• Those ‘Resignations’: What Really Happened at the State Department

    January 26, 2017

    Tags: ,
    Posted in: Embassy/State, Trump




    Yesterday at the State Department five officials resigned or retired. Another one today.

    The media has gone near-insane, claiming State is crumbling in protest under the Trump administration. This is not true. What happened at State is very routine.

    Leaving the Department are head of the Management Bureau Pat Kennedy (above), Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond, Ambassador Gentry O. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions, arms control official Tom Countryman, and Victoria Nuland.

    Here’s the story:

    — No one at the State Dept resigned in protest.

    — No one was formally fired.

    — Six people were transferred from or retired from political appointee positions. Technically those who did not retire can be considered to have “resigned,” but that is a routine HR/personnel term used, not some political statement. The six are career Foreign Service career personnel (FSOs) They previously left their FSO job to be appointed into political jobs and now have resigned those (or retired out of the State Department) to return to career FSO jobs. A circle. They are required to submit a letter of resignation as a matter of routine when a new president takes office.

    — As for perspective: only one Under Secretary of State (Alan Larson) stayed through the transition from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush. It is routine for senior officials to leave or be reassigned.

    — Several of the six are connected to the Clinton emails and/or Clinton’s handling of Benghazi. One of these people, Pat Kennedy, played a significant role in both, as well as many other controversial issues during Clinton’s term. Sources tell me that although officially Kennedy “retired,” he was more or less required to do so by the Trump administration.

    — I have no information on the others, whether they were asked to retire, or just part of a reshuffling of positions and will routinely be reassigned. Most likely the latter, as such reshuffling is very common as administrations change. As everywhere in the government, the new administration fills its own political appointee slots.

    — Some of the six will hit mandatory retirement age on January 31 anyway.

    — Reports that these people represent “senior management” at State confuse terms. Because of the odd way State is organized, four of the six work in the Management Bureau, M in State talk. Kennedy was the head of the Bureau. The four play varying roles and collectively are not the senior management of the State Department. Two work in other parts of the Department (Countryman and Nuland) and are more directly tied to policies likely to change under the new administration.

    — All six persons come from offices with a deep bench. It is highly unlikely that any of the work of the State Department will be impeded by any of these changes. Every office has a second, third, fourth, etc., person in charge who will step up pending formal replacements to be nominated and confirmed. This is all part of the standard transition process.

    — As an example, I worked in the Bureau of Consular Affairs for most of my 24 years at State, including working with/for Michele Bond, one of the resignees. I personally know the people in the next rank below her, and all have equal experience and tenure as Bond. There will be no gap in experience or knowledge as some press reports have fretted. There will be no “void.” A slightly more dire, but responsible take, here.

    — There will very likely be more, similar, “resignations” and reshuffling at State. New political appointees will bring in their own staff, for example. But unless and until an employee holds a press conference to announce s/he is resigning out of protest, the media should take care to calm down, verify facts, and report accurately.

    — The Washington Post stated these changes were part of an “ongoing mass exodus of senior Foreign Service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.” I am not aware of any other noteworthy departures (two lesser officials left earlier this month in circumstances not clearly connected to Trump) and as stated above, the six did not resign in protest. Regardless, eight people in any context do not constitute a mass exodus.

    — The Post article is, in my opinion, grossly alarming. It reflects a reporter apparently unfamiliar with transitions at State.




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    Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.

    • Recent Comments

    • Rich Bauer said...

      1

      These people don’t really do any work, other than justifying their overpaid jobs. What about the freeze on replacing workers who actually DO something? Who will do the extreme vetting of visa applicants Trumpie wants when those positions become vacant. Send in the Marine guards?

      01/26/17 7:09 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      2

      Thanks.

      01/26/17 7:39 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      3

      Even if the reporter was unfamiliar with retiring or resigning procedures at State his story has to be cleared by those who are aware of the transition format. WaPo is in the business now of fear mongering. Best to just ignore their “stories”.

      01/26/17 7:49 PM | Comment Link

    • Sokollu said...

