Welcome to palindrome week! Actually it's not just the week, but the next 10 days starting today. The dates this next ten days will be the same forward as they are backwards (8-10-18)...did I mention I was a math, science, space and history nut?
Two for you today, both having to deal with beat downs. The first is a clip which is responsible for me being FAR more aggressive when a Republican Christian calls my radio show; a person who claims to be better religiously in every facet of their life, but in reality, their personal and political points of view are anything but Christian. Thanks to President Bartlet from The West Wing, I realized I shouldn't be taking these religious zealots hypocrisy any more, and I don't!
With football season coming up, let's revisit one of the top 5 ad campaigns of all time, Terry Tate, office linebacker. One bit of warning: in one of the segments they talk about trying out other athletes before settling on Terry, and the one they show is a biathlete, shooting an office person (!!!). Today, with our near daily office shootings, that was a little disturbing to see. It's in the second half of the video (13:10). Also, a little bit of rough language.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, August 10, 2018
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Late to the Party
After my hernia surgery a few weeks back, I found myself on bedrest for a few days. I did something I usually avoid. I binged watched a TV show; Breaking Bad.
I think the reason I avoided the show when it debuted 10 years ago was how it was reviewed. Going back and reading the reviews of the first season, it was mainly described like: 'a humorous look at amateur drug dealers, starring Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston as Walter White, the clueless meth cook!' (cue slide whistle effect) I avoided the show because my impression was it glorified drug dealing. I also avoided it because it was on AMC. AMC has way too many commercial breaks, which are WAY too long. I appreciate a network making money, but come on.
Anything I have to add to Breaking Bad's legacy is irrelevant. It's one of the best shows ever made, a gripping look at the spiral downward created by a horrific decision made initially for valid, although improper, reasons. It's a look at a version of America we don't generally see. It was real, barbaric, and terrifying.
It could be the most beautiful television show ever filmed. The scenic brilliance of New Mexico and the arid drylands around the southwest beg you to visit, even though the show was about drug dealing and death.
The cast was exceptional, but if I may praise Anna Gunn's Skyler, Walter White's far from helpless, but tragic nonetheless, wife. Her transformation through the series is astounding; from loving wife standing by her husband as he's diagnosed with cancer, to a near silent beaten down shell of herself, desperately trying to find anything which validates her decisions and sacrifices.
There are so many great scenes from the show, I could be writing for days, but the scene which really struck me is one which is probably overlooked by many. It's in season 5, when Betsy Brandt's Marie is talking with a psychologist about the betrayal of Walt. Paraphrasing "how could I have be deceived so badly.' As a man who has been in that exact position before, it brought what her character was going through home. I immediately related to her character on a level which redeemed her for me.
The series is damn near perfect. The finale is haunting. The creative camera angles and occasional chopped up story telling hold you perfectly. The script is tight, and authentic. The secondary characters are as memorable as most television series' top billed stars.
But my favorite part was how Breaking Bad was the complete opposite of what I thought the show was. If you say to yourself, "I have a serious disease. I'll start manufacturing and/or selling drugs to get myself by," watch Breaking Bad and realize the solution to your problem is far worse than the disease itself. Everything was ruined. There was no finish line, there was no happy ending, there was no enjoying of the millions of dollars they made. There was no love, no smiles, and no peace. It's a Shakespearean tragedy without the warmth and joy. It is the best anti-drug selling/dealing testimonial anyone could ever witness.
I know, late to the party. Now if I get any other surgery, here comes Better Call Saul!
I think the reason I avoided the show when it debuted 10 years ago was how it was reviewed. Going back and reading the reviews of the first season, it was mainly described like: 'a humorous look at amateur drug dealers, starring Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston as Walter White, the clueless meth cook!' (cue slide whistle effect) I avoided the show because my impression was it glorified drug dealing. I also avoided it because it was on AMC. AMC has way too many commercial breaks, which are WAY too long. I appreciate a network making money, but come on.
Anything I have to add to Breaking Bad's legacy is irrelevant. It's one of the best shows ever made, a gripping look at the spiral downward created by a horrific decision made initially for valid, although improper, reasons. It's a look at a version of America we don't generally see. It was real, barbaric, and terrifying.
It could be the most beautiful television show ever filmed. The scenic brilliance of New Mexico and the arid drylands around the southwest beg you to visit, even though the show was about drug dealing and death.
The cast was exceptional, but if I may praise Anna Gunn's Skyler, Walter White's far from helpless, but tragic nonetheless, wife. Her transformation through the series is astounding; from loving wife standing by her husband as he's diagnosed with cancer, to a near silent beaten down shell of herself, desperately trying to find anything which validates her decisions and sacrifices.
There are so many great scenes from the show, I could be writing for days, but the scene which really struck me is one which is probably overlooked by many. It's in season 5, when Betsy Brandt's Marie is talking with a psychologist about the betrayal of Walt. Paraphrasing "how could I have be deceived so badly.' As a man who has been in that exact position before, it brought what her character was going through home. I immediately related to her character on a level which redeemed her for me.
The series is damn near perfect. The finale is haunting. The creative camera angles and occasional chopped up story telling hold you perfectly. The script is tight, and authentic. The secondary characters are as memorable as most television series' top billed stars.
But my favorite part was how Breaking Bad was the complete opposite of what I thought the show was. If you say to yourself, "I have a serious disease. I'll start manufacturing and/or selling drugs to get myself by," watch Breaking Bad and realize the solution to your problem is far worse than the disease itself. Everything was ruined. There was no finish line, there was no happy ending, there was no enjoying of the millions of dollars they made. There was no love, no smiles, and no peace. It's a Shakespearean tragedy without the warmth and joy. It is the best anti-drug selling/dealing testimonial anyone could ever witness.
I know, late to the party. Now if I get any other surgery, here comes Better Call Saul!
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
The Trump Top 20 Countdown for the Week of 7/30/18
Welcome to the Weekly Top 20 Countdown of Trump's ineptitude and stupidity for the week of 7/30/18 to 8/5/18.
These are the 20 most unbelievable things coming from Trump and his Administration for this week. All the things on this list should trigger ridicule, investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges. But instead of holding Trump accountable, Republicans are acting like Skylar White in Breaking Bad; trying to find the positive side of being attached to a ruinous meth cooking jackass.
Who am I kidding? Trump's not even smart enough to be Badger...
