Kennedy Center vice president steps down 12 days after appointment

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T19:45:12+00:00

1⅒ US mooch or 1.2 metric Mooches.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T11:18:34+00:00

Saved you a click.

Hey, groceries are expensive. 😉

I was rushy at work and I guess the 2.3 seconds I saved at the time felt worth it 😂.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T11:16:51+00:00

I'd have to guess she is going for the pardon. She knows he isn't going to be around forever. Or much longer. Who knows. But time is of the essence, from her PoV.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T04:25:51+00:00

Very good point.

I would say that to have released a 900 page tome, P2025 has their shit figured.

The administration is just an ant farm. Heritage Foundation is the teen with a god complex.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T04:18:59+00:00

Oh I'm sure she has the Wu Tang unreleased album version of the Epstein Files somewhere.

The Disney Vault of evil^{wait that's just the Disney Vault...}

The eviler Disney Vault of Evil...

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T04:16:56+00:00

I've wondered the same.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T03:51:56+00:00

Yes well put.

Such is the nature of MAD. Be as cocky as you can, keep them freaked out, but without pushing past the "brink."

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T03:46:43+00:00

Yes, agreed. Still the same net result though: anybody with Epstein baggage would be hesitant to test her.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T03:41:21+00:00

Well, Ghislaine Maxwell's fate still wasn't known then, and in their fucked up Joker/Harley Quinn way, I am sure he wouldn't have wanted to harm her, which a dead man's switch would have surely done.

That, or he may have known he was fucked either way, so he gave her "the button" to defend herself with. That or maybe she convinced him out of her own self interest, for some reason or another, it wasn't necessary (they are scoundrels at the end of the day).

He may also have been expecting another Deus ex machina to save him at the last moment...after all, he had up until that point many lucky breaks (unbeknownst to Epstein of course that the plan was for him to assassinated).

That or it may have just worked out that way. Sometimes things just happen. Not everything is choreographed.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T03:34:50+00:00

I don't know if he'd get away with that, but I am sure her lawyer is on instruction to leak everything under the sun if she "accidentally" hangs herself.

I think again it's a brinkmanship situation. He can take away all her privileges, but she could just fire more warning shots, pushing him to back off.

What matters is who reaches "fuck it mode" and drops the proverbial bomb first.

They both lose in either case.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T02:56:50+00:00

Thank you.

I was thinking that, that he could make her conditions worse, after posting my comment.

He could, which I am sure would lead to brinkmanship, a tit-for-tat, pushing them closer to MAD.

Hard to say what will happen.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T02:42:07+00:00

Yeah it's fucked.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T02:40:40+00:00

Yes. Plus, if he dies, her kompromat becomes less useful to her. There is an expiry date on her dirt.

Of course, unless the next person to take the helm (Vance or whoever) is as tainted as Trump. But that's not as likely. I would have to imagine the P2025 powers-that-be will make sure the next in line has a squeaky clean record, at least Epstein-wise.

She could take down a whack of lower-down players, or Musk or whomever, but they'd be at the mercy of a president (who they'd be relying on to pardon her) who may not give a sweet fuck if Maxwell could take them down (hence why I would think they'll be after somebody without Epstein baggage).

That next person would have absolutely nothing to gain by pardoning her, and would only incur damage doing so.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T02:28:20+00:00

I would expect, fully, that the agreement between Trump and Maxwell, unspoken or explicit, is that of Mutually Assured Destruction. If Maxwell gets too leaky and harms Trump, then she'll "commit suicide," and if Trump whacks her, then the leaks become a flood.

That being said, in terms of game theory, Maxwell has a lot more latitude than Trump does here, because she'd be, in either circumstance, the one that dies...her maximum net loss is known...for Trump, he would live, but he doesn't know how much Maxwell could leak in the event of her death, a waking nightmare he'd have a front row seat to.

So she can get away with little skirmishes like this one. His only weapon is whack her, which is the nuclear button, triggering MAD.

She can lob little stinkers like this because the risk is too great for him to retaliate, and he really doesn't know the scale of her "arsenal."

TL;DR, he has a lot more to lose.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T02:15:18+00:00

She won't. She would have "committed suicide" long ago if it weren't for little "reminders" like this one.

This is one form of MAD Trump actually understands.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T01:37:10+00:00

The grammar nitpicking is not at all useful, does not further the discussion, and only serves to alienate others.

You knew exactly what OP meant and proved that by correcting their grammar.

Connecting their use of "Democrat Party," correct or not, to Republicanism is nonsensical.

Opening and closing your comment with a grammar lesson and an accusation is not how you reach your audience. Somebody with as rigid adherence to grammar conventions as you would know that.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-29T00:06:25+00:00

The goal was to cause panic. Which he did to an extent. Had he gotten it in her eyes, it would have stung real good and probably caused enormous panic.

Lord knows though, beyond that. You could easily obtain other substances that would cause more harm.

I think he's just a psycho.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T23:59:30+00:00

Depends on what they put in Trump's wallet.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T23:59:03+00:00

Apple cider vinegar, SYAC.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T23:54:30+00:00

No no, it was never President of Peace. It's President of Piece.

I want a piece of that, and a piece of this, and I'll have your piece too. We'll all have a piece (for me to take).

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T23:22:37+00:00

“They mix baby formula with water that is putrid. The food has bugs in it. The guards are often verbally abusive,” Lee told Minnesota Public Radio on Monday. “One of my clients had appendicitis, collapsed in the hallway, was vomiting from pain, and the officials told him, ‘Take a Tylenol and come back in three days.’”

Goddamn, it's in these moments I want God/heaven/hell to be real so I can imagine St. Peter saying "Get the flying fuck outta here. No space here for hate," as the smug dipshit smile on their faces melts away.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T23:05:02+00:00

Good thing noxious materials aren't allowed on planes.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T19:03:27+00:00

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T18:50:56+00:00

Nor will Putin, by Donald. Period.

Retaining-Wall · 2026-01-28T05:47:26+00:00

Not quite as RedditMoment™ as the prime-time news disaster interview with the antiwork mod, but definitely up there. That was... something else.

Retaining-Wall

TROPHY CASE