Bubble land

 

Like Covid.

Also...

UPDATE 04:51 pm:

FUBAR

 

One week ago:

Changing excuses continue...

Strait of Hormuz blocked, half a dozen refueling aircraft destroyed, at least 7 soldiers dead and about 150 wounded, and the drone and missile detection system in Baghdad destroyed.  Iran is kicking our ass.

But, MAGA thinks we're winning bigly.

No one could have foreseen.  Am I right, Condi?

Before the U.S. went to war, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told President Trump that an American attack could prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Caine said in several briefings that U.S. officials had long believed Iran would deploy mines, drones and missiles to close the world’s most vital shipping lane, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.

Trump acknowledged the risk, these people said, but moved forward with the most consequential foreign-policy decision of his two presidencies. He told his team that Tehran would likely capitulate before closing the strait—and even if Iran tried, the U.S. military could handle it.

[...]

Behind Trump’s rationale for war was a deep confidence in the capabilities of the U.S. military to deliver a swift, decisive victory, according to administration officials and others familiar with the matter. The president’s trust in Caine was buoyed by the successful U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites last year and the January raid that captured Venezuela’s autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro.

  WSJ

Trump is high on his own supply.

Before the president approved the operation, he and his advisers discussed options to force the reopening of the strait and use the U.S. Navy to escort tankers through the waterway.

[...]

“The Pentagon has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz for decades, and it has been part of the Trump administration’s planning well before Operation Epic Fury was ever launched,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The U.S. operation to wipe out Iran’s military capability “is quite literally intended to deprive them of their ability to close the Strait,” Leavitt said.

How'd that turn out?

U.S. military officials said the conflict would likely last a few more weeks, at least.

"At least."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s decision to block the strait was a sign of “sheer desperation,” adding “we have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it.”

Sure, Jan.

Typically, war preparations include weeks or months of classified deliberations, written planning documents, the airing of dissenting views from diplomats and intelligence officials, and National Security Council meetings with cabinet members to make the most informed decision.

Only a small group was looped into the preparations for Iran—including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth.

A brilliant crew.

The White House and the Pentagon have launched an aggressive messaging campaign built around U.S. invincibility, mirroring Trump’s own conviction that American military superiority can overcome and outlast Iran’s retaliation. U.S. government accounts have posted stylized videos of strikes, some interspersed with movie or videogame footage.

The U.S. is “winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said, an effort to reassure Americans that the conflict remains firmly under control.

[...]

Some Trump allies who have grown skeptical of the operation have coordinated behind the scenes to schedule appearances on Fox News and other TV networks watched by the president to sound a note of caution and warn against a deeper U.S. commitment.

They have to go on Fox News in order to reach the president.

The president’s advisers say the military operation has unfolded as they hoped it would. The military has launched strikes on roughly 6,000 Iranian targets, heavily damaging Iran’s navy and weapons arsenals, which has weakened the regime’s ability to project power throughout the Middle East and harm Americans in the region.

Yes, we see.

Iran’s new hard-line Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei—who was appointed to replace his father—has vowed to keep ships from the Strait of Hormuz. The regime remains firmly in control and is unlikely to fall soon, according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence.

[...]

Americans have been caught in danger, as well. The State Department didn’t urge U.S. citizens to depart countries in the region or evacuate some embassies until after the war began. By then, commercial airspace was already closed, leaving tens of thousands of Americans stranded in the Middle East and U.S. diplomats at some embassies in harm’s way.

[...]

In the U.S., volatility in gas prices and the oil market have led to the largest-ever oil release from global strategic reserves, sparking anger from oil companies seeking fewer price fluctuations.

[...]

Trump told reporters this week the war would end “very soon.” Just a handful of targets are left, he said. On Friday, Trump said he would end the war when he feels it “in his bones.”

Provide your own punch line.

UPDATE 12:06 pm: 

Oh, I don't know, Kevin.  How about this...

It will.  And most all of the harm will be felt by the middle and lower classes.  

Sure, Jan.

UPDATE 12:47 pm:

Besides ignorance and greed, no one in Trump 2.0 has an ounce of self-respect.

Happy Hassett has a thought

 Where do you suggest that person will find a new job, Kevin, what with job creation "lagging" and all?

And he looks so happy about it.

I don't know whether it's happy or smirky, but he always, always talks with that inappropriate look like he's just won the jackpot and can't contain his glee, no matter what he's saying.

If you don't bend the knee

Trump’s Justice Department targeted Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell with a criminal investigation.

