September 11, 2018
By Harriet Agerholm
MPs are to hold an emergency debate (click here) on the desperate situation of civilians in Yemen, as a new poll suggested a majority of Britons opposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom is the British government’s largest arms customer, with the UK licensing more than £4.6bn worth of arms to the country since the beginning of its bombing campaign in Yemen in March 2015, according to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).
A poll by YouGov for Save the Children and Avaaz published on Tuesday found that 13 per cent of the British public supported the sale of weapons to the Saudis, while 63 per cent opposed them. It also indicated less than one in six people (14%) think that the UK’s role in supporting the Saudi/UAE-led coalition reflects British values and interests....
Yemen is a difficult topic. On one hand the Houthis have been aggressive in attacks into Saudi Arabia and of course then enters the issue of Iran. Iran backs the Houthis and while the Brits are tired of the killing and suffering of the Yemeni people, including their children, the fighting has not stopped.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is fighting the Yemeni rebels to maintain a port city Hodeidah, a Yemen port on the Red Sea. (click here) Of course, once the port is in the hands of Saudi Arabia it is difficult for the rebels to receive their munitions.
The peace talks collapsed. I think it was simply an excuse. I can't see the parties interested in peace actually killing the delegation to Switzerland. Iran needs to speak to the parties from Yemen and make it clear their safety is understood. If Iran can arm rebels it can also back the delegates to the peace talks.
...The UN and Britain (click here) had invested heavily in the success of peace talks led by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, but the talks collapsed before they started when the Houthi negotiating team said it had not received satisfactory guarantees from Saudi Arabia about its safe passage to Switzerland. Griffiths said he would continue to his efforts to relaunch the talks....
The entire process gets more complicated when realizing a Foreign Minister is making his way to Iran to secure a British woman of Iranian ethnicity from being detained and return her home.
Alistair Burt, the Foreign Minister from the UK, is visiting with the full force of the "Iran Deal" still intact. I doubt Mr. Burt will be involved in talks regarding the war raging in Yemen in any meaningful way. I suppose he plans to bring it to the attention of Iran, but, that is the UN and the peace deal was supposed to be conducted while Mr. Burt is visiting the Iranians.
This is the first visit to Iran since the United States reneged on it's part to the Iran Deal when there was absolutely no reason in sight for it to end.
August 31, 2018
...“As long as Iran (click here) meets its commitments under the deal, we remain committed to it as we believe it is the best way to ensure a safe, secure future for the region,” Burt said in a statement before his visit....
...Britain is seeking the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She was arrested in April 2016 at a Tehran airport as she was heading back to Britain with her daughter, now aged four, after a family visit....
The people of the UK are correct, the war in Yemen is becoming a sincere humanitarian problem for the children and no one needs another Syria. Any conflict has to measure it's purpose in relation to the people of that country and whether continuing the war is simply killing people with no clear result in sight.
There comes a time in any conflict/war when the war itself is the enemy and end it becomes the prudent thing to do. If there is an example of that, it is Syria. The fighting should have ended a long time ago, but, no party would see the devastation and the suffering of the people; there were other priorities and that is where humanitarian issues takes center stage and civil war is no longer the problem, so much as genocide and senseless killing.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Low Income households helped by Medicaid Expansion in Montana.
Everyone knows health care costs are driven by the bad habit of smoking cigarettes. The cigarette tax will provide healthcare in Montana for 100,000 people that would normally not afford it. The new tax would raise $74 million a year by the year 2023.
One other thing to note, while the Montana Veterans health system passed inspection from the Joint Commission, but, only half of the Montana Veterans are enrolled (click here for 2017 report). There is every reason for Montana veterans to sign up. Sometimes campaign stops can provide information and assistance in signing for their health care.
US Senator Jon Tester has voted for every legislative measure to help veterans. The Montana veterans seem to think an office in Kalispell would help with some of their complaints. It is a distance from Northwest Montana to current facilities. They feel forgotten by the VA.
