Since the other thread is about the election, which is over, I think we need a new thread to discuss (mourn?) the reality moving forward.

Today Trump made some important appointments, one of which suggests a standard GOP administration, and the other of which, well, is terrifying. He appointed current RNC chairman Reince Priebus as his Chief of Staff. But he also named Steve Bannon the former head of Brietbart, and his Campaign Chairman, as chief strategist and senior counselor to the president. Anyone who thinks that Trump will be moderate in his approach can pretty forget it.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... strategist

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'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

Is HuffPo the only news outlet with the guts to actually call Bannon a White Nationalist, or is it understood that it's what alt-right stands for?

ETA: minutes after posting this, I came across this tweet

This is from John Weaver, the strategist for John Kasich. I'm impressed.

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“It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”

- Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

I've seen "white supremacist, antisemitic and fascist" in most of the media outlets I've come across, so no, not just HuffPost.

But you know he's going to use the "some of my best friends are..." argument against any accusation of antisemitism, because his son-in-law is a Jew. (And how the hell can Kushner support Trump in this and stand for it? I find this incomprehensible.)

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Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.

Is 'chief strategist and senior counselor' an official post? That is, does every President name a 'chief strategist and senior counselor', or is this something they made up?

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Avatar photo by Richard Lykes, used with permission.

It's not in the Constitution, if that's what you mean, but the office has existed since Nixon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counselor ... _President

No formal power; it pretty much is what the president makes it.

This made me, actually, laugh out loud (from FT):

"Meanwhile, President Obama said he plans to spend more time with Trump, who's reportedly "surprised" at the scope of his new job."

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*title copyright: Teremia

'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude (as Merry)

Winning was easy, old man, governing's harder

(obscure Hamilton reference)

Trump is going to have some mighty pissed-off extremists storming the castle unless he does something to placate them, as they begin to see that his campaign rhetoric was all lies. Appointing Bannon to a no-power position makes sense in this context.

Trump has a history of big ideas that he quickly tires of. This is another one. He got what he wanted -- a position that gains him the ostensible respect of the important people who've always scorned him. He has no real interest in the work of the Presidency. It will be easy for those who are teaching him how things work to lead him in their preferred direction as they stroke his ego and make him feel important.

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Avatar photo by Richard Lykes, used with permission.

Optimistically, that's all it is. Not many are feeling optimistic at the moment, though.

Worth the time to watch.

(Language warning, obviously.)

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"This is the Situation Room." Beat. "I watched bin Laden die from this chair. Hillary was over there. Quite a night. Coffee? Tea?"

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When you can do nothing what can you do?

(What's FT?)

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I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists

Sorry, Financial Times. From across the pond.

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*title copyright: Teremia

'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude (as Merry)

This is a bit technical, but I think pretty much on point (slight language warning).

An analysis of Donald Trump’s election win and the prospects for his presidency

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'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

Very well written, V. Thank you for the link.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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*title copyright: Teremia

'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude (as Merry)

Succinct and well researched.

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“It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”

- Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

It's nothing we haven't heard a lot lately. My husband was making the same point just the other night.

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“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Impressive ability to write about a complex subject at a grade level that doesn't leave anyone out.

It also makes sense in the context of Bannon's world views aligning with Trump's.

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I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists

Also in the context of his campaign rhetoric being perfectly sincere. At least the White Supremacist-friendly portion.

Seriously, dafuq is alt-right? It sounds like a keyboard shortcut.

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“It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”

- Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens