Presidential First 90 Days Thread

Ooh-Rah said:
if the perceived shit show that his transition team is broadcasting
Click to expand...

Who exactly is doing to broadcasting? I'll admit I haven't followed this with a microscope, but the press has put a bullseye on him ever since he exposed them for the clowns that they are... and they do quite a bit of broadcasting.
 
I get email updates whenever the Mitchell Institute releases a new report or advisory. This morning I got one with their recommended immediate actions to "get the Air Force back to a level capable of meeting the nation's security strategy".

  1. Eliminate the defense provisions of the budget control act (BCA) of 2011
  2. Reset USAF combat force structure objectives to a minimum of one combat coded squadron of new bombers per Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) (120 combat coded; 184 total), and seven combat coded squadrons of fighters per AEF (1680 combat coded; 2469 total).
  3. Revitalize America’s aging ICBM nuclear deterrent and command and control force.
  4. Initiate a new build of the “F-22B" with latest sensor, processing, and avionics enhancements—offer sales to Japan, UK, Australia, and Israel to offset starting the production line.
  5. To optimize cost efficiency and recapitalization of our geriatric fighter force increase the USAF production rate of the F-35 from 43 a year in FY17, to 60/yr in FY18, to 100/yr in FY20.
  6. Increase Air Force active duty personnel to numbers commensurate with above force structure changes and other service demands (approx 335,000).
 
Webb would be a very smart move on Trump's part...but I'm not yet convinced he will make the smart moves. Giuliani is another guy with loads of street cred.
 
Giuliani has some business dealings that might hamper his confirmation hearings. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-rudy-giuliani.html?_r=0

Some highlights:
-Gave paid speeches to MeK
-Consulted for the Qatari govt.
-Consulted for TransCanada (owner of the Keystone XL pipeline)

While Rudy was never in the same position as Clinton was when she received donations from foreign governments, it seems like you could levvy a lot of the same arguments again Rudy, should his name be put in front of the Senate.
 
Devildoc said:
So, Jeff Sessions as AG and Mike Pompeo for CIA.

Sessions has AG creds as Alabama AG, was a US attorney, so he should be good to go. Also former Army officer; I did not know that. Pompeo is former Army officer, JD from Hah-vahd, but otherwise no intel background.

CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
Click to expand...
Sessions was also only one of two individuals denied a federal judge position by a REPUBLICAN congress due to his on-record racist comments.
Reed
 
reed11b said:
Sessions was also only one of two individuals denied a federal judge position by a REPUBLICAN congress due to his on-record racist comments.
Reed
Click to expand...

I read about that. I also saw that the denial was politically motivated and the comments taken out of context, though I don't know what the comments were.

Of course, I have no dog in the fight, and base the question if he is qualified solely on his resume. Whatever remarks he made, if they are still 'big enough' to be an issue, I hope it gets called out in the vetting process.
 
reed11b said:
Sessions was also only one of two individuals denied a federal judge position by a REPUBLICAN congress due to his on-record racist comments.
Reed
Click to expand...

Devildoc said:
I also saw that the denial was politically motivated and the comments taken out of context, though I don't know what the comments were.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with you, Reed. Let me first open with a little bit of full disclosure: Sen. Sessions is from my hometown, and as an attorney, his name was a rather common one in my household, seeing as my father was an LEO for many years here.

What does that have to do with anything? Simple (and @Devildoc, this will answer your question), the comments were a part of gallows humor during a murder investigation. Specifically, it was the Michael Donald murder (which my father responded to, as it was in his precinct). Michael Donald was a 19yo black male who was kidnapped and murdered by Henry Hays and Tiger Knowles at the command of Henry's father, Bennie Jack Hays. Bennie Jack was evil personified, and everyone in the county knew it. He was also a senior member of Alabama's chapter of United Klan of America. In fact, this case holds the dubious distinction of being the last lynching of a black man by the KKK in America. A simple Google search will bring up all of the gory details, although I can give it a little more hometown flavor, but I'll be kind enough to save that for later.

