Liberty In Peril

                                                                                              formerly,

                                                                                       The Llano Ledger

8-24-18

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Think ICE doesn't have a serious problem?  CBS News reports:

"A former special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two women and using his position to make sure they didn't report the crimes. John Olivas of Riverside was arrested Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights charges of deprivation of rights under color of law, according to authorities."  Prosecutors said Olivas tried to rape a woman and twice raped another woman in 2012 while he was a special agent for ICE homeland security investigations.

"In both cases, prosecutors said Olivas told the women that police wouldn't respond to any crime reports they made because Olivas was a federal law enforcement officer.  Olivas could face a potential life sentence if convicted. He's free on $50,000 bond."

What about the rapes?  Wasn't he charged by state prosecutors?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

More of the same.  The nazi SS jackbooted bastards in ICE continue to strikingly, determinedly, concertedly emulate their mentors, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.  NPR reports:

"A man who was driving his pregnant wife to the hospital on Wednesday was detained because of an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Mexico related to a homicide case, according to immigration officials."

Think so? Things are not always what they seem to be.

"Joel Arrona-Lara and his wife, María del Carmen Venegas, had scheduled a cesarean section and were headed to the hospital when they stopped for gas in San Bernardino, Calif.  After pulling into the gas station, surveillance footage shows two other vehicles pulling in and surrounding the couple's van on either side.  Venegas told CBS Los Angeles that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials got out of the other vehicles and asked for identification from the couple. While Venegas had hers and gave it to them, her husband had left his at home.  When Arrona-Lara could not provide his ID, Venegas says the agents asked him to step out of the vehicle and took him into custody.  Seen visibly upset on the surveillance footage, Venegas was left alone at the station and forced to drive herself to the hospital to give birth to her fifth child, Damian."

Nazi motherf--kers.  Couldn't even transport her to the hospital.  Proud to be an American?

"ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said Arrona-Lara "was brought to ICE's attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges," in a statement on Saturday."

Think so?

"In an interview with The Associated Press, Venegas says she and Arrona-Lara arrived in the United States 12 years ago from Mexico. She said they do not have legal authorization to live in the U.S., but that all five of the couple's children were born here and are U.S. citizens."

Doesn't matter to the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Republicans?  Party of the family?  Think so?

"I feel terrible," Venegas told the AP from the hospital after giving birth, adding that Arrona-Lara is a hard worker and the family's only provider. "We need him now more than ever."

Doesn't matter to these goddamned nazis who falsely proclaim to be Christians.  They're not.  They're nazis.  National socialists.  Fascists.  Forget?  Both Hitler and Mussolini claimed to be Christians.  Think they were?

"According to a statement from ICE, the agency's Fugitive Operations Team detained Arrona-Lara and he is in custody with pending removal proceedings.  "ICE continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy. However, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."

No due process.  No justice.  Forget?  Immigration 'courts' are not part of the Judicial Branch.  They're run and owned by the racist AG Sessions nazi and his 'Justice' Department.  A ruse.

Here's the kicker:

"Emilio Amaya Garcia, director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center and an attorney representing Arrona-Lara, told CBS Los Angeles he had contacted the Mexican consulate and that officials there were not able to confirm the homicide charges ICE cited."

Imagine that.  Couldn't be, could it?

"Garcia told the AP that his nonprofit plans to file a motion in court on Monday to request a bail hearing for Arrona-Lara and ask that the removal proceedings be canceled."

Good luck.

CBS News reports:

"On Saturday, ICE said Arrona-Lara had, in fact, been targeted because he is wanted on an outstanding homicide warrant in Mexico, a detail that was not included in the original statement.  His attorney told CBS Los Angeles he is not aware of any such warrant and has been unable to confirm it from the Mexican consulate.  "So far, we haven't been able to verify anything," Emilio Amaya Garcia told CBS News Sunday. He added that as far he knows, Arrona-Lara is being held for removal, not on an extradition order. He said he hopes to get some clarification Monday once the consulate opens.  Garcia and Venegas believe that authorities might have mistaken Arrona-Lara for his brother, who she says has done jail time in Mexico. She admitted she and her husband are in the United States without green cards, and that he has been in the country for 12 years. The couple have five children.  Whether the warrant turns out to be real or not, Garcia told CBS the way Venegas was left alone was wrong.  "For us, the issue is not so much the arrest, but the fact that ICE acted in total disregard for health and the well-being of the mother," said Garcia.  Garcia said he is hoping a judge will grant his client bail."

Jackbooted nazi storm troopers.

Insult to injury?  Galling Aryan arrogance perversely taken to the extreme?  Get this. The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Monday will offer public praise of federal immigration officers and tout them as “heroes” at a White House event aimed at drawing a sharp contrast with Democrats over the enforcement of border control laws."

They're nazi SS jackbooted criminal bastards reminiscent of Hitler's SS.

"An estimated 150 officers and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection are expected to participate in the “Salute to the Heroes” program, which will feature a panel discussion among lawmakers and state representatives with hard-line immigration views. Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the attorney general of Alabama, Steve Marshall, are among them."

Republican national socialists, fascists, nazis.  Disgrace to themselves and our formerly great country.  An embarrassment.

"In a letter to state and local officials, Trump hailed the officers and agents as “courageous public servants” and said they have been “subjected to a nationwide campaign of smears, insults, and attacks by politicians shamelessly catering to the extreme elements in our society that desire lawlessness and anarchy.”

Abject bullshit.  No truth to it.  Quite the opposite.  Law enforcement that does its job non-abusively, non-murderously, constitutionally is desperately needed and appreciated.  Remains the problem, however, most of them are out of control criminal jackbooted bastards.  ... Right, Sheriff?

"The event is the latest sign that the president is eager to elevate ICE as a campaign issue ahead of the midterm elections. Trump has sought to use calls from a small number of high-profile Democrats to abolish the agency to paint his political rivals as weak on enforcement, which the White House believes will be a potent political message in the fall.  Trump has also blamed Democrats for opposing funding for his border wall and proposals to enact deep cuts in legal immigration levels.  “Obviously, the president views immigration as a wedge issue that plays to his advantage,” said John Sandweg, who served as acting ICE director in the Obama administration."

What treasonous, treacherous, traitorous nazi wouldn't?

"Sandweg acknowledged that Trump’s event could help boost spirits at ICE, which traditionally has reported low morale among rank-and-file agents. But he cautioned that thrusting an agency with 20,000 employees into the political spotlight could make it harder for ICE to be effective, noting that a growing number of cities have limited cooperation with federal immigration operations."

Needs to continue and spread more widely.  These criminal jackbooted bastards present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  ... Right, Sheriff?

“There are lots of folks at ICE and CBP that deserve praise, but this is all designed to be political,” Sandweg said. “In the long run, it hurts because it further politicizes the issue and the agency itself.”  ICE, and to a lesser extent CBP, have been the targets of fierce criticism for years from immigrant rights groups, accused of acting recklessly, cruelly and, in some cases, unlawfully to round up and deport undocumented immigrants."

The criticism is more than justified.  ... Right, Sheriff?

"At the White House panel discussion Monday, ahead of Trump’s remarks, Perdue denounced those who have suggested abolishing ICE.  “I just think it’s unconscionable, frankly, I think it’s downright unpatriotic and treasonous,” he said."

What is certainly unpatriotic and treasonous is a national socialist, fascist, nazi fuhrer in the Oval Office.

“We’re protecting American workers, supporting American law enforcement — including ICE,” Trump said at a rally in Lewis Center, Ohio, this month. “We love ICE.”

What national socialist wouldn't love criminal jackbooted nazi SS storm troopers?

NPR reports:

"President Trump praised federal agents protecting the nation's borders and enforcing immigration laws, calling them "great patriots" and telling them, "We love you, we support you, we will always have your back."

They're jackbooted nazi storm troopers.  Reminiscent of Hitler's SS.

"Speaking before agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection officers, Trump lashed out at opponents of ICE and CBP (which Trump repeatedly referred to as CBC) who have blocked access to ICE offices and called for abolition of the agency over the administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents and strict enforcement of immigration laws."

Clearly, our lunatic nazi fuhrer has no clue.  CBC?  Give me a break.  Wake up.  Pretend you're not an idiot, Mr. 'President.'  Isn't the GOP the party of the family?  Clearly, not.  Manifest Destiny is no more than Aryan arrogant horse shit.  Readers are reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears arrived in this continent centuries ago, STOLE it from its native inhabitants, KILLED as many of them as they could, then BROKE every goddamned treaty signed.

"The vast majority, they're all with you," Trump said, calling opponents a small group that gets a lot of publicity."

More horse shit.  More wishful thinking by this out of control, lunatic, nazi fuhrer.

"They have no courage, they have no guts, just big loudmouths. We don't want to put up with that. ... I just want you to know that you're loved, you're loved, and you're respected."

Jesus Christ.  This achingly clueless, hopelessly disingenuous, congenital lying nazi is clearly describing himself.  The criminal jackbooted bastards in ICE and CBP are not loved.  They're despised.  Not respected, scorned.  For damned good reason.  They're unpatriotic, un-American, jackbooted traitors.

"A recent Pew poll found that ICE has become one of the most polarizing federal agencies, with nearly three-quarters of Republicans viewing ICE favorably while the same number of Democrats view it unfavorably."

For damned good reason.  They're criminal, jackbooted, nazi SS storm troopers.

"Trump seemed to confirm that split, telling the audience, "The Republicans, we're with you all the way" and that people "respect law and order," hinting he intends to make that an issue in the upcoming midterm elections."

Law and order?  How is it law and order when the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue are killing innocent unarmed civilians all over our formerly great country?  How so?  Trump remains no more than a delusional national socialist despot.  Has disgraced himself and this country.  No longer a democratic republic.  In name only.

"He said what he called a "phony blue wave" of Democratic wins would mean "crime and open borders, not good."

Another lie by a hopelessly delusional despot, out of control dictator suffering delusions of grandeur.  A congenital liar.  Neither party is worth a shit.  For totally different reasons.

Carefully, consider the following.  Think it isn't indicative of the Trump nazi's profound racism?

"Trump singled out several ICE and Border Patrol agents during his remarks, including Border Patrol agent Adrian Anzaldua, who was responsible for discovering a tractor-trailer containing nearly 80 immigrants in Laredo, Texas.  Trump asked Anzaldua to come up to the stage to recount his actions, saying, "He speaks perfect English."

Jesus Christ.  Wake up.  Along the same lines, consider the following.  NPR reports:

"Trump's Sunday morning Twitter storm also included another, stranger historical reference. It urged Americans to "study Joseph McCarthy," suggesting that Mueller's probe was so unfair and out-of-bounds that it made the notorious 1950s Red-hunter "look like a baby."

No comparison.  Trump is talking out his achingly delusional, hopelessly ignorant ass.

"McCarthy's first years in office attracted little attention outside his home state of Wisconsin. But in February 1950 he gave a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., alleging that he had a list of actual communists working in the U.S. State Department.

"Sen. Joseph McCarthy listens to his attorney, Roy Cohn, during the televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954. The series of hearings badly damaged the senator's image and led to a vote of censure by the Senate.
Bettmann Archive/Getty IMages"

"Trump was only 10 when McCarthy died. But he has a personal connection to him through Roy Cohn, who returned to New York City and became a legendary paladin for powerful politicians, mob bosses, sports figures and entertainers.  Trump and Cohn met at a Manhattan nightclub in 1973, when Trump and his father, Fred, were being sued by the federal government for racial discrimination in their rental units. Cohn advised the Trumps to defy the government, and defended them in court. The case eventually settled with no admission of guilt. Trump would later describe Cohn not only as his attorney but as a mentor."

Get this:

"One of Cohn's proteges, Roger Stone, would become a confidant and sometime aide to Trump. Stone had worked for the Nixon re-election effort back in 1972 as an opposition researcher and operative — sometimes described as a "dirty trickster," although he was not among those prosecuted in the Watergate era. He later set up a lobbying firm in Washington with Paul Manafort, who would be Trump's campaign chairman for several months in 2016.  Cohn's ultra-aggressive lawyering eventually led to his disbarment in 1986 for unethical conduct. He died later that year of complications of AIDS (insisting in public that he was suffering from liver cancer).  But 30 years later, experiencing frustrations as he moved into the White House, Trump was still missing his mouthpiece and mentor, and reportedly asking his inner circle: "Where's my Roy Cohn?"  Trump has since relied on a succession of personal lawyers — among them John Dowd, Ty Cobb, and now Rudy Giuliani — who are not likely to make him forget Roy Cohn. And any thought that his White House Counsel, McGahn, was filling that role would now seem ill-conceived."

What webs we weave.  Trump is a racist.  If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what?  It's a duck.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Trump is stifling dissent, free speech, apparently in a desperate attempt to obstruct justice. The Washington Post reports:

"Former CIA director John Brennan struck back at President Trump on Thursday, writing in a blistering op-ed that Trump’s claims of no collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election are “hogwash.”  The piece, posted on the New York Times website, came a day after Trump announced he was stripping the security clearance of Brennan, who led the CIA during most of President Barack Obama’s second term and has emerged as one of Trump’s fiercest critics."

For damned good reason.

"In his op-ed, Brennan characterized Trump’s action as “politically motivated” and said it was “an attempt to scare into silence others who might dare to challenge him.”  Brennan wrote that it is “critically important” that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III be permitted to complete his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia."

Absolutely critical Mueller be allowed to get to the bottom of what happened.

"While Trump has repeatedly insisted there was “no collusion,” Brennan wrote that the “only questions that remain are whether the collusion that took place constituted criminally liable conspiracy, whether obstruction of justice occurred to cover up any collusion or conspiracy, and how many members of ‘Trump Incorporated’ attempted to defraud the government by laundering and concealing the movement of money into their pockets.”

Quite serious charges alleged by Brennan.  Precisely, what Mueller is investigating.  If Trump and his henchmen are indeed innocent of any wrongdoing, why not allow Mueller to complete the  investigation?  What are you so afraid of Donny boy?  Truth coming out?  Shit hitting the fan?

"The former CIA director took aim at Trump for his public call as a candidate in July 2016 for Russia to help find missing emails of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, who was being scrutinized for having used a private email server while secretary of state.  “By issuing such a statement, Mr. Trump was not only encouraging a foreign nation to collect intelligence against a United States citizen, but also openly authorizing his followers to work with our primary global adversary against his political opponent,” Brennan wrote."

That's a problem.  Called treason.  Yet, his sick sycophants voted for him anyway.

“Such a public clarion call certainly makes one wonder what Mr. Trump privately encouraged his advisers to do — and what they actually did — to win the election,” Brennan said. “While I had deep insight into Russian activities during the 2016 election, I now am aware — thanks to the reporting of an open and free press — of many more of the highly suspicious dalliances of some American citizens with people affiliated with the Russian intelligence services. Mr. Trump’s claims of no collusion are, in a word, hogwash.”

Fascinating, isn't it?  Precisely, why the Trump nazi keeps referring to the media as the enemy of the people.  ... As did Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, etc..

"Trump said Wednesday that he is also reviewing the security clearances of nine other former officials, including former FBI director James B. Comey, all of whom have criticized the president or been targeted by congressional Republicans seeking to discredit the Russia probe.  Trump appeared to make a direct link in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “I call it the rigged witch hunt,” Trump said of the Russia probe. “And these people led it. So I think it’s something that had to be done.”

Called obstruction.

CBS News reports:

"While Brennan has long been a vocal critic of the president, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Wednesday that Brennan "has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility." Sanders added that the administration is considering revoking the clearances of other current and former intelligence officials."

Called the truth, Ms. Sanders.  Why do you continue to defend the indefensible, madam?  Lie like hell day after day to protect your nazi fuhrer?  Have you no honor?  No principles?

"In the op-ed, Brennan describes the efforts by the intelligence community under the Obama administration to counter Russian meddling in the U.S. election process. He writes that before, during and after the 2016 election,  Russia "practiced the art of shaping political events abroad through its well-honed active measures program."  "Having worked closely with the F.B.I. over many years on counterintelligence investigations, I was well aware of Russia's ability to work surreptitiously within the United States, cultivating relationships with individuals who wield actual or potential power," Brennan wrote.  He added, "They troll political, business and cultural waters in search of gullible or unprincipled individuals who become pliant in the hands of their Russian puppet masters. Too often, those puppets are found."

Why are national socialist Republicans continuing to support and defend this lunatic, traitorous nazi in the Oval Office?  Nixon was threatened with impeachment, forced to leave office for far, far less than this sick, sad piece of human excrement.

"He added: "Now more than ever, it is critically important that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his team of investigators be allowed to complete their work without interference — from Mr. Trump or anyone else — so that all Americans can get the answers they so rightly deserve."

That's right.  Readers are reminded during the Nixon debacle our formerly great country was still indeed a democratic republic.  No longer.  In name only.

CBS News reports:

"After revoking former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance on Wednesday, President Trump told the Wall Street Journal he held Brennan as one of the people responsible for the special counsel's Russia investigation. According to CBS News senior national security analyst Fran Townsend, who was homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush, the decision appears to be "unprecedented."

Called obstruction.

"Normally, clearances, if they're revoked or lapsed, go through a very formal bureaucratic process. The fact that the president did this himself leaves him open to the criticism that it looks politically motivated," Townsend said Thursday on "CBS This Morning."

Called covering your ass.

"Many of us, former senior officials, maintain our security clearance because we volunteer our time back to the government," Townsend added. "I sit on a government advisory board. I couldn't do it without my clearance. This is not a professional courtesy as the White House has suggested. We do this out of a sense of continuing public service, and so the notion that you're going pull somebody's clearance because you don't like what they did in government service or you don't like what they say is deeply disturbing and very offensive, frankly."

Worse?  This nazi dictator is doing all he can to stifle dissent.  Cover his ass.

"Townsend said Mr. Trump carried out his decision based on what is called the "Article II powers" as commander in chief.  "Let's be honest. If the president is relying on his Article II powers to remove a clearance, it's the same power he'd rely on if he wanted, for example, to fire [special counsel Robert] Mueller. So we ought to understand that the president's very expansive view of his powers, his constitutional powers, he seems to have an unlimited view of how expansive they are," Townsend said."

Mark of a dictator.  Republicans will not be able to ignore this cancer indefinitely.  Want to be returned to office.

NPR reports:

"About a dozen top former intelligence officials are speaking out after the White House revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, a vocal critic of President Trump.  In the statement, the officials call the move "unprecedented" and caution against using security clearances as a political tool. They describe Brennan as "an enormously talented, capable, and patriotic individual." The writers say they don't all agree with everything he's said, but, "Regardless, we all agree that the president's action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances — and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech."

Remain silent?  Get what you deserve.

"The statement criticizing the White House's move is signed by top former officials who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Among them are former CIA Director William Webster, who was appointed to that post by President Ronald Reagan; Gen. David Petraeus, another former CIA director whom Trump had considered for a position in his own cabinet; and Gen. Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA and NSA."

Interestingly, list of signers was indeed bipartisan.  Tell you anything?  Anything at all?

"In an interview with NPR's All Things Considered, Hayden said the decision was purely political, and that the White House had revoked Brennan's clearance "as a punitive measure because the president did not like what John was saying about him."  Hayden warned the action will have a "chilling effect" on the entire intelligence community, "that if you disagree with the president, if you say things with which the president disagrees or he does not like, he is willing to take punitive action against you. And that has nothing to do with politics. That has everything to do with the freedom of American intelligence to be candid with the commander in chief."

True national security issue.

Gratifying to see there are indeed people left in our formerly great country who remain profoundly principled, retain great honor.  In a Washington Post editorial, retired Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, who oversaw the bin Laden raid, wrote:

"Dear Mr. President:

"Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

"Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency."

Uncommon valor.

"Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.  A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself."

How it is supposed to be.  With Trump, however, direct opposite remains the case.

"Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."

Achingly, true.  Trump remains unfit for office.

"If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be."

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump has told advisers that he is eager to strip more security clearances as part of an escalating attack against people who have criticized him or played a role in the investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, two White House officials said.  Over the past 19 months, Trump has fired or threatened to take action against nearly a dozen current and former officials associated with the inquiry, which he has labeled a “rigged witch hunt,” including former FBI director James B. Comey, former deputy attorney general Sally Yates and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. All three were dismissed."

Called obstruction.

"To critics, Trump’s moves echo President Richard Nixon’s decision to force the abrupt firing of Watergate special counsel Archibald Cox.  “If you did all this in one day, it would have a ‘Saturday night massacre’ odor to it,” said Benjamin Wittes, a Brookings Institution fellow who oversees the Lawfare Blog on national security issues, referring to the 1973 move by Nixon that prompted resignations by the Justice Department’s top two officials. “But you spread it out and get people used to the first one, then you do the second one — over a long period of time, it becomes the new normal.”

Not sustainable.  Shit will eventually hit the fan.

Think the following isn't obstruction? The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump said Friday that he plans “very quickly” to strip the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a Justice Department official he said is “a disgrace” who is “working for Mueller.”  Trump has repeatedly targeted Ohr as a source for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and his investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. Ohr’s connection to the matter was as an early contact in 2016 for Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence agent who investigated Trump’s ties to Russia.  “I think that Bruce Ohr is a disgrace, with his wife, Nellie,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “For him to be in the Justice Department, and to be doing what he did, that is a disgrace. That is disqualifying for Mueller. And Mr. Mueller has a lot of conflicts, also.”

You've again disgraced yourself, Mr. 'President.'  Abrogated your oath of office to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

"Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, while not specifying Ohr’s current job, has said that he has no involvement in Mueller’s investigation, begun last year. Rosenstein appointed the special counsel and oversees his work.  Trump’s comments, made to reporters as he boarded Marine One en route to a Republican campaign event in New York, came amid rising criticism of the president for using security clearances as a political tool."

Think Trump's not delusional?  Consider the following:

"In his Friday comments, Trump said he had gotten “tremendous response” for his action against Brennan. “If anything, I’m giving him a bigger voice,” he said. “Many people don’t even know who he is ... I’ve never respected him.”

Other than your sick sycophants, think anyone respects you, sir?

"Trump has told advisers that he is eager to strip more security clearances as part of an escalating attack on people who have criticized him or played a role in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign."

Obstruction.  Blatant.  Determined.  Concerted.  Intentional.

"Besides Gates, those signing the letter included former CIA directors William H. Webster, George J. Tenet, Porter Goss, Michael V. Hayden, Leon E. Panetta and David H. Petraeus; former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.; and former deputy CIA directors John McLaughlin, Stephen Kappes, Avril Haines, David Cohen and Michael Morell."

Heroic.

"In his statement Tuesday, Trump said he also was considering revoking security clearances for other critics, including Clapper and Hayden, former national security adviser Susan E. Rice, former FBI director James B. Comey, former FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, former deputy attorney general Sally Yates and current Justice Department official Bruce Ohr. Several of them have said they no longer have clearances."

Trump doesn't know that?  LOL.

NBC reports:

"In a statement read by press secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday, Trump said he took away the courtesy of allowing a former administration official to retain security clearance because it has been "outweighed by the risk posed by his erratic conduct and behavior."  Trump claimed Brennan had "recently leveraged his status... to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on the internet and on television, about this administration" in the statement.  However, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Trump said that it was not because of national security, but because Brennan and others are being targeted for their role in the Russia probe.  “I call it the rigged witch hunt, [it] is a sham,” Trump said in the interview. “And these people led it!”  He added: “So I think it’s something that had to be done.”

Obstruction.  ... Ferociously pointedly, isn't the lunatic truly talking about himself?  LOL.

The Washington Post reports:

"The White House has drafted documents revoking the security clearances of current and former officials whom President Trump has demanded be punished for criticizing him or playing a role in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to senior administration officials.  Trump wants to sign “most if not all” of them, said one senior White House official, who indicated that communications aides, including press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine, the newly named deputy chief of staff, have discussed the optimum times to release them as a distraction during unfavorable news cycles."

Obstruction.

"Some presidential aides echoed concerns raised by outside critics that the threatened revocations smack of a Nixonian enemies list, with little or no substantive national security justification. Particular worry has been expressed inside the White House about Trump’s statement Friday that he intends “very quickly” to strip the clearance of current Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations."

CBS News reports:

"A day after 12 former senior intelligence officials signed a letter condemning President Trump for revoking the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, 60 lower-ranking former CIA officers signed an open letter on Friday also in opposition to Mr. Trump's decision.  "All of us believe it is critical to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure. But we believe equally strongly that former government officials have the right to express their unclassified views on what they see as critical national security issues without fear of being punished for doing so," the new letter says.   The letter supports Brennan's right to express his opinions, without necessarily approving of his perspective.  "Our signatures below do not necessarily mean that we concur with the opinions expressed by former Director Brennan or the way in which he expressed them," it says. "What they do represent, however, is our firm belief that the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views."

CNN reports:

"Former CIA Director John Brennan criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for revoking his security clearance and said the President is "drunk on power."  "The fact that he's using a security clearance of a former CIA director as a pawn in his public relations strategy I think is just so reflective of somebody who, quite frankly, I don't want to use this term maybe, but he's drunk on power. He really is, and I think he's abusing the powers of that office," Brennan told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow during an interview."

A nazi fuhrer.

"Trump announced on Wednesday that he was stripping Brennan, who has been an outspoken critic of the President, of his security clearance and accused the former CIA director of "lying" and giving "increasingly frenzied commentary" on television.  Brennan was reacting to a report in The Washington Post on Friday that said the decision to revoke his security clearance had been finalized in order to switch the news cycle's focus from former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman's new book.

"Brennan said on Friday that he believes the country "is in a crisis in terms of what Mr. Trump has done and is liable to do."  He went on to say, "Are the Republicans on the Hill who have given him a pass -- are they going to wait for a disaster to happen before they actually find their backbones and spines to speak up against somebody who clearly, clearly, is not carrying out his responsibilities with any sense of purpose and common sense from the standpoint of national security?"

CBS News reports:

"Brennan made the remark as more than 70 former intelligence officials spoke out against the president's decision to revoke Brennan's clearance, CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett reported. Brennan said the move was retaliation for criticism of the president's policies and character, like a tweet from July, when Brennan called Mr. Trump's performance at a press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin "nothing short of treasonous."  "I think this is just another example of Mr. Trump trying to frighten and intimidate others, but I can tell you … these are not the type of people who are going to be bullied or intimidated by someone of the likes of Mr. Trump," Brennan said.  Early on Saturday, Mr. Trump fired back at Brennan in a tweet, saying "he has become nothing less than a loudmouth, partisan, political hack who cannot be trusted with the secrets to our country!"

    "Has anyone looked at the mistakes that John Brennan made while serving as CIA Director? He will go down as easily the WORST in history & since getting out, he has become nothing less than a loudmouth, partisan, political hack who cannot be trusted with the secrets to our country!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018"

Aren't you perfectly describing yourself, Mr. 'President?'  Readers are reminded, to date, there is no evidence Brennan has compromised national security.  None at all.  If our nazi fuhrer claims otherwise, he should promptly release proof of the allegation.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump said Monday that he would welcome a threatened lawsuit from former CIA director John Brennan, saying it would expose Brennan to the release of documents that would prove him to be “the worst CIA Director in our country’s history.”  Trump’s comments on Twitter came a day after Brennan said he is willing to take the president to court to prevent other current and former officials from having their security clearances revoked.

    "I hope John Brennan, the worst CIA Director in our country’s history, brings a lawsuit. It will then be very easy to get all of his records, texts, emails and documents to show not only the poor job he did, but how he was involved with the Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt. He won’t sue!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018"

Backlash growing, bipartisan:

"Trump’s Monday tweet came as a bipartisan outcry over his revocation of Brennan’s security clearance continued to grow, with the release of a statement of opposition signed by more than 175 alumni of national security jobs.  Brennan, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, said Sunday that a number of lawyers have contacted him to offer advice on pursuing an injunction to prevent Trump from taking similar actions in the future.

“I am going to do whatever I can personally to try to prevent these abuses in the future, and if it means going to court, I will do that,” Brennan said in an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”  “If my clearances — and my reputation, as I’m being pulled through the mud now — if that’s the price we’re going to pay to prevent Donald Trump from doing this against other people, to me, it’s a small price to pay,” Brennan said."

Time for far more to courageously stand up against this tyranny, exigent threat to the Constitution, rule of law.

"The statement of support for Brennan released Monday was the third since the White House announced last week that it was taking action against him for making irresponsible claims during television appearances and on social media.

“Our signatures below do not necessarily mean that we concur with the opinions expressed by former CIA Director Brennan or the way in which he expressed them,” the latest statement says. “What they do represent, however, is our firm belief that the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views.”

"The latest statement is signed by career national security officials as well as political appointees from both parties.  The career officials include Nicholas J. Rasmussen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center; William J. Burns, former deputy secretary of state; and Douglas H. Wise, a former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.  Other former national security officials who signed include Anthony Lake, former national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, and Sean O’Keefe, former secretary of the Navy under President George H.W. Bush.  The statement is also signed by more than 10 former U.S. ambassadors and more than 20 former U.S. attorneys."

The Trump nazi is clearly abusing power.  Remains an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Think the following should have even been necessary?  NPR reports:

"More than 300 news publications across the country are joining together to defend the role of a free press and denounce President Trump's ongoing attacks on the news media in coordinated editorials publishing Thursday, according to a tally by The Boston Globe.  The project was spearheaded by staff members of the editorial page at the Globe, who write: "This relentless assault on the free press has dangerous consequences. We asked editorial boards from around the country – liberal and conservative, large and small — to join us today to address this fundamental threat in their own words."  Self-governance demands that our citizens need to be well-informed and that's what we're here to do. ... Some think we're rude to question and challenge. We know it's our obligation."

No matter the personal cost and/or risk.

"Marjorie Pritchard, the Globe's deputy managing editor of the editorial page who led the effort, told NPR's Morning Edition, "This editorial project is not against the Trump administration's agenda. It's a response to put us into the public discourse and defend the First Amendment."Beyond the damage done at home, Trump's verbal attacks on reporters — blasting them as 'disgusting' and 'sick' and 'among the most dishonest human beings on earth' — put journalists around the world at greater risk.  She said the reason to publish the editorials now was "because the press needs to have a voice on this. ... We've done individual editorials, but I think it's, there is some strength in numbers of just defending a constitutionally enshrined pillar of democracy."

Criticism of media is the mark of a dictator.  Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, etc., were masters at this.  The Trump nazi is certainly following in their footsteps.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Saga continues.  ABC News reports:

"Omarosa Manigault Newman, former reality television villain and White House official, released her latest secret recording –- this time, a conversation with Lara Trump about joining the Trump campaign.  In the conversation, which Manigault Newman said was made in the days after she was fired from the White House, the president’s campaign aide and daughter-in-law offered Manigault Newman $15,000 per month to have a public role in the campaign. The tape aligns with what Manigault Newman wrote about in her new tell-all memoir, “Unhinged.”  In the book she writes that the Trump campaign contract would have required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but she refused.  In an interview with MSNBC, Manigault Newman said she saw the offer as hush money.

Not the first time this has happened.  LOL.

"On the recording, which has not been independently verified by ABC News, the younger Trump appears to suggest campaign concerns about Manigault Newman disparaging her former employers.  "It sounds a little like, obviously, that there are some things you've got in the back pocket to pull out. Clearly, if you come on board the campaign, like, we can't have, we got to," she continues.  Manigault Newman interrupts her to respond, "Oh, God no."  “Everything, everybody positive, right?” Trump added."

You think?  LOL.

Gets worse:

"Trump goes on, on the recording, to say that the money offered to Manigault Newman is public.  “All the money that we raise and that pays salaries is directly from donors, small-dollar donors for the most part," Trump said on the tape.  "So, I know you, you were making 179 at the White House," she said, referring to Manigault Newman's $179,000 annual salary. "And I think we can work something out where we keep you right along those lines."  "Specifically, let me see, I haven't even added up the numbers," Trump continued. "But we were talking about, like, 15K a month. Let me see what that adds up to. Times 12. Yeah. So that’s $180,000. Does that sound like, uh, a fair deal for you?”

Sounds like a chip off the old block, doesn't she?  LOL.  Couldn't be something she 'inherited,' some way, somehow, could it?  LOL.

"Lara Trump responded in a statement calling the latest "bombshell tape" a "fraud."

Did she ever.  LOL.  Who the hell is lying?  LOL.  Get this:

“From the beginning of my father-in-law’s campaign, Omarosa was welcomed into our family as a trusted friend and confidant. On the Women for Trump tour, including Omarosa, we formed a sisterhood bond that is unlike any I have experienced in my life. We toured together, laughed together, and worked really hard towards a common goal. We never would have imagined that one of our own was secretly recording all of our private conversations," Trump said."

Jesus Christ.  Should we break out the violins?  LOL.

"When Omarosa was fired by the White House Chief of Staff in December of 2017, my entire family was concerned for her because we had no idea about the basis of her dismissal. We still wanted her on our team because we cared so much about her personally. That’s why I reached out to offer her a position with the 2020 Trump Campaign before we knew anything about the gross violations of ethics and integrity during her White House tenure. Another one of Omarosa’s ‘bombshell’ tapes is a fraud. The discussions about a position with the campaign took place in numerous phone calls over the course of several weeks. Woman to woman, I shared a connection with Omarosa as a friend and a campaign sister, and I am absolutely shocked and saddened by her betrayal and violation on a deeply personal level."  "I hope it’s all worth it for you, Omarosa, because some things you just can’t put a price on,” Trump added."

Jesus Christ.  Give me a break.  Think they don't all deserve each other?  LOL.  Problem is the public is ultimately paying the price.

NBC reports:

"In an interview with MSNBC's Craig Melvin after the excerpts were aired, Manigault Newman said the recording was proof of "an attempt" by the Trump team "to buy my silence, to censor me, and to pay me off."  Asked if she saw it as "hush money," Manigault Newman responded, "Absolutely."  Manigault Newman shared four excerpts from the recording of the longer conversation for broadcast; NBC News has heard the full tape of the conversation and the clips are in context.

"When asked by Melvin why she did not share the full tape for NBC to play, Manigault Newman responded that she wanted to "undergird everything" in her book.  She reiterated that she had witnessed "corruption" during her time in the White House, but when asked for the specifics of what she saw, she replied that "there are things I'm going to save to share when the time is right."  Manigault Newman wouldn’t comment on whether she'd spoken with special counsel Robert Mueller's team — which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election — since she began releasing her tapes (she told MSNBC on Tuesday that she’d been interviewed by Mueller), but said she would stand by her previous statement."

Fascinating, isn't it?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Tariff saga continues.  NBC reports:

"Turkey announced Wednesday that it is increasing tariffs on imports of certain U.S. products, escalating a feud with the United States that has helped trigger a currency crisis.  In a decision announced in the Official Gazette, Ankara said it will impose extra tariffs on imports of products including rice, vehicles, alcohol, coal and cosmetics. Tariffs on American cars were doubled to 120 percent while tariff on alcoholic drinks to 140 percent. Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter that the tariffs on certain products were increased "within the framework of the principle of reciprocity in retaliation for the deliberate economic attacks by the United States."

CBS News reports:

"Turkey and the United States exchanged new threats of sanctions Friday, keeping alive a diplomatic and financial crisis that is threatening the economic stability of the NATO country as a Turkish court rejected the appeal of an American pastor caught in the middle of the row. Turkey's lira fell once again after the trade minister, Ruhsar Pekcan, said Friday that her government would respond to any new trade duties, which U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in an overnight tweet."

Aside from the current ongoing debacle and despite Turkey's strategic importance to NATO, why hasn't Turkey been expelled from the alliance?  The country is run by an out of control despot.

Instead of concerning himself with the above, the Trump nazi is more concerned with domestic political ramifications that may arise from the following:

"Mr. Trump is taking issue with the continued detention in Turkey of Andrew Brunson, an American evangelical pastor who faces 35 years in prison on charges of espionage and terrorism. On Friday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said a high court in Izmir had upheld a lower court's decision earlier this week to keep Brunson under house arrest. It also rejected an appeal for his travel ban to be lifted, Anadolu reported."

Think the following indicative of a president with all his marbles?

"Mr. Trump wrote in a tweet late Thursday: "We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!"

    "Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years. They are now holding our wonderful Christian Pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage. We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018"

Holding him for cash ransom, Mr. 'President?'

NPR reports:

"The U.S. is threatening further sanctions against Turkey if it does not quickly release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been detained by the Turkish government for nearly two years. The diplomatic spat is also taking a toll on Turkey's currency, the lira.  Turkey says Brunson has ties to political groups responsible for the 2016 attempted coup of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Brunson runs an evangelical church in the Turkish city of Izmir. The U.S. says the pastor is "a victim of unfair and unjust detention."  Turkey has accused Brunson of espionage and having ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party and the movement led by cleric Fethullah Gulen. Brunson has denied those charges. If found guilty, he faces up to 35 years in prison.  On Thursday evening, President Trump described Brunson as "our wonderful Christian pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage":

    "Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years. They are now holding our wonderful Christian Pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage. We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018"

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Why are the taxpayers looted to pay for Trump, Jr.'s security when he's overseas on Trump, Inc. business?  Why isn't the company paying for it?  The Washington Post reports:

"Government records show that taxpayers spent more than $32,000 on hotel rooms for the security detail that accompanied Donald Trump Jr. to India earlier this year to promote his family’s luxury real estate projects — with many bills still unaccounted for.  A review of General Services Administration purchase orders shows that the government paid $15,166 for rooms for “Don Jr Visit to Mumbai” and another bill for $3,501, as well as $13,468 for hotels in the western Indian city of Pune, for a total of $32,135.  A third purchase order for the city of Kolkata for the same time frame lists an additional $9,880 for a “VIP visit.” Officials at the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata declined to identify the VIP in question. The costs of the hotel rooms for the entourage’s stay in the capital — likely a hefty portion of the tab — as well as the airfare and transportation expenses remain unclear."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

'Stupid is as stupid does.'  No truer words when it comes to the lunatic in the Oval Office.  The following is appalling.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Friday blamed local officials for his decision to postpone a grand military parade in Washington this fall, alleging without evidence that they had unreasonably inflated the price."

Called lying.

    “The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it. Never let someone hold you up! I will instead...
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018

    "....attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018"

D.C. Mayor would have none of it:

"About an hour after the president’s tweet, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) delivered her own caustic response on Twitter, indicating the desired parade would have cost $21.6 million to organize in the nation’s capital. The federal government typically reimburses the District for a large share of the security and logistical costs for such events.