      4

      Two points:

      – Kennedy was reportedly angling to stay on. That’s astonishing, if true, astonishing; he was so far in the tank for Hillary I doubt he’s seen daylight in a year.

      – Peter, you are too kind to Josh Rogin, the Post flack who wrote the article. He may not know State well, but his main problem is a raging yet chronic case of neocon-itis. He has written a number of hysterical screeds against Russia and brings no objectivity whatsoever to his “analysis” ( sic and sick) of U.S. foreign relations.

      01/26/17 8:00 PM | Comment Link

    • wemeantwell said...

      5

      Rogin is a hack now. He used to do some decent work at Politico (?) or the Hill, but now he is like the rest of WaPo, just churning out tabloid garbage.

      01/27/17 8:40 AM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      6

      To add: ignore NPR. They blithely comment about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a sign Russia cannot be trusted and has world domination plans. I guess they have forgotten about Victoria Nuland’s “intervention” in Ukraine. NPR just plain out lies now. Sad to think they are now part of the problem.

      01/26/17 8:09 PM | Comment Link

    • Rich Bauer said...

      7

      Fake news= click bait. Like the Amazon, shit flows downstream.

      01/26/17 8:10 PM | Comment Link

    • Kyzl Orda said...

      8

      Thank you, Peter, for the actual truth

      01/26/17 8:41 PM | Comment Link

    • rich bauer said...

      9

      Resign? Right. CAREER BEFORE COUNTRY

      Sure, it is nice to be loved—but it is far more important to have a good job with benefits, work that is fulfilling, and regular promotions that help pay the mortgage and kids’ college tuition. CIA employees who put their job and family first will go with the program as long as the leadership doesn’t go completely bonkers. Most also take seriously their oath to uphold the Constitution, not necessarily what they perceive as the propaganda that comes out of every White House.

      http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-nihilist-intelligence-officer/

      01/27/17 5:55 AM | Comment Link

    • Rich Bauer said...

      10

      We Meant Well has a new twitter handle: Alt-State. Insuring you get the news that fake news sites like the Wa Po don’t want you to know.

      01/27/17 9:10 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      11

      Dakota State News… Mobile Avenger Missle Launcher at Standing Rock pointed at camp (but moved recently out of site). The U.S. wages Peace once again!

      01/27/17 9:14 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      12

      The Launcher may save $’s, rather than flight monitors !

      01/27/17 9:40 AM | Comment Link

    • Bloozguy said...

      13

      Resignation[S]

      01/27/17 9:56 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      14

      Kyzl Orda said…

      “Thank you, Peter, for the actual truth”

      Ditto.

      note to self..

      Wait till Peter posts his $.02 on any “news” before “breaking” it here.

      sheeezus.. sometimes I just wanna bang my head against the wall.

      01/27/17 11:15 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      15

      Btw Peter, I’m curious. What are “political appointments” at State? Besides the Secretary and AmbASSadors. How is “politics”, by STATUTE, allowed to decide who and who doesn’t get a position as an employee of the USG?

      Just curious. Thanks.

      01/27/17 11:20 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      16

      ps..I was under the impression that every single person who works for the USG is a “civil servant”, other than those who are elected..by statute and Constitution. That’s why I asked.

      01/27/17 11:22 AM | Comment Link

    • Rich Bauer said...

      17

      It is similar to the plantation system — hire true believers to the keep the help under control. In this case the managers are usually the ones stealing the silverware.

      01/27/17 11:43 AM | Comment Link

    • Bruce said...

      18

      Hopefully with teh BushWarSee of Poppy’s CLINT0BAMA Black hole vaporizing, there’ll be no more Lebensraum (Nuland) PNAC Attacks (Ukraine, Libya, Syria, et al)!

      01/27/17 12:00 PM | Comment Link

    • Kyzl Orda said...

      19

      Rich Bauer:
      We Meant Well has a new twitter handle: Alt-State. Insuring you get the news that fake news sites like the Wa Po don’t want you to know.

      Alt-State. Love that. There is a huge iceberg under the surface, too

      01/27/17 12:22 PM | Comment Link

    • starknakedtruth said...

      20

      Plain speak:

      Hillary’s posse resigned.

