It Was Worse Than We Thought

@KellyM_1964

 I'm just going to ask a question. I'm not taking sides. I'm not looking to argue. Have you never doubted anything about the 9/11 narrative? It happened. That much is clear. So the term "9/11 denier is nonsensical. Yet there are many well documented inconsistencies with the accepted narrative. And the way the establishment quells any doubt about the, quite frankly, utterly ridiculous accepted narrative is by calling anyone who questions it a denier. And who wants to be labeled a denier of something so horrific? It'a like the term "support the troops". In the early days of Operation Iraqi regime change war, we were bombarded with the phrase, the notion, support the troops. Bumper stickers. Magnets. I buy them whenever I see them to this day but back then, whenever someone questioned the validity of us being in Iraq, questioned the WMD intel, they were quickly met with, "What, you don't support the troops?" Who wants to be the guy that doesn't support the troops? Not I. So you shut up. Stop questioning.

Trump born into the establishment, spent his entire lifetime connected to and working for and with the establishment,

Yet Trump isn't a part of the establishment. 

Conservative Logic. 

Yes, I am the anti-establishment president. You fools believe anything the guy says. 

@StumpTownStu

ok      u seem to b making an effort to b openminded here (unlike 100% of the rumplickers)

first , i wont call an event a  'narrative'    hurricane katrina was no " narrative " 

the narrative is the spin people put on a factual event

second ,i have questioned the spin some idiots have put on it ,sure !! -- like detox et al.

third , 9-11 denier is no more ' nonsensical ' term than calling rump a " birther "

9-11 denier       9-11 denialist       9-11 truther      r all terms meant to refer to the same " narrative " spun by those who wear tinfoil hats  24-7

well-documentd inconsistencies ??  ok ,those exist bcuz people own laptops .but guess what ?  there r just as many " well-documented " rebuttals (debunking)  to those " well-documentd inconsistencies "   thats a fact

"the way the establishment quells any doubt about ... "  stop there . now  its u is making a narrative  and i reject it .

9-11 deniers  share one thing in common with their idiotic bretheren who r 2020 election deniers , apollo-moon-landing-deniers , scientology morons ,  'space aliens created the great pyramids' , 'the flat-earth society ,'  and also the epically stupid QAnon believers  (most of all those nutjobs from the same political ideology )  --  they can manufacture all kinds of tinfoil-hat suspicions -- if they own a computer ,then any 19 yr old living in his moms basement can make up 'suspicions'  and spread them all over the internet like wildfire these days (or last century via print handing out papers to pedestrians on a streetcorner to earn money ) --  BUT NO PROOF

let me highlight that bcuz it is the bottom line     NO PROOF

remember people from all sides of the political spectrum have raised " well-documentd inconsistencies " that suggest the rump campaign did collude with russia too , regardles if others disagree          and that rump called our deceased veterans 'losers & suckers " ( something disgraceful that hits home for others like me here who have proudlyworn the uniform to risk our lives in service to our country , midnight and fubah to name at least 2 )      and that rump is a serial sexual assailant including rape           i could go on and on and on and on and on and on   but theres really no further point      any fool can dig up some minutia and raise suspicions    hell based on what ive seen here we could easily 'raise suspicions ' that certain anti-democrats on this forum might b white supremacist domestic terrorists !

yep ,u do raise a fair point about not wanting to b the guy against  motherhood ,apple pie ,and support the troops and other popular beliefs etc , etc  but  that doesnt mean motherhood and apple pie etc, beliefs r wrong , and it certainly doesnt make counter-beliefs correct .  wego with the preponderance of the KNOWN evidence (or strong rational probabilities ) UNTIL ITS PROVEN OTHERWISE 

this post will now b attacked and ridiculed by trolls and racists and 9-11 deniers        i will not debate trolls and racists  and 9-11 deniers     u r free to do so if u wish though

Great point!  

If corruption is any indication, then trump is more a "part of the establishment" then any politician in modern history!