While certain members of the police department wanted to blame Donald's murder on a drug deal gone wrong, it was believed by the chief and several others that this was a race issue, and the investigation ended in the arrests of the Hayses, Knowles, and one other accomplice. Since this was, indeed, a race based crime, it was well within the federal government's right to try it, and the convicted parties sentenced to life in prison without parole. A state trial, however, would obviously be a capital case, with the death penalty on the table. This required coordination between the DOJ and the DA's office. While Chris Galanos (another name I was highly familiar with growing up) was the attorney that led the state prosecution of Henry and Bennie Jack, the attorney in charge of coordinating the entire effort between state and feds was one Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III.

The end result of the case was that Knowles and Cox were sentenced to life without parole; Henry Hays was sentenced to death, and was executed in 1997; and that crotchety evil fuck Bennie Jack suffered a medical event during his trial. His getting rolled out of the courtroom on a stretcher was newsreel footage for years. While the initial trial was declared a mistrial, the stress of the state case -- and knowledge that he was going to lose just as badly as his son -- resulted in Bennie Jack suffering a fatal heart attack before a new trial could be convened. As for UKA, they were sued into oblivion, with their national headquarters turned over to Donald's mother, who herself passed away roughly a year after the civil verdict was reached, if my memory serves me right.

The specific comments that Sessions made during the investigation were pertaining to statements made by certain individuals that after the Klan meeting which begat the plan to lynch a random black guy, they sat around and smoked some pot. Now, I don't know if you have any "Okie From Muskogee" types up there in the Pacific Northwest, but that doesn't exactly comport with the Great White Protestant Saviour image that the Klan tried to project here in the South. Also, keep in mind that the consumption of marijuana was nowhere near as socially accepted in the nation at that time, no matter what geographic region you hailed from. Sessions's comments about "The Klan were okay, until they smoked some pot," were later determined to be gallows humor. Had he been a JAG officer today, it would've been akin to a Man Love Thursday joke with some hajji bestiality tossed in just for shits and giggles.

Keep in mind, also, that what Sen. Kennedy and the like did to Sessions was a dress rehearsal for what they did to Robert Bork. The difference is that Jeff Sessions was able to recover and went on to a successful political career; Robert Bork became synonymous with all-out destruction in a confirmation process ("Borking"), and died as an almost-was.

Furthermore, the efforts of Jeff Sessions in United States v. Greenough (a former Mobile Co. Commissioner) led to the dismantling of the old county commisioner system -- in which three people, typically well-connected white males, were elected to run the entire county, and the role of mayor rotated between the three -- and the implementation of the current system with a mayor and city councilpersons, which ensures proper representation of the minority districts. While Fred Richardson is a turd, he's a turd that would never have had a chance if it weren't for Jeff Sessions's efforts in dismantling the Greenough/Mims/Doyle carousel.

I disagree with Sessions when it comes to the legalization of marijuana. I'm undecided about his immigration stance; nobody's ever adequately enforced the laws that we already have, so I can't say for sure if they are effective or not. However, from the positive effects that he has had on the Mobile community, I am confident in saying that Jeff Sessions is not a racist.

Epilogue: The attorney that swears that Sessions is racist has, himself, been thoroughly chastised by the 11th Circuit for making bullshit claims about racism. I wouldn't exactly call him "reliable."
 
Marauder06 said:
Yep.
Click to expand...

Well now so am I, kinda. My buddy (who is an Army lawyer) claims he is the real life version of every over-the-top stereotype of a warmongering General you have ever seen in any move or TV show.

Now the good Captain is also a self proclaimed liberal who voted for Hillary so I have to question his bias just a bit.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Marauder06
Combined/Joint SOF Panel at West Point--Your Thoughts?
Replies
5
Views
3K
Gunz
Gunz
F.CASTLE
Revived rucking information from the way back machine.
Replies
3
Views
3K
Mad boomer
Mad boomer
Ravage
In the line of fire
Replies
3
Views
4K
digrar
digrar
Marauder06
Full Spectrum Ops in the Homeland- a "Vision for the Future?"
Replies
2
Views
2K
Red-Dot
Red-Dot
Ravage
One Team’s Approach to Village Stability Operations
Replies
0
Views
2K
Ravage
Ravage
Back
Top