      End of story.

      01/27/17 12:54 PM | Comment Link

    • Rich Bauer said...

      21

      If it quacks like a Nazi….

      First, the Trumpster wants a list of Muslims, and now Nikki Halley wants a list of those who “won’t have our backs.”

      Who is next on the blackshirt’s list?

      01/27/17 2:19 PM | Comment Link

    • Foreign Policy Links 1/27/17 - The Libertarian Institute said...

      22

      […] Those ‘Resignations’: What Really Happened at the State Department – We Meant Well […]

      01/27/17 2:20 PM | Comment Link

    • notlurking said...

      23

      Victoria Nuland….I hope the door kicks you hard on the way out….

      01/27/17 2:29 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      24

      Offer Victoria and her husband Freedom Cookies.

      01/27/17 3:18 PM | Comment Link

    • sglover said...

      25

      For at least a year I’ve been telling my believing liberal friends to get away from the WaPo, the NYT, NPR, MSNBC. If they didn’t get angry, the usual response was along the lines of, “How will I be informed?” Then HRC leads them over a cliff, and they can’t imagine how Trump happened….

      01/27/17 3:55 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      26

      The DNC may do it again.

      01/27/17 5:00 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      27

      Resign yourselves to the fact that Trump is the dumbest presidense — George W must be so relieved:

      “I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We don’t want them here,” he said at a swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon for Secretary of Defense James Mattis. “We don’t want to admit into our country the very threats we are fighting overseas.”

      It’s still not clear what’s in the order, which the president signed on live television. But an earlier leaked draft suggested the action would block refugee admissions from the war-torn country of Syria indefinitely; suspend refugee admissions from all countries for 120 days; and ban people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 30 days.

      “We will never forget the lessons of 9/11, nor the heroes who lost their lives at the Pentagon,” the president said Friday.

      Hey, DUMBSHIT, the lesson was GEORGE W underestimated the threat from SAUDI ARABIA. Guess DONALD was too AFRAID to offend the camelfuckers too. RIght, Mitch?

      01/27/17 7:20 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      28

      Does Clinton Foundation get $ from them Rich?

      01/27/17 7:37 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      29

      Hey Don, Terror in Saudi Arabia

      What about Pakistan?

      Saudi Arabia has arrested 12 Pakistanis and seven Saudis in connection with the suicide bombing on the prophet’s mosque in the city of Medina and other attacks in Jeddah and

      Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked the prophet’s mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse.

      01/27/17 8:14 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      30

      Bauer- I think I’ve been wrong for about a decade. I said empires don’t self correct. What I sense now is that they can indeed self correct but not in ways normally anticipated. Trump is America’s self correction. Odd as that seems sometimes someone who is very flawed is given a shot as redemption. Trump may have more recovery potential from ignorance than Hillary. She may have just been doomed by certain psycho sexual torments. So! Join the team and hope for the best. No point in being cynical or wanting America’s latest POTUS to somehow pull off a soft landing for the American Empire.

      01/28/17 12:04 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      31

      John said
      ” So! Join the team and hope for the best. No point in being cynical or wanting America’s latest POTUS to somehow pull off a soft landing for the American Empire.”

      Hope for the best. right.
      Cynical? naw..

      Meanwhile, our Torturer in Chief advocates for..you got it… WAR CRIMES! Halalluja!

      God I love my President. I’m so proud of him. Just think, by the time my grandchildren are grown up, they might even get to torture someone themself. Or watch the Superbowl of Torture. I can see it now. Wow. Live War crimes..on the TEH VEH! That gives me an idea. A reality show. War Crimes for Dollars!! Man..talk about ratings! Geezus, I only wish I’d live long enough to see it. I can even hear the music.. AMERICA! AMERICA! God shine your light on thee…” While the crowd chants…USA! USA! USA! you betcha. ratings baby.
      They’ll go through the roof!

      god I think I’m going to puke.

      fuck. Meanwhile, I’ma hoping some Manchurian candidate is practicing real hard.
      How cool. At least they’ll spit at immigrants.