    "Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad). https://t.co/vqC3d8FLqx
    — MurielBowser (@MurielBowser) August 17, 2018

"A city official said the planning process for the parade had been difficult to coordinate with White House officials, who had been slow to communicate details of the event, including plans for a specific date.  Although the president has long discussed a potential military parade, the White House Office of Management and Budget only approached D.C. city officials on Tuesday to discuss logistical costs, a Bowser administration official said.  The White House had scant details about the event, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations with the president’s team."

Think the 'president's' not an idiot?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Lack of transparency, -- growing.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Friday called on financial regulators to consider allowing public companies to share information with the public less often, a potentially major shake-up of corporate America."

Certainly, would give the corporate management suite greater opportunity to do as they please, easier to cover up malfeasance, determinedly, intentionally, concertedly f--k labor and shareholders.  Do so with impunity.

“That would allow greater flexibility & save money,” Trump said in a tweet."

Anything to further line the pockets of the corporate management suite, right, Mr. 'President?'

"Publicly traded companies must file quarterly reports disclosing extensive details about their operations, including profit and revenue. But some chief executives have complained that these type of requirements lead them to focus on short-term profits rather than the long-term health of their companies."

Hopelessly greedy, short-sighted national socialist, nazi bastards, right, Mr. 'President?'  ... Just like you, sir.

"In his tweet, Trump said that the Securities and Exchange Commission should study moving the reporting requirement to every six months instead of every three. The proposal follows conversations with the “world’s top business leaders” about how to “make business (jobs) even better in the U.S.," Trump said.

    "In speaking with some of the world’s top business leaders I asked what it is that would make business (jobs) even better in the U.S. “Stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system,” said one. That would allow greater flexibility & save money. I have asked the SEC to study!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018"

Goddamned crock of shit promulgated by this hopelessly greedy, national socialist nazi bastard.  This piece of crap couldn't care less about jobs, labor compensation, etc..  Only about lining his pockets and those of the corporate management suite and others at the top of the food chain.  No more than more of the same old shit.  That is, laissez-faire uncontrolled or pooly-controlled capitalism.

"The proposal is likely to be lambasted by shareholder advocates, who in recent years have called on corporations to share more information with the public, not less.  It also comes as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has proposed forcing companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to weigh the interests of all stakeholders — including workers and local communities, in addition to shareholders — in its decision-making. Under the proposal, workers would elect 40 percent of the directors, and three-fourths of directors and shareholders would need to sign off on political expenditures."

Can't have that, can we?  Why would a CEO wish to make less than several hundred times that of his lowest-paid indentured servant?'  Called a concerted, determined, intention royal f--king of labor.  ... Right, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Think the following indicative, highly demonstrative of good judgment?  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump defended his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Friday, saying “it’s very sad what they’ve done” to him, as jurors began their second day of deliberating whether Manafort is guilty of tax and bank fraud crimes."

What's that, Mr. 'President?'  What have they done to him?  Documentary evidence clearly, at the very least, suggests he's lined his pockets, not reported and paid his taxes, committed bank fraud, etc..  No problems with that, sir?  Not only that, the judge is clearly in his pocket, not impartial.  Imagine that.  Couldn't be doing your bidding, could he?

"Trump, speaking with reporters on the White House lawn, was asked about a possible pardon for the 69-year-old Manafort.  Trump declined to answer that question, but defended Manafort.  “I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad. When you look at what’s going on, I think it’s a very sad day for our country,” Trump said, adding that Manafort “happens to be a very good person, I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.”

Again, what's that, Mr. 'President?'  What have they done to him, sir?  In good faith, attempt to bring him to justice?  If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what?  It's a duck.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Seemingly, no end to white-collar corruption.  The Washington Post reports:

"The Justice Department is investigating whether longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence with the Trump administration by offering to deliver U.S. government actions for foreign officials in exchange for tens of millions of dollars, according to three people familiar with the probe.  As part of the investigation, prosecutors are scrutinizing a plan that Broidy allegedly developed to try to persuade the Trump government to extradite a Chinese dissident back to his home country, a move sought by Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to two of the people.  They also are investigating claims that Broidy sought $75 million from a Malaysian business official if the Justice Department ended its investigation of a development fund run by the Malaysian government. The Malaysian probe has examined the role of the former prime minister in the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the fund."

This shit will not end until those convicted of such crimes, are not only imprisoned in non-country club prisons, but forfeit all personal assets.

"A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. Christopher Clark, an attorney for Broidy, said in a statement: “Elliott Broidy has never agreed to work for, been retained by nor been compensated by any foreign government for any interaction with the United States Government, ever. Any implication to the contrary is a lie.”

Think so?

"Broidy’s alleged activities were detailed in news reports earlier this year that cited hacked emails. The Los Angeles-based venture capitalist, who served as top fundraiser for the Republican Party and President Trump, has said that allegations against him are an effort by his enemies to smear him.  Rudolph W. Giuliani, an attorney for Trump, said he had no knowledge of any request for records related to Broidy. The White House referred a request for comment to the Republican National Committee, which declined to comment."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Anything to line the pockets of the war-profiteering corporate management suite.  NBC reports:

"President Donald Trump is increasingly venting frustration to his national security team about the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and showing renewed interest in a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to privatize the war, current and former senior administration officials said.  Prince's idea, which first surfaced last year during the president's Afghanistan strategy review, envisions replacing troops with private military contractors who would work for a special U.S. envoy for the war who would report directly to the president.  It has raised ethical and security concerns among senior military officials, key lawmakers and members of Trump's national security team. A year after Trump's strategy announcement, his advisers are worried his impatience with the Afghanistan conflict will cause him to seriously consider proposals like Prince's or abruptly order a complete U.S. withdrawal, officials said."

Time to end the insanity, declare victory, withdraw.  Take care of our own.  If we weren't continually imposing ourselves across the globe, there'd be far less terrorism.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Gutless GOP.  CBS News reports:

"The forgotten Republicans — people like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — have been unwilling to sit quietly as Mr. Trump steers the GOP away from free trade, fiscal responsibility, consistent foreign policy and civility.  Isolation and political exile have been their rewards.  Their diminished roles leave fewer Republican leaders willing to challenge Mr. Trump under any circumstances, even in his darkest moments.  Fact checkers have recorded an extraordinary level of false and misleading statements flowing out of the White House. And beyond dishonesty, some of the forgotten have decried a disturbing pattern of racially charged rhetoric on issues like immigration, NFL anthem protests and Confederate monuments.  "White nationalism isn't something I'm ever going to be comfortable with. But it is embraced by, or simply doesn't bother, a lot of Republicans," said former Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges, once a Trump confidant who was forced from his leadership post after criticizing Trump in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election."

If Republicans fail to stand up to the Trump nazi, Democrats will be returned to power.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

U. S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has repeatedly abrogated his oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution.  NBC reports:

"President Donald Trump may think Jeff Sessions is not a “real attorney general,” but the former Alabama senator is quietly molding the Justice Department into an agency that uses the law as a weapon against minorities, immigrants and fair elections.  For all his tough talk on Twitter, Trump will never shame Jefferson Beauregard Sessions into resigning because while the president distracts the nation and the media with his outrage-a-day tweet strategy, Sessions, flying under the radar, is doing exactly what he came to Washington to do."

Traitorously impose his racist, national socialist ideology and religious views.

"Since taking office, Sessions has installed a punitive agenda based on the “Massive Resistance” strategy followed by attorneys general throughout the Deep South during the segregation era to use the law to thwart justice. The aim then was to hobble the civil rights movement, limit the number of black elected officials and impose sentencing guidelines that fell most harshly on black lawbreakers and white citizens guilty of so-called lifestyle “crimes” like recreational drug use and “deviant” sexual behavior. This, of course, is the same legal agenda now being pursued ferociously by Sessions. Far from being “missing in action” as Trump claims, the much-ridiculed Sessions is bent on a root-and-branch revision of federal law enforcement."

Raw, jackbooted nazism, highly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

"In only 18 months, according to Wines, Sessions has completely reversed the voter-protection policies of President Barack Obama’s Justice Department — some of which have been in place since 1965. Its attorneys now side with the same Republican state officials whose voter suppression schemes they once opposed in court. “Under Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” Wines wrote, “the department has filed legal briefs in support of states that are resisting court orders to rein in voter ID requirements, stop aggressive purges of voter rolls and redraw political boundaries that have unfairly diluted minority voting power — all practices that were opposed under President Obama’s attorneys general.”

Raw nazism imposed by a racist, Republican traitor.

"Almost as an aside, Sessions also has sought to prosecute providers of medical marijuana and defended the separation of Central American families seeking to enter the U.S. illegally — with a Bible verse, no less. Speaking before conservative audiences, he has happily joked about a policy that essentially put babies in cages and echoed conservative high schoolers chants about jailing Hillary Clinton. By national standards, Sessions may look like the laughable elf depicted on Saturday Night Live, but he is, in fact, a dangerous advocate for an outdated political culture that looks to the law as a means of controlling people who look and think differently."

Racist nazi.  An exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Goes on and on, but you do get the point, don't you?

Above quotes courtesy of a most gifted insightful writer, Howell Raines.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Truth's a moving target in Trump's Fourth Reich.  Think the 'president' wasn't  caught figuratively with his pants down by The New York Times recently?  Think that may be why he's been particularly off the wall more than usual last few days?  LOL.  Consider the following.  CNN reports:

"White House counsel Don McGahn's attorney did not give President Donald Trump's lawyers a full accounting of McGahn's interviews with the special counsel's team, a person familiar with the matter tells CNN.  Trump's attorneys did not ask for a complete debriefing, the person said."

Why not?  Think that didn't rattle the cage of the lunatic in the Oval Office?

"During his three interviews with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, McGahn did not provide information that would be incriminating to the President, a source told CNN."

Apparently, that failed to placate the lunatic.

"The New York Times first reported Sunday that Trump's legal team does not know the extent to which McGahn has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller. The news follows a Saturday report by the Times that McGahn had been cooperating with Mueller extensively. The President's lawyers told the Times on Sunday that they believed that McGahn's nearly 30 hours of interviews with the special counsel had not included any testimony harmful to the President."

Think so?  No matter what, Trump was clearly not satisfied.

"The President's advisers are now concerned McGahn's statements to the special counsel could be key to filling in some blanks of Mueller's report, two people familiar with the discussion told the Times.  According to the Times' Saturday report, McGahn's decision to cooperate was partly due to the fact that the President's initial legal team had decided to fully cooperate with Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, believing their client had nothing to hide and that they could bring a quick end to the probe."

Sound credible?  If so, and more importantly, if the 'president' truly had nothing to hide, why didn't the Trump nazi simply remain silent on the entire matter and let the investigation take its course unimpeded?

"McGahn and his attorney, William Burck, became concerned that the President planned to set him up to be held responsible for any potential illegal incidents of obstruction, the Times reported, so the White House counsel and his attorney came up with a strategy to cooperate as extensively as possible with the special counsel in order to prove that there was no wrongdoing by McGahn, the newspaper reported."

Remember?  Dean was thrown under the bus by the Nixon nazi all those decades ago.  What's so incredibly ironic about the Nixon fiasco is it demonstrably doesn't hold a candle to the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

While truth indeed remains a moving target in our formerly great country for decades, the following appears more than plausible:

"People familiar with Trump's thinking told the Times that his realization that he was unaware of what McGahn shared with Mueller's team shook the President, who is said to be obsessed with the informant role that John W. Dean, then the White House counsel to President Richard Nixon and now a CNN contributor, played during Watergate.  On Sunday morning, Trump referenced Dean in a Twitter post lashing out at the Times' report a day earlier, calling it "a Fake piece" that implied "because White House Counsel Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel, he must be a John Dean type 'RAT. But I allowed him and all others to testify - I didn't have to."

If you hadn't, Mr. 'President,' you would have spawned a constitutional crisis you would have likely ultimately lost.  Dean didn't take any of this lying down:

"Dean fired back, "@realDonaldTrump (I still have trouble using the title Mr. President for someone installed by Putin), I doubt you have ANY IDEA what McGahn has told Mueller. Also, Nixon knew I was meeting with prosecutors, b/c I told him. However, he didn't think I would tell them the truth!"

More interesting?  Get this:

"Politico reported Sunday that Dean has met several times over the past few months with Lanny Davis, the attorney representing former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is under criminal investigation in New York because of his business dealings.  "I reached out to my old friend John Dean because of what he went through with Watergate, and I saw some parallels to what Michael Cohen is experiencing," Davis told Politico. "I wanted to gain from John's wisdom."  Davis added that he had asked Dean for a retelling of his experiences during the Nixon investigation, not for legal counsel on Cohen's case."

NPR reports:

"In a series of tweets over the weekend, President Trump responded to a story published in The New York Times that detailed extensive cooperation between White House counsel Donald McGahn, and the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller into obstruction of justice and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia."

Consider the following:

    "I allowed White House Counsel Don McGahn, and all other requested members of the White House Staff, to fully cooperate with the Special Counsel. In addition we readily gave over one million pages of documents. Most transparent in history. No Collusion, No Obstruction. Witch Hunt!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018

    "The failing @nytimes wrote a Fake piece today implying that because White House Councel Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel, he must be a John Dean type “RAT.” But I allowed him and all others to testify - I didn’t have to. I have nothing to hide......
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2018

    "The Failing New York Times wrote a story that made it seem like the White House Councel had TURNED on the President, when in fact it is just the opposite - & the two Fake reporters knew this. This is why the Fake News Media has become the Enemy of the People. So bad for America!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2018"

The enemy of the people is not a free press.  Remains a nazi fuhrer who has abrogated his oath of office to protect and defend the United States Constitution.

"The New York Times reported that McGahn spoke with Mueller's team about Trump's firing of the FBI director James Comey and his push for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to claim oversight of the inquiry, and Trump's attempts to fire Mueller. His interviews with Mueller's team of investigators totaled 30 hours."

Think that didn't send a chill up the spine of our fearless fuhrer?

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Monday referred to lawyers working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III as “thugs” and accused them of trying to affect this year’s elections, further ramping up his rhetoric against prosecutors probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  In morning tweets, Trump called Mueller “disgraced and discredited” and said his team of prosecutors is “a National Disgrace!”

How so, Donny boy?  Ferociously pointedly, aren't you, in fact, perfectly describing yourself, sir?

    "Disgraced and discredited Bob Mueller and his whole group of Angry Democrat Thugs spent over 30 hours with the White House Councel, only with my approval, for purposes of transparency. Anybody needing that much time when they know there is no Russian Collusion is just someone....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018

    "....looking for trouble. They are enjoying ruining people’s lives and REFUSE to look at the real corruption on the Democrat side - the lies, the firings, the deleted Emails and soooo much more! Mueller’s Angry Dems are looking to impact the election. They are a National Disgrace!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018

    "Where’s the Collusion? They made up a phony crime called Collusion, and when there was no Collusion they say there was Obstruction (of a phony crime that never existed). If you FIGHT BACK or say anything bad about the Rigged Witch Hunt, they scream Obstruction!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018"

The 'president' is certainly behaving like he's guilty as hell.  An out of control lunatic.

"Trump’s accusation that the probe could have an impact on the fall elections comes as his lawyers and Mueller’s team continue a lengthy back-and-forth over whether Trump will sit down for an interview with the special counsel’s team. The president’s legal team has sought to take certain topics, such as possible obstruction of justice, off the table."

Why?  Because you and your fuhrer know he's guilty as hell?

"Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani recently told the Wall Street Journal that Trump would not sit for an interview after Sept. 1 because it might interfere with the midterm elections in November."

Jesus Christ.  What a crock of shit.  Any excuse at all.  Obfuscation by a nazi and his henchmen who appear guiltier by the day.  LOL.

"Trump also re-asserted in his Monday tweets that “there was no collusion” between his campaign and the Russians and said efforts to build a case of obstruction were the result of prosecutors being frustrated because they found no coordination.  “If you FIGHT BACK or say anything bad about the Rigged Witch Hunt, they scream Obstruction!” the president wrote."

Jesus Christ.  Our clueless nazi fuhrer continues to talk out his ass.  Mueller and his team have remained closed mouth.  Exceptionally, so.  The investigation is not over.  The nazi despot has no clue what they have or don't have.

"In tweets over the weekend, Trump compared Mueller’s investigation to the tactics employed by the late senator Joseph McCarthy, who alleged that communist agents and Soviet spies had infiltrated the U.S. government, accusing some of treason without evidence."

That's nuts.  Hasn't happened.  Mueller and his team made no such irresponsible claims of any kind, nor engaged in jackbooted tactics.  Demonstrates increasing unbridled fear rising in the Trump nazi.

"Some of Trump’s critics have suggested the president, who last week stripped the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan and has vowed to pursue similar actions against a list of other critics, is the one who is acting like McCarthy."

Goddamned right.  The nazi is clearly shitting as Mueller zeroes in.  With all his continued tweeting, how does he have time to run the country?

NPR reports:

"Trump's Sunday morning Twitter storm also included another, stranger historical reference. It urged Americans to "study Joseph McCarthy," suggesting that Mueller's probe was so unfair and out-of-bounds that it made the notorious 1950s Red-hunter "look like a baby."

Not a strange statement coming from the Trump nazi considering his connection to McCarthy's lawyer.  ... Patience.  Read on.

"Anyone familiar with McCarthy's history would have to smile at that image. Although the youngest member of the U.S. Senate when he first took the oath in 1947 at age 38, his receding hairline and perpetual five-o'clock shadow made him look much older.  McCarthy's first years in office attracted little attention outside his home state of Wisconsin. But in February 1950 he gave a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., alleging that he had a list of actual communists working in the U.S. State Department."

Had nothing.  A charlatan just like the Trump nazi.

"Sen. Joseph McCarthy listens to his attorney, Roy Cohn, during the televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954. The series of hearings badly damaged the senator's image and led to a vote of censure by the Senate.
Bettmann Archive/Getty IMages"

"The charge created a sensation in the atmosphere of the time, when war was breaking out in Korea and powerful Communist regimes ruled China and the Soviet Union. McCarthy tapped into the fear and confusion of the Cold War era and greatly contributed to both. Supporters even wanted Dwight Eisenhower to put McCarthy on the national ticket in 1952 (Eisenhower instead chose Nixon, then a senator from California)."

Think Trump's not doing the same with his sick sycophant base?  Master manipulator.

"While denied a shot at the vice-presidency, McCarthy used his investigative powers as a subcommittee chairman to haul a procession of witnesses before the cameras on Capitol Hill. There they were grilled relentlessly by McCarthy or his principal counsel, Roy Cohn. Their abusive style eventually proved their undoing when they took on the U.S. Army over the promotion of a major they found suspicious.  The televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954 badly damaged the senator's image and led to a vote of censure by the U.S. Senate. Humiliated, he gradually withdrew from the Senate and entered a hospital in Washington, where he died in 1957 at the age of 48."

Damage done by this national socialist nazi was horrendous:

"Years later, when the full records of McCarthy's committee were released, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) wrote this in the preface: "Senator McCarthy's zeal to uncover subversion and espionage led to disturbing excesses. His browbeating tactics destroyed careers of people who were not involved in the infiltration of our government. ... These hearings are a part of our national past that we can neither afford to forget nor permit to reoccur."

Too late.  Already happening.  Perpetrated anew by the Trump nazi and his equally fascist henchmen.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"Trump was only 10 when McCarthy died. But he has a personal connection to him through Roy Cohn, who returned to New York City and became a legendary paladin for powerful politicians, mob bosses, sports figures and entertainers.  Trump and Cohn met at a Manhattan nightclub in 1973, when Trump and his father, Fred, were being sued by the federal government for racial discrimination in their rental units. Cohn advised the Trumps to defy the government, and defended them in court. The case eventually settled with no admission of guilt. Trump would later describe Cohn not only as his attorney but as a mentor."

Here's the connection to the present:

"One of Cohn's proteges, Roger Stone, would become a confidant[e] and sometime aide to Trump. Stone had worked for the Nixon re-election effort back in 1972 as an opposition researcher and operative — sometimes described as a "dirty trickster," although he was not among those prosecuted in the Watergate era. He later set up a lobbying firm in Washington with Paul Manafort, who would be Trump's campaign chairman for several months in 2016."

Who'd 'a 'thunk' it, no?

"Cohn's ultra-aggressive lawyering eventually led to his disbarment in 1986 for unethical conduct. He died later that year of complications of AIDS (insisting in public that he was suffering from liver cancer)."

The following is chilling and highly indicative none of this is sustainable or will end well:

"But 30 years later, experiencing frustrations as he moved into the White House, Trump was still missing his mouthpiece and mentor, and reportedly asking his inner circle: "Where's my Roy Cohn?"  Trump has since relied on a succession of personal lawyers — among them John Dowd, Ty Cobb, and now Rudy Giuliani — who are not likely to make him forget Roy Cohn. And any thought that his White House Counsel, McGahn, was filling that role would now seem ill-conceived."

Quotes above are courtesy of a most gifted, insightful writer, Ron Elving.

Think Trump's not insane?  NBC reports:

"President Donald Trump says that he has chosen to stay out of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation — but he claimed that he is "totally allowed" to be involved in the probe and could even "run it."

Think so?  Fox guarding the chicken coop.

"I've decided to stay out," Trump said in an interview with Reuters published Monday. "Now, I don't have to stay out. I can go in and I could do whatever. I could run it if I want."

Think so?  Mark of a dictator.  Despotic delusion of the hopelessly ill.

"I’m totally allowed to be involved if I wanted to be. So far, I haven’t chosen to be involved. I’ll stay out," Trump said."

Sound like a sane man?  Guy with all his marbles?

"Trump has repeatedly blasted Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice, railing against what he derides as a "Rigged Witch Hunt."

Think Trump's not obstructing justice?

"In his interview with Reuters, Trump said he was worried that any statements he provides to Mueller under oath could be used to bring perjury charges against him — echoing the concerns of his top lawyer in the investigation, Rudy Giuliani, who has said any meeting with the special counsel could be a so-called perjury trap."

No question, considering the fact he seems to be a congenital liar.  Mueller would have a field day.

"It is unclear if the president could "run" the Mueller investigation, but experts have said that Trump can likely fire Mueller — a move that could trigger a Constitutional crisis."

Be the end of his presidency.  Start of something far worse, however.  Pence.  Forget?  Unlike Trump, Pence is not insane.

"Trump has made several moves that could be seen as attempts to curtail the probe, including the dismissal of Comey, calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end the inquiry, and reportedly seeking to fire Mueller in the past."

Called obstruction.

Not clear yet where this is all going.  Certainly, nowhere good.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Time for you to stand tall, Madam First Lady.  Boldly do far more to rhetorically challenge the national socialist, fascist ideology of your husband.  Fled tyranny yourself, madam.  Became a naturalized citizen.  Time to act like an American, stand up for the Constitution and rule of law your husband has clearly repeatedly abrogated.

Indirect, 'soft' challenge of an out of control tyrant exemplified in the following example is no longer sufficient.  NPR reports:

"As her husband lashed out at his political opponents online, calling them names like "thug" and "hack," Melania Trump was calling for more civility and kindness online Monday morning.  The first lady addressed an annual cyberbullying prevention summit hosted by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration in Rockville, Md.  "Let's face it: most children are more aware of the benefits and pitfalls of social media than some adults," she said, "but we still need to do all we can to provide them with information and tools for successful and safe online habits."

Consider the above in raw juxtaposition to the following:

"Not far away, President Trump was himself online, sending a series of angry tweets in which he called one of his most vocal critics, former CIA Director John Brennan, a "political 'hack'."

    "Everybody wants to keep their Security Clearance, it’s worth great prestige and big dollars, even board seats, and that is why certain people are coming forward to protect Brennan. It certainly isn’t because of the good job he did! He is a political “hack.”
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018"

When you became a U.S. citizen, Madam First Lady, you swore to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.  Time for you to honor that oath and forcefully speak out against what your husband is doing.  No one is in a better position to do so.  Not even Ivanka.  Time for you both to courageously stand up to this growing insanity and threat to liberty.

"The antibullying event included a panel discussion with representatives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and the Family Online Safety Institute. As the first lady listened, the group discussed strategies to work with parents, teachers, government and the private sector to prevent online bullying. The roster of speakers also included a member of Trump's Cabinet, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar."

Where was the Trump nazi?  Too gutless to attend?  Too incompetent to defend his continuing incompetence, growing insanity, gutless bullying?

"In her prepared remarks, Melania Trump told the audience that social media "can be used in many positive ways, but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly."

Truer words never spoken.  Your husband, no better example of the latter.

"Earlier in the day, the president attacked special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

"Asked about criticism the first lady has received for highlighting the issue of online bullying even as her husband routinely resorts to name-calling on social media, her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said via text, "She's said before that she is aware of the criticism, but it won't deter her from doing what she thinks is right."

Empty rhetoric.  Not good enough.  Nowhere near.  Her husband remains an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Becoming an extremely erratic tyrant, an example of the despotism she fled.

"Grisham also tweeted, "Rather than dissecting her remarks, let's focus on the countless children who struggle w bullying & online safety each day."

    "Rather than dissecting her remarks, let’s focus on the countless children who struggle w bullying & online safety each day. https://t.co/5W9x8QnUcZ
    — Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) August 20, 2018"

Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit, Ms. Grisham?  Not good enough, madam.  While cyberbullying of kids is indeed a problem, the Trump nazi presents a far greater exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  ... You don't know that, Ms. Grisham?  Or, is it, you simply don't care?

The following should be of great concern to the First Lady.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration is considering penalizing legal immigrants for using government benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps and recently signaled in a public notice that it plans to propose new regulations.  Many of the details haven't been finalized. But the idea has already sparked warnings about the consequences for immigrant families, and the nation's health care system.  "Those families are now at a crossroads," said Uwemedimo, a pediatrician at the Cohen Children's Medical Center in Lake Success, N.Y. She sees a large number of immigrant families from Nassau and Suffolk counties and nearby Queens.  Uwemedimo and her staff make a point of asking patients up front if they qualify for benefits — including food stamps, or subsidized health insurance. But now Uwemedimo is finding that many of her patients are wary about signing up, because they've heard that doing so could hurt their chances of getting a visa for a family member to visit, or hurt their own chances of getting a green card.  "They're saying we want our family to stay together," said Uwemedimo. "A lot of families have decided that they don't want to engage [out of] fear."  Earlier this year, the State Department updated instructions to consular officials, telling them to consider denying applicants a visa if they're expected to use a wider range of public benefits once they get to the U.S."

Nothing quite like Christian charity, is there?  Certainly, be far less for Trump and the rest of the top of the food chain to steal.  Forget?  The system is laissez-faire, winner-take-all, zero-sum.  Precisely, why the middle class is quickly facing extinction.  Haves and have-nots.

"Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has been working on the new rules for immigrants already in the country. These rules, which are still being finalized, could prevent them from getting a green card if they sign up for benefits.  "It would penalize people for using programs that they're entitled to under the law, like health insurance for their children, or making sure that there's food on the table," said Claudia Calhoon, a health policy expert at the New York Immigration Coalition."

'Let 'em eat cake,' right, Donny boy?  What a piece of shit.

"She says the proposal is setting up brutally difficult choices for immigrant families. "People might have to decide between doing those things and adjusting their status and having a green card," Calhoon said."

Forget?  The American Way.  Nazi America.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

A step backwards.  NPR reports:

"The Food and Drug Administration took a big tent approach earlier this month when it approved two new forms of birth control that seek to prevent pregnancy in very different ways.  Women's health advocates applauded the availability of a new vaginal ring that could be used for up to a year. But some questioned the OK of a mobile phone app that helps women avoid pregnancy by tracking their body temperature and menstrual cycle, a type of contraception called "fertility awareness."

Back in the day, called Catholic Roulette.

"Critics pointed to reports that three dozen women in Sweden got pregnant despite monitoring their cycle with the app. They also fear that the FDA approval of the app may encourage patients to think that fertility awareness methods, which include a range of practices to track ovulation, and avoid unprotected sex during that time, are just as good at preventing pregnancy as some highly effective types of birth control, like the intrauterine device, or IUD. While "natural" methods can be successful, they generally require close daily attention."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Another step backwards.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration has moved to formally replace the Clean Power Plan, an environmental regulation that former President Barack Obama once lauded as the single-most important step America has ever taken to fight climate change.  The long-anticipated proposal, called the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, would give individual states more authority to make their own plans for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants."

Trump nazi ignorantly denies climate change, pollution created by burning of coal.

"That's a marked difference from Obama's plan, which aimed to curb climate change by moving the power sector away from coal and towards renewable energy sources, cutting carbon emissions from the nation's power plants by about one-third by 2030.  "Were ending the intrusive EPA regulations that kill jobs," Trump said in a White House statement. He also said that Obama's regulation would have raised the price of energy."

That's horse shit.  Simply untrue.  Another lie, ruse perpetrated by the Trump nazi.  Methane is much cheaper than coal, far less polluting.  Sustainable sources such as wind and solar even better.  The nazi is determinedly taking us back to the cave.  Aren't we lucky?

"Critics argue that it's Trump's latest attempt to play to his base and prop up an ailing coal industry.  The proposal would "give the states the option to do just a little or absolutely nothing to reduce carbon pollution," says Gina McCarthy, who headed under EPA under Obama.  "This is all about coal at all costs," she added.  The Clean Power Plan that McCarthy advocated for never went into effect."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

August 21, 2018, momentous day in U.S. history.  Two Trump associates declared convicted felons.  CBS News reports:

"Former longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan Tuesday to eight counts — five counts of tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporation contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate.  Cohen's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, with bail set at $500,000. The news comes the same hour Mr. Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was also found guilty on eight counts — five counts of tax fraud, one count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account, and two counts of bank fraud.   Cohen surrendered himself to the FBI in New York and is now in the custody of federal authorities. He entered federal court in Manhattan for a 4 p.m. proceeding."

Clearly, good day for justice in a country desperately needing it.

NBC reports:

"A federal jury in Virginia convicted Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, on eight counts on Tuesday, but the judge declared a mistrial on the 10 other charges he faced.  Manafort was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, one count of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts and two counts of bank fraud. A mistrial was declared in three counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, and seven counts of bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy."

NBC reports:

"Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to eight counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, including two counts related to hush money payments made to women — and said he made the payments "at the direction of the candidate," meaning Trump.  President Trump's name didn't come up in the federal courtroom in Manhattan, but Cohen said he had paid off porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy Model Karen McDougal "at the direction" of an unnamed candidate in 2016, and that the payments were for the "principal purpose for the principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. Both Daniels and McDougal have said they had past relationships with Trump.  Asked if he knew that what he did was illegal, he told the court yes."

Stunning, isn't it?  Gets worse:

"Cohen told the court that he and an executive from a media company, at the direction of a federal candidate, arranged to keep one of the alleged affairs from the public with a payment of $150,000. McDougal and her lawyers have said that the National Enquirer, run by Trump associate David Pecker, paid her $150,000 in August 2016 as part of a "catch-and-kill" strategy to keep the story from circulating publicly.  Cohen said in March that he had used money from a home equity loan to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels, who has said she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago.  He told the court Tuesday that after using the money from the loan for the payment, he was reimbursed by the unnamed candidate."

The Washington Post reports:

"Cohen — long the self-professed “fixer” for Trump — agreed to the deal after prosecutors claimed he risked more than a dozen years in prison, according to a person familiar with the matter.  His guilty plea follow[s] a months-long grand-jury investigation into Cohen’s activities, including his taxi business, as well as a hush-money payment that Cohen arranged to an adult-film actress, Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had a tryst with Trump years ago.  Cohen has said he used a home-equity line of credit to finance a $130,000 payment to Daniels in October 2016, a month before the 2016 election.  Cohen is the fifth Trump associate to have pleaded guilty or be charged with criminal wrongdoing since Trump took office, including his former national security adviser, his deputy campaign chairman and a former campaign policy adviser."

The Washington Post reports:

"Lanny Davis, a lawyer for President Trump’s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, said Wednesday that Trump’s alleged direction of hush payments to two women amounts to impeachable offenses and that Cohen has no interest in being “dirtied” by a presidential pardon of his crimes."

The Washington Post reports:

"The assertion by President Trump’s former lawyer that he broke campaign finance laws at the direction of then-candidate Trump could spark calls for impeachment hearings — but probably will not have any legal consequences for the president while he is in office, according to legal analysts.  Michael Cohen, who spent a decade as a lawyer for Trump, told a judge Tuesday that he was directed by Trump to coordinate payments to two women designed to prevent them from disclosing alleged affairs with the real estate mogul before the presidential election, in violation of campaign finance law.  Such an explosive assertion against anyone but the president would suggest that a criminal case could be in the offing, but under long-standing legal interpretations by the Justice Department, the president cannot be charged with a crime."

Let the games begin.

NBC reports:

"There hasn't been a darker moment for a president — or for the presidency — since Richard Nixon resigned on the verge of impeachment in 1974.  On Tuesday, Michael Cohen, the president's longtime fixer and former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to felony crimes that included illegally paying women hush money to help Donald Trump win the presidency in 2016. Most important, he said he did so at Trump's direction.  In other words, Trump cheated to win the White House, according to one of his closest former associates."

Think Trump's sick sycophants won't be confused by the truth?

"Cohen's admissions were so damaging for the president, both legally and politically, that his lawyer Rudy Giuliani could point only to the lack of an indictment directly against Trump as the good news. "There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen," Giuliani said.  Cohen's plea was just one of several punishing blows delivered Tuesday to Trump's narrative that he and his allies came to Washington to "drain the swamp" of corruption. The others: Paul Manafort, the president's onetime campaign chairman, was convicted on eight counts of bank and tax fraud, and Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., an early endorser of Trump for president, was indicted on federal charges that he violated campaign finance law."

They're filling the swamp, not draining it.

"The president is clearly guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors," New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, a conservative, wrote on Twitter after the Cohen plea. "He should resign his office or be impeached and removed from office." Stephens has been a frequent critic of Trump but had not previously called for his removal."

Sadly, Trump makes Nixon look like Michael the Archangel.

"The allegation that the president not only knew about but directed criminal activity takes the country back to the Nixon days, when the central questions were what the president knew and when he knew it about the cover-up of the Watergate break-in. And the comparisons are sure to fill airwaves across the country in the coming days and weeks."

If Republicans wish to be returned to office, need to do something about this scourge in the Oval Office.  Smarten up.

"And when they [voters] look at the Trump operation, they will see that the president surrounded himself not with "only the best," as he has long claimed, but with several convicted criminals.  In addition to Cohen and Manafort, Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, and campaign adviser George Papadopoulos have all pleaded guilty to felonies. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a political ally, has been indicted on charges related to insider trading."

Above quotes courtesy of a most gifted, insightful writer, Jonathan Allen.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Think the Governor and Texas Attorney General aren't severely ethically challenged?  The Statesman reports:

"State Attorney General Ken Paxton refuses to defend the Texas Ethics Commission in court as one of his largest political donors sues to dismantle the agency.  A newly revived lawsuit threatens to strip the Ethics Commission's power to enforce state laws that shine a light on where politicians get their money.  The lawsuit is the latest in a years-long attack from Empower Texans, a tea party group that promotes small government and low taxes and aggressively campaigns against establishment Republicans.  In a budget request to state lawmakers last month, the commission said it will need $600,000 to pay a private lawyer to defend it in court because the attorney general will not."

Consider the following:

"Paxton has received a total of $782,000 from Empower Texans and Dunn.  Empower Texans also has donated $100,000 to Paxton's wife Angela, who is running for the state Senate.  Paxton is currently under indictment, accused of securities fraud and failing to register as an investment adviser.  The Ethics Commission has no current role in the case, but in 2016 it issued an opinion that Paxton could not raise money for his legal defense outside of Texas. Dunn also gave $60,000 to Abbott, who was the attorney general in 2014 when the office first declined to represent the commission.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Think older workers aren't discriminated against by employers?  NPR reports:

"After working at a call center for two decades, Linda Bradley's job came to an end about a year and a half ago. Since her layoff, she has combed online job sites every day looking for work — without much luck.  Bradley, who is 45 and lives near Columbus, Ohio, began suspecting age discrimination after someone at her union mentioned how recruiters often target online ads at younger candidates. "I thought to myself, 'Oh, that's why I wasn't seeing some of the ads that my daughter has seen on her Facebook,' " she says."

Imagine that.  Couldn't be, could it?

"Her daughter, who is 26, found something right away. Bradley eventually took the only job she could land — making far less than she had in her previous job. Her job hunt continues, but she says feels she is being excluded from even finding out about opportunities.  "It's a struggle taking care of four children [and] not being able to have the same opportunities as everybody else," Bradley says, crying."

A classic example of laissez-faire capitalism where employers are effectively free to do as they please with rare exception.  Either no regulation, or extremely poor regulation.  Republican national socialists argue let the 'free' market decide.  Problem with this is the fact there is no such thing as a free market.

The market is owned, manipulated, controlled by those with the wealth.  No more complicated than that.  Claims to the contrary by the GOP national socialist, fascist element in our formerly great country are no more than a ruse to maintain an unworkable, unsustainable status quo.  -- Not-so-cleverly designed to line the pockets of those at the top of the food chain who in turn line theirs.

"When an employer sets out to recruit young people for a certain job, is it discriminating against older job seekers in a way that breaks the law? That question is at the center of several pending lawsuits that could help improve job opportunities for older Americans.  Bradley is a plaintiff in one such case brought in December against T-Mobile, Facebook and a host of other companies. The lawsuit, filed by the Communications Workers of America on behalf of Bradley and other workers in the same situation, alleges the companies discriminate by excluding older workers from seeing their ads."

Forget?  The American Way.  Precisely, why unions are so desperately needed.  To empower the work force.

"Workplace civil rights law prohibits discrimination against workers 40 and older. Yet worker advocates say recruiters sometimes exclude older workers by narrowing how and where they look for candidates. In addition to Bradley's suit, another recent case has challenged whether an employer can recruit exclusively on college campuses. Another is challenging whether it's legal to cap the number of years of experience an applicant can have.  "We see that this is one of the factors that keeps older workers out of the job market after a job loss," says Jody Calemine, chief of staff with the Communications Workers of America."

The problem with unions even in their heyday was the fact ALL unions should have united in common cause, brought the collective corporate management suite to its knees.  Consider the power of the workforce if it had indeed united across the nation, walked off the job until compensation was fair and just.

