5 Thoughts for January 29, 2017

1. Shields at Maximum: There are dozens of large protests all around the country, two federal judges have already ruled against him, and everyone is mocking his administration's sophomoric acts of his first 10 days in office. Rather than face the media and work for the American public, The Emperor has gone into hiding in the White House and is screening, "Finding Dory". The defensive posture started on Day 1, and remains in full force. Like I said, if you want to accelerate the meltdown, keep antagonizing him by any and all means. 
2. Bannon, the News Media, and Irony: Steve Bannon is not nearly the bright strategist everyone makes him out to be. Everything they've done has been to either appeal to their base or to disembowel the enthusiasm of the opposition. But their base is limited and continually shrinking as many people who crossed over to vote have now come to realize that you have to take The Emperor literally and seriously, and are appalled at the guy they've voted for. Then there's the lack of negative information (emails) to cut into the enthusiasm of the opposition. Then, just the other day Bannon told the media straight up to "shut up". Yeah, that'll work to shut them up. Not. Bannon is now motivating the opposition, including the press, to step up and fight back.
3. The Disarray: The Emperor's EO on foreign entry wasn't clear, so DHS first interpreted it as to mean that green card holders (lawful, permanent residents) were excluded from the EO. Steve Bannon then came out and said that they were included in the ban. Priebus later contradicted Bannon and said that they weren't included in the ban. Four federal judges ruled that green card holders weren't in the ban. DHS is currently interpreting the ban as including green cards, going against judicial rulings. In response, Priebus now says, "It is better to be safe than sorry," which is obviously not a defense of a violation of the US Constitution and federal laws. Welcome to the disarray brought on by The Emperor's Team and the second constitutional crisis (the first is the continued violation of the emoluments clause) in their first 10 days.
4. The Emperor's "Radical Islamic Terrorist" Moment: The Emperor and conservatives had spent all of last year criticizing Hillary and President Obama over their avoidance to use the term, "radical Islamic terrorists". The reason why they avoided this term was to isolate terrorism from Islam. Now, The Emperor has found his own "radical Islamic terrorist" moment, when his office released a three-paragraph statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, excluding any reference to Jews. Their excuse for not mentioning Jews in relation to the Holocaust: Inclusion for all people who suffered. Hmm. So, when it comes to terrorism, they don't mind if all of Islam is either mistakenly or intentionally included, but when it comes to the Holocaust, they don't want anyone left out, so much so that they'll exclude any reference to the Jews who died in concentration camps. Okay then.
5. The Straw Man and Other Rhetorical Fallacies: I have only recently taken notice that The Emperor routinely uses a rhetorical fallacy -- the straw man argument (among many others) -- to avoid facts or criticisms. For instance, in response to criticism from Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham over his EO on foreign entry, The Emperor took to Twitter to say that they, "should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III." Now, I don't think these two men need to be defended, but the Press should take it upon themselves to highlight the routine usage of such rhetorical fallacies by The Emperor. I would start by issuing Face Palms. This particular one is deserving of three Face Palms for moderate misuse of rhetorical fallacies. 🤦🤦🤦