The Shit Has Hit the Fan, Part 6

Trump has been quiet this morning. He was partly laughed off of twitter last night because he announced some finding by Project Veritas. LOL! Project Veritas? Yep, that Project Veritas. The James O'Keefe mess. How this guy is still getting funded ranks up there with the mysteries of the Bible.

Also, Giuliani is in real trouble.

ALSO, John Bolton is talking. Talk on, Johnny-Boy! Relieve and de-stress yourself!

Can it be that Trump is unaware about Bolton? I imagine once he finds out he's going to tweet all day all caps. Or maybe he had found out and is too incapacitated by rage to function.

Why in the name of God do these horrific accounts of subversion and lawlessness have to dribble out almost by happenstance? Any decent person who was privy to them would be shouting them from the rooftops and demanding impeachment from the get-go.

[quote]In the course of casual conversations with advisers and friends, President Trump has privately raised suspicions that a spiteful John Bolton, his notoriously hawkish former national security adviser, could be one of the sources behind the flood of leaks against him, three people familiar with the comments said.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias :Imagine being so terrible that John Bolton is blowing the whistle on your crimes.

Mike Drucker @MikeDrucker: Imagine being too shady for John Bolton, a man who looks like a time traveler sent back to help save the confederacy

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I love this unexpected emergence of John Bolton as some kind of last defense against the fall of democracy. I think it’s fucking hilarious.

Wait. Victoria Slutverstedt is claiming that Melania wasn’t a model or someone else? Melania was a whore just like Vicky but Bucky has slept with everything all over the world. Probably has a prolapsed ass and vag. Trump always had to pay for it. He preferred it that way.

^haha *Bucky was meant to be Vicky! But those big veneers make her Bucky anyhow.

[bold]Giuliani paid $500K for work for indicted associate's firm[/bold]

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he was paid $500,000 for his work at a company co-founded by an associate who was arrested on campaign finance charges.

Giuliani told Reuters that Fraud Guarantee, Lev Parnas’s Boca Raton, Fla.-based company, took on Giuliani Partners as a management and security consulting firm around August 2018. Giuliani was hired to consult with the company and provide legal advice.

Giuliani also said he received two payments within weeks of each other but did not say when they were made.

Parnas, a Ukraine-born businessman, was one of two Giuliani associates who helped the former New York City mayor in efforts to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry after revelations that Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, and his son.

The latest development comes after The New York Times noted last week that Parnas told associates he paid Giuliani hundreds of thousands of dollars for his work.

Parnas and Igor Fruman, another Florida-based businessman, were arrested last Wednesday at Dulles International Airport with one-way international tickets. They arrests came hours after they had lunch with Giuliani at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Federal authorities allege Parnas and Fruman violated campaign finance laws in order to funnel money to numerous Republican PACs and politicians, including a $325,000 contribution in May 2018 to the pro-Trump super PAC called America First Action.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are also reportedly investigating whether Giuliani’s dealing with Ukraine broke lobbying laws.

[quote]Bucky has slept with everything all over the world.

Sob...

Here's the thing, and admittedly I don't know how it all works, but if you're the subject of a federal investigation, unless it's a sting, or other undercover operation, it would seem to me that before you're arrested, you're notified or your attorney is notified etc. ? Now I did read that the two guys were arrested at the airport because the Feds were worried they'd skip the country and be unreachable. IMO that tells me it was real important to catch them. This wasn't your garden variety malfeasance. I wonder if Igor will talk? But back to my original point, Rudy had to have known this was getting ready to go down. In fact I have to wonder if Rudy might even announce that it was he who helped catch the dastardly criminals. But then, since he hasn't, and since a lot of photos are emerging of them with Trump, was it Trump who referred these clients to Rudy? And is the plan now to throw Rudy under the bus saying he was the guy who engineered this and poor Trump was "too trusting" because it was Rudy? I'm going with the latter. I'm thinking Barr and Pompeo wanted Rudy out of the way and they're going to hang him out to dry. They all seem like absolute amateurs.Truly. It's like Igor and Lev were keystone cops compared to the Russian Oligarchs who leave no footprints. These guys are not a-listers.I have to wonder who referred them to Donnie and Rudy? Because if I wanted to set them up this is something I would have done.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Democrats are allowing no transparency at the Witch Hunt hearings. If Republicans ever did this they would be excoriated by the Fake News. Let the facts come out from the charade of people, most of whom I do not know, they are interviewing for 9 hours each, not selective leaks.

A big scandal at @ABC News. They got caught using really gruesome FAKE footage of the Turks bombing in Syria. A real disgrace. Tomorrow they will ask softball questions to Sleepy Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, like why did Ukraine & China pay you millions when you knew nothing? Payoff?

R13, you’re missing many pieces, primarily this one:

R10, that would explain why Rudy always said he wasn’t being paid anything by Trump. Because he was being paid by foreigners; he was a foreign asset.

How it began:

As if Trump even knows the meaning or spelling of the word “excoriate.” Please.

Great podcast. Very informative and easy. Listen while you’re driving, or whenever.

Also available, free, on your Apple Podcasts. Just type in “The Asset” your search-bar, & subscribe.

Mike Pompeo thinks God forgives him every day for his sins. That's some crazy justification for committing crimes against this nation every day, the craven idiot.

From the article, ""We should all remember that we are imperfect servants serving a perfect God who constantly forgives us each and every day."

He also used the official government State Department website to push his religion.

R20, a clear violation of Constitutional imperatives not to do so, just like all of them. I want Pence gone, too. Pompeo, etc. They're all in bed with end-timer insanity and tax dollars should not be used to fund a site for him to promote this agenda.

Pence has been extremely busy either getting rid of key government positions or firing those employees and replacing them with his 'faithfuls.' It will require a political bloodbath to cleanse the complete lot of them from office, if we get the chance, and it has to be done.

These are some insane people: Hage and Pence are close. THEY WANT a war in the Middle East because some maniac they included in their book of prophecy said Jesus will return if it happens.

Hope Pence goes down

[quote] Can it be that Trump is unaware about Bolton?

No. He handed Syria to Erdogan after Bolton left. Bolton has been fighting Erdogan for months, demanding Erdogan promise to protect the Kurds while Erdogan refused. As soon as Bolton left WH the Ukraine story came out and Trump ordered withdrawal from Syria, probably as much to get back at Bolton as to please Erdogan.

[quote]No. He handed Syria to Erdogan after Bolton left.

But, what does it mean? The average American doesn't understand this. They don't know the long-lasting consequences. They will barely remember it. Therefore it means nothing.

Republicans should be apoplectic! But, they simply continue to lie and the idiots continue to believe them. 40% is STILL a lot of the population.

[quote] It's like Igor and Lev were keystone cops compared to the Russian Oligarchs who leave no footprints. These guys are not a-listers.

Au contraire. They operate out in the open. They don’t meet in auto junkyards or caves. These two guys were going to see one of the biggest oligarchs of all, Dmytro Firtash, in Vienna. He’s fighting extradition to the US. No doubt they were looking to join his extradition fight.

All of these guys operate in the open. They’re not stuck in back rooms at Brighton Beach catering halls anymore. They have their money laundered by the Trumps & Kushners via real estate. They have multimillion dollar condos in Trump Tower and in Trump’s Miami buildings. They’re not hiding anything because they don’t need to. None of them need to hide thanks to american real estate tycoons. They’ll take photos with American politicians, with trump at Maralago, with the Trumps in Europe, Azerbaijan. They don’t care. They’ve got Deutsche Bank and Trump. That’s all they need.

Patrick Monahan @pattymo

Everyone knew John Bolton was gonna try to unilaterally take down *a* government, it’s just surprising it’s this one

[quote] Hope Pence goes down

No R23. Hope Hicks goes down.

Rick Wilson:

The fact that the Democrats aren't on the air and in digital hammering the living fuck out of Donald Trump right now with paid advertising boggles my goddamn mind

r29 Agreed. They are going too high.

if you followed the predictions thread you would have known that Bolton was going to throw Trump under the bus. Wait until you find out that Giuliani is going to do it too.

[quote]The fact that the Democrats aren't on the air and in digital hammering the living fuck out of Donald Trump right now with paid advertising boggles my goddamn mind

YES! I said the same thing in another thread.

when fucking Bolton comes out looking like the good guy, you know there's a shit storm happening

All of these religious nutters hoping to start a war so Jesus returns are going to be pretty butt hurt when their boy smites them like the lying hypocrites they are.

Smite away, my Good Man! Smite away!

A senior House Democrat has asked the Transportation Department's internal watchdog to investigate whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao showed undue favoritism to Kentucky constituents of her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Trump's acquiescence to Turkey ... has in only one week’s time turned into a bloody carnage, forced the abandonment of a successful five-year-long American project to keep the peace ... and given an unanticipated victory to four American adversaries."

[quote]"Trump's acquiescence to Turkey ... has in only one week’s time turned into a bloody carnage, forced the abandonment of a successful five-year-long American project to keep the peace ... and given an unanticipated victory to four American adversaries."

Now, somehow Democrats must unfortunately exploit this. I understand what a few of you are asking like R33. But, the Democrats have to be so careful of that, in my opinion. Republicans are experts at playing the victim and convincing everyone that they are being picked on. The people must be led to come to conclusions on their own. Republicans have just so brain washed so many.

Delicious!

Rudy Giuliani Got Paid Half a Million By His Henchman's Inevitably Named Company, 'Fraud Guarantee'-- It's all going south for the artist formerly known as America's Mayor.

International Man of Stupidity Rudy Giuliani is back at it again, folks. It's been a rough ride over the last few weeks for the artist formerly known as America's Mayor, though he long ago squandered any goodwill still remaining from the period in his life when he was graded on a curve. Giuliani, you see, has gotten himself deeply embroiled in the president's latest impeachable offense, a shakedown of the Ukrainian government for Donald Trump's personal political gain. While the president himself was asking Ukraine's president for a "favor"—to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and muddy the waters around Russia's attack on the 2016 election—and Trump's "diplomats" were making it clear to the Ukrainians that the military aid they needed was contingent on this "deliverable," Giuliani had his own role.

On Monday, the White House's former Russia and Eurasia adviser, Fiona Hill, reportedly testified before Congress that Giuliani was running a "shadow foreign policy" in Ukraine that circumvented the official channels tasked with promoting American interests. The most likely explanation for this is that Giuliani and his boss had no interest in American interests. (Last week, we learned the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine was likely shoved out because she wasn't cooperating with Giuliani's chicanery over there.) Among other things, Giuliani and Gordon Sondland—the ambassador to the European Union who, thanks to some texts presented to Congress, we now know was at the center of the shakedown efforts—pressed the Ukrainians to issue a public statement specifically announcing the "investigations" into Biden and 2016. This would have been seized on immediately by Trump and his allies as primo ratfucking material.

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R26, I 'm going to maintain my opinion of Igor, Lev, and even Firtash. One guy is a nightclub owner, the other one does some kind of security "Fraud protection" racket or something. They are working their way up the food chain. Even Firtash is sort of mid level compared to Derapaska, and others.

There is definitely a hierarchy among the mobsters, and the inner circle is "this close" to Putin, and are actually part of governing Russia. If you've ever seen the movie, Donnie Brasco, it might give you some vague idea of how it might work. It's like there are various crews, and bosses, and it works like a pyramid. Everybody on the lower half of the pyramid is hustling trying to move up and prove themselves to the bigger bosses.

Igor and Lev had connections for sure. But they weren't regular dinner companions of Putin's. Neither was Firtash. Firtash was an operative for some big oligarch like Derapaska, Mr. Big, the guy that Manafort was doing deals with. That's why Trump was SO infatuated and SO grateful to finally get attention from Putin.

All these years he was a money launderer, ran "beauty pageants" and models, had some real estate developments, and he was a celebrity. He loved his shady Russian mob contacts. But he finally gained access to the most important, wealthier oligarchs and opportunities through Manafort. IMO, winning the Presidency gained him access to Putin, and as we can see Trump was desperate and groveling to be acknowledged.

I think this recent project with Rudy was Igor andLev's chance to prove themselves and gain entree to bigger, better and more lucrative scams. The gas & oil opportunities weren't given out t just anyone. I've been reading up on this stuff. fascinating. The biggest mobsters were still operating scams even after they "made it," and it was guys like Rudy's "clients" who were their operatives.

For those of you who keep asking why Miss Lindsey has had herself surgically attached to Trump's ass:

@LindseyGrahamSC announces he raised $3.3 million in Q3 -- the largest haul of any Senate Republican in cycle this quarter (and that includes McConnell, who raked in $2.3 million)

I saw that, R41. I also saw that Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks' wife) was a contributor too. I'm not pleased with that. But, I wrote this in thread "50" of this topic that the Republican money just doesn't sit well with me. I truly think that there is this massive fundraising organization that manipulates how all of the funds are received, distributed, etc. I believe the Republican fundraising is mostly corporate funds that are being washed and funneled through fake donors, etc.

Rita Wilson donated you Lindsey fucking Graham’s re-election campaign? Who the fuck does she think she is?

Rita is Greek. She produced Big Fat Greek Wedding. She goes to St. Sophia's GOC in LA.

Greeks are notoriously racist and white supremacist.

Disappointing but not surprising.

OH! FORGIVENESS, PLEASE!!!! I made a mistake. Miss Wilson gave to Lindsey's opponents campaign!

Jaime Harrison, the former S.C. Democratic Party chairman and Graham’s likely general election challenger, raised more than $2.2 million over the same period — a similarly record-breaking quarter for a Democratic Senate candidate in the state. He now has more than $2.6 million in the bank.

Famous donors to Harrison’s campaign included filmmaker J.J. Abrams, Disney chairman Alan Horn, Paramount CEO James Gianopulos, producer James Brooks and actress Rita Wilson, the wife of actor Tom Hanks, according to his filing.

I'm very, VERY, sorry everyone

Thank you for the clarification r45, but Greeks remain notoriously racist.

Good to know about Rita.

.

r44

Why aren’t they hammering Trump, Pence & deplorables about the Kurds? It’s the perfect storm. I can only guess the DNC is out of money again.

Where’s that Tom Steyer guy and his millions in ads?

Giuliani says he won't comply with subpoenas from Democrats

Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that he won't comply with a congressional subpoena for documents and communications related to House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

ARREST HIM!!!

Rita Wilson is a Republican? Seriously?!

Yes, r47, it appears the DNC is having money issues. This is why the members of the squad who are out there saying donate to the candidates and not the DNC need to be put into the penalty box.

Yes, r47, it appears the DNC is having money issues. This is why the members of the squad who are out there saying donate to the candidates and not the DNC need to be put into the penalty box.

Yes, r47, it appears the DNC is having money issues. This is why the members of the squad who are out there saying donate to the candidates and not the DNC need to be put into the penalty box.

Okay, I just saw R45's revised post that Wilson actually donated to Graham's opponent. That makes more sense.

Yes, r47, it appears the DNC is having money issues. This is why certain newbies who are out there saying donate to the candidates and not the DNC need to be put into the penalty box.

Oh FFS, Muriel, fix the damn glitches. Multiple posting is getting worse.

Trumped is all of this for Putin. What a solid asshole, he is?

[quote]Trumped is all of this for Putin.

Too bad this message isn't really getting out to the deplorables. It's my hope that Trump will be called a bona fide traitor to this nation.

I'm actually pissed at Tom Steyer. He's a REAL fucking billionaire and would be most effective donating constantly to the DNC and candidates. Instead he egotistically decided to run himself. Hopefully he'll start donating once he drops out of the race

R57 = Yoda

That's not helpful. You know I get impatient with all the e-mails I get begging for money but the lack of money for the DNC is obvious at times like this. And yes, people like Steyer ought to pony up. Because there is no limit to the dark money the GOP gets to run all the ads they run. To Perez ought to make a phone call or two and start the ad buys. There are some high profile people who could help out right now and I wish they would. Hollywood stars, successful business people, etc. Of course if the Clintons or the Obamas donated a few million it would cause an explosion of negative press. But the fact is, the Obamas could lend a hand by hosting a fund raiser for the DNC. After all, WTF have they done to support the party? Not a lot. And I love them. I'm no troll, butI get it, that no one wants to endorse a particular candidate right now, but that shouldn't stop them from supporting their party.

the rich celebs who love to weigh in on politics and fancy themselves as intellectuals ought to be donating money to the DNC.

The Disney family gives I know that

[quote] The fact that the Democrats aren't on the air and in digital hammering the living fuck out of THE REPUBLICANS right now with paid advertising boggles my goddamn mind

Fixed it for you, Rick!

The DNC fucked itself by not winnowing down the debate field sooner. October should have been 4%.

The real debates start in November. That's when the loser 1%ers will donate to the DNC.

Giuliani better get arrested if he truly ignores subpoenas

Can you imagine just how outrageous the conspiracy theories would have been if Pres Obama had been photographed in an orb touch ceremony with the king of Saudi Arabia?

All in good time, friends...

From r37....

It's a great ad that I would tweak a bit. I'd remove the journalists that make some people tune out like Maddow and add more Guiliani or Trump instead and then buy airtime on Fox.

Interesting....

Trump is on his way to an easy win in 2020, according to Moody’s accurate election model

PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO

UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

President Donald Trump looks likely to cruise to reelection next year under three different economic models Moody’s Analytics employed to gauge the 2020 race.