The hopelessly greedy bastards in management could not have done all the work themselves.  Their bottomless greed and that of shareholders would have been reined in.  Instead, today we have a middle class that is rapidly becoming extinct.  Two extremes.  Haves and have-nots.  Top and bottom.  Not sustainable.  Hear the rumble?  An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-24-18

Homophobic bigotry is indeed alive and well in Nazi America.  NPR reports:

"The Colorado baker who won a Supreme Court case over his refusal to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is suing state officials, alleging religious discrimination over his refusal to make a cake celebrating a gender transition.  Attorneys for Jack Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., said Wednesday that the state is "continuing to single out Jack for punishment and to exhibit hostility toward his religious beliefs."  The case involves an incident from June 2017, when lawyer Autumn Scardina said she asked for a cake with a pink interior and blue exterior to celebrate the anniversary of transitioning from male to female. "The woman on the phone told me they do not make cakes celebrating gender changes," Scardina wrote in a complaint to Colorado's Division of Civil Rights.  "That's a cake I can't create for anybody," Phillips told Colorado Public Radio."

Unsure of your gender identity, and/or sexuality, Mr. Phillips?

"Phillips prevailed in the Supreme Court earlier this year in a case that began in 2012 when a same-sex couple asked him to create a cake for their wedding."

Forget?  A national socialist Supreme Court intent on imposing its achingly perverse ideological and religious views on all.

"But the 7-to-2 decision was on the narrowest of grounds," NPR's Nina Totenberg reported, "and left unresolved whether business owners have a free speech right to refuse to sell goods and services to same-sex couples."  Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is named as a defendant in the new lawsuit, said he expects the issue to return to the Supreme Court, according to The Denver Post."

The following is the principle fought for:

"Daniel Ramos of the LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado responded to the news in a statement: "All people – including LGBTQ people – deserve to be served equally in public spaces, & no religious belief gives anyone the right to pick & choose whom they serve & what laws they want to follow."

That's right.  Blatant discrimination by a nazi desperate to impose his perverse religious views on all.  Not a matter of freedom of religion, but freedom from religion.  If discrimination against the LGBTQ community is not stood up against, who's next?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Same old shit.  CBS News reports:

"Peter Strzok — the FBI special agent who was heavily criticized by President Trump, the president's allies and a blistering Justice Department Inspector General report — has officially been fired from the FBI, according to his lawyer.  Strzok became the face of everything Mr. Trump and his allies viewed as problematic with the FBI, after the revelation that he and onetime fellow FBI agent Lisa Page exchanged anti-Trump text messages. Strzok worked on the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and then special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates.  He was removed from the Mueller probe after the messages were discovered, and moved to a different office still within the FBI. Strzok was escorted from FBI headquarters in June, after a DOJ watchdog report was critical of his actions."

Above quote is the background, here is the problem:

"Late Friday afternoon, the Deputy Director of the FBI overruled the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and departed from established precedent by firing 21-year FBI veteran Peter Strzok," Aitan Goelman, attorney for Strzok, said. "In doing so he reversed the decision of the career FBI official responsible for employee discipline who concluded, through an independent review process, that a 60-day suspension and demotion from supervisory duties was the appropriate punishment."  "The decision to fire Special Agent Strzok is not only a departure from typical Bureau practice, but also contradicts Director Wray's testimony to Congress and his assurances that the FBI intended to follow its regular process in this and all personnel matters," Goelman continued."

Think the FBI didn't succumb to intense pressure from the Trump nazi?

"Mr. Trump has repeatedly blasted Strzok in tweets, pointing to Strzok as a reason to mistrust Mueller's "rigged witch hunt" investigation.  "President Obama thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election, so when he was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn't happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it," the president tweeted in July. "When I won it became a big deal and the Rigged Witch Hunt headed by Strzok!"

Believe ole lunatic Donny Boy isn't doing all he can to obstruct?  ... Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit, Mr. 'President?'

The Washington Post reports:

"Aitan Goelman, Strzok’s lawyer, said FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich ordered the firing on Friday — even though the director of the FBI office that normally handles employee discipline had decided Strzok should face only a demotion and 60-day suspension. Goelman said the move undercuts the FBI’s repeated assurances that Strzok would be afforded the normal disciplinary process.  “This isn’t the normal process in any way more than name,” Goelman said.  The FBI declined to comment."

Imagine that.  Who'd 'a 'thunk' it?  ... Ordered by your fuhrer to remain silent?

"Strzok’s position in the bureau had been precarious since last summer, when Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz told Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III that the lead agent on his team had been exchanging anti-Trump messages with an FBI lawyer. The next day, Mueller expelled Strzok from the group.  The lawyer, Lisa Page, had also been a part of Mueller’s team, though she left a few weeks earlier and no longer works for the FBI. She and Strzok were having an affair.  President Trump has derided the pair as “FBI lovers,” and he and his conservative allies have pointed to their conduct in an attempt to discredit the Mueller probe."

Jesus Christ.  You should talk, Mr. 'President.'  Kettle calling the pot black, aren't you, sir?

"As recently as Saturday, Trump tweeted an attack on Strzok, Page and former FBI director James B. Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe.  “Will the FBI ever recover it’s once stellar reputation, so badly damaged by Comey, McCabe, Peter S and his lover, the lovely Lisa Page, and other top officials now dismissed or fired?” Trump wrote. “So many of the great men and women of the FBI have been hurt by these clowns and losers!”

How so, Donny boy?  For doing what?  Investigating and reporting the truth about an incompetent national socialist, fascist boob enthroned in the Oval Office?  Quickly transitioning the de facto fascist police-state we've lived in quite some time to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"Strzok, who was a deputy assistant director for counterintelligence at the bureau, has apologized for sending the messages and said they reflected personal views that did not affect his work. His lawyer has said that had Strzok wanted to prevent Trump’s election, he could have leaked that Trump’s campaign was under investigation for possibly coordinating with Russia — a revelation that might have upended his bid to become president.  At a Congressional hearing earlier this month, Strzok sparred with Republican lawmakers who raised questions about his character and even his marriage. He asserted there was “no evidence of bias in my professional actions” and that his having to testify was “just another victory notch in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart.”

NPR reports:

"The FBI made no immediate comment about the news on Monday morning.  But President Trump tweeted Monday saying Strzok "finally" had been let go. "The list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer," the president also wrote. "Based on the fact that Strzok was in charge of the Witch Hunt, will it be dropped? It is a total Hoax. No Collusion, No Obstruction - I just fight back!"

    "Agent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI - finally. The list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer. Based on the fact that Strzok was in charge of the Witch Hunt, will it be dropped? It is a total Hoax. No Collusion, No Obstruction - I just fight back!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018"

Keep dreaming, Mr. 'President.'

Trump is clearly shitting.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who came under scrutiny for anti-Trump texts he sent from a work phone during the 2016 presidential campaign and was recently fired.

    "Fired FBI Agent Peter Strzok is a fraud, as is the rigged investigation he started. There was no Collusion or Obstruction with Russia, and everybody, including the Democrats, know it. The only Collusion and Obstruction was by Crooked Hillary, the Democrats and the DNC!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018"

The following is striking.  A son comes out in criticism of his father:

"During his testimony to the House panel last month, Strzok told chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia: "I can assure, Mr. Chairman, at no time, in any of these texts, did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action I took."

"This isn't just me sitting here telling you – you don't have to take my word for it," Strzok continued. "At every step, at every investigative decision, there were multiple layers of people above me -- assistant director, executive assistant director, deputy director, and the director – and multiple layers of people below me ... all of whom were involved in all of these decisions. They would not tolerate any improper behavior in me any more than I would tolerate it in them. That is who we are as the FBI. And the suggestion that I in some dark chamber somewhere in the FBI would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safeguards, and somehow be able to do this, is astounding to me. It simply couldn't happen. And the proposition that that is going on, that it might occur in the FBI, deeply corrodes what the FBI is in American society, the effectiveness of their mission, and it is deeply destructive."

"After news of Strzok's firing on Monday, Goodlatte's son took to Twitter to praise Strzok as a "patriot" and condemn his father's behavior.  "I’m deeply embarrassed that Peter Strzok’s career was ruined by my father’s political grandstanding," Bobby Goodlatte wrote. "That committee hearing was a low point for Congress."

Indeed.  It was.  Raw partisanship at its very worst.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.  It's appalling.  Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for.  No longer.

Trump's  Fourth Reich.  CBS News reports:

"Federal immigration agencies have launched a coordinated campaign to arrest and deport immigrants seeking to become legal U.S. residents through marriage, according to documents released this week in a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The documents, which include depositions and correspondence from federal officials, show the extent to which officials for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have been coordinating with their counterparts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to facilitate arrests at citizenship offices in New England."

Called entrapment:

"The ACLU, in its arguments, criticizes the efforts as a deportation "trap" that violates the constitutional rights of immigrants otherwise following the rules to become legal residents.  "The government created this path for them to seek a green card," Matthew Segal, legal director for the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in an interview Tuesday. "The government can't create that path and then arrest folks for following that path."

"Can't?"  Forget?  Our nazi government does as it pleases:

"ICE spokesman John Mohan responded that allegations of "inappropriate coordination" between the two agencies are "unfounded" and that coordination between the two Department of Homeland Security agencies is "lawful and legitimate." He declined to elaborate, citing the pending litigation."

No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all levels and branches of government.  In reality, we are no longer a democratic republic.  In name only.  We remain a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich. Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"The ACLU lawsuit argues that Homeland Security regulations created under former President Barack Obama allow immigrants with U.S.-citizen spouses to stay in the country while they seek a green card -- even if they're already subject to deportation.  "That regulation is still the law of the land," Segal said Tuesday. "So arresting these folks is not about law and order. These are people with a path to legalization and the government is trying to block that."

Trump and his henchmen remain a determined law unto themselves.  Present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Traitors.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Amazing how much good a rightfully pissed off judge can truly accomplish, -- and how incredibly quickly.  LOL.  NPR reports:

"Immigration officials have returned a mother and daughter to the United States after they were deported, which had angered a federal judge who was hearing their lawsuit."

Think the judge wasn't rightfully outraged?  Get this:

"The mother, known in court documents by the pseudonym Carmen to protect her identity, and her daughter were challenging Trump administration rules that largely bar the use of domestic and gang violence as the basis for asylum applications. District Judge Emmet Sullivan had been assured the pair would not be deported to El Salvador before midnight Thursday."

Was lied to:

"A transcript of a hearing on Thursday shows Sullivan being informed that even while a government attorney was making that assurance, the asylum-seekers were on a plane out of the country, having been deported."

Incredible, isn't it?

"Angered, Sullivan ordered the government to bring them back. He also threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen in contempt of court if they didn't obey the order.  "This is pretty outrageous," Sullivan said. "Somebody in pursuit of justice in a United States court is just — is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her?"

Nazi America.  Par for the course in Trump's Fourth Reich.

"This is pretty outrageous," Sullivan said. "Somebody in pursuit of justice in a United States court is just — is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her?"  In addition to ordering the government to get the mother and daughter back, Sullivan blocked the Trump administration from deporting eight other immigrants — currently held in detention — who are part of the same lawsuit against the government for allegedly wrongfully rejecting their claims for asylum.  The order issued Thursday stated that the defendants, including Sessions, Nielsen, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Director Lee Francis Cissna and Executive Office of Immigration Review Director James McHenry, "shall return 'Carmen' and her daughter to the United States FORTHWITH."

About time the judiciary vigorously stood up to the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  What took so long?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Pressure had to have been intense.  Rightfully, so.  CBS News reports:

"The U.S. Army has stopped discharging immigrant recruits who enlisted seeking a path to citizenship — at least temporarily. A memo shared with The Associated Press on Wednesday and dated July 20 spells out orders to high-ranking Army officials to stop processing discharges of men and women who enlisted in the special immigrant program, effective immediately.  It was not clear how many recruits were impacted by the action, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the memo.  "Effective immediately, you will suspend processing of all involuntary separation actions," read the memo signed by Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Marshall Williams."

Terrible injustice.  No better than bait and switch.  Unbecoming for the Trump nazi and his henchmen to have done this in the first place.  Reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

"The disclosure comes one month after the AP reported that dozens of immigrant enlistees were being discharged or had their contracts cancelled. Some said they were given no reason for their discharge. Others said the Army informed them they'd been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because the Defense Department had not completed background checks on them."

Outrageous bullshit.

"Early last month, the Pentagon said there had been no specific policy change and that background checks were ongoing. And in mid-July the Army reversed one discharge, for Brazilian reservist Lucas Calixto, 28, who had sued. Nonetheless, discharges of other immigrant enlistees continued. Attorneys sought to bring a class action lawsuit last week to offer protections to a broader group of reservists and recruits in the program, demanding that prior discharges be revoked and that further separations be halted.  A judge's order references the July 20 memo, and asks the Army to clarify how it impacts the discharge status of Calixto and other plaintiffs. As part of the memo, Williams also instructed Army officials to recommend whether the military should issue further guidance related to the program."

This issue still has not been resolved.

"Margaret Stock, an Alaska-based immigration attorney and a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who helped create the immigrant recruitment program, said Wednesday the memo proves there was a policy.  "It's an admission by the Army that they've improperly discharged hundreds of soldiers," she said. "The next step should be go back and rescind the people who were improperly discharged."  Discharged recruits and reservists reached Wednesday said their discharges were still in place as far as they knew."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Obstruction.  Of justice.  The Washington Post reports:

"Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, appears to have moved from criticizing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to strategizing about how to blunt its impact should it imperil President Trump.  The most promising instrument in this effort, he suggested in unfiltered remarks last month, is retaining a GOP-controlled Congress.

“If Sessions won’t unrecuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones, which is really the danger,” Nunes said at an event for Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, referring to Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, and Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel. Sessions said last year that he would keep his distance from inquiries related to the 2016 election, owing to his role in Trump’s campaign — a move that has frustrated the president, leading him to blame his own attorney general  for the “Russian Witch Hunt Hoax.”  “I mean, we have to keep all these seats,” Nunes added. “We have to keep the majority. If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away.”

Traitorous.  Obstruction of justice.  Nazi America.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Complementing the above.  Get this.  NBC reports:

"Hard-line conservative Republicans in the House recently hit a roadblock in their effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when Speaker Paul Ryan opposed the move. But one of those conservatives, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, gave a different explanation to donors recently when asked why the impeachment effort had stalled.  He said it's because an impeachment would delay the Senate's confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, made the statement in an audio recording surreptitiously made by a member of a progressive group who attended a Republican fundraiser on July 30 in Spokane, Washington. The recording was obtained by "The Rachel Maddow Show" and was played on MSNBC on Wednesday night."

Think this hopelessly partisan nazi bastard has any honor?

"Asked about the the impeachment plans, Nunes told a questioner that "it's a bit complicated" because "we only have so many months left."  "So if we actually vote to impeach, OK, what that does is that triggers the Senate then has to take it up," he said on the recording. "Well, and you have to decide what you want right now because the Senate only has so much time.”  He continued: "Do you want them to drop everything and not confirm the Supreme Court justice, the new Supreme Court justice?"

"The audio of the Spokane fundraiser was obtained by the Maddow show from a member of the "Fuse Washington" progressive group who paid the $250 fee to attend the dinner. The event was a fundraiser for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. A spokesperson for her campaign had no comment on the recording and Nunes' office didn't return calls for comment."

Imagine that.  Surprised?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Double standard.  What's good for the goose is not good for the gander.  ... So to speak.  ABC News reports:

"First lady Melania Trump's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, were sworn in as U.S. citizens Thursday at a federal immigration court in New York City.   "Citizenship was just awarded," the Slovenian couple's immigration lawyer Michael Wildes said after accompanying them to the courthouse.  When ABC News asked whether Melania Trump sponsored her parents, Wildes deflected the question and responded that "they applied on their own."

"Everything was through a normal process. Like everybody else here you're allowed to apply after five years of having your green card and so forth. It was all done lawfully," Wilde told reporters.  Wildes' response does not clarify whether the Knavses obtained citizenship through what their son-in-law President Trump has derisively called "chain migration" or whether the first lady did indeed sponsor them."

Nothing quite like hypocrisy, is there?

"Immigration experts told ABC News in February that the most likely way the Knavses could have become permanent residents is through their daughter’s citizenship.  "The most obvious way that they would have become green card holders is by being the parents of a U.S. citizen – i.e. Melania Trump," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration professor at Cornell Law School.  This is a process that President Donald Trump has consistently referred to as "chain migration." The legal status of the president's in-laws has come under scrutiny after the Trump administration’s proposed crackdown on the process."

Hypocrisy of the nazi fuhrer, stunning:

"As part of his administration’s proposed overhaul of the current immigration system, Trump made clear that ending chain migration is one of his key priorities — touting it as the fourth pillar of his reform plan in his first State of the Union address. "Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives," he said in January."

Not an issue when it's one of his own, however.  How about that?  -- Don't do as I do, do as I say.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Manafort judge shows his true colors.  Fox News reports:

"Prosecutors in the federal court case against ex-Trump campaign Paul Manafort filed a motion in court on Thursday complaining that the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, inappropriately admonished them in front of the jury this week.  After days of being dressed down by the judge overseeing the Paul Manafort case, federal prosecutors sought Thursday to put their foot down -- filing a motion complaining that Judge T.S. Ellis III had unfairly admonished them in front of the jury.   Ellis has memorably and repeatedly criticized Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team during the trial for the former Trump  campaign chairman. On Wednesday, Ellis ripped into prosecutors for letting a witness, IRS Agent Michael Welsh, sit in the courtroom before his testimony.  But in a five-page motion filed Thursday, Mueller deputy Andrew Weissmann and other attorneys on the team claimed Ellis had actually granted permission earlier in the trial for the witness to remain in the room during proceedings."

Nothing quite like showing favoritism, is there?  Impartiality?  What's that?

“The court’s reprimand of government counsel suggested to the jury—incorrectly—that the government had acted improperly and in contravention of court rules,” the prosecutors wrote. “This prejudice should be cured.”  Ellis responded by expressing regret in court Thursday.  “This robe doesn’t make me anything other than human,” Ellis said.  Referencing his earlier reprimand, Ellis said Thursday: “Any criticism of counsel should be put aside.”

Think this sufficient?  Damage had already been done.

"The truce between the judge and prosecutors, though, did not last long.  Hours later, when prosecutors tried to introduce an exhibit that was dozens of pages long, Ellis interjected: "There might be some kind soul on the jury who thinks they need to leaf through all this stuff -- and it isn't true."  The Mueller team relented and only entered 11 pages into evidence.  Ellis has a reputation for making colorful comments – and being tough on the prosecution."

When it suits his fancy.

"On Wednesday, Ellis explained that he would not ask the defense to reveal as much information as he has demanded from the prosecution because “it’s sort of like poker -- you don’t have to show your hand until you’re called.”  “Something like that, I’m not a poker player,” Ellis said."

Goes on and on.  ... Nothing quite like judicial 'impartiality,' is there?  ... Or, gross incompetence.  Both?

The Washington Post reports:

"A bank CEO who helped President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort obtain $16 million in loans hoped for a Cabinet-level position in the administration, a bank employee testified in federal court Friday.  The bank employee, Dennis Raico, was called as a witness after a confusing morning at Manafort’s trial in Alexandria, Va., during which U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III huddled privately with prosecutors and defense attorneys, delaying the start of testimony until midafternoon. A transcript of those discussions was sealed.  No reason was offered for the delay, but when Raico finally took the stand, he described how the CEO, Steve Calk, was willing to depart from bank policies to approve loans for a friendly and well-connected political operative.  Raico, a former vice president at Federal Savings Bank, testified with immunity from prosecution for any statements he made as a witness. Prosecutors say Manafort lied to that bank and others to secure millions of dollars in loans in 2016 when his political consulting business had run out of clients willing to pay for his services."

Consider the following.  Apparently, Trump and his henchmen may not have known precisely how much financial distress Manafort was in when the decision was made to have him manage the presidential campaign.  The Washington Post reports:

"Paul Manafort, a valued customer of the Trump Organization who had spent $3.7 million to buy Apartment 43G in Trump Tower, appeared to be just what Donald Trump wanted in March 2016: A consummate Washington insider, deeply experienced in the byzantine art of wrangling convention delegates, yet also someone who could claim to be an outsider, a successful entrepreneur with overseas clients.  Manafort’s offer to take on the planning for the Republican convention in Cleveland that summer was almost too good to be true: The legendary Washington political consultant and lobbyist, a man who visibly enjoyed the fruits of his labor, was curiously volunteering to work for free.  The candidate liked what he saw. Manafort was in.  What no one in Trump’s inner circle knew was that just as they were bringing Manafort aboard, the man who would manage the campaign through the vital transition from the primaries to the convention and beyond was scrambling to save his own business.  Manafort managed to get through his six months at the pinnacle of the Trump campaign without letting on that his consulting business was tanking and that he was making moves that would lead inexorably to the federal trial now underway in Alexandria, Va. — an ordeal that could end with Manafort spending the rest of his life in prison."

Fascinating, isn't it?  What webs we weave:

"But as Manafort’s trial on tax and bank fraud charges enters its home stretch, emails and other documents submitted as evidence show that the man who had taken on the enormous task of turning around a troubled presidential campaign was at the same time carrying out what prosecutors portray as a global fraud scheme."

NPR reports:

"Paul Manafort's defense team rested on Tuesday without calling any witnesses to testify in the bank and tax fraud trial, including Manafort himself."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"Defense attorney Kevin Downing told Judge T.S. Ellis III about his team's decision before the court broke for lunch Tuesday and repeated it again in the afternoon to make it official in front of the jury.  When asked by the judge if he wanted to testify in the trial, Manafort replied: "No sir," in a low tone."

Would have been a mistake. Prosecutors would have torn him apart on the stand.

"His defense team filed a motion this week to drop the charges — a motion the judge denied on Tuesday morning.  Ellis said the defense's dispute with the criminal charges is a "jury issue" to be decided by the six men and six women who have been hearing evidence in the case."

Certainly, appeared to be more than enough testimony and documentary evidence to warrant having a jury decide.

"Prosecutors spent more than 10 days in court, over three weeks, making their case to the jury. They concluded their arguments on Monday.  The government's attorneys alleged that Manafort used overseas bank accounts to hide millions of dollars from the IRS that he made from political consulting work in Ukraine.  After that income dried up, prosecutors say, Manafort turned to loans for which he qualified by lying to banks. Jurors have heard testimony that Manafort was advocating on behalf of one of his bankers with Trump's transition team, trying to help the man get a nomination to a post in the Pentagon.  Ultimately the banker did not receive a nomination or another government job."

A conviction would certainly exponentially increase pressure on Manafort to 'flip' on the Trump nazi.

Here's why:

"After both sides make their closing arguments Wednesday, Ellis is expected to give the jury instructions before jurors retire to deliberate.  If convicted of all charges, Manafort could spend the rest of his life in prison."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

In follow up to the last edition, consider the irony.  CBS News reports:

"A group of LeBron James fans would rather see the NBA legend go to Washington, D.C., than become a Los Angeles Laker. Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for James to replace Betsy DeVos as secretary, after the Akron-native recently opened a school in Ohio.  Such a shift doesn't seem likely, though, especially given the testy relationship between President Trump and James, who will soon produce a Showtime documentary series.  "Unfortunately, Trump and his cronies chose Betsy DeVos for us and we are stuck with an uncaring Education Chief who has fought against teachers and has even expressed disdain for the very department she heads ... at least until now," the petition reads."

Who'd 'a 'thunk' it, no?  LOL.

"LeBron James is an inspiration to kids all over the country," the petition continues. "He's shown he cares about America's youth and understands the power of public education in helping children meet their true potential."  As of Thursday afternoon, more than 12,000 people had signed the appeal, which was started by a Care2 user identified only as "Rebecca G." The petition will apparently be sent to Mr. Trump after collecting its target number of signatures, which has increased to 13,000 as more people sign."

Think that'll please our nazi fuhrer?  LOL.

"James opened his I Promise School late last month in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. The LeBron James Family Foundation partnered with Akron Public Schools to design the school for students in the area who come from difficult circumstances. It will initially open its doors to 240 third- and fourth-grade students, and will add first- and second-grade classes in 2019.   "The most important thing we can give them is structure. They just want to feel like we care," James said at the opening of the school. "They have the dreams, they have the aspirations. They just want to know someone cares."

Readers will recall the First Lady, through her spokeswoman, has indicated she's willing to visit the school.  Think that didn't enrage Trump?

Readers will also recall:

"President Trump made headlines last week for slamming the NBA star on Twitter, writing that CNN's Don Lemon "made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do."  In an interview that aired on CNN before Mr. Trump made the remarks, James repeated a point he has made before -- that he believes Mr. Trump is using sports to divide Americans."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Corruption never ends.  As American as mom and apple pie.  NBC reports:

"The Trump International Hotel, five blocks from the White House, is a welcoming place for Trump administration officials and their supporters — and an ongoing legal headache for the president."

The bastard is lining his pockets.  Forget?  -- Emoluments Clause?  What's that?

"The Trump Organization spent $200 million transforming the Old Post Office into a five-star hotel that harkens back to the Gilded Age. It opened right before President Donald Trump's upset victory in the 2016 election, and soon became a magnet for Trump backers, and for other customers whose patronage was more problematic.  Eighteen months into the Trump presidency, an NBC News analysis of public filings and social media indicates substantial spending at the hotel by federal agencies, Trump's political allies and foreign governments.  Trump supporters enjoy coming to the bar and cavernous lobby to see and be seen, and for them it's not a bad thing if a member of the administration or the Trump family happens to be there to notice they are patronizing the hotel."

Gets worse, far worse:

"It's another group of people who may want to be noticed by Team Trump, however, who are at the heart of the hotel's current legal worries.  Soon after Trump took office, the governments of Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Kuwait held official events at the hotel. And three days after his inauguration, the president was hit with his first lawsuit over that kind of lucrative booking.  The plaintiffs say the hotel is not just a conflict of interest, but a violation of the Constitution, which includes emoluments clauses designed to keep officials from profiting from their positions or being influenced by gifts or benefits from foreign powers."

Consider precisely how lucrative this is for the Trump nazi and his family:

"According to Trump's financial disclosure forms, he took in more than $40 million in revenues from the hotel in 2017. Ivanka Trump's financial disclosure forms show she took in $3.9 million in revenues from the hotel. The Trump Organization is a private company so the hotel's vacancy rates and details on who spent what there are not available.  An NBC News analysis of everything from Federal Election Commission filings to Twitter, however, indicates that foreign governments, Republican Party organizations and federal government agencies have all spent significant sums at the hotel since the president took office."

Goes on and on.  When will the nazi in the Oval Office be held accountable?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

The insanity never ends.  CBS News reports:

"Vice President Mike Pence laid out preliminary plans for President Trump's proposed new "space force" during remarks at the Pentagon on Thursday. Mr. Trump officially directed the Defense Department to establish this sixth branch of the U.S. military in space in June, saying the space force would ensure American dominance in the final frontier.  "To be clear, the Space Force will not be built from scratch, because the men and women who run and protect our nation's space programs today are already the best in the world," he said."

Jesus Christ.  What planet do these lunatics live on?

"Pence announced that the Defense Department will be releasing a report outlining the first stages to "implement the president's guidance and turn his vision into a reality." He talked about four actions the Defense Department would take on this front, including these new elements:

    "Space Command: A new unified combat and command structure for space led by a four-star flag officer to "establish unified command and control for space force operations, integration across the military and develop space war fighting doctrine";

    "Space Operations Force: An elite group of joint war fighters specializing in the domain of space to "form the backbone" of the new service;

    "Space Development Agency: A new joint organization to help the Space Force tasked with developing new capabilities and "break[ing] free" from bureaucratic structures; and

    "A new assistant secretary of defense for space: A position that will help transition eventually to a "fully independent Secretary of the Space Force in the years ahead" who will report to Secretary of Defense Mattis."

Can we stand it?  LOL.

These lunatics, however, cannot do this on their own.  Must have congressional approval.  They don't.  Not at the moment.

"While Pence says the the administration aims to have the sixth branch formulated by 2020, the establishment of a new military branch to oversee war fighting in space would require congressional approval. Mr. Trump, however fully endorsed Pence's speech, tweeting a resounding "Space Force all the way!" after the vice president's remarks.

    "Space Force all the way!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2018"

... Hey, Donny?  Why not be their first space cadet, sir?  You're already a lunatic.  LOL.

Gets worse.  Get this:

"And while space fans will have to wait a bit longer until congressional approval, the Trump campaign has already sent a call out to supporters asking for their help in selecting the space force's official logo for merchandise on the Donald J. Trump for President reelection campaign site."

We've lost ourselves.  To say nothing of our formerly great country.  We have hungry people, the homeless, those not getting healthcare, a minimum wage that is not a livable wage, an endangered middle class that has become little more than indentured servants.  List can go on and on.  Yet, the Trump nazi and his henchmen wish to further line the pockets of the war profiteering corporate management suite.  Amazing, isn't it?  When will it ever be enough?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

'President' remains an idiot, a hopelessly ignorant lunatic.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump renewed his attacks on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, claiming they don't know what they're protesting.  Mr. Trump took to Twitter Friday to say from his New Jersey golf course that "most of them are unable to define" what they're demonstrating against. Instead, the president tweeted players should "Be happy, be cool!"

They're protesting the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue who are murdering innocent unarmed civilians on the job with impunity.  ... Are you anything more than an ignorant lunatic, Mr. 'President?'

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Figurative noose tightens. The Washington Post reports:

"A federal judge has found a witness in contempt for refusing to testify before the grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.  U.S. District Chief Judge Beryl Howell made the ruling Friday after a sealed hearing to discuss Andrew Miller’s refusal to appear before the grand jury. Miller is a former aide to longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone.  Miller’s lawyer Paul Kamenar said after the hearing that Miller was “held in contempt, which we asked him to be in order for us to appeal the judge’s decision to the court of appeals.”  Howell stayed her order while Miller’s legal team appeals the judge’s decision."

Likely be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.

The Washington Times reports:

"A federal judge ruled Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is not illegal.  The decision rejected a challenge by one of the Russian-linked companies Mr. Mueller’s team has pursued for financing the social media campaign Russian operatives used to sow chaos during the campaign.  Concord Management & Consulting LLC had argued Mr. Mueller’s appointment was illegal and the structure of the special counsel’s office, with certain freedom and powers normal prosecutors don’t have, violated the Constitution.  Judge Dabney L. Friedrich rejected those claims, and also brushed aside claims Mr. Mueller, in charging people not directly employed by the Russian government, has gone beyond his charge.  “The special counsel may investigate the Russian government’s interference ‘efforts,’ which involved non-governmental third parties,” Judge Friedrich wrote. “Concord’s alleged actions are therefore within the scope of the special counsel’s investigation. Because the investigation of Concord was authorized, so was the prosecution.”

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Insanity escalates.  NPR reports:

"President Trump ordered a doubling of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey Friday, escalating a diplomatic spat with a key NATO ally.  In a tweet, Trump cited the decline in Turkish currency as justification for increasing tariffs to 50 percent on Turkish steel and 20 percent on Turkish aluminum.  "Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!" Trump tweeted."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Think Trump's the master negotiator he claims to be?  NBC reports:

"President Donald Trump took a gamble meeting face-to-face with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. In justifying his decision, Trump argued that past attempts to dispatch experts to negotiate nuclear disarmament agreements with North Korea had failed, but that he would achieve better results by meeting directly with the decision-maker. Mounting evidence suggests that despite his self-professed dealmaking skills, Trump did not leave the historic summit with the decision he sought."

Think so?  ... Or, could it be he simply didn't know what he was doing, way out of his league?

"In Singapore, the two leaders agreed on a vague four-point declaration that was sequenced to prioritize improving bilateral relations first, and then “working toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The lack of specifics on denuclearization immediately raised red flags for veterans of past negotiations and experts on North Korea, who questioned whether Trump had squandered the leverage of a leader-level meeting and let Kim Jong Un off the hook by failing to nail down tangible benchmarks toward disarmament."

Surprised?  Why? Had absolutely no prior diplomatic experience.  Refused to take advice from those who did.  Knows it all.

"But the problem has not been solved and in fact the threat has only grown since Singapore. In the intervening weeks, North Korea reportedly has been upgrading nuclear and missile facilities, increasing production of fuel for nuclear bombs at secret sites, building new long-range missiles, and exploring ways to hide the extent of its nuclear weapons program from the United States."

Above quotes are courtesy of a most gifted, insightful writer, Ryan Hass.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Think Trump's not a racist? The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Saturday condemned “all types of racism and acts of violence” on the first anniversary of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, calling for the nation to “come together” after a week in which he stoked racial divisions with attacks on black athletes and other minorities."

Nothing quite like glaring hypocrisy, blatant double talk, is there?

"Taking to Twitter ahead of a controversial “Unite the Right 2” white supremacist rally Sunday in Washington, Trump decried the “senseless death and division” spawned by what he called the “riots in Charlottesville.” A counterprotester was killed when a man who police say identified himself as a Nazi drove a car into a crowd.   “I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence,” Trump wrote. “Peace to ALL Americans!”

Believe him?  Think he has any credibility?  Retains any semblance of sanity?

"The remarks stood in stark contrast to Trump’s reaction a year ago — when he declared that “both sides” were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville — and followed a week of racially incendiary statements by the president and allies. Trump insulted the intelligence of NBA star LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon, both of whom are black, reignited his crusade against black football players protesting police brutality and told a group of business leaders that Chinese students studying in the United States were spies."

Not exactly consistent, is he?  LOL.

"One of the few African Americans to have worked in the White House, former special assistant Omarosa Manigault Newman, also accuses Trump of being a racist in a book to be released Tuesday. During a “Bikers for Trump” event here in Bedminster on Saturday, the president told reporters that Manigault Newman was a “lowlife.”

Forgotten?  Worked for you in the White House.  If indeed a 'lowlife,' why did you hire her, Donny boy?

Republicans know they have a problem:

"Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, now running for the U.S. Senate from Utah, said in an essay published Friday that he disagreed with Trump’s declaration that many “good people” had taken part on the white nationalist side of the Charlottesville event. “People who knowingly march under the Nazi banner have disqualified themselves as ‘good people,’ ” Romney wrote."

You think?

NBC reports:

"Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman said Sunday that she has personally heard a tape of President Donald Trump using the N-word during filming for NBC's "The Apprentice," a revelation she says "confirmed that he is truly a racist."  Newman made the charge during an exclusive interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," days before the release on Tuesday of her new book, "Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House." In the book, Newman describes hearing about the tape but not hearing it herself. She said Sunday that she personally listened to it after her book had gone to press.  She said she had "heard for two years that it existed, and once I heard it for myself, it was confirmed, what I feared the most: That Donald Trump is a con and has been masquerading as someone who is actually open to engaging with diverse communities."  She added: "But when he talks that way, the way he did on this tape, it confirmed that he is truly a racist."

So what else is new?  ... If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what?  It's a duck.

"Newman didn't specify when exactly the tape was from, but said that it was from Trump's time hosting the show and spinoffs through early 2015.  Newman described herself as being "complicit" in the White House's deception of the American people and her about its interest in advocating for the black community."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"It is hindsight. But I will say this to you, I was complicit with this White House deceiving this nation," she said.  "They continue to deceive this nation by how mentally declined he is," she said, "how difficult it is for him to process complex information. How he is not engaged in some of the most important decisions that impacts our country. I was complicit, and for that I regret."

Better late than never.

"Newman also provided "Meet the Press" with an audio recording she said was made in 2017 when White House chief of staff John Kelly fired her. In it, Kelly argued that there have been "significant integrity issues" that prompted him to fire her. She claimed the recording was made when Kelly took her into the Situation Room, a specially secure room where the president and his top aides address major national security crises, and where personal cell phones are not allowed. Newman also said it was the only meeting she had with Kelly during her time at the White House.  In the video, the voice Newman claims belongs to Kelly accused her of "some pretty serious integrity violations," and he said he hopes she can make "this a friendly departure."  In her interview Sunday, Newman said she shared the audio of the meeting to "protect" herself from disparaging reports about her departure that she said were untrue."

Be interesting to see the response from the White House.  How could a cell phone or any other electronic device not be detected in the Situation Room?  Emit electromagnetic radiation that can be easily detected.

"NBC News and other outlets reported at the time that Newman had been escorted out of the White House after she tried to enter the presidential residence in response to hearing she'd been fired.  She framed the newly released audio as proof of her story and that Kelly put her in an uncomfortable situation after "trying to find a reason to let me go."  "They take me into the Situation Room, the doors are locked, they tell me I can't leave and they start to threaten me, put fear in me, to put me under duress," she said.  "I protected myself because this is a White House where everybody lies; the president lies to the American people, [press secretary] Sarah Huckabee stands in front of the country and lies every single day. You have to have your own back or else you'll look back and you'll have 17 knives in your back."  "I protected myself because this is a White House where everybody lies."

With all the lies and deception, hard to know what the truth is.  Somebody's lying.  Think Newman any more credible than the Trump nazi and his henchmen?

"Newman pushed back further against the framing of her dismissal by calling on the White House to release her personnel file to clear up what exactly happened. She compared the narrative surrounding her departure to that of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who left after accusations of domestic abuse.  "Rob Porter is accused of allegedly abusing his wives," she said. "And you know what John Kelly said about Rob Porter? He said he was a man of great integrity. And he's accusing me of integrity violations?"

Truth's indeed a moving target in Nazi America.

"Newman said she would love for the White House to release her personnel files. "I'm saying it right now: Release it so that the American people can see that I worked my butt off to make a difference in this country and they were working for ways to frame me."  She has also claimed the Trump campaign offered her a job in exchange for signing a restrictive non-disclosure agreement to keep her from speaking critically about her time with the campaign and the White House. Newman provided what she said were copies of those agreements to "Meet the Press."  The White House and Trump allies have blasted Newman's account as false in numerous statements.  "Instead of telling the truth about all the good President Trump and his administration are doing to make America safe and prosperous, this book is riddled with lies and false accusations," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Friday.  "It’s sad that a disgruntled former White House employee is trying to profit off these false attacks, and even worse that the media would now give her a platform, after not taking her seriously when she had only positive things to say about the President during her time in the administration.”

"But Newman pushed back against her critics by arguing that she can substantiate her claims in the book.  "I have documentation, a whole treasure-trove of documentation for everything you see in this book," she said."

