The Clown Yips Furiously, But Fruitlessly!
In a recent post I expressed all sorts of anxiety about The Donald’s use of his twitter account as a means of issuing directives to the US military, in the most recent case signalling a reversal in policy towards transgender personnel. It was by no means clear what the status of such communications should be. On the one hand, they’re unambiguous expressions of the wishes of the Commander-in-Chief. On the other, they’re random and ill-considered little tirades designed purely to distract and serve political purposes – it seems likely that the Trumpinator doesn’t actually care if they’re heeded, or at any rate ceases to care while flitting away to fixate on other shiny objects, having forgotten all about them.
The brass of the US Armed Services, from the Chair of the Joint Chiefs on down, have made it clear that they won’t react to these overnight tweats as if they’re actual commands or pronouncements on policy. They’ll salute smartly when something lands on their desks via the proper chain of command, documented and authenticated according to established protocols. Not before.
This means that nuclear strikes on North Korea and Iran will not be ordered in the wee hours via smart phone. Or, rather, they may be ordered, but the orders won’t be taken seriously. They’ll just land with pathetic, ineffectual little splats amidst all the other soggy effluent that slops about in the wastelands of the twitterverse.
Thank Christ.
It’s sad that this sort thing is actually a great relief as we navigate this decidedly abnormal new normal, but these days we have to grasp solace wherever we can find it. Knowing that it’s not going to be an extinction level event every time the Dumbass Dauphin throws a stuffed toy out of the crib, and screams out of his little pie hole until he’s blue in his stupid puffy face, is actually a pretty big deal.
the needlefish 