Barring anything unusual happening, the president’s Electoral College victory could easily surpass his 2016 win over Democrat Hillary Clinton, which came by a 304-227 count.

(coursing through FaceBook now)

Oh c'mon, r69. Rachel says "There's a paper trail". That's it. I don't think people will tune out during "There's a paper trail".

Well, Moody's "accurate" election model said Hillary Clinton would win in 2016. So there's that.

Fuck the DNC. They did nothing but pander to butthurt Bern victims in 2016and those assholes turned right around and voted for a traitor anyway.

I refuse to give them a damned dime until they cut that finger wagging old misogynist off completely. HE is also in bed with Russia but the DNC turns a blind eye.

So fuck them. I will give money to someone who isn't beholden to fucking Russian idiots.

Well as a semi corrupt, transparently biased bond rating service, Moody's models are all based on economic indicators. Context is everything, People!!!

Not tuning out in the phasing out sense, r71. She very polarizing and if you are going to air this on media where you're not preaching to the choir then I'd remove the polarizing figures and just add more Trump and Giuliani or even Trump tweets. It's hard to say it's a partisan hit job when you're using the words right from the horse.

Rachel isn't polarizing. Rachel is hated. She's hated by the right-wing because of her reporting. For years, they have tried to catch her on something but have always been unsuccessful. Her facts have always checked out. Unlike a Hannity, Limbaugh, Pirro, etc who are polarizing. Not only do they take a right-wing viewpoint, all of them have been caught in many lies regarding their so-called reporting. Hannity is the funniest but the most dangerous of them all, in my opinion. He calls himself a journalist when it suits his agenda and then at other times an opinion commentator.

R76, semantics. The point is unless you're going to air this on CNN or MSNBC, which would be a waste of money, then why add people who are just going to turn off the people you need to reach?

I posted this in the impeachment thread, but I will post it here too. Dotard hasn't beaten the Emoluments suit just yet. Lol, the full 4th circuit leans blue. I wonder, does McConnel regret leaving Merrick Garland in the 4th Circuit.

Je ne regrette rien!

R66, I see Saruman was there as well.

[quote]Moody's three models show Trump getting at least 289 electoral votes, assuming average turnout.

Turnout is likely to be higher in 2020 than 2016, so that's at least one possible assumption Moody's may have wrong.

NYT:

White House Is Said to Open Internal Review of Ukraine Call

R73, they’re all pandering to a new paradigm that the United States has become fixated on pursuing as our new world value system: “Make Believe Peace in The Middle East”.

Why isn’t anyone pointing out some odd events, such as, Zelensky’s lack of experience in government? He’s a COMEDIAN. And while the irony of that tidbit isn’t lost upon most, it’s not really highlighted enough.

Then we have his perceived alliances to Israel, particularly to Netanyahu. He pledges religious solidarity with Netanyahu, and proclaimed publicly that he’s looking forward to Israel’s direct assistance and involvement in Ukraine’s total independence from Russian occupation, & Israel’s guidance in statecraft. All of this proclaimed, as Zelensky simultaneously acquiesced to Putin by agreeing to allow Ukraine’s Russian occupied territories to rerun “democratic” elections, which are known & proven to not be democratic at all, since Russia has usurped this area of Ukraine’s voting mechanism by doing there, exactly what they did here.

NONE of this makes any sense. Not to people who would like a simple explanation and answers, such as: what are the exact deals brokered between the US, Russia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia? How will North Korea be rewarded for playing along? What is gained by allowing proxy armed forces from Russia, which is aligned with Syria up to a point, yet presently backs Erdogan aggressively? Why are they NOW, replacing American troops? Whose weapons are being used by the Russians while they occupy the Syrian/Turkish border? Didn’t they just purchase a bunch of shit from Israel? Is that why we got out? So that Israel can cash in on reselling the shit we sold them, which they bought with the money that we gave them, after we secured massive military sales contracts with the Saudis? And does America eventually break even, by investing pennies on the dollar in the Ukraine’s energy sectors, that are funded and exploited by corrupt, Russian oligarchs, who are now inviting American politicians and private citizens who can buy access, to share in divvying up their own pieces of the pie? And finally, is Iran also cashing in, by conveniently creating new conflicts with its neighbors, the Saudis, inciting Israel, & respectively, the soon to be freed ISIL freedom fighters, hence recreating the perfect storm, so that America is forced to re-invade Syria, & wage war, after claiming to withdraw, now, because defense of these areas and of our Kurdish allies, is a losing and never ending game?

Why isn’t anyone asking anyone about this shit, when it’s obvious that none of this makes any fucking sense, whatsoever? The ONLY possible explanation for any of this shit, is that we are now watching something likened to the Hollywood Squares, where everyone knows nothing, but someone knows something, and sometimes answers if their square lights up, which manages to distract us all enough to the point of confusion, while all of these fuckers who call themselves “leaders”, play THE biggest shell game EVER with our tax dollars, and on the backs of our military, while the money pumps through bloodshed, flowing out the wounds of those poor bastards, the Kurds.

How the fuck is any of this, justified by these craven maniacs, and the profoundly misguided and ignorant electorate who votes & supports them?

Meanwhile, Brexit looms, and the EU increasingly cozies up to China.

America first! 👍🏼

I don't think the ad in R68 is from the DNC.

It's produced by an organization called Democratic Coalition

[quote]The Democratic Coalition was formed in the Spring of 2016 with the main goal of making sure that Donald Trump never became President. The organization now exists to hold the Trump White House accountable, and is directly countering Donald Trump, along with Republican elected officials and candidates who support him, through aggressive digital and traditional advertising, grassroots action, in-depth opposition research, and a nationwide rapid-response team.

[quote]The organization has chairs in all 50 states, comprised of Democratic elected officials, party chairs, delegates, grassroots leaders and activists.

​

Giuliani, Pence and DoD are not cooperating with the impeachment inquirie and are NOT handing over documents to the committee.

So what are the next steps? Did they already get subpoenas or only a request to cooperate? The VP not cooperating with Congress is outrageous, but I really hope there is something they can do but I doubt Schiff has the balls to arrest anyone.

There is no statute of limitations on Contempt of Congress.

During the next Democratic Administration, justice will be had.

"What I've seen horrifies me..."

Trump has only two facial expressions: a scowl and a smirk. They are both related to his world view: You either are taken, or you take.

I hope to god if the Democrats win they dont just drop all this illegal stuff these guys in the name of "moving on." They need to be prosecuted just like you are I would be if we had committed the same crimes.

The one time R70 post says that Moodys got their prediction wrong was 2016 when Trump won but now they predict he will win? How flawed is that? They blame it on unusual turnout and circumstances. Well no shit Sherlock. You think that's changed since then? Moody's is living in a bubble of the past where old models don't work anymore. Measuring only money issues and missing the outrage and anger of the most polarizing figure in history is a very flawed attempt to predict an outcome. Plus they failed to add the fact that he will be impeached by the house which can drastically affect voter turnout.

Unusual turnout was the Republican excuse for Obama's first election. I remember Republican stooges insisting that turnout for the second election wouldn't be as high, which was why all of the polls showing Obama's re-election were wrong. Except that the polls turned out to be right.

If enough brilliant people all wished for Trumps death at the same time...could it happen?

Will never forget Karl Rove losing his mind on Fox News when they called some state for Obama which he thought he had fixed for Romney or whoever. These people have never been subtle.

What a slap to the face of the USA. Erdogan will not meet with Pence or Pompeo. LOL!

How disgusting are Trump and his people;

Grieving Parents ‘Ambushed’ by Trump, Who Had Teen’s Killer Waiting at White House--The president had hoped to surprise the parents of dead British teen Harry Dunn with a meeting with the woman who killed him—all in front of the media.

You can almost imagine the reality show excitement that surely went into the ill-considered plan to introduce Anne Sacoolas, the American diplomatic wife who killed 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn when she drove down the wrong side of an English lane in August, to Dunn’s grieving parents. Sacoolas left the U.K. in early September under diplomatic immunity and has not been seen in public since.

The Dunn family, now in the United States to drum up support to send Sacoolas back to the U.K. to face justice, had accepted an “urgent” invitation by the White House from National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, to visit Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. Trump, it seems, thought he could convince the Dunns to meet the woman who killed their son, and would do so by opening a side door through which she would walk. The whole scene would be captured by a pool of photographers who had been summoned for the meeting.

But the Dunns would have none of it and refused to meet her. The Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger said that the family felt “ambushed” when the “bombshell” was dropped that Sacoolas was next door.

They had envisioned meeting her one day, but as Seiger told The Daily Beast, “only on British soil” and “only with mediators, counselors and their legal team in tow.”

That story is stomach-turning, but the grotesquerie and appalling taste of the whole Trump administration—he only hires sociopathic would-be impersarios, it seems—is nothing new.

More winning:

Turkey's Erdogan says he won't meet Pence, Pompeo et al on their mission to broker a cease fire in Ankara.

A senior US official confirms that Turkey is advancing on the border town of Kobani, which Erdogan promised Trump he would not attack.

JFC

Pompeo and Pence should get what they deserve as soon as possible.

NBC News: Defense Secretary Mark Esper will no longer comply with impeachment inquiry

In a letter sent to House Democrats on Tuesday, the Department of Defense argues that the subpoena is invalid and violates executive privilege.

The Hill:

Trump calls Dem candidates 'clowns,' claims none can defeat him in 2020

R95 and r96 the real stomach churning part of the story is missing. They actually liked Trump and hope to meet him again.

[quote]Turkey's Erdogan says he won't meet Pence, Pompeo

Seen on Twitter: "He doesn't speak to the help."

The real shit is the phone call that doofus made to Erdagan? Why don't we have the transcript from that phone call? We need that phone call.

Last time Erdagan was in town, 17 of his thugs beat people up and then skipped town. Naturally Trump made nice with Erdagan.

(Eye brows raise. Eyes widen)

North Carolina Republicans Say They Must Gerrymander to Protect Racial Equality--They’re trying to stall through the 2020 election cycle.

Faced with the prospect of losing significant power in both their legislative and congressional gerrymandered maps, North Carolina Republicans have one grand plan: stall. In late September, shortly after a state court struck down the partisan gerrymander of the state legislature, a group of voters filed a lawsuit asking the same court to invalidate Republicans’ congressional maps, a move that would give North Carolina Democrats a fair share of seats in the House of Representatives. GOP lawmakers know the state courts are poised to reject their skewed districts. So on Monday, they tried to drag the case into federal court—arguing that any attempt to erase partisan bias from the congressional map would violate the voting rights of racial minorities.

This gambit requires some chutzpah. These are, after all, the very same lawmakers who crafted a voter suppression law that a federal appeals court found to illegally “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.” They are the same lawmakers who previously drew both legislative and congressional districts along racial lines so flagrantly that even Justice Clarence Thomas found them to be unconstitutional. And they are the same lawmakers who recently persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court that the federal judiciary cannot hear partisan gerrymandering claims.

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Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

You would think there is NO WAY that any of the Democrat Candidates that we witnessed last night could possibly become President of the United States. Now you see why they have no choice but to push a totally illegal & absurd Impeachment of one of the most successful Presidents!

2016 Democratic Nominee, SecState, Senator, hair icon. Mom, Wife, Grandma x3, lawyer, advocate, fan of walks in the woods & standing up for our democracy.

“What is happening to President Trump with Impeachment is a Constitutional Travesty.” @GrahamLedger The likes of which we have never seen before. It is Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi who should be impeached for fraud!

95% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you! Just won two Congressional Seats in North Carolina, & a Governors runoff in Louisiana, which Republicans should now win! Because of Impeachment Fraud, we will easily take back the House, add in the Senate, & again win Pres!

Our record Economy would CRASH, just like in 1929, if any of those clowns became President!

Republicans are totally deprived of their rights in this Impeachment Witch Hunt. No lawyers, no questions, no transparency! The good news is that the Radical Left Dems have No Case. It is all based on their Fraud and Fabrication!

[quote] Our record Economy would CRASH, just like in 1929, if any of those clowns became President!

Uh, Don?

Believe it or not, r108, Republicans back then were more like today's Democrats and Democrats were more like Republicans. It wasn't until FDR that things began to switch.

R97, of course he won’t meet with them. WTF for? This is all pre-planned and staged with all of them, including Israel, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

THIS is the new alliance, and this is what these fucking Trumpanzees are always screeching about online, the big bad wolf, GLOBALIZATION.

I understand that this is something that the United States has to engage in, and move toward. NATO effectively broke America’s kneecaps. Our GDP is now what, tech? Which is great for those who easily slid into that slot, but obviously, a significant amount of our population ended up on the poverty rolls, as a result. Hate them all you want, it wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t morally correct. Obviously, politicians on both sides didn’t really give a fuck about them anyhow, & figured flooding the market with opiates strong enough to kill an elephant would mercifully take care of them. Horrible for me to say? Why? It’s true, as we can all see, decades later, long after our automotive manufacturing industry closed up shop & restructured abroad, followed by all other manufacturers, minus residential and commercial builders, and the top 5 military contractors. What jobs can we offer Americans today? Unless they all learn to code, as the masses do in India, we have nothing for our working class, other than nursing, construction, welding, building via the green energy sector expansion in order to replace coal, etc. We all get the point: we have almost nothing for a whole lotta people. Almost every single industry will be profoundly changed and completely restructured due to tech and AI in the next 30 years, or less. More and more occupations will become scarce to obsolete, and that, my friends, will absolutely affect us all who will still be above ground within that timeline.

So yes, America has to move forward, and restructure in almost every existing sector, & it will be forced to expand via opportunities that are only possible by creating alliances with countries that will allow us to keep the money flowing, whether via Capitalism, or Socialism.

All of the above being understood, Americans need to start making some difficult choices when they cast their votes at the voting booths. Who do we want leading us into the inevitable and already active and unstoppable paradigm of globalization? Who are the people and institutions best prepared to forge ahead on our behalf? Do we want some slapstick conman & his sycophantic toadies, who are filling up their coffers, with little to zero concern about how we pay our bills, and provide for our families, or do we want people with experience, who understand these unique, & never before seen challenges that are facing our country? Because here’s the bottom line: everything, including our livelihoods, are on the line right now. And if we remain distracted by stupid, meaningless shit, such as the color of the President’s skin, or whether or not our President is a he or a she, or whether or not we like a candidate, because we’ve seen them on a reality TV series, putting on a staged and deliberate act, on NBC every Monday night, while ripping off thousands of people behind the scenes, & laundering cash for organized crime syndicates, we are going to pay for our folly, big time.

If Americans want to be treated ethically, with honesty, compassion, and equality, they need to look out for each other, regardless of party alliances, race religion, etc. They need to be ready to pay higher taxes so that everyone can get healthcare and decent educations, & they need to vote for candidates who are compassionate, honest, and who mean it, when they say that we are all created equal.

NBC:

Trump's 'bombshell' offer to family of British teen killed in car crash: Diplomat's wife is in next room

He’s so crude, R111; he has no understanding of human beings.

Trump building tax discrepancies. Translation: fraud.

Thanks, Cohen.

[quote]he has no understanding of human beings.

Years ago when Mike Tyson was accused of rape by a beauty pageant contestant, Trump said that a fight which was scheduled at the time should go forward with the purse going to the woman, as if that somehow would make everything alright.

R109, it may be true in some ways that Republicans then were more like our Democrats (e.g. on racial issues), but their hostility to regulation of finance and to government programs caused and fueled the Great Depression.

And DL said I was wrong when i said the problem with Trump's taxes was because he's intentionally under valuing property to avoid taxes.

In the last 50 years, lowlife Republicans are the cause of all of our problems. It is called runaway corporate greed.

This is where Democrats lose their support--with me, anyway. They should have been ready for this;

MIDDLE FINGER

Dems Torn Over How Much to Punish Rudy Giuliani for Ignoring Subpoena--Should Trump’s personal attorney be jailed for his stonewalling of a congressional subpoena—or would a court fight only delay the impeachment inquiry unnecessarily?

Torn? They should have immediately arrested!

House Democrats are torn over how to respond after Rudy Giuliani gave them the equivalent of a massive middle finger on Tuesday, telling them he would completely ignore the subpoena that they served him for documents related to his expedition to dig up dirt in Ukraine on the Bidens in order to benefit President Trump.

To some Democratic lawmakers, the idea of Trump’s personal attorney skating by without a punishment while the courts decide whether he has to comply with their subpoena is infuriating. And it dredges up bad memories of their struggles to hold Trump administration officials to account for ignoring subpoenas over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In response, they want Giuliani to feel some pain, either personally or financially.

“You don’t get to say no to a congressional subpoena,” said Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, which is spearheading the impeachment inquiry. “That’s not a thing. That is a crime. He’s gonna show up, or he’s going to get fined, or he’s going to go to jail.”

But the party’s leadership is increasingly convinced that its Ukraine-focused impeachment inquiry is getting results—and that going after Giuliani with threats of contempt of Congress would turn a success into a show that unnecessarily muddies the waters.

And many in the caucus believe they already have a strong enough case to impeach Trump, and that Trumpworld’s stonewalling of subpoenas will only make it stronger.

None of his Deplorables will give a shit about his taxes. They don’t even understand WTF that Pro-Publica piece means, or why shit like this is cause for concern.

What a cheap ass, good for nothing, conman. The type of shit pulled by the fat fucks he associates with at Brighton Beach. And this, done by a man who already had HUGE advantages for tax breaks, due to his income.

