Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse

[Michael Scally MD]

MAGA Math ...

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Washington (CNN) In a precautionary move, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spent Sunday on the phone speaking with the chief executives of some of the country's largest banks to avoid yet another market whiplash when Wall Street opens Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The secretary, who has been visiting his children in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, tried to get ahead of further market jitters following reports that President Donald Trump was consulting advisers about whether he had the legal authority to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell.

"It's being pre-emptive," a person familiar with the matter told CNN. "It's sending the proper message to the market so they can calculate the real picture into their Monday opening. They don't have to wait until something happens to be reassured."

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

The voice of Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the Kurdish commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces militia, is tight and controlled as he describes https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-plans-to-pull-us-troops-from-syria-immediately-defense-official-says/2018/12/19/4fcf188e-0397-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.43208b338888 (President’s Trump’s decision) to withdraw U.S. troops from the country and leave America’s allies to their fate.

“This was something we never expected,” he said somberly in a telephone interview Saturday night from his command headquarters in northeast Syria. “Honestly, until now, everything the Americans told us, they fulfilled, and the same thing for us. . . . So we were surprised and confused. We were not ready for a decision like this.”

Mazloum explained the dangers of a terrorist resurgence after Trump’s sudden decision. Islamic State communications last week showed new hope they can restore their caliphate, which was on the way to destruction, he said. What’s more, Mazloum has been holding more than 2,200 Islamic State prisoners, including 700 foreign fighters. Without help from the United States and other coalition members, those deadly fighters may eventually escape.

What’s agonizing is that Mazloum has been fighting alongside U.S. Special Operations Forces that represent the steadfastness of this country’s military, and now he is experiencing a quite different American face. “To be frank, the first thing I thought about when I heard this decision was America’s reputation,” Mazloum said. “Because after this decision, what are people going to say about America? All the credibility and trust that was built, we have lost.”

 

[flenser]

Getting out of Afghanistan and Syria, and probably forced out of Yemen early next year. I couldn't be happier. No good has come from any of these wars, only sorrow and misery.

What "Winning" In Afghanistan Really Looks Like
Tyler Durden
Sun, 12/23/2018

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk,

"By the end of next year, the war in Afghanistan will be over."

What Winning Looks Like
Here's a 1.5 hr documentary about Afghanistan. It is a few years old but shows the quagmire. Marine Major Steuber seems like a stand-up guy trying to do the right thing. I wonder if he kept his rank after this documentary came out.



A quick check of my calendar shows that it's December 22, 2018. Almost five years have passed since Obama declared the war would be over.

Tired of Being Policeman



In response to Trump announcing the US would pull troops out of Syria and cut back troops in Afghanistan, defense secretary James Mattis resigned. Good Riddance.

The warmongers, including many on the left were shocked. In a nauseating article, left-wing VOX called Mattis the last “adult” in the Trump administration.

Perpetual War
These McCain-like warmongers, left and right, will keep us there us there forever.

I say, Thank You, President Trump! Troop Reduction in Afghanistan, Pulling Out of Syria

Staying is absurd. We did not win in 18 years and we won't win in another 18 years.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

After his appearance in Manhattan led to a brawl, the founder of a far-right group, the Proud Boys, said it was little more than a “fun, silly, men’s club” that had defended itself against an attack by leftist protesters.

But two months later, as prosecutors move ahead with charges, the all-male Proud Boys group is in disarray. Ten members have been arrested in connection with the violence, charged with riot and attempted assault as part of an investigation into their activities.

The Proud Boys have been widely condemned as a hate group. Facebook and Instagram have banned the group. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled it a “hate group.” An organization called New York City Antifa, whose members describe themselves as “anti-fascists,” has named the Proud Boys who were involved in the violence and has posted details about their lives on Twitter.

Even the founder, Gavin McInnes, has distanced himself, announcing on YouTube in late November that he was quitting the group “in all capacities, forever.” His departure left the Proud Boys without a figurehead, though the group has since said in an online message that, “We’re not going anywhere.”

At the same time, previously unreleased video, obtained by The New York Times, shows that the Proud Boys initiated the attack in Manhattan against a handful of anti-fascist protesters, not the other way around, as Mr. McInnes had initially said.

Prosecutors said at court appearances for some of the accused Proud Boys members that video evidence will prove that the Proud Boys started the fight.

Asked about the Proud Boys, John Miller, deputy police commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, confirmed that “incidents like this make it more likely that they’ll be higher on the radar.”

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]