September 10, 2018
By Chris Cillizza
..."I've never seen (click here) an instance when the President is so detached from the reality of what's going on," Woodward told NBC's Savannah Guthrie in a Monday interview, adding: "This has not been treated seriously enough. Some of the things Trump did and does jeopardize the real national security."...
..."The Woodward book is a Joke - just another assault against me, in a barrage of assaults, using now disproven unnamed and anonymous sources," Trump tweeted on Monday morning. "Many have already come forward to say the quotes by them, like the book, are fiction. Dems can't stand losing. I'll write the real book!"...
Bob Woodward is never a joke. I never remember him making light of a book he wrote about a president. No. I don't recall him ever being frivolous about a president.
...What Woodward is reporting in his book isn't new....
It might not be new, but, it is fact. There is no suppositions being made. Bob Woodward's book is about fact, it validates all the reports that are treated with skepticism. There is no more speculation. We now know the facts and it is seriously worrisome, ESPECIALLY, because no one is doing anything about it and Trump takes the lack of action as permission to be and do worse.
Bob Woodward's book is as much a criticism of Congress as a factual reporting.
...There have been reports of massive staff dysfunction in the Trump White House from the get-go. There have been reports that Trump seems uninterested or unaware of the details of key foreign policy and national security efforts. He seems entirely convinced that he possesses all the knowledge he needs despite never having held elected office before. He began his presidency cocooned from the news and has grown only more so -- seemingly (if his Twitter feed is an accurate representation) primarily watching Fox News at this point. His entire life -- including the long period before he started running for president -- suggests that Trump is simply telling himself a story of his own life. Whether or not that story is consistent with established facts has never been of much concern to him.
Woodward's book reinforces all of that. And unlike, say, Michael Wolff or Omarosa Manigault Newman, Woodward comes from a position of decades of journalism about the highest levels of government with very, very few questions about the veracity of his work. In short: Woodward is not easily dismissed.
When Bob Woodward says that we are not taking seriously the threat posed by a President "so detached from the reality of what's going on," we should all take note. These are not idle words by a carnival barker.
Trump doesn't treat national security with any degree of brevity.
...A tweet drafted (click here) by President Donald Trump ― but never posted ― had the potential to lead to war with North Korea, veteran journalist Bob Woodward said on Sunday.
“He drafts a tweet saying ‘We are going to pull out dependents from South Korea ... Family members of the 28,000 people there,’” Woodward said on CBS “Sunday Morning” as he promoted his upcoming book, Fear: Trump in the White House.
But a backchannel message from North Korea said bringing family members home would be considered a sign of an impending U.S. attack.
“At that moment there was a sense of profound alarm in the Pentagon leadership that, ‘My God, one tweet and we have reliable information that the North Koreans are going to read this as an attack is imminent,’” Woodward said....
Did nuclear war break out? No, but, the potential is all too real. The Pentagon was taken completely off guard and surprised. Ordering USA personnel and families home is a direct threat, except, if you are Putin where he orders out Americans and then takes possession of the USA Embassy.
The "Tweets" are the problem. If the back channel message came directly from North Korea, the person to person dialogue is what is being used to direct foreign policy. One tweet and the USA is completely vulnerable because no one is sitting in the Map Room and discussing threats and policy. Launching a tweet regarding evacuations of American family members is pure panic to begin with and who says North Korea would wait until everyone left. Trump is grossly out of step with national security and directly placing American lives in the path of danger.
I know this is old already, but, there needs to be a complete investigation of such actions by Trump. His twitter account is used to establish USA foreign policy in the flash of a second. That is not the way the world is supposed to work. It places American lives directly in the path of danger. It is Pearl Harbor all over again, only this time all parties have nukes. When discussing North Korea there are two permanent nuclear members that are standing side by side with Pyongyang. The USA has allies in Europe that would be reacting at the launch of the first nuclear capacity missile. That type of poor judgement and lack of awareness of the lives of Americans is dangerous. There is no other way to put this. Trump has no regard for American lives.
BOB WOODWARD IS NOT TABLOID JOURNALISM!
Trump needs to take this book seriously and Congress needs to act on it.
This isn't political fodder. Bob Woodward does not write political fodder. Every word is writes is considered seriously before it goes to paper.
...An excerpt of the book obtained by The Atlantic said the nearly-posted tweet “scared the daylights” out of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford....
This is our lives. This is the lives of Americans hanging in the balance of a tweet. I don't think so. Generals are heading up the military and they don't know anything Trump will do next. This is a grossly unhealthy climate in the White House and the American people may be the victim of all this foolishness.