Clear example of MAJOR tax fraud (below-from Pro-Publica article).

Time for the IRS to audit the last 20 years of transactions and ALL loan officer records at Ladder’s 👇🏼:

“Trump and Jack Weisselberg had history together. Jack was at UBS, in its loan origination department, in 2006, when the Swiss bank loaned Trump $7 million for his piece of the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Jack’s father, Allen Weisselberg, had bought a condo from Trump in one of his buildings for a below-market price of $152,500 in 2000. He deeded it to Jack three years later for about $148,000. Jack sold the unit for more than three times as much in 2006. (Jack Weisselberg declined to comment on Ladder’s loans or his relationship with the Trump Organization.)”

R118, they’re not torn. They’re evaluating their timeline vs. what the newest polls supporting impeachment look like. They can charge him at any time.

[quote]None of his Deplorables will give a shit about his taxes.

Clearly you don't understand his supporters. They're all about taxes, guns, god and small government.

Seems like Trump may have had a bad call with Macron. He keeps mentioning how unfair France has been to the United States in his press conference on now with Italy.

^ If they're all about taxes, shouldn't they be pissed that he went years without paying taxes?!

Are there any recordings of Trump's dubious phone calls?

[quote]If they're all about taxes, shouldn't they be pissed that he went years without paying taxes?!

Should be ... but in fact, they admire him for paying as little as possible, just as they'd like to.

The goal of deplorables is to pay no taxes, so no, they’re not mad at Trump. Billionaires funded those bible colleges and sent in plants who graduated and went teaching the gospel of no taxes, no federal government, no regulations, guns for everybody and kill the atheists but pretend we like them Jews until they betray us again, then we’ll get them for good next time.

[quote]If they're all about taxes, shouldn't they be pissed that he went years without paying taxes?!

Really??? Really??? Do you really think Trump supporters are all about PAYING taxes??? Really??

Well, they seem to like complaining about poor people who don't pay taxes....

AP:

Another man is arrested in probe of Giuliani associates

Ghoul-iani sure likes to surround himself with upstanding guys!

If the poor would pay their share of taxes, then the deplorables wouldn't have to pay as much.

Why do we need a word for word transcript of what Plump says every day?

It’s like someone wants to force feed us his propaganda every day. Verbatim.

Knock it off. Quit trying to brainwash us.

Trump's below-millionaire supporters think he and the Republicans lowered *their* taxes. They're too stupid to live—quite literally, since they depend on government funding to a greater extent than people in "blue" states like me (who subsidize these asshats).

Damn, Trump sure surrounds himself with low quality criminals. Only the best!!

Hunter handles himself well

when are we getting an update on the second Ukraine whistle blower and the IRS whistle blower? Those will totally open the flood gates of impeachment approval among the public even further

R107 I'm confused what this line has to do with the rest of your post? I giggled at the description, but it seems out of place in that post.

2016 Democratic Nominee, SecState, Senator, hair icon. Mom, Wife, Grandma x3, lawyer, advocate, fan of walks in the woods & standing up for our democracy.

R136, that’s Trump describing Hillary, is my guess.

[quote]Hunter handles himself well

Pics please.

The Hill:

Graham warns Trump Syria pullout could be 'complete and utter national security disaster'

House approves resolution opposing Trump administration Syria troop withdrawal

Washington (CNN)The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a resolution opposing the Trump administration's move to withdraw US forces from Syria. The vote was 354-60 with four members voting present.

The resolution states that "an abrupt withdrawal of United States military personnel from certain parts of Northeast Syria is beneficial to adversaries of the United States government, including Syria, Iran, and Russia."

It goes on to say that Congress "opposes the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria."

The measure has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. In the House, it was sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel and the committee's top Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas.

"Congress must speak out," Engel said in a floor speech ahead of the vote,"this measure we're considering today will send an unambiguous, bipartisan, hopefully bicameral rejection of Trump's policy in Syria."

Since it is a joint resolution, it could come up for a vote in the Senate after the House takes it up.

"I understand the administration's legitimate concerns about engaging our US forces in long-term military operations," McCaul said in a floor speech. "I too want to wind down our overseas conflicts and bring our troops home," he said, but added, "We need a residual force in place. The consequences of this decision have already unfolded before our very eyes."

The rebuke of President Donald Trump's foreign policy comes as the troop withdrawal decision has sparked a bipartisan backlash, even as Democrats and Republicans remain bitterly divided over another issue currently before Congress: the House Democratic impeachment inquiry.

Microsoft News Poll

Do you think the White House is guilty of obstructing justice?

66% = Yes

31% = No

3% = I'm not sure

Based on 7,151 responses

NYT: Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, was a potential national security risk because he was so unprepared for his job, an ex-White House adviser said privately to impeachment investigators.

"Trump's below-millionaire supporters think he and the Republicans lowered *their* taxes. They're too stupid to live..."

I know them. They don't read or watch new programs (particularly since Trump constantly tells them it's all lies). They don't understand the complicated ins and outs of the latest political scandals so they are ignoring them, chalking it up to "Bitter Hillary voters who can't let go".

The only thing they might glance at is a snippet of Trump's 'press conferences', shouting as he's getting on the helicopter. And it appears to them like he's aggressively, passionately fighting against all opposition to make America great again.

Not sure which thread to use, so I'll park this here as well...

Schumer, Hoyer, and Pelosi were just on live after walking out on Trump due to his unhinged behavior in their meeting...

Schumer: Trump called Pelosi a "third-rate politician" and said "Communists are involved; that might make you happy."

Hoyer: "Offensive" "Diatribe." "Offensive accusations" "Never have I seen a President treat so disrespectfully a coequal branch of the government of the United States."

Pelosi: "What we witnessed on the part of the President was a meltdown, sad to say."

He's been reduced to begging;

Trish Regan @trish_regan

EXCLUSIVE: I have obtained a copy of ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩’s letter to #Erdogan. ⁦@POTUS⁩ warns him to not “be a tough guy! Don’t be a fool!” Says he could destroy Turkey’s economy if #Syria is not resolved in a humane way. Details tonight at 8pm #TrishRegan #FoxBusiness

Help us, someone!

Apparently, WH communications staffers have just thrown up their hands and said screw it -- they don't even try to craft a coherent missive out of Trump's deranged mutterings.

Eamon Javers @EamonJavers

“What we just witnessed on the part of the President was a meltdown,” says Speaker Pelosi.

Rudy is being investigated by the SDNY. He will be indicted by the SDNY. The same SDNY that is obviously defiant of Barr.

[quote]Apparently, WH communications staffers have just thrown up their hands and said screw it -- they don't even try to craft a coherent missive out of Trump's deranged mutterings.

Why impeach? Just send the strait jacket.

The letter and Trump meltdown are being discussed in the linked thread.

Ooh, Miss Lindsey must have just had a testosterone shot:

[quote]“I am looking to President Trump to change this,” the Republican senator told CBN host Pat Robertson. “I will do anything I can to help him, but I will also become President Trump’s worst nightmare.”

Senator Graham, you're not [italic]anyone's[/italic] "worst nightmare" and Trump doesn't give a shit about your threats, particularly since he knows you need him to win your reelection.

Miss Graham really things highly of herself!

That might mean something if it came from somebody with any credibility.

r132

[quote]They're too stupid to live—quite literally, since they depend on government funding to a greater extent than people in "blue" states like me (who subsidize these asshats).

They will be killed off - or allowed to die after they are no longer useful. Right now, the Republicans needed the deplorables, but after they structure the govt for minority rule, they won't require angry poor whites.

Destroying Disabilities Benefits (the welfare of unemployed deplorables), Medicaid (what keeps their kids alive) and Medicare (their olds); Social Security (the extra granny provides) will winnow them out. When the Republicans wanted to include work requirements for a benefit in some state, the blowback from poor whites forced them to only rollout the workfare program in majority black counties. Ruled unconnstitutional, for now.

R143

[quote]The only thing they might glance at is a snippet of Trump's 'press conferences', shouting as he's getting on the helicopter. And it appears to them like he's aggressively, passionately fighting against all opposition to make America great again.

They also receive all sorts stealth information online. Vicious stuff - racist, hateful, anger provoking.

R145 [bold]NARRATOR:[/bold] Through backchannels, Trump Admin already told Erdogan to ignore the letter. Erdogan was annoyed at being interrupted while kiling Kurds by this information.

Paul McLeod @pdmcleod

At today’s Senate Republican lunch meeting, Mitch McConnell (with an assist from impeachment vet Lindsey Graham) gave an Impeachment Trials 101 lesson. His lessons: They’ll sit 6 days per week (sundays off) starting at 12:30pm every day. It’s expected to take several week

The House lawyers are essentially the prosecution. White House lawyers the defense. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will act as judge. Senators are the jury and *cannot talk* throughout. Mitch apparently warned talkers would be ejected.

On a motion to dismiss the trial, this can only be brought forward by either the House or White House lawyers, not a senator. This seems unlikely to fly, as multiple Republicans have told me the Senate has a duty to take up articles of impeachment from the House.

Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial lasted five weeks. If the House votes to impeach by Thanksgiving, we could see the entire Thanksgiving-Christmas period taken up by the impeachment trial.

One thing to note about this is that the Senate can change any rules through unanimous consent. So, e.g., they could decide to give each side a chance to get involved in cross examination. The rules of the trial will likely be outlined in a motion passed at the beginning.

As a final note, McConnell didn’t tip his hands on how he would handle things (such as if he would push for a motion to dismiss), but rather outlined how things had gone in the past. One thing is clear though, senators seem to think a Trump impeachment trial likely inevitable.

I don’t have the quote in front of me but a few weeks ago I asked Senator James Lankford about a possible motion to dismiss (essentially skipping the trial.) He said he would absolutely not support one, and many of his Republican colleagues would also oppose it.

Postscript: Republicans clearly expect a trial to begin, but I wouldn’t rule out a successful motion to dismiss partway in. There was a (failed) MTD two weeks into the Clinton trial. Senator Tillis said if two weeks in it’s just all about the transcript, a motion could succeed.

[quote]and Trump doesn't give a shit about your threats, particularly since he knows you need him to win your reelection.

Yes, and no. They both need the evangelicals to win and right now evangelicals are pissed at Trump for the shit he did with Turkey. Pat Robertson, who Graham is sucking up to in that interview, had said that Trump would no longer have a mandate from heaven (or god, I forget which) if he abandoned the Kurds. Sooooo, it's going to get interesting.

I had no idea Trump was even interested in man dates with God.

Christ, that letter at r145 sounds like it was written by JonBenet's "kidnappers."

And you bitches thought I was nuts!

WaPo's Mike DeBonis:

NEW DETAIL per three sources: Trump said several times in mtg he wasn't concerned about terrorists 7,000 miles away. After Pelosi & Hoyer left, @RepLizCheney spoke up to remind Trump that the terrorists responsible for 9/11 "came from 7,000 miles away" themselves.

But Liz Cheney forgot to mention the 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia.

Nancy is a badass.

Pelosi directly to Trump: Russia has always wanted a "foothold in the Middle East" and now it has one.

"All roads with you lead to Putin."

WaPo's Karen Tumulty:

Schumer to Trump: "Is your plan to rely on the Syrians and the Turks?"

Trump: "Our plan is to keep the American people safe."

Pelosi: "That's not a plan. That's a goal."

DAMN GYRL

Video of the presser

Look at all the republican'ts sitting next to Trump.

Could there possibly be a group of more ashamed men? They know they are listening to an idiot. They know that the idiot and themselves are being schooled by Pelosi. They know their careers are most likely over.

And yet they sit there in their stew of gloom and shame.

R166, none of those men have fucked their wives for at least 10 years, so they’re already ahead of the game.

Look at them. They didn’t suddenly become pieces of shit the day Trump walked into the WH.

One of the latest talking points is that the situation in Syria is all Obama's fault because "Obama didn't have a strategy in Syria." A national security expert debunks that shit decisively. It's a long post but worth reading if you have anyone trying to pull that shit on you. Money paragraphs:

[quote]What the President has thrown away with his rash and ill considered pull out and betrayal of our Syrian Kurdish and Arab allies, and what his defenders and supporters don’t understand in their rush to defend him by blaming all of this on President Obama and his administration, is just how successful this campaign against ISIS has been. How much reward we reaped in exchange for the amount of blood and treasure wagered and risk assumed. And how well it was working to maintain the peace in this area of Syria by preventing ISIS from reestablishing a stable physical ground base of operations from which to try to reestablish the physical caliphate.

[quote]There wasn’t one single Obama administration strategy for Syria, there were two distinct and specific strategies. The first was to assume risk by not intervening in the the Syrian Civil War in order to buy time for what were considered to be other regional priorities – the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and the JCPOA+5 negotiations and the reduction of ISIS. The second was an unconventional warfare strategy to degrade and reduce ISIS’s physical caliphate and reduce ISIS’s capacity to continue to terrorize and destabilize the region. While the first strategies efficacy is debatable, the second strategy to counter ISIS has been successful beyond all possible expectations.

[quote]And the President has thrown away all of that success and by doing so betrayed our Syrian Kurdish and Arab partners, weakened and diminished the United States power and ability to project power, and degraded our moral standing. He has further destabilized the region. He has handed the Russians, the Syrians, the Iranians, and the Turks a victory without them having to actually contest for it. And he has most likely set the conditions for Erdogan to try to finally solve his Kurdish problem.

The picture of Trump and Pelosi reminds me of the picture of Trump and Angela Merkel in 2018.

[quote]One of the latest talking points is that the situation in Syria is all Obama's fault because "Obama didn't have a strategy in Syria."

I'm getting rather sick of them doing this. Obviously, there are those who believe that Obama is so hated that the mention of his name will trigger that hatred or justify why they have taken a certain course of action.

Nancy being a good Christian lady

Dear D’ykotah,

Let's work out a good deal! You don't want to be responsible for ruining Tynleigh’s relationship with Daxtton, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying your reputation and chances for jv cheer —and I WILL! I've already given you a little sample, low key, with my TikTok about the nameless girl who let Kkody finger her with his nasty hangnailed wart-fingers. Ewww. Next time I will name names.

I have worked hard to get my friends to tolerate you. Don't let the entire school down. You can make a great deal. Tynleigh‘s squad is willing to negotiate with you, and they are willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past. I am confidentially enclosing a file of their thousands of texts to me, just received.

History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as a ‘UGE THOT if good things don't happen. Don't be a, like, total fucking bitch, D’ykotah. Don't be a fool!

I will WhatsApp you later.

Sincerely,

Kensingtynne-Jayde

Ha! In r164s photo you can see "the letter" in front of everyone.

Uncle Joe starts in on Trump:

“Mr. President, you want to talk about corruption. I’ve released 21 years of my tax returns. I entered as one of the poorest men in Congress, left one of the poorest men in government, in Congress and as vice president. I made no money while I was in there other than my salary.

“Mr. President, even Richard Nixon released his tax returns. Mr. President, release your tax returns or shut up.”

Is there any proof that crazy letter was actually even sent? It reeks of that dumbass writing it this morning and thinking it takes the pressure off him. "I in no way on a secret phone call gave Turkey the greenlight to invade and kill our allies. I can prove it by showing you this very tough letter I wrote them."

Joe should also bring up Ivanka's Chinese voting machine and sausage casing trademarks.

The letter is real.

L.A. Times:

Trump 'meltdown' at White House meeting on Syria sends Democrats storming out

MEDIAite:

Trump Posts Photos on Twitter of Heated Meeting With Dems, Says Pelosi is the One Who Had a ‘Meltdown’

[quote]Trump Posts Photos on Twitter of Heated Meeting With Dems, Says Pelosi is the One Who Had a ‘Meltdown’

I know you are but what am I?

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Nancy Pelosi needs help fast! There is either something wrong with her “upstairs,” or she just plain doesn’t like our great Country. She had a total meltdown in the White House today. It was very sad to watch. Pray for her, she is a very sick person!

“What has happened here with the Anthony Wiener laptop, the Server, all of the Emails between Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton, the deleted Clinton Emails - what is going on?” @LouDobbs Joe D & Victoria T!

As this administration comes to an end, so many questions remain.

Any American who voted for, supported, covered for, protected him or did not fight against him and his maniacal administration needs to be held to account.

If anyone wants to know what Democrats have been up to, here's the answer...

[quote]Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump. I need help fast! There is either something wrong with me “upstairs,” or I just plain don't like our great Country. I had a total meltdown in the White House today. It was very sad to watch. Pray for me, I am a very sick person!

r181 Fixed that for Donny

The British couple he ambushed (before or after the meltdown today?) feel totally used. They should have known going in there that they were just props for some miniature Peace Prize bid. In any case, why was Trump inserting himself in this situation?

He accuses Biden’s son of corruption because his own family is corrupt.

He accuses general Mattis of being overrated because he is a draft dodger.

He accuses the Democrats of wanting communists in Syria because he is beholden to Putin.

And he accuses Nancy Pelosi of being mentally unbalanced because. . .

Kentucky Fried Grift: Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell and Questions of Conflict (NYT)

Nancy is a bad bitch! Dressing down those disgusting trumpers, this pic is ICONIC!

I was thinking the same, r188. The blue suit is the cincher.

Washington Post:

Gordon Sondland, Trump’s envoy at center of impeachment probe, overseeing home renovations costing $1 million in taxpayer money

And yet my Deplorable relatives who I have to face for Thanksgiving still think Trump is the best thing since sliced bread and everyone is just picking on him.