Twice Impeached One Term Donnie Dum Dum had a penchant for putting people on speakerphone without alerting the caller on the other end of people listening to the calls. He would bait people to say something nasty about someone present in the room. He would sit back & enjoy the infighting of  grown ass adults fight for his approval. At the end of January he was livid towards Alex Azar on the vaping issue & told Azar he would be responsible if the election was lost. He quoted data to Azar that was provided by Brad Pascale showing him losing support with the vapers. Azar told Donnie that Pascale makes up the data just make him happy but in reality Trump was winning suburban mothers who didn't want their kids vaping. That struck a nerve in Donnie & quickly remembered the First Lady was against Barron vaping. "That's why the First Lady got involved," Trump said. She's got a son...a beautiful young man, and she feels very, very strongly." Later that night on FOX, Azar got back into Donnie's good side when he said " We have in Donald Trump the greatest protector of religious liberty who has ever sat on in the Oval Office." 

Meanwhile the virus continued to spread but Donnie was content knowing he still had the vote of the vapers.

While in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum an interview was set up for Trump to tout the economy on CNBC with host Joe Kernen. But the interview took a turn when Kernen asked about the virus & whether the country should be concerned. "No, not all. We have it totally under control. It's one person coming from China & we have it under control. It's going to be just fine." Kernen pressed on as to whether he believed China was forthcoming with information. "I do. I do, he said." " I have a great relationship with President XI. We just signed the biggest deal ever made. It certainly has the potential to be the biggest deal ever made. And it was very interesting period of time, but we got it done, and no, I do. I think the relationship is very, very good."

Public health officials were furious. The virus was not "under control" and China was not cooperating. Scientific consensus & Trump's public statements did not match. His disdain for science & experts in the field led to him ignoring the virus or developing any plans to combat it. The threat was not being treated seriously in the WH.  

The distrust between career health officials & politically appointee's was growing dramatically. The WH abandoned methodical policy processes in decision making or developing long term strategic planning. Rather concentration & resources were being spent to ensure another term in office. Aides lived day to day trying to avoid a nasty tweet or social media postings while trying to quench public relation crises caused by Trump's tweets that were endless. The chain of command was non-existent with Trump flunkies like the Pillow Man & celebrities having full access to the Oval Office. "Acting" cabinet members including Chief of Staff Mike Mulvaney knew their roles were tenuous at best & lack of confidence in them. They had seen the revolving door of people coming & going in the administration which led to more & more instability or focus on the issues the country faced.

Azar had pissed off Trump over the vaping issue & since he had not made any friends because of his own backstabbing, Azar had little support in the administration. He rubbed Trump the wrong way with his long recitations that lost Trump minutes after starting & never regaining his attention. Azar got into arguments with Joe Grogan over drug pricing and other health care policies & Seema Verma who reported to him but had an agenda of her own. 

It was in this poisonous, disloyal atmosphere that Trump helped create that tried to mount a coronavirus response.  

i for one find these  book excerpts rivetting stuff  

and i just heard trump on audio tape saying that

"statisically it wasn't even POSSIBLE that biden won"

that from the loser who only had about a 40% public approval rating for a year versus his opponent who had about a 53% approval rating .

not even statistically possible  rump says   

and all biden needed was to win back the the 3 rust belt states that were traditionally democrat

not statistically possible       nope      no way those 3 rust belt states would swing back  even though rump only snatched the from the dems by narrow margins

impossible it could happen , says the very stable genius 

@KellyM_1964

 I'll make sure to change the color of the text when/if I add my own editorial comment. 

The administration was trying to decide who would be the "face" of the response. Fauci was believed to be too old. Azar was too condescending & Redfield came off to much as a professor. They thought of rehiring Gottlieb but decided not to go that route. Instead they decided to table the issue while the CDC, NIH, FDA & NSC continued to hold individual meetings rarely sharing data & wasted time updating administration officials with endless meetings.

On January 24th, Trump wanted to send another tweet praising China & President XI. This left Azar & others speechless. Against their objections Trump tweeted " China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts & transparency. It will all work out in the end. In particular, on behalf of the American people, I want to thank President XI."   

