Paul Krugman on Trump the strongman:

In 2015 the city of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, was graced with a new public monument: a giant gold-plated sculpture portraying the country’s president on horseback. This may strike you as a bit excessive. But cults of personality are actually the norm in the “stans,” the Central Asian countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union, all of which are ruled by strongmen who surround themselves with tiny cliques of wealthy crony capitalists.

Americans used to find the antics of these regimes, with their tinpot dictators, funny. But who’s laughing now?

We are, after all, about to hand over power to a man who has spent his whole adult life trying to build a cult of personality around himself; remember, his “charitable” foundation spent a lot of money buying a six-foot portrait of its founder. Meanwhile, one look at his Twitter account is enough to show that victory has done nothing to slake his thirst for ego gratification. So we can expect lots of self-aggrandizement once he’s in office. I don’t think it will go as far as gold-plated statues, but really, who knows?

It already has gone that far, and beyond – all these Trump Towers cluttering up the planet are gigantic gold-plated statues. His current business is a matter of being paid millions by gullible developers for the use of his name on their buildings – his name is his only contribution, and they pay him millions for it. Can you get much more self-aggrandizing than that?

I know that many people are still trying to convince themselves that the incoming administration will govern normally, despite the obviously undemocratic instincts of the new commander in chief and the questionable legitimacy of the process that brought him to power. Some Trump apologistshave even taken to declaring that we needn’t worry about corruption from the incoming clique, because rich men don’t need more money. Seriously.

But let’s get real. Everything we know suggests that we’re entering an era of epic corruption and contempt for the rule of law, with no restraint whatsoever.

How could this happen in a nation that has long prided itself as a role model for democracies everywhere?

Several ways, no doubt, but without The Apprentice, it probably wouldn’t have happened.

The Wall Street Journal tells us that Trump’s childish blurts on Twitter are actually all part of his cunning plan.

In fact, there seem to be specific objectives behind many of Mr. Trump’s seemingly scattershot missives and comments. Often, say those who know him, he is posturing or positioning in pursuit of broader goals. He doesn’t mind roiling the waters in the process—and, as a consequence, some of what he says isn’t to be taken literally.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who speaks regularly with Mr. Trump and is developing a lecture series and book examining Trumpism, suggests the president-elect is in this regard similar to Franklin Roosevelt, who sometimes seemed to cultivate chaos in preparing the ground for his initiatives. Mr. Gingrich also predicts the style won’t change:  “My advice is to relax. It’s going to be this way for eight years.”

In other words…he’s being an asshole on purpose. Well no kidding, but he’s still being an asshole, and there are still a lot of compelling reasons to think that’s not a good thing for him to do.

He’s doing it as part of his deal-making strategy, Gerald Seib goes on. He’s doing it to set the agenda. He’s doing it to distract everyone – oh look, a squirrel.

Certainly there is danger in leaving the world unsure which messages to take literally, and in trying to handle subjects as sensitive as nuclear-weapons strategy on the fly. But it’s also likely Mr. Trump knows exactly what he is doing.

Again: no kidding, and that is not the issue. The issue is that the way he’s carrying on is degrading to the whole fucking country, and the fact that he may be doing it for reasons does nothing to change that. The casual acknowledgement followed by dismissal of the danger of tweeting about nukes is enough to demonstrate that.

Again, the Times says Trump lies, in a headline:

Why Corporations Are Helping Donald Trump Lie About Jobs

The byline is The Editorial Board, so it’s not just one writer, it’s basically the whole outfit.

President-elect Donald Trump would like everybody to believe that his election is energizing the economy by forcing businesses to create thousands of jobs in the United States. And companies like Sprint seem perfectly happy to go along with this fiction because they know they can profit handsomely by cozying up to Mr. Trump.

They point to his lie about the 5000 Sprint jobs, and add:

In sum, Mr. Trump’s statement was hot air, just like his tweet in which he thanked himself for an increase in a consumer confidence index last month.

Lie, fiction, hot air.

It’s easy to see why SoftBank and Sprint might want to help Mr. Trump take credit for creating jobs.

It’s because he’s anti-regulation, including anti-trust regulation that would hinder their plans.

