President Trump, Week 38

Here's this week's list of national embarrassments coming from President Trump, and the White House, for the week beginning Monday October 2nd to Sunday October 8th.  This is likely not all of the Trump team's transgressions, but it's most of them.

Weekly explanation: I'm making this list for one reason.  If the President in the White House had a 'D' next to their name, the same House and Senate Republicans who are currently aging like the Portrait of Doran Gray, would not be so quiet . Everything on this list would've garnered at least a press conference, many items would've triggered official Congressional investigations, and some would've lead to impeachment proceedings.  Instead, the GOP, knowing their primary process has got them all screwed, are flipping coins to determine if they run or if they retire.

For the record, I was in Kansas City for Friday through Sunday.  I think I got most of the major news Bar-B-Que chunks, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a large item or two I missed.  If so, please leave a comment and I'll add any stories I overlooked, as needed.

We begin our journey like a obedient Mike Pence storming out of an NFL game...or storming away from a woman (Jezebel)!

• A leaked memo from White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert lays out a plan of attack to deflect any blame away from Trump for his dismal response to Hurricane Maria, and Puerto Rico specifically.  Bossert's attempting to convince everyone Trump's not to blame for relief efforts, outlining talking points which feature the phrase 'bright future ahead' for Puerto Rico.  No talking about the disaster and lackluster response
• White House Counsel Don McGahn almost quit over the meeting Trump had with his son Trump Jr. (Tweddle Dee) after the Russian/Trump Tower meeting came to light.  McGahn felt that meeting constituted witness tampering.  He was talked out of resigning
  
• Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin admits it's likely most of the middle class will not see any tax break under Trump's new tax plan
  
• Daniel Dale from the Toronto Star exposes 8 Trump lies during an impromptu press meeting on Wednesday about the mythical Senator in the hospital, hence the reason Trumpcare didn't pass
  
• In a laughable statement, Brock Long, Trump's head of FEMA, defended the Administration's horrific response to Hurricane Maria by stating it's "the most logistically challenging event in US History."  REALLY?!?  There are about a hundred incidents I could pull off the top of my head, but we'll just go with the Revolutionary War to begin with...
• As Trump and his Administration try to paint a rosy picture of life in Puerto Rico, and how their response is 'the best ever,' a leaked Pentagon memo states the situation in Puerto Rico is dire
• A cholera outbreak has been reported in Puerto Rico.  Yes, Trump's delayed response, and his demanding repayment of owed money first, played a role in that
• Twelve days after Maria hit Puerto Rico, only 5% of the electrical grid has been fixed
  
• To Trump's credit, he quickly put out a message of support for the shooting victims gunned down at a country music festival in Las Vegas.  He did use the odd phrase "warmest condolences," something I GUARANTEE, President Obama would have been harshly criticized for using after a mass shooting at a country music concert
• A new batch of emails associated with Paul Manafort, Trump's former Campaign Chairman, showed he was hoping his close ties to Trump would impress Oleg Deripaska, a wealthy Russian with close ties to the Kremlin and Putin
  
• In new documents Trump turned over to the Russia investigation, it's revealed there were at least two more previously undisclosed contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians, both conducted by Trump's personal attorney Micheal Cohen.  One contact occurred in 2015, and another a few weeks before the RNC in Cleveland
• In a sign Trump's been compromised by his own family, in regards to First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband White House Advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump's more concerned about the bad press they're receiving, not the work they're doing
• The Department of the Interior has now launched a formal investigation into the travel arrangements made by Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke.  He's been caught using tax payer dollars liberally in regards to private plane usage
• White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders went after reporters who asked her questions about gun legislation after the Las Vegas shooting, insisting it was too early and premature to talk about guns
  
• Sanders, being a Grade A hypocrite, then went on to talk about guns herself (sigh), pointing out Chicago's gun problems, insisting Chicago shows gun legislation doesn't work.  This drew a sharp rebuttal from Rep. Robin Kelly who's district includes Chicago, who pointed out most of the guns in Chicago are being brought in from Republican Indiana and Wisconsin
• Trump says he supports a 20 week abortion ban, with limited exceptions, but doesn't elaborate what exactly those exceptions would be (life of the mother, rape, incest)
• The White House reiterated it's currently not interested in ANY diplomacy with North Korea
  
