ChrisWeigant.com

Friday Talking Points [496] -- OMG Omarosa!

[ Posted Friday, August 17th, 2018 – 17:07 UTC ]

This week in politics can be summed up in a very short tweet: "OMG -- Omarosa!"

Omarosa was wholly created, as a media personality, by Donald Trump. He absolutely loved her backstabbing and underhanded play on his reality show, The Apprentice. He loved her act so much that he brought it with him to the White House. Now that she's turned against him, however, he isn't loving her act quite so much anymore. Sad!

And (Lordy) she has tapes!

In a week where Trump's former campaign manager's first federal trial was sent to the jury, in a week where Trump is publicly revealing his enemies list, in a week where over 350 newspapers took the president to task for calling them "the enemy of the people," all people could talk about was Omarosa and her tapes. The most jarring response came from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who notably could not guarantee that a tape didn't exist of Donald Trump using the "N-word." This was just after Trump called Omarosa a "dog" on Twitter. That's the state of our politics today, folks.

Trump attempted to fight back against Omarosa, trying to legally hold her to a non-disclosure agreement she apparently signed during the campaign. Our reaction to hearing this news was to fervently hope that Omarosa hires Michael Avenatti as her lawyer, because that team-up would be sure to make Trump's head explode. As we wrote earlier in the week (musing on a possible Avenatti run for the Democratic presidential nomination), these two people have, so far, done the best job getting under Trump's skin of anyone (well, anyone not named "Bob Mueller"...), so it'd be fantastic to see them team up, just for sheer entertainment value. Again, that's the state of our politics today, so it seems somehow appropriate.

Trump tried to distract everyone from the Omarosa revelations by yanking the security clearance of John Brennan, former director of the C.I.A., because Brennan's been saying mean things about Trump. Never before in American history has a president revoked someone's security clearance for political reasons, and the backlash was swift. Presidential historical Douglas Brinkley called the action "unprecedented," and added: "The public outcry of Brennan being stripped will echo long and far in the annals of American history. It will be seen like McCarthyism -- a dark stain on our democracy." Brennan himself responded by likening Trump to "foreign despots and autocrats," and also warned: "If Mr. Trump believes this is going to lead me to just go away and be quiet, he is very badly mistaken."

The best response came from the Washington Post, which pointed out that the stated reasons for stripping Brennan of his security clearance were: "erratic conduct and behavior", "frenzied commentary", "wild outbursts on the internet and television", monetizing his official position, and telling lies. Tongue firmly in cheek, the article then draws the obvious conclusion:

It's a disturbing list of allegations, one that should be taken seriously. If a policy principle were to display erratic conduct and behavior, increasingly frenzied commentary, make wild outbursts on the internet and television, monetize his official position, and lie repeatedly, well, by now you should be fully aware of the punchline to this joke.

The article was titled: "Donald Trump's Compelling Argument For Revoking Donald Trump's Security Clearance," we should mention.

Trump has indicated that this is only the beginning, as well. He released a whole list of his political enemies who still hold security clearances, with the threat that he'll be revoking them as well, in the coming days.

The most scathing response to all of this came from a retired Navy admiral, the man who oversaw the raid on Osama Bin Laden. He called John Brennan "one of the finest public servants I have ever known.. a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don't know him." His open letter to Trump then pivots:

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

In other words, please add me to your enemies list, because history is going to record them all as patriots.

Speaking of Trump's enemies, the press (led by the Boston Globe) engaged in a mass protest of their own, when over 350 newspapers devoted their Thursday editorial to proclaiming that they are not "enemies of the people," a phrase Trump has been using to describe them of late. We joined this effort as well, because it seemed such a worthy one. The Senate this week also had to unanimously pass a resolution stating that the press was not the enemy of the people, an act that in normal times would be considered downright extraordinary, but in Trumpian times was barely even noticed.

Politico published a rather amusing article this week, which quoted several White House sources saying that Donald Trump doesn't really understand time zones. No, seriously. He repeatedly states he wants to call Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the middle of the afternoon (Trump's time), only to be told it is the middle of the night in Japan:

Trump's aides had to explain the issue, which one diplomatic source said came up on "a constant basis," but it wasn't easy.

. . .

In the case of Abe and others, Trump's NSC staffers would advise him, for instance, that "the time is messed up, it's 1 o'clock in the morning" and promise to put the call on his calendar for a more diplomatically appropriate time.

One official tried to cover for Trump, but didn't do a very good job of it: "He's the president of the United States. He's not stopping to add up [time zones]. I don't think anybody would expect him or Obama or Bush or Clinton or anybody to do that."

Um, yeah, I actually would expect all three of those other guys to understand that when it is afternoon in D.C. it is the middle of the night halfway around the world. It's a pretty basic concept, after all.

This article further pointed out that Trump was mystified by seeing a map which continued Nepal and Bhutan. Trump reportedly "didn't know what those were -- he thought it was all part of India. He was like: 'What is this stuff in between?'" Trump then mangled the pronunciation of the countries' names as: "nipple" and "button." Nothing like having a "very stable genius" in the Oval Office!

Trump keeps trying to prove what a regular guy he is, as well, without much notable success. He posed this week with a biker in full regalia, which included a jacket patch with the charming message: "I [heart] guns & titties." Corey Lewandowski also tried to paint Trump as a regular Joe by pointing out that, one time, Trump got pulled over by a cop. While driving his Rolls Royce. You just can't make this stuff up, folks. Even Mitt Romney must have cringed at that one.

Please keep in mind, as well, that we are in the midst of merely the first federal trial of Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. There's another one teed up before the midterm elections yet to come. If Trump is spinning this far out of control during the first one, what will he be like when the second one begins?

And just to rain on Trump's parade a little more (so to speak), the White House abruptly announced that Trump's big military parade scheduled for Veterans' Day will be postponed until at least next year (if it is ever held at all, that is). It seems the parade would have cost a whopping $92 million, far exceeding the initial estimates of 10 to 20 million dollars. Trump petulantly blamed the cost overruns on the local D.C. government, but the estimate of their costs were only a fraction of the $92 million total. Trump also, in a snit, announced he'll be going to France for Veterans' Day (or Armistice Day, as they still celebrate), because they have a big military parade he can watch. This, in a week where Trump snubbed a real American war hero, when he refused to say John McCain's name while signing a military appropriations bill named for McCain. Nothing like the toddler-in-chief throwing a tantrum, is there?

 

Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week

We know they're probably not all Democrats, but we still thought it worth giving a shout-out to all the people who turned out in Washington D.C. and Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend to express their displeasure with the second "Unite The Right" white supremacist rally. The few racists that showed up were vastly outnumbered by decent people, which is entirely as it should be. From someone who was not able to attend either counterprotest, we wanted to thank those who did.

This week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week is Randy "Iron 'Stache" Bryce, who won his primary in Wisconsin this week. Bryce was initially a favorite to win the Democratic primary, but of late had become somewhat of an underdog, after his past arrest record was made public by one of his opponents. So Bryce's win was somewhat of an upset.

The House district Bryce is running in used to be a whole lot more important, because Bryce jumped in the race in an effort to unseat Paul Ryan. Now that Ryan has announced his retirement, flipping the district won't have as groundshaking an effect as it would have if Ryan had been dethroned. Even so, Democrats are going to need to pick up every House district they can to win back control of the chamber, so we are definitely rooting for Bryce to win in November.

If Bryce wins, his race is going to be examined by national Democrats to see how the party can win back blue-collar districts in the Midwest. As we wrote earlier this week, though, there's nothing really magical about Bryce's campaign:

I don't believe there is any secret about how Bryce is running his campaign. He was inspired to run on a few issues near and dear to his own heart, and he is genuine and authentic about his beliefs. He is for a $15-an-hour minimum wage because he's been a Union worker and wants all working families to be able to have a decent house and make a decent life for themselves. The other issues he has been championing are just as personal. That's the sort of thing that can't be cut-and-pasted on to other candidates, to put it another way. It has to come from within, so a candidate either has it or doesn't -- it can't really be taught.

We'd love to see the Iron 'Stache win in November, but pulling out an upset victory in the primary this week was already good enough to win him this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week.

[As a rule, we do not link to candidates' websites, so you'll have to search for Randy "Iron 'Stache" Bryce's contact information on your own, if you'd like to congratulate him on his victory.]

 

Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week

Sadly, there's a lot of disappointment to go around, this week. The first incident would normally have automatically qualified for a Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award, but we're going to withhold such action until more of the story is known.