Seriously, take five seconds and remind yourself NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL!
A quick Google search will give you plenty of news options on every one of these stories. The ranking is purely on me. Please feel free to disagree and comment why below.
20) In a tweet, master criminal Trump states collusion is not a crime. He then immediately says it's irrelevant if it is a crime or not, because he swears he never colluded. He then says, even though he just stated collusion is not a crime, "crooked Hillary" is guilty of it. What a freaking moron. (7/31)
19) Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow is admitting he misled the public (lied) in regards to his initial descriptions of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting. "I have to say, over time, facts develop." An interesting way to describe outright dishonesty. (8/5)
18 ) Trump and his Administration outright lied about poverty levels in the US because they were infuriated a United Nations report correctly pointed out 18 million Americans are living in 'extreme poverty.' The UN report goes onto show the Trump Administration's tax cuts for the wealthy have made those poverty numbers worse, and will continue to do so. The Administration insisted the UN report lied, and proceeded to post counter-statistics they claimed proved their point. A FOIA filing obtained emails which showed the White House ignored its own internal economic analyst's findings and advice, instead deciding to openly lie to the American people with made up statistics. Poverty is indeed getting worse in America, and Trump is responsible. (8/3)
17) For the third week in a row, Trump's claimed polling numbers show he's more popular than Lincoln, this time making the bogus claim at a rally in Florida. Once again, Lincoln was dead 80 years before presidential polling began. As brazen as this lie might be, you'd think Republicans who respect Lincoln would call him out on it. NOPE! At the rally. Trump also stated he thinks you need an ID card to go buy groceries in the US, more proof how out of touch he is with the modern American. Later in the week, at a rally in Ohio, Trump once again claimed to have won the women vote in 2016. He didn't. He lost it by 13%. (7/31, 8/5)
16) North Korea is actively targeting the US with nuclear missiles, and new activity has been reported at the nuclear sites Trump insisted North Korean Presdient Kim Jung-un 'pinkie swore' he'd shut down. This is the latest proof Trump's Korean Peninsula policy is in utter shambles. North Korea did eventually return remains of US soldiers from the Korean War, but they only returned one dog tag, and there doesn't seem to be any way the North Koreans could've concluded the remains in the boxes returned to the US were actually US service members. The US did do the right thing and hosted a ceremony with the returned remains, but testing is beginning on the remains to determine if they are indeed US soldiers. Regardless, Trump praised North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un for keeping his word. The very next day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted the truth to Congress, North Korea never had any intent on working with the US on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Pompeo admitted Kim is still making bomb fuel and new missiles. A reminder: Trump ordered all US/South Korean joint military maneuvers to stop immediately as a concession to the North Koreas without any guarantee they'd work on denuclearization. (7/31, 8/3)
15) Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the expansion of access to short term health insurance plans. This is bad news for the Affordable Care Act as the design was to only allow short term plans (plans which offer very limited coverage, don't cover any specific set of benefits, cap what they'll allow to be treated in a year, and allows for pre-existing conditions) as a temporary 3-month hold over until people could get into the exchanges. Now Trump is allowing them to become a primary source of insurance. Not only do people who get short term plans really not have any coverage, but the ACA exchanges are more expensive as younger people taking short term plans means a larger percentage signed up for ObamaCare are the elderly and the sick. (8/2)
14) Bad news for fans of Trump's tax bill. Trump promised the economic growth from the bill would pay for any shortfalls and spending increases not accounted for. Funny story: it doesn't! Debt levels are piling up for the US government, pushing borrowing costs higher. The Treasury Department announced it's having to increase the size of its auctions to help offset the exploding budget deficits. Remember when Republicans used to scream at the top of their lungs about how bad deficits were under President Obama? I sure do! (8/2)
13) To be fair, take the person making the allegations with a grain of salt (screaming at White House employees, leaving an insane amount of shoes everywhere she went, showing up at the White House for wedding photos unannounced, and trying to storm the White House private residence when she was fired), but former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman is getting ready to release her book and the allegations she makes against Trump are very similar to other people's observations. She noticed his mind seemed to be in decline; "[he] rambled. He spoke gibberish. He contradicted himself from one sentence to the next." This is something many people have noticed, especially after his bizarre behavior at the last few rallies, and after some of his tweets lately. (8/2)
12) The Trump effect on tourism is undeniable. After worldwide tourism to the USA dropped 12.9% in 2017, it's now projected to drop a further 11.7% in 2018. When counting the economic loss not only to the previous year's numbers but is also removing the average growth the US tourism industry should be having, we're looking at tourism revenue losses for the US in the realm of near 100 billion a year, solely because Trump is in office. Also the drop in foreign students applying to get graduate degrees in the US has dropped by 4%, at least 32,000 foreign students. Considering the cost of a higher education degree, this loss is costing the higher education economy at least a billion dollars a year, much more when factoring in lifestyle needs for a graduate student. (8/4)
11) White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow got angry when his hypocrisy on trade was pointed out in an interview. The interviewer he got testy with is one of the most neutral journalists out there, Public Radio Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal. Ryssdal first called out Kudlow for implying the economic recovery only started with Trump. When Ryssdal pointed out economic recovery has been ongoing for 10 years, Kudlow insisted the recovery under Obama was the weakest recovery ever, referring to it as growth recession. He absolutely made that up. He's lying to drive a narrative. When Ryssdal then asked him about how Trump's policies have cost people jobs, Kudlow initially waved it off, but when pressed about it stated "Now don't class warfare me or anything like that." All Ryssdal asked was about the loss of jobs due directly to Trump's economic polices and Kudlow brought out the class warfare card. He then stated the tariffs have been positive on the economy, another outright lie. (8/3)
10) In one of the most racist attacks I have ever seen anyone in our senior levels of government put forward, Trump attacked NBA player LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon after Lemon interviewed James about his support for a new school in Akron, Ohio. Both James and Lemon are African American. Via Twitter: "James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!" The last comment was apparently in reference to Michael Jordon. Most of the athletic and African American community, as well as most other Americans, are coming to James and Lemon's defense. Don Lemon's response was perfect: "who's the real dummy? The man who puts kids in classrooms or the one who puts kids in cages?" Michael Jordon has come out on the side of James, in a rare political statement for the former player. Also, shockingly, First Lady Melania Trump was recently praising LeBron for the same thing her husband was ridiculing. A spokeswoman for the First Lady lashed out at CNN for pointing out Melania's praise of James. Trump, after the NFL didn't bite on his renewed attacks, is now picking a fight with another African American, trying to win points with his racist supporters. Also, Trump is clearly a racist himself. (8/4-5)