• Republicans in the Senate pushed Trump's desire to see FCC Chairman Ajit Pai receive another five year term.  Pai is trying to undo President Obama era internet rules, turning the internet into something more like cable TV.  Most Democrats objected to his term
• An Anti-Muslim/Anti-Sharia Law group with close ties to Trump, ACT for America, has a little problem, Nazis!  The Nazis have infiltrated the group and are taking over the organization, leaving Trump, who's personal friends with the founder Brigitte Gabriel, in a tough position
• Over 10 million people saw Russian election ads from Facebook.  Most of them favored Trump and were purchased for under $1000, many from Russian sources
  
• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' demand for high end US Marshals for her security detail will cost taxpayers an additional 6 million in tax payer dollars next year
• Secretary of Energy Rick Perry authorized up to 3.7 billion dollars in tax payer backed loans to help finish building the last remaining new nuclear power plant in the US.  This is on top of 8.3 billion in previous loan guarantees for the troubled project, which if it fails, would mean the US taxpayers will be out 12 billion dollars.  And it's nuclear...
  
• Trump has ordered nearly 2/3rds of Cuba's diplomatic personnel to leave the US
• As the US confirmed John Huntsman to be the new Ambassador to Russia, Russia is once again floating this "damaged relationship with the US" narrative.  Considering they CLEARLY have a direct line to Trump, this seems like a weak attempt to change US public opinion of Trump/Russia connections
• Trump calls the massacre in Las Vegas "in many ways, a miracle,"(!!!) and then promises to look at gun laws "as time goes by"
• A new poll shows Trump's attempts to vilify the media to the public seems to be failing, as the media overall is gaining increased trust from the American people
  
• Truck drivers in Puerto Rico are not able too drive for many reasons; damage to their trucks, damaged roads, and virtually no gas on the island.  That didn't stop Trump, likely fueled by a fake right wing blog piece which insisted the truck drivers in Puerto Rico are on strike, from criticizing Puerto Ricans again for not helping themselves, and calling for their drivers to start driving. FYI, the truck drivers in Puerto Rico are NOT on strike
• By the way, the source which contradicted the fake Puerto Rican trucking story was US Air Force Colonel Michael Valle, which means Trump is not even talking to his own people on the ground, rather leaning on right wing fake news blogs for his updates from the island
• Trump and his wife finally head to Puerto Rico, almost two weeks after the hurricane strike
  
• Former W. Bush aides are saying that since "Trump has no notable capacity for empathy" he'll fail spectacularly in his attempts at healing a grieving nation, in regards to the Las Vegas Massacre and Hurricane damage 
• Secretary of Defense James Mattis once again breaks with Trump, and the ignorance of the modern right movement, and insists the US needs to honor the Iranian Deal crafted by President Obama and other world leaders
• It's now been reported that First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband White House Advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner actually have a third private email account which they've been using for official government business
  
• Trump's CIA Director Mike Pompeo refused to show Senate Intelligence Committee members information about Russian election interference after a formal request
• Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, is racking up the special investigations.  Let's count them down! 1) They're probing his attempt to transfer 50 senior employees to new positions, giving them zero say, 2) he's being investigated for threatening Senator Lisa Murkowski's if she didn't vote for Trumpcare, 3) he's being investigated for abusing tax payer dollars for his airline flights, habits he's refusing to change, and now 4) his wife, Lolita Zinke, is being investigated for taking tax payer funded flights as well, something which she's not supposed to do either
  
• Trump's UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was one of the few votes against a new UN resolution condemning the death penalty for people solely for being LGBTQ.  That's right, the US voted for executing people because of their sexual identity 
  
• Trump, furious over sports teams turning down his invites to the White House, has stopped offering them, not even formally inviting the South Carolina women's basketball team to visit
• Former Senior Presidential Advisor Steve Bannon has warned Trump that if he even entertains the idea of tighter gun restrictions, he will declare war on Trump.  It's not clear of Trump was entertaining the idea, but apparently Bannon has a leash on Trump
• How about ANOTHER investigation of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.  He's now being investigated for possibly violating the Hatch Act, when he gave a pro-Trump political speech to the NHL hockey team, the Vegas Golden Knights, who are owned by a major donor to his campaign, Bill Foley.  It's illegal for executive branch employees to engage in political activity
  