We'll see.

Plot thickens.  NBC reports:

"Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former "Apprentice" contestant who became a White House aide, has provided an audio recording that she says is from 2017 and on which President Donald Trump expresses surprise that she’d been fired from his administration.  The tape, which was played exclusively Monday on "Today" and sparked a harsh attack from Trump on Manigault Newman just hours later, appears to show the president having no idea that she had been dismissed by his chief of staff, John Kelly.  “Omarosa? Omarosa what’s going on? I just saw on the news that you’re thinking about leaving? What happened?” Trump is heard saying on the tape, which Manigault Newman said was made one day after her termination in December 2017 when Trump called her."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"She responds, "General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave.”

“Nobody even told me about it,” Trump replies.

"Manigault Newman then says, “Wow,” before Trump reiterates his shock.

“You know they run a big operation, but I didn’t know it,” Trump is heard saying on the tape. "I didn’t know that. Goddamn it. I don’t love you leaving at all.”

What is going on here?  Trump has no clue?  LOL.

"NBC News does not know what was said before or after that exchange."

The tape needs to be professionally analyzed.

"Manigault Newman, in an interview later Monday on MSNBC's "Velshi & Ruhle," said she "absolutely" had more tapes in her possession but hadn't decided yet whether she would release them publicly.  Trump, for his part, responded to Manigault Newman's latest claims in a trio of tweets Monday morning after the "Today" show, ripping her as "wacky" and "vicious but not smart" and saying "people in the White House hated her."  He called her "nasty," claimed she "constantly" missed work and said Kelly had told him she was a "loser" and "nothing but problems."  "She never made it, never will," he said."

Then why was she one of your highest paid staffers, Mr. 'President?'

The following is appalling.  Truly indicative of Trump's desperation, unfitness for office:

"Trump also said, "While I know it’s 'not presidential' to take on a lowlife like Omarosa, and while I would rather not be doing so, this is a modern day form of communication."

Is it, Mr. 'President?'  Delusionally believe so?  None of your predecessors has ever done this:

    "Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said Ok. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018

    "...really bad things. Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me - until she got fired!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018

    "While I know it’s “not presidential” to take on a lowlife like Omarosa, and while I would rather not be doing so, this is a modern day form of communication and I know the Fake News Media will be working overtime to make even Wacky Omarosa look legitimate as possible. Sorry!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2018"

Jesus Christ.  Above tweets speak for themselves.  Delusionally believe this man fit to figuratively have his finger on the nuclear button?

"Earlier on Monday, in a contentious interview on "Today," after the audio recording was played, Manigault Newman accused Trump of lying to the American people and said he "doesn’t even know what’s happening in his White House."  "General Kelly, John Kelly is running this White House and Donald Trump has no clue what's going on," she said. "He's being puppeted, and that's very dangerous for this nation."

The tape, if indeed authentic, is certainly indicative of this.

"Manigault Newman also provided "Meet the Press" with an audio recording she said was made in 2017 when Kelly fired her. In it, Kelly argued that there have been "significant integrity issues" that prompted him to fire her. She claimed the recording was made when Kelly took her into the Situation Room, a specially secure room where the president and his top aides address major national security crises, and where personal cellphones are not allowed.  When asked Monday on "Today," how she managed to tape Kelly inside such a secure area, Manigault Newman replied, "I’ll just leave that to your imagination."

If the tape is indeed authentic, she needs to be forthcoming with how this was done.  The Situation Room is supposed to be secure.  If conversations can be recorded, this could be a national security issue during an international crisis.

CBS News reports:

"The president also said he realize it's "'not presidential'" to slam her on Twitter, but said Twitter is a modern form of communication, and he knows the media will do everything possible to make her look legitimate. Mr. Trump is the one who brought her on to the West Wing, where she earned $179,700 a year, according to White House records."

Stunning, isn't it?  My-oh-my, have times changed.  LOL.  Get this:

"In the past, Mr. Trump has praised the former reality TV star on Twitter in the past, even with a sense of seeming admiration for her flair for drama.

"@OMAROSA is smart and strategic. People should cut her some slack and respect the way she works on @ApprenticeNBC," Mr. Trump tweeted in 2013 when she was a contestant on the "Apprentice."

    . @OMAROSA is smart and strategic. People should cut her some slack and respect the way she works on @ApprenticeNBC.
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2013

"I am very proud of my friend @OMAROSA. Despite her recent loss,she gracefully performs in the upcoming All-Star @ApprenticeNBC," Mr. Trump tweeted also in 2013.

    I am very proud of my friend @OMAROSA. Despite her recent loss,she gracefully performs in the upcoming All-Star @ApprenticeNBC
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2013"

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump’s bitter fight with a former top White House aide has highlighted his aggressive and unconventional use of nondisclosure agreements to prevent current and former government employees from revealing secrets or disparaging him or his family.  The latest uproar centers on claims in a book by former senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman that the Trump campaign offered her a $15,000-a-month job in exchange for signing a broadly worded NDA that would have barred her from disclosing details of her time at the White House."

She was a public employee working for the American people, not for Trump, Inc.

"Trump shot back in a tweet on Monday that “Wacky Omarosa already has a fully signed Non-Disclosure Agreement” — the first apparent acknowledgment by Trump that he has used such documents as president."

How are these agreements legally binding for public employees?  How can any U.S. president legally silence a government employee from making derogatory statements about the president or any other official?

"Dozens of White House aides have signed NDAs in exchange for working for Trump, who has long relied on such agreements in his business career, according to current and former administration employees. But NDAs have not been widely used by past administrations outside the transition time between presidents, in part because most legal experts believe such agreements are not legally enforceable for public employees."

What's good for the goose is certainly not good for the gander.  Forget?  Trump nazi himself has felt free to make disparaging statements regarding anyone he sees fit to criticize.  No matter who.  Goddamned double standard.

Consider the hypocrisy:

"Copies of Trump NDAs obtained by The Washington Post or described by current and former aides lay out breathtakingly broad prohibitions on behavior and appear to be drawn heavily from similar contracts used in the past by the Trump Organization, the president’s family firm.  Under one agreement from the 2016 campaign, signers promised not to “demean or disparage publicly” Trump, his company or any member of his family — and also not to assist any other politician exploring a federal or state office.  Former White House senior adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman, right, said she refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that included a $15,000-a-month job with President Trump’s campaign after she was fired. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

"An agreement circulated in the White House last year barred signers from sharing any information they had learned in the building, according to several aides who signed the document.  And the agreement proposed to Manigault Newman after her firing from the White House would have forbidden her from releasing derogatory information not only about Trump and his family, but about Vice President Pence and his family as well."

Required to protect both nazis and their families from hurt feelings?  LOL.

"The rampant use of such nondisclosure agreements underscores a culture — fostered by Trump himself — of paranoia, leaks, audio recordings and infighting that has pervaded his dealings for decades and continues into his presidency, according to current and former aides."

This lunatic son of a bitch is behaving like a dictator, not the president of the United States.

"Manigault Newman, who is in the midst of a publicity tour for a tell-all book slated to be released Tuesday, said she refused to sign an NDA in exchange for the campaign job and has begun releasing recordings of her West Wing conversations, including one in the Situation Room, where she was fired by Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.  Manigault Newman told “PBS NewsHour” she signed previous NDAs for the Trump Organization and for the 2016 campaign but never signed one in the White House. A representative said she was unavailable for comment.  The NDA that she declined to sign prohibited sharing information “including but not limited to the assets, investments, revenue, expenses, taxes, financial statements, actual or prospective business ventures, contracts, alliances, affiliations, relationships, affiliated entities, bids, letters of intent, term sheets, decisions, strategies, techniques, methods, projections, forecasts, customers, clients, contacts, customer lists, contact lists, schedules, appointments, meetings, conversations, notes and other communications” of “Trump, Pence, any Trump or Pence Family member, any Trump or Pence company, or any Trump or Pence Family Member Company.”  The proposed agreement also said her nondisclosure promise would last forever, even if the agreement and payments did not."

For you sick Trump sycophants, still think he's not a piece of human excrement?  Delusionally believe he's not a congenital liar?

"Trump on Monday tweeted that Manigault Newman was a “lowlife” whom he kept on as a top White House employee because she flattered him publicly, even as others told him she was a problematic, truant “loser.”

Think precisely the same doesn't apply to him?

"A number of White House aides were urged to sign NDAs in early 2017 by White House Counsel Donald McGahn, according to current and former aides, who requested anonymity to discuss internal West Wing deliberations. Trump was obsessed with leaks to the news media and repeatedly demanded that McGahn draft the agreement, the aides said.  Initially, McGahn told Trump he would not draft or give aides the NDAs because they were not enforceable, White House officials said. But in the end, McGahn created a document that said aides would not divulge any confidential or nonpublic information to any person outside the building at any time, according to three people who signed it.  The process, like much in the West Wing, was haphazard. Dozens of senior aides signed the documents, but some were assuaged before signing by McGahn, who said they were unenforceable. Others, however, said they were never given documents to sign.  Aides no longer are asked to sign when joining the administration, according to current and former officials. McGahn did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment."

When will his fellow Republicans finally wake up?  None of this is sustainable.  Great damage is being done to our formerly great country.  Sadly, tragically, we remain a democratic republic in name only.

"Trump was pleased with the agreements, which he saw as a continuation of his business practices. In an April 2016 interview with The Post, Trump said he supported making federal employees sign NDAs.  “I think they should,” Trump said. “... When people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don’t like that.”

Tough shit.  You're supposed to be President of the United States, not the CEO of Trump, Inc.  ... You don't know that?

“The NDAs of which the president is fond cannot help control the backbiting, turmoil and mistrust that roils this White House,” said Bob Bauer, a professor at New York University Law School, who served as White House counsel under President Barack Obama. “In fact, his futile resort to these documents is a symptom of the very problem he is trying to solve — and that he is responsible for creating.”  Fleischer said Bush aides weren’t asked to sign such agreements unless they saw highly classified, sensitive information."

That's an entirely different ball game.  There are already laws on the books covering that.  Ferociously pointedly, far too much information is classified that has no business being classified.  That is classified for one reason and one reason only, -- to protect the sorry asses of those responsible for f--kups and other egregious failures.  Not national security.

Consider the following:

"Aides to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said they had never been asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Numerous GOP staffers elsewhere on Capitol Hill said the same.  “I have never heard of anyone being asked to sign one,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former spokesman for Obama.  “It would be unthinkable,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s former counselor.  Mark Zaid, a longtime national security lawyer in Washington, said he had never taken a client who had been asked to sign a document not to share information that was unclassified.  “Never even heard about it being whispered in the hallways,” Zaid said. “As far as a public employee goes, it would be unconstitutional to prevent a federal employee from discussing unclassified information post-employment.”

Think Trump's not a gutless dictator?  People are effectively being paid hush money to ensure their silence:

"The use of NDAs was de rigueur during the Trump campaign, officials said. “Everyone signed one,” said one former campaign aide.  Trump and his allies have kept a number of current and former White House aides — including ousted deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, personal bodyguard Keith Schiller and former spokesman Sean Spicer — on the payroll of affiliated groups, from the 2020 reelection campaign to a super PAC. Johnny McEntee, the personal aide who spent more than a year by Trump’s side before being fired for online gambling, is now a campaign employee. Continuing to pay employees often discourages them from sharing negative information about the employer.  Schiller left the White House in September, before landing a contract with the Republican National Committee for $15,000 a month. As of June 30, Schiller’s security company, KS Global Group, had received a total of $150,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings.  Schiller signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of his work with the RNC, according to one person familiar with the agreement. But Ryan Mahoney, the communications director for the RNC, said such agreements are routine and a long-standing practice."

Laws need to be changed to prevent this ongoing bullshit.  Remains an egregious abuse of power.  Un-American.

"Manigault Newman said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she viewed the recordings she made as a personal insurance policy in “a White House where everybody lies.”  “The president lies to the American people,” she said. “You have to have your own back because otherwise, you’ll look back and you'll see 17 knives in your back.”  At one point in the Situation Room firing, Manigault Newman asked whether she was being “taped,” according to two people with knowledge of the encounter, who requested anonymity to describe the confidential meeting.  “I don’t consent to being taped,” she said, even as she clandestinely taped the meeting herself, the people said."

Have to appreciate the irony.  LOL.  Gets worse, get this:

"They said that Stefan Passantino, a White House lawyer who was present, responded by telling Manigault Newman that she was not being taped — and adding that he did not want to be taped either.  A representative for Manigault Newman did not respond to a request for comment."

As long as Omarosa is telling the truth, not distorting reality, she is providing a desperately-needed public service.  Exposing the Trump nazi for precisely whom and what he is.

The quotes above are courtesy of two exceptionally gifted, insightful writers, Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker.

NBC reports:

"On "Hardball" Monday night, Manigault Newman told NBC's Chris Matthews that the firing took place in the "president's conference'' room" — the JFK Conference Room — where she had previously attended a meeting on hurricane relief, and that Kelly had brought her down there specifically to fire her. Asked if Kelly took her to the basement to keep her from appealing personally to Trump to intercede, she said, "He did it on purpose. He wanted me isolated. He wanted me in fear."  She said she was locked in the room and couldn't leave."

Fascinating, isn't it?

Consider the following:

"Pfeiffer said everyone who enters the Situation Room complex is well aware of the required security measures. In addition to signs at the entrance that tells guests they cannot bring electronic devices of any kind into the complex, every visitor is verbally reminded.  "They are immediately met by reception, who gently tells them, put your phone, electronic devices in a box," said Pfeiffer. The list of prohibited devices is long and includes iPhones, iPads, Kindles, recording devices, even FitBits.  Pfeiffer confirmed that there is equipment in the SITROOM that can detect electronic devices, but would not describe it. Two other former SITROOM officials said there are indeed detection sensors in the ceilings of the conference room and offices. If a device is detected prior to the start of a meeting, Pfeiffer said, a SITROOM officer will quietly remind the individual of the rules and take the electronic device.  "If a meeting had started, we would pass a note to whoever was running the meeting and in every case, they sternly reprimanded the individual and in some cases, dismissed them from the meeting," said Pfeiffer. "Security was taken very seriously."  In fact, Pfeiffer noted that anytime any foreign official was given a tour –"no matter how friendly"—the entire complex was "swept" for recording devices.  Pfeiffer said he is unaware whether the sensors could detect all types of personal recording devices.  Asked by Matthews how she had gotten a recording device past the sensors, Manigault Newman declined to comment."

If Omarosa was indeed able to make the recording in the Situation Room, there is a national security issue.

Omarosa certainly came out all guns figuratively blazing in her new  book.  NBC reports:

"Manigault Newman described the administration's response to Puerto Rico — after the hurricane took out its electrical grid, left residents without food, water or housing and killed many — as lethargic and contrasted it with the White House's aid to Florida and Texas when those states were hit by hurricanes Irma and Harvey."

Certainly, true.  Sadly, so.

"In a meeting, Kelly blamed the crisis on Puerto Rico's "already screwed-up" infrastructure, she wrote in "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House," which was released Tuesday. Kelly suggested that Puerto Rico's government, near bankruptcy, "was trying to exploit the hurricane to focus on the United States to foot the bill to rebuild their electrical grid," she continued.  "And God bless (Trump's former homeland security adviser) Tom Bossert, who tried to get the resources, tried to fight," Manigault Newman wrote. "He and I were fighting arm in arm, hand in hand, to try to advocate for Puerto Rico to get what they needed, and John Kelly shut it down."

Trump and his henchmen clearly seem to have forgotten Puerto Ricans are indeed American citizens.  ... Or, simply don't care.

"Manigault Newman mocked Trump as she recalled a moment that led to much criticism of the president — when he blithely tossed rolls of paper towels to hurricane victims during his visit to the island. She needled his "cavalier behavior in the face of human tragedy."  "Just like Charlottesville, it was all about him. The devastated people loved him! He was unfairly persecuted by the media … His total lack of empathy is bad enough, but I believe many of the problems and delays with getting aid to Puerto Rico were partly political," Manigault Newman wrote."

Certainly has a point.

"Images of pallets of water and shipping containers of supplies sitting at the San Juan airport set off an explosion of anger led by San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz who pleaded for help and described the federal government's response as "something close to genocide."  Manigault Newman wrote in her book: "I would not put it past Trump to punish the people of Puerto Rico to teach that woman of color a lesson."

No question, massive failure of Trump and his henchmen.  Egregious dereliction of duty.  Consider the following:

"The island still does not know exactly how many people died, but the early toll of 16 deaths was dismissed long ago. Last week, Puerto Rico's government said the death toll could be more than 1,400, but a Harvard study has said the toll is closer to 4,645.  Many of those deaths were not caused when the hurricane hit but because of the interruption of health care, electricity and utility services."

NPR reports:

"The government does not impose nondisclosure agreements on former federal employees with respect to any unclassified information, no matter how 'confidential,' sensitive or embarrassing," said Bradley Moss, a Washington, D.C., attorney who practices federal employment and national security clearance law, in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition."

Would be an abrogation of free speech.  To say nothing of whistleblower laws.

"Past White House staffers disputed Sanders' claim that nondisclosure agreements were common in other administrations. Ari Fleischer, a press secretary for President George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter, "On the NDA issue, it's simple: WH aides with access to classified info sign a form in which they commit not to disclose classified information to unauthorized people. Beyond that, there were no NDAs while I was press secretary."

Consider the following:

"Tellingly, it is Trump's campaign committee and not the federal government that is taking legal action against Manigault Newman by putting her into private arbitration, the specified remedy for allegedly breaking her nondisclosure agreement from the 2016 campaign. On Tuesday, Manigault Newman released recordings of conversations she alleges were with fellow campaign staffers in 2016."

Equally to the point:

"Even if an arbitrator ruled for Trump and hit Manigault Newman with a big fine, Oswald said, there would still be a long road for the president and his lawyers. Enforcement is up to courts, he said, and an injunction against Manigault Newman would be unlikely, "so as a practical matter most likely she's going to be able to continue with what she's doing."

No matter what, truth must and will come out.

"Manigault Newman's unsigned nondisclosure agreement, like others, contains a no-disparagement clause — a pledge to never, ever disparage the campaign, Trump, Vice President Pence, their families, their families' companies, and so forth.  Oswald said the open-ended ban would be vulnerable to a legal challenge, since it would restrict speech about a sitting president. And such clause in a nondisclosure agreement issued by the White House would be unenforceable, said Louis Clark, CEO of the Government Accountability Project, which works with and defends whistleblowers.  In fact, he said, government employees — including White House staff — simply can't be gagged like that. Congress has repeatedly passed whistleblower laws safeguarding government workers' communications with Congress and inspectors general."

Trump is desperate to intimidate, silence critics:

"But Clark suggested that enforcing the NDAs might not be the administration's goal. "Clearly their purpose is to chill speech," he said in an email. "That they might do."  Moss, the federal employment lawyer, agreed. "Even if the campaign loses this fight, this is about intimidation. This is about trying to put a warning shot out to anybody else who used to be part of the Trump inner circle and worked in the White House — 'Don't you dare step out of line; you better keep your mouth shut.' "

Silence is not golden.  No better disinfectant than sunlight, glaring exposure to the brilliant light of day.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Google tracks your movements no matter what.  CBS News reports:

"Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.  An Associated Press investigation found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you've used privacy settings that say they will prevent it from doing so.  Computer-science researchers at Princeton confirmed these findings at the AP's request.

"Storing your minute-by-minute travels carries privacy risks and has been used by police to determine the location of suspects - such as a warrant that police in Raleigh, North Carolina, served on Google last year to find devices near a murder scene. So the company will let you "pause" a setting called Location History.  Google says that will prevent the company from remembering where you've been. Google's support page on the subject states: "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."  That isn't true. Even with Location History paused, some Google apps automatically store time-stamped location data without asking."

Report goes on and on, but you get the message, don't you?  ... You don't?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Think Trump truly gives a shit about the grunts doing the fighting and dying?  Despite all the lip service that remains nothing more than unadulterated bullshit? Wake up.  He's as phony as a $3 bill.  NPR reports:

"The Trump administration is taking aim at a law designed to protect military service members from getting cheated by shady lending practices.  NPR has obtained documents that show the White House is proposing changes that critics say would leave service members vulnerable to getting ripped off when they buy cars. Separately, the administration is taking broader steps to roll back enforcement of the Military Lending Act.  The MLA is supposed to protect service members from predatory loans and financial products. But the White House appears willing to change the rules in a way that critics say would take away some of those protections.  "If the White House does this, it will be manipulating the Military Lending Act regulations at the behest of auto dealers and banks to try and make it easier to sell overpriced rip-off products to military service members," says Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah, who reviewed the documents."

Here's the problem:

"The product Peterson is referring to is called gap insurance. Here's how it works: Cars lose some of their value the moment they are driven off the lot. Dealers often tell customers that if their car gets wrecked in a crash they could be financially harmed because regular insurance may not pay out the entire amount owed on the loan. Peterson says some car dealers push this insurance product really hard. "They convince people they've got to have this gap insurance," he says.  That kind of insurance can actually be inexpensive. Peterson, who helped write the regulations for the Defense Department, says it often costs as little as $20 to $30 a year and is available from a car buyer's regular insurance company.  "But if you buy it from your car dealer, they may mark it up. ... I've seen gap insurance policies being sold for $1,500" over the course of the loan, he says.  The rules to protect service members effectively block auto dealers from tacking on an extra product — such as overpriced gap insurance — and rolling it into their car loans."

The hopelessly greedy bastards in the corporate management suite never get enough:

"The industry has been lobbying to change that, and the White House appears to be sympathetic. The administration just sent the latest version of a proposal to the Defense Department, and documents show that it would give car dealers what they want. Peterson says the revised rules could also allow dealers to roll in all kinds of other add-on products."

Traitors.  Goddamned traitors.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Think the following, if implemented by Walmart, won't be an egregious invasion of privacy?  CBS News reports:

"Like it or not, employers have always been able to monitor workers. Company email isn't private, and phone calls often come with a familiar voice saying, "This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance." But today, the emergence of new technologies that lets businesses track, listen to and even watch employees while on company time is raising concern about "Big Brother" levels of surveillance.  Life on the job, privacy advocates fear, is rapidly turning into life under a managerial microscope.  Take Walmart, which recently patented a system that could take employee monitoring to a new level by letting the retail giant listen in on workers and customers. The patent filing, for a system Walmart calls "Listening to the Frontend," calls for the use of "sound sensors" to zero in on customers' shopping and check-out experience. It would also monitor specific noises, like the beeps of item scanners and rustling of bags, and even the conversations of workers and shoppers."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-17-18

Too late for in-depth inclusion in this edition, Trump stripped the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, -- for personally excoriating the 'president.'  Considering doing the same to others highly critical of Der Fuhrer.  ... Think Adolf and Benito aren't 'high-fiving' on their fiery perches?

CBS News reports:

"President Trump abruptly revoked the security clearance of ex-CIA Director John Brennan, an unprecedented act of retribution against a heavily critical former top U.S. official. Later, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump drew a direct connection between his decision and the Russia investigation, citing Brennan as among those he held responsible for the probe.   "I call it the rigged witch hunt, (it) is a sham," Mr. Mr. Trump told the Journal, which posted its story on its website Wednesday night. "And these people led it!"  He added: "So I think it's something that had to be done."  That connection was not in a statement issued earlier Wednesday in which Mr. Trump denounced Brennan's criticism of him and spoke anxiously of "the risks posed by his erratic conduct and behavior." The president said he was fulfilling his "constitutional responsibility to protect the nation's classified information."

There was no breach of classified information by Mr. Brennan.  None.

"Mr. Trump also threatened to yank the clearances of a handful of individuals, including former top intelligence and law enforcement officials, as well as a current member of the Justice Department. All are critics of the president or are people he appears to believe are against him.  Mr. Trump's action against Brennan, critics and nonpartisan experts said, marked an unprecedented politicization of the federal government's security clearance process. It also was a clear escalation in Mr. Trump's battle with members of the U.S. intelligence community as the investigation into Russia election meddling and possible collusion and obstruction of justice continues."

Trump appears to be desperately obstructing justice to cover his sorry ass.

"Brennan, in a phone interview with MSNBC, called the move an "abuse of power by Mr. Trump."  "I do believe that Mr. Trump decided to take this action, as he's done with others, to try to intimidate and suppress any criticism of him or his administration," he said, adding that he would not be deterred from speaking out.  Brennan also took to Twitter, tweeting he would "not relent":

    "This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent. https://t.co/TNzOxhP9ux
    — John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 15, 2018"

Stand tall, Mr. Brennan, stand tall.  No matter the personal cost.

"Brennan has indeed been deeply critical of Mr. Trump's conduct, calling his performance at a news conference last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland "nothing short of treasonous."

    "Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???
    — John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018"

Uncommon valor, Mr. Brennan.

"Brennan continued that criticism on Wednesday. "I've seen this type of behavior and actions on the part of foreign tyrants and despots and autocrats for many, many years during my CIA and national security career. I never, ever thought that I would see it here in the United States," he said."

Goddamned right.  We've lived in a de facto fascist police-state quite some time, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  Remain a democratic republic in name only.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Consider the Aryan arrogance of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  NBC reports:

"The Trump administration wants advocacy groups to take the lead in helping to reunify migrant parents separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, shifting the burden away from the federal government."

Trump nazi and his henchmen create the problem.  Then, expect others to fix it.  Amazing, isn't it?

"In response to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing migrant families, the Justice Department argued in a federal court filing Thursday that the nonprofit group can use its "considerable resources" and its network of law firms, volunteers and nongovernmental organizations to help in the process."  That includes making sure every migrant parent gets access to an attorney and to determine the best way for reunification to occur, according to the filing in U.S. District Court in San Diego."

Why should it?  You and your nazi fuhrer created this problem, now fix it.  Your sorry asses should have long since been jailed for contempt.

"But while ACLU lawyers responded that the group wants to be involved, it disagreed with the premise of the Trump administration's request because it was "the government's unconstitutional separation practice that led to this crisis" and federal officials are the ones with "far more resources."

Wouldn't want to confuse Trump and his fellow nazis with the truth, would we?

"Of about 2,550 children ages 5 to 17 who were removed from their parents after crossing the U.S.'s southern border; as of Thursday more than 570 are still in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and in government shelters."

Why?

"The filing also mentioned how many children remain separated from their parents, most of whom have been fleeing violence and crime in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.  Of about 2,550 children ages 5 to 17 who were removed from their parents after crossing the U.S. southern border, more than 570 are still in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and in government shelters."

Why?

"But of those cases, about 410 children have parents already outside of the United States, meaning they were likely deported without their child and are not able to be reunited with their children in the United States. Nearly 70 other children have parents who are still in America, but no contact has yet been made."

Trump nazi and his henchmen are responsible for this.  Don't Republicans claim to be the party of the family?

"U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has ordered that all the migrant children still separated from their parents be reunited. A conference call was scheduled Friday with the ACLU and the Trump administration to discuss how to move forward.  “The administration is sitting on information that will allow the parties to find these parents,” said ACLU's Gelerent."

Quickest way to resolve this issue is jail the bastards for contempt.

NPR reports:

"U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw said that he will order the government to appoint a single point person to oversee the reunification process. He indicated that his order will come no later than Monday.  Sabraw's comments came in a status conference between lawyers from the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union, the group that successfully sued the government to stop it from separating families.  In uncharacteristically blunt language, the judge said that it is "just unacceptable" that only 12 or 13 parents out of close to 500 parents who have been deported from the U.S. have been located thus far.  "The reality is that for every parent who is not located there will be a permanently orphaned child and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration," Sabraw said."

The judge has been far too patient as this atrocity continues.  Time to hold the government bastards responsible.  Jail them for contempt.  What are you waiting for, Judge?

"On Thursday, lawyers for the government and the ACLU submitted a joint status report to the court about the progress of the reunification process. The judge made it clear that he wasn't impressed.  "I have to say that it was disappointing in the respect that there was not a plan proposed," he said.  In its report, the government said the ACLU should bear the lion's share of the work in trying to reunite the families by using its "considerable resources," which include a network of attorneys and nongovernmental organizations on the ground in Central America.  During the status conference, the deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, Lee Gelernt, said his group is prepared to do more to help reunify the families but that it still needs more information about them currently in government files.  Gelernt also said that 95 percent of the parents who were deported without their children are from Guatemala and Honduras. Many come from very remote places and it is difficult to locate them, he added."

The Trump nazi and his fellow bastards are responsible for this fiasco.  Time to hold them accountable.  So far they've effectively received a free ride.

"Throughout the hearing, Sabraw returned to his idea of having the government appoint a person to lead the reunification process.  "This is going to be a significant undertaking, and it's clear that there has to be one person in charge," said the judge.  He also said that he is waiting for a ruling from a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in a related case that seeks a temporary end to the deportations of parents. He indicated that that case could be transferred to his jurisdiction in San Diego."

What he needs to do is start jailing government officials responsible for contempt.  Hold their feet to the fire.  Otherwise, this shit will end no time soon.

DACA is another ongoing problem.  An atrocity.  NPR reports:

"A Washington, D.C.-based federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must fully restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, saying the government's rationale for dropping it is inadequate.  The order by U.S. District Judge John Bates barring the administration from ending DACA is the third such mandate by a district court, and the latest blow to the administration's efforts to eliminate DACA."

Why isn't the judge jailing these bastards for contempt?

"President Trump announced plans to shutter the program, which protects young immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from deportation, in September 2017. Since then the Department of Homeland Security has stopped accepting new applications and processing renewals."

Time to jail the bastards for contempt.  Why does this crap continue to be tolerated?

"In the 25-page opinion, Bates also denied a motion by the Department of Homeland Security to vacate a previous decision in which he determined the administration's explanations for phasing out the Obama-era program were "arbitrary and capricious."

Jesus Christ.  Time to get a move on, Judge.  These kids are unnecessarily suffering at the hands of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"California and New York district court judges have also ruled against the Trump administration, finding that the manner in which it concluded DACA was unlawful and violated the Administrative Procedures Act. DHS is appealing those judgments."

Why aren't the appeals accelerated?  Why all the foot-dragging?  People are suffering at the hands of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Needlessly.

"Bates did grant Homeland Security's request for time to consider an appeal. The government has 20 days to submit its petition. If that effort is unsuccessful, DACA will have to be fully implemented on Aug. 23.  In closing, Bates wrote that Friday's ruling does not imply that the government cannot revoke DACA but that it simply has not provided a sound legal justification for doing so.  "A conclusory assertion that a prior policy is illegal, accompanied by a hodgepodge of illogical or post hoc policy assertions, simply will not do," Bates wrote."

Judiciary moves at a snail's pace with very rare exception.  This needs to change.  Now.  An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looms.  ... Hear the rumble?

NPR reports:

"Immigration lawyers are challenging the Trump administration's crackdown on asylum-seekers in court.  Under a sweeping new policy announced in June by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the administration says domestic abuse and gang violence should "generally" not be considered grounds for asylum claims.  Now a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies says that policy violates U.S. law by depriving asylum-seekers of the right to seek humanitarian protections."

What took so long?

"The new legal challenge was brought on behalf of a dozen plaintiffs who fled their home countries after suffering "horrific persecution," according to the complaint, including rape, beating, death threats and the murder of family members. The suit alleges their claims were all rejected at the earliest stage of the asylum process, known as the credible fear interview, without presenting a full case to an immigration judge.  The lead plaintiff in the case is identified only as Grace. According to the lawsuit, she fled Guatemala to escape an abusive husband who beat and sexually assaulted her for more than 20 years.  "Grace is just an example of someone who should have passed the credible fear standard, and would have under the old standards," said Jennifer Chang Newell, managing attorney for the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. "But now she's at risk of deportation to Guatemala where she fears for her life and her physical safety."

Courtesy of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"As NPR has reported, immigration lawyers say they have seen a jump in the number of asylum-seekers who are rejected at the credible fear screening. The attorney general's June decision came in a closely watched case known as "Matter of A-B-," named for a Salvadoran woman who is seeking asylum in the U.S. That was followed last month by new guidelines for asylum officers who work for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

Trump's Fourth Reich.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Delusionally believe the GOP the party of the family?  NBC reports:

"The wife of a former Marine and Iraq War veteran whose family publicly pleaded for President Donald Trump to stop her deportation was put on a plane to her native Mexico, her lawyer said Friday morning."

Our 'president' and his henchmen are traitors.

"Alejandra Juarez, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years and resided in Davenport, Florida, with her naturalized husband and their two American daughters, had an emotional goodbye with her family, according to attorney Chelsea Nowel.  "She is alone today as she has no home yet," Nowel told NBC News in a text message. "Once she finds a place to live the youngest daughter will meet her in Mexico."  Juarez's husband, Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Juarez, who describes himself as a conservative who voted for Trump, wrote the president a letter that was delivered through his congressman asking for a reprieve, reported Stars and Stripes."

First, once a Marine always a Marine.  No such thing as a former Marine.  Thank you for your service, Mr. Juarez.  Second, you voted for the nazi son of a bitch.  What did you expect?  The handwriting was clearly on the wall well before the election of this nazi lunatic.

"Alejandra Juarez, 39, had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 18, escaping violence in her home country. Three years later she met and married Temo in Florida.  “I came here illegally. I’m ashamed of it. I know I did something wrong,” Alejandra Juarez told NBC News in an interview before she was deported. “I seriously thought that was the only exit out of a situation I was living in. I think that saved my life.”

Can't have that in the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.

"Temo served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later joined the Army National Guard in Florida. He came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child and was naturalized days before he was deployed to Iraq. The couple has two daughters, ages 9 and 16, both born in the United States."

This is how the Trump nazi repaid this United States Marine and his children for his service in the military.  Deported his wife and mother of his children.  The fuhrer is reminded our UNDOCUMENTED forebears came to this continent centuries ago.  STOLE this land from its native inhabitants.  Then, BROKE every goddamned treaty ever signed, Mr. 'President.'

You're an embarrassment to yourself, your office, and our formerly great country, sir.  You're caustically reminded the Head Honcho of your professed religion was an undocumented refugee.  You're also caustically advised  your national socialist mentors, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini both professed to be Christians.  They weren't.  Neither are you, sir.  No national socialist, fascist, nazi can be.  Forget?  An oxymoron.

"Soto sent bipartisan letters on Wednesday addressed to Trump, the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security requesting a stay of removal.  There is an immigration policy for members of the military and their families called “parole in place” to “recognize the important sacrifices made by U.S. Armed forces members, veterans, enlistees, and their families." The Citizen and Immigration Services website says they provide “discretionary options such as parole in place or deferred action on a case-by-case basis.”  The Juarezes received a call Tuesday from their attorney saying ICE agreed to review her most recent “parole in place” application. But they have rejected her previous three applications, according to Stars and Stripes.  “I love this country. This country has given me great things because we have worked hard. But the America we are living in now is getting full of hate,” Alejandra Juarez said."

What it is is no more than a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  We are no longer a democratic republic.  In name only.

"She checked in regularly with immigration authorities during former President Barack Obama’s administration, and says she was always told she is not a criminal and has nothing to worry about."

Not in Trump's Fourth Reich.

"Now, with Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, few exceptions are made for unauthorized immigrants — even in cases when a crime has not been committed."

Trump's Nazi America.  A raucous, boot clicking, goose stepping, treasonous, treacherous, traitorous Seig Heil!, Mr. 'President?'

“Before you enlist in the military, think it twice. Before you marry an immigrant, think it twice. Think if it’s really worth it for you to serve this country, because look how they treated me,” Alejandra Juarez previously told NBC News, through tears."

Nazi America.  Worst yet to come.

"She had said that if she were deported Friday, she would take daughter Estela, 9, with her to Mexico while her her other daughter, Pamela, 16, stays with her father in Florida.  “It makes me sad, mainly because I tell my mom everything. And she always supports me … And now that I’m getting older I’m going to have more problems and issues that I’m going to need help with and I want my mom to be there with me," Pamela said.  The parents decided to take the younger daughter to Mexico because Temo travels for work and she is too young to take care of herself.  "I don’t really want to go to Mexico but I know I need to because I’m too young and also I want to go for my mom … because I don’t want her to be lonely,” Estela said.  She went on to say what she would tell Trump if gotten the chance: “I know my mom made a mistake and it was wrong, but he said he was going to deport criminals. My mom is not a criminal," the girl said. "She is a military spouse and a mom of two kids.”

Doesn't matter to our nazi fuhrer in the Oval Office and his henchmen.  Where is the outrage of Republicans?  Don't you national socialists claim to be the party of the family?  Horse shit.  Clearly, you're not.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Manafort trial accelerates.  Think the following isn't damaging?  The Washington Post reports:

"One of Paul Manafort’s accountants testified Friday that she went along with falsifying his tax records because she was afraid to confront a longtime client.  Cindy Laporta said that in 2015, Manafort’s right-hand man, Rick Gates, told her his boss couldn’t afford to pay his taxes. To ease that burden, she said, Gates instructed her to misrepresent $900,000 in income as a business loan.  “I had a couple of choices at that point,” Laporta said. “I could have refused to file the tax return,” which she said could lead to litigation with Manafort’s firm.  “I could have called Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates liars,” she said. “But Mr. Manafort was a longtime client of the firm and I did not want to do that, either.”

Imagine that.  So instead of standing tall, doing the right thing, she went along to get along.

"Laporta, who testified after she was granted immunity, said “I very much regret” the decision to go along with a plan that she estimated saved Manafort at least $400,000 in taxes.  It was the fourth day of trial in a packed federal courtroom in Alexandria in which Manafort, President Trump’s onetime campaign chairman, is fighting bank and tax fraud charges. Prosecutors allege he failed to pay taxes on millions of dollars he made from his work for a Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party, then lied about his income to get loans when the cash stopped coming in."

Forget?  Law only applies to the peasants, -- not people at the top of the food chain.  ... According to those at the top.

"Laporta, the accountant, described a conference call with Gates in which he said Manafort could not afford to pay his taxes and discussed the possibility of reducing them by reporting a loan from an entity in Cyprus called Telmar Investments that prosecutors contend Manafort controlled. Laporta testified she did not believe such a loan actually existed.  Laporta said she asked Gates for a record of the loan and he provided a two-page document that bore what she said was Manafort’s signature.  She testified that she also helped Manafort obtain millions of dollars in loans fraudulently, including by representing rental property as a second home, sending a bank a loan-forgiveness letter she believed to be forged, and telling another bank that Manafort expected a $2.4 million payment when she had “no idea” if that was true."