This is what Woodward, the Atlantic and the Generals are reacting to. Feel aggravated and worried all at the same time. This isn't suppose to be a concern any longer, right? I mean there is a treaty, right? Not with North Korea there isn't and China and Russia are sworn allies.
The attitude, "What difference does it make? The people that die or are vaporized simply won't be able to complain and everyone else will have to pick up the pieces and go on."
...“You are only given One life, (click here) So cherish this moment Cherish this day, Be kind to others, Be kind to yourself”
TESTIMONY
“I was three years old at the time of the bombing. I don’t remember much, but I do recall that my surroundings turned blindingly white, like a million camera flashes going off at once.
Then, pitch darkness.
I was buried alive under the house, I’ve been told. When my uncle finally found me and pulled my tiny three year old body out from under the debris, I was unconscious. My face was misshapen. He was certain that I was dead....
Every year Japan recalls the attacks no different than the USA notices Pearl Harbor and September 11th. Surviving a nuclear blast is completely unpredictable. There are no guarantees for anyone. Peace is a necessity in such times and no one is pursuing it.
My life is not to be toyed with!
I don't care who wrote the Op-Ed. The staff is terrified of Trump. I do hope the idea that who wrote it is a whistle blower is being entertained as the truth. The person is blameless. It is a warning. I hope everyone read the warning. I really don't care who wrote it and neither should any other American.
This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman (I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
Monday, September 10, 2018
That is just about the most turbulent troposhere of the Western Hemisphere I have ever seen.
September 10, 2018
2130.31z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
Please reconsider North Carolina for land fall. It looks likes Wilmington to Moorehead City to me. I am not in the southeast. It is not about worry for myself. I just think with the turbulence in the the Gulf of Mexico where the sea is far hotter than the Atlantic, it will push Florence slightly more north. It could be just me.
Maybe look at it this way, if South Carolina has direct land fall, the hurricane diameter could easily involve North Carolina. The coast in NC is highly susceptible for flooding. Wilmington became an island when Harvey made landfall.
These storms wobble, ie: Katrina. I think Governor McMaster is doing the absolute best thing for the people of South Carolina. I just see North Carolina in the window as well.
September 9, 2018
By Elizabeth Chuck, Tim Shalloh and Kerry Sanders
2130.31z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)
Please reconsider North Carolina for land fall. It looks likes Wilmington to Moorehead City to me. I am not in the southeast. It is not about worry for myself. I just think with the turbulence in the the Gulf of Mexico where the sea is far hotter than the Atlantic, it will push Florence slightly more north. It could be just me.
Maybe look at it this way, if South Carolina has direct land fall, the hurricane diameter could easily involve North Carolina. The coast in NC is highly susceptible for flooding. Wilmington became an island when Harvey made landfall.
These storms wobble, ie: Katrina. I think Governor McMaster is doing the absolute best thing for the people of South Carolina. I just see North Carolina in the window as well.
September 9, 2018
By Elizabeth Chuck, Tim Shalloh and Kerry Sanders
As Hurricane Florence (click here) barrels toward the Southeast as a Category 4 storm, South Carolina’s governor has ordered evacuations along the state's entire coastline — which could affect up to a million people.
"We know that this evacuation order is going to be inconvenient for some people," Gov. Henry McMaster said at a news conference on Monday afternoon, "but we do not want to risk one South Carolinian’s life."
Schools will be closed starting Tuesday in the affected counties and state officials will reverse lanes on four major roads leading to the coast to assist with the evacuation....
Still yet more "Dark Money" from the Kochs.
September 10, 2018
By Maggie Severns
With just weeks to go (click here) before the midterm elections, the massive Koch network is adding a new super PAC to its political arsenal.
The new super PAC, AFP Action, will give the Koch network’s largest arm — Americans for Prosperity — significantly more leeway to push lawmakers directly on political issues, adding another tool to AFP’s arsenal at a moment when the Koch network is trying to assert its power in Washington....
Does Paul Ryan get to run this one? Too soon, huh?
AFP Action App (click here)
You can donate. Oh, look, they have career options. Nothing like working for a Dark Money arm of the Koch bros.
Any newly minted Democrats want a job? Go do this thing! Go join the fight! Everyday is a fight for the Kochs.
Wow, people can even volunteer. Of course.
Careers (click here)
Go to work for the Kochs, the largest $400 million sleazebag outfit in the USA!
...Americans for Prosperity’s existing organization, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, is required by law to spend a significant amount of money on “social welfare” activities and cannot expressly urge voters to cast ballots for or against a member of Congress. But the new AFP Action super PAC can expand that work by spending unlimited sums of money on political activities....
