The Commentariat -- May 19, 2018
Afternoon Update:
** Junior, Busted Again. Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times: "Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr.... One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor. The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months -- past the election and well into President Trump's first year in office.... Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, [headed a company] which employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media.... Donald Trump Jr. responded approvingly..., and after those initial offers of help, Mr. Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers -- meeting frequently with Jared Kushner ... and Michael T. Flynn.... After Mr. Trump was elected, Mr. Nader paid Mr. Zamel a large sum of money, described by one associate as up to $2 million. There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment.... The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign...." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: How come the Saudis didn't give Junior & Jared shiny gold medals, too?
... Marcy Wheeler: "Today's NYT scoop revealing that the Trump campaign colluded not just with Russians, but also Saudis, Emirates, and Israelis explain why the discovery of the later meetings was so dangerous: because it would reveal other efforts Trump made to sell out American foreign policy." Mrs. McC: Wheeler ties the meeting to Devin Nunes' "unmasking" hoo-hah in a way that is somewhat opaque to me. ...
... Emily Stewart of Vox: "There are multiple reasons the report matters. It indicates that it wasn't just Russia that was offering to help the Trump campaign ahead of the 2016 election. It also raises questions about what sort of repayment the Middle East countries in question might have received for their help. And it demonstrates the Trump campaign's reckless -- if not nefarious -- attitude toward campaign laws in the United States.... During the 2016 campaign, [George] Nader visited Moscow at least twice as a confidential emissary from Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, and he helped to arrange a meeting in the Seychelles between [Erik] Prince and a Russian businessman close to Vladimir Putin that [Robert] Mueller has also been probing. Companies tied to Zamel have connections to Russia as well." ...
... Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "... on November 30, 2017, [Erik Prince] told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, under oath, that he had no formal communication or contact with the Trump campaign, other than occasionally sending 'papers' on foreign policy matters to Steve Bannon.... 'So there was no formal communication or contact with the campaign?' Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) asked Prince during his interview by the Intelligence Committee. 'Correct,' Prince responded.... Prince also told the committee that he met Trump Jr. 'at a campaign event,' and at Trump Tower 'during the transition.' He did not mention the meeting with Trump Jr. and [George] Nader.... Prince [also told the Committee] a meeting he attended in Seychelles during the presidential transition with a Russian financier close to Vladimir Putin was an unplanned encounter. Nader, who is cooperating with [Robert] Mueller, has told investigators that he arranged for Prince to travel to the Seychelles to meet Kirill Dmitriev, the manager of a Russian sovereign wealth fund, after giving Prince information about Dmitriev, according to ABC." ...
Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "A personalized visit to Joshua Tree National Park. A spin through the West Wing, guided by White House staffers. And a trip to the top of the Lincoln Memorial, which is closed to the public. Such VIP tours of National Park Service sites, some at the height of the tourist season, came at the request of either Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke or his wife, Lola, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Several excursions were scheduled specifically for friends and acquaintances. Under both Democratic and Republican presidents, top Interior officials have long given lawmakers and White House officials tours of Park Service sites and other courtesies at the agency's disposal. Several Obama administration officials -- including Vice President Joe Biden -- stayed for free at the Brinkerhoff Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, only to reimburse the government later when their visits came under fire after a FOIA disclosure." Among the recipients of these VIP tours: "friends from England" & Lola's boat broker.
Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against Fox News filed by a former on-air host, Andrea Tantaros, who had alleged that the network retaliated against her after she complained about being sexually harassed.... On Friday, however, Judge George B. Daniels of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York wrote that Ms. Tantaros's allegations were 'based primarily on speculation and conjecture.' In dismissing the suit, the judge noted that Ms. Tantaros 'fails to adequately make out the basic elements of her claims.'" Mrs. McC: Well, that fits. Tantaros' entire political commentary was "based primarily on speculation and conjecture." That is of course Fox "News"' fundamental modus operandi, but apparently Fox attorneys know it doesn't work so well in court.