Keith Ellison won a primary in Minnesota for state attorney general this week, but there was a last-minute surprise in the race. A former girlfriend of Ellison's accused him of physical violence against her, which Ellison flat-out denied ever took place. The girlfriend says she made a video of the event, but has yet to publicly release this video. So for the time being, it is a he-said/she-said situation.

Making this even more acute, it happened in Minnesota, where Al Franken was forced out of his Senate seat by accusations when Democrats were quick (perhaps too quick) to condemn him. So for the time being, we will wait for further information. If true, this is certainly disappointing from Ellison, whose star has been rising within the Democratic Party for some time now. He won his primary, but that is not going to be the final word on the accusation, we assume.

Up for a (Dis-)Honorable Mention this week is Senator Jon Tester of Montana, for a poster created for a fundraiser he just held, headlined by Pearl Jam. The poster art is pretty juvenile, including a depiction of a corpse lying in front of the White House, reaching for a briefcase with a hammer and sickle on it. The corpse has a prominent hairpiece and is being eaten by an eagle, but the face is not shown. Still, any depiction of dead political opponents is odious and should be condemned. Tester's spokesperson eventually did so, but it took a while and it didn't come directly from Tester himself, which is why we feel he still deserves a (Dis-)Honorable Mention.

We also have two Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week awards to hand out this week, sad to say. The first goes to a relatively unknown state legislator, an African-American woman from Michigan who currently sits in the state's lower legislative chamber and was running for a state senate seat against an Asian-American woman. Here's the whole story:

The Detroit Metro Times reported that state Rep. Bettie Cook Scott used racial slurs, including "ching-chang" and "ching-chong," when referring to her opponent, state Rep. Stephanie Chang, during a recent Democratic primary. Witnesses told the newspaper that during the Aug. 7 election for District 1, which includes Detroit, Scott also called a campaign volunteer an "immigrant" and later said that "these immigrants from China are coming over and taking our community from us."

The incident prompted outcry among the local community.

That's not too surprising, since it was a disgraceful and disgusting racial slur and should never have been uttered. Cook Scott apologized profusely, but it's hard to ignore words like that no matter what is said afterwards.

The best news from this story? Chang won her primary, handily beating Cook Scott, who came in third place.

Our second MDDOTW award goes to New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo is in his own primary race, against the progressive Cynthia Nixon, but at the end of a speech this week he stumbled badly. There's a knee-jerk impulse in politics to just say you're against everything your political opponents are for, of course, but blindly doing so can lead to some avoidable pitfalls. As Cuomo proved, this week.

At the end of the speech, Cuomo attempted to take on Donald Trump and his campaign slogan, saying:

We're not going to make America great again; it was never that great. We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.

There were "audible gasps" from the audience, in reaction. Trump, of course, has piled on Cuomo's statement, and you can look for it to be prominently displayed in lots of Republican ads in the coming weeks, attempting to paint the entire Democratic Party with Cuomo's boneheaded remark. Cuomo has been attempting to walk it back ever since he said it, but without much success.

Cuomo sees himself as a possible presidential candidate, it's worth mentioning. He always has. But running on "America was never that great" is not going to win him many votes, on either side of the political aisle. Cuomo's political history is already pretty checkered (as Cynthia Nixon will be glad to tell you), and not very progressive at all. Since Nixon began her run, she has forced Cuomo to take stances he should have taken years ago, but that hasn't really been fooling many people. Her reaction to Cuomo's gaffe was priceless: "I think this is just another example of Andrew Cuomo trying to figure out what a progressive sounds like and missing by a mile."

Handing Republicans a political bludgeon in the middle of a pre-written speech is downright inexcusable. There may be nuances to the concept of America's greatness, but the campaign trail is not the place to have such an in-depth discussion of history. Because at the end of the day it's the soundbite that people will remember -- and Cuomo just provided the Republicans with a doozy of a soundbite. For doing so -- an unforced error if ever there was one -- Cuomo is also the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week.

[Contact Governor Andrew Cuomo on his official contact page, and Michigan Representative Bettie Cook Scott on her official contact page, to let them know what you think of their actions.]

 

Friday Talking Points

Volume 496 (8/17/18)

The Queen of Soul is dead. Long live the Queen!

We have our own memories of Aretha Franklin, so we thought we should share the following excerpt from our final report from Barack Obama's first inauguration, written after we read some snarky comments in the papers the next day:

Next up was Aretha Franklin singing "My Country 'Tis Of Thee." What is it with all the hat-haters out there? The first thing I noticed was her hat. I turned to my wife and said, "That's some hat!" And now I find out people are making fun of the hat? Get a grip, people. Her hat was fabulous (to get all fashion-y here), and although most women couldn't have worn it without looking at least a little bit silly, Aretha Franklin pulled it off without a hitch. Her hat's statement was: "I am Aretha Franklin's hat, and you better get used to me -- because she looks better wearing me than any woman in Washington since Jacqueline Kennedy and her pillboxes. You got a problem with that?" Her hat spoke to me, in other words. Anyone who didn't hear this message just wasn't listening hard enough.

Speaking of listening, Aretha did a wonderful job of "My Country 'Tis Of Thee," as you would expect from such a talented woman. Sweet land of liberty, indeed!

You will be missed, Aretha. Requiescat In Pace.

There's really no way to segue from that, so this week's talking points will have to do without an introduction.

 

1
   Conspicuous in their absence

This one even stumped Kellyanne Conway this week, as she desperately tried to come up with a name, and failed.

"Omarosa's been gone from the White House for a while now, but in all that time Donald Trump has not seen fit to elevate a single African-American to a senior advisory position. The only real conclusion to be drawn is that Trump had exactly one black person he listened to, and now that she's gone he saw no reason to replace her. No wonder he keeps tweeting tone-deaf comments on race, when he is surrounded by a very homogenous group of people. Trump's White House, to state the obvious, is indeed a very white house."

 

2
   Voter suppression continues apace

It's not just Trump, though.

"There is a reason why certain states -- before the Supreme Court freed them from doing so -- used to have to get Justice Department approval before changing their election system in any way. Their history of racism and voter suppression demanded it. Now that they are free to change things at will, it seems they're back to their old ways. In Georgia -- where for the first time an African-American woman is on the ballot for governor -- one county is considering shutting down seven of their nine voting locations. Randolph County is more than 60 percent African-American, and one of the polling places to be shuttered is in a precinct that is 96.7 percent black. Without a car and without any public transportation, this means some black people in the county will have to walk up to three hours to get to one of the two remaining polling places. If anyone believed that institutional racism doesn't still exist in America, take a good look at this county, because it is all the proof you need."

 

3
   OK, if that's the standard...

Many have been making this joke, because it is so obvious. But that shouldn't stop anyone from repeating it, because it is indeed the right way to look at things.

"Donald Trump, in a written statement, said he was revoking John Brennan's security clearance because of, quote, erratic conduct and behavior, frenzied commentary, wild outbursts on the internet and television, monetizing his official position, and because of telling lies. OK, let's take a good look at that list, in relation to the president himself. Erratic conduct and behavior? A daily occurrence at the White House. Frenzied commentary? Check his Twitter feed on any given day of the week. Wild outbursts on the internet and television? See his Twitter feed again, and pretty much any TV interview Trump gives. Monetizing his official position? You mean like all those diplomats and lobbyists who stay at Trump's D.C. hotel? As for telling lies, well, even the statement Trump released was proven to be a lie by Trump's own words, when a few days later he told a newspaper that he really revoked Brennan's security clearance because he's still miffed at the Russia investigation. So even the statement itself was a lie. Nevertheless, we think Trump should hold himself to that standard, and immediately revoke his own security clearance."

 

4
   Say what?

Trump's not the only one lashing out this week, though.

"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke this week blamed, quote, environmental terrorist groups, unquote, for the wildfires raging across the West. No, seriously, he said that. What did this so-called terrorism consist of? Here's Zinke: 'There have been a number of instances where environmental groups have submitted petitions to the Bureau of Land Management, halting companies from removing dead and dying timber until the B.L.M. can sort through each petition point. These actions halt proper forest management and leave the West vulnerable to incredible devastation.' Seriously? That is somehow equal to terrorism?? Words matter, Mr. Zinke, and following the procedure to 'petition the government for redress' is decidedly not terrorism -- it is in fact a right guaranteed to us all in the Bill of Rights."