“Our mission is to help improve lives by breaking the barriers holding people back, and that requires building the policy coalitions in Washington to get it done,” Riggs said. “Americans for Prosperity has been a difference-maker supporting policy champions in tight races, and AFP Action is a new tool that will allow us to expand those efforts and make an even larger impact.”
That is a lie. The largest number of employees that work for Koch in jobs that actually pay a living wage are family. The Kochs don't mean a word of this. It should read:
“Our mission is to help ourselves to deregulation that kills people by breaking the barriers holding the Koch Industries hostage to the climate crisis and that requires building the policy coalitions in Washington to get it done,” Riggs said. “Americans for Prosperity has been a difference-maker supporting policy champions in tight races, and AFP Action is a new tool that will allow us to expand those efforts and make an even larger impact.”
By Maggie Severns
With just weeks to go (click here) before the midterm elections, the massive Koch network is adding a new super PAC to its political arsenal.
The new super PAC, AFP Action, will give the Koch network’s largest arm — Americans for Prosperity — significantly more leeway to push lawmakers directly on political issues, adding another tool to AFP’s arsenal at a moment when the Koch network is trying to assert its power in Washington....
Does Paul Ryan get to run this one? Too soon, huh?
AFP Action App (click here)
You can donate. Oh, look, they have career options. Nothing like working for a Dark Money arm of the Koch bros.
Any newly minted Democrats want a job? Go do this thing! Go join the fight! Everyday is a fight for the Kochs.
Wow, people can even volunteer. Of course.
Careers (click here)
Go to work for the Kochs, the largest $400 million sleazebag outfit in the USA!
...Americans for Prosperity’s existing organization, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, is required by law to spend a significant amount of money on “social welfare” activities and cannot expressly urge voters to cast ballots for or against a member of Congress. But the new AFP Action super PAC can expand that work by spending unlimited sums of money on political activities....
“Our mission is to help improve lives by breaking the barriers holding people back, and that requires building the policy coalitions in Washington to get it done,” Riggs said. “Americans for Prosperity has been a difference-maker supporting policy champions in tight races, and AFP Action is a new tool that will allow us to expand those efforts and make an even larger impact.”
That is a lie. The largest number of employees that work for Koch in jobs that actually pay a living wage are family. The Kochs don't mean a word of this. It should read:
“Our mission is to help ourselves to deregulation that kills people by breaking the barriers holding the Koch Industries hostage to the climate crisis and that requires building the policy coalitions in Washington to get it done,” Riggs said. “Americans for Prosperity has been a difference-maker supporting policy champions in tight races, and AFP Action is a new tool that will allow us to expand those efforts and make an even larger impact.”
August 14, 2018
...The new infusion of Koch cash into China (click here) comes in addition to more than $600 million INVISTA has invested in China over the past five years.
Koch Industries certainly has the money. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which slashed tax rates for corporations and the wealthy, is expected to provide the Kochs, as individuals and as partners in Koch Industries, with a windfall of as much as $1.4 billion per year.
Meanwhile, Koch subsidiaries in the United States have announced hundreds of layoffs this year....
There was a time when Congressional Approval was around 11% under "W."
They would at times recognize their poor public approval ratings and state, "Eleven percent is our families of this body and not much more."
Well.
Guess what?
Family members are speaking out against their relatives running for office.
August 15, 2018
...Early this week, (click here) the uncle of rotting corpse Stephen Miller wrote a scathing essay on Politico in which he highlighted Miller's family's immigration story and contrasted it with the inhumane policies Miller and the Trump administration are shoving down the country's throat. "I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, an educated man who is well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country," Miller's uncle, Dr. David Glosser wrote, essentially disinviting Miller from all future reunions.
Meanwhile, across town, Bobby Goodlatte, son of congressman Bob Goodlatte, a prominent face in the Peter Strzok circus, donated the maximum amount allowable to Jennifer Lewis, the Democrat running for Goodlatte père's seat....
The Congressional approval rating has slightly increased since the days of "W." However, it is really noteworthy even their own family won't vote for them. Those with family support might want to put that on the record and their election website. Wives and children still receiving child support, don't count.
This is about a year ago and it has not improved.
Gallup (click here)
September 13, 2017
By John Haltiwanger
Congress has reached its most unpopular (click here) point so far in the Trump era. As the president might tweet: Sad!
According to the most recent figures from Gallup, approval of Congress is at 16 percent, which is consistent with numbers from August. The last time the approval rating for Congress was lower was in July 2016, when it hit 13 percent.