This is crony capitalism, with potentially devastating consequences. If Mr. Trump appoints people to the antitrust division and the F.C.C. who are willing to wave through a Sprint/T-Mobile merger, he will do lasting damage to the economy that far outweighs any benefit from 5,000 jobs, jobs that might have been created even without the merger. Individuals and businesses will find wireless service costs a lot more when they have only Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile/Sprint to choose from.

Also mergers cause huge job losses, not gains.

It has become abundantly clear that Mr. Trump is easily distracted by shiny objects, especially if they reflect back on him. He’s more interested in boasting about how he personally saved a thousand jobs at Carrier, say, than in policy details that could make a difference in the lives of tens of millions of workers. Never mind that Carrier is only keeping about 800 jobs and that its chief executive said that the company would get rid of some of those anyway through automation. This should greatly worry Americans, especially people who are counting on Mr. Trump to revive the economy and help the middle class.

They’re calling him stupid as well as a liar, as they must, because he so obviously is.

The Woodward-Costa interview with Trump last April, part 2.

Woodward asks the great pussygrabber for his thoughts on why Lincoln succeeded. He doesn’t say what he means by “succeed” and of course Trump doesn’t ask.

But he does answer.

DT: Well, I think Lincoln succeeded for numerous reasons. He was a man who was of great intelligence, which most presidents would be. But he was a man of great intelligence, but he was also a man that did something that was a very vital thing to do at that time. Ten years before or 20 years before, what he was doing would never have even been thought possible. So he did something that was a very important thing to do, and especially at that time. And Nixon failed, I think to a certain extent, because of his personality. You know? It was just that personality. Very severe, very exclusive. In other words, people couldn’t come in. And people didn’t like him. I mean, people didn’t like him.

The mind reels. The mind fucking reels. He sounds like a fifth grader answering an exam question when he hasn’t done the homework. “…he was also a man that did something that was a very vital thing to do at that time.” That’s what you say when you know nothing whatever about the subject.

After that Woodward gets very pointed. He points out that Nixon wasn’t just disliked, he was a criminal. He did serial criminal acts.

BW: And time and time again, break in, get the FBI on this, get the IRS on.

DT: Sure. Sure.

BW: I mean, it is an appalling legacy of criminality.

DT: Right.

BW: And at the end, the day he resigned, an amazing day, he gives that speech which is kind of free association about mom and dad.

DT:    Right.

BW: He’s sweating. And then he said, “Always remember: Others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” The piston was hate.

DT: Well, and he was actually talking very much about himself, because ultimately, ultimately, that is what destroyed him. Hate is what destroyed him. And such an interesting figure. I mean, you would know that better than anybody. But such an interesting figure. And such a man of great talent. I mean, Nixon had great potential, great talent. Unfortunately it was a very sad legacy in the end. It turned out to be a very sad legacy. Such an interesting figure to study. I think. . . .

BW: Do you take any lessons from that? Because what did is he converted the presidency to an instrument of personal revenge.

BAM.

President Pussygrabber is doing that already, and he’s not even president yet.

BW: You’re my enemy, I’m going to get you. I’m going to get so-and-so on you.

DT:  Yeah. No, I don’t. I don’t see that. What I do see is — what I am amazed at is, I’m somebody that gets along with people. And sometimes I’ll notice, I’ll be, I have the biggest crowds. Actually we’ve purposefully kept the crowds down this past week. You know, we’ve gone into small venues and we’re turning away thousands and thousands of people, which I hate, but we didn’t want to have the protest. You know, when you have a room of 2,000 people, you can pretty much keep it without the protesters. When you have 21 or 25,000 people coming in, people can start standing up and screaming. What has been amazing to me — I’m a very inclusive person. I actually am somebody that gets along with people. And yet from a political standpoint, although I certainly have a lot of fans — you just said hello to Senator Sessions. Cruz and everybody wanted Senator Sessions as much as they’ve wanted anybody, and he’s a highly respected guy, great guy. And we have some— and he endorsed me. We have some amazing endorsements, some amazing people, but I’m amazed at the level of animosity toward me by some people. I’m amazed.