*****
Julie Davis & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "On Friday, Mr. Trump once again expressed heartbreak and frustration about a deadly school shooting that killed 10 people at a high school in Santa Fe, Tex., and said his administration would do 'everything in our power' to keep guns away from those who should not have them.... There was little indication that Mr. Trump's White House intended to make a new and aggressive push for gun restrictions.... After 17 students and teachers were shot to death at a Florida high school in February, President Trump vowed to challenge both the National Rifle Association and his Republican allies in Congress by taking major action to improve school safety and impose new restrictions on guns. In the months afterward, Mr. Trump backed down on most of those promises, telling N.R.A. members this month that their Second Amendment rights would 'never ever be under siege as long as I am your president.'... In October, the president also vowed to prevent a repeat of the massacre at a concert in Las Vegas. Since he took office, there have been mass shootings at a congressional baseball practice, a church in Texas, a Waffle House and more than a dozen other places."
Bob Mueller, Take Note:
Articles of Impeachment adopted by the House Judiciary Committee on July 27, 1974.... Article 2. Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon..., has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purposed of these agencies.... In disregard of the rule of law, he knowingly misused the executive power by interfering with agencies of the executive branch..., in violation of his duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Some administration officials say several of Trump's attacks aimed at Amazon have come in response to articles in The Post that he didn't like. -- Washington Post ...
... POTUS* Tries to Use Office to Punish Perceived Enemies. Damian Paletta & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages, according to three people familiar with their conversations, a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars. Brennan has so far resisted Trump's demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission, the three people said. She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries. Despite these presentations, Trump has continued to level criticism at Amazon. And last month, his critiques culminated in the signing of an executive order mandating a government review of the financially strapped Postal Service that could lead to major changes in the way it charges Amazon and others for package delivery." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... "An Unusually Outrageous Abuse of Power." Steve Benen: "Donald Trump has reportedly been 'obsessed' with Amazon.com for quite a while, apparently because the online retailer is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post. It's like a political bank shot of presidential contempt: the Republican hates the newspaper's coverage, which leads Trump to hate its owner, which then leads the president to hate its owner's other businesses. To that end, Trump has argued, publicly and privately, that Amazon is a tax-dodging company that unfairly exploits the U.S. Postal Service.... If it's true that this president used his office to try to punish a company he dislikes personally, that's an unusually outrageous abuse of power. Indeed, the closer one looks, the more unsettling the story appears: Trump disapproves of one of the nation's largest and most important news organizations, and he's reportedly acted on those frustrations by urging the U.S. Postmaster General to penalize one of his perceived enemies. Not to put too fine a point on this, but in the United States, a president can't use his office to retaliate against private businesses whose owners hurt his feelings." ...
... "Old Man Still Confused about What Exactly the Post Office Does." Bryan Menegus of Gizmodo: "All an average person needs to know is that mail goes in a mailbox, and, with relative expedience, it shows up where it's addressed to go. Donald Trump, being the president, is not most people. That makes his unique ignorance about how the agency works all the more embarrassing, both for us as a nation, and ... for current Postmaster General Megan Brennan.... The Post reports that Brennan eventually tried to explain the non-issue to the president using visual aids, out of we imagine had to be sheer exasperation: 'She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.' Unfortunately we have to conclude the attempt to get Trump to bow out of the world's dumbest pissing match was ultimately a failure."
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Adam Goldman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump accused the F.B.I. on Friday, without evidence, of sending a spy to secretly infiltrate his 2016 campaign 'for political purposes' even before the bureau had any inkling of the 'phony Russia hoax.' In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. The informant, an American academic who teaches in Britain, made contact late that summer with one campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, according to people familiar with the matter. He also met repeatedly in the ensuing months with the other aide, Carter Page, who was also under F.B.I. scrutiny for his ties to Russia.... Over the past two days, Mr. Trump has used speculative news reports about the informant, mostly from conservative media, to repeatedly assail the Russia investigation.... No evidence has emerged that the informant acted improperly when the F.B.I. asked for help in gathering information on the former campaign advisers, or that agents veered from the F.B.I.'s investigative guidelines and began a politically motivated inquiry, which would be illegal." ...