US Senator Jon Tester has voted for every legislative measure to help veterans. The Montana veterans seem to think an office in Kalispell would help with some of their complaints. It is a distance from Northwest Montana to current facilities. They feel forgotten by the VA.
And, by the way, veterans don't want their health care privatized. The veterans have the best of both worlds. If the VA system is becoming overloaded as when the PTSD epidemic was raging; the director can enlist private and public hospitals to help at no cost to the veterans. So, privatizing the VA is mostly a campaign maneuver and not the best outcomes of our veterans.
A veterans meeting of about 12 particpants provided insight to the privatized veterans program.
...Several participants agreed that the Veterans Choice program, which intended to open avenues for care outside VA facilities, was, in practice, deeply flawed — several told stories of abandoned appointments, missed diagnoses and claims not paid for. Many viewed the recently passed VA Mission Act, intended to shore up many of the issues with the Choice program, with skepticism....
A veterans meeting of about 12 particpants provided insight to the privatized veterans program.
...Several participants agreed that the Veterans Choice program, which intended to open avenues for care outside VA facilities, was, in practice, deeply flawed — several told stories of abandoned appointments, missed diagnoses and claims not paid for. Many viewed the recently passed VA Mission Act, intended to shore up many of the issues with the Choice program, with skepticism....
This is from "The Military Times."
April 10, 2018
...Nearly everyone (click here) in the veterans community and on Capitol Hill is against privatizing VA — and nearly everyone has a different definition of what privatization is.
Last week, VA officials released a statement titled “Debunking the VA Privatization Myth,” which insists “there is no effort underway to privatize VA,” and “to suggest otherwise is completely false and a red herring designed to distract and avoid honest debate on the real issues surrounding veterans’ health care.”
The move came in response to comments from former VA Secretary David Shulkin, fired by President Donald Trump over Twitter less than two weeks ago.
In an op-ed just hours after his dismissal, Shulkin warned of individuals within the White House who “seek to privatize veteran health care as an alternative to government-run VA care.”...
This is a big year for the Montana ballot, including a significant pay increase for state legislators.
By Colby Itkowitz
The tobacco industry (click here) has spent more than $9 million to date to persuade Montana voters to vote "no" on a ballot initiative to make Medicaid expansion permanent in the state, according to state campaign finance filings.
The reason that tobacco companies want to prevent low-income Montanans from accessing health coverage? The industry would have to pay for it.
In November, Montana voters will get to choose whether to increase taxes on all tobacco products to fund Medicaid expansion and other health programs. Advocates of the "Healthy Montana Initiative" argue that smoking contributes to a range of illnesses, so the industry producing them should help bear the burden of increased health-care costs.
Under the Affordable Care Act, states are allowed to expand their Medicaid programs to cover people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 a year. The federal government paid 100 percent of expansion costs through 2016. Since then, federal funding has been tapering off and by 2020 the states will have to pay 10 percent of the cost of any Medicaid expansion....
...Earlier this year, with no sign that the state legislature would act to reauthorize the Medicaid expansion, a number of health organizations, including the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Montana Hospital Association, as well as providers across the state, collected enough signatures to secure a ballot initiative known as I-185 that allows voters to determine the future of the Medicaid program....
The tobacco lobbyists in Montana are not following the rules.
September 10, 2018
Montana's campaign regulator (click here) says two tobacco companies opposing a ballot initiative registered late and failed to report a campaign expense.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan wrote in a decision last week that Altria Client Services and RAI Services Company registered as incidental political committees two days late in June. They also failed to report the travel expenses of a representative who appeared before the Montana Chamber of Commerce.
The companies represent the makers of Marlboro and Camel cigarettes and report spending $8.8 million on the Montanans Against Tax Hikes committee that opposes the initiative to raise the state's tobacco tax. The initiative seeks to raise the state's tax on a pack of cigarettes by $2 to $3.70, on snuff to at least $3.70 per 1.2-ounce can and tax e-cigarettes and vaping products for the first time....