• Trump landed in Puerto Rico and it was almost an instant mess.  He started off by telling the island that since ONLY 16 people died, instead of thousands, they can be proud of that, implying they're lucky
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: Trump said Puerto Rico didn't suffer a real catastrophe, like Katrina
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: the death toll was actually 34 by the time Trump addressed the island, not 16
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: Trump starts off by praising the governor of Puerto Rico for praising him
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: proving businessmen should NOT be president, Trump, "I hate to tell you Puerto Rico, but you are throwing our budget out of whack.  We spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico..."
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: he praised the Coast Guard for all their work, until he was informed he was actually addressing members of the Air Force
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: as he is passing out flashlights, is telling the people they don't need them anymore.  Only 7% of the island has power
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: thinking the one thing the people of Puerto Rico needed most was paper towels, tossed rolls to the crowd
  
• Trump in Puerto Rico: Tells hurricane victims to 'have a good time"
  
• FBI Director Christopher Wray insists Russia will try even harder in the next election
• Vice President Mike Pence's Chief of Staff Nick Ayers was recorded stating the party better unify behind Trump or they might have to purge those Republicans who are against him.  "Imagine the possibilities if the party unifies behind him? ...we can purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him."
• Something which will make most Republicans furious, The White House is open to finding a path for Dreamers to become citizens
• The Justice Department went against it's own anti-nepotism guidelines when Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Koffsky changed the opinion on January 20th, paving the way for Trump to hire First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband White House Advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner
  
• The Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz has had some interesting interactions with the Trump campaign.  First she heard she'd refused to meet with Trump when he traveled to Puerto Rico, but she had never even received an invite to meet him.  She then was invited on a conference call with Trump, but was then told by White House officials she couldn't say anything while on the call
  
• The White House's talking points on the Las Vegas Shooting have been leaked, and just like Sarah Huckabee Sanders did on Monday, it involved avoiding the Las Vegas carnage by deflecting the conversation to large cities with high gun crime rates and strict gun laws.  They also include the usual NRA talking points, probably written directly by the NRA
  
• Donald Trump Jr. (Tweedle Dee) recorded a 40 minute long informercial for gun silencers, an informercial which has come to light in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting.  He takes about how gun silencers "get kids into the [gun] game!"  He's also been a big advocate for the gun silencer bill which the House temporary pulled from the floor
  
• Apparently New York prosecutors, in 2010, were preparing felony fraud charges to be filed agains First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and moronic brother #1, Donald Trump Jr (Tweedle Dee).  Trump Lawyer, and a major donor to the New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance's office, Marc Kasowitz, made it known there'd be hell to pay if the charges were ever filed
• Another Trump Administration member, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, had to be talked out of quitting this summer, after he clashed with Trump, a man Tillerson dismissed during an ISIS briefing by referring to him as a "moron."  
• After calling Trump a "moron," Tillerson was furious at Trump's propaganda speech to the Boy Scouts of America, and threatened to not return to Washington.  This led to Vice President Pence and other senior officials begging him to stay on board
  
• Speaking of Rex Tillerson, the latest update on North Korea (follow along) Secretary of State says he's working on a diplomatic solution, Trump tweets telling to stop, Secretary of Defense James Mattis says, "No." Implies we are still committed to a diplomatic solution on the Korean Peninsula, to which State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert puts out talking points directly from Trump saying the US is done with diplomacy.  See, everything is fine!
• Another White House official, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, also violated the Hatch Act, when she retweeted Trump's endorsement of Congressional candidate Ralph Norman.  Hatch Act says you can't use your high level government position to engage in politics
• Something Trump is proposing which might be good, but I guarantee the people backing him will not like, is his vague references to completely forgiving Puerto Rico's debt in the wake of the hurricane catastrophe 
• The Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz slams Trump's visit to Puerto Rico as only a campaign stunt
• Australia is offering to assist the United States on gun reform.  The US's unexplainable reluctance to do anything about gun violence pre-dates Trump, but Trump being in the White House is the reason the rest of he world is now talking to the US like we used to talk to the rest of the world
  
