President Trump, Week 18

Here's the list of things I managed to catch emanating from the swamp factory known as Trump's White House for the week beginning 2 PM, Friday, May 19th to 2 PM Friday, May 26th. These are (likely) not all of the Trump team's transgressions, but it's most of them.

A reminder:  If the letter next to the President's name was a 'D' instead of an 'R,' everything on this list would've had at least warranted a mocking press conference from the Republicans.  Many of these issues would've lead to immediate Congressional investigations.  Some would've started impeachment proceedings, and definitely some of the things on this list would've been the catalyst for Republicans to remove a Democratic President from office, probably with most Democrats on board too.  But because the Republicans are in charge of this, and their 'base' is an uncontrollable mass of rabid far right wolverines who only want to hear how much better America is since Trump took over, they're hesitant to attempt to tackle any of these problems, like a man who realizes his wife has discovered he has a girlfriend, waiting on the front porch debating what exactly he should do next...

18th verse, same as the first!

• WOW!  Starting this week with a bang!  During the 2016 Election campaign, intercepted communications from Russian officials caught them bragging that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was their mole on Trump's team, a lever they could use to control Trump himself
  
• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says former FBI Director James Comey was putting "unnecessary pressure" on Trump's relationship with Russia.  He has yet to explain the word "unnecessary"
• An agreement has been reached where James Comey will testify, publicly, before the Senate Intelligence Committee
• The second person associated with the NBA, Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban, says the reason Trump hires his family is because he has no idea how to "hire out or manage" employees
  
• The FBI's Russia/Trump investigation now is focusing on at least one current White House Official.  This according to the Washington Post, but they do not name which official it is
• CNN reports the leaks from the White House to the media appear to be coming from White House staffers who are concerned about Trump's mental fitness
  
• Goldman-Sachs executive James Donovan has decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the Deputy Treasury Secretary position
• Many people are considering Trump's comments to the Russians in the Oval Office, where he talked about how the firing of Comey removed pressure from the Russians, and how Comey was a "nut job," as an admission of  the charge Obstructing Justice by Trump
• The White House, while claiming Trump and the Russians are innocent, is trying to derail the Special Investigation from the Department of Justice, by citing a Code of Federal Regulations which states former FBI Director Robert Mueller could not be acting Special Investigator due to his association with a law firm which has had Trump's son in law Jared Kushner as a client.  By the way, Trump has already violated this Code of Federal Regulations numerous times in his hiring practices
• It's pointed out Trump's $110 Billion arms deal with the Saudi's is illegal due to the Saudi's role in the ongoing conflict in Yemen
• Former Republican Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush does a big 'I told you so' by reminding everyone Trump was going to be the "Chaos President." He was right
  
• Trump Administration stops a federal study which is trying to measure carbon pollution from cars and trucks
• If Trump can't destroy ObamaCare one way...; Trump told advisers in an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday he favored ending the Affordable Care Act payments to insurers, meaning the health care coverage for millions of Americans will be immediately thrown into chaos
• Another case of the Trump Administration physically assaulting a journalist as a Senior writer at CQ Roll Call and the head of the Press Freedom Team at the National Press Club John M. Donnelly was manhandled by plain clothes security, threatened and thrown out of the building when he attempted to ask a post press conference question of FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly
  
• The Trump White House does confirm the Russia/Trump probe now does include a current member of the Administration
• Reports are Trump is more beaten down and isolated lately as his Administration clearly wasn't prepared for the rigors or integrity required to be President
• A report out says White House lawyers are frantically trying to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, about impeachment, and how to fight it
  
• Representative Ted Lieu points out a far more traditional impeachable offense Trump's committed, his unilateral military offensive against pro-Assad forces in Syria without Congressional authorization.  Presidents just can't go start wars
• A new Trump Campaign name which is suddenly becoming very interesting is former Trump Campaign Communications Director, Michael Caputo.  His name is now all over the investigation into the Trump/Russia affair, and the House Intelligence Committee is wanting to speak with him
• Milwaukee County Sheriff, Trump's nominee for a post in the Department of Homeland Security and man who killed an inmate in his own prison due to dehydration, David Clarke, is discovered to have plagiarized major sections of his masters thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School
  
