A round up of Trumpian events 🖕🍊🤡

[MalevolentPixy]

Truth, and why 2020 could still end up an unmitigated disaster:

Robby Mook (RobbyMook)

[ficuswhisperer]

Source: Trump tells Schumer he can't accept Dems' offer because he'd 'look...

It’s all about him. “Border security” is just a charade. He’d rather get nothing than show “weakness” (or as saner minds would say, “compromise”).

The art of the deal, indeed.

[alahmnat]

I 100% expect Mittens to be the Flake replacement nobody was asking for.

[tekna2007]

All Hail President Ahistorical Word Salad

Kyle Griffin (kylegriffin1)

[Wanderfound]

@tekna2007

Ahistorical

It’s the established mainstream bipartisan American security state narrative re: Afghanistan and the USSR (i.e. that the cost and unrest created by the Afghan war heavily contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union).

http://dgibbs.faculty.arizona.edu/brzezinski_interview

Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.

Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into war and looked to provoke it?

Brzezinski: It isn’t quite that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.

Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn’t believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don’t regret anything today?

Brzezinski: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war.

&

afganwar.pdf

We argue that the war in Afghanistan was a key factor, though not the only cause, in the breakdown of the Soviet Union. The war impacted Soviet politics in four reinforcing ways: (1) Perception effects: it changed the perceptions of leaders about the efficacy of using the military to hold the empire together and to intervene in foreign countries; (2) Military effects: it discredited the Red Army, created cleavage between the party and the military, and demonstrated that the Red Army was not invincible, which emboldened the non Russian republics to push for independence; (3) Legitimacy effects: it provided non-Russians with a common cause to demand independence since they viewed this war as a Russian war fought by non Russians against Afghans; and (4) Participation effects: it created new forms of political participation, started to transform the press/media before glasnost, initiated the first shots of glasnost, and created a significant mass of war veterans (Afghansti) who formed new civil organizations weakening the political hegemony of the communist party.

.

The second bit of Trump’s statement…

“The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there.”

…is heretical to say in public (because the USA norm is to pretend that the Mujahideen weren’t terrorists and that the Soviets weren’t invited in by the Afghan government), but that isn’t because it’s false.

OTOH, I’d quibble with “right to be there”. Let’s just say that the Soviet presence in Afghanistan was no less justified than the US presence in Vietnam.

[ChuckV]

@tekna2007

All Hail President Ahistorical Word Salad

Chewbacca is a Wookie…

[RickMycroft]

Casting shade on Saint Reagan, who destroyed the Soviet Union and tore down the wall?

[Avyctes]

Read this in the Washington Post

He claimed that if he wanted to, he could have any government job in Europe and be popular there. He cast his unpopularity among European publics as a sign he is doing his job well.

Luckily I’ve been immunized against his stupid by now or I’ve would done a spit take and ruined my laptop.

[Akimbo_NOT]

Good Morning!

House Democrats Start Investigating Trump This Morning

[anon50609448]

@alahmnat

I 100% expect Mittens to be the Flake replacement nobody was asking for.

I look forward to his speech about why he’s really torn up about his vote to dissolve congress and hand all power to the president.

[Melz2]

Well, fuck…

U.S. issues China travel advisory amid increased tensions

[ficuswhisperer]

Trump administration considers rollback of anti-discrimination rules

Here we go…

[Melz2]

He’s really going for the title of most sued president/admin in US history, isn’t he?

[Akimbo_NOT]

GOP lawmaker unveils bill soliciting private contributions to pay for border...

Yeah, that’s going to get far after today. /s

[Mindysan33]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it does… enough people who are both democrats and republicans favor various forms of privatization.

[Akimbo_NOT]

Then only wealthy states, counties, cities, neighborhoods have good stuff. Got it!

[Mindysan33]

No, I’m saying both democrats and republicans have supported privatization initiatives in the past and both would do so again. The Neoliberal agenda is active within both parties.

[ETA] Honestly, I have no faith that the mainstream of the democratic party aren’t going to continue along that centrist path, unless pushed to do otherwise by the more progressive wing of the party. The Republicans are fully committed to the neoliberal agenda, but the Dems can be swayed by pressure.

[Akimbo_NOT]

Here in Va we’re paying the price in regards to roads as both sides went all in to privatize the tolls.

Opinion | The fallacy of Virginia’s love affair with privatized public services

So, yeah it can happen.

[Mindysan33]

I guess I’m not making myself very clear here. Sorry. I’ll shut it.

[GulliverFoyle]

JFC!

Dear GOP, we know you’re a dumpster-fire, but you don’t need to spend every second of every day reminding us. It’s okay, you can take a day off from being human canker-sores on the body politic. We’re not in any danger of forgetting.

Jules Suzdaltsev (jules_su)

John Scalzi (scalzi)