R191, why do you see them for Thanksgiving? Fuck them.

[quote]Ooh, Miss Lindsey must have just had a testosterone shot:

It's kabuki theater.

He'll fold on the third day. That's how long it takes, plus a golf game with the Moron.

Nancy is "sick" because she tells this giant man baby something no one seems to have ever told him firmly: NO. What a pathetic creature he is.

Yes, Nancy's blue suit and that photo are iconic . I fucking love her.

Essential reading from today

What Happened At the Pelosi/Trump Meeting - Dem/GOP sources

Thread ˅˅˅ David Begnaud @DavidBegnaud President Trump released these pictures tonight attempting to use them to paint @SpeakerPelosi as having a “meltdown”. Here’s reporting from 4 of my colleagues who spoke to Democrat & GOP sources who have knowledge of what happened inside today’s meeting with POTUS.

TRUMP'S LETTER - UPDATE

Fox News is discussing it as ominous.

[quote]Schumer: Trump called Pelosi a "third-rate politician"

Mentioned on TV that the orange man in the white house actually said "3rd grade politician."

[quote]Gordon Sondland, Trump’s envoy at center of impeachment probe, overseeing home renovations costing $1 million in taxpayer money

[quote]The records show $82,000 was spent on a bathroom renovation labeled “backside office.”

the despicable repubs are of course claiming Pelosi and Schumer are lying about the meeting with Trump.

That asshole Scalise is 1 of the ones getting on Fox "News" to do it.

I'm having outside deck work done by an independent carpenter in his fifties. For a minute we talked of Trump yesterday, with Mr. Carpenter insisting Trump tried to get health benefits and so on for those who built Trump Tower, and hence he doesn't "know why people are down on Trump."

What can one say to such people? Nothing. So I nipped it, nipped it in the bud.

R199, "Third-grade" makes no sense; the cliche, which Trump's feeble mind would more likely rely on, is "third-rate."

Of course, it's possible he meant the latter and dementedly said the former.

[quote]those who built Trump Tower,

illegal Polish immigrants, paid substandard wages, with no recourse

Trump tweeted a photo attacking Nancy Pelosi. She made it her Twitter cover photo.

Washington (CNN)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday redirected an attack from President Donald Trump on Twitter, turning a photo he had tweeted of her during a contentious White House meeting with the caption "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!" into her Twitter cover shot.

The image released by the White House shows the California Democrat standing with her finger pointed at a seated Trump during a meeting in which congressional Democratic leaders said the President had a "meltdown."

Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill noted the change on Twitter, writing, "Thanks for the new cover photo @realDonaldTrump!"

Speaking truth to power!

Adam Kinzinger tagged Trump in this tweet commenting on the latest Syria debacle:

Wow. We bombed our own base on purpose, because of the impulsive decision by @realDonaldTrump didn’t leave time to evacuate the right way. Is this the America you grew up believing in?

R202 I usually end those conversations with, he's always been a con man, and you are being conned..he think you are stupid.

MMPH... he'll freak out over these headlines;

Nancy Pelosi goes there: Trump's White House "meltdown" a sign he's cracking under pressure-- Faced with impeachment and the results of a massive blunder in Syria, Trump's losing his grip and everyone knows it

'SPEAKER PELOSI' TRENDS AS FOLLOWERS PRAISE HER FOR USING TRUMP'S 'UNHINGED MELTDOWN' IMAGE AS HER TWITTER COVER PHOTO

MEGHAN MCCAIN DEFENDS NANCY PELOSI OVER DONALD TRUMP'S 'UNHINGED' PHOTO: 'SHE LOOKS LIKE A BAD B*TCH IN CONTROL'

Trump's 'meltdown' apparently started when Pelosi told him 'all roads with you lead to Putin'

Isn't Sondland Tramp's friend? I think he wants to help Trump.

If he keeps this up Rep. Adam K is going to become the Republican Mayor Pete

R205, we knew about that like 24 hours ago.

Let’s try to keep up here.

[quote]What can one say to such people? Nothing. So I nipped it, nipped it in the bud.

There's nothing to say. But we're as bad here about various Democrats seeking the presidential nomination. It's all feeling and scorn hyped up by so much information. Honestly, I think the internet is the worst thing that ever happened to mankind. It was never this frantic fifty years ago. News came out at a pace. There wasn't this onslaught of information. Reporters weren't throwing seizures trying to find something - anything - new in the next ten minutes and then starting again. If newspapers and televisions had a "brand" it was just barely.

I fear this impeachment thing will fizzle - when it shouldn't - in large part because media (aided by social) exhausts people with the topic - with any topic - even something as big and important as this.

In support of my point, see R211.... scolding because an entire 24 hours has passed...

R211 = ADHD

Congressman Elijah Cummings was very close to Nancy Pelosi. He was a friend, a trusted confidante and a strategist. His death is a real blow to her. There really is no one with the kind of moral courage Cummings had who can replace him, maybe Adam Schiff can help, but no one can fill his shoes.

Sad about his passing. I didn't know he was only 68 I thought he looked years older -- I guess he was sick (and, well, the scooter...)

Timing is terrible also for losing him. Anyone know who might replace him?

[quote]Of course, it's possible he meant the latter and dementedly said the former.

That's the likely explanation. Remember the "oranges" of the Mueller report? Aphasia, perhaps?

Sondland's opening statement.

CNBC says the next G7 meeting is at Trump hotel in the US.

The Doral Resort

Sure, there's no conflict of interest in that at all.

Live on CNBC now. Mulvaney saying it just happened to be the best place they found to hold it.

With any kind of luck Trump will no longer be POTUS.

I've been reading these books about the Russian Mafia, and how Putin and his oligarchs are mob connected, and there's been a merging of the criminal and the political over there, and I'm at the part where journalists and dissidents are getting poisoned and even mobbed up guys who "get in the way" are gunned down. According to reports, there are a few hundred hit men on retainer, who come from the ranks of the military and the KGB ( former) and they work all over Europe and the states, and I worry. I worry about Pelosi, and Schiff and Maddow and some of our print people, and guys like Richard Engel covering Syria. Because it would be exactly in Putin's wheelhouse to send a message like that.

Sondland's opening statement is textbook under-the-bus-throwing.

Can they be so blind, dumb and deaf to go through with hosting the G7 at Trump's property?!?!

[quote]The next G7 meeting is at Trump hotel in the US.

I'll say this for them -- they don't bother to hide their iniquity. Why bother, when you've got a Congress full of spineless Republicans to give you cover?

They're not so much blind as blindingly arrogant, R225.

Mulvaney claims it'll be done at cost, saving millions. BS.

Climate change will not be on the agenda at the next G7 summit.

Mulvaney is odious: the smuggest asshole ever.

Can they "Ides of March" Trump at the summit?

We're still waiting on our money.....

Kills me how they talk about something happening next year so they can give the impression everything is normal and they'll all still be around....

Trump just wants to show everyone that he can basically get away with everything now. Or he knows it is over and wants to cash in as much as possible till he has to leave the WH.

He is not even trying to hide his corruption anymore and no one does anything about it or is stopping him.

Has Susan Collins said whether she's concerned about the selection of Doral?

They can't find her!

I think sondland might have an accident soon.

Why doesn't someone ask Mulvaney if Giuliani had security clearance when he says it was appropriate for him to get involved in diplomatic issues?

[quote]I think sondland might have an accident soon.

Why? Mulvaney just told the press that the admin did exactly what Sondland said and we need to "get over it."

What I'd like to see is the G7 members refusing to attend that shitshow.

I agree. It's just incomprehensible that Republicans are sitting idle while all of this is happening. I recall the Republicans forcing President Carter to sell his small peanut farm because they felt it was a conflict of interests.

Wow, I thought Elijah Cummings was 86 years old and checked to make sure they didn’t reverse the numbers.

Cities should erect electronic billboards stating the number of days it’s been that Donald Trump has owed them money & how much money is owed for his campaign rallies.

R239, if I ever get caught doing something illegal, that's the defense I'm going to use: "Get over it."

Mullvaney says money for Ukraine was held up because of corruption in Ukraine. Someone needs to ask Mullvaney “What were the terms president Trump laid out for Ukraine that needed to be met in order to get that money”?

Kind of, R244.

[quote] He said that the aid was initially withheld because, “Everybody knows this is a corrupt place,” and the president was demanding Ukraine clean up its own government. But Mr. Trump also told Mr. Mulvaney that he was concerned about what he thought was Ukraine’s role in the 2016 campaign.

[quote]“Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the D.N.C. server? Absolutely. No question about that,” he said. “But that’s it, and that’s why we held up the money.”

Cheetolini's shitshow in Dallas should be quite interesting. I think it is pretty well guaranteed that he will go off the rails.

Mulvaney is another pussy-assed bitch of a sell-out trying to save his own doomed ass.

R245, this new approach to defense has them admitting to it and saying it was necessary to battle corruption. Is this version #2 of some earlier shit about Ukranian corruption that Ghouliana was 'personally' investigating for the Prez? It didn't stick then.

Furthermore, and with many apologies, I'll paraphrase the insane one at the Pelosi take down: "I don't care about (corruption) from 7,000 miles away....."

^McConnell has basically assured him that he will not be removed from office. Trump has nothing to fear.

Joe Biden:

@realDonaldTrump, you want to talk about corruption? I’ve released 21 years of my tax returns — release yours or shut up.

McConnell should take a hint from his mirror and drop dead.

Yes, R248, it’s the same story, and it’s still bombing, because “fighting corruption” is very off-brand for this administration.

[quote]Mitch McConnell retains the title of America's most unpopular senator, according to Morning Consult. Kentucky voters disapprove of McConnell by a margin of 50% to 37%, making him the least popular senator in America. His net approval for Q3 is -13 percentage points.

I love you Poll Troll. Come sit beside me and tell me more about falling numbers and Mitch's waning popularity.

^And, he will still be re-elected....

I know you're not pointing that re-election shit at me, R255. Nor are you a good enough psychic to convince me of that.

[Quote]Mitch McConnell retains the title of America's most unpopular senator, according to Morning Consult. Kentucky voters disapprove of McConnell by a margin of 50% to 37%, making him the least popular senator in America.

But he is still the one who will easily win re-election, right? WTF is wrong with people in Kentucky? He is also blocking all Dem house laws and won't allow a vote.

LOTS of deplorables in Kentucky.

When you see Minuchin and Mulvaney in the same room all I can think of is FLYING MONKEYS.

I really did laugh out loud at this one. From Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow: "The legal team was not involved in the Acting Chief of Staff's press briefing."

So are they going to say Mulvaney had a stroke? Cause it's not going to be easy to put this toothpaste back in the tube now that it's been squirted all over the place.

I have no idea what their strategy is, because Sondland is apparently trying to pin it on Rudy.

To me, it's clear that the Administration is now taking a position of; "So, what? We did it. What are you going to do?" The answer is nothing. The Administration has a compliant party that is in power. The Republicans (in general) couldn't care less about all of the damage that they are doing. It's all about image, image, image, now.

When we take back control of the executive, we're going to "de-Nazify" the government, right? All cult members and collaberators will be dismissed, some prosecuted, documents released for public scrutiny, etc.? Everyone held accountable?

Or are we going to "move on to heal the country" because we'll have "too much work to get done, too much to repair"?.

It's a good question, R264. I hate to be a pessimist but I think the country is gone. FOX, Sinclair, etc ... A large portion of the country has been completely brainwashed. You can't put this toothpaste back into the tube.

So we didn't do anything. And if anything was done it wasn't illegal. And if anything was done that was illegal it was Rudy D and Rick Perry that did it.

It is interesting that Mulvaney admitted to a quid pro quo - just not the one that we thought (withholding aid to investigate the Bidens when Mulvaney admitted it was withheld to investigate the theory that Russia didn't interfere).

As observed above, the new strategy seems to be "we did it. so what? The president can do anything" The only slightly comforting part about this is that this defense is largely similar to Nixon's defense.

Cheetolini doesn't have to piss off his base (they won't budge). But when independents and RINOs become alarmed at his bullshit, the show might be over. The difficulty for Congressional repugs running for re-election is that the base is the major turnout in the primaries. The others don't necessarily show up until the general election.

Woah, he really admitted it? Guess we can expect his resignation in the next couple of hours now.

....ok he was just joking. He'll never be fired or resign.

I wonder if when Democrats regain the executive branch they should just, troll-like, accept all the executive power and imperial presidency that the Republicans have been claiming for decades and start using it to strengthen Social Security, expand access to health care, crack down on discrimination, reregulate the big banks, move to renewable energy and clean up the environment, etc. Then let the Republicans howl and let bipartisan legislation finally limit executive power—even emend the Constitution if need be. The Republican hypocrisy and devotion to party over country will be obvious and we can exploit it.

I am inclined to agree the Senate Republican will not convict, even though the facts will demonstrate that they should, country before party. But they won't, because of the base.

The terrifying - truly terrifying - thing is that apparently the [italic]nation[/italic] no longer cares about right or wrong, legal or illegal.

How is it governable? How can a country be governable if in the end people do not submit all citizens to the rule of law?

I am not American. I fear you are so, so fucked.

The best thing right now is that NO ONE associated with Trump is saying the same story!

You have WH lawyers contradicting Mulvaney, you have others blaming it on Giuliani, you have Giuliani blaming it on Pompeo this is good news lol

obviously it's impossible for all of them to be telling the truth

We are only fucked if we don't vote these bastards out, keep a running tally of appointees that need to go, and ignore the criminality. No one is ignoring it, R270, and we have a Nancy Pelosi calling them all on the carpet.

I like our chances.

Did we ever figure what the fuck the OP's orb photo was about?

So the quid pro quo - despite the transcript was to find the server...the server with all of Hillary's e-mails that was based on a conspiracy theory? Do I have this correct?

lmfao Lou Dobbs with his hackery labeling all of the repubs who are rebuking Trump for his Kurdish betrayal as "Rinos"

R274, I think that the server that magically flew through the air and landed in Ukraine was supposed to be the DNC server, not Hillary’s private server, but it’s hard to keep it straight.

Withholding *military aid* until they investigated election matters *for him.*

There are people who don’t see that this is wrong?

R231, he is in Dallas tonight. I am hoping Melania wears pink.

NBC NEWS:

[quote]NEW: Mulvaney walks back today's press briefing: “There never was any condition on the flow of the aid related to the matter of the DNC server.”

They’re doing the whole “you didn’t actually hear me say the thing I said.”

R273 Satan

The strategy is

“We did it. So what?”

“No, don’t listen to that guy. He wasn’t speaking for us.”

“It was Giuliani.”

“So what if it was Giuliani? The president can tell anybody to do stuff. There’s no law against it.”

“No, really. It was Giuliani and we don’t know exactly what he said or did.”

“DNC server in Ukraine!”

“The president withheld money because Ukraine is corrupt and he didn’t want to waste taxpayers money.”

“The president doesn’t care about corruption 7,000 miles away.”;

“The press secretary doesn’t speak for the White House staff.”

“The White House lawyers are perplexed.”

“Yes there was a quid pro quo.”

“No, I didn’t mean there was a quid pro quo [italic] like that [/italic]

“Rudy Giuliani was acting as the president’s lawyer.”

“Rudy Giuliani was acting like an emissary.”

“Rudy Giuliani is behind this whole thing.”

“Rudy Giuliani did nothing illegal or wrong.”

It's amazing that they continue to get away with that technique, R282.

The press and the public seem bewildered.

Sorry Mulvaney you said it, live, in front of reporters and on camera.

You are fucked.

[quote]I really did laugh out loud at this one. From Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow: "The legal team was not involved in the Acting Chief of Staff's press briefing."

"Sorry y'all, he was on pills. We had no idea."

Surprised Sekulow did not refer to Mulvaney as the Former Acting Chief of Staff.

Perry resigning. Not SUBPOENA HIM AND MAKE HIM TALK

NOW not "not"

[quote]Officials close to Trump were infuriated by Mick Mulvaney's quid pro quo comments.

[quote]One Trump adviser said Mulvaney did "far more damage" than Sondland's testimony. "He literally said the thing the president and everyone else said did not happen."

Trump is Quid pro this and quid pro that.

He is a font of corruption.

"Unfortunately for Mr. Mulvaney, the tape speaks for itself," says CNN's @ErinBurnett about the acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney walking back his claim that President Trump froze US aid to Ukraine in part to pressure the country for a probe into the Democrats.

Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter: I will not be silenced over Turkey

[quote]he is in Dallas tonight. I am hoping Melania wears pink.

With a pillbox hat?

This situation is spinning out of control so fast. I think the public at large is quickly starting to understand how dangerous this man really is. Especially with the Syria catastrophe, I think Republicans are starting to see him as a serious liability. Don’t forget, their relationship with him is completely transactional. The minute he’s an albatross for them, they’ll cut him loose. In addition, we’ve seen GOP bow to him for fear of being blasted on Twitter. But once he’s weak enough that they no longer fear him, they’ll get rid of him.

Omg, Jackie made those hats and suits popular. My mother had very little money but needed a nice outfit for Catholic Church functions and bought a pink suit with a pillbox hat. Shortly after that, JFK was assassinated and my mother couldn’t wear that outfit anymore.

"Mulvaney claims it'll be done at cost...." (r228).

Oh, my ample sides!!!