• Americans are winning Nobel prizes in science categories, and so far there seems to have been zero acknowledgement of these incredible scientific achievements from the Administration
• More news the Russian ads from Facebook were specifically targeted.  Pro Trump ads crafted with anti-Muslim sentiment were specifically used on voters in Michigan and Wisconsin, with pinpoint accuracy, something the Russians would've needed help identifying
• The head of the ENVIRONMENTAL Protection Agency Scott Pruitt has nearly daily briefings with the executives of corporations he's in charge of regulating, and other far right groups, such as the Family Research Council.  The people he's had very little interaction with are environmental groups and health advocates.  He's purposely avoiding them
  
• Paul Manafort's son in law Jeffery Yohai is accusing him of conspiring to mislead federal bankruptcy courts in regards to his real estate investments.  Manafort is Trump's former Campaign Chairman
• White House officials are now saying Trump's comments about wiping out Puerto Rico's debt should not be taken 'literally or seriously'
• State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert tried to explain why the US voted against a UN proclamation condemning the use of the death penalty in cases of sexual identity by saying they didn't like the language which condemned the death penalty as a whole, and assured everyone no one in the White House is for executing LGBTQ individuals solely for being LGBTQ
  
• As Trump departs to Las Vegas after the shooting massacre, he reminds people "it's a very sad day for me personally."
• First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband White House Advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner were both fined for failing to meet their deadlines for Federal disclosure forms, AGAIN
• In a hastily put together press conference, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insists he stands behind Trump but had a non-denial denial in regards to whether he referred to Trump as a "moron"
  
• Republican Senator Richard Burr of the Senate Intelligence Committee says Russia definitely targeted more than two states with their pro-Trump advertising on social media
• Burr went onto directly discredit Trump's claim Russian meddling is a hoax
• The White House went into spin mode in regards to the report Secretary of State Rex Tillerson almost resigned.  Vice President Pence insisted he never once talked to Tillerson about his potential resignation, while Press Secretary Sanders insists Trump has full confidence in Tillerson
• Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, announced his new department policy called the "Smart Sections Program", which will allow regulated industries to have a much larger say in what they are regulated over and how they are regulated...no seriously!
  
• Canadian Education leaders are furious that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is coming to Canada to view their education system.  They seem to feel as if she is grossly unqualified to evaluate education.  I have this question: does she seem to feel she has a good enough grasp of the US's education system, after 7 months, to where she now feels she can reach out beyond it? She's hardly stepped foot in a public school, the largest form of education in the US, since taking office
• White House spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway is the latest Trump Administration figure whose lavish air travel expenses are now under scrutiny
• Robert Mueller's Special Investigation has taken over the investigating of the Steele Dossier, the Trump counter intelligence used during the Republican primary which lists the connections between Trump, his associates and the Russians.  It also contains the infamous pee tape allegation.  Mueller took over analysis of the dossier from the FBI
• Mitchell Zais, an anti public education zealot and a man who has worked to undo federal regulations in regards to education policy, is Trump's pick to be the #2 at the Department of Education
  
• Although Trump is good at golf (considering he's constantly playing) he made a dubious claim in a CNBC article where he said he is the 'club champion' at each of the 19 courses which bear his name
• Reports are Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin have formed a 'suicide pact' where if done of them is let go, the other two will quit as well
• Joel Clement, a Federal Scientist in the Interior Department who has hastily reassigned after warning the Alaskan people of the dangers of climate change, has resigned his position.  In his letter of resignation, he specifically calls out Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Trump for their "poor leadership"
  
• Apparently the actual description Rex Tillerson used for Trump was "f*cking moron"
  
• White House aides were secretly hoping Rex Tillerson would've resigned as Secretary of State today, instead of standing by Trump
• UN Ambassador Nikki Haley once again reiterated, when she voted against condemning the death penalty for GLBTQ people, she was actually not voting for executing GLBTQ people, which she undeniably was voting for
  
• Trump's nominee to run the EPA's Air and Radiation Office, William Wehrum, told a Senate Committee he's not familiar with climate data and doesn't believe man plays a role in climate change
• Trump's nominee for the EPA's Chemical and Pesticides Office, Michael Dourson, has outright refused to recuse himself from cases connected to the companies he's worked for as a toxicologist in the chemical industry
  