      01/28/17 5:02 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      32

      correction… strike that last sentence. I’d kill for an edit button. oh well.. fuck it.

      01/28/17 5:04 AM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      33

      Meanwhile, Trump advocates for the desecration of the Statue of Liberty….

      http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38777437

      Gee.. I wonder what his mother and grandfather would think about now? You know..the ones who IMMIGRATED from Scotland and Germany.
      fuck.

      Come to think of it.I wonder how they were “vetted”.

      Too bad they didn’t receive the same treatment Trump is giving to some people wanting to immigrate.
      We wouldn’t have this scum sucking sociopath as President. Or millions of OTHER citizens either. Like..well..you or me. After all. We’re ALL descendants of immigrants. PERIOD. Except for native Americans that is. Indians. You know..the ones the USG tried to murder into extinction.
      fuk. Too bad Trump wasn’t born on a reservation.

      Just think…we might have Chief Toilet Twitterer as President. Instead of a dangerous moron.

      01/28/17 5:35 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      34

      Don protects….his investments. —-nearly 3,000 Americans were killed by citizens from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey in the same time period — with the bulk of those killed being victims of the 9/11 attacks. People from those Muslim majority countries, however, are still welcome to apply for U.S. visas and travel permits.

      In a striking coincidence, Trump’s sprawling business empire, which he has refused to rescind ownership of, holds multi-million dollar licensing and development deals in all of those countries, raising potential conflict of interest concerns and alarming questions over what actually went into the decision process behind Friday’s executive order.

      01/28/17 6:04 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      35

      No point in being cynical. It’s later than you think.

      01/28/17 6:45 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      36

      Speaking of resignations, the CIA is working on Trump’s.

      Intel Memo: “Donald Trump determined to screw US with his conflicts of interests”

      01/28/17 7:04 AM | Comment Link

    • “Entlassungen“: Was wirklich im US-Außenministerium passierte | N8Waechter.info said...

      37

      […] zum englischsprachigen Original-Beitrag […]

      01/28/17 9:10 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      38

      WHEN Trump is done investigating Obamas birth record and the 50,000,000 illegal voters, maybe he can read up on his Saudi friends support of terrorists.

      The declassified U.S. intelligence report known as the “28 pages” claims the Saudi government and its wealthy citizens actively funded Muslim radicalism through mosques and charities in the U.S. around the time of 9/11 attacks. The 19 hijackers were in close contact with Saudi nationals before carrying out the terror attack, which became the worst one in U.S. history.

      Don’t let them in….unless they got money you can get your greedy hands on.

      01/28/17 9:57 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      39

      Greedy tiny hands

      01/28/17 9:58 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      40

      So to recap, NOBODY at State resigned over a moral dilemma. I was worried for a moment. Let the extreme vetting commence.

      Nothing is really different. “Trump did not appear out of nowhere. He is the logical and most grotesque expression of a variety of trends we have allowed to fester: endless war, a virtually omnipotent presidency, unlimited war powers from spying to due-process-free imprisonment to torture to assassinations, repeated civil liberties erosions in the name of illusory guarantees of security, and the sustained demonization of Muslims as scary, primitive, uniquely violent Others.

      A country that engages in endless war against multiple countries not only kills a lot of people but degrades its own citizenry. Trump is the rotted fruit that inevitably sprouts from such fetid roots.” Intercept.

      01/28/17 10:11 AM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      41

      All you chicken little types- Bauer, Pitch- stop bitching and wanting to impress others with your dire warnings- as if most discerning adults don’t already have the same thoughts and facts and we had them much earlier.
      Get used to living in an imperfect empire- you can always move to ……well, you pick the perfect country if you can find one. What about Chad?

      01/28/17 11:57 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      42

      Mitch, tell JP you are full.

      01/28/17 12:18 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      43

      Dear Don, Why leave out India and Egypt, eighth and ninth on the list, and include Libya, tenth? Why include Yemen, sixth on the list, but exclude second-place Afghanistan and fourth-place Pakistan?

      And Mitch wants to know why you left off Saudi Arabia.

      01/28/17 12:40 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      44

      NEWSFLASH: The Trumpster just tweeted that green card holders with Gold Cards will be allowed to enter the US.