NPR reports:

"Paul Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates took the witness stand on Monday for the most highly anticipated — and likely crucial — testimony in Manafort's trial on bank and tax fraud charges.  Gates worked as Manafort's right-hand man over the past decade, and prosecutors say he helped Manafort evade taxes and lie to banks to qualify for loans.  Gates pleaded guilty earlier this year as part of an agreement to cooperate with federal prosecutors.  "Did you commit crimes with Mr. Manafort?" prosecutor Greg Andres asked soon after Gates took the stand and described his relationship with Manafort.  "Yes," Gates said."

Went on and on.

The Washington Post reports:

"The courtroom showdown between Paul Manafort and his former right hand man Rick Gates grew painfully personal Tuesday as a defense lawyer forced Gates, the prosecution’s star witness, to admit he embezzled money years ago to fund a transatlantic extramarital affair.  In his second day on the witness stand in Alexandria, Va., federal court, Gates described in detail the lies, phony documents, and fake profits he said he cooked up at Manafort’s direction. Manafort, seated at the defense table, stared intently at Gates, who has assiduously avoided his gaze.  Gates’ testimony is a central part of the prosecutors’ case as they try to prove Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, committed bank fraud and tax crimes.  He testified that most of his crimes were committed on behalf of his former boss, while others he did for himself. Gates pleaded guilty in February as part of a deal with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III."

Cross examination was ferocious:

"The most jarring testimony Tuesday came when Manafort’s lawyer Kevin Downing got his turn to question Gates.  “There was another Richard Gates, isn’t that right? A secret Richard Gates?” Downing asked.  Gates, who seemed to immediately understand the lawyer’s hint, began speaking in a quiet, strained voice, saying that about 10 years ago, he had “another relationship” — an extramarital affair.  Asked if that affair had taken place in London, Gates said it had occurred there and other places. For around two months, Gates said, he had kept a separate apartment in London. Under questioning, he admitted he had also flown first class and stayed in luxury hotels as part of that relationship.  Gates also testified that he had used money embezzled from Manafort to help fund his relationship. When Downing asked if he had spent as much as $3 million on his affair, Gates replied that he thought the figure was lower, but agreed that he had taken money from Manafort without his permission.  Earlier in his testimony, Gates said he embezzled several hundreds of thousands of dollars while working for Manafort."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Another lawsuit against the Trump nazi.  NPR reports:

"President Trump has consistently declared that the Affordable Care Act — commonly referred to as Obamacare — is a broken mess, and after several unsuccessful attempts to repeal the national health care law, he has eagerly anticipated that it will "fail" and "implode."

-- Hasn't, despite Trump's best efforts.

"On Thursday, four cities wielded the president's remarks against him, in a lawsuit accusing Trump of deliberately undermining his executive obligation to "faithfully execute" the law in violation of the Constitution.  It alleges that Trump and his administration "are waging a relentless campaign to sabotage and, ultimately, to nullify the law." It points to the president's own statements and actions taken by the Health and Human Services Department to discourage citizens from enrolling in health insurance exchanges."

... If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  LOL.

"The cities of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, contend the government has schemed to destroy the ACA by slashing outreach funding, promoting insurance that does not have to comply with the law and can refuse people who have preexisting conditions, has narrowed the enrollment window, imposed onerous documentation requirements and "misused federal funds for advertising campaigns aimed at smearing the ACA and its exchanges, and spinning false narratives about the efficacy and success of the Act."

So what else is new?  Due to bottomless greed of the insurance cartel, single-payer will be the only solution to this ongoing problem.  Has worked in Canada.  Certainly, working in Europe and elsewhere.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Tariff fiasco escalates.  NPR reports:

"China has announced a plan to impose new tariffs on $60 billion of American goods, in retaliation for the latest tariff threats from the Trump administration.  Earlier this week, the White House said it was considering boosting tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, raising those tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent. That particular set of tariffs has not yet taken effect.  China promptly promised it would take countermeasures of its own. On Friday, the Ministry of Commerce described its planned response: four different types of tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods.  The Chinese government did not specify what types of American products would be affected or when those tariffs would take effect.  "China thinks that negotiations based on mutual respect and mutual benefit are the efficient way to solve trade conflicts," the ministry said in a statement. "Any unilateral threat or blackmail is only going to escalate the conflict and hurt everybody's interests."

Insanity continues. The Washington Post reports:

"China will impose tariffs on an additional $16 billion worth of U.S. products, officials announced Wednesday, marking the latest parry in an escalating trade war between the two countries.  The 25 percent tariffs will go into effect Aug. 23, targeting cars, crude oil, natural gas and coal.  In a statement, the Chinese Commerce Ministry charged that the United States “once again put domestic law above international law by imposing ‘very unreasonable’ new tariffs on Chinese goods.”  China’s announcement is a direct response to new duties on Chinese goods imported into the United States, announced Tuesday in Washington. Those new tariffs, totaling $16 billion, will be levied against 279 products, including motorcycles, steam turbines and railway cars."

Enjoy.  Place the blame precisely where it belongs.  On the insane Trump nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Deficit skyrockets.  Surprised?  Why?  NPR reports:

"Corporate tax receipts are down for the year, while government spending is up. Even with a fast-growing economy, the Treasury Department expects to borrow more than $750 billion to pay its bills during the last six months of this year.  "The federal budget deficit is ballooning, skyrocketing, soaring, whichever way you want to describe it," said longtime fiscal watchdog Stan Collender, who blogs about federal finances as "The Budget Guy."  "You've got a kind of perfect storm here," Collender said. "You've got more spending. You've got less revenue. And the deficit is just getting bigger and bigger, to the point where it will be at least a trillion dollars every year during the Trump administration and beyond."

Recent tax breaks, mainly for top of the food chain, certainly contributing.

"Even the White House's own rosy forecast acknowledges that the deficit will exceed 5 percent of the overall economy next year — a level it's previously reached only after deep recessions, when unemployment topped 10 percent. Today, the economy is near full employment. But the government is still acting like a spendthrift family, piling up credit card bills even though times are good."

Surprised?  Why?  Think anything ever truly changes no matter who's in power?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Trump continues to deny reality.  Undercuts national security.  NBC reports:

"Just hours after the nation’s top intelligence officials warned about Moscow’s efforts to disrupt a second consecutive American election, Trump said at a campaign rally here Thursday night that his diplomatic efforts with President Vladimir Putin “are being hindered by the Russian hoax.”  The two events created a split-screen effect: America's intelligence experts warning voters that Russia is trying to undermine democracy while Trump tells them it's all political chicanery.  Several of Trump’s top lieutenants — National Security Adviser John Bolton, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen, FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Security Agency chief Gen. Paul Nakasone — described the threat in the White House briefing room."

Think Trump not insane?  Losing ground?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Once again, the Trump nazi has concertedly, needlessly, stupidly made a jackass of himself.  Remarkably, the First Lady isn't going along to get along.  LOL.  ESPN reports:

"President Donald Trump took a shot at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in a tweet Friday night.

    "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018"

The Trump nazi can certainly think exactly as he pleases.  We all do.  Expressing those thoughts, however, is another matter, especially for the president of the United States.

"James was interviewed by CNN's Don Lemon on Monday, after his LeBron James Family Foundation and the Akron (Ohio) Public Schools launched a new elementary school for at-risk children in his hometown."

... Certainly to be commended, isn't he?  -- No matter his personal views of the Trump nazi.

"In the interview, James discussed the impact of sports and how it brings people together. He said he felt Trump was "using sports to kinda divide us."

Not only sports.  Across the board.

"Sports has never been something that divides people," James told Lemon. "It's always been something that brings someone together."

Always, -- until now.

"Trump's tweet came four days after the CNN interview originally aired. In the tweet, Trump also appeared to take sides in the LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate, saying, "I like Mike!"  James has publicly criticized Trump before. In September 2017, he called Trump a "bum" for rescinding his invitation to the Golden State Warriors to celebrate their championship with a visit to the White House.  "Going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up!" James tweeted then."

Certainly, pissed the living shit out of the hopelessly narcissistic Trump nazi.  LOL.

"Also that month, after Trump suggested that NFL players should be "fired" for "disrespecting the flag" when they take a knee or otherwise choose not to participate in the national anthem, James said Trump's conduct was unbecoming of someone in his position."

Certainly, an incredibly accurate, most insightful statement.  Had Trump truly been as smart as he claims, would have wisely ignored all public criticism.

In terms of wisdom, think James doesn't run circles around the Trump nazi?  Consider the following:

"He doesn't understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country," James said then. "He doesn't understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the president of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn't understand that, and that's what makes me more sick than anything, that we have someone that's ... this is the most, this is the No. 1 position in the world."

Stunning, isn't it?  A dictator doesn't have this insight.  Hitler certainly didn't.  Neither did Mussolini.  Similarly, Stalin had his head securely lodged up his ass.  So did Mao.

"James has continued to be critical of the president and his policies, and in June, while still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, James said neither his team nor the rival Warriors would accept an invitation to the White House after winning the NBA championship. Trump subsequently said neither team would be invited."

Tit for tat.  Think that presidential?  ... Or, the mark of a juvenile.  A man in his eighth decade of life who never grew up.

"James made similar remarks regarding Trump and sports on Monday in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, adding that he has no regrets about criticizing the president."

Has the constitutional right to protest.  Trump, moreover has no ability to withstand criticism.  Remains unfit for a position that now represents nearly unlimited power.  Think the Founders aren't spinning in their graves?

"For someone to try to divide us by using our platform of sport?" he told Nichols. "Sport has given me everything I could ever ask for. I couldn't let that happen."

True leaders, leaders who are in control of themselves, let criticism slide, -- like water off the back of a duck.  Not so, the Trump nazi.

Clearly, the First Lady takes no shit from her husband.  CBS News reports:

"Melania Trump broke sharply with her husband on Saturday, after the president maligned NBA star LeBron James' intelligence on Twitter late Friday night. The first lady praised James for his work with children, even saying she is open to visiting the school for underprivileged children he founded in his hometown of Akron, Ohio."

Imagine the 'pillow talk.'  LOL.

"The first lady's platform, "Be Best," is all about encouraging children to conduct themselves in an honorable manner, and she has made promoting children's welfare a key piece of her time in the White House."

Think that jives with Trump and his henchmen separating children from their parents seeking asylum?  Or, the GOP's false claim to be the party of the family?

"It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the first lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today," the first lady's spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement. "As you know, Mrs. Trump has traveled the country and world talking to children about their well-being, healthy living, and the importance of responsible online behavior with her Be Best initiative. Her platform centers around visiting organizations, hospitals and schools, and she would be open to visiting the I Promise School in Akron."

Hard to believe that didn't piss the living shit out of the president.  LOL.

"Saturday's statement would not be the first time the first lady illustrated her independence from her husband."

Has happened repeatedly.

"Last month, when The New York Times published a story claiming Mr. Trump became frustrated when the first lady's TV was turned to CNN instead of Fox News, Grisham issued a statement to CNN saying the first lady can watch "any channel she wants."

Jesus Christ.  Got to love it.  LOL.  Wake up, Donny boy.  How goddamned trite can you be, sir?  LOL.  Worse?  Insecure.  To say nothing of hopelessly, aggressively stupid.

"Melania Trump has often traveled solo as well, including on two trips to visit the southern border, where Trump administration policies resulted in the separation of parents from their children. It was the first lady and Trump daughter and top aide Ivanka Trump who urged the president to reverse course on family separations, the president said."

Think so?  Or, is it ferocious opposition coming from both major political parties that was a far greater factor?  Growing outrage across the country, -- other than from his sick sycophants.

In another article, CBS News insightfully reports:

"A deliberately crafted statement. A conspicuous fashion choice. A sudden silence or withdrawal from the public eye. First lady Melania Trump's move to distance herself from President Donald Trump's criticism of NBA superstar LeBron James was the latest instance of her quiet but seemingly concerted effort to subtly create space between herself and her husband, careful not to criticize him directly while making clear she does not agree with him."

As careful as she's been, think Trump isn't insanely irritated?  LOL.

"If not full-fledged acts of defiance, the first lady's moves to chart her own course have drawn attention and made her, to some on the left, an unlikely and hidden symbol of the "Resistance." But to others, they translate as empty acts and do nothing to absolve her from her deep association with the president and his unpopular policies."

Needs to be far more forceful in her rhetoric.  Far more direct.  Then again, consider whom and what she's married to.  LOL.

"The fate of children was also at the heart of Mrs. Trump's previous break from the president. In June, the ever-responsive Grisham told reporters that the first lady "hates to see children separated from their families," a statement issued during the throes of the firestorm created by the Trump administration's enforcement of a policy that was tearing migrants' families apart at the southern border.  Mrs. Trump, who urged a legislative solution but said the country needed to be one that "governs with heart," then visited kids at the border twice. The first trip was somewhat overshadowed by a curious fashion choice, as the former model sported a jacket that read "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" And then, as the controversy grew, she wore it again on the way home."

Certainly, sent a powerful message to the nazi bastard she's married to.  LOL.  -- Interestingly, the president has been uncharacteristically silent about all this.  Apparently, knows he can't afford break up of his third marriage.  Especially, with Mueller in hot pursuit.

The First Lady isn't the only family member standing up to Trump.  NPR reports:

"President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump is again speaking out against the separation of children and parents accused of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.  At an Axios News Shapers event in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump was asked for her thoughts on the separations that occurred as a result of her father's immigration policies.  The interviewer noted that some White House officials saw that as a "low point" in the Trump administration.  "That was a low point for me as well," she said. "I feel very strongly about that. And I am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children."

Then you should have had the guts to strongly speak out publicly when daddy dearest and his henchmen put this goddamned nazi policy into effect.

"Trump also called illegal immigration an "incredibly complex" topic, and said that her mother, Ivana Trump, was an immigrant who came to the United States legally from a communist country. She added that "we have to be careful about incentivizing behavior that puts children at risk," by encouraging dangerous journeys across the border.  "These are not easy issues; these are incredibly difficult issues," she said. "And like the rest of the country, I experience them in a very emotional way."

Horse shit.  You talk out both sides your bottom.  Had your mother not been allowed into this country, you wouldn't be here.  Had the First Lady not been naturalized, neither would she.  You seem to be conveniently blind to the truth.  Wake up.  Forget?  People coming in south of the border at border crossings are seeking asylum.

Have that right.  By law.  Are concertedly denied that right.  Your father and his henchmen have deliberately violated their oaths of office to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.  Have become a 'law' unto themselves.  Mark of a nazi dictator.  The Fourth Reich.  Your heretofore cowardly silence and continued double talk ring hollow.

"In a tweet in June, Trump thanked her father for signing an executive order aimed at ending the separations brought about by his "zero tolerance" policy on illegal crossings on the southern U.S. border.

    "Thank you @POTUS for taking critical action ending family separation at our border. Congress must now act + find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values;the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families
    — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 20, 2018"

Wake up, Ms. Trump.  You remain achingly clueless.  Unlike your mother and the First Lady, the undocumented immigrants your father and his henchmen are deliberately f--king are seeking legal asylum.  Fleeing murderous regimes, gangs, etc..  Not just trying to gain entrance to the land of milk and honey.

NBC reports:

“I think immigration is incredibly complex as a topic," she added. "Illegal immigration is incredibly complicated. I am the daughter of an immigrant. My mother [Ivana Trump] grew up in Communist Czech Republic, but we are a country of law. So, she came to this country legally."

Wake up, Ms. Trump. So are those seeking asylum at border crossings.  Your Aryan arrogance mirrors that of your father and his henchmen.

"She also said that she did not see the press as “the enemy of the people,” an oft-repeated phrase employed by the president to attack members of the media, usually because of negative coverage of his administration."

Called the truth.  A dictator has no tolerance of the truth.

“I’ve certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I’ve had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they’re sort of, feel targeted,” she said. “But no, I do not feel that the media is the 'enemy of the people.'”

Despite the double talk, a free press is critical to survival of a democratic republic.  Sadly, we are no longer a democratic republic.  In name only.  Quite some time.  We live in a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to your father's Fourth Reich.  Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

The Washington Post reports:

"Her comments at a public event underscored the difficult balance Trump has sought as she provides private counsel to a president and father with whom she does not always see eye to eye, while enduring criticism for not being more outspoken about their differences."

Poor little rich girl.  Doesn't your heart bleed?  Your father presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, rule of law, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to liberty than all levels and branches of government.  Founders?  Spinning in their graves.

The nazi in the Oval Office delusionally claims the media is the enemy of the people.  Hitler did the same.  So did Stalin.  So did Mao.  Wake up.  Mark of a dictator.  Think Ivanka has a clue?  Trump's spokeswoman certainly doesn't have one.  Consider the following:

"President Trump has used the term on multiple occasions, and his animus for the media was on display again this week as he promoted a video on Twitter showing his supporters chanting “CNN sucks” as a reporter from the network did a live shot from the site of a campaign rally hosted by the president in Tampa.  The video was tweeted by Trump’s son Eric and then shared by the president with his 53 million followers.  During a testy briefing with reporters later Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined multiple invitations to say that she did not consider the media to be “the enemy of the people.”  “I’m here to speak on behalf of the president,” Sanders said, ticking off several grievances against reporters.  “The president is rightfully frustrated,” Sanders said. “Ninety percent of the coverage on him is negative.”

Called the truth, Ms. Sanders.  ... Isn't your estimate a bit low, madam?  With exception of Fox, isn't it closer to 100%?  For damned good reason.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Think Trump's not shitting?  NBC reports:

"First, it was just about adoptions. Then it was a promise of dirt on Clinton, but it came to nothing. Then President Donald Trump didn’t draft his son’s initial statement. Then he did. Then it was “irrelevant.” And now Trump admits the meeting was “to get information on an opponent.”  If there’s one thing that’s been consistent about the White House’s explanation of the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, it’s inconsistency."

Think Mueller isn't salivating?

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump has yet again tweeted about his personal legal issues in a way he perhaps shouldn't have."

Surprised?  Why?

"Two issues.  The first is that Trump appears to have broken some new ground here when it comes to admitting the true purpose of the Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-aligned lawyer — and even further contradicted the initial statement he helped draft about it."

Collusion isn't the issue.  Obstruction is:

"If you're Robert Mueller and you're looking at whether Trump obstructed justice, you've now got even more evidence of a clear attempt to mislead the public and obscure the truth."

Obfuscation is the hallmark of the Trump nazi.  Stupid tactic since it never ever deters a prosecutor.  Quite the opposite.  Increases motivation.  Determination.

"The second issue here are the final words of the tweet. “I did not know about it!” This is something Trump has said regularly about the Trump Tower meeting and something he has re-upped now that Michael Cohen is reportedly telling people that Trump did know about it."

Clearly, somebody's lying.  Guess who?

"But here's the thing: This is a tweet about how the Trump Tower meeting was totally fine — nothing illegal to see here. If you've got no real concern about legal exposure from the meeting, why distance yourself from it? Trump seems to be arguing against his own point by assuring us that he had nothing to do with this meeting, which — oh, by the way — was totally on the up-and-up. Trump might as well have just confirmed The Post's report that he is worried about what the meeting portends for his son.

"Is this tweet, in and of itself, damning? Probably not. But obstruction-of-justice cases are about proving that someone had “corrupt intent” when they took the actions they did. And for the second time in less than a week, Trump tweeted something that suggested his intent wasn't terribly wholesome. He also suggested that he isn't as convinced as he'd like us to believe that there's nothing to see here."

Remarkably insightful, isn't it?  On target, as well.

Above quotes courtesy of a most gifted insightful writer, Aaron Blake.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-10-18

Hey, Amanda?  Can your corporate masters do anything right?  ... Other than steal, defraud, engage in deceptive trade practices, etc.?  CBS News reports:

"Wells Fargo says a company mistake contributed to hundreds of foreclosures because it miscalculated customers' eligibility for mortgage modifications."

'Mistake?'  Think so?  Don't your corporate masters shrewdly, determinedly, deliberately pre-plan and carry out their concerted f--king of people doing business with the bank, Amanda?

"The bank said in a filing Friday the error caused about 625 customers to be denied, or not offered, loan modifications they otherwise qualified for. Foreclosures were completed in about 400 of the cases."

No one fired?  No one prosecuted, Amanda?  All skated, just like you and your predecessor?  LOL.

"The customers had been using federal programs that helped families at risk of losing homes. Spokesman Tom Goyda says there's no breakdown of where the foreclosures occurred."

Convenient, isn't it?  Is that why no one was prosecuted for this deliberate concerted ass f--king?  That is, Wells Fargo pay off its bought and paid for government lackeys, Amanda?  -- You'll never tell, girl?  ... That's right, madam.  Almost forgot.  Your predecessor told me "the bank is the government."  How about that?  LOL.

"The error in the bank's underwriting tool lasted from 2010 until it was fixed in late 2015, an internal review found. It's the latest problem for the troubled bank, which almost two years ago disclosed it might have created 2.1 million accounts without customers' consent. It's also been fined for allegedly charging inflated fees to student loan borrowers and earlier this month agreed to pay $2.1 billion over its role in selling subprime mortgages in the lead-up to the financial crisis."

The problem is remarkably simple.  Banks are protected and coddled.  No one's prosecuted.  No one goes to prison.  ... Right, Amanda?  Not in Nazi America.

"The bank said it set aside $8 million this year to help the affected customers."

Piss hole in the snow.  Until these corrupt, abusive, criminal pieces of shit are prosecuted and imprisoned, this crap will never end.  You and your colleagues counting on it, Amanda?

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8-10-18

Government continues to fail to do its job to protect elections from Russian interference.  This coming from a Republican.  NPR reports:

"Senate intelligence committee Chairman Richard Burr summed up how lawmakers and Trump administration officials have failed to acknowledge the dangerous problem of foreign influence operations in America on Wednesday, with a description of an Internet meme.

"Some feel that we as a society are sitting in a burning room, calmly drinking a cup of coffee, telling ourselves, 'This is fine.' That's not fine," Burr said. "We should no longer be talking about if the Russians attempted to interfere with American society. They've been doing it since the days of the Soviet Union, and they're still doing it today."

Fascinating, isn't it?

"These past few weeks have yielded facts that press home the point that Russia continues to interfere with the American democratic process — and that key actors, from lawmakers to administration officials to President Trump himself, have taken few steps to significantly address that threat."

Dereliction of duty.  Egregious abrogation of oath of office to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

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8-10-18

Trump couldn't care less about public health and safety.  Lining his pockets and those at the top of the food chain remains Job 1.  The Washington Post reports:

"The Trump administration claimed Thursday that in addition to lowering the price of vehicles, it can save 12,700 lives by weakening Obama-era emissions standards for cars and trucks. But that estimate relies on assumptions that have been questioned by experts in and out of the federal government.  The proposal would freeze tailpipe pollution standards at an average of 37 miles per gallon in 2020, instead of raising them to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025 as set under President Obama.  Half of the deaths the Trump plan says it would prevent are based on the idea that making new cars more efficient would make them cheaper to drive, because people wouldn’t have to spend as much on gas. That would lead people to spend more time on the road and increase the potential for fatalities."

To say nothing of increase of number of deaths from pollution and cost of healthcare.  Then again, to the Trump nazi and his henchmen, day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet.  All ass backwards.

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8-10-18

Trump's voter fraud panel a total fraud.  The Washington Post reports:

"Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, one of the 11 members of the commission formed by President Trump to investigate supposed voter fraud, issued a scathing rebuke of the disbanded panel on Friday, accusing Vice Chair Kris Kobach and the White House of making false statements and saying that he had concluded that the panel had been set up to try to validate the president’s baseless claims about fraudulent votes in the 2016 election.  Dunlap, one of four Democrats on the panel, made the statements in a report he sent to the commission’s two leaders — Vice President Pence and Kobach, who is Kansas’s secretary of state — after reviewing more than 8,000 documents from the group’s work, which he acquired only after a legal fight despite his participation on the panel."

Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit.  ... Right, Mr. 'President?'

"Before it was disbanded by Trump in January, the panel had never presented any findings or evidence of widespread voter fraud. But the White House claimed at the time that it had shut down the commission despite “substantial evidence of voter fraud,” due to the mounting legal challenges it faced from states. Kobach, too, spoke around that time about how “some people on the left were getting uncomfortable about how much we were finding out.”

Like his fuhrer, Kobach is a liar.

"Dunlap said that the commission’s documents that were turned over to him underscore the hollowness of those claims: “they do not contain evidence of widespread voter fraud,” he said in his report, adding that some of the documentation seemed to indicate that the commission was predicting it would find evidence of fraud, evincing “a troubling bias.”

So what else is new?  To be expected in the Fourth Reich.

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8-10-18

Think the white supremacist doesn't delusionally believe he's been royally f--ked over, treated unfairly?  Trump certainly thinks so.  Consider the following carefully.  NPR reports:

"A week after firing FBI Director James Comey in May of last year, President Trump got out of Washington to deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He decided to give the graduating cadets some advice.  "Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair," Trump said. "You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. But you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight. Never, ever, ever give up. Things will work out just fine."  Pretty standard stuff to tell young adults. But then, he added this: "No politician in history — and I say this with great surety — has been treated worse or more unfairly. You can't let them get you down. You can't let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. I guess that's why I ... I guess that's why we won."

Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of nazism.

"Trump has certainly not been treated more unfairly than any politician in history. Some have been assassinated, faced violent and discriminatory prejudice and one twice-popularly elected president even had his American birth questioned.  But the fact that Trump believes it is instructive. His sense of fairness, or unfairness, really, has driven him, his rise in politics — and his priorities for the country. He has capitalized on grievance, especially that of white Americans chafing at the culture of a demographically changing country, and has expressed his view of what's unfair — everything from trade and immigration to the court system, Obamacare's individual coverage mandate, the IRS, the plight of political allies and, of course, the news media."

Article goes on and on, but you get the point.  Sense of entitlement remains stunning.  Especially, from a nazi who indeed has it all.

Quotes above are courtesy of a most gifted insightful writer, Domenico Montanaro.

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8-10-18

Think our Texas Governor isn't as deluded as the Trump nazi?  As achingly ignorant?  Wake up.  The Statesman reports:

"Gov. Greg Abbott shared early Tuesday morning former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s thoughts “on the leftwing.”  “The fascists of the future will call themselves anti-fascists,” according to a meme the governor shared on his personal Twitter account. “Some insights are timeless,” he added. The meme is credited to 9gag.com.  Churchill never made the comment, though.  Soren Geiger, who directs research for a Hillsdale College project publishing Churchill’s papers, told fact-checker PolitiFact Texas Tuesday that based on a review of the project’s comprehensive collection of Churchill’s writings, speeches and his official biography, he’s confident Churchill didn’t make the statement noted in Abbott’s tweet.  “If anything sounds witty or edgy,” Geiger said by phone, “people can quickly believe that Churchill said it.”

This fake quote has been running in neo-nazi circles quite some time now.  The Governor should have known better.

"Tim Riley, the National Churchill Museum’s chief curator at Westminster College, also said there’s no evidence Churchill made the comment.  “In the over 15 million words written by Winston Churchill—in his speeches, articles, books and other writings — there is no evidence to suggest Churchill wrote them,” he told PolitiFact Texas. “Whether he uttered the words in conversation is unknowable, but I am not aware of any of Churchill’s contemporaries who record or recall the statement.”  An Abbott spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the post."

What could he say?  The Governor is either a liar, and/or hopelessly ignorant.  Both?

The Washington Post reports:

"At a news conference in Waco, the governor responded to a question about the tweet, according to the Texas Tribune.  “Listen, what I tweeted was a sentiment that I have, and that is antifa is dangerous to society and antifa is the antithesis of safety and security, and they are antagonists to law enforcement as well as to other people,” he said.  “It was irrelevant to me who may or may not have said that in the past,” Abbott added, according to the Tribune. “I didn’t want to be accused of plagiarism for saying it. If no one else said it, attribute the quote to me because it’s what I believe in.”

Yes, Governor.  You do.  Worse? You've again proven you're a clueless idiot.  Missed the point.  Antifa is, sadly, a portend of far, far worse to come.  Our country is tearing apart at the seams.  We've lived in a de facto fascist police-state quite some time, quickly transitioning to your fuhrer's Fourth Reich.  This continues as is, Trump and his henchmen will spark the unthinkable, an unwanted dreaded second American revolution.

Already catastrophically looming.  The criminal jackbooted bastards in blue murder innocent unarmed civilians with impunity.  Shake down, abuse, violently assault the innocent to get their cookies off abusing power.  Week after week, month after month, year after year in this publication and elsewhere this abuse is chronicled.  In great detail.

No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a far greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all levels and branches of our hopelessly corrupt, abusive government.  This fails to change, sadly, needlessly, there'll be an unwanted dreaded second American revolution.  Nobody wants this, Governor, but it is coming.  The handwriting is on the wall.  Quite some time.

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8-10-18

... A word to the wise.  NPR reports:

"Taking a genetic test in your 20s or 30s could, indeed, affect your ability to get long-term-care insurance later — or at least the price you'll pay. And people who are considering enrolling in Medicare after age 65 would do well to read the fine print of the sign-up rules.

"In general, long-term-care insurers can indeed use genetic test results when they decide whether to offer you coverage. The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act does prohibit insurers from asking for or using your genetic information to make decisions about whether to sell you health insurance or how much to charge you. But those privacy protections don't apply to long-term-care policies, life insurance or disability insurance.

"If the insurer asks you whether you've undergone genetic testing, you generally must disclose it, even if the testing was performed through a direct-to-consumer site like 23andMe, says Catherine Theroux, a spokeswoman for LIMRA, an insurance industry trade group.  "You need to release any medically relevant information," she says."

Incredible, isn't it?  Privacy?  Means shit squat in Nazi America.  Forget? Wake up.  Corporate management suite and rest of the top of the food chain always come first.  Always.

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8-10-18

LGBTQ issues again in the news.  CBS News reports:

"Former Vice President Joe Biden is launching an awareness campaign to promote the importance of family acceptance of LGBTQ youth. The vice president's Biden Foundation kicked off the "As You Are" initiative on Tuesday with a video campaign, featuring Biden, pop singer Cyndi Lauper, former NFL player Wade Davis and numerous LGBTQ advocates and activists.   "We'll use our resources to highlight the harms of family rejection and lift up research, best practices and personal stories to show the importance of family acceptance," said Biden in the video campaign.  The foundation notes that while the progress for LGBTQ equality has made leaps and bounds in the past decade, many members of the community, particularly individuals under the age of 25, continue to face rejection at home and throughout their daily lives."

Biden's views have certainly changed:

"In the early days of the Obama administration, Biden one of the most prominent political figures to share that his views on marriage equality had evolved. In 2012, Biden, who had previously supported civil unions but stopped short of explicitly endorsing same-sex marriage, said [in] an interview that he was "absolutely comfortable with" the idea of same-sex unions, a message he made before President Barack Obama. Celebrating the Supreme Court's final ruling on same-sex marriage in 2015, Biden said that the federal government would continue to fight for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He called the equal right to marry as "consequential as Brown vs. the Board."

Has gone even further:

"Since leaving office, Biden has become a key political advocate for LGBTQ issues. He's lent his support to the transgender community as they continue to face rollbacks in equal rights under the Trump administration, most notably openly transgender soldiers right to serve in the U.S. military. Biden also wrote the forward to transgender advocate and Human Rights campaign national press secretary Sarah McBride's memoir, calling transgender equality "the civil rights issue of our time."

If anyone is denied equality, civil and constitutional rights and liberties, who's next?

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8-10-18

Not all judges are national socialists.  Not even in the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich.  NPR reports:

"A widely used loophole for funneling secret "dark money" into political ads closed quietly last weekend, as a federal judge concluded it thwarted Congress' intent to have broad disclosure of political money.  Chief Judge Beryl Howell, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, threw out a regulation adopted by the Federal Election Commission in 1980. The rule said that "non-political" groups, such as 501(c) nonprofit organizations, could ignore a disclosure law if donors' contributions were not earmarked for specific advertisements — an exception that wasn't in the law passed by Congress.  Howell's decision was issued Friday evening.  She listed ways in which the regulation undercut the transparency principles of campaign finance law: "including informing the electorate, deterring corruption, and enforcing bans on foreign contributions being used to buy access and influence to American political officials."

Hat's off, Judge.  You're one of the increasingly few to honor your oath of office to uphold the United States Constitution and rule of law.

NPR reports:

"As a federal appellate judge for the past dozen years, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has played a central role in building the nation's system of campaign finance laws. It's a system that voters hold in low esteem in recent polls.  Kavanaugh has been on the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, a frequent destination for cases involving the Federal Election Commission. His decisions have effectively pulled the campaign finance system rightward, letting in more money with less regulation. He's been roughly in sync with Anthony Kennedy, the justice he once clerked for and now might succeed.  That record has drawn relatively little attention in the fight over confirming Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. It's a mistake on the part of liberals, said Chiraag Bains, director of legal strategies for the progressive advocacy group Demos.  "I think his record on money and politics should be right up there alongside the likelihood that he'll overturn Roe or strike down the ACA," Bains said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, the Obama health-care law that President Trump and congressional Republicans have tried to repeal."

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8-10-18

Can we stand it?  A second example of the above, that is, a judge standing tall.  The Washington Post reports:

"In the months before the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally last August, a chat app called Discord was abuzz with alt-right agitators.  Discord, which was started in 2015 as a secure chat app for videogamers, also happened to be conducive for white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other members of the alt-right movement who sought to keep their identities secret.  It allowed the organizers and participants of the deadly Aug. 12 rally to convene in private, invite-only threads shrouded in anonymity, with usernames such as “kristall.night” and “WhiteTrash,” according to a federal lawsuit. On a Discord server called “Charlottesville 2.0,” they planned everything from car pools, dress code and lodging in Charlottesville to how one might improvise weapons in case of a fight. Some suggested using flag poles as a makeshift spear or club."

Here's why this is so important, critical to justice:

"The Discord messages have been cited in a federal lawsuit filed against the Unite the Right’s alleged organizers by counterprotesters who were injured during the rally, including two people hit by a car that rammed into a crowd, leaving one person dead. Attorneys for the counterprotesters have argued that these Discord messages and hundreds of others are central to proving that Unite the Right organizers “conspired to commit acts of violence, intimidation and harassment” against people in Charlottesville that weekend. The attorneys filed a subpoena for Discord, seeking to obtain the messages and account information of more than 30 anonymous users who appear to have participated in the Unite the Right rally."

Can't hide behind the First Amendment to escape justice for committing violence up to and including murder:

"But one anonymous woman, the one called “kristall.night,” filed suit seeking to quash the subpoena that could unmask her and dozens of other users. She claimed the counterprotesters were intentionally seeking to “out” her as a member of the alt-right movement, putting her in fear of her own safety. Revealing her identity, her attorney argued, would infringe on her First Amendment rights to engage in “anonymous speech” and to associate with a politically unpopular group.  On Monday, however, a magistrate in California disagreed."

Rightfully, so.  Here's why:

"U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero declined to fully quash the Discord subpoena, finding that the plaintiffs’ interest in discovering her identity as a possible witness or co-conspirator behind the Unite the Right rally outweighed her right to speak anonymously on the Internet.  Any identifying information discovered within her Discord account will be classified as “highly confidential,” the judge said, restricting it to a select amount of people.  “While even limited disclosure of this information may create some chilling effect,” Spero wrote, “the protections available through a designation of ‘highly confidential’ mitigate that harm, and Plaintiffs’ interest in this information, which is relevant to testing their claims of an alleged violent conspiracy based on racial and religious animus, outweighs the potential harm to [Jane Doe’s] right to association.”  Spero agreed to quash the portion of the subpoena seeking the contents of the messages, saying it violates the Stored Communications Act.  In his 28-page ruling, Spero appeared to acknowledge why Discord might have been so appealing to members of the so-called alt-right in the first place: “It is clear that many members of the ‘alt-right’ feel free to speak online in part because of their ability to hide behind an anonymous username,” he wrote."

The judge, seemingly, has gotten it exactly right.  Quite a balancing act.  Be interesting to see what impact it has on the case, -- if his ruling indeed stands.  May be appealed:

"Kristall.night’s attorney, Marc Randazza, argued in legal filings that the subpoena for Discord is a “fishing expedition with the ultimate goal of destroying the lives of people Plaintiffs do not like, even though these people have done nothing to harm Plaintiffs.”  He told The Washington Post that “outing” members of the alt-right movement who believed their messages were private could lead to violence against them. He said he does not trust that his client’s information will remain “highly confidential,” as the judge said.  “I can’t believe people believe this ….” he said, referring to his client’s political beliefs, “but they get to do that. That’s what the [expletive] enlightenment is about. That’s what the [expletive] First Amendment is about. That’s what this [expletive] country is about. But people don’t get to do that anymore. You have to be hounded out of your apartment, out of your job, out of whatever it is you have, if you have the audacity to have an unpopular political belief.”  Randazza said he is still considering whether to appeal the magistrate’s decision."

What's so fascinating about Randazza's argument is that he's ironically making it for a group which committed violence up to and including murder at the rally.

Above quotes are courtesy of a most gifted, insightful writer, Meagan Flynn.

Know what the username "kristall.night" stands for?  What it means?  Represents?  What it refers to in Hitler's Nazi Germany?  HISTORY.com reports:

"On November 9 to November 10, 1938, in an incident known as “Kristallnacht”, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews. In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, also called the “Night of Broken Glass,” some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. German Jews had been subjected to repressive policies since 1933, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) became chancellor of Germany. However, prior to Kristallnacht, these Nazi policies had been primarily nonviolent. After Kristallnacht, conditions for German Jews grew increasingly worse. During World War II (1939-45), Hitler and the Nazis implemented their so-called “Final Solution” to the what they referred to as the “Jewish problem,” and carried out the systematic murder of some 6 million European Jews in what came to be known as the Holocaust."

Wake up.

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8-10-18

Voters stood tall in Missouri.  NPR reports:

"Voters in Missouri have overwhelmingly rejected a right-to-work law passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature that would have banned compulsory union fees — a resounding victory for organized labor that spent millions of dollars to defeat the measure.  With about 98 percent of the precincts reporting, the "no" vote on Missouri's Proposition A, which supported the law, was running about 67 percent, with nearly 33 percent voting "yes."  In 2017, the right-to-work law passed Missouri's Republican legislature and was signed by then-Gov. Eric Greitens. However, union organizers gathered enough signatures to keep it from going into effect pending the results of a statewide referendum. The rejection of Proposition A effectively kills the law.  "It's a truly historic moment," said Mike Louis, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO. "Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow we're getting back to work. We're going to take this energy and momentum and build more power for working people across Missouri."