9) Showing the trade war with China is likely to get FAR worse before it gets better, Trump is now proposing a 25% tariff on over 200 billion in Chinese goods, an attack which will likely be met with equitable tariffs from the Chinese. One of the problems experts point to is Trump including American companies products which are produced in China on his tariff list, including bicycles, baseball gloves and beauty products, tariffs which will hurt American companies. On a separate, but related economic note, China stated they HAVE TO retaliate against Trump's tariffs, "to defend the nation's dignity." (8/1-2)
8) Two legal rulings against the Trump Administration on Friday. First, a judge lashed out at Trump and the White House for their incredibly incompetent reunification attempts of migrant parents and children they separated at the border. This after the government proposed non-profit groups be used, instead of the US government, to locate the 500 people the US Government deported without the children they came to the border with. The judge exploded at this attempt to brush off their responsibility. This is "100% the responsibility of the Administration." "For every parent who is not located there will be a permanently orphaned child." The Administration also were told they had to fully reinstate the DACA program for people who were brought to the US illegally as young children and have been here for an extended period of time, only knowing the US as their home. This included ordering the US government to accept new applications for citizenship from Deferred Action against Childhood Arrivals. (8/3)
7) As California is ravaged by wildfires, with multiple fatalities reported, Trump has remained silent, until now. He probably should have remained silent. He DID NOT sent condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. He DID NOT voice sympathies for the people who have lost everything. He DID NOT praise the firefighters and rescue crews risking their lives. Nope, he attacked the state. "California Wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws...[California's water] is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop spreading!" Trump's insane. It's not environmental laws but climate change which is making these fires worse. No one has ANY idea what 'dumping their water into the Pacific' means (is he talking about rivers???), and Trump is now officially anti-Tree. How Saruman from Lord of the Rings of him. (8/5)
6) Trump's former Campaign manager Paul Manafort went on trail and it's clear his defense for the numerous financial fraud charges against him is that Rick Gates, his former assistant and a person who has already plead guilty in the Mueller investigation, is the real thief. Manafort's defense team is micro focusing on Gates, even though the prosecution is planning on bringing in 35 total witnesses against Manafort. Most legal experts are not expecting this strategy to work. By the end of the week, things were not looking good for Manafort. The biggest revelations of the week are that he was bankrolled in the tens of millions by Ukranian Oligarchs tied to Russia, and they supported his lavish lifestyle. Also it's been proven he repeatedly lied over and over again about his finances, paying massive bills through shell companies originating in Cyprus. Paraphrasing what one legal analyst stated, 'I'll eat a hat on live TV if [Manafort] is not found guilty on at least one of the charges.' (7/31-8/4)
5) Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani is back at it. After a disastrous series of interviews on Fox News and CNN, where he started to float the idea that even if Trump had colluded, collusion is not illegal (it's super illegal!) Giuliani claimed there was a meeting which took place prior to the Trump Tower meeting in 2016 where Donald Trump Jr. (Tweddle Dee), Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates planned their strategy for the Russian meeting. Giuliani tried to walk back the massive revelation with a 2nd Fox News interview. He tried to claim the meeting was about to become public, but it hadn't been at the time Guilianai revealed it. Giuliani then insisted the meeting never happened, but insisted Trump himself was not aware of the meeting, something even the Fox News interviewer caught Giuliani on. When asked point blank if Trump was aware, or at, this meeting, Giuliani's last resort was ignorance. He said "I don't know" if Trump was aware of, or at that meeting. By the evening, Giuliani was insisting his entire bizarre behavior of the day had to do with an attempt to stop a New York Times story he said was planted by Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. (7/30)
4) At Trump's migrant child detention centers, things somehow have gotten even worse. Father's and sons at one facility in Texas are planning on striking because conditions within their facility are horrendous. A 14 year old girl being held at a facility in Arizona has been sexually abused. An employee of the facility has been arrested on suspicion of the sexual abuse. And at a different facility in Texas, a toddler died after being released from the facility, with the likely cause of death being negligent care and an untreated respiratory illness. (8/1)
3) In a clear sign Trump is terrified of Mueller, he orders, via Twitter, Attorney General Jeff Sessions to un-recuse himself and stop the Russia investigation before it goes any further. He then claimed the Federal government set him up by not warning him against hiring Paul Manafort. People immediately point to the Jeff Sessions tweet as a blatant attempt to obstruct justice. What caused Trump to demand Sessions fire Mueller is that Mueller has apparently approached the White House ready to interview Trump about the obstruction of justice. ABC News is reporting Mueller has a limited scope of questions, both oral and written. Apparently Trump's lawyers are freaking out, and so is Trump, hence the early morning 'FIRE HIM!' tweet. He protested being asked about obstruction of justice by giving another textbook example of obstruction of justice...WOW!!! (8/1)
2) Jonathan White, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services, the group responsible for looking after the families Trump is separating at the border, testified to the Senate he specifically warned the Administration the separation of migrant children from their parents would have a traumatic effect on the children. White and other officials were told by their superiors there was no plan in place to separate parents and children at the border, something which was a boldface lie. They warned Trump and the Administration, and Trump and the Administration completely ignored the warnings. (8/1)
1) Trump is once again trying to warp reality. He took to Twitter to defend the Trump Tower meeting, revising the NUMEROUS lies he and his team have made about the meeting. Trump, on his own, admitted the meeting was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russians, something he says happens all he time and is totally legal(neither of those points are true). For the record: Trump for the first time admits his campaign was turning to the Russians to help him win in 2016. Trump confessed to colluding with the Russian, on his own! At the end of the tweet he makes a plea "I did not know about it!" It looks like Trump is signaling he's more than willing to throw Donald Trump Jr. under the bus to save his own skin. (8/5)
Who am I kidding? Trump's not even smart enough to be Badger...
Seriously, take five seconds and remind yourself NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL!
On with the Countdown!