• You wouldn't expect David Clarke to plagiarize his material for his master's thesis from the ACLU, namely four different reports from 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2011.  That wasn't an 'oopsie'
• Somewhat mysteriously, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus suddenly announced he wouldn't be staying with Trump for the entirely of his international tour, returning to DC far earlier than previously though.  It's unsure why the change, but it probably has to do with the White House's horrific last week
• Do you remember when Trump, Republican politicians and all right wing media demanded former President Obama resign because he 'bowed' to the Saudi king?  I sure do! Funny, they seem to have no problem with Trump's 'curtsy' for the Saudi King, let alone the clear bow down to him.  Heck, it looked like Trump was looking for a soft rug to kneel on, but the right remains silent
  
• First Lady Melania Trump is not a fan of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, wanting him fired because she blames him for how her husband has been portrayed in the media
• As Trump visits Saudi Arabia, it's pointed out worldwide autocratic regimes love Trump, because they feel he's like them, but "dumber"
• As Trump completes the 110 billion dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, further analysis points to the deal indeed being an illegal transaction due to the Saudi's continued military aggression
• Trump, a man who criticized Michelle Obama for NOT wearing a headscarf when she visited Saudi Arabia in 2015, seems perfectly okay with the women in his entourage not wearing them while there
  
• North Korea tests another ballistic missile, this after Trump has told them they were not supposed to do that "OR ELSE...!" Still have not heard what that meant
• Donald Trump Jr. was paid to be the commencement speaker at American University in Dubai. It should be noted Trump criticized former President Bill Clinton's speech at the same University because he felt it was a way for the Saudi's to buy influence with Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic nominee for President
• It's reported White House aides have conducted their 2nd Twitter intervention on Trump, trying to stop him for posting insanely stupid things live on social media.  An earlier attempt in November of 2016, after the election, failed to subdue him
  
• Trump has insisted the Saudi arms deal for 110 billion will create a lot of American jobs.  He's repeatedly stated this.  It's now reported the arms deal actually allows the Saudi's to manufacture the helicopters and arms in Saudi Arabia, NOT the USA
• Of the other 55 billion dollar deals the Saudi's put together with US businesses, deals Trump has touted as creating American jobs, almost all of those jobs will be located in Saudi Arabia
  
• It's reported the Trump Administration has refused to hand over former Trump Adviser Rudy Giuliani's anti-Muslim travel ban memo by the court ordered deadline
• After 'slightly implying' he was for more rights for women in Muslim countries, Trump gleefully attends a Toby Keith concert in Saudi Arabia with the King, a concert where women were forbidden to attend
• It's pointed out in Trump's speech to Saudi Arabians, he failed to do something he railed against former President Obama for not doing; Trump failed to use the specific term "radical Islamic terrorism"
  
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ordering Israeli officials who don't want to be at the reception for Trump to be there.  There are numerous good reasons at this point for any Israeli to boycott the Trump reception
• In one of the weirder moments I've ever seen from a world leader, Trump decided to join members of the Saudi royal family and laid his hands on a large white glowing orb.  I'm sure it's meant to signify something, but it actually looks incredibly bizarre
  
• In the moment before Trump's photo was taken palming a large white glowing orb like a super villain, First Lady Melania Trump can be seen also with her hand on the orb, but is quickly dragged away by handlers to prevent her from being in the photos with the Middle Eastern officials.  Trump does nothing to stop her removal
  
• Trump's most fervent supporters , the Extremist Christians, racists and white supremacists are all losing it right now because Trump called Islam "one of the world's great faiths"
  
• Trump's White House blamed a mistake he made during a speech in Saudi Arabia on an interesting excuse.  Trump, a man who's little more than 120 days into his term as President, a man who has spent at least 25 of those days golfing, and a man who leaves the job in the evening like he's punching out at a Home Depot, is apparently "exhausted."
  
• This seems to be a fine time to mention one of Trump and his followers major criticisms of Hillary Clinton was that she was physically unable to perform the job of President.  But Trump is, I guess, a little tuckered...
  