It may not have seemed possible, but Congress has actually becoming increasingly unpopular under Donald Trump.
Congress began 2017 with a 19 percent approval rating and hit a high of 28 percent in February. Since then, its approval has steadily declined, rising slightly in June before plummeting to 16 percent by August and September....
It is safe to say the country is in no mood for shenanigans or using the Middle Class taxpayers' dollar for political gaming.
Below is case in point. Trump has an agenda for carrying out his misdeeds including defaming an FBI Agent.
I told you so. There is no substance to Trump's whining and he is spending Middle Class taxpayer's money on political gaming by abuse of power, including the shenanigans of Rep. Bob Goodlatte. Trump's problems are a danger to the country. There is no such thing as Loyalty to a POLITICAL SCHEME including the misuse and abuse by Rep. Bob Goodlatte.
Is Trump writing melodrama from the Oval Office?
1. Fire Strzok
2. Demand the FBI investigate the Clinton email case the way they investigate
the Russian investigation.
3. Appear to be unhappy with AG Sessions enough to fire him.
4. Fire Sessions.
5. Place a no nothing Assistant AG Brian Benczkowski into the AG office.
6. Fire Rosenstein
7. End Mueller investigation and shred all the evidence.
Well.
Guess what?
Family members are speaking out against their relatives running for office.
August 15, 2018
...Early this week, (click here) the uncle of rotting corpse Stephen Miller wrote a scathing essay on Politico in which he highlighted Miller's family's immigration story and contrasted it with the inhumane policies Miller and the Trump administration are shoving down the country's throat. "I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, an educated man who is well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country," Miller's uncle, Dr. David Glosser wrote, essentially disinviting Miller from all future reunions.
Meanwhile, across town, Bobby Goodlatte, son of congressman Bob Goodlatte, a prominent face in the Peter Strzok circus, donated the maximum amount allowable to Jennifer Lewis, the Democrat running for Goodlatte père's seat....
The Congressional approval rating has slightly increased since the days of "W." However, it is really noteworthy even their own family won't vote for them. Those with family support might want to put that on the record and their election website. Wives and children still receiving child support, don't count.
This is about a year ago and it has not improved.
Gallup (click here)
September 13, 2017
By John Haltiwanger
Congress has reached its most unpopular (click here) point so far in the Trump era. As the president might tweet: Sad!
According to the most recent figures from Gallup, approval of Congress is at 16 percent, which is consistent with numbers from August. The last time the approval rating for Congress was lower was in July 2016, when it hit 13 percent.
It may not have seemed possible, but Congress has actually becoming increasingly unpopular under Donald Trump.
Congress began 2017 with a 19 percent approval rating and hit a high of 28 percent in February. Since then, its approval has steadily declined, rising slightly in June before plummeting to 16 percent by August and September....
It is safe to say the country is in no mood for shenanigans or using the Middle Class taxpayers' dollar for political gaming.
Below is case in point. Trump has an agenda for carrying out his misdeeds including defaming an FBI Agent.
I told you so. There is no substance to Trump's whining and he is spending Middle Class taxpayer's money on political gaming by abuse of power, including the shenanigans of Rep. Bob Goodlatte. Trump's problems are a danger to the country. There is no such thing as Loyalty to a POLITICAL SCHEME including the misuse and abuse by Rep. Bob Goodlatte.
Is Trump writing melodrama from the Oval Office?
1. Fire Strzok
2. Demand the FBI investigate the Clinton email case the way they investigate
the Russian investigation.
3. Appear to be unhappy with AG Sessions enough to fire him.
4. Fire Sessions.
5. Place a no nothing Assistant AG Brian Benczkowski into the AG office.
6. Fire Rosenstein
7. End Mueller investigation and shred all the evidence.
Paul Krugman tries to take on the Liar and Chief.
August 21, 2018
By Paul Krugman
War is peace. (click here) Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Truth isn’t truth.
Rudy Giuliani’s latest bon mot is a reminder, if anyone needed it, that calling the Trump administration Orwellian isn’t hyperbole, it’s just a statement of fact. Like the ruling party in “1984,” Donald Trump operates on the principle that truth — whether it involves inauguration crowd sizes, immigrant crime or economic performance — is what he says it is. And that truth can change at a moment’s notice.
For example, not long ago, Republicans insisted that Russia was our greatest threat, and that Barack
Obama was betraying America by not confronting Vladimir Putin more forcefully; now Putin is one of the good guys, and the base has gone along with the change. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
And if you thought you heard something different from the Trumpian version of reality, blame evil conspirators and saboteurs, whom you get to denounce in the Two Minutes Hate, chanting “lock her up.”
