The Trump Top 20 Countdown for the Week of 8/6/18

Welcome to the Weekly Top 20 Countdown of Trump's ineptitude and stupidity for the week of 8/6/18 to 8/12/18.

(Who you gonna to call? SPACE FORCE!!!)

Even though this clown is supposedly on vacation, he still delivers!  These are the 20 largest chunks of incompetence coming from Trump and his Administration for this week alone.  All the things on this list should lead to ridicule, investigations, committee hearings, firings, resignations and even one or two impeachment charges.  Instead we all watch as the Republicans embody Nero, playing their fiddles while they watch Rome D.C. burn to the ground.

Quick note: the next Top 20 will be the week of September 3rd.  I'm going to enjoy the last few weeks of summer with the kiddos.

An online 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 - Trump aides are sweating out Trump's vacation week at his golf course in New Jersey.  Apparently Trump doesn't have a lot of 'structured time,' and when he's unsupervised he has a tendency of getting revved up by friends on the course.  There's potential for horrible decisions his staff will have to clean up after the fact.  "It was at Bedminster he made the decision to fire James Comey...bashed Mitch McConnell." (8/9)

19 - Trump is furious the NFL players have once again not bowed to his demands.  At some early pre-season games, multiple players knelt during the National Anthem, protesting racial injustice in America.  Trump reiterated his demand they forgo their Right to Protest and be ordered to stand up.  He accused the NFL players of not really knowing what their protesting (an absolute boldface, racially tinged lie).  Last year, after Trump threatened to destroy the NFL for allowing such protests, the NFL had their most profitable season ever.  New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan went further, calling out Trump for attacking black athletes protesting while he says nothing about neo-Nazis marching in DC this weekend. (8/10)

18 - Continuing with the bizarreness of Trump, Space Force actually looks like a thing the Administration is going to try to make happen.  Vice President Mike Pence had a policy speech where he said we can't lose 'space supremacy,' touting a military-esque version of NASA (I guess to go beat the crap out of Neptune???).  Many scientific experts and policy experts quickly trashed the idea of potentially wasting billions on a space based military force, but Trump chimed in, tweeting "Space Force all the way!"  WOW! (8/9)

17 - The Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrote an op-ed for USA Today about the wildfires in California. In the editorial, he avoids talking about climate change, and the impacts of climate change, (like the California Wildfires), instead blaming the wildfires on "radical environmentalists." (8/8)

16 - As the coal industry praises Trump, a new report states their industry was doing far better under President Obama than it is under Trump.  Coal production is still on the decline, and coal-fired plants are still closing.  The forecast is for these trends to not reverse anytime soon.  The report comes from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration; Trump's own Department of Energy.  (8/7)

15 - First Lady Melania Trump's parents have become US citizens using the EXACT same process (allowing naturalized US citizens to bring in family into the US) that Trump wants to eliminate for (non-white) naturalized US citizens. (8/9)

14 - Proving Trump is just a cruel SOB, reports are he plans on holding back the $200 million in relief aid Congress had already dedicated to Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.  The living conditions for these people is horrific, and the Israelis only allow certain countries to give Palestine aide.  This would be pretty much all of the humanitarian aid the US grants Palestinians directly, and comes on the heals of Trump's cuts in contributions to the UNRWA, the UN agency which assists Palestinian refugees.  Trump's decision to do this seems to have originated with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. (8/12)

13 - Trump attacks the FBI on Twitter (again), this time for not handing over all their files on former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to a NON-government, private conservative advocacy group, Judicial Watch.  The same man who refused to release his tax returns for review is now proposing good governance means Government agencies handing internal documents to privately run, far right conservative groups.  He then insisted the reputation of the FBI is permanently ruined. Reminder: Trump believes the FBI, as part of a grand conspiracy against him, let him WIN the election.  GENIUS! (8/11)