 

5
   Ask Richard Nixon how it worked out

Trump's been compared to Richard Nixon more times than we can count, but never was it more appropriate than this particular week.

"Donald Trump, like one notable president before him, is now openly putting people he doesn't like on his enemies list. First it was the media, whom Trump called the 'enemies of the people' (which would have made even Uncle Joe Stalin proud). Now it is individuals who still retain security clearances, which Trump has discovered he has the sole power to revoke. Trump is going after anyone who has said a nasty word about him, in a naked display of petulance unequalled in the White House these last 50 years. What will be next? Trump siccing the I.R.S. on his enemies list? Somebody really needs to explain to Trump that a presidential enemies list doesn't really work out all that great in the end -- just ask Richard Nixon."

 

6
   Standing up for the media

While there were over 350 editorials written denouncing the president for calling the media the Stalinesque phrase "enemies of the people," the best response by far came from Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan. She pulled no punches in her article, which is well worth reading in full. Here are the best parts:

I've tried to imagine what my father would have done if people attending a political speech of his had turned to the press and raised their middle fingers, hurled obscenities or physically menaced the reporters who were there doing their jobs. I found it difficult to conjure the image, and then I realized why. It simply wouldn't have happened. The person on the podium, the person everyone has gathered to see, sets the tone.

President Trump has quite successfully set today's tone. He expertly stirred up the anger that was already simmering in the people who support him, and then he lit a match to it. He gave them an enemy -- always a useful tactic. And naming the press as the enemy has precedents: Many tyrants have employed it to their advantage. Trump may not read much, but I'll bet he knows that.

Those of us who are horrified by the vilification of the news media, those of us who cringe at the sight of angry mobs jeering at the cordoned-off journalists at Trump rallies, far outnumber those who are swept up by this ugly passion. We are still in the majority. But if we are silent, if we don't speak up, if we don't raise our voices and say, "This is not America," it won't matter that we are in the majority. Silence didn't create this country; brazen, unwavering commitment did. And one of those commitments was to a free press -- one not controlled or hampered by a demagogue who has a good day only when he's being flattered.

 

7
   Standing up for Brennan

This one is worth quoting in full, and it's short enough to do so. This was an open letter (published in the Washington Post this week) to President Trump from retired Admiral William H. McRaven, who was the commander who oversaw the successful raid on Osama Bin Laden in 2011. His letter speaks for itself.

Dear Mr. President:

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don't know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.

A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.

Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.

If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.

-- Chris Weigant

 

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Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground

 

175 Comments on “Friday Talking Points [496] -- OMG Omarosa!”

  1. [1] 
    Michale wrote:

    "America was never really great"

    That's the mantra for the entirety of the Demcorat Party...

  2. [2] 
    Michale wrote:

    Manafort trial Day 14: Jury 'scared' as it heads home without a verdict
    Manafort's attorney Kevin Downing said the ongoing deliberations favor his client.

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/17/manafort-verdict-latest-news-updates-783089

    This is exactly why patriotic Americans believe that the Leftist MSM is the enemy of the people..

    The jurors are scared because they know if they do the right thing and let Manafort walk, they are going to be attacked and demonized by hysterical and violent Democrats...

    Pretty clear...

  3. [3] 
    Michale wrote:

    What do Iranian terrorists and Democrats have in common??

    http://cjlab.memri.org/lab-projects/iran-cyber-initiative-lab-projects/irgc-qods-force-commander-qassem-soleimani-designated-by-u-s-treasury-dept-is-active-on-instagram-posts-include-image-of-white-house-exploding/

    They both want to blow up the White House with President Trump and his family in it..

  4. [4] 
    Michale wrote:

    “This may not be politically correct, but I know the power of what faith and family can do. … Our kids need that structure. … I am asking … that we also don’t shy away from a full discussion about the importance of family and faith helping to develop and nurture character, self-respect, a value system and a moral compass that allows kids to know good from bad and right from wrong.

    If we’re going to solve this … we’ve got to have a real discussion. … Parts of the conversation cannot be off-limits because it’s not politically comfortable. … We are going to discuss issues that have been taboo in years past because they are part of the solution. … We also have a responsibility to help nurture character. It plays a role. Our kids need that moral structure in their lives. And we cannot be scared to have this conversation.”
    -Rahm Emanuel

    WOW... Emanuel finally says something that is dead on ballz accurate...

  5. [5] 
    Michale wrote:

    Trump's not the only one lashing out this week, though.

    "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke this week blamed, quote, environmental terrorist groups, unquote, for the wildfires raging across the West. No, seriously, he said that. What did this so-called terrorism consist of? Here's Zinke: 'There have been a number of instances where environmental groups have submitted petitions to the Bureau of Land Management, halting companies from removing dead and dying timber until the B.L.M. can sort through each petition point. These actions halt proper forest management and leave the West vulnerable to incredible devastation.' Seriously? That is somehow equal to terrorism?? Words matter, Mr. Zinke, and following the procedure to 'petition the government for redress' is decidedly not terrorism -- it is in fact a right guaranteed to us all in the Bill of Rights."

    How is that any different than Democrats accusing Republicans of terrorism, simply because Republicans oppose the Democrat Party agenda???

    Hmmmmmmmm?????

    Once again, there isn't a charge you can hurl at the GOP that cannot be turned around and accurately leveled at the Demcorat Party....

  6. [6] 
    Michale wrote:

    Standing up for the media

    Fox News...

    Let's face the facts, people.. Ya'all ONLY want to stand up for the media that says what you want to hear...

    Ya'all have stated on MANY occasions, either by commission or omission, that Fox News is an "enemy of the people"...

    So, puulleeeessseeee.. Cut the snowflake hysterics about ya'all's poor media...

    Ya'all only care about the media that further yer Democrat Party agenda...

  7. [7] 
    Michale wrote:

    This one is worth quoting in full, and it's short enough to do so. This was an open letter (published in the Washington Post this week) to President Trump from retired Admiral William H. McRaven, who was the commander who oversaw the successful raid on Osama Bin Laden in 2011. His letter speaks for itself.

    Oh lookie here..

    I have an "open letter" too..

    And it ALSO speaks for itself..

    But it does so with FACTS and NOT with hysterical bleeding heart NeverTrumpism...

    An open letter to The Boston Globe and media outlets that authored coordinated editorials about President Trump:

    President John Adams once wrote, “The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom.” We at America First couldn’t agree more. A free press is a bedrock of a democratic society. It is at the heart of our constitutional rights. But with liberty comes responsibility—the responsibility to report information accurately and fairly. Unfortunately, too many times, the media have failed to live up to their responsibility.

    Let’s cite a few egregious examples that fall under three different categories:

    Category 1: Straight-Up Inaccurate Reporting

    Let’s remember how it all started. After an initial pool spray that took place within hours of President Trump’s inauguration, a Time magazine White House correspondent incorrectly reported that the bust of Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. This false detail even made it into a White House pool report about Trump’s first actions in the Oval Office as president. Was this an honest mistake, or a blatant attempt to make the president appear racially insensitive? We try to give all people, including the press, the benefit of the doubt—but this was far too suspicious, a “gotcha” moment gone wrong.

    Then there was the time ABC News had to suspend reporter Brian Ross for four weeks after a seriously erroneous Trump report. Ross was eventually fired, and rightfully so.

    More recently, a CNN senior White House correspondent falsely claimed that President Trump hadn’t answered questions on the news in “at least a week.” Mind you, this claim was made the day after the president had answered reporters’ questions at a joint press conference—a press conference that said reporter attended.

    And who can forget the infamous Time magazine cover, and its editor even doubling down on this massively misleading and embarrassing misstep, instead of simply apologizing?

    Category 2: Biased Reporting

    Shortly before the election, CNN declared a Trump victory would be America's Brexit and cause U.S. stocks and global markets to tank. Politico agreed. Well, we all know just how wrong they turned out to be.

    Then there was the huge screw-up by the New York Times, which falsely insinuated the Trump administration was covering up a report on climate change.

    Speaking of the New York Times, both that publication and the Associated Press took the president’s comments on MS-13 completely out of context in May.

    And, of course, there was Chris Cuomo’s recent defense of Antifa violence.

    Category 3: Sins of Omission

    What the media choose to not report on is just as damning as the examples above. Here are a couple stories that highlight such sins:

    Giving a Trump victory its due: Media ignores his ISIS success, mocks him

    Media ignores success of Trump economy: Varney

    We could go on, but the evidence is clear. The litany of transgressions began on Day 1 (literally) of Donald Trump’s presidency and hasn’t slowed much since. And let’s face it: Some of the media undermine their own credibility when they lose any semblance of objectivity.