20) In a tweet, master criminal Trump states collusion is not a crime. He then immediately says it's irrelevant if it is a crime or not, because he swears he never colluded. He then says, even though he just stated collusion is not a crime, "crooked Hillary" is guilty of it. What a freaking moron. (7/31)
19) Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow is admitting he misled the public (lied) in regards to his initial descriptions of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting. "I have to say, over time, facts develop." An interesting way to describe outright dishonesty. (8/5)
18 ) Trump and his Administration outright lied about poverty levels in the US because they were infuriated a United Nations report correctly pointed out 18 million Americans are living in 'extreme poverty.' The UN report goes onto show the Trump Administration's tax cuts for the wealthy have made those poverty numbers worse, and will continue to do so. The Administration insisted the UN report lied, and proceeded to post counter-statistics they claimed proved their point. A FOIA filing obtained emails which showed the White House ignored its own internal economic analyst's findings and advice, instead deciding to openly lie to the American people with made up statistics. Poverty is indeed getting worse in America, and Trump is responsible. (8/3)
17) For the third week in a row, Trump's claimed polling numbers show he's more popular than Lincoln, this time making the bogus claim at a rally in Florida. Once again, Lincoln was dead 80 years before presidential polling began. As brazen as this lie might be, you'd think Republicans who respect Lincoln would call him out on it. NOPE! At the rally. Trump also stated he thinks you need an ID card to go buy groceries in the US, more proof how out of touch he is with the modern American. Later in the week, at a rally in Ohio, Trump once again claimed to have won the women vote in 2016. He didn't. He lost it by 13%. (7/31, 8/5)
16) North Korea is actively targeting the US with nuclear missiles, and new activity has been reported at the nuclear sites Trump insisted North Korean Presdient Kim Jung-un 'pinkie swore' he'd shut down. This is the latest proof Trump's Korean Peninsula policy is in utter shambles. North Korea did eventually return remains of US soldiers from the Korean War, but they only returned one dog tag, and there doesn't seem to be any way the North Koreans could've concluded the remains in the boxes returned to the US were actually US service members. The US did do the right thing and hosted a ceremony with the returned remains, but testing is beginning on the remains to determine if they are indeed US soldiers. Regardless, Trump praised North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un for keeping his word. The very next day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted the truth to Congress, North Korea never had any intent on working with the US on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Pompeo admitted Kim is still making bomb fuel and new missiles. A reminder: Trump ordered all US/South Korean joint military maneuvers to stop immediately as a concession to the North Koreas without any guarantee they'd work on denuclearization. (7/31, 8/3)
15) Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the expansion of access to short term health insurance plans. This is bad news for the Affordable Care Act as the design was to only allow short term plans (plans which offer very limited coverage, don't cover any specific set of benefits, cap what they'll allow to be treated in a year, and allows for pre-existing conditions) as a temporary 3-month hold over until people could get into the exchanges. Now Trump is allowing them to become a primary source of insurance. Not only do people who get short term plans really not have any coverage, but the ACA exchanges are more expensive as younger people taking short term plans means a larger percentage signed up for ObamaCare are the elderly and the sick. (8/2)
14) Bad news for fans of Trump's tax bill. Trump promised the economic growth from the bill would pay for any shortfalls and spending increases not accounted for. Funny story: it doesn't! Debt levels are piling up for the US government, pushing borrowing costs higher. The Treasury Department announced it's having to increase the size of its auctions to help offset the exploding budget deficits. Remember when Republicans used to scream at the top of their lungs about how bad deficits were under President Obama? I sure do! (8/2)
13) To be fair, take the person making the allegations with a grain of salt (screaming at White House employees, leaving an insane amount of shoes everywhere she went, showing up at the White House for wedding photos unannounced, and trying to storm the White House private residence when she was fired), but former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman is getting ready to release her book and the allegations she makes against Trump are very similar to other people's observations. She noticed his mind seemed to be in decline; "[he] rambled. He spoke gibberish. He contradicted himself from one sentence to the next." This is something many people have noticed, especially after his bizarre behavior at the last few rallies, and after some of his tweets lately. (8/2)
12) The Trump effect on tourism is undeniable. After worldwide tourism to the USA dropped 12.9% in 2017, it's now projected to drop a further 11.7% in 2018. When counting the economic loss not only to the previous year's numbers but is also removing the average growth the US tourism industry should be having, we're looking at tourism revenue losses for the US in the realm of near 100 billion a year, solely because Trump is in office. Also the drop in foreign students applying to get graduate degrees in the US has dropped by 4%, at least 32,000 foreign students. Considering the cost of a higher education degree, this loss is costing the higher education economy at least a billion dollars a year, much more when factoring in lifestyle needs for a graduate student. (8/4)
11) White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow got angry when his hypocrisy on trade was pointed out in an interview. The interviewer he got testy with is one of the most neutral journalists out there, Public Radio Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal. Ryssdal first called out Kudlow for implying the economic recovery only started with Trump. When Ryssdal pointed out economic recovery has been ongoing for 10 years, Kudlow insisted the recovery under Obama was the weakest recovery ever, referring to it as growth recession. He absolutely made that up. He's lying to drive a narrative. When Ryssdal then asked him about how Trump's policies have cost people jobs, Kudlow initially waved it off, but when pressed about it stated "Now don't class warfare me or anything like that." All Ryssdal asked was about the loss of jobs due directly to Trump's economic polices and Kudlow brought out the class warfare card. He then stated the tariffs have been positive on the economy, another outright lie. (8/3)
10) In one of the most racist attacks I have ever seen anyone in our senior levels of government put forward, Trump attacked NBA player LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon after Lemon interviewed James about his support for a new school in Akron, Ohio. Both James and Lemon are African American. Via Twitter: "James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!" The last comment was apparently in reference to Michael Jordon. Most of the athletic and African American community, as well as most other Americans, are coming to James and Lemon's defense. Don Lemon's response was perfect: "who's the real dummy? The man who puts kids in classrooms or the one who puts kids in cages?" Michael Jordon has come out on the side of James, in a rare political statement for the former player. Also, shockingly, First Lady Melania Trump was recently praising LeBron for the same thing her husband was ridiculing. A spokeswoman for the First Lady lashed out at CNN for pointing out Melania's praise of James. Trump, after the NFL didn't bite on his renewed attacks, is now picking a fight with another African American, trying to win points with his racist supporters. Also, Trump is clearly a racist himself. (8/4-5)