Non-union members financially benefit from collective bargaining efforts of unions.  Why shouldn't they pay their fair share?

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8-10-18

Corruption has no end. The Washington Post reports:

"Federal prosecutors charged Rep. Chris Collins (N.Y.), one of President Trump’s earliest congressional supporters, with insider trading on Wednesday.  Collins’s son, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins’s fiancee, were also charged.  The indictment is related to Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company, on whose board the congressman served. Collins illegally shared nonpublic information about the company with Cameron Collins, who traded on the information, according to federal prosecutors. Cameron Collins then passed that information along to Zarsky. The trades allowed Collins, his son, and Zarsky to avoid $768,000 in losses, according to the indictment."

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8-3-18

Think Cohen isn't a problem for Trump?  The Washington Post reports:

"By releasing audio of his covertly recorded conversation with Trump about purchasing the rights to a Playboy centerfold’s story of an extramarital affair, Cohen made a decisive break from his longtime client. The move punctuates the steady deterioration of a relationship between Cohen and Trump and raises concerns in the White House that the former could spill secrets about the latter to the FBI."

To cover his ass, think Cohen wouldn't do so?

"In the nearly four months since FBI agents raided his office, home and hotel room, Cohen has felt wounded and abandoned by Trump, waiting for calls or even a signal of support that never came. Cohen got frustrated when Trump started talking about him in the past tense, panicked last month when he thought the president no longer cared about his plight, and became furious when Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani contradicted some of his accounts, according to his associates."

No honor among thieves?  LOL.

"In Cohen’s gravest hour, as one associate described it, Trump was “leaving him out in the wilderness.”

Come as a surprise?  Why?  Trump's out for Number 1.

"The result is open warfare between attorney and former client. Cohen has chosen to morph from Trump’s pugnacious defender to a truth-teller without regard for any possible political or legal ramifications for the president, according to Lanny Davis, one of Cohen’s attorneys."

If indeed true, a good thing.  Not a bad one.  Will certainly aid Mueller and staff to get to the bottom of the Trump fiasco.  May not, however, be in the best interest of Cohen.  Here's why:

"Cohen’s actions appear to be driven more by his outrage over the president’s indifference and feelings of betrayal — coupled with the personal and financial weight of the criminal case being assembled by federal prosecutors — than by a legal strategy to help his case.  Tuesday’s public release of the Trump-Cohen audio came as a surprise to prosecutors handling the Cohen case in the Southern District of New York, according to people familiar with the matter. Current and former law enforcement officials questioned why Cohen — someone seen as angling for a plea deal — would choose to make potential evidence public. That kind of maneuver generally angers investigators and can make it harder to cut a deal, these officials said."

Although certainly a factor, hard to believe both Mueller and Cohen's prosecutors aren't, in fact,  cooperating, working in tandem.  After all, it was Mueller and team who passed on information vis a vis Cohen to his New York prosecutors.

Consider the following:

"As part of their inquiry into campaign finance issues involving Cohen, federal investigators have recently expressed interest in what Cohen’s interactions with the Trump campaign were, including his role in handling the accusations of sexual impropriety from various women. They also are trying to discern if anyone other than Cohen had prior knowledge about two such women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, before they were named in news inquiries and reports.  In their search warrant, federal investigators asked Cohen to turn over any communications the two men or campaign aides had about a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape that captured Trump boasting about grabbing women’s body parts, according to a person familiar with the investigation."

Seems to be ongoing cooperation, team effort.  Everyone holding their cards close to the vest.  No leaks.  Impressive, isn't it?

More interesting?  Get this:

"Inside the White House, Trump raged about the release of his and Cohen’s September 2016 conversation about financing the deal with McDougal, a former Playboy model, to sell the rights to her story of an alleged 10-month affair with Trump to American Media Inc., the owner of the National Enquirer, which never published her account.  The president is angry that his personal attorney was recording him without his knowledge, though he had known before this week that the audio file existed, according to people familiar with his thinking.  “What kind of lawyer would tape a client?” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “So sad!”

Fascinating, isn't it?  Cohen was clearly covering his ass.  Apparently, didn't trust Trump.  ... Currently, doesn't everyone assume they're being recorded?

"The government has seized more than 100 recordings that Cohen made of his conversations with people discussing matters that could relate to Trump and his businesses and with Trump himself talking, according to two people familiar with the recordings. Cohen appeared to make some recordings with an iPhone — without telling anyone he was taping them.  A significant portion of the recordings is Cohen surreptitiously recording reporters who met with or questioned Cohen about Trump during the campaign and after Trump’s election, the people said."

Clearly, Cohen was certainly looking out for himself.

"Trump’s voice is on several of the recordings, but only in snippets — typically when he is returning a call from Cohen or asking Cohen on a voice-mail message to call him back, the people said. The only recording in which Trump and Cohen have a substantive conversation is the one that Davis released Tuesday, according to these people.  “Michael Cohen had the habit of using his phone to record conversations instead of taking notes,” Davis said. “He never intended to make use of the recordings and certainly didn’t intend to be deceptive.”  Trump’s advisers are privately debating whether they need to seek a ruling from the court overseeing these recordings on Cohen’s indiscriminate release of material or whether they should release tapes that they describe as unflattering to Cohen, according to two Trump allies."

What webs we weave.  This appears to be two men impressed with power, themselves, imbued with profound, bottomless Aryan arrogance.  Not clear yet where this is all going, but certainly likely nowhere good.

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8-3-18

With the Trump nazi in the White House and the racist AG Sessions nazi at the Department of 'Justice,' think we haven't moved backwards?  The Washington Post reports:

"Two years before President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order to desegregate the armed forces, a black World War II veteran in uniform was pulled from a bus in Batesburg, S.C., and severely beaten by a police chief violently swinging a nightstick.  Isaac Woodard, who was accused of talking back to the bus driver, lost consciousness in the assault and was permanently blinded.  “Negro veterans that fought in this war ... don’t realize that the real battle has just begun in America,” Woodard, who was attacked Feb. 12, 1946, hours after he had been honorably discharged, told the Chicago Defender newspaper."

Think things have truly changed?  That why innocent unarmed blacks continue to be murdered by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue?

"Months later, two black veterans and their wives were forced out of a car near Monroe, Ga., tied to trees and executed by a white mob. Their skulls were cracked, and their bodies were riddled with more than 60 bullets.  At the White House, Truman was disturbed by news of the increasing attacks on black veterans across the country. Near the end of World War II, hundreds of black veterans returning home from war were assaulted and lynched — some simply for wearing uniforms."

These men fought heroically, bravely, determinedly for their country in segregated units.  Only to return home to be murdered by their fellow countrymen.  Ironically, in Nazi America.

“My very stomach turned over when I learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of Army trucks in Mississippi and beaten,” Truman said, according to papers at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.  Truman ordered the FBI to investigate the lynchings and appointed the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, which would issue a revolutionary report in October 1947. It condemned segregation, proposed anti-lynching laws and urged action “to end immediately all discrimination and segregation based on race, color, creed or national origin in all branches of the Armed Services.”

The President stood tall.  Not just when he ordered the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but after the war, combating racism.

"On July 26, 1948, Truman signed Executive Order 9981, declaring that the policy “shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes­ without impairing efficiency or morale.”  The order was met with immediate resistance. Full integration of the armed forces would not happen until the Korean War, when the need for troops on the ground trumped discrimination based on color.  Seventy years after Truman’s executive order, black veterans say the memories of racism and discrimination in the armed forces still sting. The transition to the military’s full integration would prove as difficult as integration in the rest of society."

Must not be forgotten blacks have fought with valor in every war since the Revolution.

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8-3-18

Farmers are losing patience with the Trump nazi.  ABC News reports:

"America’s heartland farmers, in states largely supportive of President Donald Trump, say they are starting to feel real financial pain from a tit-for-tat trade war Trump once promised will be “easy to win.”  “We have loss of confidence in our products and we have loss of price,” said hog farmer Gregg Hora of Fort Dodge, Iowa. “Pig farmers are currently losing about $25-30 per pig.”   After Trump slapped steep new tariffs on imports of foreign steel and aluminum earlier this year, China, Mexico, and the European Union imposed retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars US goods – from bourbon, Harley Davidson motorbikes and orange juice to dairy products, soybeans and pork."

Think this isn't catastrophic?

“Patience is wearing thin on U.S. pork producers because the next six months of market prices – there’s a lot of red ink,” Hora said. “We need the administration to come to these deals quickly.”  While Wall Street expressed relief Wednesday with word from the White House that a trade fight with Europe would not escalate, many farmers remain anxious. Existing tariffs still remain in place and the announcement did not resolve Chinese sanctions on American pork and soy which have had the biggest bite."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Trump and his henchmen have figuratively shot themselves in the ass.  The Washington Times reports:

"Asking about citizenship on the 2020 census is legal — but the Trump administration may still have broken the law in how it went about adding the question to the list, a federal judge ruled Thursday.  Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled that a legal challenge to the citizenship question can proceed, giving the challengers a chance to try to prove that President Trump’s team acted with “animus” toward racial or ethnic minorities in making the decision.  Judge Furman said he already sees “indications” of such animus, based on the way the government cut corners to put the citizenship question on the list for 2020."

Fascinating, isn't it?  Good to see the Judiciary standing up to the Executive.

"The judge said he was particularly troubled by the Trump campaign’s move to take credit for the decision to ask the question, crediting the president with “officially” mandating its inclusion.  “Courts have a critical role to play in reviewing the conduct of the political branches to ensure that the census is conducted in a manner consistent with the Constitution and applicable law,” the judge wrote.  The citizenship question was asked on the decennial census up through 1950, and still appears in more limited Census Bureau surveys.  But when the Trump administration moved earlier this year to reinstate it to the full census that goes to every household, immigrant-rights, voting-rights and Democratic activists objected."

For damned good reason:

"They predicted immigrants and racial or ethnic minorities may refuse to participate in the census, fearing what might happen to their information. That would lead to a skewed count, which would deny some areas money and voting power they should rightly have if everyone was properly counted, the administration’s opponents said."

Precisely, what will happen.  Count on it.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

The Trump nazi certainly doesn't appreciate pointed questioning.  Tough, isn't it?  CNN reports:

"As an Oval Office photo-op was ending on Wednesday afternoon, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins fired off a series of questions for President Trump.  "Did Michael Cohen betray you, Mr. President?"  "Mr. President, are you worried about what Michael Cohen is about to say to the prosecutors?"  "Are you worried about what is on the other tapes, Mr. President?"  "Why is Vladimir Putin not accepting your invitation, Mr. President?"

Think the public doesn't want answers?

"At the time, Collins was representing five television networks as the pool reporter for the White House press corps. The scene was captured by several cameras and more than a dozen journalists with pencils, cameras and microphones poised, awaiting the president's response.  But he ignored all four of Collins' question from across the room, fixing his gaze away from her general direction."

Clearly, the nazi had no answers.  LOL.

"Shortly afterward, Collins, who formerly worked for the conservative website The Daily Caller, said she was called into the office of Bill Shine, the former Fox News executive who was recently hired as the administration's deputy chief of staff for communications."

Surprise, surprise, surprise.  LOL.

"Together with press secretary Sarah Sanders, Shine told Collins she was not invited to attend an open press event in the Rose Garden in the afternoon, "because they thought the questions I had posed to the president were inappropriate and inappropriate for that venue," the reporter said in a CNN interview about the incident."

Jesus Christ.  How about that?  Our nazi fuhrer stumped.  Who'd 'a 'thunk' it, no?  LOL.

"I told them that is often our only chance to ask the president questions," Collins told CNN host Wolf Blitzer. "Those questions were questions any reporter would have asked and I was there to represent all of the networks and therefore asked about the questions of the day."

No kidding.  Given the boot for doing her job.  LOL.  Can't have that, can we?

"The White House has confirmed that Collins was disinvited from the Rose Garden press event but contends the decision was based on the reporter's loudness and her refusal to exit the president's office.  In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Sanders wrote that "at the conclusion of a press event in the Oval Office a reporter shouted questions and refused to leave despite repeatedly being asked to do so."  "Subsequently, our staff informed her she was not welcome to participate in the next event, but made clear that any other journalist from her network could attend. She said it didn't matter to her because she hadn't planned to be there anyway. To be clear, we support a free press and ask that everyone be respectful of the presidency and guests at the White House," Sanders wrote."

Unadulterated horse shit.  It is the nazi fuhrer who got his nose bent out of joint by a reporter aggressively doing her job.

"Several journalists have excoriated the White House for barring Collins after she did her professional duty as they see it."

Goddamned right:

    "If the White House banned a fellow reporter from an open-press event because of her shouted questions, let's be clear: it is inexcusable, unacceptable, and sets an extremely dangerous precedent.

    "We shout questions at the president regularly. It's called: doing our job. https://t.co/rrZiiLMjkg
    — Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) July 25, 2018"

Jesus Christ.  To shamelessly steal a quote from the King And I, "the King has no clothes!"

    "Outrageous of the White House to bar @CNN reporter @kaitlancollins from an open press event because it did not like her questions. A strong leader does not fear questions. A strong democracy does not shield its leader from those who question authority. https://t.co/zmwH0vUZ3A
    — Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 25, 2018"

Goddamned right.  Equally pointedly, a true leader doesn't gutlessly shirk answering a reporter's question.  Only a gutless coward does.

"The White House Correspondents' Association President Olivier Knox condemned the Trump administration for its decision to ban Collins.  "This type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak. It cannot stand," he wrote in a statement. "Reporters asking questions of powerful government officials, up to and including the President, helps hold those people accountable."

The function of the press.

"Blitzer reported CNN's network bureau chiefs in Washington, D.C., "are filing formal complaints with Shine and others at the White House."

Not surprising, is it?  The following, however, certainly is:

"Fox News also weighed in on the controversy. "We stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press," Fox News President Jay Wallace said in a statement late Wednesday."

-- The above coming from a network that is no more than an infomercial for the Trump nazi and the Republican Party.  LOL.  Can we stand it?  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Voodoo economics revisited?  NPR reports:

"President Trump is eager to tout a fast-growing economy, boosted by the tax cuts he pushed through Congress. That makes Friday morning's report on gross domestic product a highly anticipated news event.  Did GDP growth top 4 percent in the second quarter — more than double the first-quarter pace — as many economists project?  Forecasts are all over the board, with estimates even among Federal Reserve economists diverging widely."

One thing for sure.  The top of the food chain is doing fantastically well.  Unbridled laissez-faire capitalism.  Zero-sum.  Winner-take-all.  Precisely, why the middle class has been eviscerated.  Two extremes.  Bottom and top.

"The events of 10 years ago show why these forecasts are so important.  In the summer of 2008, economists at the New York Federal Reserve Bank saw something disturbing. The statistical model they used to predict where the economy was heading, called the Nowcast, was giving off warning signs.  "All the data turned negative quite quickly and quite abruptly," says New York Fed economist Andrea Tambalotti. "And the Nowcast picked that up. And when you see the Nowcast sort of plunging, you know that something is wrong."  What was happening, of course, was the Great Recession. And the Nowcast gave Fed officials a little extra time to prepare for it. The Nowcast was once only released internally, but a couple years ago Fed officials began publishing it online."

Think history is repeating itself?

"As of this week, the Nowcast is predicting that the U.S. economy grew by a middling 2.7 percent during the second quarter. And then there's the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow. Like the others, it's compiled by crunching a lot of economic data, Atlanta Fed economist Pat Higgins says.  "So it'll be things like retail sales, international trade, manufacturing shipments," he says.  And right now the Atlanta Fed's number — a blockbuster GDP growth pace of 4.5 percent in the April-June quarter — is strikingly different than the New York Fed's. The 4.5 percent figure would be the fastest growth in nearly 4 years.  If you like President Trump's policies, that's the estimate you quote right now. Donald Trump Jr. bragged about the Atlanta Fed numbers on Twitter."

Yet, the bottom continues to languish.  Do without.  Go without.  Suffer.  Reality, -- Trump and his henchmen ignore.

"Major banks and private firms put out their own numbers. The private Conference Board, best known for measuring leading economic indicators and consumer confidence, estimates GDP grew at a 4.2 percent rate in the second quarter.  Obviously all of these numbers can't be accurate. But Tambalotti says these estimates shouldn't be looked at as competing. Instead, he says, they complement each other.

Think so?

"Tambalotti says the economy is enormous and ultimately unmeasurable.  All these forecasts should be seen as an imperfect baseline. Even the official GDP number released by the Commerce Department is intelligent speculation. And it will be updated as new data comes in, Higgins says."

All a crap shoot.  Want to know what's truly going on?  Check out the soup kitchens.  Food banks.  Social services, etc..

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Trump continues to shamelessly distort reality.  Lie like hell.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump on Friday touted the U.S. economy's 4.1 percent growth in the second quarter as "an economic turnaround of historic proportions." He also predicted the spurt will be sustained and even accelerate."

Voodoo economics.  Delusional bullshit.

"Yet few economists outside the administration agree with that bullish forecast. Here's a look at Mr. Trump claims, and the facts: "We've accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions," Mr. Trump remarked Friday at the White House shortly after the Commerce Department released its GDP report.  In fact, Mr. Trump didn't inherit a fixer-upper economy."

This nazi son of a bitch is claiming credit for something he didn't engineer:

"The U.S. economy just entered its 10th year of growth, a recovery that began under President Barack Obama, who inherited the Great Recession. The data show that the falling unemployment rate and gains in home values reflect the duration of the recovery, rather than any major changes made since 2017 by the Trump administration."

Why lie, Donny?  Delusionally believe the public doesn't know the truth?  -- Even your sick sycophants are beginning to smarten up.

"While Mr. Trump praised the 4.1 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter, the economy exceeded that level four times during the Obama presidency: in 2009, 2011 and twice in 2014.  In purely numerical terms, a larger shift took place in the second quarter of 2014, when the economy went from contracting by 1 percent to growing at a rate of 5.1 percent."

Wouldn't want to confuse the public with the truth, would we?

"But quarterly figures are volatile, and strength in one quarter can be reversed in the next. President Obama never achieved the 3 percent annual growth that President Trump hopes to see, though he came close. The economy grew 2.9 percent in 2015.  The current economic expansion, which began in June 2009, is now the second-longest on record -- but it is also the weakest. The GDP revisions the Commerce Department announced Friday didn't change that narrative. Annual growth has averaged just 2.2 percent since mid-2009 through the end of last year, the same as previously reported."

Consider the following:

"One of the biggest wins in the report, and it is, indeed a big one, is that the trade deficit — very dear to my heart because we've been ripped off by the world — has dropped," Mr. Trump said Friday.  Mr. Trump is correct that a lower trade deficit spurred growth in the April-June quarter, but the reason for that isn't necessarily positive.  The president has been floating plans to slap import taxes on hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign goods, which has led to retaliatory tariffs by foreign governments on U.S. goods.  This threat of an escalating trade war has led many foreign companies to stockpile U.S. goods before any tariffs hit. That caused a temporary boost in U.S. exports, helping to fuel economic growth."

Not all are on board:

"But Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial, said the gains from rising U.S. exports in the second quarter will not be repeated.  "These numbers are very, very sustainable. It's not a one-time shot," Mr. Trump said Friday.  It's impossible to predict the future, but economists warn that the figures seen this quarter will not be easy to replicate, or even come near."

Trump lives in la-la land.

"The economy faces two significant structural drags that could keep growth closer to 2 percent than 3 percent: An aging population, which means fewer people are working and more are retired, and weak productivity growth, which means that those who are working aren't increasing their output as quickly as in the past.  Both of those factors are largely beyond Mr. Trump's control."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think an unwanted dreaded second American revolution isn't in the offing?  NPR reports:

"Less than a year into a lifetime appointment, a 45-year-old federal appeals court judge named James Ho may embody President Trump's most enduring legacy."

Indeed.  Called nazism, national socialism, fascism.

"Ho has shaken up the staid world of appellate law by deploying aggressive rhetoric in cases involving guns, abortion rights and campaign finance regulations."

He's doing what every nazi 'jurist' does.  Legislates his outrageously perverse ideological and religious views from the bench.

"Today's government "would be unrecognizable to our Founders," he has written. He condemned what he called "the moral tragedy of abortion." And he's bemoaned that the Second Amendment appears to be considered a "second class right."

All distortion of reality.  By a nazi bound and determined to legislate his personal beliefs from the bench.

"Critics say Ho is writing op-ed columns, not legal opinions. Friends and former colleagues said he's an intellectual engaging with ideas. And that he's just getting started."

The latter is precisely what's so frightening.  Just the beginning.  A nazi is not, cannot be an intellectual.  The two remain juxtaposed.  A nazi is incapable of creativity, has no clue what an idea is.  Remains too rigid to have, engage, or indulge in creative thought.

"What's clear to all is how much the young judge — and many others like him confirmed by the Senate under Trump — is making a mark on the federal judiciary and how much that will continue for decades to come."

May not in fact be as long as many think.  Sadly, the winds of an unwanted dreaded revolution have been in the air quite some time.  Now, coming to fruition with the nazi in the Oval Office and his equally fascist henchmen.

"Ho said he couldn't comment for this story because he was traveling."

Believe it?  Wake up.  He couldn't respond because a fascist has no substance.  No intellect.  No ability to think, reason.  Perceives all in terms of black or white.  No shades of gray.  No brilliant hues of color.  Too hopelessly myopic.  Rigid.

"Ho's legal credentials are unmistakable: He attended Stanford and the University of Chicago, served in the civil rights division at the Justice Department early in the Bush administration, and went onto work as chief counsel to Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court."

Think his credentials truly sterling?  Wake up.  He's worked with and for nazis. Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

"Then, Ho replaced now-Sen. Ted Cruz as Texas solicitor general from 2008 to 2010, leading an aggressive legal attack against the federal government during the administration of President Barack Obama.  In December, the Senate confirmed Ho for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit by a vote of 53 to 43. That followed a confirmation hearing in which Don Willett, a colorful Texas Supreme Court justice nicknamed "the Tweeter Laureate of #Texas," drew most of the flak.  But in the months since they took their oaths of office, Ho has been the one attracting national attention."

What nazi wouldn't in the age of Trump and his embrace of national socialism?

"Ho's first opinion, in April, was a dissent in a case involving limits on campaign contributions in Austin, Texas. Candidates for municipal elections — people like mayors and city council representatives who represent fewer than 100,000 people — are barred from accepting donations of more than $350.  A three-judge panel on the appeals court upheld the ordinance, and a majority of the judges on the court voted to keep it that way."

For damned good reason.  They wisely did not want the corporate management suite and rest of the top of the food chain buying, financing, and installing their candidates into office.

"Ho took a different approach, penning a 13-page dissent arguing the full court should hear the dispute. Ho said the contribution limit violated the First Amendment. Then, he went farther, decrying the size of the federal government:

"When the government grows larger, when regulators pick more and more economic winners and losers, participation in the political process ceases to be merely a citizen's prerogative — it becomes a human necessity. This is the inevitable result of a government that would be unrecognizable to our Founders."

First, he bastardized the First Amendment.  Essentially accorded the corporate management suite constitutional rights superior to those enjoyed by the citizenry.  Effectively granted them financial carte blanche to buy and install any candidate they thought suitable for office.  Think carefully about that.

Corporations, no more than a legal entity, now effectively enjoy personhood status.  This is a problem because an exceptionally small number of people running and owning them control an enormous amount of wealth.  Giving them, in effect, far greater power than that afforded by one person, one vote.

Clearly, this nazi cannot or will not see or understand the above.  Second, here's how he's not-so-cleverly, perversely distorted reality:

"Then, Ho cited the Supreme Court ruling in NFIB v Sebelius — the case in which a divided court majority upheld the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

"Wrote Ho: "If we're going to ask taxpayers to devote a substantial portion of their hard-earned income to fund the innumerable activities of federal, state and local government, we should at the very least allow citizens to spend a fraction of that amount to speak out about how the government should spend their money."

There is no moral equivalency.  This bastard perverted the intention of the Founders by ensuring the corporation has more power than the citizenry.  This nazi and those who think like him are granting personhood to a legal entity, the corporation.  The Founders would not recognize the country they spawned at great personal cost.

"Ho's opinion put him closely in tune with the Trump administration, which has made a priority of destroying the "administrative state."

What the nazi element is not so cleverly doing is turning our formerly great country from a democratic republic into a national socialistic, that is, fascist police-state run and owned by the corporate management suite.  Un-American.  Nazi.  Founders?  Spinning in their graves.

"Richard Hasen, a voting rights expert and law professor at the University of California, Irvine, is also among those taking note of Ho, in part because of his unusually aggressive approach for someone new to the bench."

Worse than that, far worse than that, this nazi jurist is legislating his perverse ideological and religious views from the bench.

"Rather than doing what lower federal courts are supposed to do — apply binding Supreme Court precedent — Judge Ho went out of his way to express his agreement with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's views of how campaign finance cases should be resolved," Hasen said."

He's emulating one of his mentors, the Thomas nazi, who fraudulently attained his seat by lying like hell during confirmation hearings decades ago.

"Ho also is setting himself apart from a more conventional appellate judge in the way he directs his attention toward big, strategic criticism about the size of government as opposed to one focused more on the laws at issue in the case, Hasen said."

Translation?  He's legislating his ideological views from the bench.  Not impartially adjudicating issues.

"Judge Ho moved fully from a legal role to a policy one when he told readers of his opinion that if they did not like big money in politics, the solution was not campaign finance reform but shrinking the size of government," he said.  "This struck me as wholly apart from his judicial role, and while I believe it would be perfectly fine for Judge Ho to give a speech or write an article on such a question, the view should not have been included in a formal legal opinion."

Again, this goes directly to nazi judges legislating their outrageously perverse religious and ideological views from the bench, while falsely claiming to be impartial.  Crock of shit.  Third, if you shrink the size of government in a corporate state, you empower the oligarchs who run and own the system.  Precisely, what this goddamned nazi wants and expects.  So does the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"Orin Kerr, a law professor at the University of Southern California, seemed to agree. Kerr tweeted that Ho's law clerks "should have urged" he remove a passage "that reads like a politician's op-ed."

    "Jim Ho's law clerks should have urged that he take this passage out. It reads like a politician's op-ed, not a legal opinion; judges should stick to law. https://t.co/HiAmm0AsZH pic.twitter.com/ISKdJlKDVS
    — Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) April 19, 2018"

Forget?  A national socialist, fascist, nazi judge is a politician.  Not a jurist.

"Ho's old friend, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, has been impressed enough to suggest Ho would be a good fit for the Supreme Court, noting the high court has never had an Asian-American justice."

Jesus Christ.  "Screws Loose" Cruz has his head figuratively securely lodged up his nazi ass.  A clueless nazi who legislates his outrageously perverse ideological and religious views on the bench would make a derelict jurist.  Doesn't make a damn bit difference what a judge's ethnicity happens to be.  What truly matters is impartiality.  This nazi sorely lacks it.  Consider the following:

"Earlier this month, Ho weighed in on a case that challenged a Texas law that requires cremation or burial of "fetal remains." Texas maintained there was no real cost to patients or clinics because the state's Conference of Catholic Bishops said it would do the burials for free or for a modest fee."

Beside the point.  Who the hell are the bishops to force their outrageously perverse religious views on anyone?  Worse, and ferociously pointedly, who the hell is a judge to placate these bastards?

"The dispute made its way back to court, where a district judge sided with the plaintiffs and against the Conference of Catholic Bishops. Ho voted, successfully, to block the lower court's order.  "It's hard to imagine a better example of how far we have strayed from the text and original understanding of the Constitution than this case," Ho wrote in a concurring opinion." The First Amendment expressly guarantees the free exercise of religion--including the right of the bishops to express their profound objection to the moral tragedy of abortion."

This clueless, hopelessly ignorant jackass missed the point.  The bishops have every right to express an opinion.  What these bastards don't have the right to do is force that opinion on the rest of us.  This nazi judge, in his ruling did precisely that.  He's unfit to sit on the bench.  Not qualified.

Even when the Nazi Right opines on the right side of a constitutional issue, they get it right for partisan reasons, not the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.  Get this:

"More recently, in a case involving the ban on interstate handgun sales, Ho complained "the Second Amendment continues to be rated as a 'second class' right," borrowing language from his mentor, Clarence Thomas, and new Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.  "Law-abiding Americans should not be conflated with dangerous criminals," Ho added. "Constitutional rights must not give way to hoplophobia."  The Urban Dictionary defines that term as an "irrational, morbid fear of guns."

The same can be said of Nazi Republicans.  The Second Amendment is abundantly clear.  The right to bear arms is not to be abridged law-abiding citizens.  Yet, it is.  All the time.  No open carry in all fifty states.  No concealed carry without a license.  That's goddamned bullshit.  Why should a law-abiding citizen with no criminal history have to jump through hoops to be armed in public?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Trump remains achingly delusional.  Full of himself.  Worse?  Full of shit.  Get this.  ABC News reports:

"President Donald Trump in Iowa Thursday assured farmers feeling the fallout from his trade war that he has achieved major gains in bringing countries to the negotiating table with threats of tariffs and doubled down on some of his tough rhetoric targeting China."

Simply, not true.  A lie.  Wishful thinking.  Doesn't jive with reality.

Gets worse:

"China is doing a little number, they want to attack the farm belt because they know the farmers love me," Trump said. "And I said they're not going to win, just so you understand. We have all the cards, we're going to win."

Insanity.  Trump is delusional.  His proposed financial bailout of farmers and ranchers is only a drop in the bucket.  Worse?  Courtesy of looted taxpayers who foot the bill for the insane actions of the Trump nazi.

"Speaking with ABC News Wednesday, farmers across the state said that Chinese retaliatory tariffs have already caused major losses for their operations."

Trump can't, won't be confused with the truth.

"One hog farmer said he estimates tariffs are costing him about $25-30 per pig, while corn and soybean farmers have faced a 15-20 percent drop in the price of their harvests as well."

Trump is too clueless to understand reality.

"Speaking on a workforce development roundtable at the Northeast Iowa Community college, President Trump was confident in his defense of his trade battles, slamming past "worst-ever made" past trade deals reached between the U.S. and other countries."

Not the way to go about solving the problem.  Farmers, ranchers, taxpayers, and consumers are the victims of this achingly clueless nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Rosenstein impeachment goes nowhere.  NPR reports:

"The effort of some House conservatives to impeach the deputy attorney general sputtered within Congress on Thursday, but the political story will likely rage on.  House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other GOP leaders made clear that the House would not schedule a vote to impeach Rod Rosenstein as a small group of his opponents had formally proposed on Wednesday.  "I don't think we should be cavalier with this process or with this term," Ryan told reporters.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions and others hailed Rosenstein, and he appeared to remain safe in his job.  The Justice Department has made no official comment about the showdown."

What could they say?

"Rosenstein's antagonists, however, led by Republicans Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, have vowed that they will continue to pursue the effort and keep up their campaign against Rosenstein and the Justice Department, which they argue are stonewalling requests for information about the 2016 elections investigations."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Why is Turkey still a member of NATO?  Consider the following.  NPR reports:

"Two years after a military uprising failed to topple Turkey's leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a tighter grip on power than ever. A three-month state of emergency imposed after the military's July 2016, coup attempt was extended multiple times, but was allowed to expire last week. Even so, the government's crackdown on suspected opponents, known in Turkey as "the purge," continues.

Erdogan is no more than a tin horn dictator.  Despite the strategic value of Turkey to NATO, an extremely brutal dictator in NATO is far more than an inconvenience to this alliance.  Ball and chain.

"On July 15, Erdogan marked the second anniversary of the failed coup with multiple events. At one, he stood on a bridge crossing the Bosporus Strait and reminded a large crowd of the civilians who had confronted tanks and bullets on that bridge two years earlier. Some 250 people were killed, a lesson Erdogan said Turkey would never forget.  "July 15th showed us once again who are friends of Turkey, even at difficult times," he said. "We as a nation have a very strong memory."

What exceptionally brutal dictator doesn't?

"That memory also extends to those considered enemies. So far, the purge has seen more than 130,000 people sacked from their jobs in the military, police, civil service and academia. Tens of thousands more face charges."

This son of a bitch is highly reminiscent of Vladimir Putin, -- the Trump nazi's good buddy.

"Many are charged with having ties to the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in the United States. Turkey blames Gulen for the coup attempt. The government has dubbed Gulen's movement "FETO," short for "Fethullah Terrorist Organization." Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup.  Ankara has asked Washington to extradite Gulen back to Turkey to face charges, but thus far, the U.S. has not acted on the extradition request. It's one of several sore points that have strained U.S.-Turkish relations."

Think the Trump nazi won't eventually honor the extradition request?  Forget?  The nazi son of a bitch in the Oval Office recently 'fistbumped' the Turkish dictator, congratulating him at a NATO conference on his brutal tactics.

"Critics of the purge say it has swept up not only coup supporters but also Erdogan's political opponents. Some of those charged with crimes — punished for what they say is legitimate criticism of the government's policies — say the state of emergency may be over, but the purge shows no sign of finishing."

Think the same won't be soon underway here in Trump's Fourth Reich?

"So the state of emergency may be ending, but the mentality will continue," says Akin Atalay, chief executive of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, a publication that has been around almost as long as the Turkish Republic.  More than 170 media outlets have been closed since the coup attempt, but Cumhuriyet's secular, nationalist editorial line continues to survive. It has not, however, escaped the government's crackdown."

Think Trump and his fellow nazis aren't attempting the same here?

"Atalay and more than a dozen others at the paper — journalists, editors, cartoonists, lawyers — have been convicted on terrorism-related charges. They continue working while they press their appeals. Even considering Turkey's long history of military coups and repression of dissent, Atalay says what's happening now is unprecedented.  "It's the most anti-democratic I've seen it," he says in an interview at the newspaper's Istanbul offices. "Critics are thrown in jail, all dissent is under oppression all the time."

Delusionally believe remarkably similar tactics aren't developing right here in Trump's Fourth Reich?

"He says in today's Turkey, there are "thoughts they allow you to think, and other thoughts you are not allowed to think. And if you dare to think it and voice it, you're going to be punished."

Why do you think Trump's concertedly, deliberately, determinedly shitting on the press right here in the Fourth Reich?

"Erdogan was re-elected in late June, winning another five years in office and gaining new powers in the process. Following a referendum last year, the Turkish presidency is stronger than ever, wielding broad executive authority formerly held by the prime minister, a position now abolished.  The new system, critics say, provides very few checks on presidential power."

Think the very same isn't happening right here in Nazi America?  Truly believe the Legislative and Judicial Branches are effectively acting as check and balance on the Trump nazi?

"Parliament — led by a coalition between Erdogan's AK Party and the nationalist MHP — is cooperative, and the judiciary, Atalay says, has been "crushed." When the sentences were handed down against the Cumhuriyet journalists in April, Human Rights Watch said the courts were acting as "willing handmaidens for state repression."

Delusionally believe the same isn't happening right here in Trump's Fourth Reich?

"The only apparent restraint on presidential power appears to be the fear of economic fallout."

Trump nazi's Achilles Heel as well.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think women are safe giving birth in the United States?  CBS News reports:

"A USA Today investigation finds the United States is the "most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world." Every year in the U.S., more than 50,000 mothers are severely injured during or after childbirth and 700 die. USA Today's investigation, "Deadly Deliveries," claims women are dying and suffering life-altering injuries during childbirth because hospitals are not following long-known safety measures."

Why not?

"Maternal death in the United States has been steadily rising. The U.S. now has the highest rate in the developed world. USA Today conducted a four-year investigation into the nation's hospital maternity wards and spoke to several families who lost loved ones and to women who were permanently harmed during their deliveries."

At a time when healthcare costs remain at record highs.

"In one example, Ali Lowry had internal bleeding after having a baby by C-section. It took medical staff hours to act on the warning signs, and in that time she nearly bled to death. Ali needed a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. She and her husband, Shaun, sued Knox Community Hospital in Ohio and settled out of court. The doctor and hospital denied wrongdoing, and Knox Community told CBS News it could not comment on the case due to patient privacy laws."

Convenient excuse, isn't it?

"Experts say that about 50 percent of the deaths of women from childbirth-related causes could be prevented if they were given better medical care and that's a really surprising thing given that we're one of the wealthiest countries in the world and we spend so much on medical care. We're not just talking about the women who die, we're talking about 50,000 U.S. women who are suffering life-altering harms," USA Today investigative reporter Alison Young told "CBS This Morning" on Thursday."

Unbridled greed coupled with a 'don't give a shit attitude.'

"Young said the two leading causes of childbirths deaths and injuries are hemorrhage and severe hypertension –  which requires hospitals to pay close attention to a patient's blood pressure and blood loss levels. USA Today's investigation found that medical professionals are often "eye-balling" how much blood a woman loses during childbirth instead of measuring it for warning signs that something's not right. The answer? More training."

Think so?  ... Or, is the problem a desperate need for better vetting of healthcare personnel?  Get this:

"These things have been known for many years as things that need to be done but it needs to be made a priority at hospitals," Young said. "One of the things that is being advocated for by groups like the AIM group (Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Programs) is having checklists."

Jesus Christ.  A Band Aid on an arterial wound.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Trump is certainly receiving quite a bit of pressure vis a vis the Putin fiasco.  NPR reports:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin won't visit the United States this year after all, the White House said Wednesday, following an earlier invitation by President Trump after their recent summit in Helsinki."

LOL.

"The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year," national security adviser John Bolton said in a statement released by the administration."

That so?  Believe it?  LOL.

"The White House said last week that Trump had invited Putin to the United States, but the Kremlin had been quiet on the offer. Russian officials had said they might be open to Trump and Putin meeting on the sidelines of an international summit such as the Group of 20, but they had not committed to a trip to Washington, D.C."

Here's why:

"It wasn't immediately clear whether the Kremlin had formally turned down the White House behind the scenes or whether the U.S. decided to foreclose its offer before getting an official answer from Moscow.  It also wasn't clear upon what basis Bolton believes that Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation Trump calls the "witch hunt" to which Bolton alluded, might be finished by Dec. 31.  The special counsel's office does not comment on its work or its schedules.   One unanswered question on Wednesday was whether Bolton's statement effectively amounted to a policy that means Putin cannot come to the United States so long as Mueller's work continues."