Today.

Furthermore, Trump is an unprecedented threat to democratic institutions. Over the past few years, I’ve thought the progressive fears of incipient American fascism were vastly overblown. But, especially over the past month, Trump has worked overtime to validate those fears and to raise the horrifying specter of what he’ll be like if he is given a second term and is vindicated, unhinged and unwell.

[quote]Unfortunately for Mr. Mulvaney, the tape speaks for itself,"

Lordy!

Right now, their strategy is to affect public opinion so the polls stop running against them. This balls out, so what, everyone does it, posture and doing things in plain sight is like an inoculation. They're vaccinating the public against the Pelosi onslaught. She keeps talking about oaths, and Constitution, and pray for him, and Mulvaney goes out there all energy and in your face, and dare I say upbeat? I'm very afraid that it is going to work with enough repetition. I'm worried that the opinion polls will stabilize or start favoring him. I think his mishandling of Syria and the Kurds really impacted the public opinion polls and that's why hey sent the letter and Pence and Pompeo went out there. I bet Pence did nothing more than a five minute photo op with Erdogan. Putin probably is going to try to engineer something more than a pause in military action for the time being. We need to keep advancing, our media people in the war zone need to keep pushing the story. It needs coverage, it shouldn't be allowed to die out. and make sure the public isn't stupid enough to fall for this feint. The public is too fickle and too stupid. Their interest wanes.

If, like me, you couldn't give an Erna meal about sports, you may have glanced over r292, with its "Boston Celtics . . ." introduction and scrolled right past.

But something made be go back and read it.

My God, what an amazing American.

[quote]Shimon Prokupecz on Twitter

And doesn't he look FABULOUS, r262?

[quote]So we didn't do anything. And if anything was done it wasn't illegal. And if anything was done that was illegal it was Rudy D and Rick Perry that did it.

and if Rudy D and Rick Perry did it, it is the fault of Hillary Rodham Clinton!

Perry has resigned. It was just reported by Rachel.

Perry knows how to survive and he will lawyer up and he will talk. And the more that Regular Republicans like Perry and others start talking the better our chances are to get the Senate to do the right thing.

Erdogan and Putin are meeting in the next few days while there is a "pause" and Russia moves in to take over the Syrian conflict. The Kurds are victims of ethnic cleansing and Assad's government will prevail. There is absolutely no plan to deal with ISIS. Trump has completely humiliated us.

Admiral William McRaven: Our Republic Is Under Attack from the President

Admiral William McRaven: Our Republic Is Under Attack from the President

[quote]But once he’s weak enough that they no longer fear him, they’ll get rid of him.

Won't the deplorables unleash their rage on the GOP?

R308, the GOP has never met votes that they weren't willing to suppress. They would find a way to survive.

Mattis just TORCHED Trump at some dinner tonight with all kinds of roast jokes then a serious monologue.

Dallas:

At his rally, Trump credited his "unconventional" approach for the announcement of a cease-fire Thursday. And he repeatedly painted the Turkish assault on the Kurds as something that had its benefits.

"Sometimes you have to let them fight, like two kids in a lot," he said. "You got to let them fight and then you pull them apart."

Key House committee passes Speaker Nancy Pelosi's sweeping drug pricing bill

R301, can you or someone post the money quotes for those of us for whom the Boston GLobe is behind a pay wall? TIA.

[quote]Key House committee passes Speaker Nancy Pelosi's sweeping drug pricing bill

And Mitch McConnell will sit on it like an egg that will hatch in a 1000 years.

R314, it's infuriating that one old, right-wing man gets to have the final say in the legislative process.

I hate McConnell almost more than I hate Trump.

Because nothing matters anymore, a video of patriotic Americans in Dallas tonight enjoying an anthem of Christian brotherhood.

Turtle eggs are like that sometimes, r314.

Especially fossilized turtles.

R317, you would be astounded by how free beer can move white men

As one gay responded to one of Trump's communications people on Twitter, I guess they don't realize the YMCA song is about men having sex with each other.

In response to Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, this got 11,000 likes:

[quote]this song is about men fucking each other at the gym

[quote]Replying to @rogness_bryan

[quote]I don’t know what to tell you dude it’s literally about how fun it is to take it up the ass in a men’s locker room

[quote] "Mulvaney claims it'll be done at cost...."

No doubt Trump would say the conference was at cost, but he would make the govt pay 10s of million$ in “security renovations.”

who will take over Mulvaney's role after he's fired?

Isn't Mulvaney still the head of two other departments along with being the acting Chief of Staff?

This, boys and girls, is what happens when only complete and utter idiots are still willing to work for your administration. It happens after even the most crass and obtuse opportunist realizes that you've thrown everyone who ever did your dirty work for you under the bus.

Only idiots and the mentally ill are left.

[quote]I'm very afraid that it is going to work with enough repetition. I'm worried that the opinion polls will stabilize or start favoring him.

The Concern Troll at R300 needs to go back to the Mueller Treason Threads where they will coddle him for his scaredy feels.

^Well, I have to agree with the Concern Troll. It's as if we're helpless here. Nothing is really being done. There's no bottom here. How can the Republicans ever justify this? How would they have the audacity to open their mouths if a Democrat president does this? MMPH... never mind, they will.

Anyway, all the pundits are going on and on about history. The Republicans don't give a shit about history and on that I can't blame them and somewhat agree with them. Hell! They won't be alive so why worry about it? As far as re-election, it seems that they are still going to win, or in the running to win. So what! They lose Susan Collins... Her loss is more than made up by the Governors, Judges, and legislation, that will be won.

[quote]Only idiots and the mentally ill are left.

The best people!

And, speaking of Susie... The following is good;

A 'rude' encounter between Susan Collins and one voter might just end the Republican's career

For more than 20 years. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has served the citizens of Maine in the U.S. Senate. For most of that time, she has enjoyed a hard-fought reputation as a moderate Republican who methodically builds bridges and consensus in an era of political polarization. To millions of political observers, she exemplified the best of post-partisan leadership, finding a "third way" through the static of ideological tribalism.

However, all of that has changed since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Voters in Maine, particularly those who lean left, have run out of patience with Collins and her seeming refusal to stand up to Trump. That frustration peaked with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

All of this was going through the mind of Erik Mercer, a social worker in Maine who unexpectedly found himself in the same airport terminal as Collins last week. What started as a civil conversation between a concerned voter and his elected representative has become a catalyst for what may ultimately bring down her hopes for re-election in a very competitive 2020 campaign.

"It is our job to make our leaders accountable," Mercer told GOOD in a phone interview. "And if that means making them uncomfortable, then that is our responsibility." Still, Mercer said it was far from easy to approach Collins directly with his concerns. "I was nervous. I kept listing reasons in my head of why I shouldn't go talk to her," he said. "But as I watched her talking on the phone I couldn't help but wonder, 'What vital decision is she discussing right now?'"

Mercer says he approached Collins and asked if they could chat, a request she readily agreed to. However, when he pressed her on issues like supporting Kavanaugh, whether she backed the impeachment of Trump and a bevy of other issues, Mercer says Collins stonewalled him, refusing to take a position or answer for her voting record.

After their conversation stalled, the two "agreed to disagree" and went about their ways. However, Mercer says he then overheard Collins on the jet-bridge saying how "rude" he was in their exchange.

Later, as fate would have it, they ended up sitting just one row apart on their plane.

"As people walked [down the plane aisle] several of them said to me that they appreciated what I said to her," Mercer said. However, Collins could hear the interactions he was having from her seat and clearly wasn't happy about it. "I said to one woman who approached me, why don't you tell her yourself? And she said to me, 'I can't do it, I'm afraid I'll just get too angry.' There are so many people like her in Maine right now."

For more than 20 years. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has served the citizens of Maine in the U.S. Senate. For most of that time, she has enjoyed a hard-fought reputation as a moderate Republican who methodically builds bridges and consensus in an era of political polarization. To millions of political observers, she exemplified the best of post-partisan leadership, finding a "third way" through the static of ideological tribalism.

However, all of that has changed since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Voters in Maine, particularly those who lean left, have run out of patience with Collins and her seeming refusal to stand up to Trump. That frustration peaked with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Part Two:

All of this was going through the mind of Erik Mercer, a social worker in Maine who unexpectedly found himself in the same airport terminal as Collins last week. What started as a civil conversation between a concerned voter and his elected representative has become a catalyst for what may ultimately bring down her hopes for re-election in a very competitive 2020 campaign.

"It is our job to make our leaders accountable," Mercer told GOOD in a phone interview. "And if that means making them uncomfortable, then that is our responsibility." Still, Mercer said it was far from easy to approach Collins directly with his concerns. "I was nervous. I kept listing reasons in my head of why I shouldn't go talk to her," he said. "But as I watched her talking on the phone I couldn't help but wonder, 'What vital decision is she discussing right now?'"

Mercer says he approached Collins and asked if they could chat, a request she readily agreed to. However, when he pressed her on issues like supporting Kavanaugh, whether she backed the impeachment of Trump and a bevy of other issues, Mercer says Collins stonewalled him, refusing to take a position or answer for her voting record.

After their conversation stalled, the two "agreed to disagree" and went about their ways. However, Mercer says he then overheard Collins on the jet-bridge saying how "rude" he was in their exchange.

Later, as fate would have it, they ended up sitting just one row apart on their plane.

"As people walked [down the plane aisle] several of them said to me that they appreciated what I said to her," Mercer said. However, Collins could hear the interactions he was having from her seat and clearly wasn't happy about it. "I said to one woman who approached me, why don't you tell her yourself? And she said to me, 'I can't do it, I'm afraid I'll just get too angry.' There are so many people like her in Maine right now."

Afterward, Mercer says he couldn't stop thinking about their interaction and how bothered Collins seemed to be by simply having to address a voter from the state she represents. "I've been thinking, if she's bothered by my tone, then where's her outrage over the president?"

So, Mercer took out a full-page ad in the Portland Press Herald in which he recounted their conversation and called on leaders like Collins to do a better job of listening to their constituents:

The letter has since gone viral across social media.

"The response has been overwhelming," Mercer said. "I expected it would make a little bit of a splash in Maine. But I'm hearing from people all over the country. It's really touching. A lot of elderly people around the country are reaching out to me and saying, I want to help you pay for this op-ed."

The outpouring of support has inspired Mercer to launch a GoFundMe campaign, "Make Susan Collins Listen to Maine," to raise enough money to publish another op-ed in the Maine Sunday Telegram. On his campaign page, Mercer writes:

"I'm raising money to pay for a full-page ad in the Maine Sunday Telegram, asking Senator Collins to start listening to average Mainers and not just the big money donors who support her. I've paid for one ad by putting it on my credit card, but I'm asking for your help to keep it going."

I think Susan is probably ruined, unless she votes for conviction in the Senate trial.

Separately, Mattis at the Al Smith dinner said: I earned my stripes on the battlefield... Donald Trump earned his in a letter for his doctor.

Cheeto will lose his mind.

[quote]Cheeto will lose his mind.

You mean he's found it?

^I agree R332. Trump will lose his mind over that. But, (and I'm not the concern troll), I was somewhat bothered by Mattis flippant comments about our current situation. We're in a crises! This isn't a time for joking. Why isn't he speaking out more?

Maybe I'm just a nervous Nellie. I should just accept things as being what they are and just roll with it.

I kind of agree, R344. I liked that he humiliated Trump in that place in particular because it's le tout du New York... but I want Mattis to sit down and sparingly sear him on 60 Minutes. It did seem a bit inappropriate.

But anything that throws Cheeto into a morning's rage is one more chance for that blocked artery to work its magic.

Do you think that when Trump goes into a rage he sees orange rather than red?

I didn’t see the whole Mattis speech but I’m told he did get serious about Dump... can anyone who saw the whole speech confirm?

R330, thanks for that. The guy is very brave for talking with her and then calling out her inability to engage in substantive dialog. And he published his name and address. It's people like him who bolster democracy. Very cool.

I just want you to know that I am very concerned about all of this.

Don't bother making Collins listen, just vote her out office and add another Democrat to the Senate.

Making her listen only means she'll pose as a progressive Republican during the campaign and when re-elected, will revert voting along party lines while acting "concerned" and "disappointed." We have seen how useless moderate Republicans are when the shit hits the fan.

Who is Collins's likely challenger?

[quote]Separately, Mattis at the Al Smith dinner said: I earned my stripes on the battlefield... Donald Trump earned his in a letter for his doctor.

Ugh, someone here isn't good at joke telling, it's...

I earned my **SPURS** on the battlefield... Donald Trump earned his in a letter for his doctor.

And, yes, r337, he did get very, very serious. It was a powerful speech.

^Which I find interesting that most of the media has decided to focus upon the awful joke/cut rather than focus upon the serious part of his speech. I'm telling you... well, in my opinion, the media in its zeal for the 5 second sound bite is a major problem of our politics.

The response to Mattis’s speech was a marked to candidate dRump’s appearance at the Al Smith dinner in 2016. He was so awful that the audience began shouting at him to shut up and sit down.

I would have thought his Meryl Streep joke would have been a bigger hit on DL...

"I'm the most overrated general. I'm honored to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals."

Re R264, this book looks intriguing. It shows how Germany was de-Nazified.

BREAKING: Lisa Murkowski joins Susan Collins in the concern corps.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told reporters that she was “concerned” after hearing chief of staff Mick Mulvaney admit President Donald Trump bribed Ukraine.

CNN is currently monitoring developments and will break in to coverage should Murkowski's brow actually furrow.

It was pretty clear from Mulvaney's assholery, that the Trump White House long ago decided to view Impeachment, and all the charges of obstruction, emoluments, etc. in a political context. That is how this White House views all of it, Mueller's report, etc. It's politics. But they ignore the fact that this is about the Law. What they have done is Illegal. It violates our laws and our Constitution. So given that Mulvaney thinks this is all about politics as usual, that explains his dumb assed comments. All of them are talking so much, Rudy, Trump, Mulvaney, etc. they think they are immune because they can deal with this politically. But they can't.

I'm glad guys with the stature of McRaven and Mattis are speaking out. Because we need to make sure our military understand WTF is going on.

^Well, when you have Mitch McConnell assuring you that you will not be removed under his watch then what is there to worry about? This could simply end up that Trump will be impeached, (oh, well... who cares" History can be rewritten), and no one will go to jail. Didn't Trump just give the Medal of Freedom to one of the Nixon thieves that went to jail?

The Republican attitude? Nothing matters as long as they're in power. Just look at Marc Rubio who tweets a Bible verse each day. I mean.. REALLY?

The more polls come out showing that republican senators face an uphill struggle to reelection, the more they will show concern. To the point of supporting removal of the President? Not quite yet, but that is an interesting development. Case in point: Gardner.

Collins and Gardner are on the bubble, evil motherfuckers.

^You're right, R351. My disappointment, (or, my bubble being burst), is that these elected leaders' motives are all predicated on what the polls are saying and about them keeping their jobs rather than just doing the right thing. This makes me respect the Democrat politicians during the ObamaCare fight. Those people put their heads on the chopping block in order to just do the right thing.

We have to be busy right now helping to make sure our elections in every state are as fair as possible. And then we have to turn out. OVERWHELMING Turnout. I want to see the Republicans get their asses handed to them. I want to kick theirasses. I want to see them so defeated they will need a generation or two or three to rebuild and find a purpose. They are evil fuckers.

I'm very disappointed in Collins. She seemed initially like an ethical person and simply rolled over when she could have taken a stand for principals. I admit I am not a citizen of Maine and had not been much following her, so I expect others have different opinions. But still. Even if you really are 100% a conservative, there are still concepts of basic morality, society and civility that are intrinsically part of that. I don't know how these people look at themselves in the mirror.

I'm with you, R354. They're going to steal a few states at least, so we need to turn the fuck out everywhere.

R355, you were deceived, that's all. Many were. She's an evil, phony sociopath. Yes, a sociopath — she has a good scam going with the "concern." I wish the media would look into whom she's hurt along the way (including pets).

All politiciansdisappoint.Allofthemcave in.ButCollinspissed me off with her fake concern and her temporizing,stalling dithering, WTF ever. I hate her. I mean if you're going to vote with the devil just be up front and say so, don't raise my hopes and mislead me.I have no respect for cowards and that's what she is.She is going to do something we hate but she is too cowardly to show her hand.She knows she is wrong.

[R357] I'm sorry to hear it. I actually give Republican women a little bit more of the benefit of the doubt, since the ones I know personally tend to be far more balanced, humane and complex than the men. The only pro-gun argument that I ever heard that made sense was from a Republican woman who also owned bees, was a staunch advocate of Native American rights and had a shrooms party in her back yard every spring.

[quote]Who is Collins's likely challenger?

Sara Gideon, Democratic House Speaker in Maine.

Supreme bullshitter.

[quote] This, boys and girls, is what happens when only complete and utter idiots are still willing to work for your administration.

^^^^^

And “udder idiots”

Susan Collins married a rightwing republican lobbyist a few years ado and took a hard right turn after that.

That DNC chair Tom Perez is a jackoff. Right now we should be fundraising like crazy and showing ads about Ukraine, Syria, Kurds, Putin and we should also be running ads saying we need money to fight lawsuits in states where voters are being thrown off the rolls.

Goddamn DNC had a chance to have Howard Dean at the helm again and said no, he’s a white man, no can do. yes, he was the most successful DNC chair in history, but only his skin color & gender matter.

