Yet another State Department employee resigns her post as Rex Tillerson seems to adopt new problem solving strategy called "wishful thinking."

Courtesy of Think Progress: 

Rex Tillerson’s State Department slipped further into disarray this week, following the departure of a figure brought in to overhaul the department amid growing tensions within the Trump administration. 

Maliz Beams, who was brought on as Counselor to the Department of State in August, resigned her position after only three months, according to officials. The department confirmed Beams’ departure on Monday. 

“Beams is stepping away from her role here at the Department of State and is returning to her home in Boston,” a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “Effective immediately, [Tillerson’s deputy chief of staff] Christine Ciccone will step in to lead the redesign effort and manage its daily activities.” 

Beams’ departure is more bad news for the department, which has suffered a number of exits in recent months. Beams, who has an extensive private sector background in business and finance and previously served as CEO of Voya Financial (formerly ING US), was brought in to lead a massive redesign effort championed by Tillerson. Trump’s budget calls for a $10.1 billion reduction in State Department spending, a controversial move that could cost 2,300 people their jobs. Beams reportedly clashed with Tillerson over the effort.

But don't think that Rex Tillerson does not have a plan for how to deal with world crises with only a skeleton crew, because he does.

The aforementioned "wishful thinking."

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s proposal to slash the state department and foreign aid budget is in part based on an expectation it will be able to resolve some of the global conflicts that have been absorbing costly diplomatic and humanitarian support. 

But in a vivid display of the most urgent diplomatic challenge facing the US, Tillerson was speaking as North Korea carried out a new ballistic missile test – the first since it fired a missile over Japan in mid-September. 

The secretary of state presented this rationale for the budget cut at a time when he is under fire from former US diplomats for gutting his state department amid multiple crises around the world – an allegation Tillerson denied.

I think it is overwhelmingly obvious at this point that Tillerson, like many Trump appointees, was  appointed to destroy the very agencies they were supposed to lead.

Tillerson seems particularly adept in that regard.

Of course the problem with that is that it leaves the American people incredibly vulnerable.

All across the board we are suffering a crisis of leadership, and every day the danger to average citizens rises just that much higher.

Sarah Palin on Sean Hannity last night. She is not even trying to hide the crazy anymore. Update!

Hannity dings the President on a number of issues, most of them exaggerated and then asks for Palin's "analysis."

"Well he's obviously very disconnected to what people are going through in real life, as we outside of that Washington D.C. bubble are quite concerned about the Middle East being a tinder box, about the domestic issues that are really adversely affecting all of us. He's disconnected from that. But you know one of the specific issues going on right now, as we have seen the airliner shot out of the sky, it's reminiscent  of back in 83, remember when the Korean airliner was shot out of the sky, 269 souls were lost I believe in that. But the reaction from our President then, Ronald Reagan, to..compare that to the reaction of all these issues that are erupting right now, the present President, how different it is. Ronald Reagan called out evil, he certainly didn't ask for flexibility, or boast about needing wanting flexibility, when...um..a relatively evil man were to be in office. Such a difference in the mindset of the presidency then than now."

Uhh.......what?

I think the gist of all that, if I may attempt to translate the crazy, is Reagan good, Obama bad.

Hannity then goes on a minor tirade about the President playing golf, and attending fundraisers, and uses that to suggest that the President is "checked out." And then again invites Palin to pile on.

"Well other examples to, you know he was there in a border state when the crisis, the border crossing crisis, the invasion if you will of illegal immigrants, really started erupting, and he was in a border state and chose instead to go to fundraisers instead of visiting the borders and seeing the consequences of the actions that HE has taken that has caused these crisis."

Yes instead of going to those fundraisers to help raise money to get more Democrats into office, while also working to actually rectify the situation on the borders, President Obama could have put on his border patrol Underoos and joined Rick Perry in his little boat.

Oooh, muy macho!

Okay let's rejoin our originally scheduled program still in progress.

"Again very disconnected. I think he is so far over his head, I mean he's in over his head, we warned people in the campaign that he had no executive experience. (Unlike some people, am I right crazy lady? Huh, am I right?) He didn't have a resume at all that would prove a track record of knowing how to handle situations like this, being a community organizer with no real responsibilities. (You know unlike Palin who as Governor had to keep shooing those pesky Canadians back over the border all of the damn time.) I believe a manifestation of his acknowledgement that he is in over this head is that distancing himself, passing the buck, pointing fingers, physically even distancing himself from these crisis." (Yes I know that last part is bad grammar, but I swear that IS what she is saying.)