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in an eager state to please their leader Trump, is having a hard time justifying Trump's ordered raids against minorities.  They're now having to make egregious charges into far bigger deals just to justify their use of force.  Mind you, they could stop the relatively useless raids, but are choosing not to
• Two former CIA officials state directly that Russia could not have micro targeted US voters for Trump without assistance
• Liles Bukre is Trump's nominee for a district judgeship and, even though he says he rejects all racism, he does have a portrait of one of the most notorious racists of all time, Jefferson Davis, the 'President' of the uprising against the USA, hanging on his wall
  
• Energy Secretary Rick Perry is now confirmed to have been taking very expensive tax payer funded air flights as well, including one the day before former HHS Secretary Tom Price resigned
• Former Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush slams Trump for his lack of compassion for Puerto Rico
• Due to the growing ethics scandal emerging around First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump and her husband White House Advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Democratic lawmakers are now asking for their security clearances to be revoked
• Ryan Zinke, the Interior Secretary, is pure gold! There's ANOTHER scandal brewing around him.  In March, he was on a government trip to the Caribbean (...okay?...) and then attended a Republican party fundraiser for the Virgin Islands' Republican Party, something he explicitly can't do
  
• Regardless of his public statements, Trump apparently is livid Rex Tillerson almost resigned
• Trump seems destined to have the transgender troop ban rip apart his Administration.  He's ordered his Justice Department to ask for the legal case against it to be removed, setting up an epic showdown with Trump and the military personnel in his Administration who are staunchly against the ban
• Three US Army Special forces troops were killed and two were wounded in an ambush in Niger, as they are helping to battle Islamic Extremists in the region.  I do not think these deaths should be politicized, but the point of this list is what would the Republicans be furious about if it happened under a Democratic Administration.  Without a doubt, these deaths would've led to multiple hearings ordered by Republicans, focusing on Presidential incompetence, if a Democrat was President 
• With echoes of McCarthyism, Trump is now officially asking for Congress to start immediate investigations into the news media, specifically news he doesn't like personally
  
• Senator Bob Corker, a supposed Republican ally of Trump, had a cold comment directed at Trump.  In reference to Trump's ignorant saber rattling, Corker said Kelly, Mattis and Tillerson are the "people that help separate out country from chaos."
• An editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz asks if Trump is a 'moron' or 'just an obnoxious racist'
• The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, could barely control their giddiness as they rolled back the President Obama era workplace protections for transgender workers.  They almost were chuckling and winking as they said, 'even though there's no longer protections for transgender people, we're not condoning harassing them.' 
• It's reported Robert Mueller's team has sat down and talked with former British spy, and man behind the bombshell loaded Steele Dossier, Christopher Steele
  
• Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told media they have a First Amendment responsibility to make sure they print positive news pieces about Trump.  Nope! Not even close to what the First Amendment says
• Nothing fishy here! The Secret Service says it can't release the visitor logs of Trump's meetings at Mar-A-Lago, because there are no visitor logs.  The Secret Service stated they had no formal policy in place at Mar-A-Lago, even though they clearly know who Trump met with and when they met.  This would amount to either a massive security oversight by the agency tasked with keeping Trump safe, or the logs were destroyed purposely
  
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders continued the White House's war with the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz, insisting she's doing nothing for her constituents on the hurricane ravaged island, a clearly untrue statement
• California, in a direct rebuking of Trump, has officially become a Sanctuary State
• While Chief of Staff John Kelly was the Secretary of Homeland Security earlier this year, it was discovered his phone had become compromised.  The discovery occurred when he asked staff to help him download updates.  The good news is that Kelly had reportedly not used the personal phone when he took a White House job, so it's likely minimal governmental information was compromised
  
• The mysterious 'Apprentice' tapes, outtakes from the show which are rumored to exist, where Trump is heard saying incredibly racist and disgusting things, got a little more validation from a former Apprentice producer.  Bill Pruitt described Trump as "very much a racist," and he called the tapes "unfathomably despicable"
• The total taxpayer cost of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's flights is in the realm of $800,000
• During a photo op with Military leaders, Trump says the curious, this is the 'calm before the storm,' and then tells everyone they'll find out what that means.  He was clearly referencing the military leaders in the room when he said this
  