      01/28/17 12:48 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      45

      Bauer- get your own website and stop fouling up PVB’s.

      01/28/17 1:31 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      46

      There is another floater in the Poole.

      01/28/17 1:52 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      47

      Bauer -why not have some character and stop leaching off PVB to make your pathetic comments? Pay for your own site.

      01/28/17 4:33 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      48

      JP, if you would change your Depends more often you wouldn’t get that rash and be such a miserable person. Isn’t it time for Mitch to give you your sponge bath?

      01/28/17 6:05 PM | Comment Link

    • bloodypitchfork said...

      49

      John Poole said…

      “All you chicken little types- Bauer, Pitch- stop bitching and wanting to impress others with your dire warnings- as if most discerning adults don’t already have the same thoughts and facts and we had them much earlier.”

      Same thoughts” Hahahahahaha..fucking spare us. If you did, you wouldn’t be asking us to “join” your so called team” Moreover, no one is “bitching” here. We point out things that at the moment, may be new observations or bits of news. As for “wanting to impress others”…hahahahahahaha, pal, you really do need to get a grip.

      “Bauer -why not have some character and stop leaching off PVB to make your pathetic comments?”

      If Peter doesn’t want Rich here, let HIM say so. On the other hand, I distinctly remember Peter saying he’s a believer in the 1st Amendment. Like..in 100 or so posts. As far as “pathetic” goes, that’s in the eye of the beholder. I think Rich’s comments are dead on most of the time, true in regards to facts, satirical sometimes, asinine sometimes, funny sometimes, irreverent sometimes, and sometimes just plain pissed off.

      On the other hand, vs you, I’d rather poke my eye out than read your drivel. Now fuck off Poole.

      01/28/17 6:06 PM | Comment Link

    • Kyzl Orda said...

      50

      Hey Gang, some of us enjoy all your comments, Voltaire-style. Let’s not do the right’s work for them, yeah? One of their minders is probably eating popcorn, enjoying this.

      Remember who, or what, the real enemy is – and it isn’t each other

      01/28/17 6:22 PM | Comment Link

    • Lou Coatney (aka BlackArrow on WashPost, Spectator, etc.) said...

      51

      Victoria Nuland is leaving?? YAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!

      So a fair settlement of the neocons’ Ukraine coup/war is now possible?

      Like a commenter on Washington Times said, waking up every day now is like Christmas. 🙂

      01/28/17 6:49 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      52

      Kyzl,

      I enjoy Mitch, JP and anyone who gives a shit about this country enough to come here and give their two cents. We have more in common that the sheeple who don’t give a damn about the direction of this country.

      Not coincidence the number one movie today is Split.

      01/28/17 6:56 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      53

      Pitch and Bauer just use PVBs site to blow off steam. Both of you should be embarrassed at exploiting a “freebie”. Set up your own site and pay the cost. You want to spit out your venom for free. That is truly disgusting. Free speech I guess to both of you means not having to pay the cost of shooting your mouths off.

      01/28/17 8:41 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      54

      Old man yells, hey kids, get off my lawn!

      01/29/17 7:01 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      55

      But it’s not your lawn, mister.

      01/29/17 7:27 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      56

      Mitch, please come back. Pitch and Rich are saying mean things again.

      01/29/17 7:28 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      57

      Mitch is stuck at the airport. Apparently there are some really pissed off travelers there.

      01/29/17 7:30 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      58

      Trump: Things are going nicely,

      That’s what Nero said.

      01/29/17 7:31 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      59

      Trump is not dividing US. He is doing everything he can to UNITE US.

      01/29/17 7:32 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      60

      Trump: What do I have to do for you people to kick me out of office? I am losing a fortune every day I waste here, I am seventy. I won’t last four more years. As soon as I make good on my promise to Putin, I will pull a Saul Goodman act that you will have to kick me out. Muslims, check. Then the Blacks. Right, that’s the ticket out of here.

      01/29/17 7:47 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      61

      Who needs intelligence when you have Bannon?

