOH if you picked 18 random patriotic Americans, odds are none would be that far below average at defending what normal Americans have always held dear.

bigbacaloa 2y ago

[dead]

nla 2y ago

On the subject of a 'shack of clowns,' now do the Afganistan withdrawal.

pathOf_aFineMan 2y ago
Kind of off topic as that was the previous Trump administration, but they were also a 'shack of clowns'