    All editors have the right to opine, as they did in their editorials yesterday (that’s what you do in an editorial, after all), but they still ultimately fail to understand the role of a journalist. Yes, a journalist should be tenacious in pursuit of the truth, but the pursuit of truth does not entail omitting certain facts, overlooking a president’s key achievements, promoting a political agenda, or slipping into the role of an activist.

    Thankfully, the American people are a lot smarter than the media think they are. Poll after poll show that wide swaths of the public believe that the media are biased and inaccurate and report news they know to be false or purposely misleading.

    And the overwhelmingly negative coverage of our president and his policies isn’t just a matter of opinion; it’s backed up by a number of studies by the Media Research Center, Pew Research Center, and Harvard. The Harvard researchers found that, in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, CNN's Trump coverage was 93 percent negative, and 7 percent positive. The numbers were the same for NBC.

    We do not believe anyone in the Trump administration wants to undermine a free press. The president himself tweeted Thursday that he wants a free press: “There is nothing that I would want more for our Country than true FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The fact is that the Press is FREE to write and say anything it wants, but much of what it says is FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!”

    What the president is against is the press’s coordinated efforts to push an agenda that vehemently works against him at every turn. In fact, the Globe’s coordinated editorial experiment proves this very point. The signature of a free press is diversity of thought and opinion. A parade of more than 300 newspapers marching in lockstep is, quite ironically, the very opposite.

    Overlooked in these editorials is the indisputable list of accomplishments of President Trump.

    So, in an effort to remind the press (yet again), we here provide a recap, by no means comprehensive:

    Almost 4 million new jobs have been created since President Trump’s election.

    African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached the lowest levels in history.

    Women’s unemployment rate has reached the lowest level in 65 years.

    Veterans’ unemployment rate recently reached its lowest level in nearly 20 years.

    The unemployment rate for Americans without high school diplomas is at the lowest level ever recorded, and the Trump administration’s new workforce initiative will deliver job-training to more than 4 million Americans.

    Manufacturing jobs are being created at the fastest pace in over three decades.

    Nearly half-a-million manufacturing jobs have been created since the president took office. In the month of July alone, nearly 40,000 new manufacturing jobs were added.

    Almost 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since President Trump’s election.

    The president crafted the largest tax cut in a generation, which led to savings for more than 80 percent of households and pay raises and bonuses for 4 million American workers.

    President Trump protected American taxpayers by asking Congress to rescind $15.4 billion in unused appropriations.

    The president has hired/nominated an impressive number of women to senior positions in his administration, including the first female director of the CIA, Gina Haspel.

    He’s appointed two Supreme Court justices, and the Senate has now confirmed 26 appellate court judges of his choosing, as well as Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

    He successfully negotiated the return of four American hostages in one month’s time.

    President Trump’s Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Action has exceeded the 2:1 mandate, eliminating 22 job-killing regulations for every one new regulatory action.

    President Trump signed the “Right to Try” Act to give terminally ill patients a chance to try lifesaving treatments.

    The Department of Homeland Security arrested 796 MS-13 gang members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the previous year.

    The president signed the VA Mission Act, which allows veterans who don’t live near a VA facility or can’t get an appointment in a timely manner to seek medical care from private health-care providers.

    Signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides an $82 billion funding increase for the Department of Defense over the current period, including a $617 billion Pentagon budget, $22 billion for the nuclear weapons program and $69 billion for U.S. military efforts abroad, as well as new tanks, ships, and planes. The package includes a salary boost for service members, about a 2.6 percent raise—the biggest military pay raise in nearly a decade.

    Numbers don’t lie, so in the name of a free and fair press, we implore all journalists to start sharing them—instead of their own personal biases.

    Sincerely,

    Sean Spicer
    Senior Adviser and Spokesman
    America First Action
    Author of “The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President”

    Tommy Hicks Jr.
    Chairman
    America First Action

    Like I said yesterday..

    With Freedom of the Press comes the RESPONSIBILITY to accurately and fairly report ALL the news, not just the news that pushes a specific political agenda...

    Since the Leftist MSM is an EPIC FAIL in that regard, they have no right to Constitutional protections..

    It's really THAT simple...

  8. [8] 
    Michale wrote:

    Let me dumb it down for ya'all even further...

    With the RIGHT of Freedom Of Speech comes the RESPONSIBILITY not to use speech to cause panic by falsely yelling FIRE!!! in a crowded theater...

    If you cannot be bothered to meet that RESPONSIBILITY, then you have no CONSTITUTIONAL protections whatsoever..

    It's THAT simple...

  9. [9] 
    Kick wrote:

    Michale
    9

    Let me dumb it down for ya'all even further...

    It gets dumber than it already is? :D

    Rick Gates testified regarding the crimes that he and Manafort committed together, and the prosecutors supplied a trainload of documentary evidence regarding other crimes on Manafort's tax returns.

    If you cared anything whatsoever about the rule of law, you'd want to see a guilty man be sentenced for his crimes.

    It's THAT simple. :)

  10. [10] 
    Kick wrote:

    CW: And (Lordy) she has tapes!

    And texts and emails and videos! It seems like everybody that knows Trump well knows well enough to document everything that comes out of his mouth.

    Now ask yourself: Why do you suppose that is?

    Because people that spend any amount of time around Trump learn very quickly that he demands loyalty while his loyalty goes only one way and that he's an inveterate and pathological lying con artist that can't be trusted not to say one thing to their face yet do another behind their back.

    So they document things. #Comey #Cohen #Omarosa #AnybodyWithTwoBrainCellsToRubTogether
    _______________

    Nice column CW! :)

  11. [11] 
    Michale wrote:

    Um, yeah, I actually would expect all three of those other guys to understand that when it is afternoon in D.C. it is the middle of the night halfway around the world. It's a pretty basic concept, after all.

    Yea!!!! And President Trump said 'COFEVE' at one time too!!!

    My gods, CW...

    Are you REALLY going to slam President Trump because he may or may not have realized on the fly the time difference between the US EDT and Japan!????

    Can anyone here do that without resorting to Google??? It's hard enough keeping US time zones straight let alone the ENTIRE world's times zones!!

    WHILE running a country!??

    Seriously, approach any CEO in the middle of their hectic day and say, "Quick!!! Right now!! What time is in in Bumfuq, Egypt!!!! BZZZZZZZZZZZ Not fast enough.. OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!!!

    Seriously, dood.. With all you CLAIM to be able to slam Trump for, to even waste a single photon on this is inane, ridiculous and frankly, beneath you...

    I won't even bother to mention you have NO FACTS to support this claim, other than the word of someone who, oh so conveniently, wants to remain anonymous..

    But I guess that's what happens with sufferers of HHPTDS.. Every hiccup, every fart is an earth shattering event.. :^/

    Can't wait til 20 Jan 2025 when President Trump leaves office and ya'all MIGHT shake off the effects of HHPTDS...

  12. [12] 
    Michale wrote:

    Reporters Fire Back After Ocasio-Cortez Defends Barring Press From Town Hall So People Would ‘Feel Safe’
    https://www.mediaite.com/online/reporters-fire-back-after-ocasio-cortez-defends-barring-press-from-town-hall-so-people-would-feel-safe/

    Hell, even the current Democrat Socialist darling, the "Future Of The Democrat Party" acknowledges that the media are a threat to the safety of Americans...

  13. [13] 
    Michale wrote:

    The Left Is Actually Afraid Of Jordan Peterson Because He’s Leading A Revolt Against Their Corruption
    http://thefederalist.com/2018/08/14/the-left-is-actually-afraid-of-jordan-peterson-because-hes-leading-a-revolt-against-corruption/

    Eye opening article that explains much...

  14. [14] 
    Michale wrote:

    Please keep in mind, as well, that we are in the midst of merely the first federal trial of Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. There's another one teed up before the midterm elections yet to come. If Trump is spinning this far out of control during the first one, what will he be like when the second one begins?

    And when Manafort walks on this one, how bad do ya think the NEXT one will be for Robert Slap-On-The-Wrist-For-Child-Pornographers Mueller??