RC: But you’re going to have to overcome that, Mr. Trump, if you’re going to be the nominee and the president.

DT:  I think you may be right. I think you may be right.

Oh god oh god oh god.

Going back to the roots of the catastrophe. Last April Bob Woodward and Robert Costa interviewed Trump. They asked him when the dream was born. He indicated that the earliest hint was perhaps while Romney was campaigning against Obama. He thought Romney was weak – very, very weak.

I thought that — I thought Obama was very beatable. Very, very beatable. You know, you had a president who was not doing well, to put it nicely. And I looked at that very seriously. I had some difficulty because I was doing some big jobs that were finishing up, which I wanted to do. My children were younger. And four years makes a big difference. And I also had a signed contract to do “The Apprentice” with NBC. Which in all fairness, you know, sounds like — when you’re talking about “president” it doesn’t sound much, but when you have a two-hour show, prime time, every once a week on a major network . . .  .

Certainly. It’s a tough choice. When you star on a quality show like The Apprentice, that’s stiff competition…if you think of the presidency as a chance to get more celebrity and money, and nothing else.

So, Woodward asks, when did the presidency win? It’s a big decision.

BW: This is the big one.

DT:  Big decision. Yeah, this is a big decision. And I say, sometimes I’ll say it in the speeches. It takes guts to run for president, especially if you’re not a politician, you’ve never . . .  .

BW: When did it become yes?

In other words, don’t go off on a tangent on how gutsy you are, answer the fucking question.

DT: What happened is, during that time that I was just talking about, I started saying I’d like to do it, but I wasn’t really in a position to do it. I was doing a lot of things, and I had a signed contract with NBC. But I started thinking about it. And the press started putting me in polls, and I was winning in the polls. In fact, the day before, I was on “Meet the Press” the day before I announced I wasn’t going to do it, and I got signed for another two years of “The Apprentice” and everything else. Which, by the way, I don’t know if you saw, but “The Apprentice” is a big thing. I made two hundred . . .  .

BW: You made a lot of money.

DT: Yeah. You were shocked. Remember this crazy man, Lawrence O’Donnell — he’s a total crazy nut — he said, Donald Trump only made a million dollars with “The Apprentice.” I said, “A million dollars?” You know, when you have a show that’s essentially number one almost every time it goes on, you can name it. . . . So anyway, when they added it all up — and these are certified numbers, because you have to do certified numbers — it came out to $213 million. Okay? That’s what I made on “The Apprentice.” That’s just — and that’s one of my small things. That’s what I made. You know? So it was put at $213 million, and it was certified. And your friend Joe in the morning said, “There’s no way he only made. . . .” They had a big fight, and O’Donnell, Lawrence O’Donnell started crying. I never saw anything like it. Do you remember? He started crying. [Laughter] He actually started crying. But that shows the level of hatred that people have. But what happened is, I made — I had a very, very successful show. And they put me in polls, and I was essentially leading right at the top, without doing any work. Not one speech, not one anything. But any time I was in a poll, I did very well in the poll.

And there you have it. We owe the fact that this stupid, ignorant, conceited, cruel, lying, cheating fraud of a man is president and could trigger a global nuclear apocalypse the next time he loses his temper to an idiotic television show. Donald Fucking Trump is president because of The Apprentice.

Neil Postman wrote a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death. He didn’t mean it this literally.

Trump then describes what he calls his thought process.

RC: What happened between 2011 and 2014?

DT: Well, that’s what — I mean. . . . Between 2011 and 2014? I would say, just thought process. Only thought process.

HOPE HICKS: A lot of deals.

DT:  Yeah, I mean, I was doing — but in terms of this, only thought process. So what happened, but during this period of time, I said, you know, this is something I really would like to do. I think I’d do it really well. Obviously the public seems to like me, because without any . . .  .

Why? Why did he think he would do it really well? It’s an utterly ridiculous thing to think, so why did he think it? High name recognition is not a reason.

Eventually he decided. Did the family object? Oh sure.

BW: Did anyone recommend no? Did your wife, or did your son?

DT: Oh. Yeah.

BW: Did anyone say, “Dad, Donald, don’t do it?”