But how did this happen to the whole Republican Party? And it is effectively the whole party: There is no serious GOP opposition to Trump or his vision. Why did the party’s belief in objective reality collapse so suddenly and completely?
I don’t claim to understand the whole story. But one thing is clear: The Orwellification of the GOP didn’t start with Trump. On the contrary, the party has been moving in that direction for years; the mindset Trump is exploiting was already well in place before he burst on the scene....
Republicans are wasting taxpayer monies on stupid campaign ideas. This is highly unethical and should be treated as such, including that of Senator Jim Inhofe.
...And there’s more. Some people seem startled at how quickly Trump has moved to use the power of office to punish and intimidate anyone who doesn’t go along with Dear Leader. But Republicans have long been doing that on climate.
Most famously, Ken Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia, spent several years trying to prove fraud on the part of Michael Mann, one of our leading climate researchers. Cuccinelli’s witch hunt (yes, this was the real thing) was thinly disguised as involving concern over misuse of state funds, but it was obviously an attempt to use political power to censor and suppress inconvenient science....
...Climate denial is a deeply cynical enterprise; the people misrepresenting evidence and sifting through emails for “gotcha” quotes have to know that they’re not being honest. Yet their rage against “elitists” who continue to point out inconvenient truths is very real — because it’s a fact of life that many people feel special hatred for those they’ve mistreated.
The same goes for Trump and company. Trump knows perfectly well that he’s guilty of collusion. That doesn’t mean he’s faking his volcanic rage at those documenting his guilt: He hates his pursuers all the more because he knows they’re on the right track.
And as he lashes out, with no regard for law or the Constitution, will other Republicans try to hold him back? All the evidence suggests that they won’t.
By Paul Krugman
War is peace. (click here) Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Truth isn’t truth.
Rudy Giuliani’s latest bon mot is a reminder, if anyone needed it, that calling the Trump administration Orwellian isn’t hyperbole, it’s just a statement of fact. Like the ruling party in “1984,” Donald Trump operates on the principle that truth — whether it involves inauguration crowd sizes, immigrant crime or economic performance — is what he says it is. And that truth can change at a moment’s notice.
For example, not long ago, Republicans insisted that Russia was our greatest threat, and that Barack
Obama was betraying America by not confronting Vladimir Putin more forcefully; now Putin is one of the good guys, and the base has gone along with the change. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
And if you thought you heard something different from the Trumpian version of reality, blame evil conspirators and saboteurs, whom you get to denounce in the Two Minutes Hate, chanting “lock her up.”
But how did this happen to the whole Republican Party? And it is effectively the whole party: There is no serious GOP opposition to Trump or his vision. Why did the party’s belief in objective reality collapse so suddenly and completely?
I don’t claim to understand the whole story. But one thing is clear: The Orwellification of the GOP didn’t start with Trump. On the contrary, the party has been moving in that direction for years; the mindset Trump is exploiting was already well in place before he burst on the scene....
Republicans are wasting taxpayer monies on stupid campaign ideas. This is highly unethical and should be treated as such, including that of Senator Jim Inhofe.
...And there’s more. Some people seem startled at how quickly Trump has moved to use the power of office to punish and intimidate anyone who doesn’t go along with Dear Leader. But Republicans have long been doing that on climate.
Most famously, Ken Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia, spent several years trying to prove fraud on the part of Michael Mann, one of our leading climate researchers. Cuccinelli’s witch hunt (yes, this was the real thing) was thinly disguised as involving concern over misuse of state funds, but it was obviously an attempt to use political power to censor and suppress inconvenient science....
...Climate denial is a deeply cynical enterprise; the people misrepresenting evidence and sifting through emails for “gotcha” quotes have to know that they’re not being honest. Yet their rage against “elitists” who continue to point out inconvenient truths is very real — because it’s a fact of life that many people feel special hatred for those they’ve mistreated.
The same goes for Trump and company. Trump knows perfectly well that he’s guilty of collusion. That doesn’t mean he’s faking his volcanic rage at those documenting his guilt: He hates his pursuers all the more because he knows they’re on the right track.
And as he lashes out, with no regard for law or the Constitution, will other Republicans try to hold him back? All the evidence suggests that they won’t.
Bob Goodlatte is wasting taxpayer dollars in seeking still yet ANOTHER investigation of the Clinton emails.
Why bother passing any law or amendment then openly state it doesn't work and call for yet another investigation?