Who truly gives a shit?  Time for Mueller to get a move on.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Bigotry remains alive and well in Nazi America.  The following is appalling.  NPR reports:

"A pair of New Jersey radio hosts have apologized after they were suspended for referring to the state's Sikh attorney general as "turban man" during their Wednesday program."

How does this crap continue to happen?  Unabated.  Unbridled aggressive stupidity.

"WKXW-FM hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco issued a written apology to Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, who was appointed in January and is the first Sikh in the nation to hold such a post.  On the Wednesday edition of The Dennis & Judi Show, the co-hosts were discussing Grewal's directive to suspend marijuana prosecutions. Malloy said he was unable to remember the attorney general's name, so would refer to him as "the guy with the turban."  "Turban man!" Franco replied."

Jesus Christ.  Gets worse.  Get this:

"If that offends you, then don't wear the turban," Malloy said, "And, maybe I'll remember your name."

How does this shit continue unabated in the current political atmosphere where our formerly great country continues to tear apart at the seams?

"Grewal, who is a first-generation U.S. citizen who grew up in Essex, N.J., responded in a tweet Thursday, "My name, for the record, is Gurbir Grewal. I'm the 61st Attorney General of NJ. I'm a Sikh American. I have 3 daughters. And yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio."  In a subsequent tweet, Grewal wrote, "This is not the first indignity I've faced and it probably won't be the last. Sometimes, I endure it alone. Yesterday, all of New Jersey heard it. It's time to end small-minded intolerance."

Indeed.  Not sustainable.  This country is being torn apart.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Someone's lying.  Guess who?  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Friday issued a fresh rebuttal against his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, maintaining that he did not know in advance about a June 2016 meeting in which Russians had promised to provide dirt on Hillary Clinton.  The statement, made by Trump in morning tweets, escalates the public feud between the president and his longtime fixer. It comes on the heels of a report by CNN Thursday evening that Cohen has said he is willing to testify that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the 2016 meeting in Trump Tower.  “I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr,” Trump declared on Twitter Friday morning."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Some healthcare professionals fail to understand practice of their profession is not a right, but a privilege.  NBC reports:

"Susanne Koestner was 32 years old, just out of graduate school, and about to start a new job when an unexpected turn of events at her local pharmacy transformed her from a customer into a patient advocate.  Koestner wanted to refill a birth control prescription in her hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She had been on birth control since her late teens, and didn't expect to encounter any problems.  But the Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill her prescription — due to his religious beliefs."

F--k his religious beliefs.  They're irrelevant.  If you can't in good conscience fill a prescription, quit your job.  Give up your pharmacy license.  You're not qualified to practice your profession.

"I was shocked and emotional, because it's quite frightening to think that someone has the power to take your legally prescribed medication and not give it you," Koestner said. "It's really frightening that someone who has no knowledge of the situation can just decide, 'I don't want to do this,' and they're making a judgment based on no information."

Not qualified to be a pharmacist.  He's free to embrace whatever religious tenets he chooses, but not force them on anyone else.  Not an issue of freedom of religion, but freedom from it.

"The incident happened in June 2012, when Koestner had been married to her high school sweetheart for five years. The couple were waiting to have kids, especially given that Koestner had just completed her degree in mental health counseling and was just about to begin her career as an adviser and social worker at a nearby community college.  Koestner ended up getting the prescription from another Walgreens about five miles away, but was determined to do whatever she could to help other women from feeling as judged as she did. She filed a complaint through the American Civil Liberties Union alleging sex discrimination, and Walgreens ultimately agreed to a company-wide policy so customers would get prescriptions in a timely matter, even if pharmacists had personal objections to the medication."

Not good enough.  Hasn't solved the problem.  Nor has it resolved the issue.  Not at all.

"But the case highlighted a gray area that many patients have no idea even exists when they go to pick up a prescription.  And in the past month, two similar instances have come to light, both out of Arizona. In the first, a woman who was having a miscarriage was denied a pregnancy-terminating drug at a Walgreens in Peoria; in the second, a transgender woman was denied hormones her doctor had prescribed for her by a CVS in Fountain Hills."

Bastards need to be fired.  Replacements more carefully vetted.  The racist AG Sessions nazi needs to be fighting this shit, not enabling it.

"After Nicole Arteaga, the Peoria woman, was denied her prescription, Walgreens said in a statement that it has a policy that allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection.  But it added: "It's important to note in that situation, the pharmacist also is required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager on duty to meet the patient's needs in a timely manner."

That's not happening.  Needs to change.  First Amendment Establishment Clause, church-state separation, that is, freedom from religion is callously ignored.  Any and/or all healthcare professionals enjoy freedom of religion.  No one dictates to them what they must or must not believe, where they can or cannot attend services.  Freedom of religion, however, is not forcing their outrageously perverse views on others by refusing to provide professional services.  Do the right thing.  Walk away from the profession.  You're not qualified.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Pope finally takes desperately needed action.  About time.  The Washington Post reports:

"Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington and longtime globe-trotting diplomat of the Catholic Church, has resigned his position as a cardinal, the Vatican announced Saturday.  McCarrick, 88, was found by the church in June to be credibly accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly 50 years ago. Since then, additional reports of sexual abuse and harassment by the cardinal, over a span of decades, have been reported. The victims include one then-minor and three adults, who were young priests or seminarians when McCarrick allegedly abused them.  Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to remain in seclusion, and in prayer, until a church trial considers further sanctions.  McCarrick is the highest ranked U.S. Catholic clergy member to ever be removed from ministry due to sexual abuse allegations, and the first cardinal to fully resign his position since 1927."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

More of the same.  NBC reports:

"Democratic congressional lawmakers on Friday asked the Department of Justice to weigh whether criminal charges should be filed in the death of a Florida father who was gunned down last week in a case of "stand your ground."  Florida Sen. Bill Nelson tweeted that he sent a signed letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore, of the DOJ's civil rights division, for an investigation to be opened. Florida congressmen Charlie Crist and Alcee Hastings, as well as California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker also signed their support.  "The Justice Department must actively investigate violent crimes with potential racial undertones to determine if charges should be filed," Hastings said in a statement. "Florida's Stand Your Ground law has created a culture of impunity where communities of color are disproportionately affected."  The DOJ declined to comment about the letter."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

No First Amendment Freedom of the Press in the Trump nazi's White House.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump has sought repeatedly to punish journalists for the way they ask him questions, directing White House staff to ban those reporters from covering official events or to revoke their press credentials, according to several current and former administration officials.  At various moments throughout his presidency, Trump has vented angrily to aides about what he considers disrespectful behavior and impertinent questions from reporters in the Oval Office and in other venues. He has also asked that retaliatory action be taken against them."

Mark of a nazi dictator.

“These people shouting questions are the worst,” Trump has said, according to a current official. “Why do we have them in here?”

Because that's what reporters do.  Their job.  To inform the public.  Expose fascist, national socialist tyrants like you, Mr. 'President.'

"Until this week, the officials said, Trump’s senior aides have resisted carrying out his directives. They convinced him that moves to restrict media access could backfire and further strain the White House’s fraught relationship with the press corps, whose members the president routinely derides as “fake news” and “dishonest people.”  On Wednesday, however, newly installed Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took action against CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins, telling her she could not attend Trump’s open-media event in the Rose Garden because they objected to her questioning of the president earlier in the day."

Mark of a nazi dictator.  Despot.  Resents being questioned.  Challenged.  Tough shit.  Gutless coward.  National socialist.

"The move revealed a fresh willingness inside the West Wing to execute the president’s wishes to punish reporters. It immediately drew a chorus of protest throughout the media, including from Fox News Channel, Trump’s favorite network and Shine’s former employer."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think anything's truly changed at Wells Fargo?  The Washington Post reports:

"What Barbara Carroll says was meant to be a quick trip turned into a nearly three-hour ordeal after a Wells Fargo branch accused the 78-year-old black woman of forgery.  Carroll, who holds a doctorate in criminal justice and worked as an assistant bank manager for 17 years, last week filed suit against the country’s third-largest commercial bank, alleging racial discrimination. A Wells Fargo spokeswoman, Michelle Palomino, told The Washington Post that the bank is investigating Carroll’s claim. “Wells Fargo opposes discrimination of any kind,” Palomino said in an email. “We take Dr. Carroll’s allegations very seriously.”

They don't.  If they did, this woman would not have had to sue them.  They would have resolved the issue.  Have not yet resolved my issue with them going on six years now.  LOL.

"In November 2017, Carroll says, she went to a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., branch of the bank to cash a $140 check. Carroll was asked by a teller to present two forms of identification, a standard company policy for non-customers, Palomino said. After she endorsed the check with a signature and a fingerprint, Carroll told The Post, the teller, who was white, turned her back and flipped over the passport and driver’s license to look at them. After waiting 30 minutes on a couch in the back of the building, Carroll said, she knew something was awry.  Carroll told The Post she went to the counter to inquire about the delay. Frustrated with the wait, Carroll asked the teller to return her identification and check. She refused and fetched the manager, Carroll said. The manager also refused to return her items, according to Carroll, and informed her that they had called the police, refusing to explain why they had done so.  After waiting another 30 minutes, Carroll told the teller to keep the check and give back her passport and ID, according to the legal complaint filed by Carroll. The teller refused once more and would not say when the police would arrive, Carroll said."

Got to admit the treatment this woman received was far, far worse than that received by this writer as detailed throughout this publication on a continuing basis.

"While standing in front of the teller, Carroll called 911, and officers came within minutes, according to the complaint.  After she provided the police with six additional forms of identification, Carroll said, the officers told the manager they had found no irregularities. The manager, who Carroll said had previously verified the validity of the check with its writer, placed $140 in cash alongside her identifications on the counter and left.  “That was really insulting to me,” Carroll said. “She did not apologize.”

What did you expect?  Not the way the nazis in Wells Fargo operate.  Precisely, why this publication does all it can to expose these pieces of shit precisely for whom and what they are.  ... Right, Amanda?  LOL.  Not only in this publication, but in emails to a different business each week notifying them of how this bank does business.  Up to Salvo 217, -- and counting.  LOL.

"Carroll told The Post she was disturbed by the experience. As a former banker, she said, she thought the manager’s behavior was irregular and inappropriate."

Not at Wells Fargo.  ... Right, Amanda?  LOL.  -- Don't lie, girl.  LOL.

"In the ensuing days, Carroll lodged a formal complaint with the bank’s corporate office. Carroll told The Post that a representative told her in a phone conversation that the bank branch, which is located in an affluent white area, was notorious for treating black customers poorly. Carroll told The Post that Wells Fargo apologized and placed the two workers in “sensitivity” training. Wells Fargo declined to confirm whether the two were enrolled in training."

In Kingsland, doesn't matter what your ethnicity happens to be.  ... Right, Amanda?  An equal opportunity f--king to be expected.  LOL.

“I was humiliated,” said Carroll, who said she thinks this happened because she is black. “I’m a human being, and I wasn’t treated as I should have been.”  “We always want to make sure we’re doing right by our customers, guarding against fraud and taking extra precautions to protect them,” said Palomino, the spokeswoman."

Crock of shit.  ... Right, Amanda.  Goddamned lie.  Then again, what else is new?  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Shoot to kill or maim a Palestinian in occupied territory if you're an Israeli soldier, guess what?  You're considered a hero.  Slap and kick an Israeli soldier if you're a 17-year-old Palestinian girl, guess what?  Do eight months in an Israeli prison gulag.  Anything wrong with this picture?  Anything at all?

NPR reports:

"Seventeen-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi has been released from Israeli prison after serving an eight-month sentence for slapping Israeli soldiers during a confrontation that went viral on the Internet. The teen has become a symbol of resistance for many Palestinians; for many Israelis, she's seen as a provocateur."

Since when is it a crime to fight for liberation of territory held by the Israeli aggressor the last seventy years?  ... After Israelite ancestors of that very same aggressor lost it for generations due to their excesses.  -- Only for survivors of the Nazi Holocaust to be conveniently bequeathed it by the United States, the United Nations, and Europe in 1948. Ironically, Nazi justice.  Immediately after Hitler and his bastards had just been defeated.

"Tamini was greeted by jubilant crowds in her village of Nabi Saleh, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as she smiled and embraced family members.  "Power to the people," she said. "The people can decide their way of resistance." Tamimi called for continued resistance to Israeli occupation.  Last year, her mother posted a video on social media that showed her kicking and slapping Israeli soldiers outside her family home. It went viral and led to her arrest in December. Her trial opened in February at an Israeli military court and in March she agreed to plead guilty to charges including assault."

Big mistake.  Should have told the Israeli aggressor to go to hell.  Chosen to rot in the Israeli gulag for however long it took to get the message across.  Insult to injury, her mother did the same amount of time in an Israeli gulag for posting the video.  Jesus Christ.  Touchy, aren't they?  LOL.

"As part of her agreement, Tamimi pleaded guilty to four counts of assault, including the videotaped slapping of an Israeli soldier," according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "In addition to the eight month jail sentence, she was to pay a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,437)." Her mother Nariman was also released on Sunday."

Always a mistake to cave in, acquiesce to an aggressor.  Reinforces jackbooted nazi behavior.  ... Right, Sheriff?

"Asked if she'd do it again — slap the soldiers the way she did — Tamimi said she couldn't say much for fear of re-arrest. "I hope that the occupation will be gone so I won't even think about doing these things again," she added."

That's not going to happen any time soon.  Until the government of the United States finally wakes up, stops supporting the Israeli aggressor, nothing will change.  Sadly, there will be more unwanted dreaded carnage.  ... Think Texans themselves wouldn't fight like hell if Mexico attempted to retake our state?  Think armed Texans would wait for the U.S. military to arrive?

"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Tamimi and her family after her release. According to a statement released by the official Wafa news agency, Abbas "praised Ahed and described her as a model of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, independence and statehood."

That's right.  We're on the wrong side of history.  Perpetrating an unspeakable injustice on the Palestinians.  Fueling ongoing conflict in the region.  When will we smarten up?  This could have been handled far differently in 1948.  Should have been fully negotiated by all parties including the Palestinians.  Should have been able to find a way to live side by side in the region.  Instead, Israel will ultimately lose at some point in the future.

"Tamimi's protest gained international attention and many human rights groups were critical of her detention. Amnesty International called her release "welcome news" but stressed that other Palestinian minors are facing difficult circumstances in Israeli prisons."

Their gulags are no better than ours in Nazi America.  ... Right, Sheriff?

"Ahed Tamimi's release must not obscure the familiar and continuing story of the Israeli military using discriminatory policies to lock up Palestinian children," said Saleh Higazi, the head of Amnesty's Jerusalem office. "Her unjust imprisonment is a reminder of how the Israeli occupation uses the arbitrary military courts to punish those who challenge the occupation and illegal settlements expansion policies, without any regard to age."

Same happens right here in Nazi America.  ... Right, Sheriff?  No justice.

The Israeli aggressor remains hopelessly clueless:

"Israeli Cabinet minister Uri Ariel told The Associated Press that he thinks Israel should respond more strictly.  "I think Israel acts too mercifully with these types of terrorists. Israel should treat harshly those who hit its soldiers," he told the wire service. "We can't have a situation where there is no deterrence. Lack of deterrence leads to the reality we see now ... we must change that."

No,  Mr. Ariel. Wake up.  It's blatant theft of Palestinian land 70 years ago, land your ancestors rightfully lost generations ago, that is the problem.  Prime mover in this ongoing struggle.  Precisely, why the State of Israel will likely, needlessly, sadly be destroyed at some point in the future when the United States finally wakes up.  Withdraws all financial and military support.  Your nuclear stockpile won't be enough to ensure your survival.  Will only take everyone in the region down with you.

"Ahed's father Bassem Tamimi, who is also a well-known activist, has told NPR that her altercation with soldiers happened shortly after her cousin was shot in the head with rubber bullet as he was climbing the wall of a complex that Israeli soldiers had taken control of.  He said her protest was an understandable response to growing up watching her relatives be killed and wounded."

The Israeli aggressor is not just using rubber bullets.  Wake up.  We're on the wrong side of history.  That entire region is a powder keg.  No good will come of any of this.  Just more misery and death.  More injustice.  No peace.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

No end to insanity emanating from the Trump nazi.  NPR reports:

"President Trump on Sunday intensified his assaults on media organizations that cover him and his administration, dismissing them as unpatriotic and irresponsible."

For reporting the truth?  Exposing the nazi for precisely whom and what he is?

"The attacks followed a tweet from the president in which he revealed that he had met the publisher of The New York Times, A.G. Sulzberger, and outlined some details of their conversation.  Trump tweeted that the two discussed "the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, "Enemy of the People." Sad!"

Unlike the Trump nazi, the Founders understood the value of a free press.  -- How essential free media is to the survival of a democratic republic.  Precisely, why they enshrined it in the First Amendment.

Here's Trump's tweet:

    "Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of the New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2018"

"That drew a sharp response from Sulzberger rebutting the president. According to a statement from the Times, the July 20 meeting was off the record at the request of White House aides. But when the president disclosed the meeting via Twitter, Sulzberger said the off-the-record deal was no longer in effect.  "I told the president directly that I thought that his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous," Sulzberger said in the statement, which also revealed that the meeting was also attended by James Bennet, the editorial page editor for the Times.  "I told him that although the phrase 'fake news' is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people,'" Sulzberger said. "I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence."  Sulzberger said throughout their conversation he made clear that if the president had qualms with the coverage of his administration, he was "free to tell the world." But Sulzberger said he implored Trump to reconsider his attacks on journalism, which Sulzberger called "dangerous and harmful to our country."

What it is remains raw nazism by an out of control tyrant who presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"While the president's first tweet seemed to imply the meeting was positive — he called it "good and interesting" — by Sunday afternoon, he was off on a Twitter tirade, seemingly in response to Sulzberger's statement. "I will not allow our great country to be sold out by anti-Trump haters in the dying newspaper industry," he wrote at one point."

Trump gives himself far too much credit.  What those of us who strongly oppose him hate is not Trump himself, but the national socialism, fascism, nazism the tyrant embraces.

Here's the true insanity:

"When the media - driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome - reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk!" Trump tweeted. "Very unpatriotic! Freedom of the press also comes with a responsibility to report the news ... accurately."

This man is nuts.  A lunatic.  Ludicrously, he's got it completely ass backwards.  LOL.  Engages in insane rhetoric that does not match reality.  Lies like hell.  Repeatedly contradicts himself.  Wake up.  That's not conjecture.  It's fact.  Published throughout all media, including in this publication week after week.  Bottom line?  Trump has no credibility.  None at all.  Lies like hell.  Worse?  Far worse?  Lacks mental stability.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Continuing with the insanity, get this.  It's laughable.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the “Koch brothers,” saying the conservative political funding and policy network has “become a total joke in real Republican circles” and is “highly overrated.”

Delusionally, believe Trump's fellow Republicans agree?  LOL.

"The president’s assessment, made in a flurry of morning tweets, followed a weekend gathering at which top officials affiliated with billionaire industrialist Charles Koch sought to distance the network from Trump and his base in the Republican Party, citing tariff and immigration policies and “divisive” rhetoric out of Washington."

Clearly, Koch sees the handwriting on the wall.  ... The insanity as well.

"On Monday, the network also announced that it does not currently plan to support Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer in his effort to unseat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this November. That decision was at odds with Trump, who campaigned for Cramer at a rally in Fargo last month.  “The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”

Good to see there's, indeed, growing dissent within Republican ranks.  Maybe we'll finally see some desperately needed change.  Wouldn't hold my breath, however.  LOL.

"Trump asserted that the Kochs “love” some of his policies, including tax cuts and conservative picks for federal courts. But he said the Kochs were being driven by a desire to “protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed.”  “I’m for America First & the American Worker — a puppet for no one,” Trump said. “Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!”

Trump couldn't care less about making anything great other than himself.  To say nothing of lining his bottomless pockets.  LOL.

    "The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made.....
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018

    ....them richer. Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn. They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker - a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018"

Full of shit, -- to say nothing of himself.  This, the best the Republicans have to offer?

"Trump’s comments mark the first aggressive attack on the Koch network since the 2016 presidential campaign, when he criticized Koch-backed politicians as “puppets” and when the network pointedly declined to endorse him as the GOP presidential candidate.  The tension between Trump and the most powerful network of donors for the political right highlights the tortured relationship between the Republican president and the powerful network that has worked for years to help elect like-minded conservatives."

They're not 'conservatives.'  They're national socialists, fascists, nazis.  Make Ronald Reagan look like a liberal.  LOL.

Get this.  Carefully, consider it:

"During a television interview Tuesday, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also took shots at the Koch network, saying it was “very disappointing to see yesterday that they are not going to support Kevin Cramer in this all too-important North Dakota Senate race.”  “They’re ideologues,” McDaniel said of the network. “They’re not just supporting Republicans. They’re also supporting Democrats.”

Fascinating take, isn't it?  Partisanship at its very worst.  LOL.  Good to see dissension in GOP ranks, however.  Too bad Democrats remain incapable of smartening up.  LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

More Trump insanity.  Of Twilight Zone calibre.  LOL.  The Washington Post reports:

"The Treasury Department is considering a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans through a change that would not need approval from Congress, officials said, a move that would follow a package of tax cuts last year that also benefited the super-rich."

Think Trump's a populist?

"The agency is studying whether to allow investment income, known as capital gains, to be adjusted for inflation in a way that shields more of it from taxation. Most capital gains are paid by wealthier Americans, who disproportionately hold large portfolios of investments.  But the use of executive power on such a significant change to the tax law would be highly unusual and could be vulnerable to a legal challenge. Senior administration officials have discussed whether to proceed but have not concluded they have legal authority to do so. The move was rejected during the George H.W. Bush administration because it was seen as outside the scope of Treasury’s authority and only attainable via an act of Congress."

Not to the Trump nazi and his henchmen.  Forget?  Tyrants rock in Nazi America.  LOL.

"The idea has long been advocated by White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, but tax changes this drastic are typically made by Congress, not the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. Still, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the New York Times in an interview that he was reviewing whether to move ahead if Congress doesn’t act on its own.  “If it can’t get done through a legislation process, we will look at what tools at Treasury we have to do it on our own and we’ll consider that,” Mnuchin told the New York Times. “We are studying that internally, and we are also studying the economic costs and the impact on growth.”

Raw nazism.  Renegade tyrant.

"Republicans passed a massive package of tax cuts last year that lowered the tax rate for all income groups, with big benefits going to wealthy Americans and businesses. Despite mounting worries from lawmakers about the growing federal deficit, Trump said earlier this year that Congress was going to try to pass another package of tax cuts this year that would be largely targeted at helping the middle class. Senate Republicans have not signaled how they plan to proceed.

“Once again, Republicans have exposed the true priorities of their tax scam: billions in tax breaks for the wealthiest at the expense of everyone else,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “American families are drowning under the weight of stagnant wages, higher health costs and soaring prescription drug costs, but the GOP continues to pick their pockets to give more handouts to the wealthiest 1 percent.”

While Pelosi is out to lunch on much of what she stands for, she's right on this.  When Trump's sick sycophants finally realize their fuhrer is no more than a clueless charlatan, much will change.  Deficit and national debt are indeed skyrocketing with Trump's last tax package.  To say nothing of what the cost to consumers will be if the nazi doesn't back off on the tariff fiasco.  There'll come a time when his supporters will finally understand he's no more than a sad, sick sham.  Smoke and mirrors.  Certainly, no populist.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think our government and its laws aren't totally f--ked up?  Carefully, consider the following.  NPR reports:

"With less than two years before the start of the 2020 census, the U.S. government is back on the market for a new contractor to print forms and letters for the upcoming national head count.  Last week Justice Department attorneys ended a $61 million contract the U.S. Government Publishing Office had awarded to the now-bankrupt printing company Cenveo, as part of a settlement agreement approved by a federal bankruptcy judge in New York. Citing the constitutional requirement to count every person living in the U.S. once a decade, DOJ attorneys concluded that "it is in the public interest" to terminate the contract.  The Census Bureau is paying Cenveo $5.5 million "to resolve all disputes" related to the ending of the contract, according to an order by Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York."

Not clear why the taxpayers should be on the hook to pay anything at all.  After all, it was Cenveo that went bankrupt.  Couldn't deliver on the contract it signed.  Congress needs to take a careful look at bankruptcy statutes.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Let the games begin.  -- To say nothing of the insanity.  ... Unlike Trump's insanity, however, indeed method to this madness.  LOL.  NPR reports:

"Most tax and bank fraud cases are built on stacks of bland business documents and Internal Revenue Service paperwork — hardly the stuff of international intrigue.  But the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, which began Tuesday in a suburban Washington, D.C., courthouse, promises to upend those low expectations.  Lawyers working for special counsel Robert Mueller plan to call witnesses they say demonstrate where Manafort spent his allegedly ill-gotten gains: custom-made suits; Persian rugs; landscaping fees; Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benz vehicles; and season tickets to the New York Yankees, among other items."

While ill-gotten gains should be prosecuted, think they're the true target of Mueller and his team?

"It's what may not come up much during the trial in Alexandria, Va., that will draw attention from all over the world: Manafort's work for candidate Donald Trump for a critical period in 2016 when Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president.  In pretrial arguments, prosecutor Greg Andres told the court the government would only bring up Manafort's campaign work in the context of a witness from a bank who gave him a loan, with the expectation that the banker would win consideration for a post in the Trump administration.  "I don't anticipate that a government witness will utter the word 'Russia,' " Andres said.  Manafort's defense team has argued any mention of Trump could be seized on by jurors who have an unfavorable view of the president.  "Evidence or argument relating to Mr. Manafort's work for then-candidate Trump's campaign in 2016 or the Special Counsel's investigation of the campaign's alleged collusion with the Russian government is wholly irrelevant to whether Mr. Manafort's personal income tax returns were false, whether he willfully failed to file reports of foreign accounts, and whether he conspired to commit, or committed, bank fraud," defense lawyers wrote."

Hard to believe the true objective of Mueller entails simply the above.  Likely, little more than a means to an end.  Get Manafort to flip on the Trump Russian fiasco.  Methodically, use a conviction on the above irrelevant charges to pressure Manafort on giving up his fuhrer, the Trump nazi on the Putin disaster.  Think that'll happen?  Hasn't to date, but we'll see.  No matter what, should be an interesting trial.

Clearly, Trump is now obstructing justice.  Has effectively asked the Justice Department to end the Mueller investigation.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Wednesday said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should terminate the investigation into Russian election interference “right now” and called the prosecution of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort “a hoax.”  In several inflammatory tweets, Trump escalated his attacks on the investigation, led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, that includes examining whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia and whether Trump has obstructed the probe.  The tweets come at a particularly sensitive time in the investigation, as a federal jury in Virginia is hearing evidence in Manafort’s trial on tax evasion and fraud charges.

    "..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018

    "Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders. He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018"

His shysters are already deceptively massaging the truth, brilliantly downplaying Trump's tweets and their intent.  ... Getting precisely what you paid for, aren't you, Mr. 'President?'  LOL.

"But in an interview Wednesday, two of Trump’s lawyers said Trump was not ordering Sessions to take any specific action.  “The president has issued no order or direction to the Department of Justice on this,” Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said, adding that the president is allowed to express his opinion on Twitter.  “I think it’s very well-established the president uses tweets to express his opinion,” added Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani. “He very carefully used the word ‘should.’”

Expect anything less from a slick shyster bastard?  LOL.

"A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment about Trump’s call for Sessions to end the investigation."

Surprised?

"Though Trump has previously called for an end to Mueller’s probe, Wednesday’s tweets were the most direct aimed at Sessions — and they drew sharp criticism, including from some members of Trump’s own party."

You think?  Called obstruction.

"Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said it “was entirely inappropriate and intemperate” for Trump to make such a request of Sessions."

Obstruction.

"Mueller was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein after Sessions recused himself from the probe, citing his work on Trump’s 2016 campaign.  To end the investigation, Sessions would either have to violate his recusal or announce that he is ending it.  “The only person who could fire Mueller is Rod Rosenstein, who is bound by Justice Department guidances that specify that he would have to have good cause, and it would have to be reported to Congress,” Collins said."

So far, Rosenstein has stood tall.  Hopefully, that will continue.

"Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a former prosecutor, said Trump’s tweets on Wednesday could help build a case of obstruction of justice against Trump.  “It seems even more vivid and serious evidence of criminal intent to obstruct justice — whether it is obstruction itself or not, it certainly indicated intent,” Blumenthal said.   “There is now highly credibly evidence that the president of the United States is committing obstruction of justice in real time, right before our eyes.”  “I have no doubt that the United States Department of Justice is going to do its job, and the special counsel is going to persevere with undiminished dedication,” he added."

Need a good laugh?  Get this:

"He later raised the question of whether Manafort was being treated worse than Alphonse “Al” Capone, misspelling the American gangster’s name in a tweet.  “Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer and ‘Public Enemy Number One,’ or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement - although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?” Trump wrote."

Day is night, night is day, and shit smells perversely sweet in the world of the Trump nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think government in a democratic republic should be free to medicate incarcerated refugee children without parental consent or court order?  NPR reports:

"A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the Trump administration to seek consent before administering psychotropic drugs to immigrant children held in a facility in Texas.  U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee ruled that the government was in violation of a court decree dating to the mid-1980's known as the Flores settlement which governs the treatment of detained immigrant children. There are more than 10,000 minors in federal custody. The vast majority of them arrived at the southern border unaccompanied from Central America long before the current controversy over separated families created by the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy. The settlement required the government to hold youths in the least restrictive setting possible."

Should go without saying in a democratic republic.  Not how things work in Trump's Fourth Reich, however.

"Lawyers argued that the children at the Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, were administered powerful psychotropic drugs without any explanation to them. Such drugs are used to treat a range of conditions from schizophrenia to depression. In some cases, children allegedly were told that if they didn't take the drugs their detention periods would be prolonged."

Trump and his henchmen are certainly emulating their national socialist mentors, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.

"Judge Gee says the government must get parental consent or a court order before giving children psychotropic drugs, unless it is an emergency. The judge also ordered the government to explain to the children in writing why they are being detained. She also ruled that the government cannot detain a minor only for "reported gang involvement."  In addition, Gee ordered that all youths covered under the Flores ruling be removed from the Shiloh Residential Treatment Center unless a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist determines that a minor poses a risk to himself or others."

Don't Republicans claim to be the party of the family?  Think so?

"The judge's ruling follows another decision issued Friday in which she said she would appoint an independent monitor to oversee the facilities where immigrant children are detained."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think government capable of doing much of anything right any longer?  LOL.  NPR reports:

"Hospice services can play a big role, relieving pain and providing spiritual and emotional support. But a federal report published Tuesday synthesized patient and Medicare payment data going back to 2005 and found that, while patients generally can count on hospice to relieve their suffering, some hospice providers are bilking Medicare and neglecting patients.  The report calls for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is a key player in the funding of hospice services, to increase its level of scrutiny to improve the detection of these problems."

Isn't that, in fact, one of the legitimate functions of government?  To police providers?  Could it be someone was being paid off?  Bribed?

"While patients can generally count on hospice to relieve their suffering, the report shows that sometimes patient needs have been ignored.  "We found that hospices provide fewer services on the weekends than during the week," Harrison says. "Far fewer, actually. And patients would have pain on weekends just as well as they have it on weekdays."

Fascinating, isn't it?  Must not be forgotten these people are dying.  Should not be treated or cared for at the convenience of providers.

"There were other forms of neglect noted in the report. For example, one hospice billed Medicare for more than two weeks of high-level care without ever visiting the patient. They'd just call his family and ask how he was doing."

Jesus Christ.  Where are Medicare inspectors, investigators, etc.?

"The federal reviewers also discovered that some hospice providers would seek out patients who live in nursing homes or assisted living. Those settings allowed them to bill Medicare for a level of service that some patients didn't need, but that cost the government almost 4 times as much as basic, in-home care."

Isn't that fraud?

"As a result, in 2012 alone, Medicare paid $268 million for expensive, inpatient hospice care for patients who didn't need it."

How is it government is extremely proficient in looting traffic 'offenders' for offenses they did not commit to line government coffers, yet can't catch providers who defraud Medicare?  ... Right, Sheriff?

"The report also highlights how some hospice companies make money by outright fraud. Derrick Jackson, a longtime HHS investigator, recalls a 2014 case where a Mississippi hospice owner signed up clients who were not terminally ill and therefore didn't qualify for hospice. The owner was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and had to pay back almost $8 million."

Not good enough.  Should have forfeited all personal assets in addition to having his or her license permanently revoked.

"Jackson says the patients in this case didn't even know they had enrolled in hospice. "Often these hospice owners will market themselves as 'we will clean your house for free' — in other words, a housecleaning service. Other times, he says, the new clients were elderly, isolated people who just wanted "someone to come over and sit down and talk with them."

With sufficient investigators and follow up, this shit should not be an issue.

Worse?  Get this:

"The consequences of enrolling in hospice when you don't need it are serious, says Harrison.  "When a patient does elect hospice care, they are waiving their right for Medicare payment for curative treatment," she says. "So, in effect, they're giving up curative care. And if they don't know they're doing that, they could be making not the best choice for their future."

Must not be forgotten these folks are seriously ill, some dying.  Desperately need proper care.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think racism isn't alive and well in Nazi America?  CBS News reports:

"Four Florida paramedics, accused of refusing to care for a patient and racially profiling her, will face a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. The Hillsborough County fire responders allegedly failed to check Crystle Galloway's vital signs.  "They never took blood pressure. They never took her temperature. They never checked any of her vitals," said Nicole Black, Galloway's mother.  Black said she called 911 on the morning of July 4 after finding her 30-year-old daughter slumped over the bathtub, drooling through swollen lips, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan. Galloway had given birth via cesarean section just days earlier.  "Exactly what happened now?" the 911 dispatcher could be heard asking over the call.  "She just had a baby three days ago. And she had a big C-section, so she's passed out in there and I don't know what's going on," Black responded."

Gets worse.  Far worse:

"Medics arrived at Galloway's third floor condo and carried her downstairs.  "They kept asking her over and over, 'Do you want to go to the hospital? Do you want to go to the hospital?' She kept begging and telling them yes," Black said. But instead of the ambulance, Black said they placed her daughter in her car.  "They were too busy or too caught up in convincing us that she couldn't afford it… There was reference to, 'Didn't you just have a newborn baby? Do you really want to spend $600 to go three blocks?'" Black recounted. "'Oh, have you been drinking? Were you guys celebrating Fourth of July? Is that why your head hurts?'"  Her mother drove Galloway to the hospital herself. Later that day, Galloway slipped into a coma. Five days later she died."

Jesus Christ.  How does this happen in 2018?

"According to Hillsborough County, the responders failed to take Galloway's vitals at the scene, did not get a signature required to refuse ambulance service, and falsified their patient care report.  "My guys did a lot of things wrong here and we take responsibility," Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill said in a press conference.  "If the fire medics had taken the vitals… they would have concluded, as our medical director has, that this woman needed to be transported by EMS to the hospital," Merrill added.  Merrill is looking into lapses in the fire medic's behavior, including claims of racism.  "If it's a culture of racism… that's something that needs to be fixed or for the sake of good care for our community," Merrill said."

You think?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

More raw nazism.  NBC reports:

"Civil rights groups and LGBTQ advocates on Tuesday tore into the Department of Justice's newly formed "Religious Liberty Task Force," slamming the move as a discriminatory affront to civil liberties masquerading as protections for people of faith.  "This task force's agenda isn’t consistent with religious freedom. Religious freedom protects our right to our beliefs, not a right to discriminate or harm others," American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling told NBC News in a statement. "Jeff Sessions' Department of Justice is again turning that understanding of religious freedom on its head."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

8-3-18

Think Trump's thinking clearly?  NPR reports:

"Congressional Republicans keep trying to downplay the possibility of a government shutdown this fall, just weeks ahead of midterm elections, even as President Trump returns again and again to that very scenario.

    "I don’t care what the political ramifications are, our immigration laws and border security have been a complete and total disaster for decades, and there is no way that the Democrats will allow it to be fixed without a Government Shutdown...
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018"

Rational thought?

"Trump has repeatedly said this week he would force the government to shut down if Democrats do not agree to significant increases in border spending, including money to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico, along with changes to the legal immigration system.  Capitol Hill Republicans fear a government shutdown weeks before Election Day could cost them dearly with voters in what's already expected to be a rough midterm for the governing party, a view the White House rejects."

Republicans know full well they'll be blamed should there be a shutdown.  Even without a shutdown, think the GOP won't take it hard up the rump courtesy of the Trump?  Without the Vaseline or K-Y.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

There are non-profits that cannot be bought.  Remain untouchable.  NPR reports:

"A Texas nonprofit that works with families separated at the border has turned down a $250,000 contribution from Salesforce, a company under pressure for its work creating software for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is known for his support of progressive policies and liberal views on many social issues. But his company has been under pressure to dump the contract by tech workers who are critical of the Trump administration's policies on immigration.  The head of RAICES, which stands for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, said the group won't take contributions from Salesforce. The group does not want to be a part of a maneuver that aims to calm critics of Salesforce's contract with CPB."

Uncommon valor.  Principle before money.  Couldn't be, could it?  In Nazi America, must not be forgotten not everyone is bought and paid for.  There are a few left who stand on principle.

"We stand for justice and justice is not for sale," said RAICES Executive Director Jonathan Ryan. He said Salesforce is making millions from its government contact. "Our fundamental mission is to protect immigrants and refugees and to promote their rights — not be part of some kind of hand-washing operation for a corporation," he said."

Somewhere along the way most of us have lost ourselves, -- but not all.

"Salesforce has been facing mounting pressure over its contract with the CPB.  Some 650 Salesforce employees sent a petition last month to Benioff asking him to end the company's contract with the agency."

Guess he can't fire all 650 of them, can he?  Who'd do the work?  LOL.

"(Salesforce is an NPR financial supporter.)"

Think NPR would be well-advised to better vet companies it's willing to accept funding from?

"Last week, community groups joined with the advocacy group Tech Workers Coalition and protested outside the Salesforce Tower in downtown San Francisco. The coalition is made up of tech employees who say they are concerned about the misuse of the technology they create. Stephanie Parker, who is with the coalition, said members of the group were excited to learn about RAICES turning down Salesforce's contribution.  "It's a great feeling to have an organization that's doing such amazing work directly on the issue of family separation and border detention" to join the protest against Salesforce, she said."