DT: I think my wife would much have preferred that I didn’t do it. She’s a very private person. She was a very, very successful — very, very successful model. She made a tremendous amount of money and had great success and dealt at the . . .  .

BW: What’d she say?

DT: She was, she said, we have such a great life. “Why do you want to do this?” She was . . .  .

BW: And what’d you say?

DT: I said, “I sort of have to do it, I think. I really have to do it.” Because it’s something I’d be — I could do such a great job. I really wanted to give something back. I don’t want to act overly generous, but I really wanted to give something back.

BW: Well, that’s the important moment, when you say, I have to do it.

DT:  Yeah, I had to.

BW: That’s the product of the endless internal dialogue.

DT: Well, she’s a very private person, and very smart person. I’m sure you’ve seen a couple of interviews that she’s done. She’s very smart. And there’s no games. You know, it’s boom, it’s all business. But a very smart person. And considered one of the great beauties.

She’s some of the very best arm candy. Very best. Top. Other rich dudes don’t have.

Also he has an excellent grip on all the things. Excellent.

RC: Let’s say you’re the president, though. How do you see the office of the presidency?

BW: Other words, what’s the definition of the job?

DT: Okay. I think more than anything else, it’s the security of our nation. That’s always going to be – that’s number one, two and three. After that, many things come into focus. It’s health, it’s health care. It’s jobs. It’s the economy. But number one —and I say number one, two, three — is the security of the country. The military, being strong, not letting bad things happen to our country from the outside. And I certainly think that that’s always going to be my number one part of that definition.

Oh yay. I feel so cozy and safe now.

End of part one.

Muhammad Sabir is the founder of Slumabad, an organization that works to give homeless children access to education and economic opportunities. He posted a photo on Facebook yesterday and asked people to share it.

Please share it onward
ہم ایک گھر کے لیے خوار اور حاکم شہر
شمار گنبد و محراب کرتا رہتا تھا

This photo tells a story of poverty, inequality and deprivation of basic human dignity and rights. It puts all human development in question and asks basic simple questions from us:

Can we call ourselves civilized, while we see our fellow human beings living on footpath like animals?

Is there only one way to live left for millions of deprived souls?

کہ ہم غریب ہوئے ہیں انہیں کی دولت سے

Let us hope sun also rises for marginalized souls, I mean sun of equality, development and justice.

[It’s a billboard advertising Trump Tower Mumbai, with a big photo of Trump and the text “THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO LIVE. THE TRUMP WAY.”]

Who is the better human being? Donald Trump or Muhammad Sabir?

NYT reports Trump continues to be more childish every day.

Americans woke up on the last day of 2016 to a message from President-elect Donald J. Trump wishing them a happy new year.

But the holiday missive, posted on Mr. Trump’s official Twitter account around 8 a.m., came with a pointed jab.

“Happy New Year to all,” Mr. Trump wrote, “including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do. Love!” (Some social media users homed in on Mr. Trump’s use of the word enemies, rather than opponents or another word for those who oppose him.)

That’s so typical, isn’t it, and so symptomatic. We have no right to oppose him or disagree with him or describe him accurately. We’re not legitimate critics, we’re just enemies. His Majesty the Baby speaks again.

Even a holiday known for its good cheer, it seems, could not dull Mr. Trump’s penchant for doling out taunts and insults via Twitter.

And this is the guy who will be president of the US in 21 days – a guy who loves to taunt and insult people on Twitter. He’s just another Milo Yiannopoulos, but he’ll be president.

The Times goes on to make the inevitable point that it’s a distraction. Sure, it is, but we can talk about both.

Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2016

I’ve been marveling at Trump’s “statement” on the Russian hack.

It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.

I’ve been marveling at the grandiosity of it. He says it as if he’s doing us some big favor, some spectacular concession out of his deep love for our greatness and out of his own remarkable generosity.

He is such a lying fraud.

Taking a security briefing is not some kind extra favor he’s doing us, it’s an important part of his job, the job he got in part, it appears, because Putin helped throw it to him. It’s his job. He doesn’t get extra credit for doing his god damn job.

He gets worse every day, and there are more than 365 x 4 days to go, unless he’s impeached as a traitor and lying piece of shit.