[quote] Goddamn DNC had a chance to have Howard Dean at the helm again and said no, he’s a white man, no can do. yes, he was the most successful DNC chair in history, but only his skin color & gender matter.

YES.

He's on the telly again....

They showed a guy on the news the other night who had volunteered to fight with the Kurds after he left the US military. When I saw his face I said, “There’s something about that guy...what is it?” Then they showed in the corner “PROVO UTAH” and I said “That’s it! He’s Mormon.” They showed a pic of him over there in Syria with Kurd forces and there was another American guy with him and he also looked Mormon and it hit me - they were doing their mission work over there with Kurds. They were either trying to convert Muslims or trying to convert Kurdish Christians.

That’s when I realized why Romney has been so vociferous about the Kurds. Mormons are over there. No doubt they’ve converted some of the Christian Kurds.

Oooh, look what I just found. A leaked video of Mormons talking about their work with Kurds. They plan to target and hunt down Kurds in the US and mention the Mormons are “moving into Turkey.”

Look, I know Mormons are annoying but quit trying to obfuscate and distract by posting this shit. Distraction troll.

Wow, I guess that's why all establishment Republicans care about the Kurds (cf. their work during Desert Storm, being gassed by Hussein, etc.).

When the COLDS owns an entire state what they do is noteworthy, especially when it has relevant international implications.

People are free to worship how they see fit. I doubt a Kurd is going to go for some wacky religion with magic underwear and planetary rule once dead. Let the Mormons have their pos little state. Like I said, this doesn't negate what Mitt is saying.

People are free to worship how they see fit. I doubt a Kurd is going to go for some wacky religion with magic underwear and planetary rule once dead. Let the Mormons have their pos little state. Like I said, this doesn't negate what Mitt is saying.

Yeah, no fan of the Mormons, but if Mitt is willing to speak out, more power to him.

[quote]I'm with you, [R354]. They're going to steal a few states at least, so we need to turn the fuck out everywhere.

It doesn't matter how much we turn out if they actually hack the vote and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands in multiple states by taking them off the voter rolls so the provisional ballots they are casting don't actually count. This will not be an election of votes. We always have more votes. It will be about cheating.

John Kaisch supports impeachment.

Shut the fuck up, R370. I’ll post whatever the fuck I want in this or any other thread, no matter what the Datalounge Hall Monitor wants.

Stop trying to discredit Romney with this Mormon bullshit. I don't give a shit why he's attacking Trump, I'm just glad he is.

Romney must have some traction if someone's bothering to rant about Mormonism. Or maybe it's just a general attempt to derail the thread.

Collins was outraised this past cycle by Gideon, although Collins will still be well-funded, plus Mitch & Miss Lindsey are helping her out.

Collins is at 50% Disapproval in a new poll this week, and the Cook Political Report rates Maine as a Toss Up:

[quote] think Republicans are starting to see him as a serious liability. Don’t forget, their relationship with him is completely transactional. The minute he’s an albatross for them, they’ll cut him loose. In addition, we’ve seen GOP bow to him for fear of being blasted on Twitter. But once he’s weak enough that they no longer fear him, they’ll get rid of him.

Putin's direct assets will not let them cut Trump loose. Either they will be talked down the ledge (Putin has your back and will make sure the election will go in your favor) or they'll be blackmailed or threatened. The GOP will rise or sink with Trump, because Putin has them (their tiny balls) in a vice.

Hey Hall Monitor US IC happens to get valuable intel through Mormon missionaries in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They are the only ones with the balls/insanity to go into those areas and evangelize and our IC happens to be very heavy into hiring Mormons, who've replaced Catholics from Georgetown University as coveted, trustworthy intel agents. The Mormons get to spread Mormonism and gather intelligence for the US at the same time. That's what the whole Pastor Brunson case was about. Brunson says he is evangelical Protestant, Erdogan said he was Mormon at first, then said Brunson was in an intel network with Mormons. Brunson spent 2 years in Turkey until sanctions were imposed until he was released.

Those sanctions are what Trump was bawling about when he said he was going to ruin Turkey's economy "like I did before."

So yes, you bet your ass Romney and other LDS are worried about the Mormons over in northern Syria. They're very important to LDS and they will be killed or imprisoned or ransomed by the Turks.

Thanks R283 I completely forgot about Brunson and Erdogan’s hard-on for Mormons. Pence must have been shitting his pants over Trump’s idiocy. Pence was involved in the negotiations for Brunson’s release. Erdogan wanted to trade Brunson for the Turk cleric in Pennsylvania and it looked as if Trump was going to make the trade before he got convinced not to do it. Back then there were still people in the administration who strenuously objected to capitulating to Erdogan’s demands. Now those people are gone and Trump does what he wants. It was probably Pence’s idea to go to Turkey and negotiate so we can get our agents, and yes our Mormons, out of there during the 120 hour “ceasefire.”

Once they get out I wonder if Pence and others like him will care anymore.

Well, someone is pissed... (about 5 min ago)

Tulsi Gabbard @TulsiGabbard

Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ...

... concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and ...

.. powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose. It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly.

r334

[quote]We're in a crises! This isn't a time for joking. Why isn't he speaking out more?

Trump stopped being a laughing matter a long time ago.

r340

[quote]Don't bother making Collins listen, just vote her out office and add another Democrat to the Senate.

Collins isn't concerned, she just loves to play "will I" or "won't I" to get sweeteners from McConnell. She's extorting him for her vote, would love to be one of the swing votes in an impeachment trial.

r351

[quote]The more polls come out showing that republican senators face an uphill struggle to reelection, the more they will show concern. To the point of supporting removal of the President?

Make every "concerned" Republican stand up and vote for impeachment, even though the 67 vote margin is high. McConnell has some lifeboats, about 10-15.

r355

[quote]I don't know how these people look at themselves in the mirror.

Vampires don't see their reflections in mirrors.

Wow, Tulsi is a complete cunt.

Tulsi Gabbard is an anagram of "I Grab Bad Slut". I know that sucks but I'm sure that's quite evocative of her past with Trump to Melania.

Tulsi is unhinged.

Hey, Tulsi, don't flatter yourself. Hillary hasn't devoted one nano second of her life to "getting you." You are of no importance, and you aren't important enough unless you go 3rd party. Prove Hillary wrong.

Gabbard and her father have been vitriolic homophobes for years. The guy who is running against her is the son of someone who spoke with eloquence and passion to stop Hawaii's legislature from passing laws that would harm our community. Support him.

WTF?

AP: 38 people cited for violations in Clinton email probe

The investigation covered 33,000 emails that Clinton turned over for review after her use of the private email account became public. The department said it found a total of 588 violations involving information then or now deemed to be classified, but could not assign fault in 497 cases.

They retroactively classified some of the emails to have a reason to cite them. However the statute of limitations is up I believe.

Kai Kahele is challenging Tulsi for her seat in the House.

Tulsi will end up as a Fox Commentator, bashing the Democrats as a "Democrat".

RT commentator

[quote]Gabbard and her father have been vitriolic homophobes for years.

Yup. Tulsi used to work for her father's anti-gay organization.

That alone should be disqualifying to run for the Democratic nomination in today's day & age.

r366 et al.: Instead of quoting, write R# to link to the original.

Has Israel said anything about this shitstorm? Haven't seen this in the reporting which concentrates on the blowback here.

I can't imagine Bibi is happy with Trump handing such a victory to Russia and, especially Iran (not to mention Turkey).

Given the ruckus he kicked up over Obama's Iran deal you'd think he and other Israelis would be all over this.

R399, actually, the Israelis are quite upset about this turn of events, but anyone could have told them that Trump was bad news.

I declare....

Giuliani sought visa for Ukrainian promising dirt on Democrats

A career US diplomat told congressional investigators that Trump's personal attorney had sought the visa for Ukraine's controversial former prosecutor, sources say

Washington (CNN)Career diplomat George Kent told congressional investigators in his closed-door testimony this week that Rudy Giuliani asked the State Department and the White House to grant a visa to the former Ukrainian official who Joe Biden had pushed to have removed when he was vice president, according to four people familiar with Kent's testimony.

Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, testified that around January 2019 Giuliani requested a visa for former Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin to travel to the United States. Shokin had been pushed out of his position as Ukraine's top prosecutor in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including Biden, over concerns that he was not pursuing corruption cases.

Giuliani has previously told CNN he wanted to interview Shokin in person because the Ukrainian promised to reveal dirt on Democrats.

No, shit?

Trump officials say aid to Puerto Rico was knowingly stalled after Hurricane Maria

TheHill.com Trump officials say aid to Puerto Rico was knowingly stalled after Hurricane Maria BY TAL AXELROD - 10/18/19 08:06 PM EDT 0 0

Just In... Trump officials say aid to Puerto Rico was knowingly stalled after Hurricane Maria ADMINISTRATION — 6M 13S AGO US imposes new sanctions on Cuba over human rights, Venezuela ADMINISTRATION — 21M 24S AGO Giuliani asked State Dept. to grant visa for ex-Ukraine official at center of Biden allegations: report ADMINISTRATION — 23M 11S AGO Baltimore mayor looks to rename downtown courthouse after Cummings HOUSE — 45M 3S AGO VIEW ALL Trump officials say aid to Puerto Rico was knowingly stalled after Hurricane Maria © Getty Images Two officials with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) acknowledged during a hearing this week that the agency knowingly stalled sending hurricane relief funding to Puerto Rico after missing a legally required deadline to do so.

HUD’s chief financial officer, Irv Dennis, and David Woll, the department's principal deputy assistant secretary for community planning and development, appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee for a hearing on Thursday.

The officials said that the agency missed a deadline issued by Congress to start a process to help Puerto Rico receive billions in federal housing funds that Congress had allocated after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.

LET'S GET BEN TOO!

R402, couldn't you have cleaned that up a bit before posting?

I thought the same thing, r403.

[quote][R402], couldn't you have cleaned that up a bit before posting?

[quote]I thought the same thing, [R403].

Since there are complaints about the post formatting can those who link to the New York Times or the Washington Post include a couple of paragraphs from the article? They are behind a firewall and I can't see the articles.

Thanks

And the beat goes on...

I got a weird hit from watching Tulsi on the debates. She's so robotic and emotionless, no warmth or humor in her. Odd woman.

She's a Repug in Democrat's clothing, R407. That's gotta be uncomfortable. Could she sound more like a fucking Repug plant than she does in R385? She might as well have yelled, "Lock her up!"

R407 - She is an evil person. Homophobic, Russian plant, nasty cunt.. She is more GOP than most GOP members.

at r385, Tulsi removes all doubt she's a puppet

There's a new Politico article about Lev Parnas. He sounds like a real charmer - holding a gun to a landlord's head, making deals with Lou "pedo" Pearlman, being sued by the Miami Heat....

Richard Engel:

US officials tell me ALARM BELL RINGING among diplomats in DC that U.S. could one day be held responsible for Crimes Against Humanity for ethnic cleansing of Syrian Kurds by opening the door to it, watching it, encouraging it (Trump's tweets and statements) and not stopping it.

Where are those trials held? Only because Trumpy will really resist arrest if he can't stay in a Trump brand hotel.

Why haven't the former presidents gotten together to issue a joint statement on how dangerous this asshat is? Seriously, they need to step it up because the guy there now is making a mockery of the office.

Nice fantasy R414 . Reminds me of this...

Well, Carter has spoken out a couple of times. There are articles on previous threads.

And the Bush family expressed how they feel by telling Trump to stay away from Barbara and George Sr.'s funerals last year.

I wish those former Presidents would join together to pen an editorial for every newspaper in the country and I wish they'd title it Enough is Enough and lay out who has failed and how and what the country needs to do about it.

R417, you would think that would have happened months ago.

to make things even better about Gabbard's primary challenger, he's a dilf! I love middle aged guys who are in shape

Hot, R419!

R419, he should have his own thread. Yum.

Post his info in the new thread and I’ll send him some money to beat Tulsi.

R421 voila

Thanks, R400. It's interesting that the broadcast media haven't been talking this up all that much (at least not that I've seen). I'm not surprised Netanyahu has been silent about criticizing Trump though, and I hope this weakens him enough so that Gantz can get the upper hand going forward.

The Israelis have had a long relationship with the Kurds going back to the 60s and they united over being 2 non-Arab minorities in the region. Plus some of the Israeli population migrated from Kurdish areas. They're also afraid that without a Kurdish buffer, Turkey + Syria + Lebanon could easily link up or at least allow a gateway for Muslim Arab extremists to target Israel. It also makes Israelis wonder if Trump or even the US in the future could just abandon them.

1 key story right now is that a young Israeli woman has been in jail in Russia after being caught with some weed on her during a stopover during her flight from Israel to India. She has American citizenship too. Israel currently has a Russian guy the US wants in custody so Russia is using this girl as a pawn.

could get dicey

We'll learn someday that Netanyahu was also getting Russian money.

HAHAHAHA Trump caves on hosting the G7 at his shitty resort!!

the backlash was too great for him to ignore

He'll be fuming about that. For days.

I wonder what changed his mind. Did participating countries complain they do not want to be involved in something that clearly violates the American constitution? Or did he find out government won't pay for renovations? I doubt the backlash from the "fake news media" or Democrats changed his mind.

R428, I think he was getting some blowback from his own party this time.

^That's what happened. Republicans probably told him that there would be nothing that they could do to save him if he went ahead with it. Other stuff can be subject to interpretation but this Doral thing was an outright, black & white, crime.

"CLEANUP ON AISLE 7!"

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney

BREAKING: PELOSI, Schiff, Engel and other Dems are in Jordan for an unannounced meeting on matters related to Turkey/Syria. The list of attendees:

What I really hate about this Doral situation is that 2 months ago 99.9999% of the general public had no idea that the Trump Doral International even existed and now he got free global advertisement for his failing resort. Yet another profit for this grifter family. Imagine how much a global ad campaign like that would have costed.

Listen. This withdrawal from Doral is a great example. The backlash he got was a combination of intense media criticism, and CONGRESS. His own fucking party. The Republicans. They stood up and pushed back. Which begs the question, what else could they have done to push back on some of his other crap? I don't think it would have derailed his Russian agenda, but I believe it would have done some good on immigration, and a few other Domestic policy agenda things. I think we could have resolved the DACA mess. maybe a few other things.All I'm saying is they could have done a lot more to curb him and it wouldn't have affected them politically if they'd done it right.

[quote]"CLEANUP ON AISLE 7!"

Better version I heard on CNN:

"CLEANUP ON AISLE 1600!"

C'mo, seriously. The announcement of the G-7 being held at Trump's Doral Resort was as much fake news as Trump getting a Nobel Peace Price. It was total bullshit from the start with nobody trying to infuriate Trump by calling him a liar. It was Fake News bullshit.

Trump just called me, his Secretary of Defence, Mark Esperanto on Twitter. Lol

Esperanto is not a correction of Esper when you type it in, so he deliberately typed Esperanto. It’s still there!

Ĝi estis perfekta voko!

EXCELLENT DISCUSSION about how the MSM is COMPLICIT in supporting Trump on AMJoy this morning! Once it comes up on YouTube I'll post it here. It's the first time that I have heard the MSM talk about its unfair coverage of Hillary Clinton and lack of coverage of Trump, his thieving family, and his supporting minions.

AM Joy w/Joy Reid @amjoyshow

@MidwinCharles: ...everyone wants to follow the shiny bouncing ball with respect to #HunterBiden... The media also seems to be obsessed with #HillaryClinton... How many reporters followed the story about Ivanka Trump using personal email to do [government] business? #AMJoy

. @TiffanyDCross: So many of the editorial decision makers in cable newsrooms come from the chatter class that does not always necessarily represent the interests of the American people... You get so used to what everyone's talking about in the Beltway... #AMJoy

NYT:

Trump Campaign Floods Web With Ads, Raking In Cash as Democrats Struggle

What's infuriating, and has been from the start, is how he understands how to USE the MSM's narrow focus on ratings against them....time and time again we see minor bullshit, feints, and outright lies covered while Ivanka's use of a private server and Kushner's role in Khashoggi's murder and the current state of affairs EVERYWHERE being ignored completely.

And, you can't fault him for that, R442. He knows that this comes down to dollars and cents and Trump knows that he can call up any media CEO and get them on the phone.

I have a friend who was a top editor for a major news publication. She quit her job about a year and a half into the Trump Administration. Why? Because it came from the very top that all of the stories should go easy on Trump. She told me that all newsrooms all over are in battle with senior management re Trump coverage and that is why you have a lot of news people quitting their jobs.

[quote]2 months ago 99.9999% of the general public had no idea that the Trump Doral International even existed and now he got free global advertisement for his failing resort.

Well, I hope a lot of people book "villas" at this infested shithole

What are the odds that Donald Trump becomes the first POTUS to commit suicide during his term? Or in his own words, his "reign". The orange turd really sounds deranged right now and like he is on the edge of doing something extreme even by his own standards.

[quote]The orange turd really sounds deranged right now and like he is on the edge of doing something extreme even by his own standards.

Maybe he'll stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody.

There is zero chance that he would commit suicide. He'd kill his own children and eat their tiny little evil brains before he'd do that.

Trump is not suicidal. LOL!

[quote]What's infuriating, and has been from the start, is how he understands how to USE the MSM's narrow focus on ratings against them

Yeah, that's his one strength -- he was a tabloid celebrity & reality t.v. star for years and knows how to play the media.