• Trump's pick to be Deputy Administrator for the EPA is actually a coal industry lobbyist, Andrew Wheeler
• Senior White House Advisor Stephen Miller, a man who flashed a white power sign, is trying to destroy any deal between Trump and the Democrats on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA (the Dreamers Act)
• On Thursday evening, a federal judge in Kansas formerly unsealed two documents Trump's Anti-Voting Rights Czar Kris Kobach was trying to keep hidden.  Kobach wants to make it a federal law for people have to prove citizenship prior to being registered to vote, and he eagerly wants to begin a campaign to repress minority voting rights
• Trump announces plans to decertify the Iranian Nuclear Deal, pretty much only because President Obama was on board with it.  Trump's generals all feel this would be a massive mistake
  
• A reminder that Republicans said, last Fall, politicians and family members are compromised if they are getting paid for speeches.  Donald Trump Jr. (Tweddle Dee) gave a 100K speech in Alabama on Thursday and is in line for a few more six figure speeches.  The silence you hear is ZERO outrage from Republicans
• Facebook is refusing Congressional requests to release the 3,000 Russian purchased Pro-Trump, anti-Hillary ads which impacted the election of 2016
• A reminder:  Republicans main 'legitimate' complaint against President Obama was how he had not done enough to lower the deficit.  A conservative evaluation of Trump's new tax plan has, at the very least, a deficit increase of 2 TRILLION dollars.  The silence you hear is ZERO outrage from Republicans 
• Republican Senators Richard Burr and Chuck Grassley have both been caught lying about the Steele Dossier, the opposition research on Trump from the 2016 campaign which exposed his extensive Russian connections and he enjoyment of urine.  The argument they've put forward is they could never get an interview with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who complied the Steele Dossier, but apparently Steele offered the Congressional leaders a sit down interview, which they refused
  
• Trump is apparently still furious at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling him a "moron," excuse me, an "F-ing moron."  Reports are Tillerson's days (hours) as Secretary of State are numbered and Trump is already calling on CIA Mike Pompeo to take over the role
• Puerto Rico, as of Friday, still has half of the island without out drinking water and only 9.2% of the island having electricity.  Trump's FEMA has decided the best way to solve these issues is by removing the metrics about the conditions in Puerto Rico from their website, and replacing them with pro-Trump propaganda
• Trump is announcing plans which will allow a business owners personal religious beliefs to dictate reproductive health services the company has to offer to their employees.  What were the Republicans freaking out about in regards to Sharia Law?
  
• GOP staffers report the Senate Judiciary Committee's Russian probe really isn't investigating.  They're holding hearings and conducting interviews, but apparently it's all window dressing to make it look like they're doing something
  
• Massive staff shortages in Administration positions are taking a dramatic toll on Trump initiatives and roll outs.  Many of the key positions don't even have an applicant 
• A White House staffer dismissed Trump's cryptic, military coded, 'calm before the storm' comment as "trolling" the media 
• Trump Jr. (Tweedle Dee) a man who met with the Russians under the premise of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton, criticizes the 'atmosphere of hate' in this country towards his impotent and incompetent dad
  
• Since it was discovered General Kelly's cell phone had been compromised, the White House has banned all personal cell phones and mobile devices in the White House.  No word if Trump's phone had been hacked, or if it's being included in the ban
• Senator Ron Wyden admits a terrifying reality.  He states, outright, we really don't know if Russia manipulated the actual vote totals in 2016.  He added the Republicans, who also are not entirely sure of what happened, are putting forward an effort to make sure we never find out if they actually did fix the results
  
• Beatrice Fihn, the Executive Director of the anti-nuclear weapon group who just won the Nobel Peace Prize, refuses to take back her comment where she called Trump a "moron"
• In a story which makes you really question how much of all of what is going on in this country is connected, Russia, during the election of 2016, was pushing fake news stories and opinion pieces which praised the Confederacy and called for Texas to secede from the USA
• During a Hispanic Heritage Month event, Trump put on a painfully fake Spanish accent when he referred to Puerto Rico
  
• Vice President Pence, trying to restore the Administrations position by visiting Puerto Rico, was hammered by resident there for the US's lack of response to the growing humanitarian crisis
• Numerous people are criticizing White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for her constant downplaying of Trump's clearly inappropriate comments about war, nuclear war and military incursions 
• In case you're keeping track at home, the following Administration members have all been caught spending exorbitant amounts of taxpayer dollars on private charter air flights, some in the range of a million dollars:  Price, Mnuchin, Pruitt, Zinke, Perry, Chao, and Conway
  