  15. [15] 
    Michale wrote:

    When John Brennan joined the CIA in 1980, he made the same promise I made when I joined the Defense Department and again when I joined the White House. Like thousands of civil servants before and after him, we all solemnly promised to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”

    Yet John Brennan’s actions since leaving the CIA are in direct contravention to that oath and, instead, serve the interests of our adversaries and enemies.

    In the last few months, from his position as a paid commentator on MSNBC, John Brennan has repeatedly stated that the duly elected president of the United States is beholden to Vladimir Putin, potentially being blackmailed by him, and has gone as far as to call the president’s actions treasonous. This is a devastating charge to make, one that no other former cabinet-level political appointee has made about a sitting president. Ever. Yet, he does this without providing any evidence at all of his charge.

    One can make the argument that we already have a special counsel whose job it is to investigate such allegations. The fact is that Robert Mueller has yet to charge any Trump associate with collusion with Russia, after more than 420 days of investigation. But Brennan unilaterally usurping Robert Mueller’s brief is not the problem.

    As my Fox News colleague Daniel Hoffman — a 30-plus-year CIA veteran who was Moscow station chief during Brennan’s tenure — has stated, when a former CIA director who still has his clearance makes the accusation that the head of the U.S. government is a foreign asset or being blackmailed, many around the world will believe him purely by dint of his last job. That includes those who are our friends and who want to work with us covertly but who now will not, even if Brennan has provided zero evidence to back up his accusation.

    This materially hurts America, our international relations, and our national security. John Brennan is qualitatively hurting America every time he publicly makes an allegation about the president which he cannot back up.

    President Trump was fully in his authority to strip John Brennan of his clearance. Moreover, he was right to do so, given the damage Brennan was doing on a daily basis to our interests. In fact, there is a deeper question that may now have to be looked into: How did John Brennan originally obtain a clearance when he joined the CIA, given the fact that he voted for the American Communist Party at the height of the Cold War?

    In the meantime, those who were public servants would do well to remember the words of the oath they took, irrespective of whether they wanted Hillary Clinton to be the 45th president of the United States.

    Brennan was and is a threat to National Security... He's lucky he is not rotting in jail..

  16. [16] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    [12] Can anyone here do that without resorting to Google?

    I can. Picked up the skill as an Army brat.

    Re: [8] "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period." - Sean Spicer

  17. [17] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Re: [16] Yet, he does this without providing any evidence at all of his charge.

    To the contrary, Brennan's evidence was in plain sight, in the form of Trump standing on a podium, saying, "why would Russia meddle with our election?" after every one of our intelligence agencies found otherwise.

    Face it, Trump is Putin's pet.

  18. [18] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Take a look at Trump's enemies list: all people who could testify against him. Better start yanking those security clearances faster.

  19. [19] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    And (Lordy) she has tapes!

    I see what you did there, CW. Comey would approve.

    Omarosa is the exactly the Karma that Trump deserves.

    And Democrats have nothing to do with it! Pass the popcorn!

  20. [20] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Oh, and I'm pleased to see that everyone got along well while I was out visiting my mom yesterday:

    Eat shit. :D

    Blow me.. :D

    *sigh*

  21. [21] 
    Michale wrote:

    To the contrary, Brennan's evidence was in plain sight, in the form of Trump standing on a podium, saying, "why would Russia meddle with our election?" after every one of our intelligence agencies found otherwise.

    And that PROVES that President Trump is an agent of Putin??

    On what planet??

    Face it, Trump is Putin's pet.

    Trump is as much Putin's pet as Hillary is Putin's pet. Ironically, there are more facts that support THAT claim than there is to support your claim..

    I know, I know.. You won't accept that...

    Oh, and I'm pleased to see that everyone got along well while I was out visiting my mom yesterday:

    Eat shit. :D

    Blow me.. :D

    *sigh*

    Yea.. Victoria took some good-natured ribbing between you and I and figured that gave her license for personal attacks....

    Like I said.. I never instigate these blowups with her...

  22. [22] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    And that PROVES that President Trump is an agent of Putin?

    Okay, now imagine Roosevelt saying, "Why would Imperial Japan attack Pearl Harbor?"

    Like I said.. I never instigate these blowups with her...

    I don't care.

  23. [23] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Okay, now imagine Roosevelt saying, "Why would Imperial Japan attack Pearl Harbor?"

    To complete the picture: imagine that he's standing next to Tojo while he says this.

  24. [24] 
    Michale wrote:

    Okay, now imagine Roosevelt saying, "Why would Imperial Japan attack Pearl Harbor?"

    Hung over... Stoopid... Drunk..

    I can think of dozens of reasons, NONE of which are even remotely connected to being a Manchurian Candidate..

    I don't care.

    If you didn't care, you wouldn't bring it up.. But it makes me no never mind.. :D

  25. [25] 
    Michale wrote:

    To complete the picture: imagine that he's standing next to Tojo while he says this.

    Of course, it was a shooting war with your example and here it's barely even a cold war..

    But other than that fact, yea... It's exactly the same. :^/

    Face reality, Balthy.. You simply don't like President Trump.. You don't care about facts or anything else but bringing him down...

    You simply are no different than you accused Republicans of being under Odumbo...

    If you weren't in the throes of HHPTDS, you would see that..

  26. [26] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Hung over... Stoopid... Drunk..

    From your lips to god's ears.

    but, seriously, Trump's fawning obsequiousness to Putin is gobsmacking unexplainable, unless he's in the man's pocket. Why won't Republicans let the Democrats question the translator?

  27. [27] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Face reality, Balthy.. You simply don't like President Trump.. You don't care about facts or anything else but bringing him down...

    To the contrary: facts are what will finally bring him down, if anything.

    I've never before been so embarrassed by a US President as I am by Trump. Even watching George Bush walk into doors was less cringe-worthy. He embodies all of the worst traits of 'rich trash' - boorishness, ignorance, and obliviousness.

    God knows what damage this traitorous fool can do to us, but we'll all be better off when he hits the bricks, and runs off to a golf course somewhere for good.

  28. [28] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Of course, it was a shooting war with your example and here it's barely even a cold war..

    It was an attack on our 'homeland' (I actually hate that term: I prefer 'nation', which sounds less fascist). If the candidate favored by the Russians had actually been Hillary, you can be sure that the GOP would be gearing up for war..

    But the Trump fans? Nope, he could shoot a man in the face on fifth avenue, etc., etc..

  29. [29] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    If you didn't care, you wouldn't bring it up.. But it makes me no never mind..

    No, I mean I don't care what your excuse is. You're presumably an adult, and ought to be able to act like one.

  30. [30] 
    Michale wrote:

    but, seriously, Trump's fawning obsequiousness to Putin is gobsmacking unexplainable, unless he's in the man's pocket.

    Could you walk into court of law and convict President Trump of treason, a capital crime???

    I've never before been so embarrassed by a US President as I am by Trump.

    And I have never been so embarrassed by a US President as I was by Odumbo...

    God knows what damage this traitorous fool can do to us, but we'll all be better off when he hits the bricks, and runs off to a golf course somewhere for good.

    Damage???

    Almost 4 million new jobs have been created since President Trump’s election.

    African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached the lowest levels in history.

    Women’s unemployment rate has reached the lowest level in 65 years.

    Veterans’ unemployment rate recently reached its lowest level in nearly 20 years.

    The unemployment rate for Americans without high school diplomas is at the lowest level ever recorded, and the Trump administration’s new workforce initiative will deliver job-training to more than 4 million Americans.

    Manufacturing jobs are being created at the fastest pace in over three decades.

    Nearly half-a-million manufacturing jobs have been created since the president took office. In the month of July alone, nearly 40,000 new manufacturing jobs were added.

    Almost 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since President Trump’s election.

    The president crafted the largest tax cut in a generation, which led to savings for more than 80 percent of households and pay raises and bonuses for 4 million American workers.

    President Trump protected American taxpayers by asking Congress to rescind $15.4 billion in unused appropriations.

    The president has hired/nominated an impressive number of women to senior positions in his administration, including the first female director of the CIA, Gina Haspel.

    He’s appointed two Supreme Court justices, and the Senate has now confirmed 26 appellate court judges of his choosing, as well as Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

    He successfully negotiated the return of four American hostages in one month’s time.

    President Trump’s Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Action has exceeded the 2:1 mandate, eliminating 22 job-killing regulations for every one new regulatory action.

    President Trump signed the “Right to Try” Act to give terminally ill patients a chance to try lifesaving treatments.

    The Department of Homeland Security arrested 796 MS-13 gang members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the previous year.