9) Showing the trade war with China is likely to get FAR worse before it gets better, Trump is now proposing a 25% tariff on over 200 billion in Chinese goods, an attack which will likely be met with equitable tariffs from the Chinese. One of the problems experts point to is Trump including American companies products which are produced in China on his tariff list, including bicycles, baseball gloves and beauty products, tariffs which will hurt American companies. On a separate, but related economic note, China stated they HAVE TO retaliate against Trump's tariffs, "to defend the nation's dignity." (8/1-2)
8) Two legal rulings against the Trump Administration on Friday. First, a judge lashed out at Trump and the White House for their incredibly incompetent reunification attempts of migrant parents and children they separated at the border. This after the government proposed non-profit groups be used, instead of the US government, to locate the 500 people the US Government deported without the children they came to the border with. The judge exploded at this attempt to brush off their responsibility. This is "100% the responsibility of the Administration." "For every parent who is not located there will be a permanently orphaned child." The Administration also were told they had to fully reinstate the DACA program for people who were brought to the US illegally as young children and have been here for an extended period of time, only knowing the US as their home. This included ordering the US government to accept new applications for citizenship from Deferred Action against Childhood Arrivals. (8/3)
7) As California is ravaged by wildfires, with multiple fatalities reported, Trump has remained silent, until now. He probably should have remained silent. He DID NOT sent condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. He DID NOT voice sympathies for the people who have lost everything. He DID NOT praise the firefighters and rescue crews risking their lives. Nope, he attacked the state. "California Wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws...[California's water] is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop spreading!" Trump's insane. It's not environmental laws but climate change which is making these fires worse. No one has ANY idea what 'dumping their water into the Pacific' means (is he talking about rivers???), and Trump is now officially anti-Tree. How Saruman from Lord of the Rings of him. (8/5)
6) Trump's former Campaign manager Paul Manafort went on trail and it's clear his defense for the numerous financial fraud charges against him is that Rick Gates, his former assistant and a person who has already plead guilty in the Mueller investigation, is the real thief. Manafort's defense team is micro focusing on Gates, even though the prosecution is planning on bringing in 35 total witnesses against Manafort. Most legal experts are not expecting this strategy to work. By the end of the week, things were not looking good for Manafort. The biggest revelations of the week are that he was bankrolled in the tens of millions by Ukranian Oligarchs tied to Russia, and they supported his lavish lifestyle. Also it's been proven he repeatedly lied over and over again about his finances, paying massive bills through shell companies originating in Cyprus. Paraphrasing what one legal analyst stated, 'I'll eat a hat on live TV if [Manafort] is not found guilty on at least one of the charges.' (7/31-8/4)
5) Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani is back at it. After a disastrous series of interviews on Fox News and CNN, where he started to float the idea that even if Trump had colluded, collusion is not illegal (it's super illegal!) Giuliani claimed there was a meeting which took place prior to the Trump Tower meeting in 2016 where Donald Trump Jr. (Tweddle Dee), Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates planned their strategy for the Russian meeting. Giuliani tried to walk back the massive revelation with a 2nd Fox News interview. He tried to claim the meeting was about to become public, but it hadn't been at the time Guilianai revealed it. Giuliani then insisted the meeting never happened, but insisted Trump himself was not aware of the meeting, something even the Fox News interviewer caught Giuliani on. When asked point blank if Trump was aware, or at, this meeting, Giuliani's last resort was ignorance. He said "I don't know" if Trump was aware of, or at that meeting. By the evening, Giuliani was insisting his entire bizarre behavior of the day had to do with an attempt to stop a New York Times story he said was planted by Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. (7/30)
4) At Trump's migrant child detention centers, things somehow have gotten even worse. Father's and sons at one facility in Texas are planning on striking because conditions within their facility are horrendous. A 14 year old girl being held at a facility in Arizona has been sexually abused. An employee of the facility has been arrested on suspicion of the sexual abuse. And at a different facility in Texas, a toddler died after being released from the facility, with the likely cause of death being negligent care and an untreated respiratory illness. (8/1)
3) In a clear sign Trump is terrified of Mueller, he orders, via Twitter, Attorney General Jeff Sessions to un-recuse himself and stop the Russia investigation before it goes any further. He then claimed the Federal government set him up by not warning him against hiring Paul Manafort. People immediately point to the Jeff Sessions tweet as a blatant attempt to obstruct justice. What caused Trump to demand Sessions fire Mueller is that Mueller has apparently approached the White House ready to interview Trump about the obstruction of justice. ABC News is reporting Mueller has a limited scope of questions, both oral and written. Apparently Trump's lawyers are freaking out, and so is Trump, hence the early morning 'FIRE HIM!' tweet. He protested being asked about obstruction of justice by giving another textbook example of obstruction of justice...WOW!!! (8/1)
2) Jonathan White, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services, the group responsible for looking after the families Trump is separating at the border, testified to the Senate he specifically warned the Administration the separation of migrant children from their parents would have a traumatic effect on the children. White and other officials were told by their superiors there was no plan in place to separate parents and children at the border, something which was a boldface lie. They warned Trump and the Administration, and Trump and the Administration completely ignored the warnings. (8/1)
1) Trump is once again trying to warp reality. He took to Twitter to defend the Trump Tower meeting, revising the NUMEROUS lies he and his team have made about the meeting. Trump, on his own, admitted the meeting was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russians, something he says happens all he time and is totally legal(neither of those points are true). For the record: Trump for the first time admits his campaign was turning to the Russians to help him win in 2016. Trump confessed to colluding with the Russian, on his own! At the end of the tweet he makes a plea "I did not know about it!" It looks like Trump is signaling he's more than willing to throw Donald Trump Jr. under the bus to save his own skin. (8/5)
Look at this photo:
This is the fight we are facing; unbelievable idiots who will justify their undying support for Trump by embracing the worst of validations. We need to make these people terrified of showing their faces in public.
Remember #2018IsEverything. In 2016, the Republicans won OH12 by 36 points. It's virtually a tie today. You shouldn't be discouraged; you should be celebrating! The GOP is wetting themselves as they can't spend like that in every district. They know they're screwed. Be happy. Be determined. Work hard!
Friday, August 3, 2018
The Friday Link for 8/3/18
Howdy all! I've had a busy week. Now that I've mostly recovered from the hernia surgery, I got out for some fun with the kiddos. Como Zoo, the Sculpture Garden, Mall of America, and the brand new Bell Museum of Natural History.