In the days that followed NSA Advisor Matthew Pottinger finally gave Trump a straight answer to "Should I restrict travel to China?" He tried to explain the spread of the "asymptomatically" as simply as possibly but Trump was not grasping the concept after numerous attempts. Eventually, Pottinger told him travel should be restricted & that China was not sharing everything they knew about the virus. The meeting with no decision being made. As they were walking out the door, Mulvaney turned to Pottinger with a stern face. As a skeptic of the virus, Mulvaney was irate that Pottinger had raised information that effectively alarmed the president. " That was totally inappropriate" said Mulvaney. "You wont ever attend another one of these meetings." 

In the Situation room it was the first time trade advisor Peter Navarro met Dr. Fauci & immediately viewed him as pompous & arrogant. Fauci & Redfield originally were against shutting down travel restrictions but soon changed their minds. Navarro considered himself an expert on China & the next day provided a 3 page memo identifying "swift containment and mitigation measures. Before his memo had circulated the WH many decided Trump had to restrict travel from/to China. Trump had no idea about the anxiety building among his experts. They agreed with the State Department's plan four more evacuation flights of American's out of Wuhan & surrounding areas. Everyone agreed that both the ban and repatriation flights were no-brainers.

As the meeting ended, Mulvaney asked Azar to walk him to his office so they could call the president on Air Force One regarding the matter of evacuating the Americans. Mulvaney's NSA Rob Blair, Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun & legal adviser Mike Williams were also present in the room when Trump was on the phone.  "Mr. President, we've got something that Azar & Biegun want to run by you." (Little coward Mulvaney threw these guys under  the bus.) Biegun began providing an overview of the plan but Trump interrupted asking "How many Americans are we talking about?" Biegun estimated a few hundred right away & eventually a couple of thousand. Trump exploded.

"We're not letting them come back, he said. "You risk increasing my numbers. You won't increase my numbers!" Trump did not want sick Americans landing on US soil even if they worked for the State Department, or else the government would have to report a rise in infections, and that would make the public-the voters-nervous. (Even during the crisis Trump was looking after his own personal interests.)

Trump was talkng about Americans who chose to serve our country as if they had irresponsibly or illegally crossed into a foreign country.  "It would be like leaving a man on the field of battle" Biegun argued. "This would be against your brand of protecting Americans" Azar chimed in. Trump eventually agreed to approve the flights. In the weeks to come, Trump basked in the limelight as his decision was well received. 

Trump & Pence continued on their flight to a rally in Warren, Michigan.

dr.death

@fubah2

 fearmonger

someone who intentionally tries to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable: 

Chapter 3 Seeking Revenge

(Didn't do much reading this weekend. I was too busy getting my ass handed to me betting the ponies @ Saratoga. Usually I can hold my own. Win a little, lose a little & win a lot. It was all downhill this weekend. Anyway, this chapter is about the time in the WH immediately after Trump's 2nd Impeachment & he wanted to settle the score with those he believed were disloyal.

On February 2nd, Trump boasted about his travel restrictions. "We pretty much shut it (the virus) down coming in from China" Trump proclaimed. Soon thereafter Trump declared "VICTORY." His Oval Office desk was littered with newspaper headlines from across the country. During the impeachment hearing, WH counsel Pat Cipollone (a devout Catholic with 10 kids) had been wagering was with Mick Mulvaney & they were hardly on speaking terms. Cipollone was angered & frustrated that in October 2019 Mulvaney admitted a presidential quid pro quo with the Ukraine. The extreme trust between Trump loyalists & career professionals like Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman & other officials who testified during the impeachment trial.

After his acquittal, Trump began his retribution campaign. Within 2 days, Vindman & his brother were removed from their NSC posts & were reassigned. Hours later it was reported Gordon Sondland was recalled from his Ambassador position to the European Union. By the end of the month, Joseph McGuire, acting director of national intelligence, was told to vacate his office. John Rood, Defense Department's undersecretary for policy, who had certified aid to the Ukraine while Rudy Giuliani was trying to block it, would be forced to resign. 