• Apparently jealousy is the main catalyst in a rift between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, as Tillerson resents the success Haley has had in negotiations with Asian partners.  He's reportedly infuriated
• Republican Senator Chick Grassley is reportedly taking it upon himself to try to make the most salacious element of the Steele Dossier, Trump's Russian filmed urine fetish tapes, disappear from any finally report/charges against the Administration
  
• A new report out states, behind the scenes, numerous Republican leaders in the Congress have completely lost faith in Trump's fitness for office
• Trump's Columbus Day proclamation makes no references to the horrors which began for the natives indigenous people when Columbus arrived
• Trump is nominating a Steve Bannon ally, Jeffery Shapiro, to run the American radio network which broadcasts in Spanish to various countries, primarily Cuba
  
• Trump Administration is getting ready to completely scrap a policy limiting green house gas emissions from American power plants, with no replacement plan in place, meaning anything will be legal
  
• Trump's hired thugs, ICE, promises "collateral" arrests in California after that state passed a Sanctuary sate law
• Trump has apparently called Senator Chick Schumer in regards to coming to a compromise agreement on his stalled health care bill, Trumpcare
• White House officials, now being foolish and irresponsibly coy, are saying we have to take a "wait and see" attitude in regards to Trump's 'calm before the storm' threat
  
• Trump, after his Trumpcare bill failed in the Senate, blamed something which had NOTHING to do with the bill's failure, the filibuster, and called the filibuster a 'death sentence' for the Republicans, insisting it needs to be removed
• It's revealed after Iowa tried to get a HHS waiver to address the uncertainty of ObamaCare in the wake of the failed Trumpcare bills, to ensure Iowa healthcare could continue serving Iowans, Trump himself personally intervened and prevented Iowa's waiver
  
• In a sign Trump might not know what the difference between late night comedians and actual news, Trump claims he deserved equal time for Republicans on those comedy shows
  
• Trump's former wife Ivana is floating the idea that First Daughter and White House staffer doing...something(?) Ivanka Trump being president eventually.  Dear LORD!
• The President of Iran defended the Iranian Nuclear Deal, insisting he's in full support of the multi-nation deal, and he pointed out it would be very difficult for Trump to undermine it
• It's pointed out Trump's call for the late night comedic shows to offer him equal time stems for a Fox News segment he was clearly watching, a segment which pointed out the constant mocking of Trump by the late night hosts
  
• Ken Starr, the former Clinton prosecutor: " There will, in fact, be indictments with the Russian probe."
• In a fundraising email, Trump wraps himself in the victims of the Las Vegas massacre, less then a week after the massacre, in an effort to solicit money for himself
• Numerous Republicans are trying to use disgraced former Hollywood Producer, and alleged serial sexual predator, Harvey Weinstein, to vilify all Democrats,  The Democrats were the political party Weinstein primarily affiliated himself with, but Republicans seem to have forgotten a certain Access Hollywood tape most of them ignored, and continue to ignore, in order to support their 'buddy'
• For the 3rd year in a row, Trump's Scottish golf course has taken a loss in the multimillion dollar range
  
• In an interview with Mike Huckabee on the TBN network, Trump claims the Las Vegas shooter was a pretty smart guy, while slamming the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico as "not a capable person"
  
• Trump BFF Roger Stone called former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper a "c*cksucker" for not embracing a Trump instigated nuclear war
  
• The first NHL player, JT Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning, officially protests Trump and racial inequity in America by protesting the National Anthem at a game
• Trump once again threatens nuclear war with another country, via Twitter
• On Twitter, Trump criticized former agreements with North Korea.  He stating "Sorry but only one thing will work," referring to his continued insane threats of nuclear strike
• Trump's tweet threatening nuclear war has a misspelled word
  
• Trump's judicial picks all come from the same litmus test.  They are all anti-LGBTQ rights and are all strict anti-abortionists.  If Democrats would've had a strict political purity pledge for any of their judicial picks, the GOP would be going ballistic
• Trump has refused to protect the walrus, an animal going extinct due to climate change
  