If you remember the old Bell Museum, it was tucked away on the University of Minnesota campus, not easy to get to and WAY too big for it's building. They moved it up to the north west side of St. Paul, at Larpenteur and Cleveland. The new building is great and the exhibits are sensational. It really is the upgrade they needed. I recommend it.
This week I revisit the Towsends, the historical cooking and early American lifestyle experts. I know this is one of my geeky favorites, but these guys do a great job and they know their stuff.
If you're getting ready to get an August trip in before school starts back up, be grateful you never had to travel back in the olden days. It sounds miserable.
And then a topic I've loved for awhile, historical cooking. It always amazes me what was regular everyday food back then, food which we've completely lost from today's menus. For my vegetarian friends, how about carrot puffs. Okay they are deep fried in suet, but I'm sure an oil would work just as well.
Have a great weekend everyone!
If you remember the old Bell Museum, it was tucked away on the University of Minnesota campus, not easy to get to and WAY too big for it's building. They moved it up to the north west side of St. Paul, at Larpenteur and Cleveland. The new building is great and the exhibits are sensational. It really is the upgrade they needed. I recommend it.
This week I revisit the Towsends, the historical cooking and early American lifestyle experts. I know this is one of my geeky favorites, but these guys do a great job and they know their stuff.
If you're getting ready to get an August trip in before school starts back up, be grateful you never had to travel back in the olden days. It sounds miserable.
And then a topic I've loved for awhile, historical cooking. It always amazes me what was regular everyday food back then, food which we've completely lost from today's menus. For my vegetarian friends, how about carrot puffs. Okay they are deep fried in suet, but I'm sure an oil would work just as well.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
The Trump Top 20 Countdown for the Week of 7/23/18
Welcome to the Weekly Top 20 Countdown of Trump's ineptitude and stupidity for the week of 7/23/18 to 7/29/18.
These are the 20 largest incompetence bombs coming from Trump and his Administration for last week alone. The things on this list should lead to absolute mockery, investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges. But because Republicans are trying their hardest to figure out if they do or do not like Trump heading into the November elections (like a deer, standing still, not moving, hoping we don't see them) nothing is being done. They're failing our country.
A quick internet search will give you plenty of news options on all of these stories. The ranking is purely on me. Please feel free to disagree and comment why below.
On with the countdown!
20 - Eric Trump (Tweedle Dum) bragged on Twitter about a poll which showed the vast majority of Americans disapproving of his dad. (7/24)
19 - Trump told numerous lies at his rally in Illinois, but one in particular was a doozie. He claimed he won the female vote in 2016. NOT EVEN CLOSE! He barely squeaked a victory with white women only, but that's not what he claimed. He claimed he captured the women vote, all women. He lost the women vote by 13%. (7/26)
18 - Apparently Trump flew into a rage on Air Force One during his trip to Europe when he noticed one of the TV's was turned to CNN, and not Fox News. He bellowed at staff for an extended period of time because they were "violating the rule." (7/25)
17 - In a pathetic attempt at...something, Trump insists he now is "very concerned" the Russians are going to interfere in the 2018 elections on behalf of...the Democrats(!). Considering it's looking like a monumental landslide against him, this is an attempt to start planting a seed with his followers, hinting any massive turnout against him will be fraudulent. Trump also finally heard the screams of the Republicans terrified of the pre-election optics of a million people descending on Washington DC to protest a potential Putin visit. He's decided to postpone the promised state visit with the Russian evil dictator until next year. (7/24-25)
16 - The Feds have subpoenaed the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in their criminal probe of Michael Cohen. This is BIG trouble for Trump as Weisselberg knows where all the money is, and where it originally came from. He was netted after it was discovered Cohen spoke with him to get information on how to set up an LLC, the type of corporation the Trump camp used to funnel money to the National Enquirer in order to kill potential affair stories against Trump. (7/26)
15 - Trump claims he has higher polling numbers of any Republican president ever; more than Reagan and more than Lincoln. Once again, Presidential polls didn't exist in ANY form until 80 years after Lincoln died, and Trump's numbers are very much behind Reagan's. Trump doesn't actually mention which poll claims this. (7/29)
14 - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to play coy when asked what progress has been made in regards to negotiations with North Korea to remove their nuclear capability. "I cant answer that for you." It's clear Trump's Singapore Summit was a massive failure, as Pompeo eventually admitted North Korea is still producing nuclear bomb fuel. (7/25)
13 - The latest casualty for Trump's trade war is dairy famers, particularly California Dairy farmers who've seen their Mexican market disappear after Mexico leveed tariffs on American dairy in direct response to the Trump tariffs placed upon them. Considering the perishable nature of dairy, and the lack of foreign markets Trump can create for the product, many California dairy farmers are looking at operating at a loss in 2018, possibly shutting down operations entirely. (7/28)
12 - Trump's White House, in an official release about the economy, misspelled the phrase 'United States.' Reminder: Trump has repeatedly stated his White House was the smartest, most competent Administration EVER. (7/27)
11 - In a doozy of an interview, Trump biographer David Clay Johnston stated he's aware of multiple other affairs Trump has had, recognizable names, who might eventually come to light in regards to investigations into Trump. He also hinted, but didn't outright state, there might even be multiple abortions in Trump's torrid past. So far Johnston is refusing to name names. Stormy Daniels' lawyer Micahel Avenatti has stated there's new evidence than Cohen and Trump were concerned about a pregnancy as recently as 2016. Then later on Thursday, Avenatti claimed to be represent three other women who state they were paid off by Trump to stay quiet about their alleged affairs. (7/25-26)
10 - As Trump insists "tariffs are the greatest," a bizarre defense to his unnecessary trade war, a new report shows the US currently has a 2.5 billion pound meat surplus, the largest ever on record. The reason why is the largest importers of American meats are China and Mexico, countries currently part of Trump's trade war. Although this will undoubtedly mean lower consumer prices in the short term, this will likely lead to shuttered ranches, far fewer American meat producers, and much higher prices. (7/24)