• Right wing media favorable to Trump (Fox News) is comically trying to prevent anything Trump is doing on his overseas trip from being seen or reported
  
• In an interview which should make everyone question whether he should remain the National Security Adviser, H.R. McMaster insists he can't remember what Trump said in the super secret Russian Oval Office meeting.  Asked specifically if he could recall Trump calling Comey a "nut Job," McMaster states "Well, I don't remember exactly what the president said"
  
• The House is expected to ask, and if need be, subpoena, every note the White House has in regards to meetings with Russia
  
• 150 Notre Dame University graduates walked on Vice President Pence's commencement speech.  Notre Dame is not exactly the most liberal college in America and it is located in Pence's home state of Indiana
  
• Do you remember when Trump used to criticize Hillary Clinton because the Clinton Foundation, an organization she had zero day-to-day hands on management of, was receiving donations from foreign donors, and how Trump said it was buying influence?  I sure do!  First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump's personal organization, the World Bank's Women Entrepreneurs Fund, an organization Ivanka DOES have day to day management of, has received 100 million dollars from both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  It should also be mentioned Trump has started putting his daughter in charge of managing policy meetings and running the country when he's not around
  
• A wealthy financial backer of Trump, John Boswell, on Inauguration weekend in DC, sexually abused two maids at the Mayflower Hotel.  He was convicted, was sentenced to 10 days in jail, which he did not serve, and was put on probation, right before he went to the Bahamas
• Trump's EPA Transition head, Myron Ebell, spoke at a conservative conference where he lamented it was taking too long(?!?) to repeal all green energy and anti-pollution rules in the USA
• The Trump White House, after passing rules which say lobbyists can't work in Administration positions representing the fields they were lobbying for until two years has passed, has taken steps to block the disclosure of the lobbyists who Trump has issued waivers for.  It's suspected Trump has hired dozens of former lobbyists, maybe over 100, in his promise to 'drain the swamp'
• The Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross bragged about how Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia went off without any protesters, implying Trump is wildly popular in Saudi Arabia.  What Ross is failing to acknowledge is the brutal crackdown of it's own people Saudi Arabia has done, especially with Trump's visit, where the population was repeatedly warned about not embarrassing the Saudi royal family.  The Saudi's regularly jail protesters for protesting
  
• Trump reiterates former President Obama's stance on Iran, that Iran needs to stop funding terrorists and militias.  What Trump left out was how his hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan was likely funded/in partnership with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Iran's international illegal money making/terrorist supporting organization
  
• When Trump arrived in Israel, Trump attempted to take the hand of the First Lady, Melania, who was noticeably walking behind him.  When he reached out, she slapped his hand away
  
• Senator Patty Murphy has asked the US Office of Government Ethics to determine if Trump is violating the Constitution (AGAIN!), due to a public pension fund which sends money to an investment fund which owns properties Trump's private companies are paid to operate
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, Former National Security Adviser and Senior Trump Campaign Adviser Michael Flynn announced he will ignore the Senate Intelligence Committee's requests and will cite the 5th Amendment to prevent from self-incrimination
• A hot mic catches the Israeli First Family, the Netanyahu's, comforting Trump, telling him the people love him, no matter what the media says
  
• Trump announced an all out war against Medicaid and programs designed to assist low-income Americans.  The budget to be unveiled this week is supposed to include dramatic cuts to Medicaid and various programs
• The Carrier company, where Trump claimed he'd prevented all their jobs from moving to Mexico, announced 632 jobs are moving to Mexico
  
• An unofficial survey of European political leaders points to a lot of frustration, fear and anger about Trump prior to his first official European visit.  Some of the comments mentioned: Trump is unstable, Trump is encouraging racists in our country, Trump is working with Putin to destabilize Europe, Trump and Putin stole the US election, Trump will start a war to try to get better poll numbers, Trump is a new Mussolini, and, we remember fascism, but never thought it would happen in America
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, Trump apparently asked both the Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and NSA Admiral Michael Rogers to publicly deny any evidence linking Trump and his campaign to Russian officials.  Both Coats and Rogers denied his request.  This was apparently another attempt at discrediting the FBI's investigation into Trump.  The Washington Post reported the news, and apparently the NSA has memo's documenting Trump's request.  "The problem...was asking them to issue false statements"
  