12 - White House spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway sounded like an idiot when she was asked on ABC's This Week to name an African American advisor working in the West Wing with Trump.  Asked to followup on Omarosa Manigault Newman's claims of racism in Trump's White House, Conway claimed she'd never heard anything, even though her husband was allegedly the target of Trump's racism (spoiler).  When asked about black advisors on the White House staff, she first stated Ben Carson, the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, a person who is NOT on the West Wing staff.  She then alluded to someone named 'Jeron,' but when asked if 'Jeron' has an office in the West Wing, she admitted he actually works out of the Executive Office building, not in the West Wing.  She finally ducked away from the question by stating the host was focused on African Americans only, and that there were other minority individuals working for Trump. (8/12)

11 - Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross might be a crook, as Forbes Magazine describes him as "among the biggest grifters in American history."  A new report says he might have wrongly siphoned more than 120 million dollars from business associates.  The people cited in the investigation also say "he's a pathological liar," "pushing to the edge of truthfulness and using whatever power he has to grab assets."  They describe a man obsessed with money.  Ladies and Gentelmen, the Commerce Secretary... (8/7)

10 - Former Trump Campaign Aide and former Paul Manafort Business partner Rick Gates testified at the trial of Manafort.  Gates admitted to committing multiple crimes with Manafort, Trump's former Campaign Chariman.  He stated he and Manafort had 15(!!!) overseas accounts that weren't reported.  After being accused by Manafort's lawyers of embezzling millions of dollars from Manafort, Gates did admit to cheating Manafort out of several hundred dollars via false expense reports. (8/6)

9 - Trump's Election Integrity Czar, Kris Kobach is now ignoring the findings of his own committee, findings which state there's no widespread voter fraud, voter fraud Trump and Kobach have long insisted did happen.  Kobach tried to counterpoint his own committee's finding by pointing to numerous cases of alleged voter fraud.  His co-chair, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, stated all of those alleged cases were investigated by the committee and none of them had any merit or evidence to back them up.  They were fiction, "absolutely without basis in fact." (8/6)

8 - Trump, while on his vacation, welcomed 'Bikers for Trump' to his Bedminster Golf Course in New Jersey.  Most of the rally was Trump bashing on Omarosa Manigault Newman (the former White House staffer with a book coming out) Harley Davidison motorcycles, and he repeatedly attacked the media.  No one in the Administration thought it'd be a good idea to screen the patches and tattoos of the bikers Trump posed with.  One biker right next to Trump is clearly seen with a jacket patch stating "I 💟guns and titties." (apologies if you're offended) Another one of the biker rapscallions is proudly sporting a Nazi 'SS' tattoo.  A further examination of this bikers Facebook page(?) shows a man with proud ties to the Nazis.  That man was allowed on the stage.  Trump a day earlier, a year after the Charlottesville white supremacist rally which left one woman dead, stated he has no tolerance for racism. Apparently he does tolerate it, as long as it's on a biker standing next to him. (8/11)

7 - Once again, considering the messenger I'd be careful about taking this for fact, but there are more allegations coming from former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, as she gets ready to release her new book.  Omarosa claims Trump has made racist comments about staff and their family while in the White House, particularly going after Kellyanne Conway's husband.  She claims she believes there are tapes of Trump using the N-Word for African American on the set of his TV show The Apprentice.  She also claimed she was offered $15,000 per month (180K per year) to keep her mouth shut in regards to Trump and his activities on both the TV show and in the White House, with the offer being presented to her by Eric (Tweedle Dum) Trump's wife, Lara Trump.  The money would've come from the Trump re-election campaign.  While the racism in the White House has been known, as well as the rumor of racist comments made by Trump on the Apprentice, it's the $15K which has some people's attention. Trump's former bodyguard Keith Schiller is also getting $15K a month, but his money is being routed through the RNC.  Questions on whether Schiller's $15K is to keep his mouth shut haven't be answered.  White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders states Omarosa's entire book is lies. (8/10)