... AND There's This. The informant also had contacts with [Michael] Flynn. The two met in February 2014, when Mr. Flynn was running the Defense Intelligence Agency and attended the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, an academic forum for former spies and researchers that meets a few times a year.... The source was alarmed by the general's apparent closeness with a Russian woman who was also in attendance. The concern was strong enough that it prompted another person to pass on a warning to the American authorities that Mr. Flynn could be compromised by Russian intelligence.... ...>
... Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "In recent days, Trump and his allies have escalated their claims that the FBI source improperly spied on the campaign.... There is no evidence to suggest someone was planted with the campaign. The source in question engaged in a months-long pattern of seeking out and meeting three different Trump campaign officials.... In late summer, the professor met with Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis for coffee in Northern Virginia, offering to provide foreign-policy expertise to the Trump effort." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: It's worth noting that the NYT & WashPo have effectively outted the FBI source. The Times notes, "The informant is well known in Washington circles...," and the WashPo reports, "has confirmed the identity of the FBI source who assisted the investigation, but is not reporting his name following warnings from U.S. intelligence officials that exposing him could endanger him or his contacts." Well, the source & those contacts are in danger now. The Washington Examiner names him, and so does Ken Dilanian of NBC News. ...
... ** Asha Rangappa in a Washington Post op-ed explains the difference between FBI criminal investigations & counterintelligence ops: "Ironically, the FBI's apparent attempt to protect the campaign by investigating Russia's efforts quietly is now being weaponized against it. Accusations that the FBI was 'spying' on the Trump campaign -- rather than spying on foreign spies, which is its job -- erase the important distinctions between counterintelligence and criminal investigations. I also displays a shocking ignorance of the devastating consequences to our national security if the Justice Department hands over the information that Nunes is demanding: 'Burning' the FBI's purported source and exposing how it obtained intelligence against Russia's efforts only helps Russia cover its tracks, change tactics and improve its future operations against the United States. The Trump administration's assault against the FBI's efforts to assess a national security threat posed by suspected foreign agents only raises more questions about what went on in 2016. Trump ... should be glad to know that the FBI appears to have been trying to thwart a hostile country's efforts to infiltrate his campaign." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I recall reading that way back when Trump first began getting national security briefings that briefers warned him that Russian agents were attempting to infiltrate his campaign. Trump & Co.'s attacks on counterintelligence agents are unconscionable. Trump's attacks should be added to articles of impeachment.
Donald CliffClavin McNasty is still attacking Andy McCabe: "Why isn’t disgraced FBI official Andrew McCabe being investigated for the $700,000 Crooked Hillary Democrats in Virginia, led by Clinton best friend Terry M (under FBI investigation that they killed) gave to McCabe's wife in her run for office? Then dropped case on Clinton!"
Andrew Desiderio of the Daily Beast: "Three top senators on Friday requested rare multi-agency inspector-general investigations into the Trump administration's failure to fully implement congressionally mandated sanctions against Russia. In a letter addressed to the inspectors general of the State Department, Treasury Department and Intelligence Community, the Democratic lawmakers ... Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) ... said the administration has not complied with the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed overwhelmingly and signed into law last year in part to punish Russia for its election-meddling and its incursions into eastern Europe." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Cohen Tried to Shake Down Marks Right up until the FBI Raided His office. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The stakes for Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen certainly changed when Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti released records showing that Cohen's shell corporation Essential Consultants, LLC, was paid by major companies. But the stakes got worse when companies said Cohen was the one approaching them about various consulting opportunities.... You can add a recent meeting Cohen reportedly had in Florida with a Qatari official ... the minister of economy & commerce ... to the list of now-questionable activity. It reportedly occurred days before the April 9, 2018 FBI raid of Cohen's home, office and hotel room.... The Qatar Embassy said Cohen requested the meeting but didn't say if it took place."