• Both Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort and Trump Adviser/BFF Roger Stone have started to turn over documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee
• The Congress is threatening to hold Michael Flynn in Contempt of Congress for not turning over the requested documents
• The Honorable Bonehead Trump, during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated, in regards to blabbing the secret intelligence he wasn't supposed to blab to Russia, he "never mentioned the world or the name Israel"  (Everyone face palm!) As Fox News' Shepard Smith quite elegantly pointed out "The Washington Post...reported on the sharing of the intelligence. None ever claimed the president identified the source as an Israeli...though apparently [Trump] just did."
  
• The Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer actually does a face palm when Trump implies Israel is not in the Middle East.  While in Israel, Trump stated, "We just got back from the Middle East"
  
• The Top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, states Michael Flynn did indeed lie in 2016, during the renewal of his security clearance.  That would be against the law
• Trump and his Senior Budget Advisor Mick Mulvaney have proposed their budget plans.  They are indeed planning on gutting all social safety net programs to give more money to the military, and to use in building their border wall
• An artist portrayed Jeff Sessions in a KKK outfit and projected the image onto the Department of Justice Building 
  
• Trumps Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said "we absolutely need" Robert Mueller's special investigation into Russia, starkly disagreeing with her boss, Trump
• Trump's budget calls for the dismantling of the EPA's Superfund, the program used to clean up toxic waste sites, a program even EPA Director, climate change denier and anti-environmental zealot Scott Pruitt has claimed is part of the EPA's core mission
• InfoWars, the conspiracy theory, insane fringe news site, run by an incredible buffoon, Alex Jones, has been given press credentials for the White House
  
• Once again, the Trump Administration is targeting Haitians, by saying the ones in the USA who are protected from deportation under the federal program for victims of disaster, will only have 6 more months here before Trump will start shipping them back
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a major confidant and advisor to Trump, says he repeatedly warned Trump about hiring Michael Flynn in the Administration
• A small sinkhole has appeared in front of Mar-A-Lago
  
• An official White House Press Release states Trump is committed to a "lasting peach" in the Middle East.  I love a good peach myself...
  
• After the disgusting terrorist attack in Manchester England at an Ariana Grande concert, Trump resorts to name calling, labeling the terrorists who killed at least 23 and injured over 50 others as evil "losers"
• Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former Campaign Manager, a man who pushed around a woman at a campaign event and lied about it, a man who's been clearly working as a lobbyist even though he is not registered as one, and a man who has been bragging to his clients he has complete access to Trump, including the Twitter feed and the Administration staffing choices, is telling White House insiders Trump is about to bring him back inside the White House
• In an insanely foolish move, Trump wants to sell off half of the US's strategic oil reserve to pay down debt
  
• Trump's White House releases their budget and it's immediately pointed out their budget is dependent on a 2 TRILLION dollar math error, a mythical increase in revenue no one can justify or validate
• White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney insists the best part of gutting all the programs geared to helping the neediest in America is that it provides real "compassion" for taxpayers
• People are starting to wonder if Trump is suffering from early stage dementia.  They point to his speech pattern as the concern
  
• In more BOMBSHELL TESTIMONEY, Former CIA Director John Brennan testified to the House Intelligence Committee the clear "contacts and interaction" between the Trump Campaign and the Russian government was a real concern. "...revealed contacts and interactions between [Russian] officials and...the Trump Campaign...I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts..." "And it raised questions in my mind whether or not the Russians were able to gain the cooperation of those individuals."
• Brennan revealed he had contacted his Russian counterpart, Alexander Bortnikov, of the Russian FSB, and told the Russian's to stop interfering in the US election.  Comically, Bortnikov feigned ignorance and promised to take Brennan's concerns to Putin
  