Still in Chapter 2 & back to the covid pandemic.

"I know you got this well in hand & you've got good people, Trump told President XI. "We've also got good people. I think we can helpful. It would also be useful for us to more about this. They're ready to go. I've got the team ready to go. All you have to do is issues the visas & they'll be there."

XI response was cool. "We have this in hand," he told Trump. "We're waging a people's war against this virus. It's going to be contained in short order." XI never gave Trump a direct response, so Trump circled back to his original ask. "We can have people their," Trump said. "They're ready to go." (Trump's messaging via continual repetition is annoying & even though it works with his supporters, it didn't work with XI.) Then XI gave Trump the most direct "no" answer without saying "no." XI said "Well, we are working through the WHO."

The administration still didn't understand how firmly China was on stonewalling the Americans.

This is for you sundance..

Roger Stone was a lifelong dirty trickster, a political operative with a carnival huckster style and, most important at this juncture in the 67 years old life, a loyal defender of Trump. He has used smears to help his political clients all the way back to the start of Nixon's career.

Stone had been found guilty in November 2019 of obstructing a congressional probe & witness tampering. A jury concluded Stone had lied repeatedly to a congressional committee about his advance knowledge of the Russian hack of emails that could embarrass Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election & that he had threatened to hurt a person who could expose his lies. Sentencing of Stone was a hot-button subject & one that AG Barr would soon take a strong interest in.

Barr had just decided to make changes in the U.S. Attorney's Office, pressuring U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu to give up her job so that he could install one of his closest advisers. She was awaiting confirmation for the #3 position at the Treasury. When Lui asked Barr why he was rushing her, Barr replied "He didn't like the uncertainty." He then gave Lui until February 1st to make a decision. As that date approached, Barr announced his former counsellor, Tim Shea, would become the new U.S. Attorney. This was less than a week before prosecutors in teh office would make their sentence recommendation for Stone's punishment.

On February 5th, the four prosecutors in the DC office handling the Stone case recommended a prison sentence of t to 9 years. But over the next several days, they received warnings from their supervisors their proposal wasn't going to fly with their new boss. They said Shea felt "pressure" to give Stone a break. One pf the prosecutors, Aaron Zellinsky, a former Mueller prosecutor, said he would withdraw from the case rather than sign a politically manipulated recommendation. Barr told Shea the prosecutor's recommendation was ridiculous. He wanted the judge to decide the punishment. She told Barr he would take care of the situation.

Over at the WH. Trump didn't like what he was seeing on the news. On February 11th @ 2:48 am, Trump tweeted "This is horrible & very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice." Later that morning, Barr was approached by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. "Did you see the President's tweet," he asked Barr.

Trump & Barr deny they spoke about teh sentencing matter but Barr got the message. The sentencing recommendation needed to be changed. At Barr's instruction, Shea told the court his office was not pushing a specific sentence. This was too much for 4 prosecutors Kravis, Jed & Marando who either resigned from the case or left the department altogether.

Meanwhile, Liu was preparing for her upcoming Senate confirmation for the Treasury job relieved she had no role in the Stone decision, when she received a strange call from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's office asking her to meet with Mnuchin in his office to discuss "the stuff in the news today." When they met, an apologetic Mnuchin told Liu that she wouldn't get the job because the WH decided to withdraw her nomination. "Can you tell me why," she asked. "I'm sorry," Mnuchin said, "I cannot."

Trump had been convinced by conspiracy-minded supporters that Liu was part of the "deep state" & had gone too easy on former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a villain in Trump's mind, and gone too hard against Stone. In Trump's view she was disloyal & had to go.

Great point.   trump believes it wasn't even statistically POSSIBLE for Biden to win back those 3 key states that DEMS had owned for decades.   This pretty much sums up what delusion is 

Page 59

By mid-February, world leaders were on edge, but the kind of global stewardship the United States had often provided at moments of international crisis was non existent. At this point experts like Tom Bossert were being blocked by Kushner & Marc Short from talking directly with the president. Short told Bossert "We have plenty of smart people working on this. It's not that bad. Thanks for your call. We'll work it out. 