Indeed.  Anything that slows the jackbooted bastards down a bit is certainly a good thing.  Need a whole lot more.  More willingness to stand on principle.  Resist.

"Benioff has said he considers the separation of families at the border wrong."

Non-sequitur.  If so, why is your corporation lining its pockets working with the Border Patrol?  Can't have it both ways.

"When asked about RAICES' refusal of the money, a Salesforce spokesperson pointed to the same tweets Benioff sent out in response to the workers' petition. It was in those tweets that the CEO announced that the company was donating $1 million to organizations that help families at the border.  The $250,000 that RAICES turned down was part of that $1 million. Benioff also said the company would match employee donations to increase the charitable giving. Benioff also defends the company by saying Salesforce doesn't work "with CBP regarding separation of families."

End result, ultimate effect is precisely the same.  If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, guess what?  It's a duck.

"But Ryan, the RAICES director, said Benioff is overlooking the bigger picture.  "Salesforce software provides the operational backbone for the agency," Ryan said. "Thus, it does directly support CBP in implementing its inhumane and immoral policies with the software they provide."

Precisely.  Benioff is deluding himself.

"Ryan says his group would accept Salesforce's contribution if the company dropped the CBP contract."

Hard to believe that will happen.  Greed rules.  Consider the following:

"Tech companies have been facing increasing criticism about the use of powerful products. Google ended a contract with the Pentagon to make software to improve drone performance after employees protested. Amazon is facing growing criticism from its workers over its sale of facial recognition technology to law enforcement. Employees fear it can be easily be misused to abuse individual civil rights."

Happens all the time.  Give a tyrant an inch, bastard takes a light-year.

"Hundreds of Microsoft workers signed a petition calling on the company to stop working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. This week, a group of tech leaders pledged they would never work on artificial intelligence for autonomous weapons."

If employees fail to stand up, guess who's targeted next?  Wake up.  Not rocket science.

"Ryan said it's difficult to turn down money. "With $250,000, we could hire several attorneys for a year or more to continue our work," he said."

Would amount to blood money.

"But RAICES may have a little extra cushion this year. It was also the beneficiary of a lot support from two tech workers who set up a fundraising campaign on Facebook. Initially, the goal was $1,500. In the end, they raised more than $20 million."

Why be beholden when there are indeed other ways to raise funds?

"The timing for this fundraising is key. A lot of immigrant rights groups, including RAICES, rely on financial backing from the federal government. Ryan said he fears that the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy toward immigrants, that source of funding may soon dry up."

Precisely, why it is a mistake to rely on government.  Government has become the problem, not the solution.  Remains a direct threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.  Exacerbated by increasing instability, growing narcissism of the Trump nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

GOP nazification of the judiciary just hit a significant snag.  Doesn't your heart bleed? The Washington Post reports:

"The GOP’s bid to transform the federal bench with conservative judges hit its first significant snag Thursday, after Senate Republicans were forced to withdraw the nomination of Ryan Bounds, Trump’s pick to serve on the powerful 9th Circuit appeals court."

Breaks your heart, doesn't it?

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced he would withdraw Bounds’s nomination after the vote to confirm him was delayed for nearly an hour, prompting speculation that the GOP did not have support it needed to carry Bounds’ nomination.  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Thursday that the decision was made with the White House, following concerns Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) raised about the nomination.  “Senator Scott raised some concerns yesterday about the nomination and I think it became apparent the nominee was not going to prevail,” Cornyn told reporters after Bounds’ vote was withdrawn. “The White House decided under the circumstances to withdraw the nomination and so that’s where we are.”

Proof positive the GOP is not monolithic.  Encouraging, isn't it?

"A spokesman for Scott confirmed that Scott had concerns about some of Bounds’s writings, while another Republican aide concurred that Scott had expressed problems with Bounds’s nomination.  Democrats opposed Bounds’s controversial nomination, bringing up articles he had written in the Stanford Review while in law school that criticized and ridiculed multiculturalism and groups concerned with racial issues."

How about that?  At least a few of the nazis in the Republican Party are aware they have a problem.  An unsustainable problem.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Once again, the jackass in the Oval Office has contradicted himself.  The Washington Post reports:

"The White House says President Trump opposes a proposal floated by Russian President Vladimir Putin that would allow Russia to interview American officials in exchange for making Russian authorities indicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe available for questioning."

What could Trump possibly been thinking?

"The White House announced Trump’s opposition Thursday moments before the Senate voted 98 to zero to approve a resolution telling the president not to honor Putin’s request, which would have exposed former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul, among others, to Russian questioning."

To think this jackass originally entertained the thought of doing so.

“It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “Hopefully President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt.”

Wake up, Ms. Sanders.  The president was caught flatfooted.  Aggressively stupid, losing ground.

"The 12 Russians is a reference to those indicted last week by Mueller for their role in interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.  Putin first proposed swapping officials for questioning at a Monday summit with Trump in Helsinki, offering to make Russian authorities indicted in Mueller’s probe available for questioning — but only if the United States also granted Russian officials similar access to current and former American officials.  Trump called it “an incredible offer.”

The president remains an incredible jackass.

"The Senate resolution — which expresses the sense of Congress that no current or former diplomat, civil servant, law enforcement official, member of the Armed Forces or political appointee should be made available to Putin’s government for an interrogation — is not binding on the president. The White House said earlier this week that it is considering the Kremlin’s request, prompting a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats, and even members of the Trump administration."

Clearly, sadly, Trump's not all there.

"In a news conference this week, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert called the idea of allowing the Russian government to interview American officials “absolutely absurd,” adding that allowing such a precedent “would be a grave concern to our former colleagues here.”

You think?  Trump's serious consideration of this prior to strong congressional reaction is indicative of his gross unfitness for office.

Republicans have a long, long, long way to go.  Consider the following:

"Before McConnell announced Thursday’s vote on the Schumer-Menendez-Schatz resolution, Senate Republicans blocked two efforts to bring up resolutions affirming lawmakers’ support for the intelligence community’s assessment, the special counsel’s probe into alleged ties between Trump and the Kremlin, and urge the president to take a harder stand against Russia."

Republicans are increasingly on the wrong side of history.  Will pay quite a price when the electorate finally wakes up.

"Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has spent the week mounting a fierce defense of Trump’s outreach to Putin, objected to a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), charging it was an affront to diplomatic efforts and a sign that “Trump derangement syndrome has official come to the Senate.” Sanders shot back that his resolution had nothing to do with diplomacy and didn’t even call for sanctions — but failed to secure a vote on the measure to affirm the intelligence community’s determinations about Russian interference."

No question, insanity is alive and well in the United States Senate.  LOL.

"Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the Majority Whip, also shot down a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) to insist the president fully implement sanctions against Russia that Congress passed almost a year ago, arguing that it would be better to consider sanctions than an unnecessarily “symbolic” resolution."

Cornyn's head remains securely lodged up his ass.  Think that'll ever change?  Think it can?  LOL.

“Symbolism is important, our agencies of government need to know that we stand behind them,” Flake retorted on the floor, promising to raise the resolution again and predicting that “ultimately it will pass.”

Bet it will.  Likely, when too late.

"Neither resolution would have been binding."

So what?  Would have had the benefit of putting the Senate on the record.

NPR reports:

"Trump, appearing with President Vladimir Putin in Finland, at first said he didn't believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 election — but then said he does. Trump said he didn't believe Russian intelligence is continuing to target the United States today — but then the White House said he does.  Then on Thursday, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in an announcement that Trump now "disagrees" with Putin's proposal from their summit that the two governments exchange people of interest to each other's investigators.  "It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it," Sanders said. "Hopefully, President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt."

Suffering whiplash?  Think this guy truly knows what he's doing?

"The Senate voted 98 to 0 on a resolution condemning the earlier idea that the White House had held open — that Russians might get to interrogate Americans if American investigators were able to talk with the Russian suspects — and individual lawmakers and others also had spoken out."

Indeed, they did.  Collective wisdom a nazi dictator clearly does not have.

"A former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, says Putin is obsessed with an imaginary scheme to undermine the Russian government that McFaul supposedly conducted from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. McFaul worried about Trump permitting that story to take flight.  Granting any credibility to the scheme means the White House is "playing into Russia's hands," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters on Thursday."

That's right.  What could Trump possibly been thinking?

"Corker said that although the president has wide discretion to conduct foreign affairs, he might have gone too far in Helsinki, adding that he wants to question Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the summit at a hearing next week.  "The president does have the ability to meet with anybody he wishes," Corker said. "I think this one, especially the presentation that was made at the end, was disconcerting to most Americans and certainly was to me."

Treason.

"We're going to have Pompeo come in next week, and I think we'll be much better informed when that is over, as to what the intentions are, where they're trying to take this relationship, was there anything that was agreed to privately in those meetings."

That's the problem.  What did Trump give away?  Why were no aides present?

"The prospect that the United States might grant access to McFaul or others, in exchange for American investigators talking with Russians linked to cyberattacks, had been viewed as unlikely.  But Trump had called it an "incredible offer" on Monday in his press conference with Putin in Helsinki, and Sanders had seemed to suggest Wednesday that the administration was evaluating it."

Trump's lack of experience, naïveté, and narcissism are the problem.

"Critics said it was a mistake for the White House even to appear that it had been evaluating the idea of an interrogation exchange.  Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter earlier Thursday that he thought the White House must "publicly and unequivocally rule it out."

Trump has once again proven he's a jackass.  Unfit for office.

CBS News reports:

"President Trump said he'll be Russian President Vladimir Putin's "worst nightmare" if things don't go well with Russia. Mr. Trump made the comments on CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview that aired Friday.  Mr. Trump, still facing fallout over his widely criticized Monday meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, has expressed his intent to invite Putin to Washington in fall, even as his own intelligence agency leaders warn Russia will continue attempts to meddle in the November election cycle.  Mr. Trump, after calling former President Obama a "patsy" for Russia in the CNBC interview, reiterated what he has said many times before — "Getting along with President Putin, getting along with Russia, is a positive, not a negative."  But Mr. Trump added, "Now, with that being said, if that doesn't work out, I'll be the worst enemy he's ever had. The worst he's ever had."  Then, as CNBC anchor Joe Kernan tried to draw the interview to its conclusion, Mr. Trump said, "But I think he knows that -- I'll be his worst nightmare. But I don't think it'll be that way. I actually think we'll have a good relationship."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Insanity reigns and reins. The Washington Post reports:

"The White House announced Thursday that Vladimir Putin has been invited to Washington this fall, even as leaders in Washington tried to fully understand what happened when President Trump and the Russian leader met earlier this week in Helsinki."

The question is why?  Especially, in light of the fact we don't know what transpired during their alone time during the summit.  What did Trump give away?

"White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the planned visit in a tweet, saying that national security adviser John Bolton extended the invitation and that “discussions are already underway.”

Why?  What does Putin have on Trump?

"As the late afternoon tweet landed, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats was on stage at the Aspen Security Forum in the middle of an interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who broke the news to him. Coats, clearly surprised, took a deep breath.  “Say that again,” he said. “Did I hear you?”  She repeated the news.  “Okaaaay,” Coats said. “That’s going to be special.”

Indeed.  LOL.

"Coats said he would have advised against Trump and Putin’s private meeting in Helsinki, which worried U.S. security officials because no notes were taken and only two interpreters were present, but that he had not been consulted. Underscoring how little is known about the meeting, Coats acknowledged that he has not been told what happened in the room. Asked whether it was possible Putin had secretly recorded the more-than two-hour meeting, Coats answered, “That risk is always there.”

Trump's head remains securely lodged up his ass.  ... Or, worse, Putin's got something on him.

"Thursday’s announcement was the latest unexpected turn in a week in which Trump has faced a torrent of bipartisan criticism over his cozy approach to Putin and his vacillating utterances about Moscow’s election interference, all while brushing aside warnings that the Russian leader should be viewed as an adversary."

Again, Trump has either lost his mind or Putin has something on him.

“The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote in a morning tweet. “I look forward to our second meeting so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed.”

Once again, Trump has showed his true colors.  The 'Fake News' is what comes out his mouth.  Congenital liar.  A free press is insurance against a delusional, narcissistic, nazi dictator.

"Inside the White House, Trump’s advisers were in an uproar over Coats’s interview in Aspen, Colo. They said the optics were especially damaging, noting that at moments Coats appeared to be laughing at the president, playing to his audience of the intellectual elite in a manner that was sure to infuriate Trump."

Not the only one laughing at Trump.  Sad, isn't it?  Worse?  Trump only has himself to blame.

“Coats has gone rogue,” said one senior White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a candid assessment."

The hell he has.  His reaction is the same as that of an increasing number of people presented with this growing abomination.

"After Coats indirectly rebuked Trump’s Helsinki performance on Monday, senior administration officials were concerned that the intelligence director could perhaps resign and so implored Trump to reassure Coats and calm the waters. Trump tried to do just that on Wednesday in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor, singling out Coats by name for praise. A transcript of the president’s interview was sent to Coats to ensure the director of national intelligence saw the comments, the senior official said."

Pathetic, isn't it?  Think the president's fit for office?

"White House aides are worried that Trump will interpret the comments by Coats as a personal betrayal, since they came so soon after the president praised him. Explaining that Trump does not take kindly to slights and that he nurses grudges, one official predicted that Coats’s Aspen interview could bother the president more than the many ethical blunders of Scott Pruitt, who was ousted as Environmental Protection Agency administrator."

Trump needs to grow up. Can't stay a 15-year-old your entire life.

"A senior U.S. intelligence official said that Coats has a good relationship with the president and speaks with him frequently. He disputed the suggestion that the director was somehow undermining the president and said Coats was doing his job to describe what the Russians did."

Coats is doing his job.  Trump is not.

“For someone in the White House to criticize Dan Coats for speaking truth to power is unfair,” the intelligence official said."

Precisely, what Washington needs far more of.  People willing to courageously speak up.  Before too late.

The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump plans to revoke the security clearances of a handful of former officials who have been critical of his rhetoric and actions toward Russia, the White House announced Monday, in a move that immediately prompted claims of political retaliation."

That's all it is.  No First Amendment.  No freedom of speech.  The Trump nazi intends to control all thought.  Enforce his will.  Tolerate no dissent.  A nazi fuhrer.

"White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the officials being examined are former CIA director John Brennan; former FBI director James B. Comey; former CIA director Michael V. Hayden; former national security adviser Susan E. Rice; former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.; and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.  “The president is exploring these mechanisms to remove security clearances because they’ve politicized and, in some cases, actually monetized their public service and their security clearances in making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia,” Sanders told reporters at a regular press briefing."

Horse shit.  No more than that.  A narcissistic nazi fuhrer is incapable of tolerating any dissent.  Surrounds himself with only yes men and women.

"She added: “The fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence.”

Jesus Christ.  Isn't that precisely what your nazi fuhrer is doing, Ms. Sanders?

"The move came shortly after Trump met with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who said earlier Monday that he planned to ask the president to revoke Brennan’s clearance. The former Obama administration CIA director last week used the word “treasonous” to describe Trump’s performance at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, saying it showed he was “wholly in the pocket of Putin.”

Brennan wouldn't want to confuse anyone with the truth, would he?

"Democrats immediately criticized the move as an attempt to punish former officials for leveling criticism at Trump.  “This is what totalitarianism looks like,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said in a tweet.  A member of the Senate Republican leadership voiced skepticism of the White House’s actions as well.  “I don’t know whether they’ve been abusing their security clearance at all,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Republican in the chamber. “That’s a very serious allegation. I want to see what the results are.”

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7-27-18

Noose figuratively tightens.  ABC News reports:

"Investigators discovered recordings made by Michael Cohen that include then-candidate Donald Trump talking about making a payment to a former Playboy model, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.  The recordings were found as part of the raid on Michael Cohen’s home office and hotel carried out earlier this year in New York, the sources told ABC News.  The New York Times first reported the news of the recordings.  The Playboy model in question is reportedly Karen McDougal, who has previously claimed that she had an affair with Trump. The White House previously denied McDougal's claims."

How much longer can you go on denying the truth, Mr. 'President?"

"McDougal, who was Playmate of the Month in December 1997 and Playmate of the Year in 1998, alleges that she had a 10-month romantic affair with Trump in 2006. After being silent for more than a decade, McDougal started speaking about it earlier this year, first opening up in an interview with The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow in February.   McDougal told CNN's Anderson Cooper in March that her first intimate encounter with Trump came in June 2006, soon after she met the New York real-estate tycoon at the Playboy mansion during a taping there of his reality series, "The Apprentice." At the time, Trump had recently married the now-first lady Melania Trump, and the couple had an infant son.  "I was attracted to him," McDougal said. "He's a nice looking man. I liked his charisma."

Later on in this edition, there is another article vis a vis Cohen's release of a tape he recorded unbeknownst to Trump on this matter.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Think Putin's the only problem?  Get this.  NBC reports:

"Iranian hackers have laid the groundwork to carry out extensive cyberattacks on U.S. and European infrastructure and on private companies, and the U.S. is warning allies, hardening its defenses and weighing a counterattack, say multiple senior U.S. officials.  Despite Iran having positioned cyber weapons to carry out attacks, there is no suggestion an offensive operation is imminent, according to the officials, who requested anonymity in order to speak.  Cyber threats have been a major theme of the 2018 Aspen Security Forum, with administration officials from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, FBI Director Chris Wray, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein all warning of the pervasive danger from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.  In Aspen Thursday, Coats said that Russia was a more active cyber foe than Iran or China — "by far" the most aggressive, he said.  While Russia may be the most aggressive, the U.S. officials said Iran is making preparations that would enable denial-of-service attacks against thousands of electric grids, water plants, and health care and technology companies in the U.S., Germany, the U.K. and other countries in Europe and the Middle East."

We're too damned connected.  Why does a refrigerator need an Internet connection?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Think politicians aren't greedily lining their pockets?  ABC News reports:

"House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., used funds from New PAC, his leadership political action committee, to purchase steak dinners, limo rides, and nearly $15,000 in Boston Celtics basketball games tickets, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.  The expenditures were first reported by the Fresno Bee and do not appear to break any federal laws."

Is he reporting it as income?

"A leadership PAC like Nunes' New PAC is a separate pot of money from a lawmaker's own campaign fund, intended to help politicians strategically finance other candidates' campaigns. In recent years, however, leadership PACs have increasingly been used to pay for lavish trips, meals and hotel stays, rather than to support political allies."

Zero-sum game.  Winner-take-all.

"Nunes’ New PAC expenditures have been particularly conspicuous. FEC filings show that New PAC spent a total of $14,638 at TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics, on three occasions between February and May 2017.  New PAC dropped an additional $3,593 at the 4-star Omni Parker House hotel on May 8, the same day that the fund purchased tickets for the Celtics' playoffs against the Washington Wizards.  2018 quarterly filings for New PAC show a number of more recent luxury expenditures. On March 9, bills at seven different restaurants in Las Vegas totaled over $7,000.  Among them: $2,365 at The Dorsey, a cocktail bar offering to serve Dom Perignon and other fine liquors directly from a disco ball as part of its "Disco Punch Bowl Pairings" special.  Exactly a month ago, on June 19, the PAC charged $5,075 to Gold Coast Limousine service and $4,408 at the Sea Venture hotel in Pismo Beach, Calif.  Several restaurants and luxury hotels show up repeatedly on the congressman’s filings. New PAC has spent over $10,000 since July of last year in frequent visits to The Prime Rib D.C., an upscale steakhouse. The restaurant boasts tuxedoed waitstaff intended to “evoke the elegant supper clubs of 1940’s Manhattan.”  The PAC is funded by typical GOP donors such as Koch Industries."

They're all bought and paid for.  Both major political parties.  Shameless hucksters.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

The president and his henchmen are ignoring asylum law.  NPR reports:

"In May, Lourdes walked across the bridge from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, and requested asylum. The first step is an interview with an asylum officer.  "I told him that I have the evidence on me," Lourdes said, through an interpreter. She told the asylum officer about the scar on her arm, and the four missing fingers on her left hand — all evidence, she says, of a brutal attack by a gang in her native Honduras.  But the asylum officer rejected her claim.  "I don't know what happened," Lourdes said. "I don't know how I failed."

She didn't.  The officer ignored the law.  Trump and his henchmen believe they are the law.  A nazi dictator and his henchmen.

"Across the southwest border, immigration lawyers say they're seeing an alarming jump in the number of asylum-seekers turned away at the earliest stage of the process — what's known as the credible fear interview.  "That was shocking to have received a negative credible fear result," said Linda Rivas, the executive director of the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, which is representing Lourdes and other asylum-seekers."

Our nazi president and his henchmen are not only ignoring but violating the oaths of office they took to uphold the United States Constitution and rule of law.

"For now, Lourdes is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its facility in El Paso. We're not using her full name because she's afraid the gang might find her again.  Back in 2012, Lourdes says, she owned a small clothing store in Honduras. A local gang tried to extort money from her — money she didn't have.  "Four people came into my store, with their faces covered," Lourdes said. They beat her, and burned her arm with acid, she said, and damaged her left hand so severely that four fingers had to be amputated.  Lourdes says she reported the incident to the police in Honduras, but they never followed up. She went into hiding for five years, she says. But when she went home to visit her mother the gang found her and threatened to kill her. That's when she decided to flee to the U.S.  In the past, immigration lawyers say, Lourdes and others fleeing gang or domestic violence would likely have passed this first interview — and gone on to present their cases, eventually, to an immigration judge. But those odds have changed.  "Even people with pretty severe issues having happened to them in their home country are still coming up with negative 'credible fear' results," Rivas said."

Clearly, the 'president' and his henchmen have disgraced themselves.  Follow in the footsteps of their mentors, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini.  Cannot be trusted to enforce the law.  To say nothing of the United States Constitution.

"Immigration lawyers say they've noted a shift starting last month, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a sweeping decision that reshapes who can qualify for asylum. That decision was reinforced last week with concrete guidance to asylum officers, directing them to reject more claims based on "private crime"-- in particular, domestic abuse or gang violence."

Raw nazism.  The 'president,' his racist AG Sessions nazi, and all their henchmen are traitors.

"Immigrants' rights advocates say credible fear interviews can be a matter of life and death.  "The consequences are dire for people who are turned around," says Eleanor Acer, senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First. "These people will be returned to persecution without even having the chance to have their claims for asylum assessed in U.S. immigration courts."

Raw nazism.

"Immigrant rights' advocates argue that the Trump administration's tougher guidelines means legitimate asylum-seekers are being rejected as well."

Certainly, the intention of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"They're also concerned that the new guidelines explicitly instruct asylum officers to consider whether an immigrant crossed the border illegally before making their asylum claim. That's likely to be challenged in court, said Eleanor Acer with Human Rights First."

Needs to be.  Nazi government needs to be challenged every step of the way.

"But for people who are summarily deported," Acer said, "their fates will be sealed already."

That's right.  Legacy of the Trump nazi and his henchmen.

"That may include many of the parents that the Trump administration separated from their children. A federal judge in California has ordered the government to reunite those families by July 26th. But immigration lawyers fear many of those families will be quickly deported back to their home countries. In its latest update to the court, the government said that 863 parents awaiting reunification already have a final order of removal."

Time to ask the French to remove their gift from New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty.  No longer means anything in Nazi America.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

The following sound like a president in his right mind?  The Washington Times reports:

“Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) — almost unheard of,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client — totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!”

Had a warrant.  Forget?

"The New York Times reported Friday that federal investigators have an audio tape of Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen two months before the 2016 election discussing a payment to former Playboy bunny Karen McDougal, who alleges an affair with Mr. Trump in 2006. No payment was made."

That right?

"Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani confirmed Friday that Mr. Trump had discussed payments to Ms. McDougal with Mr. Cohen on the recording. He told The Times that the recording was less than two minutes long and that Mr. Trump did not know he was being recorded, asserting the president had done nothing wrong."

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Elizabeth Warren continues to rattle the cage of the Nazi Right.  The Washington Times reports:

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Americans this week that she is a staunch supporter of free markets — provided “rules” are crafted to control “the rich and powerful.”

If not, they run and own it all.  Zero-sum game.  Winner-take-all.  Problem is this system is basically laissez-faire.  That is, corporate world is free to do as it pleases.  Usually, with impunity.  Wells Fargo, proof positive.

"The Massachusetts Democrat told MSNBC that low unemployment and high consumer confidence should not fool voters into thinking the economy is strong because the nation’s “lived experience” has plateaued or worsened under President Trump."

It has.  Will get worse as Trump's trade war continues.

“I believe in markets right down to my toes,” she said when asked why democratic socialists are stars within the party. “But I also believe markets have to have rules. Otherwise rich and powerful just keep sucking up all the value and everybody else ends up eating dirt. … I think that big parts of this economy are not working for the American people.”

Truer words, never spoken.  LOL.

"The senator then said that corporations “don’t share” with employees when they are doing well."

Certainly, haven't to date.  Quite the opposite.  At a time of record profits, corporate cash reserves.  Unsustainable.

“The way I see this, is the lived experiences of most hard-working Americans across this country are not improving under the Trump administration,” she told anchor Stephanie Ruhle on Thursday. “What’s happening to them is they’re still stuck with flat incomes and rising core expenses. And the Trump administration is helping drive up those expenses.”

That's right.  Zero-sum game.  Winner-take-all.  As intended by Trump and his fellow nazis.

"Mrs. Warren then blasted the Trump administration for enabling “for-profit colleges that cheat our young people.”

Trump certainly lined his pockets off his own failed shell of a 'university.'  Cost him some $25 million, forget?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

More of the same old shit.  NPR reports:

"Trump administration lawyers are defending their new rules on how campuses should handle cases of sexual assault. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued the new guidance last fall after scrapping Obama-era rules that she said were forcing schools to violate the due process rights of the accused. Survivors' advocates filed a federal lawsuit shortly after, arguing DeVos' replacement guidelines discriminate against accusers and discourage them from reporting assaults."

Precisely, the intention of DeVos and her henchmen.

"The message that is sent is that the administration believes that women who report sexual harassment and violence are liars," says Jennifer Reisch, legal director of Equal Rights Advocates, one of three groups that brought the lawsuit. She spoke to reporters Thursday after a hearing on the lawsuit at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco."

Certainly the message sent.

"DeVos' interim guidelines allow schools to demand a higher standard of evidence that would make it tougher to prove an assault, permit schools to hear appeals only from the accused, and let investigations go on for an indefinite amount of time."

Nazi justice.

"None of that was allowed in the Obama era."

For damned good reason.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

More of the same old shit.  The 'president' doesn't seem to understand the right to protest is embedded in the First Amendment.  The Washington Times reports:

"President Trump blasted the NFL and high-paid Commissioner Roger Goodell Friday night for halting implementation of its policy that requires players to stand for the national anthem.  “The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again - can’t believe it!” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!”

Tough shit.

"The president was responding to the NFL’s announcement Thursday that it would freeze its new policy requiring players to remain standing during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner, if they’re on the field.  The NFL Players Association challenged the policy last week, filing a grievance against the league."

As well they should have.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

More insanity.  NPR reports:

"President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on every product imported from China, dialing up the pressure in the growing trade dispute between the world's two economic superpowers.  In an interview with CNBC broadcast this morning, Trump said, "We're down a tremendous amount," referring to the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China. "I'm ready to go to 500."

Trump has lost his mind.

"The U.S. imported $505 billion worth of goods from China in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. exported $130 billion worth of goods to China.  In the interview, which was recorded Thursday, Trump also indicated his willingness to endure stock market volatility as he pursues an aggressive trade agenda with China. Asked about the potential of a market downturn over his trade policies, he said: "If it does, it does. Look, I'm not doing this for politics."

Lost your mind, Donny.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Once again, Trump demonstrated egregious unfitness for office.  CBS News reports:

"President Trump warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani early Monday that he will face dire consequences for threatening the United States. Mr. Trump tweeted in all capital letters about the dangers to Iran of making hostile threats after Rouhani said Sunday, "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

    "To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018"

This man is not fit for office.  Presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"Within hours, Iranian state-owned news agency IRNA dismissed Mr. Trump's tweet, describing it as a "passive reaction" to Rouhani's remarks.  The agency, a government mouthpiece, also said Monday that Mr. Trump's comment was only mimicking and copying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had in the past warned the West to "never threaten an Iranian."

What makes this particularly dangerous is the fact there is now a lunatic running both Iran and the United States.  Before Trump, the president of the United States could be relied on not to match the insanity of the Iranian regime.  No longer.

"Mr. Trump earlier this year pulled the United States out of the international deal meant to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and ordered increased American sanctions."

Big mistake.  Proof positive Trump's inexperience would be an enormous problem vis a vis international relations.

"Rouhani had warned Mr. Trump Sunday to stop "playing with the lion's tail" and threatening Iran, "or else you will regret it."  Mr. Trump has suggested Iranian leaders are "going to call me and say 'let's make a deal'" but Iran has rejected talks."

Further proof of Trump's naiveté, aching inexperience.

"Rouhani has previously lashed out against Mr. Trump for threatening to re-impose the sanctions, as well as for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and banning travel to the U.S. from certain Muslim-majority countries.  Mr. Trump's early Monday tweet suggested he has little patience with the trading of hostile messages with Iran.  Mr. Trump has a history of firing off heated tweets that seem to quickly escalate long-standing disputes with leaders of nations at odds with the U.S.  In the case of North Korea, the public war of words cooled quickly and gradually led to the high profile summit and denuclearization talks."

To date, turns out to be no more than symbolism over substance.  Empty rhetoric.

"Of the tweet by Mr. Trump, the Reuters news service says, "The escalation in rhetoric came as the Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter."

Not going to happen.  Certainly, hasn't since the Shah was overthrown four decades ago.  Conditions likely to worsen now that the Trump nazi and his henchmen have granted the Israeli aggressor carte blanche.

The Washington Post reports:

"Iranian officials accused the White House of waging “psychological warfare” and vowed Monday to resist any U.S. efforts to destabilize their government, after stark warnings by President Trump's against perceived Iranian threats.  The rapid backlash from Tehran marked some of the harshest exchanges between Iran’s leadership and Washington since the Trump administration exited the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May and moved to reimpose sanctions on Iran.  It also showed the widening gulf between the United States and other world powers that were part of the nuclear accord, which eased international economic pressures on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.  European nations and others are now struggling to keep the nuclear accord alive and maintain economic ties with Iran."

Think Putin isn't gloating?

"The United States is also set to reimpose harsh sanctions after withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran and world powers earlier this year. That agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, curbed elements of Iran's atomic energy program that raised proliferation concerns in exchange for an end to restrictions on Iran's oil exports and banking system.  But Trump has slammed the accord, calling it “the worst deal ever.”

Was the best Obama could get.  Trump won't even get that.  LOL.

"Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, said Monday that Pompeo's speech, in which he likened Iran's rulers to the Mafia, “was hypocritical and absurd.”  “These remarks are a clear example of [U.S.] interference in Iran's internal affairs,” Tasnim quoted Qassemi as saying."

Certainly, and grudgingly, has a point, doesn't he?

"But the harshest words came from Iran's hard-liners, including Revolutionary Guard commanders.  “We will never abandon our revolutionary beliefs. We will resist pressure from enemies,” the head of Iran's paramilitary Basij force, Brig. Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, said Monday, the Reuters news agency reported. The comments were carried by the Iranian Students’ News Agency.  “Trump cannot do a damn thing against Iran,” he said. He dismissed Trump’s salvos as “psychological warfare.”

The above is certainly not the worst of it.  The following is far more ominous:

"Another warning came from Mohsen Rezaei, chairman of Iran's Expediency Council, an advisory body to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.  He said Trump is the one who should be cautious, warning that thousands of U.S. troops in the region are “under Iran’s blade” — an apparent reference to Iranian proxy forces in places such as Iraq and Syria. The pro-Iranian groups also include Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has waged battles with Israel in the past.  Military experts have long warned that Iran could use such militias to attack U.S. troops in places such as Iraq and Syria. Skirmishes this year between Israel and the Revolutionary Guard and its proxies have already raised the specter of war."

Trump and his henchmen are not carefully thinking this through.

"Another military commander, Kiomars Heidari, reiterated late Sunday Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for about 30 percent of the world’s oil tanker traffic, according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.  The strait “should either be safe for everybody or unsafe for everybody,” Tasnim quoted Heidari as saying."

We're already f--ked by Big Oil.  Gouged.  At a time of record profits, cash reserves.  Now, this.  A lunatic in the Oval Office.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Deception runs rampant in the Trump regime.  NPR reports:

"For five years, Beck Dorey-Stein was Barack Obama's "professional stalker," she says. "His creeper."  As a former White House stenographer — a job she found on Craigslist of all places — Dorey-Stein was part of a team responsible for going anywhere the president went, recording his every public utterance and then transcribing it for posterity.  "Especially whenever he spoke with press, he made sure, just like the previous presidents did, that there was a stenographer in the room so that there was no miscommunication or confusion about what exactly was said," says Dorey-Stein. She writes about the experience in her new memoir, From the Corner of the Oval."

Truth is unimportant to Trump.  Makes up his own as he goes.

"In an interview with Noel King for NPR's Morning Edition, Dorey-Stein says "everything changed" with the inauguration of President Trump, whose team "didn't know that stenographers existed." She recounts how during the transition, it took her boss multiple tries before she was even able to get past a young press wrangler to introduce herself to the incoming West Wing staff.  Things didn't improve much from there. In a New York Times op-ed published last week, Dorey-Stein writes about how Stephanie Grisham, now the communications director for the first lady, told a colleague that White House stenographers would not be needed often, because "there would be video."

Think that good enough?

"This seems like a fair point," says Dorey-Stein, "unless you really know audio." The audio that's taken from media video might change or get trimmed during the editing process, she says. "We see that with music videos, so the idea of it just being like, 'Oh, of course, we can just have this on video,' it's not the same."  "We type up our transcripts from our audio, so it hasn't been tampered with and it not only goes to the press office, the press, but also the presidential archive," she says. "That's really important to have an accurate recording at all times, especially when the press is involved, just to make sure that we are recording the truth and that no one has complicated that."

Certainly, not how the Trump nazi sees things.  Makes his own truth up as he goes along.

"The importance of that type of record has been underscored in recent days by a string of controversies involving comments made by Trump. On his visit earlier this month to the United Kingdom, for example, the president denied making disparaging comments about British Prime Minister Theresa May in an interview with the tabloid The Sun, even though the The Sun released a recording of the remarks.  Then, last Wednesday, the White House was forced to clarify an exchange between the president and a reporter at the start of a Cabinet meeting. Asked whether he believes Russia is no longer targeting U.S. elections, the president shook his head and said "no." Later, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that his "no" meant that the president was not taking questions from reporters."

'Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit,' right, Mr. 'President?'

"Dorey-Stein says that under Trump, White House stenographers have less access to the president."

Think it's not by design?

"In her recent op-ed, she writes about how she watched "with disbelief" as Bill O'Reilly was summoned to the Oval Office for a private conversation with the president ahead of an interview by the former Fox News host in the opening weeks of the administration.  "In my five years with President Barack Obama, off-the-record discussions with reporters happened after work hours — not for an hour in the middle of the workday, and certainly not before an interview," she writes in the op-ed. "When a president spoke on the record with a reporter, his staff made sure to have a stenographer present so there could be an official White House transcript, just in case the reporter came out with an inaccurate quotation."

Prior to Trump, historical record was extremely important to all incumbents.  No longer.  Trump lies as he goes.  Invents his own truth.  Why would a congenital liar want a stenographer to figuratively hold his feet to the fire?

"In her conversation with NPR, Dorey-Stein says that Trump "doesn't like microphones near his face, which makes it very difficult to record him."  "He's doing the American people a disservice," she says. "It's quite possible President Trump is actually doing it intentionally, because if there was a record of what happened, it would be hard for him to muddle the truth."

Think she isn't on to something?  LOL.

"The president has had the latitude "to walk his words back," she says, "because he doesn't have a recording ... It's much easier to muddle the truth when you don't have a transcript."

Indeed.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

Another non sequitur by the Trump nazi.  The Washington Post reports:

"President Trump on Monday made a fresh call to end the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, citing the release over the weekend of a previously classified application to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, who was under suspicion by the FBI of being a Russian agent.  In a series of tweets, Trump falsely claimed that Mueller’s investigation was prompted by the surveillance.

"The counterintelligence investigation by the FBI into Russian election interference began months before the Obama administration sought the court surveillance order on Page in October 2016. Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017, after Trump fired James B. Comey as FBI director."

CBS News reports:

"Sen. Marco Rubio is refuting President Trump's latest claims that his campaign was being "illegally" spied on following the FBI's release of heavily redacted documents detailing the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.   The Florida Republican, speaking with "Face the Nation" on Sunday, said that "anything and everything" he's seen while serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee indicates the FBI "did not spy on the campaign."

"You have an individual here who has openly bragged about his ties to Russia and Russians and he's never -- I don't think Carter Page has ever said he's a spy, but he has certainly talked about it," Rubio said. When asked if the information collected from Page using a FISA court order was justified, Rubio told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan that the FBI had "reason to believe" Page was a person of interest given his openness about his contacts with Russians."

Think Rubio isn't on Trump's shit list?  Consider the following:

"I think that's different from spying on a campaign, in fact, that the Trump campaign has said on numerous occasions that Carter Page was not a major player in their campaign," Rubio said. "So, you know, based on that statement alone you would conclude that yes, they were looking into this one individual but an individual the campaign themselves said was not a big part of their efforts. Therefore I wouldn't consider that spying on a campaign."

Think Rubio hasn't rattled Trump's cage?

"Rubio's comments come in contrast with the president's tweets Sunday morning, in which he claimed that Page was surveilled "for the political gain of Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC." He claimed that the documents "with little doubt that the Department of Justice and FBI misled the courts."

    "Looking more & more like the Trump Campaign for President was illegally being spied upon (surveillance) for the political gain of Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC. Ask her how that worked out - she did better with Crazy Bernie. Republicans must get tough now. An illegal Scam!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018"

Good to see Republicans are beginning to challenge the Trump nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk?  Get what you truly deserve.

7-27-18

All a sham.  The Washington Post reports:

"In a quest to shrink national monuments last year, senior Interior Department officials dismissed evidence these public lands boosted tourism and spurred archaeological discoveries, according to documents the department released this month and retracted a day later."