• Brennan revealed he'd briefed Congressional Leaders in Aug/Sept of 2016.  At that point, Democrats wanted to go public with the concerns, but the GOP, who controlled Congress at that point, refused to allow it
  
• The GOP requested Brennan refute direct evidence of Trump/Russian Collusion.  Brennan - "I don't do evidence.  I do intelligence"
• Brennan added he felt Trump's blabbing to the Russian of secret intelligence may have violated 2 protocols for disclosing top secret information
• Brennan also confirmed Cyprus is a key country which helps with Russian money laundering.  This means not only are Paul Manafort's connections to Cyprus more suspicious, but it adds Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and his connections to Cyprus, into the mix
• Brennan, while smacking Rep. Trey Gowdy around, pointed to the Russian's long history of successfully compromising foreign businessmen and then installing them into high positions in foreign government, adding this is one of the reasons Trump was extremely appealing to the Russians
• Trump's note he left at the Israeli Holocaust Memorial reads more like the sign in at a Six Flags Amusement Park, not appropriate or representative of the serious nature of the memorial
  
  
  
  
• The Federal Election Commission is now entering into the Trump/Russia scandal as they believe Trump and his team colluded with the Russian to spread anti-Clinton Facebook content
• Trump's unpopularity is scaring Republicans in deep red areas of the country, as races in Montana, Georgia and Virginia all are pointing to Democratic advances
• The White House's budget proposal slashes the Agriculture budget by 47 billion, further showing Trump does not care for the voters who got him elected, rural Americans
• Trump, landing in Rome, once again tries to take his wife, First Lady Melania Trump's, hand and is once again denied as she quickly moves her hand away from his as they descend the stairs of Air Force One
  
• It's been revealed the Interior Department specifically removed climate change data and information from a news release on coastal flooding, adding "it didn't add anything," although the co-author of the report strongly disagrees.  "The suppression of this information is a scandal. A crime against the American People."
• Is Trump Son-in-law Jared Kushner the current White House official under investigation for working with the Russians?  His connections to Russian banks currently under US sanctions, and those banks undeniable direct ties to Putin, make him a likely candidate for further scrutiny 
• New Jersey Governor Christie apparently warned Jared Kushner that Trump had "better lawyer up and keep his mouth shut"
  
• David Clarke, Milwaukee County Sheriff, revealed he might already have been passed over for his job at Homeland Security due to his plagiarism
• US Farm groups are visibly upset and angry at Trump's proposed cuts to agriculture spending.  They've been speaking out against them
• An "un-named White House spokesman" is the official Trump White House response to the John Brennan testimony before Congress.  By the way, the Unnamed White House spokesman primarily rallied against the anonymous leaks coming from the White House, but did not challenge the leaks themselves, nor did they refute Brennan's testimony
  
• The Senate Intelligence Committee has formally subpoenaed Michael Flynn's company.  After Flynn himself refused to hand over subpoenaed information, citing the 5th Amendment, the Senate has stated "Businesses don't have a right to take the 5th"
• It should be noted the 'great dealmaker' Trump has left Israel without so much as a base framework for a peace deal between Israel and Palestine in place.  Reminder, Trump stated Middle East Peace would be "easy"
• Trump's budget annihilates public education, syphoning off billions to be used for a small percentage of students to attend 'for profit' private schools instead.  It should be noted numerous studies show Charter Schools and private school vouchers programs both produce a far lower quality of educated student, when compared directly to a regular public school educated student
  
• In April, Trump praised Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, either endorsing, or not realizing, his drug war has led to the death of 9000 people, some of whom Duterte has bragged about killing himself
• Former President Obama's official photographer trolls Trump by showing all the pictures he has taken with Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama holding hands
• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has called people who are skeptical of school choice plan akin to "flat-earthers," "fighting innovation in education." Her plan is to take public tax dollars, shovel it into 'for-profit' education companies, and in turn get far worse results when compared to keeping the kids in public school options
  
