February 8, 2017

US Army Has Picked Up Bullshitting Pointers From President Trump

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Did Donald Trump learn his bullshitting skills from the Army, or is it the other way around?

“Only about one-third of our [58 Brigade Combat Teams] are ready,” said Gen. Daniel Allyn, Army vice chief of staff. “Of the BCTs that are ready, only three could be called upon to fight tonight in the event of a crisis.”

As James Joyner says, “This is either utter horseshit or an admission of gross malfeasance on the part of Army leadership.” Luckily for the Army leadership, I vote for the former.

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It’s risky, but also unavoidable: A full one-third of the dollars that we need to pay for the journalism you rely on has to get raised in December. A good December means our newsroom is fully staffed, well-resourced, and on the beat. A bad one portends budget trouble and hard choices.

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We simply can’t afford to come up short. There is no cushion in our razor-thin budget—no backup, no alternative sources of revenue to balance our books. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the fierce journalism we do. That’s why we need you to show up for us right now.

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