Hannity then reminds Palin that HE went to the border with Little Rickie, cause he's good at posing for pictures as well.

Finally Hanity asks Palin her response to Eric Holder's remarks about her talk of impeachment. Which he calls "attacks against her." ("She wasn't a particularly good vice presidential candidate. She's an even worse judge of who ought to be impeached and why." For those who don't remember.)

However Hannity does not play that clip, he plays a clip of Holder making some general statements about the President being treated differently, and then plays a clip of Palin "predicting" that Russia would invade the Ukraine from the 2008 campaign, as a way to suggest her superior knowledge concerning Russia's intentions.

"Yeah real profound, you know but who couldn't see it coming when you're living here and you can see it right on over the...uh, not from my house, but you can see...keep an eye on Putin and Russia from right here. No  I think that some obvious development have taken place, and when we have a President who seems to be embracing this idea of shirking back as once this super power, the shining city on a hill, for the rest of the world to see and feel secure and wish to emulate. When we shrink that back now, and there is a vacuum now on the globe that is calling for leadership, and calling for influence, that vacuum is being filled by evil men, and that's so unfortunate. It's not too late to get it back though. You know midterm elections will have a lot to do with getting that..uh..exceptionalism that is America, that message, back on globe. And we certainly need to elect people who understand it, and who will fight so hard for American exceptionalism. Again the world will be a safer place.

Afterwards Hannity again compliment the green screen behind Palin before closing the batshit crazy segment. (Do you think he knows? I think he knows.)

You know the craziest part of this, and yes there was so much to choose from, is that I ma almost certain that Palin was reading much of what she said off of prompters, and STILL it came out like this.

It kind of makes me wonder if her ghostwriters are taking the same drugs that she is, or if this is just the best she can do no matter how hard people work to help her make sense.

Update: By the way here is something to educate Palin and others on exactly how quickly Ronald Reagan responded to that downed Korean airliner.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gushes over President Obama's hands on approach to dealing with storm devastation. Update!

Come on! You just KNOW that somewhere Mitt Romney is banging his perfectly coiffed head against the wall.

I understand that in a desperate attempt to appear that he is helping with the relief effort Romney will be holding a "storm relief event" with, get this, race car driver Richard Petty and country music singer Randy Owen. Isn't Ohio one of the few states in the north east NOT affected directly by Sandy?

God this is just getting pathetic.

Update: Oops I stand corrected, it looks like Sandy has now started to impact Ohio and over 250,000 people are without power and hundreds of schools are closed. Hmm, I wonder if Romney will still show up or run for safety?

Update 2: Today Christie is no less impressed by President Obama, and seems substantially UNIMPRESSED by Romney's efforts to campaign during this tragedy.

This from Raw Story:

 “The president was great last night,” Christie continued. “He said he would get it done. At 2 a.m., I got a call from FEMA to answer a couple of final questions and then he signed the declaration this morning. So I have to give the president great credit. He’s been on the phone with me three times in the last 24 hours. He’s been very attentive, and anything that I’ve asked for, he’s gotten to me. So, I thank the president publicly for that. He’s done — as far as I’m concerned — a great job for New Jersey.” 

Fox News co-host Steve Doocy wondered when Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was going to get some of the same benefits from the hurricane with a photo op in disaster-stricken New Jersey towns. 

“Over the last couple of months, you have appeared throughout the country, Governor, on behalf of Mitt Romney,” Doocy remarked to Christie. “[W]e hear that perhaps Mr. Romney may do some storm-related events. Is there any possibility that Gov. Romney may go to New Jersey to tour some of the damage with you?” 

“I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” Christie replied, immediately shutting down the idea. “I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics and I could [sic] care less about any of that stuff.” 

“I have a job to do,” he added. “I’ve got 2.4 million people out of power, I’ve got devastation on the shore, I’ve got floods in the northern part of my state. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don’t know me.” 

Oh damn! That's going to lave a mark!

Update 3: Apparently the Romney Ohio "Storm Relief Event" is going on now, and though they were informed that the Red Cross would NOT accept donations that were brought to the event, the campaign is indeed accepting donations on their behalf.

By the way the quick name change for this event did not happen soon enough to affect the already printed press badges.

 "Victory Rally?" What victory is the Romney campaign celebrating? President Obama's?

Reporter Jackie Kucinich tweeted that during this bizarre gathering there was a Romney/Ryan campaign video playing on a giant screen. Gee I wonder how THAT will provide "relief" for the victims of hurricane Sandy?