A narcissist like Dump would NEVER off himself. All of his problems are because of OTHERS. Remember he is a stable genius with superior wisdom! He will just keep whining (like the little bitch he is)about Hilary, Obama, the mainstream media, etc., etc., etc.

Trump would never commit suicide. He'd rather burn the whole world down to have the last laugh.

BREAKING: "Nancy Pelosi's brother Thomas D'Alesandro III has died"

Hard week for the Speaker. She lost her good friend Elijah Cummings and now her brother. But, I suppose at a certain age, (and, I know it's still tough), you accept death a bit easier?

I have a colleague who is convinced Trump will try to burn down the White House at some point and that he will perish in the flames, screaming in agony and sizzling like a sausage, when he panics and forgets where the exits are.

I could see it as a distinct possibility.

It's a nice image, R453, although it would be a shame about the White House burning.

r454, would you prefer Trump's successor to live in the very house where Trump's foul stench still lingers on even after he's been long gone?

Hitler was another malignant narcissist and he did commit suicide.

People with NPD are actually at higher risk of dying of suicide than the rest of the population but this is usually only caused by a MAJOR narcissistic injury. For Trump, I think this would be if his finances publicly show that he is ruined/poor or could only his business has only be able to stay afloat through major Russian funding/lending/subsidizing.

USA Today:

Trump accidentally refers to Defense Secretary Esper as 'Mark Esperanto' in tweet defending Syria withdrawal

^ He looks extra-retarded there. LOL

ABC:

'I never saw that': Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Mulvaney quid pro quo admission

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Pelosi is now leading a delegation of 9, including Corrupt Adam Schiff, to Jordan to check out Syria. She should find out why Obama drew The Red Line In the Sand, & then did NOTHING, losing Syria & all respect. I did something, 58 missiles. One million died under Obama’s mistake!

In my lowly opinion, Hillary needs to stay out of this. But....

Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton: Found in the archives...

"Clinton trolls Trump with mock letter from JFK to Khrushchev"

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump (now)

This Scam going on right now by the Democrats against the Republican Party, and me, was all about a perfect phone call I had with the Ukrainian President. He’s already stated, NO PRESSURE! Where is the Whistleblower, or the 2nd Whistleblower, or the “informant?” All gone.....

....because their so-called story didn’t come even close to matching up with the exact transcript of the phone call. Was it a Corrupt Adam Schiff con? Why didn’t the IG see this? When do we depose Shifty Schiff to find out why he fraudulently made up my phone call and read this..

....fiction to Congress and the American People? I demand his deposition. He is a fraud, just like the Russia Hoax was, and the Ukraine Hoax is now. When do the Do Nothing Democrats pay a price for what they are doing to our Country, & when do the Republicans finally fight back?

^^^Another not even subtle call to violence for his retarded supporters. He is going to get a Democratic Congressman assassinated.

CNN just reported on t.v. that a source tells them Trump is "increasingly frustrated" with Mulvaney.

Hints that Mulvaney may be ousted.

Mulvaney's press conference was fatal. They gave him some leeway to see if he could draw it back, but I don't think it is working.

That source is Trump himself. He watched Mulvaney on Fox this morning and now he’s getting ready to throw another one over the deck.

Mulvaney told the truth. Can’t have that.

If they fire him, he will be immediately subpoenaed and then he will defy that subpoena I assume. Would he still be OMB head?

I think this checkmated him out of pursuing this latest emolument scam, which can't be pursued without Congress's approval.

I hope it still comes to a vote, so everyone's on record, though I will feel badly about the lost opportunity to suck Macron.

Mulvaney screwed the pooch big time. Not only on Ukrainian QPQ but also on the Doral scandal. In the Fox interview, he blurted out about Trump:

[quote]At the end of the day, he still considers himself to be in the hospitality business.

Hello, admission of emoluments. Hello admission of conflicts of interest.

Apparently neither Trump nor his CoS know that the president shouldn't be in any other business than running the government.

Yaaaaas

^^^Fabulous!

Bette Midler:

Yesterday, Trump spoke to two female American astronauts while they were in space. Not only did they make history being the first crew to perform an all-woman spacewalk, they also made history by being the first women to speak to Trump at a distance that was probably pretty safe.

North Syria Kurds hold massive funerals.

Woody Guthrie lived in one of Fred Trump's buildings and wrote about how much he hated it!

He's going off the rails again.....

He doesn't get to "demand" that someone is deposed.

He DEMANDS it! He will NOT be IGNORED!!!

Secret club for gays > www.lovegay.club

[quote]He's going off the rails again.....

Going? Again?

Not all of Trump's antics are a laughing matter.

That Woody Guthrie lyric is hilarious. How has it taken so long to surface?

“I have the best people!”

She feeling her Queen Carlotta things again

The poor Kurds, now they are good threat

Russian top diplomat warns Greeks of facing same fate as Kurds

Turkey laughs at Trump's Syria policy; Turkey unafraid of sanctions.

Putin is on a roll. He is amassing and consolidating his political influence in the Middle East, and Europe and he has his hands in the CAnadian election which happens today. If you're Canadian, please vote for Trudeau. He's our best hop in North America. Nothing he has done justifies handing the country over the Putin allies.

r476, he still doesn't quite get that he isn't a dictator, does he?

Well, my concern isn't so much about what Trump has done and is doing. It's more concerning to me all of those individuals who have enabled him. Anyone have a general idea about what happened to all of the people that enabled Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin? What happened to those people?

[R488] A large-ish number of them wound up executed by Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. Not sure that will be the case here.

Many of the people who enabled Hitler and Mussolini were executed or died in prison, in combat, or suicided. This does not end well for them, unless they completely ignore our Constitution and our laws and simply establish different rules for themselves and take over. Trump could do it. He could declare a state of emergency, suspend the Constitution and declare martial law. All he needs is some even like the marches in Hong Kong or Beirut to get ugly. He could actually send his MAGAts out here to provoke a violent incident or to fake one. Very Hitlerian. Now Trump would get pushback, but it's a lot harder to stop something once it happens. The effort needs to be in stopping it before it happens. Prying that Orange Bastard out of our White House is going to take a massive effort. Getting rid of his enablers will take an even greater effort.

Trump's presidency looks to be unraveling

The President is under immense pressure, and the signs show things may not improve

Trump seeks to head off Republican fury to prevent another disastrous week

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is taking several steps to placate angry Republicans after a disastrous run which saw his impeachment defense shredded by current and ex-officials and, most stunningly, by his own acting White House chief of staff.

An unusual backlash in his party against the President over two issues -- the crisis in Syria and his plan to host the G7 summit at one of his resorts -- appears to have grabbed the President's attention. Over the weekend, Trump backed down on the plan to bring world leaders to Doral in Florida next year after Republicans were put in the position of defending a move that represented a glaring conflict of interest.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper meanwhile said Monday that some American troops could temporarily stay in Syria to protect oil fields from ISIS and other unspecified forces. Those forces were not a part of the current phase of withdrawal. A US official told CNN the US military is "providing options and contingency plans to give (President Donald Trump) options," the official said, although orders "have not been given yet."

While the move could give Republicans a talking point to spin, it would not affect Trump's order to pull out troops serving alongside America's anti-ISIS allies, the Kurds, that has sparked a humanitarian crisis and accusations of a betrayal by many Republicans. It could also start a new furor over the question of why oil fields are worth defending but allied fighters and civilians vulnerable to Turkey's cross-border advance were not.

The two political adjustments by Trump came at the beginning of another week of potentially threatening developments from the White House in the Democratic impeachment inquiry. Despite some weakening at the margins, there is so far no suggestion that Republican support for the President over impeachment is waning. But his Syria withdrawal and the G7 decision tested patience for the President in his own party, perhaps more than any other previous incidents.

Every Monday over the month since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry, it seemed like life could not get much worse for an increasingly isolated President. Yet every week it does.

At times, as his simmering fury bursts open in meetings or on Twitter, and as new political conflagrations take hold, it looks like Trump's presidency is unraveling. And, perhaps worse, a hollowed out White House can't cope with the incoming fire.

The signs are not great that things will improve for Trump in the week ahead, however, with a new battery of State Department officials expected to testify to three Democratic committees taking depositions in the impeachment inquiry about Trump's alleged abuse of power on Ukraine.

Nice try at a de-rail, r452. And an ignorant one at that.

[quote]Many of the people who enabled Hitler and Mussolini were executed or died in prison, in combat, or suicided.

MMPH... here they are punished by being sent to "Dancing With The Stars"....

He's pissed;

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Doral in Miami would have been the best place to hold the G-7, and free, but too much heat from the Do Nothing Radical Left Democrats & their Partner, the Fake News Media! I’m surprised that they allow me to give up my $400,000 Plus Presidential Salary! We’ll find someplace else!

Censure (at least) Corrupt Adam Schiff! After what he got caught doing, any pol who does not so vote cannot be honest....are you listening Dems?

I'm shocked (not?) that the troops he removed from the Syrian border are not actually "coming home" but instead are being deployed to Iraq...!

Reuters:

WikiLeaks founder Assange appears confused at extradition hearing

What is it exactly that Trump keeps accusing Adam Schiff of Having done? I really just don’t understand.

[R497] His job.

It's a puzzling concept for Trump as he apparently has no job himself.

R497 He exaggerated Trump's phone call in his opening statement. Trump and Republicans are also not happy that all the hearings are behind closed doors and they can not read the transcripts or prepare and intimidate the next witnesses. Republicans apparently also want to cross-examine the witnesses and prepare them before testifying. Trump wants to defend himself and wants to know the identity of the whistleblower. Also complaining that only some info is leaked and not the whole transcripts and they accuse him of spinning and hiding important information. They do not seem to realize (or probably just ignore so they can accuse the Dems of lying and running an unconstitutional investigation) that this is just an inquiry and only the beginning.

Anything else he's complaining about?

I really thought Schiff was stupid for reading out the phone call as anything other than the text. There is a time and place for satire and this was not the time or place. That stupid shit-gulping fuck Trump probably doesn't know the difference himself and genuinely feels persecuted.

Trump's MO has always been accusing the others of what he himself has been doing. So when he accuses Schiff of being a criminal, be certain that he is the criminal.

Trump pulls this shit all the time. Remember he threatened to sue Bill Maher?

^ And Republicans like to complain about "frivolous lawsuits"........

R496 is Assange trying to be shown as mentally incapable of trial like Vincent “the chin” Gigante?

That's exactly what ran through my mind, r504.

Cheetolini is rambling as usual right now.

HE claims he has lost $2-5 billion because he's president. He's "ended" the press conference by saying "thank you" and then continues to sit there and blab.

I wonder how many soldiers are going to suffer PSTD for abandoning the Kurds and for feeling like they ran.

Quite a few I would imagine, r507.

And sadly, they will have a higher incidence of suicide due to this betrayal.

Karma, in all her glory and fury, needs to rain down upon the dotard, his treasonous family, and the hypocritical shit stains that continue to enable and support him.

Our idiot president believes the emoluments clause is "phony." Also, he believes the Kurds still "really like us."

He really is just the dumbest person alive. And we HAVE had a terrorist event during his presidency. We have all be taken under hostage by this fat orange cunt and his horrible entourage.

Miss Nancy!

Read Nancy Pelosi’s “Fact Sheet” About Trump’s Ukraine Call

Trump's stupidity is bottomless: "I don't know who these people are. I've never heard of them. And I have great respect for some of them." HA HA HA HA!

Are some of you so dense that you don't understand why he pulled troops out? This fat neocunt is preparing for war with Iran. He's doing the bidding of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Turkey is of no concern because Erdogan is a whore for a check and the Saudis probably gave him a check like they did to make the Khashoggi thing go away.

Personally, I don't give a shit about the Kurds, but I know why this orange shithead did what he did. He's a fucking little neocon slave. Bolton is only gone because he showed his cards too soon. Pompeo is a more subtle neocon whore.

Pray for Nancy, and send her love, and call her office and let them know we care about her and appreciate her. Nancy was very close to Elijah Cummings. For many years. She adored him. He was a brother/confidante, etc. Then on top of that she lost her older brother who was a former Mayor of Baltimore like her father before him. And her brother died while she has been in Jordan in crisis meetings along with an unannounced side trip to Afghanistan.

Cummings' funeral is Saturday, but he will lie in state in the Capitol for a day. Then she has her family to deal with and then she is running the Impeachment Inquiry and the day to day legislative agenda. She has one of the best staffs in the world but how much can any one person handle.

So we need to let her know how much we love and respect and appreciate her. I'm just really glad Schiff and other smart level heads are sharing the burden. YOu can bet that McCarthy and Nunes and their gang of bozos will try to pull some shady shit thinking she is weak right now. They are rotten fuckers.

Trump is a Russian asset and obey to Putin's orders. Iran and Russian are allies. Why would Trump upset his master by attacking Iran? It doesn't make sense.

Pompeo is a rotten fucker and under his rotund, jovial exterior he is vile. He and Barr are both part of the extreme Christian fundamentalist Catholic bulshit. And very dangerous. Think about it. Pompeo was given the CIA immediately after Trump took office. They he moved up to State. Those are key, critical positions. It was Pompeo who had the meeting with the Russians at the CIA, including two who had been under sanctions and he had the sanctions waived so they could travel to the U.S. for the meetings AT CIA Headquarters at Langley. All about Cyber technology. And now at State. He's part of this shit in a big way. There is no way they can leave him in office if they get rid of Trump He ought to have criminal charges brought against him as should Barr. Pence is dirty too. He was in these fucking meetings about Ukraine. I cannot wait for acting Ambassador Taylor to testify tomorrow.

R515 is correct.

[quote] Woody Guthrie lived in one of Fred Trump's buildings and wrote about how much he hated it!

Meanwhile, here’s Arlo’s tepid comment on it.

Asked for his thoughts on "Old Man Trump," Arlo Guthrie said, "There’s enough not to like about President Trump without resorting to guilt by association. This is America and everyone deserves a chance to be judged on their own merit.“

Arlo is overlooking the fact that the Donald carried on many of his father's abuses that Arlo's father sang of, including during the seventies under Fred Trump's tutelage.

A war with Iran could be for show, a distraction for something bigger Putin planned. Is Putin planning some James Bond-esque masterplan taking over Europe like General Orlov in James Bond: Octopussy while NATO and the EU is busy with infighting and coming up with any kind of response to Iran?

R520 is right: I drag Donnie by the octopussy. I wish it wasn't that obvious.

R520, Iran won't be simply a "distraction" that Russian troops will roll through on their way to over-run Europe. It will be HELL on EARTH.

And lest Putin, MBS, and Netanyahu forget: NATO members France and the UK have nuclear weapons, too.

good advice r514, will see about sending praise online via her government page. Cummings was a loss for everyone.

How would the US lose a war with Iran? Would they nuke our cities? We try to choke Iran’s sale of oil with sanctions, but we get some oil from Iran still, don’t we?

How would US and NATO do in a shooting war with Russia? If one broke out today, I have no doubt Trump would refuse to attack or hit back at Russia.

Man, there's footage on Twitter of US military forces in Kurdistan, fleeing from Syria, heading to Iraq, and pedestrians are on the freeways pelting them with rocs and shouting curses. People are pissed. It begs the question how safe will our remaining 1000 or so troops be now that our allies are angry with us? What a fucking evil imbecile our PResident is.

We "lose a war" by being run out of the country and not achieving our goals, asshat. We've already been attacked and invaded, BTW. Cyber warfare is real.

trump thinks he's a tough guy who likes to play with dictators but the fact is he's a worm compared to people like Putin and Erdogan. If it weren't for our constitutional democracy and system of checks and balances, for as long as they hold true, he would be as murderous as they.

He's a nightmare house guest that won't leave. I can't believe he's still in office. Once he's gone, we've got a lot of laws to pass to be sure this happen again.

Sickening piece of rancid shit, I hate his guts.

[quote] And lest Putin, MBS, and Netanyahu forget: NATO members France and the UK have nuclear weapons, too.

You forgot another NATO member, R522!

It’s that typical right wing alpha male bullshit. They all act like big men when they’re around the press and their own underlings. But when Trump figuratively walks into the room, they all bare their necks and present hole like the little bitches they are. And Trump, consequently, turns into a total submissive himself when he’s in the presence of someone like Putin or Erdagon.

Would anyone bother with a shooting/bombing war in the US or would shutting down the grid be enough? I see these terrible war zones, the injuries people suffer and the deaths and it’s just so horrific that we do this to other countries. They can’t defend themselves.

Shut down the grid in the US with an EMP and maybe we can’t shoot our nuclear missiles and are sitting ducks.

Would anyone bother with a shooting/bombing war in the US or would shutting down the grid be enough? I see these terrible war zones, the injuries people suffer and the deaths and it’s just so horrific that we do this to other countries. They can’t defend themselves.

Shut down the grid in the US with an EMP and maybe we can’t shoot our nuclear missiles and are sitting ducks.

And Miss Lindsay has just folded like a cheap suit.

What.

A.

Cunt.

WSJ:

White House Personnel Director Tells Trump Top DHS Picks Are Ineligible

What Miss L done now?

Evangelical must be in ORGASM foe seeing what appears to be Trump instigatinng Armageddon.

Bottom line, why are they supporting the Antichrist?