9 - Trump has asked his aides to try to find a way to ban reporters from CNN and the Urban Radio Network from attending his press events. Apparently he's bothered they shout questions at him, questions he doesn't like (7/27)
8 - The GDP numbers came in at a respectable 4.1%, but then Trump proceeds to insist the economy is fantastic, making boastful, grossly exaggerated comments and outright lies. He claimed former President Obama's GDP numbers were never over 2%. This is a laughably easy to refute. 4.1% would rank as Obama's fifth best GDP number. Trump then insisted the US will eventually get to an 8 or 9% under his trade war. Pretty much every economist laughed at that suggestion. Most economist's post speech analysis pointed to multiple signs the economy is on the verge of a major slowdown. (7/27)
7 - Trump starts out the week with an all caps Twitter tweet directed towards Iran. "To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNTIED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE." For the record, Iran has banned Twitter, so they didn't see it. Trump's tweet seems to only have been for his followers. It's unknown what exactly triggered Trump's rage tweet, but it's likely an attempt to further cover up his disastrous Putin week from before. National Security Advisor John Bolton also alluded to an upcoming attack on Iran. (7/23)
6 - CNN aired one of the tapes Michael Cohen made of his conversations with former client Trump, and Trump's likely created a new bunch of legal trouble for himself. In a conversation which sounded cavalier, the two can be heard discussing payouts to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, a woman Trump had an affair with in the months after his wife gave birth to his youngest son. In the conversation, they talk about payouts to McDougal, and to AMI, the National Enquirer's parent company who purchased McDougal's story so they could bury it before the election (so it wouldn't hurt Trump). They then discussed timelines. All analysis of the tape point to Trump being guilty off at least some level of fraud, and possibly an intention to violate campaign finance laws. (7/24)
5 - While speaking to veterans in Kansas City, Trump made one of the most remarkable statements ever in the history of politics: "Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening." WOW! Trump told his followers to ignore reality, and sadly many of them will. (7/24)
4 - Trump is reportedly considering revoking the security clearance for numerous former law enforcement officials who have been critical of Trump's Russia connections and other elements of the Presidency. Former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, Former FBI Director James Comey, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe are all being threatened with the stripping of their clearances because they were not nice to Trump. Trump doesn't understand what exactly he is threatening. McCabe and Comey no longer even have a security clearance to revoke. Hayden states he doesn't receive classified briefings so he's in no way benefiting from a security clearance. (7/23)
3 - It's been revealed 463 parents who were imprisoned at the border have been deported WITHOUT the kids they came to the border with. The government is stating the parents left after being given the opportunity to reunite with their kids, but the problem with that story is the US has completely lost track of whose children are whose. At no point were the kids ever ready to leave with their parents. The US found this out after they started DNA testing and realized they had deported some of the parents without the kids. The US Government currently does not have any idea on how to track these parents down. Some parents have reported the US Government ordered them to sign away the rights to their kids without telling them what exactly they were signing, leaving them no recourse in getting their children returned. (7/23)
2 - Trump's former lawyer Micahel Cohen has stated Trump indeed did know about the Trump Tower meeting between the Russians, multiple Campaign staffers and his son, Donald Trump Jr. (Tweedle Dee) prior to the meeting taking place. This directly contradicts the Trump claim, AND the sworn testimony of Trump Jr., that Trump was unaware of the meeting beforehand. This is just the latest outright lie the Trump campaign has been caught stating about the Trump Tower meeting. (7/26)
1) - Trump has ordered the US military in Afghanistan to surrender large swaths of territory the US has claimed from the Taliban and give it back to the Taliban, territory we won with our own blood, territory we had occupied justifiably. The Taliban helped Al-Qeada attack the US on 9/11. Trump and his diplomatic team, undermining the established US backed government of Afghanistan, have been meeting directly with the Taliban, a group still actively waging war against US and coalition troops. The two groups met in Qatar last week. Trump has surrendered large swaths of rural and sparsely populated lands to the Taliban, leaving the US and coalition forces to "retreat," only concerning themselves with protecting the capital and the larger cities. Not only is this strategy similar to the one which got the US forces in big trouble in Vietnam, it ensures the Taliban will hold onto land they seized in combat with the US forces. Many military experts are taking this as Trump quitting the conflict, a war which has taken the lives of 2372 US military members. It also gives a stunning victory to the Taliban, who once again were part of the 9/11 attacks on the US. During his campaign, Trump stated he had a strategy to defeat the Taliban, stating the Taliban had "nowhere to hide." It's apparent now Trump himself is eagerly giving the Taliban plenty of places to hide. If a Democratic President would have done such a thing, they'd been removed by their own party. Republicans, especial the far right war hawks, are clearly ignoring this betrayal of the military and the American people. (7/28)
You might have missed #1. That is really disturbing on a lot of levels.
It was actually a lighter week than normal. Taking that into account, it's remarkable; Trump's lighter weeks would be the worst week for any other President.
In August, go help a Democrat running in a Republican held district. They need door knockers and phone bankers! And make a donation too. Get registered to vote and start getting ready for Autumn!
#2108IsEverything!
These are the 20 largest incompetence bombs coming from Trump and his Administration for last week alone. The things on this list should lead to absolute mockery, investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges. But because Republicans are trying their hardest to figure out if they do or do not like Trump heading into the November elections (like a deer, standing still, not moving, hoping we don't see them) nothing is being done. They're failing our country.
A quick internet search will give you plenty of news options on all of these stories. The ranking is purely on me. Please feel free to disagree and comment why below.
On with the countdown!