January 2, 2017
By Beth Breeding
The House Republican Conference (click here) adopted an amendment to the House Rules package offered by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) this evening that would strengthen the mission of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), improve due process rights for those subject to an investigation, and ensure that complaints made by the public have a strong venue for review. A background and summary of the amendment is included below.
Goodlatte: “The amendment builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics. It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work.”
Goodlatte Amendment to H. Res. 5
Concerning the Office of Congressional Ethics...
The Clinton email nonsense has been going on for three years. Every time the Republicans feel threatened as if the country is really unhappy with them, they pull out some sort of Clinton this or that and begin their WITCH HUNT. This is pure and unadulterated misogyny.
June 14, 2018
By Laura Jarrett
The Justice Department's inspector general (click here) will issue a report on how top federal officials handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Here are the key dates of the investigation from 2015 and 2016:
July 10, 2015 -- The FBI opened a criminal investigation, code-named "Midyear Exam," into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information while secretary of state.
Late September 2015 -- As then-FBI Director James Comey prepared for his first public questions about the case at congressional hearings and meetings with reporters, he met with then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the Justice Department. Lynch asked him to refer to the investigation as a "matter," Comey said in his book, "A Higher Loyalty."
In a statement to CNN after Comey's book was released, Lynch defended her language and said no concerns were raised. "If he had any concerns regarding the email investigation, classified or not, he had ample opportunities to raise them with me both privately and in meetings. He never did," Lynch said....
Now that Republicans have wrongfully attack Peter Strzok, they want to portray the need for a new investigation. I suppose FBI Director Christopher Wray is part of the "Deep State" now, too.
THIS IS A TRUMP PATTERN.
First, Trump decides how best to build A STORY LINE that will serve his purpose. In the case of the Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Peter Strzok was offered as a sacrificial lamb to an already pre-determined outcome. When Strzok was fried enough, Trump then put into motion the demands for a new investigation because of the IDEA Peter Strzok was unwilling to come to any conclusion that was unfavorable to a Trump outcome. THEREFORE, the corruption lie completely with Strzok and ALL work by the FBI was tainted beyond recognition.
LIE AND TEMPER TANTRUM.
Mr. Goodlatte needs to stop being Trump's puppet and instead respect the opinion of the US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL and the current FBI Director Christopher Wray as THE TRUTH. There is to be no more political gamesmanship with taxpayer monies. If they continues I fully expect Goodlatte to be brought before an ethics review.
June 14, 2018
By Andrew Prokop
...The report contradicts President Trump’s (click here) often-expressed belief that the investigation was rigged to get Clinton off the hook. Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz found little affirmative evidence on the whole that political bias affected officials’ handling of the probe itself.
Indeed, FBI director Christopher Wray — appointed by Trump to replace Comey last year — said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that “this report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations actually impacting the investigation under review.”
However, Horowitz was far more critical on two specific fronts.
First, Horowitz writes, FBI officials involved in the case sent each other messages on their FBI devices “that created the appearance” of political bias. Here he particularly criticizes FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok for texting his co-worker and lover, Lisa Page, that “we’ll stop” Trump from winning the election.
Horowitz says he found no affirmative evidence that Strzok skewed his decision-making for political reasons. But he says he “did not have confidence” that Strzok’s decision in the campaign’s final month to prioritize the Trump campaign/Russia probe over new Clinton emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop “was free from bias.” He writes that Strzok and other FBI employees “brought discredit to themselves” and hurt the bureau’s reputation.
Second, Horowitz sharply criticizes then-FBI director James Comey for his public statements about the Clinton email case — specifically, his July 2016 decision to publicly announce that he wouldn’t recommend any charges, and then his October 2016 decision to tell Congress about that new emails had been found....
January 2, 2017
By Beth Breeding
The House Republican Conference (click here) adopted an amendment to the House Rules package offered by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) this evening that would strengthen the mission of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), improve due process rights for those subject to an investigation, and ensure that complaints made by the public have a strong venue for review. A background and summary of the amendment is included below.
Goodlatte: “The amendment builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics. It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work.”
Goodlatte Amendment to H. Res. 5
Concerning the Office of Congressional Ethics...
The Clinton email nonsense has been going on for three years. Every time the Republicans feel threatened as if the country is really unhappy with them, they pull out some sort of Clinton this or that and begin their WITCH HUNT. This is pure and unadulterated misogyny.
June 14, 2018
By Laura Jarrett
The Justice Department's inspector general (click here) will issue a report on how top federal officials handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Here are the key dates of the investigation from 2015 and 2016:
July 10, 2015 -- The FBI opened a criminal investigation, code-named "Midyear Exam," into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information while secretary of state.
