I’m still in a rage about the gag orders, but there are still other matters to follow. There’s Eric Levitz on Trump staffers’ eagerness to report what a car crash their boss is.

The president is a 70-year-old child whose TV time must be closely monitored — because any news story that upsets his ego will trigger a temper tantrum followed by irrational demands that his indulgent, overwhelmed guardians will be helpless to refuse.

Or so Donald Trump’s aides keep confiding to the nearest available reporter.

On Sunday, one of the president’s confidantes told Politico that his staffers have to “control information that may infuriate him,” a task made difficult by the fact that the leader of the free

Trump the lying silencing liar claims to “believe” millions of people voted illegally, but since he’s a chronic liar, that’s not very plausible – and it’s also beside the point.

President Donald Trump believes millions of votes were cast illegally in last year’s election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday, but he wouldn’t provide any concrete evidence for the claim, which has long been debunked.

“The President does believe that, I think he’s stated that before, and stated his concern of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence people have brought to him,” Spicer said.

Pressed for what evidence exists, Spicer would say

This is the worst yet. He’s imposing a gag order on federal agencies.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to curb the flow of information from several government agencies whose mandate impacts environmental issues since last week, in actions that appeared designed to tighten control and discourage dissenting views.

Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have seen directives from the newly minted leadership seeking to limit how they communicate to the public, according to multiple sources.

Who the FUCK does he think he is? What makes him think he gets to do that? What makes him think he has a mandate to … Read the rest

Another bad news:

The Trump administration has instructed officials at the Environmental Protection Agency to freeze its grants and contracts, a move that could affect everything from state-led climate research to localized efforts to improve air and water quality to environmental justice projects aimed at helping poor communities.

An email went out to employees in the agency’s Office of Acquisition Management within hours of President Trump’s swearing-in on Friday.

“New EPA administration has asked that all contract and grant awards be temporarily suspended, effective immediately,” read the email, which was shared with The Washington Post. “Until we receive further clarification, which we hope to have soon, please construe this to include task orders and work assignments.”

In other words … Read the rest

An item from a segment on NPR yesterday about Trump’s visit to the CIA.

STEVE INSKEEP: So how awkward is it that the new president has taken office – the new administration has come in – and there is still, so far as we know, an investigation of the president’s ties to Russia?

MARY LOUISE KELLY: It is awkward. And the latest twist is The Wall Street Journal reporting this morning that Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Flynn, is under a counter intelligence investigation because of suspected ties to Russia. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also investigating that very question.

So here – here is the question that another CIA veteran put to me after watching Trump’s speech this

Last night the Post confided in us about what’s going on in Donnie’s office. He’s not happy. He’s surprised and upset that some of us think he’s terrible.  He’s surprised and upset that a lot of us think he’s terrible.

When he came back to the White House on Saturday after a nice soothing prayer meeting, he turned on the tv only to see news about the protests and the scanty turnout for his sacred inauguration.

As his press secretary, Sean Spicer, was still unpacking boxes in his spacious new West Wing office, Trump grew increasingly and visibly enraged.

Really?! How astonishing. He always seemed like such a reasonable, even-keeled, good-natured guy, one who would naturally expect to see … Read the rest

Of course he did.

President Trump signed executive orders Tuesday clearing the way for the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines to move forward.

He also signed an executive order to expedite environmental reviews of other infrastructure projects, lamenting the existing “incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process.”

Yes indeed – we mustn’t take the time necessary to investigate the environmental impacts of what we do, even at this time when we know for sure that we’ve already made the world a much more difficult place for future generations. Hell no, we must barge ahead regardless, because we’re just that greedy and selfish.

The orders will have an immediate impact in North Dakota, where the pipeline company Energy

Well at least Trump is unhappy about how many people hate him. That’s something. It’s a start.

Sean Spicer explained that to the press today.

Toward the end, Spicer gave an impassioned defense of why Trump dwells so much on things like his inauguration crowd size, arguing that Trump is very frustrated by constant negative coverage and the media minimizing him. He basically said it amounted to a defense mechanism from the president. It was really rather interesting.

Good. Of course it would be better if Trump were ashamed or contrite, but frustration is better than nothing. All he has to do now is figure out that the “constant negative coverage” is because he, Trump, is such a shitty, … Read the rest