      The little dick-hater Trump is reshuffling the US National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Steve Bannon.
      Mr Bannon will join high-level discussions about national security.

      The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs will attend when discussions pertain to their areas.

      Under previous administrations, the director and joint chiefs attended all meetings of the NSC’s inner circle, the principals’ committee.

      01/29/17 7:56 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      62

      Hope Trump pushes for term limits. How did that action in Yemen recently work out Mr. President? Stop the Wars. So glad Mr Nuland became a strong Hillary supporter with his Cookie monster wife. How are the new 2500 settlements in the West Bank going? BDS

      01/29/17 8:58 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      63

      Trumped stumped: Green cards mean GO. The idiots should sign their executive actions with pencils.

      01/29/17 11:16 AM | Comment Link

    • “Entlassungen“: Was wirklich im US-Außenministerium passierte | volksbetrug.net said...

      64

      […] zum englischsprachigen Original-Beitrag […]

      01/29/17 11:21 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      65

      With the Trumpster it is always about the money:

      Green Card holders are treated as resident taxpayers (lawful permanent residents) in the USA, even if they live abroad. They are also obligated to disclose the amount of their worldwide income on an annual basis and to submit a US income tax return in the USA, if their income exceeds the minimum filing threshold.

      Can you tax someone you won’t allow back in the country?

      Taxation without representation doesn’t quite explain it.

      01/29/17 11:25 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      66

      “Your a loser” Donald Trump. “I will close Gitmo” B. Obama.”Voting D or R is Democracy” Some loser person in usa! Why is it not law for all people to have to vote? Pay them to go to polls and put in a check next to NONE OF THE ABOVE, or write in a pet’s name!

      01/29/17 11:40 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      67

      I want to tell you. The people are the power. Peace…Get out of our way. Have a nice day!

      01/29/17 11:42 AM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      68

      Cuomo in NY doing ads that look like campaign. I will not vote D or R again.

      01/29/17 11:52 AM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      69

      Furor Erupts at Trump Dictum

      Trump der furor, what a dick

      01/29/17 12:03 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      70

      We don’t need no stickin government.

      It wasn’t until Friday — the day Trump signed the order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspending all refugee admission for 120 days — that career homeland security staff were allowed to see the final details of the order, a person familiar with the matter said.

      01/29/17 12:04 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      71

      NSA intercept of Trump call to rasPutin: “It is working out nicely.”

      01/29/17 12:07 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      72

      NEWSFLASH– The incredible chucklehead Steve Bannon personally overruled a decision by the Department of Homeland Security not to include green card holders in the president’s temporary ban on travel from Muslim countries.

      Protests erupted at airports across the country over the weekend after DHS agents began enforcing an executive order signed by Trump by detaining legal permanent residents who were returning from abroad. On Saturday, a federal judge stayed the detentions and ordered the green card holders to be released, but CNN reported that the mayhem could have been avoided if the White House had listened to the guidance of DHS lawyers in the first place.

      But It was what Bannon wanted. Me so angry.

      01/29/17 12:13 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      73

      Trump resistance: YOU WONT LIKE ME WHEN I AM ANGRY.

      01/29/17 12:17 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      74

      With the little dick-hater it is always about money:

      “Somebody with aptitude and conviction should buy the FAKE NEWS and failing @nytimes and either run it correctly or let it fold with dignity!”– little dick Trump

      01/29/17 12:21 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      75

      The idiot who thought this should resign:

      Legal residents who have a green card and are currently in the United States should meet with a consular officer before leaving the country, a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. Officials did not clarify the criteria that would qualify someone for a waiver, other than that it would be granted “in the national interest.”

      But the week-old administration appeared to be implementing the order chaotically, with agencies and officials around the globe interpreting it in different ways.

      So at least you can get on a plane to Washington. Can’t wait to see the line outside the State Dept.

      01/29/17 12:29 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      76

      Btw- the idiot put a freeze on new federal employees, so that line will get longer and longer…

      01/29/17 1:18 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      77

      Donna Brazile to end up in Unemployment lines. Food Stamps next? Wave the Flag! Go DNC !