Late September 2015 -- As then-FBI Director James Comey prepared for his first public questions about the case at congressional hearings and meetings with reporters, he met with then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the Justice Department. Lynch asked him to refer to the investigation as a "matter," Comey said in his book, "A Higher Loyalty."
In a statement to CNN after Comey's book was released, Lynch defended her language and said no concerns were raised. "If he had any concerns regarding the email investigation, classified or not, he had ample opportunities to raise them with me both privately and in meetings. He never did," Lynch said....
Now that Republicans have wrongfully attack Peter Strzok, they want to portray the need for a new investigation. I suppose FBI Director Christopher Wray is part of the "Deep State" now, too.
THIS IS A TRUMP PATTERN.
First, Trump decides how best to build A STORY LINE that will serve his purpose. In the case of the Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Peter Strzok was offered as a sacrificial lamb to an already pre-determined outcome. When Strzok was fried enough, Trump then put into motion the demands for a new investigation because of the IDEA Peter Strzok was unwilling to come to any conclusion that was unfavorable to a Trump outcome. THEREFORE, the corruption lie completely with Strzok and ALL work by the FBI was tainted beyond recognition.
LIE AND TEMPER TANTRUM.
Mr. Goodlatte needs to stop being Trump's puppet and instead respect the opinion of the US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL and the current FBI Director Christopher Wray as THE TRUTH. There is to be no more political gamesmanship with taxpayer monies. If they continues I fully expect Goodlatte to be brought before an ethics review.
June 14, 2018
By Andrew Prokop
...The report contradicts President Trump’s (click here) often-expressed belief that the investigation was rigged to get Clinton off the hook. Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz found little affirmative evidence on the whole that political bias affected officials’ handling of the probe itself.
Indeed, FBI director Christopher Wray — appointed by Trump to replace Comey last year — said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that “this report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations actually impacting the investigation under review.”
However, Horowitz was far more critical on two specific fronts.
First, Horowitz writes, FBI officials involved in the case sent each other messages on their FBI devices “that created the appearance” of political bias. Here he particularly criticizes FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok for texting his co-worker and lover, Lisa Page, that “we’ll stop” Trump from winning the election.
Horowitz says he found no affirmative evidence that Strzok skewed his decision-making for political reasons. But he says he “did not have confidence” that Strzok’s decision in the campaign’s final month to prioritize the Trump campaign/Russia probe over new Clinton emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop “was free from bias.” He writes that Strzok and other FBI employees “brought discredit to themselves” and hurt the bureau’s reputation.
Second, Horowitz sharply criticizes then-FBI director James Comey for his public statements about the Clinton email case — specifically, his July 2016 decision to publicly announce that he wouldn’t recommend any charges, and then his October 2016 decision to tell Congress about that new emails had been found....
Hey, Don, did you ever get that "Little Rocket Man" CD to Un?
North Korea has just staged their parade, celebrating 70th anniversary of founding, without the customary display of nuclear missiles. Theme was peace and economic development. “Experts believe that North Korea cut out the nuclear missiles to show President Trump......
11:21 AM - Sep 9, 2018
President Moon has more pressing problems than Un. The idea Kim Jong Un is any less a threat because he replaced missiles with flowers is irresponsible. If Kim Jong Un wants to put nuclear missiles in their 70th parade it should have been done. Masking real intentions is not going to be believed by most Americans.
Demilitarization has to proceed with transparency and disarmament of ICBMs and shorter range missiles that could strike any country that is in the neighborhood. North Korea has to have faith in it's allies to defend the country beyond any other measure.
I am quite confident China sees North Korea as a measure to it's own security. There is no reason for North Korea to be armed with nuclear missiles that only makes it a target. Kim Jong Un needs to put his people's safety first and removing nuclear capacity for North Korea serves that purpose. South Korea has lived in a peaceful posture since July 27, 1953. Kim Jong Un needs to meet that same standard.
Honeymoon over for South Korea’s president (click here)
Author: Hyung-A Kim, ANU
Public support for South Korean President Moon Jae-in has plummeted. Peaking at 83 per cent following his agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to end the Korean War, his approval rating has crashed to 49 per cent — the lowest since he took office.
The biggest reason for this drop is South Korea’s weakest job growth in nearly nine years: the economy added just 5,000 new jobs over a year earlier, the smallest annual gain since January 2010 amid the global financial crisis. Despite Moon’s pledge to become a ‘jobs president’, he has failed to turn South Korea’s unemployment crisis around while also failing to improve economic growth which is forecast to be just 2.8 per cent this year....