    The president signed the VA Mission Act, which allows veterans who don’t live near a VA facility or can’t get an appointment in a timely manner to seek medical care from private health-care providers.

    Signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides an $82 billion funding increase for the Department of Defense over the current period, including a $617 billion Pentagon budget, $22 billion for the nuclear weapons program and $69 billion for U.S. military efforts abroad, as well as new tanks, ships, and planes. The package includes a salary boost for service members, about a 2.6 percent raise—the biggest military pay raise in nearly a decade.

    Oh please.. Give patriotic Americans more of that "damage"..

    You see the point??

    You ONLY see what you WANT to see and ignore the FACTS that are inconvenient..

    NONE of you are capable of objective thinking when it comes to President Trump..

    But the Trump fans? Nope, he could shoot a man in the face on fifth avenue, etc., etc..

    Just as Odumbo could have..

  31. [31] 
    Michale wrote:

    No, I mean I don't care what your excuse is. You're presumably an adult, and ought to be able to act like one.

    I am.. As I said... I don't instigate things with Victoria.. But I'll be damned if I am going to let her attacks go unchallenged..

    You said that you wish you could make me stop and you did.. By calling her out and making her stop, you have made me stop..

    So, everyone's happy, right???

  32. [32] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Oh please.. Give patriotic Americans more of that "damage"..

    First 8 items: thank the Obama administration.

    Item 9: tax cut for the wealthy - what a surprise.

    Item 10: all GOP wish-list items.

    Item 11: Haspel is something of a rarity, an Atlantic analysis of 2,475 Trump appointees shows. The White House has named twice as many men as women to administration positions. This gender skew is both broad and deep: In no department do female appointees outnumber male appointees, and in some cases men outnumber women four or five to one. Moreover, men significantly outnumber women in low-level positions as well as in high-level ones, with Trump’s Cabinet currently composed of 19 men and five women.

    Item 12: GOP wish list.

    Item 13: Three, two of whom were arrested since Trump took office. Let me know when he matches the 14 or so hostages released during Obama's adminstration.

    Item 14: GOP wish list. Includes making our water and air less safe.

    Item 15: Sure, let the old folks waste their money on quacks. That's good for society.

    Item 16: Because nobody except republicans ever arrest gang members.

    Item 17: Privatizing the VA completely is the GOP goal. This, however, had the support of Democrats.

    Item 18: More Military spending? Who'da thunk the GOP would do that!

    - By the way, seen the deficit lately? Republicans used to bitch and bitch about it. Now, eh...

  33. [33] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Just as Odumbo could have..

    Are you kidding? He couldn't fist-bump his wife without causing a two day seminar at the American Enterprise Institute.

  34. [34] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Every time a Democrat or their supporters say that a vote for a third party candidate...is a vote for Trump (or any Republican opponent) or is a waste of a vote it is an attempt at voter suppression by trying to create the impression that it is pointless to vote if you don't vote for Democrats.

    Depends what your goal is, and what your timing is.

    Liberals and third party progressives are usually welcomed into Democratic primaries (Bernie, for instance). In general elections, however, because of the 'winner take all' system, third party candidates tend to be spoilers, throwing the election to the candidate with the opposite point of view (Ross Perot, for instance).

  35. [35] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    17

    I can. Picked up the skill as an Army brat.

    I can too, sir. It's my experience that time zones are in your blood when you're military or connected. It only becomes a tiny bit tricky when you're in DST and have to make adjustments for those states/countries that don't observe it. The closer you get to the equator, who needs it? ;)

    Besides, time zones are a breeze when you're the President of the United States and all you have to do is ask somebody what time it is in "You Name It," but that presupposes, of course, that you're not an ignoramus like Trump who doesn't really understand time zones exist at all. :)

    Re: [8] "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period." - Sean Spicer

    * You had someone who was as despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. ~ Sean Spicer

    * He is a unicorn, riding a unicorn over a rainbow. ~ Spicy

    Now why on Earth would Spicy refer to Donald Trump as "a unicorn, riding a unicorn." Maybe Spicy was trying to tell us that Trump has two horns? *laughs* Do you think anyone has broken the news yet to Spicy that unicorns do not exist? :)

  36. [36] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    21

    Oh, and I'm pleased to see that everyone got along well while I was out visiting my mom yesterday.

    I asked you a simple question, and somebody that wasn't you answered it and informed me that I didn't need to tell you anything... you know, one of those "freedom of speech for me but not for thee" type posters.

    Anyway, I am informed now that personal attacks are just "joshing." :D

    Apologies. I would wager you don't care, but I'm not a big fan of double standards.

    I hope your mother is well. I'm going to see my mother today too. I'm taking her popcorn. Alexa, order all the popcorn! :)

  37. [37] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    It's my experience that time zones are in your blood when you're military or connected.

    When my father was attending the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, one day they took a group of us out of the post school to visit the 'modern' school in the nearby town (also named Leavenworth).

    They made the mistake of having us sit in on a Geography class, where we proceeded to show up the locals. Then we complained that we didn't have a Geography class at our school.

    I don't know how they felt about it, but they never invited us back.

  38. [38] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    24

    To complete the picture: imagine that he's standing next to Tojo while he says this.

    And he says it's a great idea that Hideki has to allow the Ministry of Justice to question law enforcement officers and officers/former officers of intelligence services of the United States whom he believed had something to do with illegal actions on the territory of Japan.

    Right after having had a 2-hour meeting with Tojo that no one else was allowed to attend with the exception of one (1) interpreter of the Japanese language.

    Pathetic.

  39. [39] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    39

    When my father was attending the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, one day they took a group of us out of the post school to visit the 'modern' school in the nearby town (also named Leavenworth).

    They made the mistake of having us sit in on a Geography class, where we proceeded to show up the locals. Then we complained that we didn't have a Geography class at our school.

    *laughs* I can easily picture that; it sounds all too familiar. We used to go shoot targets with the locals around Fort Puke... I mean Fort Polk... in Sleazeville… I mean Leesville, Louisiana. We would allow them to "teach" us how to shoot. Imagine their surprise when they turned out to be very good teachers. *shakes head* An awful lot of KKK around those parts too. Pathetic.

    I don't know how they felt about it, but they never invited us back.

    That's how you know what they felt about it! ;)

  40. [40] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    We would allow them to "teach" us how to shoot. Imagine their surprise when they turned out to be very good teachers. *shakes head*

    We were good shots, too, but only on the range. Dad, who had seen a lot of combat, wouldn't keep a gun in the house. Said that combat taught him that a Louisville Slugger is a better weapon against an intruder, since you don't have to load or reload...

    ..which turned out to be good advice, when I later took up bartending (for a while). :)

  41. [41] 
    Kick wrote:

    Michale
    32

    I am.. As I said... I don't instigate things with Victoria.. But I'll be damned if I am going to let her attacks go unchallenged..

    I didn't attack you, dearest. I asked Balthasar a question, and you interjected to tell me I didn't need to "tell him anything." And furthermore, don't blame me for that fact that you'll be damned; your religious beliefs are your own and have nothing whatsoever to do with me. :D

    Joshing!

  42. [42] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    42

    We were good shots, too, but only on the range. Dad, who had seen a lot of combat, wouldn't keep a gun in the house. Said that combat taught him that a Louisville Slugger is a better weapon against an intruder, since you don't have to load or reload...

    I'll just bet you make a wicked shot.

    Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

    Your dad sounds like a smart guy.

    ..which turned out to be good advice, when I later took up bartending (for a while). :)

    I'll just bet you make a wicked shot. ;)

  43. [43] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Don [44]:I guess we have a different definition of welcomed.

    I dunno. Bernie feels welcomed, else he wouldn't have run this cycle as a Democrat. He won, then refused the Democratic nomination so that he could run in the General election as an Independent. Works for him.

    Depends on what your goal is..The pretenders want citizens to concentrate only on the current election

    We're not pretending. We really do want to win the next election. Maybe that's why Bernie and Alexandria stand with us.

  44. [44] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    I'll just bet you make a wicked shot.

    I don't drink these days, but my specialty used to be a B52 with a cherry at the bottom - a 'Cherry Bomber'. heh.

  45. [45] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Use a tall shot glass -

    Place a maraschino cherry at the bottom,

    then layer, in order, Kahlúa, Bailey's Irish Creme,
    and Grand Marnier (to taste)

    Cheers!