      01/29/17 1:54 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      78

      Bauer, stop mooching off PVB’s website – you cheapskate. I’m 72 years old but not in a nursing home nor will I end up in one. When the time comes I’ll check myself via a single 12 gauge shell to the head. My wife and siblings understand and agree such an ending is consistent with my current life arc. So, what is your plan?

      01/29/17 1:56 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      79

      Helium is good.

      01/29/17 2:13 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      80

      I do not get paid by the hour. I do not pay hundreds if not thousands a month to spread scat. Have a nice day!

      01/29/17 2:29 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      81

      JP, such a sick violent thing to do. But if you are already brain dead, how much damage can you do? You already shot your mouth off.

      01/29/17 2:47 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      82

      On Topic… Victoria Nuland has exited the building. Her husband (PNAC) was/is a pig. He left the R’s to join “I’m with Her”. Where does O work now? How is the TPP going? Agitate, Educate, Organize. Have a nice day!

      01/29/17 2:50 PM | Comment Link

    • John Poole said...

      83

      Bauer- so I realize you want to obey Jesus’s orders. My children are fine with the arrangement. I guess you find pooping in a bed in a rest home would be the highlight of your life.

      01/29/17 2:52 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      84

      “Your Fired”. Unknown Bafoon. Have a nice day!

      01/29/17 2:53 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      85

      “We are Exceptional” Another Bafoon, usa, the world.

      01/29/17 2:54 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      86

      I’m with the Raisin Party! Make Amerika Great Again.

      01/29/17 2:56 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      87

      sorry. Grape! Damn delete button. 2k a month?

      01/29/17 3:04 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      88

      Obama allowed ban to happen.

      01/29/17 3:12 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      89

      The Corporations, Oligrchs, etc.. Have a nice day. Love your neighbors. Peas…

      01/29/17 3:16 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      90

      Im with her. Chelsea Manning. Go Girl!

      01/29/17 3:17 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      91

      D’s are Good, R’s bad. Shut up!

      01/29/17 3:18 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      92

      Airport Moran’s protesters. Quit trying to take over this (wave the flag) site RT pigs!

      01/29/17 3:20 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      93

      Where is The Pied Piper ?… Will Hollywood Save the U.S. ?…. (Who will pay for the commercials? THIS just in, are you a dumb fuck or paid for? Work for the peaple. Keep oN…eNJOY

      01/29/17 3:25 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      94

      (DELETED)

      01/29/17 3:25 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      95

      European countries plan extreme vetting of American Donald Trump supporters for signs of mental illness, paranoid delusions, gun obsession on a case by nutcase basis. America has to promise to take them back.

      01/29/17 3:27 PM | Comment Link

    • chuck said...

      96

      “Yes We Scan”.

      01/29/17 3:44 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      97

      Speaking of resignation—quitting, the Trumpsters have been setting the record for surrendering their ignorant positions, from the news blackouts at the evil agencies like the EPA to the Syrian menace with green cards. They are surrending faster than the French. When will Little dick Donald resign?

      01/29/17 4:21 PM | Comment Link

    • RICH BAUER said...

      98

      “We should not simply turn away individuals who already have lawful U.S. visas or green cards-like those who have risked their lives serving alongside our forces overseas or who call America their home,” the statement by committee Chairman Michael McCaul said. “We must be focused instead on putting in place tougher screening measures to weed out terror suspects while facilitating the entry of peaceful, freedom-loving people of all religions who see the United States as a beacon of hope.”

      It also said that “in light of the confusion and uncertainty” after the president’s executive order, “it is clear adjustments are needed.”

      “In the future, such policy changes should be better coordinated with the agencies implementing them and with Congress to ensure we get it right-and don’t undermine our nation’s credibility while trying to restore it,” the statement said.

      When the little dick Trump makes a mistake it is HUUUUUUUUGE.

      01/29/17 7:47 PM | Comment Link

    • State of Irrelevance | The American Conservative said...

      99

      […] entire senior management team had resigned in protest. Actually, most of the six were de facto fired. Several were connected to the Clinton emails or Clinton’s handling of Benghazi. One, Pat […]

      02/1/17 12:00 AM | Comment Link

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