Bob Woodward: "People better wake up to what's going on" in White House (Click here for book review. Thank you.)
There are times when elected officials need to rise to a higher purpose than their politics allow. Are the Democrats the only officials willing to act? The Dems have to make their case to the American people before they see any actions against the President as reasonable. The people have to support them. The Republicans have allowed two years of bizarre behavior and international threats without having the backbone to act in any way. I would think incremental actions are called for as well.
September 9, 2018
By Ron Elving
...But Fear belongs in a new category. Many readers will find Woodward's depiction of this president and his presidency so devastating that it can only be described as an indictment.
President Trump is portrayed as uncouth, uninformed and unprepared for the demands of his office. Moreover, he appears convinced that the same braggadocio that made him rich and made him president will make the world conform to his own view of it....
Uncouth? Woodward is being kind.
September 9, 2018
By Ron Elving
...But Fear belongs in a new category. Many readers will find Woodward's depiction of this president and his presidency so devastating that it can only be described as an indictment.
President Trump is portrayed as uncouth, uninformed and unprepared for the demands of his office. Moreover, he appears convinced that the same braggadocio that made him rich and made him president will make the world conform to his own view of it....
Uncouth? Woodward is being kind.
"Morning Papers"
The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
It has come to my attention the "Carmelite Sisters of the Infant of Prague" are asking for intentions and they ask for followers to pray also to St. Therese.
The prayer they have in mind:
O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep Your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may be touch them.
Keep unstained their hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. (The communion host that is offered at daily prayer is considered the body of Christ.)
Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Your Precious Blood.
Keep pure their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here, and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.
Please grant us also, through the intercession of Saint Therese, those petitions that we hold in our hearts. Amen.
I really don't want to hear a word considering Pope Francis is seeking changes in the lives of those that have sinned. The disdain so many have for the priests involved is not reflected to the level of removing the Evangelical ministers, because they are worth a lot of money. I don't want to hear it. Where priests have broken the law they will be prosecuted. I don't want to hear it.
Any assault on the Catholic Church will stop, now.
The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
It has come to my attention the "Carmelite Sisters of the Infant of Prague" are asking for intentions and they ask for followers to pray also to St. Therese.
The prayer they have in mind:
O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep Your priests within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may be touch them.
Keep unstained their hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. (The communion host that is offered at daily prayer is considered the body of Christ.)
Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Your Precious Blood.
Keep pure their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here, and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.
Please grant us also, through the intercession of Saint Therese, those petitions that we hold in our hearts. Amen.
I really don't want to hear a word considering Pope Francis is seeking changes in the lives of those that have sinned. The disdain so many have for the priests involved is not reflected to the level of removing the Evangelical ministers, because they are worth a lot of money. I don't want to hear it. Where priests have broken the law they will be prosecuted. I don't want to hear it.
Any assault on the Catholic Church will stop, now.
"Good Night, Moon"
The New Moon
0.3 days old
0.1 percent lit
September 7, 2018
Lunar swirls (click here) are beautiful optical anomalies on the surface of the moon that occur without any defined shape and exist in various sizes. These peculiar delights have puzzled scientists who tried to figure out their exact origin story. Scientists at Rutgers and University of California Berkeley have now investigated the origin of these anomalies and come back with new insight into the history of the moon.
The most famous lunar swirl is Reiner Gamma. Around 40 miles long and visible through most telescopes on a clear night, it's a popular spot for backyard astronomers.
Like many lunar swirls, Reiner Gamma has powerful, localized magnetic fields. Scientists believe the patterns of brightness and darkness intermingling seen within Reiner Gamma stem from magnetic fields deflecting particles from the solar wind. Over an extended period of time, this deflection would cause some parts of the lunar surface to weather more slowly.
"But the cause of those magnetic fields, and thus of the swirls themselves, had long been a mystery," says Sonia Tikoo, coauthor of the study recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets and an assistant professor at Rutgers, in a press statement. "To solve it, we had to find out what kind of geological feature could produce these magnetic fields—and why their magnetism is so powerful."
The researchers examined the geometry of lunar swirls. From there, they built out a mathematical model on the idea that each swirl was standing above a narrow magnetic object. Through that model, they found an image consistent with the appearance of lava tubes and lava dikes. Lave tubes are long, narrow structures by flowing lava in volcanoes, while lava dikes are vertical sheets of magma injected into the lunar crust. These are known geologic entities, but they're not typically seen as magnetic....
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