DL Open Thread: Weds., Jan. 8, 2020
State Auditor Delivers Half-Assed Report On Odyssey Charter. She’s really terrible. Here’s an excerpt for the subscription-challenged:
According to the Department of Education, the report isn’t what the Charter School Office asked for. In its request for an “investigatory audit,” the department had expected a report offering a more thorough indication of whether the Wilmington school had engaged in financial wrongdoing.
According to State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness, the two departments settled on conducting a report called an Agreed Upon Procedure, an auditing practice that answers specific financial questions, but does not offer opinions.
The nature of that type of report was never made clear to the Department of Education, spokesperson Alison May said. The conditions of Odyssey’s probation, as well as the contract between the department, the Auditor of Accounts and the school, cited the need for an “investigatory audit,” and the education department expected more.
“The auditor’s office worked and took direction from DOE on this. We did what we were directed to do, and answered the questions,” McGuiness said. While the auditor’s office cannot issue an opinion, she said, “the information is present for the Department of Education to address how they see fit.”
What does she mean by ‘the auditor’s office cannot issue an opinion’. It’s not mere ‘opinion’ to look at the facts and to draw reasonable conclusions. She has been in bed (figuratively, this time at least) with Odyssey from the very beginning. She is part of a cover-up.
There Was No Imminent Threat. Now There Is. Yet, there is very little uproar here over the phony pretext. When someone lies constantly, I guess that is to be expected. Even when you’re maybe starting a war…
Nothing Coherent About Trump’s Strategy. He responds to his rages, and nothing else:
With Mr. Trump, so much of his presidency is situational — he careens like a bumper car from one crisis to another, many of them self-created, rarely pausing to set a straight-ahead course but never lacking for energy and always willing to ram into other vehicles. No matter how much aides try to impose an orderly process, he still prefers seat-of-the-pants governance, leaving advisers scrambling to adjust…
…Michèle A. Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense under President Barack Obama who turned down a chance to serve as deputy defense secretary for Mr. Trump, said the chaotic nature of the current foreign policy stemmed from an “impulsive, inconsistent” president without a functional national security process that would ensure that “second- and third-order consequences” were fully considered.
McConnell Buys Collins’ Vote To Start Impeachment Trial Without Witnesses. Ditto, of course, for Murkowski. More proof that the Rethuglican Party is merely a criminal conspiracy by any other name:
Collins and Murkowski know damn well that McConnell won’t call witnesses. They both know that the only thing McConnell can be trusted to do is protect Trump at all costs. But for Collins, that means keeping the McConnell gravy train running. He’ll keep the money flowing to her campaign as long as she keeps playing along.
There’s your quid pro quo, right there.
‘Bipartisan Biden’ Touts ‘Mild Cooperation’ From Moscow Mitch. I have nothing to add.
Ukrainian Airliner Crashes Near Tehran. One can only hope that this is unrelated to the heightened tensions in the area.
Canada’s Exxon Subsidiary Knew About Climate Change Impact, Lied About It To Canadians For Decades. Maybe they’ll face a less-forgiving public and judiciary than Exxon has here.
This is one day I could go on and on. But ‘news overload’ is a thing, and I think it’s best to stop here.
What do you want to talk about?
Trump will address the nation at 11 am about Iran. Unless he changes his mind again.
Even I think he will try to calm things down.
If all you Chicken Little’s would Educate yourself. President Trump has always said war is stupid. This was never going anywhere. President just got rid of a bad guy.
President Trump has ‘always said’ a lot of things. You’re hanging your hat on his having said something that he actually believes?
BTW, it’s 11:23 and he still hasn’t taken the podium.
Dude, Care to count how many Times he critized the Bushes for the Gulf Wars?
Hahaha. Ok. Great argument!
RE, if you have ever read and even tried to understand what President Trump has written, you will find that he is a business man and he thinks wars are stupid. I am sorry your TDS blinds you to that fact.
Did anyone really think the Odyssey “agreed upon procedure” would product anything damaging to her Greek buddies? Say, isn’t one of her former employees running for state office now?
When I read the report, I think it is fairly damaging . The report shows dozens of invoices for which Odyssey failed to provide supporting documentation, it appears they are either thumbing their nose at AOA/DOE or their bookkeeping is very poor.
The gaping hole here is the lack of analysis from AOA. The whole idea of an agreed upon procedures is that the accountant does the pick and shovel work and the people who sponsored the work (AOA & DOE) interpret the findings.
Trump’s out now. Before he says ‘Good morning’, he vows that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon.
Got a problem with that?
Mexico paid for the wall.
Just another stupid reply. Are you sure you are not RE
Obamacare has been replaced with something better and cheaper!!!
None of the replies are as stupid as your statements. What part of Delaware are you coming back to? I’d like to avoid it if I can.
The swamp has been drained! America has been made great again!!!!!!!!
“bad guy” Yeah we’re not falling for that propaganda.
Luckily I know stuff and am not a rube.
Might not be a rube, but the title of fool might be in order.
