NYT: Rwanda and Congo Sign U.S.-Brokered Peace Treaty
Bongo, bongo, bongo, I don’t want to leave the Congo, oh no, no no no.
Tag: Trump (Page 2 of 3)
CBS News: Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards set under Biden
If finalized, the plan would relax fuel economy standards by setting the industry average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon through the 2031 model year, lower than the 50 miles per gallon outlined by a Biden-era rule.
For fifty years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set fuel economy standards that car companies had to meet. It was a type of magical thinking. The NHTSA would issue a new fuel economy standard, and like Captain Picard on Star Trek, say, “Make it so.”
The NHTSA didn’t have to worry about physics, they just had to wish for it. The engineering teams had to figure out how to pull another rabbit out of the same old hat. The rabbits were getting smaller and harder to find.
South Korea gives Trump golden crown, medal conferring highest honor
Will the “No Kings” protestors get all wee-wee’d up that Trump now has a crown, or will they never learn that South Korea presented President Trump with their highest civilian honor?
I’m watching a portion of the Congressional hearings on the Secret Service and the Trump assassination attempt.
If the Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, was ever going to resign, I bet she wished she had resigned yesterday. Every congressman is ripping into her. For the most part, it isn’t possible to distinguish between a Democratic or Republican congressman. They are all personally pissed off that people died and a presidential candidate was shot. They all ask for her resignation. It’s gratifying to see.
Surprisingly, Ocasio-Cortez did a good job. She isn’t a quick thinker or smooth talker, but she was informed, had good questions and was impressively indignant. A couple of congressmen tried to make some unrelated political points, but it was a soft-sell. Several congressmen are grandstanding by demonstrating their personal knowledge, but that makes the hearings less repetitive.
Most congressmen imply that 20 year-olds are insipid morons and that makes the Secret Service look even worse. Cheatle isn’t answering many questions, fewer questions than in the ABC interview, and that makes her look terrible.
Cheatle should have resigned, she doesn’t have a friend on the Hill. She won’t remain in that position.
Peggy Noonan was a speech writer for Ronald Reagan, and then was an insightful commentator until she got Trump Derangement Syndrome. After the 2024 RNC Convention, she can’t quite come around.
Scott Adams is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the first person of notoriety to predict that Trump would win the 2016 presidential election. This was very early on, when there were 16 people in the Republican primary. Adams was careful not to endorse Trump, he just recognized that Trump had a gift for persuasion.
NBC News: Secret Service is appalled.
Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s chief of communication, said in the statement: “We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission and are appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel.”
The Secret Service doesn’t get to be appalled after their appalling inability to keep Trump safe.
There Will Always Be Vulnerabilities
This article was written by an veteran police officer who has been writing about law enforcement for many years. He describes working with the Secret Service in the manner that you’d expect.
From my position I could see other teams similarly situated on rooftops, but so numerous were the nearby buildings that there weren’t enough counter-sniper teams to post one on all of them. I was told, however, that any position overlooking the landing zone would be guarded by at least one Secret Service agent, most of them accompanied by an LAPD officer.
I’ve read a couple of books by Ronald Kessler about the Secret Service. It’s difficult to understand why security was so lax for Trump’s rally.
Sixteen thousand people erupted into rapture when Donald J. Trump walked into the Prudential Center in Newark at 10 p.m. Saturday to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship match.
UFC doesn’t appeal to me, and this article about Trump attending isn’t illuminating, but it did get me thinking about other presidents and candidates.
Where would Joe Biden go to revel in the embrace of his most avid fan base?
The author of the commentary, Jonathan Chait, describes himself as a liberal hawk. He is a committed anti-Trumper, but has criticized liberals and conservatives.