There seems to be some reporting by the "Washington Examiner" stating Senator Tester has a great deal of cash in his campaign coffers. I would hope so because Jon Tester's campaign is a bit frugal in that he spends what he has to and saves some in case he needs it.
According to "Open Secrets" (click here) he raised about $16.5 million and spent less than $10.5 million. His donations are all reported and while he has significant monies yet to spend if he needs it; there is nothing wrong nefarious going on.
Voter turnout in Montana has been interesting. When Senator Jon Tester ran in 2012, voter turnout was 72.18 percent of all registered voters of which there are 681,608. That was an exceptionally high turnout for Montana elections. I suggest his campaign seek to repeat that turnout. That level of participation occurred in Montana in the presidential election year of 2008 and 2016; but, otherwise Montana has about 55 percent participation.
The tobacco lobbyists in Montana are not following the rules.
September 10, 2018
Montana's campaign regulator (click here) says two tobacco companies opposing a ballot initiative registered late and failed to report a campaign expense.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan wrote in a decision last week that Altria Client Services and RAI Services Company registered as incidental political committees two days late in June. They also failed to report the travel expenses of a representative who appeared before the Montana Chamber of Commerce.
The companies represent the makers of Marlboro and Camel cigarettes and report spending $8.8 million on the Montanans Against Tax Hikes committee that opposes the initiative to raise the state's tobacco tax. The initiative seeks to raise the state's tax on a pack of cigarettes by $2 to $3.70, on snuff to at least $3.70 per 1.2-ounce can and tax e-cigarettes and vaping products for the first time....
There seems to be some reporting by the "Washington Examiner" stating Senator Tester has a great deal of cash in his campaign coffers. I would hope so because Jon Tester's campaign is a bit frugal in that he spends what he has to and saves some in case he needs it.
According to "Open Secrets" (click here) he raised about $16.5 million and spent less than $10.5 million. His donations are all reported and while he has significant monies yet to spend if he needs it; there is nothing wrong nefarious going on.
Voter turnout in Montana has been interesting. When Senator Jon Tester ran in 2012, voter turnout was 72.18 percent of all registered voters of which there are 681,608. That was an exceptionally high turnout for Montana elections. I suggest his campaign seek to repeat that turnout. That level of participation occurred in Montana in the presidential election year of 2008 and 2016; but, otherwise Montana has about 55 percent participation.
September 11, 2001
17 years, Osama bin Laden is dead and the USA is still in Afghanistan.
I am not alone and in good company.
September 10, 2018
By Barry B. Rosen
After a Taliban attack in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on Aug.16, 2018.
“It is time for this war in Afghanistan to end,” (click here) Gen. John Nicholson said as he relinquished command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Seventeen years of war have shown no plausible theory of success to justify additional U.S. costs and more killing in Afghanistan. Though Nicholson directed his war-ending advice at the Taliban, and reiterated U.S. commitment to the fight, he offered no theory of victory.
Supporters of the war claim that its political purpose is to bring the Taliban to the bargaining table. The Taliban want U.S. departure; the U.S. wants Taliban capitulation. There is no common ground, and policymakers must know this.
The sad political purpose of endless U.S. military involvement is for leaders to be seen trying to prevent terrorists from once again launching international attacks out of Afghanistan. But the U.S. presence in Afghanistan cannot prevent future terrorist outrages....
The answer to ending the terror of the Taliban is to recognize Pakistan's role in their continued presence in the region. The Taliban are a militia, they are not ethnic and have no rights under any human rights convention. If anything the Taliban violate any human rights issue and cause hardship and death.
The truth is while the government of Pakistan is friendly to any country in the world and carry out no war with any, they harbored the Taliban and protected Osama bin Laden until his death. Today, the Taliban has reconstituted their numbers and are still a threat to the Afghan government.
The people of Pakistan have mostly driven them out of their country, but, only to settle in Afghanistan and the western border of Iran. The people most responsible for the ongoing problems in Afghanistan are Pakistan's ISI and the Iranian government and their elite forces. The Taliban serve the purpose of keeping the USA military busy so they can't cause any more problems as in Iraq.