  46. [46] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    much like matt groening after him, i think douglas adams also predicted this development in govertainment, although at the time perhaps he thought he was being tongue in cheek. donald j. trump IS zaphod beeblebrox!

  47. [47] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    47

    I don't drink these days, but my specialty used to be a B52 with a cherry at the bottom - a 'Cherry Bomber'.

    Wow! Kahlúa, Bailey's, and Grand Marnier! I cannot help but notice the colorful diversity of that drink where you've got Mexico, Ireland, and France all represented in a shot complete with a "cherry on top"... I mean bottom.

    Cheers!

    I'd say I would try your "Cherry Bomber" but for the fact that it sounds like it really would blow me up. :)

  48. [48] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    I'd say I would try your "Cherry Bomber" but for the fact that it sounds like it really would blow me up. :)

    That's cool - set the recipe aside for a party night. Mind you, I didn't invent the B52 shot - your local bartender might know it herself - my innovation is the cherry. It's smooth going down (thanks to the Baileys), but has a good Kick...

  49. [49] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Giuliani goes full Orwell on MTP: "Truth isn't truth"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CljsZ7lgbtw

    Chuck Todd is right: this is an instant meme.

  50. [50] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    52

    That's cool - set the recipe aside for a party night.

    Okay, I'll tell you what I will do. As I said before, after looking at the majority of evidence in the current Manafort case, it would surprise me if Paulie doesn't get minimum sentencing of 15 years. So if the multiple million dollar bank frauding and tax evading scumbag gets fifteen 15 years or more, I will drink one (1) Cherry Bomber.

    Your local bartender might know it herself - my innovation is the cherry.

    Since my "local bartender" is, in fact, me, I'm telling you now that if I have to... I mean get to... drink this concoction of yours, I'm definitely removing the stem from the cherry. :p

    It's smooth going down (thanks to the Baileys), but has a good Kick...

    And who doesn't need a good Kick every once in awhile? ;)

  51. [51] 
    Michale wrote:

    This one is worth quoting in full, and it's short enough to do so. This was an open letter (published in the Washington Post this week) to President Trump from retired Admiral William H. McRaven, who was the commander who oversaw the successful raid on Osama Bin Laden in 2011. His letter speaks for itself.

    I'll see your Admiral and raise you a Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs Admiral..

    Ex-CIA Director Brennan's anti-Trump comments did 'damage' to intel community, Mullen says

    Former CIA Director John Brennan risked damaging the intelligence community with his anti-Trump comments, retired Adm. Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told "Fox News Sunday."

    "I think John's an extraordinary servant of the country, but I think he has been incredibly critical of the president, and I think that has put him in a political place which actually does more damage for the intelligence community -- which is apolitical," Mullen said.
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/19/ex-cia-director-brennans-anti-trump-comments-did-damage-to-intel-community-mullen-says.html

    Brennan is a moron...

    Unless he has absolute irrefutable and unequivocal FACTS that unequivocally prove his claims, he should just shut the frak up...

    And if he DOES have those facts, he should be talking to the Special Prosecutor, not to the media who is paying him gobs of money to be an asshole...

    Either way.. Brennan is a moron...

  52. [52] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    53

    Giuliani goes full Orwell on MTP: "Truth isn't truth"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CljsZ7lgbtw

    Holy Hell. Couple this with Trump's ridiculous: "Just remember, what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."

    How obvious does this shit have to get before the Trumplicans catch on?

    ***** TRUMPLICAN VICTIM CARD *****

    Check one or more options below as scapegoat for your unhappiness and overall failure in life:

    _____ Minorities
    _____ Immigrants
    _____ Liberals
    _____ The MSM
    _____ The Deep State
    _____ Robert Swan Mueller III

  53. [53] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    How obvious does this shit have to get before the Trumplicans catch on?

    You think they haven't caught on?

    I'm not sure who you are talking about when you say "Trumplicans" but, if you mean congressional Republicans and, indeed, Republicans across the country who go along with Trump then they are not oblivious to Trump's Republican agenda. On the contrary, they are excited by it to the point of being able to ignore all of Trump's antics.

    The problem is not that they haven't caught on but rather that they are fueling Trump's Republican agenda, no matter what.

  54. [54] 
    Kick wrote:

    EM
    57

    You think they haven't caught on?

    Yep. I know some of them haven't caught on. They believe that everyone else except Trump, Fox News, and their ilk are lying to them. They've bought "all in" to the con, and every time the goalposts move, they move right along with them.

    I'm not sure who you are talking about when you say "Trumplicans" but, if you mean congressional Republicans and, indeed, Republicans across the country who go along with Trump then they are not oblivious to Trump's Republican agenda.

    I don't mean any elected officials (regardless of party). I mean those Trump voters (regardless of party) who genuinely believe the con and/or this ridiculous Orwellian BS these clowns are spewing.

    On the contrary, they are excited by it to the point of being able to ignore all of Trump's antics.

    Oh, those? The ones who realize Trump is a con artist and lying manipulator but don't care. I call those the "Complicit."

    The problem is not that they haven't caught on but rather that they are fueling Trump's Republican agenda, no matter what.

    Yes, ma'am... 100%. Although many of my Republican friends take issue when I call it a "Republican" agenda, and I have to concede they are correct for the most part. They prefer the term "Trumplican" and are holding out hope that they can salvage and repair their party after Trump is gone. :)

  55. [55] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Good luck to your Republican friends.

  56. [56] 
    LeaningBlue wrote:

    There are only two conclusions that can come out of Trump's call to Omarosa.

    First, it's possible he really didn't know she had been fired. In that case, it says the President is out of the loop running his own business. Given she was perceived as "protected" in the same way as is Conway, it's a stretch to believe, but maybe.

    The other conclusion is that he did know, and he was lying to her in saying he didn't. That's my choice.

    Spineless bully is consistent with my understanding of him, supported by plenty of incidents and anecdotes. Spicer was left standing in the rain at Andrews. Comey was fired when he was on the road. McCabe was terminated literally minutes before his retirement. In this case, Trump feigned sadness and pain. I call bullshit.

    Of course, I'm not saying it's going to make a difference to anybody; the Trumpists don't care, and the other 65% of the country have already concluded he's a slimy putz (disclosure: not reflected in any direct poll question).

    But the implications might matter now, going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if profilers in FBI criminal fraud and co-intel have been thinking about it for years.

  57. [57] 
    LeaningBlue wrote:

    Seems like the Mueller-pedophile link didn't ignite, and is sinking fast. Looks like it's going to be replaced next with Mueller-Benghazi. It's too early to know just how it'll be played, but the claims will be supported by the usual Internet postings sourced in the fever swamp, so I doubt we'll have to wait even 48 hours.

    The following is pure speculation, but it's fun to try to anticipate shenanigans. I'm waiting for the Mueller-Pelosi love child. There could well be debate whether to use a Mueller-Maxine Waters love child instead. The two alternatives would appeal to different Trumpian cohorts, I'd think.

    I guess we'll have to wait to see. But I think Benghazi is baked in. We might even get us some Gowdy. Surely he understands by now that any chance of confirmation of a Federal judgeship is a sailed ship, and he has to atone for telling the truth about the investigation (Russia, not Benghazi) a couple times a month or so ago.

  58. [58] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Michale [55]: I see your Mullen and raise you thirteen former directors of the CIA.

    STATEMENT FROM FORMER SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS

    As former senior intelligence officials, we feel compelled to respond in the wake of the
    ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House regarding the removal
    of John Brennan’s security clearances. We know John to be an enormously talented, capable, and
    patriotic individual who devoted his adult life to the service of this nation. Insinuations and
    allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Brennan while in office are baseless. Since leaving
    government service John has chosen to speak out sharply regarding what he sees as threats to our
    national security. Some of the undersigned have done so as well. Others among us have elected
    to take a different course and be more circumspect in our public pronouncements. Regardless, we
    all agree that the president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action
    against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security
    clearances – and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech. You don’t have to agree
    with what John Brennan says (and, again, not all of us do) to agree with his right to say it,
    subject to his obligation to protect classified information. We have never before seen the
    approval or removal of security clearances used as a political tool, as was done in this case.
    Beyond that, this action is quite clearly a signal to other former and current officials. As
    individuals who have cherished and helped preserve the right of Americans to free speech – even
    when that right has been used to criticize us – that signal is inappropriate and deeply regrettable.
    Decisions on security clearances should be based on national security concerns and not political
    views.