20 - Eric Trump (Tweedle Dum) bragged on Twitter about a poll which showed the vast majority of Americans disapproving of his dad. (7/24)
19 - Trump told numerous lies at his rally in Illinois, but one in particular was a doozie. He claimed he won the female vote in 2016. NOT EVEN CLOSE! He barely squeaked a victory with white women only, but that's not what he claimed. He claimed he captured the women vote, all women. He lost the women vote by 13%. (7/26)
18 - Apparently Trump flew into a rage on Air Force One during his trip to Europe when he noticed one of the TV's was turned to CNN, and not Fox News. He bellowed at staff for an extended period of time because they were "violating the rule." (7/25)
17 - In a pathetic attempt at...something, Trump insists he now is "very concerned" the Russians are going to interfere in the 2018 elections on behalf of...the Democrats(!). Considering it's looking like a monumental landslide against him, this is an attempt to start planting a seed with his followers, hinting any massive turnout against him will be fraudulent. Trump also finally heard the screams of the Republicans terrified of the pre-election optics of a million people descending on Washington DC to protest a potential Putin visit. He's decided to postpone the promised state visit with the Russian evil dictator until next year. (7/24-25)
16 - The Feds have subpoenaed the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in their criminal probe of Michael Cohen. This is BIG trouble for Trump as Weisselberg knows where all the money is, and where it originally came from. He was netted after it was discovered Cohen spoke with him to get information on how to set up an LLC, the type of corporation the Trump camp used to funnel money to the National Enquirer in order to kill potential affair stories against Trump. (7/26)
15 - Trump claims he has higher polling numbers of any Republican president ever; more than Reagan and more than Lincoln. Once again, Presidential polls didn't exist in ANY form until 80 years after Lincoln died, and Trump's numbers are very much behind Reagan's. Trump doesn't actually mention which poll claims this. (7/29)
14 - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to play coy when asked what progress has been made in regards to negotiations with North Korea to remove their nuclear capability. "I cant answer that for you." It's clear Trump's Singapore Summit was a massive failure, as Pompeo eventually admitted North Korea is still producing nuclear bomb fuel. (7/25)
13 - The latest casualty for Trump's trade war is dairy famers, particularly California Dairy farmers who've seen their Mexican market disappear after Mexico leveed tariffs on American dairy in direct response to the Trump tariffs placed upon them. Considering the perishable nature of dairy, and the lack of foreign markets Trump can create for the product, many California dairy farmers are looking at operating at a loss in 2018, possibly shutting down operations entirely. (7/28)
12 - Trump's White House, in an official release about the economy, misspelled the phrase 'United States.' Reminder: Trump has repeatedly stated his White House was the smartest, most competent Administration EVER. (7/27)
11 - In a doozy of an interview, Trump biographer David Clay Johnston stated he's aware of multiple other affairs Trump has had, recognizable names, who might eventually come to light in regards to investigations into Trump. He also hinted, but didn't outright state, there might even be multiple abortions in Trump's torrid past. So far Johnston is refusing to name names. Stormy Daniels' lawyer Micahel Avenatti has stated there's new evidence than Cohen and Trump were concerned about a pregnancy as recently as 2016. Then later on Thursday, Avenatti claimed to be represent three other women who state they were paid off by Trump to stay quiet about their alleged affairs. (7/25-26)
10 - As Trump insists "tariffs are the greatest," a bizarre defense to his unnecessary trade war, a new report shows the US currently has a 2.5 billion pound meat surplus, the largest ever on record. The reason why is the largest importers of American meats are China and Mexico, countries currently part of Trump's trade war. Although this will undoubtedly mean lower consumer prices in the short term, this will likely lead to shuttered ranches, far fewer American meat producers, and much higher prices. (7/24)
9 - Trump has asked his aides to try to find a way to ban reporters from CNN and the Urban Radio Network from attending his press events. Apparently he's bothered they shout questions at him, questions he doesn't like (7/27)
8 - The GDP numbers came in at a respectable 4.1%, but then Trump proceeds to insist the economy is fantastic, making boastful, grossly exaggerated comments and outright lies. He claimed former President Obama's GDP numbers were never over 2%. This is a laughably easy to refute. 4.1% would rank as Obama's fifth best GDP number. Trump then insisted the US will eventually get to an 8 or 9% under his trade war. Pretty much every economist laughed at that suggestion. Most economist's post speech analysis pointed to multiple signs the economy is on the verge of a major slowdown. (7/27)
7 - Trump starts out the week with an all caps Twitter tweet directed towards Iran. "To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNTIED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE." For the record, Iran has banned Twitter, so they didn't see it. Trump's tweet seems to only have been for his followers. It's unknown what exactly triggered Trump's rage tweet, but it's likely an attempt to further cover up his disastrous Putin week from before. National Security Advisor John Bolton also alluded to an upcoming attack on Iran. (7/23)
6 - CNN aired one of the tapes Michael Cohen made of his conversations with former client Trump, and Trump's likely created a new bunch of legal trouble for himself. In a conversation which sounded cavalier, the two can be heard discussing payouts to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, a woman Trump had an affair with in the months after his wife gave birth to his youngest son. In the conversation, they talk about payouts to McDougal, and to AMI, the National Enquirer's parent company who purchased McDougal's story so they could bury it before the election (so it wouldn't hurt Trump). They then discussed timelines. All analysis of the tape point to Trump being guilty off at least some level of fraud, and possibly an intention to violate campaign finance laws. (7/24)
5 - While speaking to veterans in Kansas City, Trump made one of the most remarkable statements ever in the history of politics: "Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening." WOW! Trump told his followers to ignore reality, and sadly many of them will. (7/24)
4 - Trump is reportedly considering revoking the security clearance for numerous former law enforcement officials who have been critical of Trump's Russia connections and other elements of the Presidency. Former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, Former FBI Director James Comey, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe are all being threatened with the stripping of their clearances because they were not nice to Trump. Trump doesn't understand what exactly he is threatening. McCabe and Comey no longer even have a security clearance to revoke. Hayden states he doesn't receive classified briefings so he's in no way benefiting from a security clearance. (7/23)
3 - It's been revealed 463 parents who were imprisoned at the border have been deported WITHOUT the kids they came to the border with. The government is stating the parents left after being given the opportunity to reunite with their kids, but the problem with that story is the US has completely lost track of whose children are whose. At no point were the kids ever ready to leave with their parents. The US found this out after they started DNA testing and realized they had deported some of the parents without the kids. The US Government currently does not have any idea on how to track these parents down. Some parents have reported the US Government ordered them to sign away the rights to their kids without telling them what exactly they were signing, leaving them no recourse in getting their children returned. (7/23)
2 - Trump's former lawyer Micahel Cohen has stated Trump indeed did know about the Trump Tower meeting between the Russians, multiple Campaign staffers and his son, Donald Trump Jr. (Tweedle Dee) prior to the meeting taking place. This directly contradicts the Trump claim, AND the sworn testimony of Trump Jr., that Trump was unaware of the meeting beforehand. This is just the latest outright lie the Trump campaign has been caught stating about the Trump Tower meeting. (7/26)
You might have missed #1. That is really disturbing on a lot of levels.
It was actually a lighter week than normal. Taking that into account, it's remarkable; Trump's lighter weeks would be the worst week for any other President.
In August, go help a Democrat running in a Republican held district. They need door knockers and phone bankers! And make a donation too. Get registered to vote and start getting ready for Autumn!
#2108IsEverything!
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