Page 61-62

Nancy Messonnier, the head of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respirator Diseases held her daily media teleconference. "I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and tha disruption to everyday life may be severe. But those are things that people need to start thinking about now. (She went on to share a discussion with her family about significant disruption coming in the future recording shool & associated activities. She also mentioned contacting her kids school regarding the possibility of teleschool.) Her comments became major headlines across the country. While on Air Force 1, Trump fumed. "What the hell is the woman doing? What are these statement? The market has collapsed!" "She's scaring people! This is killing me!" (It's always about him.) Azar tried to rescue is subordinate. "It's true what she is saying." Trump screamed "You have to keep her away from the microphone. You have to get out there & clean this up" he told Azar. Two weeks later,. Fortune 500 companies were changing their workforce telling their "non-essential" workforce to stay home just like Messonnier had warned earlier. (Two months later, Messonnier resigned her position." 

Page 69

On March 2nd, Trump met with pharmaceutical executives where he predicted an optimistic timeline for a coronavirus vaccine. "So you're talking over teh next few months you can have a vaccine?" Trump asked one of the executives.the steps involved in

" You won't have a vaccine," Fauci interrupted. "You'll have a vaccine to go and get tested." When an executive explained the phases of testing would take many months, Trump asked, "All right, so you're talking within a year."

Like I've been telling you Mr. President, a year to a year in a half," Fauci corrected him. "I like the sound of a couple of months better, let's be honest," Trump said.

It was clear to Fauci & other health executives that Trump didn't understand the steps involved in developing, testing, proving, & ultimately injecting into the arms of people a vaccine even though it had been explained to him.   

She was right.  And that was mid-february when the virus was already beginning to ravage EUROPE.

Only an imbecile could not realize that if flights from *ALL* of Europe was not immediately stopped THEN, including any passengers on any flights that had recently been in heavily infected EUROPE - then soon the contagious virus would land on our north east coast (JFK and Liberty Newark) and other major Int' Airports coming from EUROPE (Ohare), and spread quickly all over the country.

But our self-annointed "stable genius" refused.

And as a result the NY/NJ and surrounding NE areas soon became the epicenter of the virus -- which testing scientists determined the genomes of those tested  showed the virus arrived via EUROPE.

It's great to have a leader that after signing a document he doesn't have to hold it up for the cameras to see like it's some kind of "show & tell"  to prove he's a big boy.

There is so much in this book that documents how petty this POS was but one of the biggest pricks identified is Mark Meadows.

Page 182-183 regarding the possible renaming Confederate bases.

"General, what do you think about the Confederate bases?" Trump asked Milley. "Mr. President are you sure you want me to answer that?" Milley said. "Do you want to hear it again?" Trump nodded his head yes.

"Okay, I think you should change the name of all the Confederate bases" Milley said. "I don't think Confederate flags  and statues shpuld be in the public space. These guys were traitors . Thirty-eight of them were indicted for treason. And more importantly, Mr. President, they lost the war. They're losers, Mr. President. They betrayed the country. We should change the names of the bases."

Milley continued...

"Mr. President, as you well know, all the graves in Arlington are in rows, except those Confederates. and the are in a circle where their names facing inward," he said. "And the symbolism of that, Mr. President, is they turned their backs on the union and the Constitution. They turned their  back at the time, they turned their back in death, and they will be traitors for eternity."

Trump looked at Milley with an expression of canine curiosity. He said "Okay."

Trump advisors concluded that the President didn't really care whether miltary bases were named after Confederate Generals. He had no ideology, much less a nuanced understanding of history and the nation's sordid history on race. All he cared about was making sure the people who voted for him in 2016 would vote for him again in November.

Love learning new historical facts and didn't know about the Confederate graves @ Arlington.

Let me guess:  less than 5% of the total book sales are to republicans