Trump crony and Fox cable pundit turned U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose record in that office includes a humiliating number of grand juries rejecting indictments, purports to be looking into whether Powell misled Congress about the scope of the Federal Reserve’s renovation of its D.C. headquarters.

  All Rise News

A bullshit claim which has already been answered by Powell.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead, monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

[...]

Trump attempted a similar maneuver targeting Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, unsuccessfully trying to oust her from her role. The Roberts Court will consider whether to uphold a ruling blocking Cook’s termination on Jan. 21.

They seem to be disinclined to let Trump take over and fuck up the Federal Reserve - after all, that's their riches he'd be messing with - but we shall see.

The pretext is this stupid attempt to intimidate and rid Trump of Powell.  Every building has cost overruns, many of them dramatic.  Case in point:

This reopening of the bullshit claims are unlikely to go anywhere and seem to be aimed at making Powell's life miserable.  Trump's attempt to punish someone who doesn't bend the knee.  Typical tyrant behavior.

Also, re Hassett:

UPDATE 08:48 am:

So brave.

UPDATE 09:38 am:

Other than destroying the country and possibly blowing up the world, no one knows what he's doing, least of all himself.

Thom Tillis is a Republican.  Of course, he's already announced his retirement from Congress.

When you're a member of the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party, how do you think the leopards won't eat YOUR face?

UPDATE 05:43 pm:

Government takeover

 

Can't say they didn't tell us.

This guy is always so happy propagandizing.

Hassett apparently learned TV reporting in North Korea

 In every clip I've seen of him he's smiling so much, he's practically laughing.  

Be careful, Fox.

The gracious king on his throne

 

90 deals in 90 days

 How's that going? 

LOL.   Like Trump's" concepts of a plan."

Look at her face.

There goes another one

The departures of two of the Trump administration's top economic advisers -- Kevin Hassett and Tomas Philipson -- in the midst of an economic recession and the president's reelection campaign is puzzling D.C. and igniting speculation all is not well on the Donald Trump ship-of-state.

  IBTimes

Speculation??? It's plain as the nose on your face.

Philipson's resignation is new to me.  And I can't find any report that gives a reason for his resignation.

Their departures follow those of four other top officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) who resigned over the past two weeks for personal reasons and after clashing with Trump.

[...]

Philipson, the acting chairman of the CEA [Council of Economic Advisers], has resigned. An expert in health care economics, Philipson took over as CEA chairman in July 2019 after serving as a member of the CEA for almost two years.

Prior to serving the Trump administration, Philipson also worked as a senior economic advisor during former President George Bush's term. He was also a health care advisor to Senator John McCain during the latter's presidential campaign.

He previously served as the professor of public policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, but took a leave of absence to serve as a CEA member. Philipson will return to this job.

He also tested positive for coronavirus.

Draining the swamp

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett will reportedly depart the Trump administration this summer after rejoining the president's team earlier this year.

Axios reported Monday that Hassett, who previously served on the White House economic counsel and returned to the administration this spring to assist with President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, plans to depart in the weeks ahead.

[...]

Hassett, a conservative economist who previously worked at the American Enterprise Institute, was one of the voices in the White House promoting the use of face masks and warning about fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Axios noted. He has also warned about adverse effects to the U.S. economy if state shutdowns remained in place for very long.

[...]

Hassett was also reportedly one of the leading voices calling for a separate stimulus package aimed at phase four of the coronavirus recovery. Plans for another stimulus package have stalled in Congress as the House-passed HEROES Act looks unlikely to pass the Senate.

[...]

Hassett's reported exit comes after another member of the economic council, Andrew Olmem, left his position in recent days.

  The Hill

I guess if you're having no luck getting your ideas considered, quitting is a good option.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

"It's people! Soylent Green is people!"

George HW Bush famously called citizens "fodder units".

And this was Hassett back in December:



Did he know about coronavirus at that time?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Speaking of furloughed workers

White House chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett said furloughed workers are “better off” because they didn’t have to use vacation days over the holidays due to the government shutdown.

[...]

“And then we have a shutdown, and so they can’t go to work,” he said in the interview Thursday. “So then they have the vacation, but they don’t have to use their vacation days. And then they come back, and they get their back pay.”

[...]

Hassett argued that many of the workers impacted probably would have taken vacation time anyways.

“A huge share of government workers were going to take vacation days, say between Christmas and New Year’s,” he said.

  The Hill

It's a very Trumpian "Let them eat cake" attitude. 

I'd advise you don't go out in public, asshole.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The best people

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.