• The Republicans in Congress have basically told Trump his budget is dead on arrival
• Trump's budget completely cuts Planned Parenthood out of all Federal programs, leaving nothing in place to take care of the 97% of what they do which isn't abortions
• Trump has a private attorney, Marc Kasowitz.  Kasowitz (and I'm not making this up) was previously the lawyer for Russia's biggest bank
• Trump has named a right wing blogger who likened abortion to slavery, John Bush, as his nominee to the US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson states he has no plans on filling most of the open positions currently vacant in the State Department.  He implies the Department works fine without them.  It doesn't
  
  
• The Trump Administration has blabbed again, this time with the name of the Manchester, UK bomber Salmen Abedi.  The British had shared the name with US officials prior to the Manchester police publicly announcing it.  It's likely the leak came from the White House itself.  This would make the second close US ally who's now skeptical of sharing secret intelligence with the Americans due to President Blabby and his blabby Administration
• Senator Lindsey Graham ridiculed Trump's dramatic budget cuts to the diplomatic and foreign aid budgets. "If we implement this budget we...put a lot of people at risk"
• Trump met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the reception seems to have been less than friendly.  The Pope urged Trump to be a peacemaker and gave him two letters, his 2017 message "Nonviolence - A Style of Politics from Peace" and his 2015 letter expressing the need for everyone to address climate change.  Trump said he'd read them both
  
• The Pope and Melania apparently made a joke about Trump's eating of cake, and his weight
  
• It's pointed out Joe Lieberman has some problems as the potential nominee to become the new Director of the FBI.  He's grown to have a very close relationship with Trump, something which would clearly call into question his ability to conduct a fair investigation into Trump.  He also has relationships with Trump's private lawyer, Kasowitz, and numerous other conflicts of interest which cast a shadow over his potential leadership
• Trump Son-in Law and Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner is coming under fire for being a Baltimore slumlord.  Apparently his properties are poorly maintained, unsafe, and dirty, and when someone doesn't pay, he and his lawyers hound the tenant through the legal system, even for minuscule amounts of money owed
  
• Joe Lieberman is no longer being considered for the position of Director of the FBI
  
• The FCC announces it won't be pursuing charges against late night TV host Stephen Colbert 
• James Runcie, the former Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid, resigned, stating he could no longer serve in good conscious considering Education Secretary Betsy DeVos only wanted to use him as a political pawn.  DeVos was trying to force him to testify to the House, which he did not want to do, because he labeled it political theater.  He was also upset DeVos' plan seems to be to divert as much of the Education budget to Charter Schools as she possibly can
• Trump made billionaire Carl Icahn his Special Adviser on Financial Regulation, and Icahn personally saved 60 million dollars in quarter one alone from changes he made to biofuel policies
• Trump's budget proposal slashes funding to the UN, pretty much making it impossible for them to continue their essential work
• The House Financial Services Committee has asked Deutsche Bank to provide information on whether any of Trump's accounts there have ties to Russia in any way
  
• Democratic Representative Al Green states he is proceeding in drafting the Articles of Impeachment against Trump
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, Trump apparently told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte the location of two of the US Navy's nuclear submarines stationed near North Korea.  He apparently did so solely to brag
  
• In a bad sign for Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Spicer, a devout Catholic, was specifically cut from Trump's entourage going to meet the Pope
  
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, it's discovered the "intelligence" which James Comey used to validate the disclosure of the FBI's further investigation into Clinton's e-mail, in the weeks before the election, was more than likely fake Russian intelligence, purposely disguised as a fake smoking gun, designed to push Comey to disclose the investigation
• Trump promised to donate all the profits his private businesses receive from overseas governments to the US Treasury, but now says it's impractical to require his customers to identify where they're from
• Trump demanded any discussion of Russia needed to be removed from the NATO agenda.  To get him to even show up, they reluctantly obliging the big Russian baby
• The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson stated "poverty, to a large extent, is also a state of mind." Wow...
  