In other news:

Newsweek has an article up about how Ivanka Trump lied about the success of the Trump organization (shock!) to sell investors on overseas properties

Cosmopolitan has an article with an excerpt from the All the President's Women book (the one about Trump being a predator). They interview models who say that Trump would ask to go backstage at shows and modeling competitions as an excuse to grope or ogle the models. One of the models they interviewed was underage at the time. They also quote someone as saying that Trump was into the really young models and that the ones over 21 didn't need to worry

In other news:

Newsweek has an article up about how Ivanka Trump lied about the success of the Trump organization (shock!) to sell investors on overseas properties

Cosmopolitan has an article with an excerpt from the All the President's Women book (the one about Trump being a predator). They interview models who say that Trump would ask to go backstage at shows and modeling competitions as an excuse to grope or ogle the models. One of the models they interviewed was underage at the time. They also quote someone as saying that Trump was into the really young models and that the ones over 21 didn't need to worry

NBC:

Pentagon draws up plans for Afghanistan withdrawal just in case Trump blindsides military

Is that really necessary? Is it likely Erdoğan, Putin, or Mohammed bin Sawbones will instruct Trump to withdraw from Afghanistan?

There's a million theories out there on what country wants what from President Shitbaby's withdrawal from Syria.

I've heard the theory that putting all of Syria under Assad's control would give Putin free rein in the Middle East.

Sounds like Turkey wants to exert control as well, though, and is willing to fight Russia for control of the area.

Sure would be helpful to know what President Cheesebrain said in those phone calls to Putin and Erdogan, eh?

The trans Syrian Pipeline for Russia?

r516 It's true that Barr is an ultra-conservative Catholic (Opus Dei guy), but Pompeo is an Evangelical Presbyterian. Both unhinged about religion, but in different ways. Pompeo seems to be a believer in the Rapture and End Times Theology, which is scary for someone who has power over diplomacy, because he could be seeking to make crackpot religious theories about how to make the world end sooner a reality through trying to manipulate political events:

In 2014, Pompeo told a church group that Christians needed to "know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world" In 2015 in a talk at a church, Pompeo said that "politics is a never-ending struggle ... until the Rapture."[

Who could actually psychologically withstand 5 more years of this?

We will be North Korea.

Iraqis not going to allow our troops into the country . No one asked their permission to evacuate American troops and tanks, etc. from Syria into Iraq. We just assumed.... Guess Secretary "Esperanto" will be joining Mulvaney on the pavement. This is Pompeo'sfuck upasmuchas his.

As far as Afghanistan goes, Russia spent a ton of blood and treasure invading Afghanistan when Carter was PResident. They did it for a reason. Afghanistan has gas and other minerals. Russia wants them. Russia intends to dominate in the entire region. But they may get some serious pushback...from China.

I think he's moving close to the 5th stage now... Acceptance

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

“The Ambassador to the European Union has already testified, he said there was no quid pro quo. He said the President had told him that.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends

“I thought a very revealing poll was done by The New York Times. By about a 10 point margin, those in battleground states polled are against impeaching the President, and if Nancy Pelosi doesn’t take note of that, maybe she is the third rate politician.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends

...A majority do not want him Impeached and removed from office. 94% of the people in these battleground states who voted for President Trump want him to continue as President. That’s squarely in his corner.” @SteveDoocy “That’s a revealing poll, don’t you think that matters?”...

.... @kilmeade “I want to know about Hillary Clinton with the Dossier? I want to know if there was FISA abuse? We’re still waiting for that report!” @ainsleyearhardt @foxandfriends

So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching. But we will WIN!

Thank you Republicans. 185 out of 185 present voted for “US” last night. Really good!

95% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you!

Fox and Trump misrepresented that poll. It's a CNN poll and it's not 94% of people who voted for Trump...it's 94% of Republicans. 50% of Independents want him impeached and removed from office. Same poll has Biden and Warren ahead of Trump by double digits with Sanders ahead by 9. He has plenty to worry about.

R542, I Hope then they both understand they’re going to hell.

Going!?! They're in it [italic]and[/italic] members of the Cabinet!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

71 minutes of torture in that circle of hell is too much to endure for any amount of power. They must enjoy it.

Lynching is a reprehensible stain on this nation's history, as is this President. We'll never erase the pain and trauma of lynching, and to invoke that torture to whitewash your own corruption is disgraceful.

-----

That is one word that no president ought to apply to himself,” the South Carolina representative James Clyburn, the House majority whip, said on CNN. “I’m not a just a politician … I’m a product of the south. I know the history of that word.”

The California representative Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told CNN that Trump’s “lynching” tweet was consistent with his pattern of throwing out “racial bombs” to give “red meat” to his base when his back his against the wall, network correspondent Manu Raju said.

“You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING?” tweeted the Illinois representative Bobby Rush. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how many people who look like me have been lynched, since the inception of this country, by people who look like you. Delete this tweet.”

The Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castro wrote: “It’s beyond shameful to use the word ‘lynching’ to describe being held accountable for your actions.”

“Lynching?!” tweeted the New York Time columnist Charles Blow. “Sir, don’t you DARE invoke the darkness of America’s viciousness toward black people to defend your corruption. How dare you?!…”

“When the polls get tough, Potus turns to race,” tweeted Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University.

Tweeting the race whistle. How original. Fucking monster.

[quote]“You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING?” tweeted the Illinois representative Bobby Rush. [bold] “What the hell is wrong with you?[/bold]"

I'm serious... that needs to be every tweet, every post, every everything... including remarks by the candidates for the Democratic nomination... going forward. Often, close to always.

What the hell is wrong with you? It's hard to ignore.

[quote] [R542], I Hope then they both understand they’re going to hell.

They don't believe in religion. They believe in using religion, by manipulating their audience to do their bidding, to further their agenda and amass more power and wealth.

Less than a three hour drive from where I live, is Stone Mountain Georgia. This was the pace the KKK was reborn in 1915, with the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jew, who was falsely accused of murdering Mary Fagan, a young woman who worked at the Atlanta pencil factory he supervised. Stone Mountain is major monument to the Confederacy. It is a place of great shame and embarrassment and it is a daily, inescapable reminder of our passed history.

I thought this was funny

Trump enjoyed groping and ogling teen models

well we know Trump and repubs love to play the victim. They can accuse and slander and embellish and make up all kinds of fake shit about everyone else and that's OK. If you DARE to try and hold them accountable for their behavior, they try to make it seem like they're being unfairly persecuted. I'm not shocked that Trump used the term "lynching". That makes his white bigoted base happy. You know, the idea is "that's right! We're the REAL victims!"

Once again - what does Trump have on Miss Lindsey?!!

[quote]Once again - what does Trump have on Miss Lindsey?!!

Now, now r559. I am certain Senator Graham has some fascinating personal stories about lynching.

Lady Graham from SC can't be so blind as to not know the weight of the word "lynching."

Trump either has a sex tape on her, or intro'd her to many wealthy donors and/or rent boys...

If it's a lynching, then all our problems are over....

today's daily news editorial cartoon

Joni Skibo/LaCriox @Joni_Looking ATTENTION

CLICK on Photo below to View PROOF Turkey is using White Phosphorus Bombs on the Kurds & Their Children during the SO-Called "CeaseFire"

pics show Young Kids with Horrific Chemical Burns

PDF of Bill Taylor's "incendiary" opening statement to impeachment investigators:

WaPo: The author of the anonymous NYT "Trump Resistance" op-ed has a book coming out next month

"The book, titled, “A WARNING,” is being promoted as “an unprecedented behind-the-scenes portrait of the Trump presidency"

[quote] Barr is an ultra-conservative Catholic (Opus Dei guy

Barr’s father was Jewish. I know his mother was catholic but how can anyone be all in on Opus Dei when they’re half Jewish? Didn’t he ever mention religion to his father? “Dad, do you think I should be ultra catholic and join an organization that seeks Roman Catholic dominance in the world?”

In other news...

DALLAS — NBC Channel 5 news station apologized Monday for not interrupting coverage of the Dallas Cowboys game with a tornado warning Sunday night.

An EF-3 tornado hit Dallas on Sunday evening and caused substantial damage at about 9:15 p.m. NBC 5 was broadcasting the Dallas Cowboys game and did not interrupt programming when a tornado warning was issued for the area.

Some said they received no warning of the tornado because they were watching the game.

Dennis Martinez told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he was watching the game at home when “all of the sudden” the sky fell on them.

“We got a warning on our cellphones but that was it,” Martinez said.

NBC 5 issues this statement Monday:

“During Sunday night’s Dallas Cowboys game, we made a mistake by not immediately interrupting the football game with a Tornado Warning.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should read Bill Taylor’s opening statement.

It is beyond damning to the Trump administration.

Evil and obvious corruption. Extortion.

[quote]Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should read Bill Taylor’s opening statement.

But, that's just it, R569. The Ace-In-The-Hole for Republicans is that they KNOW that Americans don't read. They know that it not just their base that doesn't buy newspapers, read any pundit columns, etc. As long as they can keep their active base glued to FOX and sound bites, Trump stands a very good chance to get through this.

Donald, Donald, Donald......

AP: Court weighing whether judge can unseal lynching records

Oh, he'll be helped 'through' this, R571, but even if he's not convicted because of a partisan Senate, he will wear the disgrace his entire rest of his life and good-bye legacy.

Poor Ivanka. That coin toss with Jared must've be thrown with a slug.

(GASP!)

WHITE HOUSE

White House to cancel Times, Post subscriptions after Trump's 'Hannity' comments

The White House said Tuesday it will not be renewing subscriptions to The New York Times and The Washington Post, two papers the president frequently attacks as “fake” and which he suggested canceling the previous night in a TV appearance.

Monday on Fox News’ “Hannity,” President Donald Trump called the Times “a fake newspaper” and said “we don’t even want it in the White House anymore.”

“We’re going to probably terminate that and The Washington Post,” Trump said. “They’re fake.”

Story Continued Below

Trump’s “terminate” remarks were interpreted by journalists on Twitter as meaning canceling paper subscriptions, rather than kicking reporters out of the White House. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham confirmed to POLITICO that he was talking about subscriptions, “which we won’t be renewing.”’

Representatives from the Post and Times declined to comment.

[quote]White House to cancel Times, Post subscriptions after Trump's 'Hannity' comments

Is still keeping the online subscriptions?

[quote]White House to cancel Times, Post subscriptions after Trump's 'Hannity' comments

Is still keeping the online subscriptions?

[quote] Trump's presidency looks to be unraveling

Don’t get your hopes up, R491. We’ve heard that before

This one is from 2017.

This one is from 2018

December 2018

Part 7 is up in preps for a big shit....

Seriously, writers need to come up with a new word

OH!

McConnell denies he told Trump his call with the Ukrainian President was perfect

(CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he never had -- or at least doesn't recall having -- a conversation with President Donald Trump in which he described Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as perfect.

McConnell's statement comes after Trump asserted earlier this month that McConnell deemed the White House transcript of the conversation, which is at the center of the House's impeachment inquiry into the President, completely innocent. Trump has also said multiple times that the call was perfect, including during his Cabinet meeting on Monday.

McConnell, asked at his weekly news conference in the Capitol if he believed the President handled the Ukrainian situation perfectly, said, "We've not had any conversations on that subject."

When pushed on whether Trump was lying about an exchange between the pair, the Kentucky Republican responded, "You have to ask him. I don't recall any conversations with the President about that phone call."

Trump implied in early October that McConnell and others with whom he had discussed the transcript reached similar conclusions that the call was appropriate.

"He read my phone call with the President of Ukraine," Trump said at the time. "Mitch McConnell, he said, 'That was the most innocent phone call that I've read.' I mean, give me a break. Anybody that reads it says the same thing."

On the July call with Zelensky, Trump pressured the Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden, his potential 2020 rival. Trump has pushed an unproven accusation that then-Vice President Biden improperly tried to help his son, Hunter, by pressuring the Ukrainian government to fire the country's prosecutor general. Hunter Biden served on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company at the time.

The Obama administration, American allies, the International Monetary Fund and Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, among others, had all made clear that they were displeased with the performance of Viktor Shokin, who became prosecutor general in 2015. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

McConnell previously urged the White House to release a transcript of the call, The Washington Post reported last month. In the past, McConnell's staff has declined to verify if Trump's claims were valid.

The wall is breaking....

OH!!! I need my smellin' salts!

Susan Rice: Lindsey Graham is 'a piece of s--t'

Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser during the Obama administration, referred to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as a "piece of shit" during the taping of an episode of the "Pod Save the World" podcast this week.

She made the remark after Tommy Vietor, another former Obama adviser, first used the term to refer to Graham during a discussion about the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya

"You have to understand Benghazi to understand [President] Trump," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration who is a host of the podcast.

"Right, because Lindsey Graham isn't just a piece of shit now," Vietor said before Rice interrupted.

"He's been a piece of shit," she said. "He's a piece of shit."

Graham's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Susan Rice's son, Jake David Rice-Cameron, is a big Trumphead and was president of Stanford College Republicans, so she's got a piece of shit in her own family.

He's technically he's a Little Shit...

Today's whistle-blower testimony was damning, eliciting audible gasps and sighs. Moscow Mitch distanced himself from Trump today, first sign of significant cracks in the dam. I'm hoping more whistle-blowers have the strength to come forward.

Is Susan a DLer?

OH!

Jackson Diehl @JacksonDiehl

Our new Washpost editorial explains to Lindsay Graham, in detail, why there is proof of a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine.

Trust is not truth. Facts are not facts. We never said "quid pro quo" to Zelenskyy, so there's no quid pro quo. Rule of law is for the poor people. Drain the swamp! Get over it!

The Repub's case is entirely based on the fact that Trump (!) says there wasn't a quid pro quo. As if his words carry more weight than the freaking TON of evidence and testimony in front of our eyes.

(Oh, and by the way, "quid pro quo" ISN'T THE FUCKING POINT! There doesn't need to be any for his actions to be abhorrent or beneath his office. This is an abuse of power even without the latin.)

[quote](Oh, and by the way, "quid pro quo" ISN'T THE FUCKING POINT! There doesn't need to be any for his actions to be abhorrent or beneath his office. This is an abuse of power even without the latin.)

And again, it doesn't matter. The Republican's Ace-In-The-Hole is that they know that the average American is ignorant and stupid. They have always known this and therefore all of this just becomes an exercise in marketing. Republicans believe that if you say something loud and repetitive enough then it will be believed.

Well, whatever. Public opinion has been turning against him; we've got several polls out in the last week where 50% or more want not just an impeachment inquiry, but impeachment, conviction and removal. If that keeps going up, more Republican support will peel away: not because they're morally repelled, but because one by one they'll worry about getting reelected, fundraising, etc.

You see, the following is part of the play book and it works!

Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan

What are the Democrats hiding?

Uhm... nothing, since there are Republicans in the investigation room too, who are asking questions of the witnesses too, and who are just as disturbed as the Democrats too.

[quote]we've got several polls out in the last week where 50% or more want not just an impeachment inquiry

"Morning Joe" just reported a Quinnipiac poll out this morning that said it was up to 55% but I can't find anything on that.

Once they've completed their hearings, they need to then start the process over again [bold]in public[/bold].

They now have a record. Witnesses who fudge, or recant, or forget or lie will be seen for what they are.

The public view will solidify. The Republicans will have no way out. Trump will be impeached with complete legitimacy.

(Just now)

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Neither he (Taylor) or any other witness has provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware that military aid was being withheld. You can’t have a quid pro quo with no quo.” Congressman John Ratcliffe @foxandfriends Where is the Whistleblower? The Do Nothing Dems case is DEAD!

There are some apps to record phone conversations. I wish Bill Taylor would have used one. Not that it matters for the proceedings, but the optics for the deplorables (and only the deplorables) would have been much worse. I can't wait for these people to have the nasty comedown epiphany "have we been supporting that criminal loser, that failure of a man, all along? Man what was I thinking?"

An important viewing. We're just not there yet.

^ Again, that's why we need to let these things unfold in public once the record is established.

A Clarence Thomas hearing. Real time testimoney, vs. the media breathlessly recounting it for people. If the numbers for removal are into the fifties now, a public hearing could solidify and drive them higher. And the longer it drags out without actually impeaching him - if there's such a hard core constituency opposed to it - the more damage is done to him that will motivate independents to decide enough is enough. If we don't get removal we need inescapable Trump fatigue.

[quote] I can't wait for these people to have the nasty comedown epiphany "have we been supporting that criminal loser, that failure of a man, all along? Man what was I thinking?"

The Deplorables know that Trump is a corrupt asshole, but they thought it would work in their favor, and he would destroy the Liberals and their socialism which they think is the real reason why Amerikkka isn't great anymore. They have already realized that Trump betrayed them by being Putin's bitch and destroyed their "USA! USA! USA!" superiority branding. But they can't admit that in public.

^^^ Yes. *Some* of them are now seeing that his deal-making and lib-owning and America-firsting is all just bombastic cover for giving away our military power to the Turks and Russians, our oil refineries to the Saudis, our sovereignty to whoever offers him a buck.

America has become the Trump Casino, with the same fate.

r598, exactly, and some of them will never give the Democrats the satisfaction by saying they were wrong.

Did you see Sean Duffy on CNN earlier? He's a real treat. Despite evidence of Trump's wrong doing right in his face, he still said Trump did nothing wrong and it was Joe Biden and blah blah blah...

People like him don't deserve to be in Congress.