David Stern of Politico: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has been meeting over the last year with a Ukrainian lawmaker at the center of a controversial plan to end his country's conflict with Russia.... Andrii Artemenko told Politico that FBI agents had peppered him with 'assorted questions' over 'at least' two interviews about his 'meetings, dealings and the questions discussed with various levels of the American political establishment.'... In total, Artemenko said, he was presented with a list of more than 140 questions and is now scheduled to appear under oath before a grand jury on June 1. Artemenko has become a figure of interest in Mueller's Russia probe because of his attempts to back-channel a deal to ... Donald Trump that would have had his administration drop sanctions against Russia imposed by the Obama White House.... Artemenko has drawn additional scrutiny because he attempted to shuttle this plan to the White House via two Trump associates now of interest to investigators -- Trump business associate Felix Sater and Michael Cohen...."
Mark Hosenball & Nathan Layne of Reuters: "U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed a key assistant of long-time Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone, two people with knowledge of the matter said, the latest sign that Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election is increasingly focusing on Stone. The subpoena was recently served on John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone. Kakanis has been briefly questioned by the FBI on the topics of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the WikiLeaks website, its founder Julian Assange, and the hacker or hackers who call themselves Guccifer 2.0, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said. Mueller has not scheduled a grand jury appearance for Kakanis, the person said."
Digby in Salon: "Trump's defenders are prepared to argue that if a presidential candidate conspires with a foreign adversary to sabotage a rival's campaign -- and secretly offer favors for the benefit of that adversary -- it's not a crime. That's the way the game is played. Richard Nixon famously said, 'If the president does it, it's not illegal.' It appears that Trump is taking that concept to a whole other level, especially when you consider he wasn't president when this stuff was happening: 'If the right presidential candidate does it, it is positively virtuous.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Rudy Is Saying Stuff
Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "... Rudolph W. Giuliani said Friday that he has been told 'off the record' that there was at least one informant for the FBI or Justice Department embedded in Trump's presidential campaign, but he admitted that he and the president do not know whether that's true. Trump alleged in a Thursday morning tweet that during the Obama administration, the FBI placed 'an embedded informant' inside his presidential campaign to improperly spy on him.... On Friday morning, the president tweeted this quote that he attributed to Fox Business Network anchor David Asman: 'Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn't commit.' Trump then added his own commentary: 'Really bad stuff!' Later Friday morning, Trump repeated his allegation that the FBI 'implanted' someone in his campaign. But this time he added a caveat, 'If true.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Rudy Giuliani just made a big two-word concession: 'He can.' That's what Giuliani said Friday morning when asked by CNN's Chris Cuomo about whether a president can obstruct justice. And it contradicts the case that President Trump's now-former lawyer John Dowd had made. Dowd told Axios in December: 'The president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case.' And there is some legitimate debate on that point. But apparently Giuliani disagrees. Trump's own lawyer said Friday that his client is not immune from charges of obstructing justice -- which is clearly the most troubling part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation for Trump personally." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Only Democratic Presidents Have to Comply with Subpoenas. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "... Rudy Giuliani went on an angry tirade against Chris Cuomo on Friday after the CNN host played an old clip of him saying that presidents must comply with subpoenas to testify. During the CNN interview, Giuliani claimed that back in the 1990s, he simply argued that former President Bill Clinton couldn't ignore subpoenas to hand over documents as part of the Whitewater probe. The former New York mayor then said [to Cuomo] that he would never have argued that a sitting president must comply with a subpoena asking him to testify. Cuomo then rolled the clip of Giuliani being interviewed by Charlie Rose in which Rose directly asked him about whether a president must obey a subpoena to testify -- and Giuliani said he did. Giuliani at this point began ranting at Cuomo and accused him of being 'unfair' to him...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Surprise! Come on Down, Bob, You Just Won a Place in the Rotating Cabinet Sweepstakes! Eileen Sullivan & Dave Philipps of the New York Times: "President Trump announced on Friday that he intended to nominate Robert Wilkie, the acting secretary of veterans affairs, to take over the sprawling agency, a move that the president said would surprise Mr. Wilkie because he was learning about it only as it was being revealed. The president made the announcement ahead of a public event about prison reform as he praised members of his cabinet who have worked on the issue. The president said, 'Acting Secretary Wilkie, who, by the way, has done an incredible job at the V.A. and I'll be informing him in a little while -- he doesn't know this yet -- but, we're going to be putting his name up.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: As usual, Trump is taking great care in the process of nominating Cabinet members.