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, the Congressional Budget office (CBO) finally released it's report on the Trumpcare bill which the House passed with high fives and a kegger on the US House floor.  It stated 23 million people will lose their health insurance under Trumpcare, 14 million within the first year
• Attorney General Jeff Session did not disclose his meetings with the Russians on his security clearance forms.  That would be illegal
• BuzzFeed is reporting the reception manager at Mar-A-Lago has become an official Federal/White House employee, without any screening, as she's working logistics for the European leg of Trump's overseas trip.  Heather Rinkus has been issued a government Blackberry and e-mail, and is married to two time convicted felon Ari Rinkus, currently on probation for his part in a Ponzi scheme
  
• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a person who insists Charter Schools are the future, refused to answer if she'd send her kids to a failing Charter School in Wisconsin, when being questioned in the US House
• DeVos went onto say she had no problem handing federal dollars to private/charter schools which have a policy of discrimination, even though a portion of the tax dollars they are getting are undeniably coming from the people the schools are discriminating against
• According to the New York Times, last summer, the Russians were caught discussing how to influence top advisers to Trump's campaign, specifically focusing on Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn
• A report is floating around one of the reasons Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon returned early from their trip overseas is that Trump is preparing to fire numerous people when he returns to the US
  
• Israel has announced it's made changes in it's intelligence sharing process in the aftermath of Trump blabbing Israeli intelligence to the Russians
• Reince Priebus is also concerned about potential memos from former FBI Director James Comey.  Reince and James apparently had a few chats themselves
• Apparently Trump can not stop himself from interrupting every meeting to fume about the Russia probe and James Comey
  
• The Trump Administration insists it isn't anti-science even though their latest budget proposal dramatically slashes the budget for the EPA Science Office
  
• Two interesting interactions between Trump and the new French President.  First, he told the new French President Emmanuel Macron, "you were my guy."  He CLEARLY was openly supporting Marine Le Pen, Macron's opponent
• Macron also nullified Trump's attempt at is power handshake, by grabbing Trump's hand tightly and not letting go, even when you could tell the knuckles on both hands were turning white
• Trump spoke to NATO, at what was supposed to be a Unity Ceremony, and it went as poorly as one would expect.  He showed tremendous contempt for our European allies.  He spent his time berating member countries for not paying their fair share, and for not spending enough on defense.  He also failed to endorse Article 5, which outlines the principles of a collective defense
  
• Many watching the Trump NATO speech had the same reaction; It was painful to watch
  
• During a NATO photo op, Trump quite ruddy pushed his way past Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, and it looked like he told the Prime Minister to "Move."  He then spent a few moments with a smug look on his face while he adjusted his suit
  
• Apparently Sean Spicer is livid Trump axed him, at the last second, from the official Papal visit 
• The hacker Guccifer 2.0 was contacted by a Florida Republican operative, Aaron Nevins, and begged for Guc to send him anything he could on Florida.  Ten days later Guc sent him 2.5 gigabytes of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Documents.  Nevis then posted them anonymously to a blog site.  Guc then sent a link to the blog to Trump ally Roger Stone.  Nevin's defended his actions as standard political practice.  No, no they aren't
  
• The US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to continue to block Trump's Unconstitutional Immigrant/Refugee/Muslim travel ban
• The US Military states the Mosul attack that went poorly, under Trump's command, killed more than 100 innocent people
  
• First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband, Trump son-in law and Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner have been caught with ANOTHER ethics violation, this one courtesy of Instagram.  They failed to disclose the multimillion dollar art collection in public financial disclosures, even after posting images of the art work on social media
• More experts are being critical of Trump's damaging NATO speech and appearance, with it being described as negative in multiple ways, like "pretty much a disaster," and Trump was "making America look cheap and small"
  
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, Trump son-in law and Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner is now officially the White House staff member "under scrutiny" by the FBI.  The FBI feels Jared has "significant information relevant" to the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to hack the 2016 Election
  
• Trump is suggesting a new trade war.  He's implying he's going to start going after German car sales in the US.  Trump said "The Germans are evil, very evil.  Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US, and we'll stop that"
• Trumpcare scores so poorly with the CBO, the Senate now feels the have the justification to kill it outright and start fresh
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel brought a map with her when she met Trump because she was convinced Trump was unaware of the danger Russia and Putin pose to the world.  She left feeling as if he still didn't understand the danger, or maybe he just didn't care
  