If Afghanistan is to have peace among their people, it is up to the government to supply sufficient national security. Right now the USA is occupying Afghanistan to the suffering of it's people. The USA does not belong there.
Daesh has been driven out of every other country in the world, EXCEPT, Afghanistan.
The USA causes more problems than they solve, it is time to bring the troops home and for their humanitarian mission they should bring home all the scrap military melt in downed machines and otherwise; home to the USA for recycling. The children of Afghanistan need playgrounds, not makeshift playgrounds of downed and abandoned aircraft.
August 15, 2018
By Rahim Faiez and Amir Shah
Abul, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber (click here) targeted students preparing for university exams in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 25 young men and women studying together in an attack that was blamed on Deash (ISIS).
Najib Danish, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said at least 35 people were also wounded in the attack that struck a private building in the Shiite Dasht-i Barcha area of Kabul. He feared the casualty toll could rise further.
The explosion initially set off gunfire from Afghan guards in the area, leading to assumptions that there were more attackers involved, but officials later said all indications were that there was only one bomber....
17 years, Osama bin Laden is dead and the USA is still in Afghanistan.
I am not alone and in good company.
By Barry B. Rosen
After a Taliban attack in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on Aug.16, 2018.
“It is time for this war in Afghanistan to end,” (click here) Gen. John Nicholson said as he relinquished command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Seventeen years of war have shown no plausible theory of success to justify additional U.S. costs and more killing in Afghanistan. Though Nicholson directed his war-ending advice at the Taliban, and reiterated U.S. commitment to the fight, he offered no theory of victory.
Supporters of the war claim that its political purpose is to bring the Taliban to the bargaining table. The Taliban want U.S. departure; the U.S. wants Taliban capitulation. There is no common ground, and policymakers must know this.
The sad political purpose of endless U.S. military involvement is for leaders to be seen trying to prevent terrorists from once again launching international attacks out of Afghanistan. But the U.S. presence in Afghanistan cannot prevent future terrorist outrages....
The answer to ending the terror of the Taliban is to recognize Pakistan's role in their continued presence in the region. The Taliban are a militia, they are not ethnic and have no rights under any human rights convention. If anything the Taliban violate any human rights issue and cause hardship and death.
The truth is while the government of Pakistan is friendly to any country in the world and carry out no war with any, they harbored the Taliban and protected Osama bin Laden until his death. Today, the Taliban has reconstituted their numbers and are still a threat to the Afghan government.
The people of Pakistan have mostly driven them out of their country, but, only to settle in Afghanistan and the western border of Iran. The people most responsible for the ongoing problems in Afghanistan are Pakistan's ISI and the Iranian government and their elite forces. The Taliban serve the purpose of keeping the USA military busy so they can't cause any more problems as in Iraq.
If Afghanistan is to have peace among their people, it is up to the government to supply sufficient national security. Right now the USA is occupying Afghanistan to the suffering of it's people. The USA does not belong there.
Daesh has been driven out of every other country in the world, EXCEPT, Afghanistan.
The USA causes more problems than they solve, it is time to bring the troops home and for their humanitarian mission they should bring home all the scrap military melt in downed machines and otherwise; home to the USA for recycling. The children of Afghanistan need playgrounds, not makeshift playgrounds of downed and abandoned aircraft.
August 15, 2018
By Rahim Faiez and Amir Shah
Abul, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber (click here) targeted students preparing for university exams in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 25 young men and women studying together in an attack that was blamed on Deash (ISIS).
Najib Danish, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said at least 35 people were also wounded in the attack that struck a private building in the Shiite Dasht-i Barcha area of Kabul. He feared the casualty toll could rise further.
The explosion initially set off gunfire from Afghan guards in the area, leading to assumptions that there were more attackers involved, but officials later said all indications were that there was only one bomber....
Monday, September 10, 2018
I trust Bob Woodward, it is about time Congress does.
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.
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 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.
That is just about the most turbulent troposhere of the Western Hemisphere I have ever seen.
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.
...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....
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