Ariana Cha & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is proposing a far-reaching change in the distribution of Title X family-planning funds that would make clinics that provide abortion services or referrals ineligible for the federal funding. The move would potentially defund Planned Parenthood by millions of dollars. Under the proposal filed Thursday and announced Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services, the $260 million program would require a 'bright line' of physical and financial separation between Title X services and providers that perform or support abortion services or refer to abortion as a method of family planning. These requirements are similar to those that were in place, although not enforced, during Ronald Reagan's presidency.... The policy would have ripple effects far beyond Planned Parenthood.... Planned Parenthood as well as other proponents, such as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), said Friday they were prepared to challenge the proposed rule in court. It will take several months before the rule will take effect, because HHS must first subject it to public comment, respond to that feedback, and issue a final version of the proposal."
Erica Werner & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "A sweeping farm bill failed in the House on Friday in a blow to GOP leaders who were unable to placate conservative lawmakers demanding commitments on immigration. The House leadership put the bill on the floor gambling it would pass despite unanimous Democratic opposition. They negotiated with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus up to the last minutes. But their gamble failed. The vote was 213 to 198, with 30 Republicans joined 183 Democrats in defeating bill. The outcome exposed what is becoming an all-out war within the House GOP over immigration, a divisive fight the Republicans did not want to have heading into midterm elections in November that will decide control of Congress." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "Dangerous equipment has once again gone missing at the U.S. Air Force base in North Dakota that operates aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear warheads. Days after Minot Air Force Base reported that one of its squadrons protecting intercontinental ballistic missile silos had lost a 42-pound box of explosive grenade rounds while traveling on a gravel road, the same base said a machine gun turned up missing in a routine inventory of the facility's weapons."
Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: “'Born to kill' was the disturbing message on a T-shirt that appeared in a Facebook post by Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, whom authorities identified Friday as the suspect in an attack on Santa Fe High School in Texas. At least 10 people are dead. Mr. Pagourtzis, a student at the school, was in police custody.... The governor [Greg Abbott (R)] said he used a shotgun and a .38 revolver, and both weapons appeared to have been obtained from the suspect's father, who legally owned them. Investigators are still determining a motive, but the social media trail Mr. Pagourtzis left in his wake shows a young man obsessed with violence. Mr. Abbott said the authorities had not had any previous contact with the gunman that would have alerted them." (See related links under yesterday's News Ledes.) ...
... Kelly Weill & Kate Briquelet of the Daily Beast: "Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the suspected gunman who opened fire at a Texas high school on Friday morning, apparently posted photos of neo-Nazi iconography online, according to social media accounts flagged by classmates and reviewed by The Daily Beast. Pagourtzis, 17, was booked into Galveston County Jail for capital murder on Friday. He allegedly killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School, where he was a student Explosive devices were left inside the school near Houston, authorities said. Pagourtzis reportedly had an assault-style rifle, shotgun, and pistol." ...
... Saeed Ahmed & Christina Walker of CNN: "We're only 20 weeks into 2018, and there have already been 22 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. That averages out to more than 1 shooting a week." ...
... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The school shooting near Houston on Friday bolstered a stunning statistic: More people have been killed at schools this year than have been killed while serving in the military.... The figures for 2018 do not suggest schools are more dangerous than combat zones. After all, there are more than 50 million students in public elementary and high schools and only about 1.3 million members of the armed forces. So far in 2018, a member of the military has been about 40 times as likely to be killed as someone is to die in a school shooting...." ...
... Tess Owen of Vice News: "After Friday's shooting at a Texas high school, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos quickly put out a statement offering her prayers for those affected by the massacre. She also highlighted the efforts of the federal commission on school safety, formed in March in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. But despite DeVos's words, it's unclear what -- if anything -- the commission has actually been doing over the last two months, and a variety of groups involved in school safety say they've grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of action and transparency.... In the meantime, there have been 10 school shootings since the Valentine's Day massacre in Parkland that left 17 people dead...."
News Lede
New York Times: "A 17-year-old student confessed to opening fire at his Texas high school on Friday, killing 10 people, and told investigators that he had spared certain students 'so he could have his story told,' the authorities said. A Galveston County Sheriff's Office investigator wrote in an affidavit that Dimitrios Pagourtzis had waived his right to remain silent and had given 'a statement admitting to shooting multiple people' at Santa Fe High School. The investigator, identified only as J. Roy, also wrote that Mr. Pagourtzis had said that 'he did not shoot students he did like so he could have his story told.'"
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A partial summary:
Mass shootings (done by knives?)
Iran and Israel messes (it's the EU, Russia and China's fault)
Chinese and other POTUS bribes (just a coincidence)
To many pebbles in the oceans (easily a new meaning of the word 'dumb)
Hopefully it is getting difficult for a Republican member of Congress to speak. Their problem is you can't hide during elections.
Have been commenting on bad fiction quality of the Pretender regime, its childish dialog, its unoriginal and depressing story line, its overall grimness occasionally relieved by cartoonish amusements. \
Not often enough, but the "Natasha" image above, recalling as it does one of the truly high points of American civilization, Rocky, Bullwinkle, Doctor Peabody and his boy, Sherman, whom now this morning I picture all smirking from the wings as the about to be canned Flynn flirts with a Russian spy has made my day.
Thanks, or should I say (if my computer knows what it's talking about) "spa-ce-ba?"
What was that little tagalong at the end of Trump's message to our countrymen after this latest school shooting? Something about how he'll never forget those victims–-NEVER forget? And he flourishes this speech again with lots of God blesses here and God blesses there as though those words give it credence. This man is married not only to his mob but has an ongoing love affair with the NRA who reminded him after the last school shooting when it looked like he was actually going to do something about guns, that they had his pecker not only in their pockets but his whole ballsack firmly in their money laded hearts and minds; and he backed down. It's now up to the individual states to enact their own gun laws which many have, but certainly not in Texas.
One once again has to ask what kind of democracy is it that when a great percentage of its citizens want gun control it instead is controlled by a gun lobby group and its head honcho who spews hatred and inflammatory rhetoric. Just one more example of this so called democracy that is teeter tottering and we don't have to ask who and what is on top of that slide.
The school shootings and deaths continue. The thoughts and prayers machine spews platitudes that might as well be pre recorded on DVD. The political and corporate players in the game break out the spin one more time.
How long until such an atrocity is no longer even first page news?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/china-trade-deal.html?
Sounds like another "win" for the Pretender. Have never known why there's a ? following html in a site address (I have a guess), but this time the ? sure fits.
Especially like this part: "Mr. Mnuchin’s plan has faced stiff opposition from Defense Department officials, who fear such sales could compromise American national security, one of the people said."
But what's national security (see this afternoon's updates above) matter to these yokels?
I wonder what General Kelly, that paragon of military virtue, thinks of all this.