6 - As expected, China has lashed back at the US with new tariffs on a wide variety of US products.  The total of new tariffs from China is around 16 billion.  The products affected are cars and crude oil products, like grease, asphalt and vaseline.  An interesting stat shows imports to the US from China are pretty much staying the same, and Chinese exports as a whole (worldwide) are actually increasing.  While China has yet to feel the real pain of US tariffs, many US industries are already being hurt by Trump's unnecessary and foolish trade war.  Due directly to Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum, a South Carolina TV assembly plant is closing down entirely.  The plant's management did not mix words, claiming their closure is a direct response to Trump's tariffs. (8/7-8)

5- Trump has decided to get into a border dispute with Canada.  Mathias Seal Island is a Canadian island off the coast of Maine.  There are no trees on the 20 acre sliver of land, only a lighthouse with a few people operating it.  The waters around the island have traditionally been both countries to work, but US border agents are detaining Canadian lobster boats who are found in US waters around the Canadian Island, and the US is stopping Canadian bird watching groups from visiting the island.  This harassment, which has never happened before, began after Trump and Trudeau sparred at the G7 Summit. (8/11)

4- After a near disastrous night of primaries, special elections and ballot questions for Republicans, Trump brags about the outcome and insists he went 5 for 5 for Tuesday's Primary Election Day.  The reality, the Republicans look like they BARELY held onto a +7 R House seat in the OH12 district, a seat they won by 135,000 votes only 20 months ago, a seat they had to outspend the Democrats 3 to 1, not including the dark money advantage.  Also an anti-union bill was firmly trounced in Missouri, not exactly a liberal stronghold.  Most experts point to Tuesday being an ominous sign for the Republicans for November, with speculation being that 40-60 GOP seats might end up in Democrat hands.  Still Trump claimed victory, especially in primary elections where he endorsed a handful of candidates.  It's unclear if he understands the primaries only mean the winner is the official GOP candidate come November, not that they are the overall winner. (8/8)

3 - The reunification of immigrant children with their parents is at a stand still, as the federal government isn't having a lot of luck locating the parents they deported before their children were given back to them.  In the last week, the number of children under US care has only dropped slightly from 572 to 559.  The government is whining because apparently it's hard to locate people they've thrown out the country.  One might say they probably shouldn't have shipped them off without their kids, but then again, they probably shouldn't have ripped the kids away from the parents in the first place. (8/10)

2 - Omarosa Manigault Newman is proving be a massive headache for Trump's White House.  On Meet the Press, she played for the show a secret audio recording she made of her firing by Chief of Staff John Kelly.  When asked if she was being fired or forced to resign, Kelly clearly downplayed the firing.  Kelly also put a threat out; "Things can get ugly for you."  Omarosa says this proves the story of her running around the White Hosue after she was fired was false.  On a separate but far more concerning note, the same people furious about Hillary Clinton's email issues seem to have no problem with someone smuggling a personal cell phone into a (supposedly) secure, intelligence sensitive area of the White House, AND said individual was able to record.  That's an astounding breach of US security.  Earlier, Omarosa had told TMZ many staffers in the White House are having sex.  When the name Hope Hicks was brought up, a woman who is closely tied to Trump, she just smiled and left. (8/12)

1 - The real death toll for Hurricane Maria has been released; 1427.  This after the Trump Administration kept insisting only 64 people had died on the hurricane ravaged island.  This number includes people who died during the storm and people who died of storm related issues for up to a few months after the storm struck. (8/9)

Just on Trump's failures in Puerto Rico alone we should throw his worthless caboose out of office.

Sometimes this gets so damn overwhelming...you need to find your happy place.

#2018IsEverything.  The Minnesota Primaries are over.  Tim Walz, Tina Smith, and Ilhan Omar are some of the winners.  Focus your attention on the main prize in November.  Vote Blue and we'll start pulling the United States back from the brink.  More Countdowns in a few weeks.

The Friday Link for 8/10/18

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!