• The Trump Administration announces global climate program cuts as Trump is in Europe, being asked to stay in the Paris climate accord
• A new study in the journal Nature specifically calls out EPA Director Scott Pruitt for his false claim that global warming has leveled off.  Their study shows it clearly hasn't.  One other point about Pruitt's comments; I though the GOP felt climate change was a hoax?  If it's a hoax, how can they insist it's leveling off?
• Trump's new budget decimates funding for low income individuals, affecting 15 million households, jeopardizing them to potential homelessness
  
• Trump wants to end the Community Development Block Grant, a massive and important source for local funding needs, a program which has helped people in almost every community in America
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions has claimed he'll be very tough on drug crimes, but he apparently doesn't feel the same way about the banks which help finance the drug trade, as he has decided to not prosecute Citigroup's Mexico-based subsidiary, even though there is damning evidence it helped in a cross-border money laundering scheme for years
  
• A House panel demands punishment for Turkish body guards of their president attacking US citizens who were protesting him, on US soil!  So far Trump has refused to acknowledge the attack by the bodyguards of his dictator buddy
• Trump calls North Korea a "big problem," but claims he'll solve it.  He doesn't explain how, or offer any details
• The Ukrainians have reported they've been questioned by the FBI in regards to Paul Manafort's past
  
• According to Nobel Prize winning cardiologist Bernard Lown, Trump approached him in 1986 very interested in getting a job for negotiating a nuclear disarmament deal with the Russians.  Apparently Reagan passed on the appointment
• After Trump's latest budget proposal, people who are struggling with the opioid crisis now realize Trump was lying to them in regards to his commitment to tackling the major growing opioid crisis in the US
• Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has evaluated the Trump presidency so far.  Everything Trump's done "has been a complete disaster"
• The reason the FBI is so interested in Trump son-in law and Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner is due to the eyebrow raising coincidence that every time Jared met with the Russians, they almost immediately began a new front in their multi-pronged approach to influence the 2016 Election
  
• Trump vows to appeal the ban on his Unconstitutional Immigrant/Refugee/Muslim travel ban to the Supreme Court
• In ANOTHER BOMBSHELL, a report surfaced NSA Chief Mike Rogers has told staff at the NSA there's definitive evidence Trump and his 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian Government
  
• DJ Whoo Kid recalls when he had Trump on his hip hop radio show ten years ago, where he was a guest along side known drug dealers.  I put this on the list because if this was a Democratic president, the Republican narrative would be "is he still 'pal-ing' around with his drug dealing buddies?!?"
• Former FBI Director James Comey went public with the Clinton e-mail story prior to the election even though he was positive the document which pushed him to do so was likely from the Russians themselves.  He was concerned what would happen if he remained silent
• Always a calming voice, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told Fox & Friends the information he reviews would keep most normal people locked in their homes all the time
  
• Trump released his official message to Muslims on the eve of Ramadan, and, after a warm greeting, he proceeded to focus the rest of the message on terrorism
• As the Trump Administration tries to take the US back to 1887 in regards to coal usage, Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn stated "coal doesn't even make that much sense anymore."  He followed it up by encouraging America to focus their energy development on solar and wind, as doing so would make us a "manufacturing powerhouse"
  
  
  

I evaluate Trump voters this way:  You're in your office.  You and your co-workers decide to get one of the best hamburgers in town.  Everyone is happy outside of the one guy who hates the better hamburger.  He wants the gas station hamburger instead.  He volunteers to get the food, and then tricks everyone by getting gas station hamburgers, instead of what everyone wants.  As everyone is angrily chewing, he keeps insisting it's the best hamburger ever made, eagerly watching everyone's faces.  He can't wait for when he's been prove correct all along; when everyone agrees the mass produced, microwaved hamburger is so much better than the fresh ones everyone wanted.  Then everyone starts getting sick.  Everyone, including the office dolt, vomits all over everything.  The gas station hamburger guy, outraged everyone is sick, wipes his own vomit from his chin, and screams "I don't care what you say, this gas station Trump burger is STILL the best one ever."

I fly my flag on Memorial Day in spite of the jackass inhabiting the White House.  God Bless America.