In addition to the previous responses - when he throws a tantrum, as he certainly will, just make it clear to him that a tantrum is not going to get him what he wants, then wait until he wears himself out and cries himself to sleep, then pick up where you left off with the rest of the adults.

Oh definitely.

I didn't shift to the "breeze in and get another Nobel medal" theory because I changed my mind about Israel likely having plenty of material with which to blackmail the rapist-in-chief - I have no doubt that they do. I just think that appealing to his ego and his childlike desire for recognition would've been seen to be a better approach, and having a Nobel winner in prison in Iran was just too perfect an opportunity to miss.

And yes to the blowback, but I'd go much further. I think that if he thought he was cornered and his ego was at risk, he wouldn't even hesitate to start a nuclear war if nothing else seemed likely to save him from exposure.

I wish I was kidding.

On reflection, I think you're right. I didn't think of it as affectionate by any means, but I can see how it could appear that way, and at this point, appearances are far too important.

It's as if some notable proportion of humanity suddenly switched to eating nothing but vaguely food-shaped plastic, then a study concluded that that might have negative effects nutritionally.

No shit?

I thought at first that he was likely being blackmailed by Israel - it's near certain that the Israeli government has at least as much evidence of his serial child rape as the US government does.

Mostly based on the way the whole war played out though, I tend more toward a different theory now.

I think Bibi convinced him that overthrowing Iran would be a cake walk - that just like Venezuela, they could go in fast and bomb the shit out of things and get rid of the Ayatollah and take over, and then Trump could get Narges Mohammadi out of prison and she'd be so thankful that she'd give him her Nobel medal, and then he'd be the bestest President ever in the history of ever because he'd have two Nobels (well - technically, he'd only have two Nobel medals, and claiming that he has a Nobel because he has a medal is sort of like claiming he's a Super Bowl champion because he has a ring, but he's too stupid to realize that).

And everything played out just as intended, right up to the point that Iran didn't collapse and instead just calmly set about replacing the Ayatollah and systematically bombing American bases and property all around the Middle East while closing down the Strait of Hormuz. And he's been desperately flailing around and throwing tantrums ever since, because that wasn't what Bibi promised.

Nobody should ever forget that by leading the DNC efforts to fraudulently nominate Hillary Clinton in 2016, Wasserman Schultz arguably bears more responsibility for the election of Donald Trump than any other person outside of his campaign.

I would've too.

If the toddler-in-chief wants to throw temper tantrums, he can do it by himself.

When he's finally screamed and cried himself to sleep, the adults can pick up where they left off.

So... they're supposed to just sit there passively and let Israel invade their country and murder their people?

I propose that the acronym DOJ and the names "Department of Justice" and "Justice Department" be entirely eliminated from any and all discussion of the US government.

The entity formerly known as the Department of Justice DOES NOT EXIST. It is wholly and completely gone, and has been replaced by an entirely different entity with an entirely different purpose. That entirely different entity needs an entirely different name - one that better reflects its entirely different purpose.

Maybe Department of Authority Abuse?

Department of Corruption and Malfeasance?

Department of Trump's Vengeance?

Department of Stop Talking About Epstein?

Department of Assholes?

I think it would be much more accurate to say that the authoritarian lust for mass surveillance disguises itself as a push for online safety.

At this point, I think most of the government - Republicans and Democrats alike - should be impeached and removed from office for completely failing to do their jobs, and thereby violating their oaths.

The President of the United States is bludgeoningly obviously deranged, and is not fit for office by any stretch of even the most fevered imagination. Any politician who pretends otherwise is grossly negligent, overtly lying, or both.

The DoJ needs to have its name changed, because at this point it has absolutely nothing at all to do with "justice" in any way, shape or form.

I'd suggest something like "Department of Overt Corruption and Brazen Bullshit."

I'm honestly sort of surprised he didn't try to stick his hand down her pants.

LOOT can't even manage a load order on its own, and it was purpose-built for just that task. There's no way an LLM could do it.

Trump doesn't know the meaning of the word "accountable."

Literally. The entire concept is out of the reach of his toddler brain.

Democracy is already dead. It's just that the stench of its rotting corpse hasn't yet gotten so bad that people who don't want to face that fact have to anyway.

Is this what happens when you have zero scientists in your administration?

Yes.

Though more broadly and more to the point, it's what happens when the administration is run by a deranged idiot.

Ooh.

Yes. I can see the value in that.

We actually live in a world now in which the President of the United States explicitly states his intent to overtly violate the first amendment and the media just repeats it as if nothing of any note is going on.

News flash for wealthy authoritarian parasites around the world, because you all seem ignorant of this fact:

Declining birthrates are a direct result of the simple fact that more people all the time decide that they have no desire to bring children into this world, and that in turn is a direct result of the fact that you've turned this world into a warped, corrupt, toxic, authoritarian shithole.

You have no one to blame but yourselves.