Haha. You’re very intelligent. Spew more govt propaganda. I’ll like when you do it.
We gave Saddam targeting data to use chemical weapons built in Western Europe against Iran in the 80s.
We sold Iran surface to surface missiles to secretly fund right wing death squads in Nicaragua. (Like the ones they shot at us last night!)
We allied with Quds/Soliemani against the Taliban.
We overthrew the Iranian govt in 1954.
Quds/Soliemani were integral in defeating ISIS in Syria.
Iran is our “enemy” basically because Saudi and Israeli are or “friends”.
Anyone saying we just assassinated a bad guy now it’s over is a fucking rube
RE, if you have ever read and even tried to understand what President Trump has written, you will find that he is a business man and he thinks wars are stupid. I am sorry your TDS blinds you to that fact.
The president can write? The Art of the Deal.
Haha. Businessman! You’re fucking stupid dude
Didn’t even mention the proxy wars in Yemen and Lebanon.
I told you fuckers to study the background of the Beirut barracks bombings from ’83. I don’t think you did your homework.
These fucking clowns say “educate yourselves”. Lol.
Change the subject when you know you are wrong. Works for Elizabeth and Bernie.
You’re trying to convince me Trump has a very cogent consistent strategy.
You have pudding for brains.
We laugh at you because you’re fucking stupid.
We’re talking about the history of politics & diplomacy in the Middle East and you’re telling me to read Trump’s writing.
Haha. You absolute fucking dunce.
RE, you have Blinders on. Just like that Amish Mule.
Great come back. Fuck off you disgusting coward
This is fun insulting each other. You are the only one that has resorted to name calling and cursing. Should I be scared? BTW I am leaving Germany and headed back to Delaware at the end of the month so I dont have to be killed by this socialist Medicine.
Scared? No. You’d need to have a basic adult understanding of the world around you to be scared.
You know how the idiots got revenge on us by elected Trump
Bad news. All those people are still fucking brain dead morons. Election outcomes will never change that.
For people who don’t like my cursing. Eat shit and die. How about that?
I did provide quite a bit of history there that you ignored and instead told me to study Trump’s scholarship. Hahaha. Absolutely brain dead.
President Trump has been trying to fight all that Establishment BS since he has been elected. The CIA and the rest of the 3 letters have been fighting him since day 1. You have been nothing but a Nancy/Chuckie/Establishment Rube. How are those for facts.
hahaha. I’m establishment! yeah, that makes sense. if the CIA are bad why did we assassinate QS again? Are they good or bad?
Is having Defense Secretary Raytheon anti establishment?
Rube mentality here.
Trump is a moron. Just saying he said something is pretty funny as an argument.
MAGAts and their alternative facts.
Send your contact info to the blog tip line. I’ll invite you into the studio and embarrass you to your face! We’ll record it and put it on the internet.
That was a real hoot. Who’s next?
When I get back, we can discuss that.
“Donald Trump is a businessman.”
A very poor one. One who went bankrupt in casinos. One who won’t show his tax returns because he’s not now and has never been a billionaire. One who fools only the foolish. I guess that’s you.
The easiest way for Trump to get rid of a bad guy is to swallow a gun barrel.
Here’s Noam Chomsky on Iran. Read it and learn something, if you’re capable.
https://truthout.org/articles/noam-chomsky-us-is-a-rogue-state-and-suleimanis-assassination-confirms-it/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2589a507-b609-4908-9fab-b00bf6d74915
https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1214711719764713472
“I don’t think we should view him as an evil person. I think we should view him just like I believe in my country. I think Qassem Suleimani believes in his country. Just as I would propagate the aims of mine he would do his.”
Gen Stanley McCrystal
Makes you think.
A complete and immediate US skeedadle from Iraq is overdue.
We’ll be doing a special episode on the newest Iran conflict. I suggest reading this on background. I mean if you want to you know learn stuff about Soleimani. He was actually a very complicated figure.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander
Whether Solemani was complicated or not, a complete and immediate US skeedadle from Iraq(among other places) is overdue.
But especially Iraq.
Our own nation is falling apart. If they want to nation-build, they should start here.
But nation building here would be “Socialism”
Infrastructure Week!™
You’re right of course. All these horrors are in the name of global empire. To maintain control over countries and resources. Proxy wars and military outposts across the globe.
We’re hypernormalised. We can’t say how absurd and dangerous it is because we’re in it.
It’s happened before. The very end is unpleasant.
Wow, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) just came out of the briefing and said it was the most embarrassing and amateurish briefing he’s ever attended. Don’t worry, the tape of his statement will go viral real soon.
Mike F’in’ Lee.
Here’s the video. Of course, he spends the first minute giving Trump a verbal blow job. But then…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDVVIO5OH0
Rand Paul too. Both have decent track records on this stuff. Better than Coons by miles. So I’ll take what I can get.
Yeah, I’ve seen a few stories from Congress members who were briefed. Sounds like a third rate shit show. Trumpian, basically.