• After attempts to tie Harvey Weinstein to the Democrats failed due to Trump's Access Hollywood tape, Trump tries to make his slimy behavior more acceptable by stating his bragging about sexually assaulting, and potentially raping, women was only 'locker room talk.'  Regardless, that doesn't make it acceptable
• Lawmakers are now calling for an investigation into EPA Director Scott Pruitt's lavish spending at the EPA, including his plans for a private privacy room, even though a privacy room already exists a floor below his office
  
• Trump attacks Republican Senator Bob Corker in a Sunday morning Twitter attack, stating "he [Corker] didn't have the guts to run for re-election"
• Trump protests take a weird turn as a flash mob style protest showed up outside of the White House to sing Toto's Africa at Trump
• Racists once again marched in Charlottesville, Virginia.  It's pointed out one of the reasons the racists decided to march again was the lack of condemnation of their previous march by Trump
• Senator Bob Corker, A REPUBLICAN, lashed back at Trump after being attacked by him on Twitter calling the White House an adult day care center, implying Trump was unsupervised on Sunday morning
  
• After Trump claimed to have invented the century old term 'prime the pump,' Trump seems to imply he invented the word 'fake'
• Vice President Pence made a hastily arranged, unscheduled visit to the NFL's Indianapolis Colts/San Francisco 49'ers game.  At the game, after some of the players participated in THEIR Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Protest by kneeling for the National Anthem, protesting racial inequity in America, a "furious" Pence, in what clearly looked like premeditated theatrics, walked out of the game in disgust
  
• People almost immediately start questioning what really happened with Pence's NFL walkout stunt, noting this was a hastily coordinated visit in the first place.  Regardless of what you think of athletes kneeling, those protests don't cost taxpayer dollars to preform
  
• Trump, proving he can't stop bragging, even when it makes him look pathetic, admits the entire VP NFL walkout was a staged political stunt, designed to ignite more hated within America
  
• As Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are still devastated from hurricanes, desperately needing funds to keep their people alive, Trump is spending tax payer money on a contrived political stunt, with ZERO payback to the America people, outside of further dividing us
  
• It's revealed Pence himself had ordered the press pool to wait in the van outside as he already knew he was going to be walking out of the game early
  
• The fight between Trump and Senator Corker is getting good.  After Trump insisted Senator Corker was BEGGING Trump for an endorsement, Corker's office outright denied that allegation, and instead implies the White House was BEGGING him not to retire
• A report out states Frank Sinatra was not a fan of Trump, telling him to 'Go F$@k himself' in 1990
  
• The Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz, tweeted about power failures at local hospitals, outages due to the continued fallout of Hurricane Maria, and how FEMA is not doing enough on the ground to help the US citizens.  FEMA, in a tone deaf response, said they are tuning out the mayor as "political noise"
• As Mayor Cruz is begging for water from anyone on the planet, Trump whines about her giving him "so little appreciation"
• Senator Bob Corker told the New York Times Trump is running this country like a reality television show and he's pushing the US on a path to World War III
  

WOW!  That's a big list!

Here's where things are starting to go from scary, to terrifying.  If you read through the last few lists, there's a definite theme starting to emerge from Trump and the Administration:  If we can't win over the public the right way, we'll win them over the wrong way.

The Trump Administration has started to purge data from websites which doesn't fit their narrative; not just climate change data, but everything from the status of hurricane recovery zones to attendance figures at National Parks and Monuments.  They're pushing propaganda which makes Trump look fantastic, most of it based on boldface lies.  They're demanding news outlets only report positive news, even insisting the First Amendment ensures only positive news ever be written about Trump.  They're demanding comedians making fun of Trump offer equal time, either praising Trump, or ripping Trump's enemies.  And Trump himself is demanding people bow to his wishes and demands, sacrificing their own freedoms to make sure the "benevolent leader" feels powerful, successful and good about himself.

If I were to remove Trump from previous paragraph, and make it generic, you'd think we'd be talking about a Soviet era leader of the USSR, or Kim Jung-Un, or any evil dictator needing to be toppled.  That's some scary s#!t, but the Republican party seems to be willing to accept a little authoritarian dictatorship if it means they can pass their conservative dream list.

#2018IsEverything!  Make sure you remember that.  Also, if you have off year elections coming up in 2017, make sure you're registered today!  It will save you a lot of time in 2018, and you can consider it a test run of how your state's voting system operates.  Good luck!