    William H. Webster , former Director of Central Intelligence (1987-1991)

    George J. Tenet , former Director of Central Intelligence (1997-2004)

    Porter J. Goss , former Director of Central Intelligence, (2005-2006)

    General Michael V. Hayden, USAF, Ret., former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    (2006-2009)

    Leon E. Panetta , former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2009-2011)

    General David H. Petraeus , USA, Ret., former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    (2011-2012)

    James R. Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence (2010-2017)

    John E. McLaughlin , former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (2000-2004)

    Stephen R. Kappes , former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2010)

    Michael J. Morell , former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2010-2013)

    Avril Haines , former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2013-2015)

    David S. Cohen, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2015-2017)

    .

  59. [59] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Here's the important part of that letter, since it might be hard to read in this narrow format:

    "Regardless, we all agree that the president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security
    clearances – and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech."

  60. [60] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Here's another that I liked:

    "Beyond that, this action is quite clearly a signal to other former and current officials. As individuals who have cherished and helped preserve the right of Americans to free speech – even when that right has been used to criticize us – that signal is inappropriate and deeply regrettable."

    "Deeply regrettable" being code for (I always assume that former CIA bosses speak in code), "You're getting close to getting us pissed. You wouldn't like us when we're pissed."

  61. [61] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Leaning Blue [61]: How about a Mueller-Clinton love child to unite the factions?

    The theory could be that her 'sickness' during the 911 ceremony in 2016 was caused by her suddenly going into labor. Clinton and Mueller been doing this for years, you know - making babies to be sold later in pizza parlors. Which explains all of the horrible looking pants suits: they were all actually thinly disguised maternity outfits!

  62. [62] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Kick [56] - love the text box thing. I'd like to know how to do that.

  63. [63] 
    LeaningBlue wrote:

    The trust fund for Peter Strzock's legal expenses has had, as of 15:00 Eastern the 19th, 11,478 contributors. The average contribution is a number that Don Harris would probably love - almost $40.

    The campaign's been stalled for a few days, in large part being swept out of public awareness by the the last two or three days of breathless coverage of the latest presidential abominations.

    Looking at the math here, at the average contribution, which has held steady throught, it would take only about 1,600 more contributions in order to put this thing to rest.

    I recall that Kick expressed her active support of it in a post a few days back. I trust she'll add a second to my personal solicitation here on behalf of the campaign. There may have been others as well.

    All in all, a contribution in support of a casualty in the fight for the rule of law might mean a personal cost of one meal for two at Red Lobster. Just sayin'. https://www.gofundme.com/peterstrzok

  64. [64] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    "I think John's an extraordinary servant of the country, but I think he has been incredibly critical of the president, and I think that has put him in a political place which actually does more damage for the intelligence community -- which is apolitical," Mullen said.

    Why are his comments “political”? Because other people claim that they are. What if Brennan’s comments are simply statements of fact?

    And I am curious exactly how Brennan’s comments are damaging the intelligence community? Seriously, Trump is the one saying there was a deep state conspiracy against him and claiming Brennan was part of it! Just because Trump reacts like a spoiled man-baby to being called out does not mean it is Brennan’s fault for Trump slamming the intelligence agencies investigating him!

    Trump siding with Putin over our intelligence agencies regarding Russian interference in our elections was damaging. Brennan has been critical of Trump’s response to being investigated.

    Brennan has not contradicted anything that our intelligence community has told us. Brennan has not claimed that individuals tasked to conduct an investigation are corrupt simply because they were given the task!

    Brennan cannot offer up evidence to prove his statements because it is an ongoing investigation, but it must kill him to see Trump in office and not be able to tell the world the truth if he knows Trump is a Russian asset!

    If he isn’t able to share all that he knows about Trump with us, what is the next best thing that he CAN do? Exactly what he has been doing!

    Brennan is a moron...

    Unless he has absolute irrefutable and unequivocal FACTS that unequivocally prove his claims, he should just shut the frak up...

    Oh the irony of you making comments like this! Once again, you prove how little the First Amendment actually matters to you!

  65. [65] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    Balthy [62]

    You beat me to it! Great post! I thought it was funny that FoxNews couldn’t get anyone from the intelligence community to speak out against Brennan.

  66. [66] 
    Kick wrote:

    Balthasar
    66

    Kick [56] - love the text box thing. I'd like to know how to do that.

    It's simple:

    [blockquote]I want to put a box around this. [/blockquote]

    Except I used brackets for demonstration purposes only, which should be replaced by these: < or >

    I want to put a box around this.

    :)

  67. [67] 
    Kick wrote:

    Michale
    Balthy
    LB

    I'll see your Admiral and raise you a Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs Admiral..

    Okay, Michale: I'll see your guy and raise you a current President of the United States:

    There’s no silence, if anything I’m giving him a bigger voice. Many people don’t even know who he is, and now he has a bigger voice. And that’s okay with me, because I like taking on bigger voices like that. ~ Donald Trump

    And if that guy is not good enough for you, how about this one?

    But we're not discussing the validity of Jones' speech, are we??

    We're discussing if he has the RIGHT to that speech..

    You and your Democrats say NO...

    Facts, reality and the US Constitution say YES... ~ Michale

    Just replace "Jones'" with "Brennan's" and replace "Democrats" with "Trumplicans," and do the simple math.

    So Donald Trump wants to give John Brennan a bigger voice, and Michale from a few days ago recognizes Brennan's "RIGHT to that speech."

    If you or any of your military dudes were really concerned about the reputation of the intelligence community, you would have naturally spoken up when Your Orange Worship compared them to Nazis... so I ask you:

    What's the problem? :)

  68. [68] 
    Kick wrote:

    Oops! I forgot to add the part meant specifically for Balthy and LB:

    You beat me to it! Great post! I thought it was funny that FoxNews couldn’t get anyone from the intelligence community to speak out against Brennan.

    Yes! I won't quote the entire post of Balthy's, but it was a masterpiece. Loved every bit of it. It was a Bomb with a Cherry on bottom! ;)

  69. [69] 
    Kick wrote:

    EM
    59

    Good luck to your Republican friends.

    Yes, ma'am. That's is exactly what I said too... because although the Benedict Donald Trump Con Artistry Bamboozle Reality TV Presidency Shit Show shall certainly pass, that is one terrible stench that is likely to linger... as you know. Sad to say.

  70. [70] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    It's actually worse than that, Kick.

    There was something rotting in America when Obama took office and there was something rotting in America when Trump was elected.

    There will surely be something rotting in America when Trump, one way or another, leaves office and, it won't be easy to wash away. Come to think of it, it will require a Herculean effort of the sort that cleaned the Augean stables.

  71. [71] 
    Kick wrote:

    LB
    60

    Given she was perceived as "protected" in the same way as is Conway, it's a stretch to believe, but maybe.

    It is a huge stretch to believe that, and I think you're saying what is an absolute fact: No one is protected by Trump except Trump... with the singular exception of Mafia Barbie... his loyalty goes only one way. People who spend any amount of time learn that very quickly... so they take notes or record him and keep tangible records.

    The other conclusion is that he did know, and he was lying to her in saying he didn't. That's my choice.

    Yep. That's what I thought you were saying. Donald was simply doing what he does all day long: Looking out for Donald... saying one thing to your face while stabbing you in the front... behind your back. Does that even make sense? It does to me. :)

  72. [72] 
    Kick wrote:

    LB
    67

    I recall that Kick expressed her active support of it in a post a few days back. I trust she'll add a second to my personal solicitation here on behalf of the campaign. There may have been others as well.

    I second that. Perhaps Michale will now endorse it since I see he and his "friend" retired Adm. Michael Mullen seem suddenly concerned about the reputation of the intelligence community because a United States citizen had the audacity to state their opinion regarding current events... although maybe not because when Citizen Donald Trump was busy comparing the intelligence community to Nazis, I don't recall either of them being the least bit worried about the reputation of these selfless Americans like Peter Strzok who are equally entitled to their personal opinion and who spend a lifetime in service to our country as the presidents come and go with the ebb and flow. :)

  73. [73] 
    Kick wrote:

    EM
    74

    It's actually worse than that, Kick.

    Yes, ma'am... and we're back to our "low bar" and "promise of America" conversation of awhile back regarding our long history in the United States of rogues, carpetbaggers, scalawags, and opportunists that are scattered across our history. It is a sad fact that many of "we the people" throughout history have been all too eager to accept this rot out of fear, ignorance, gullibility, or for whatever reasons... and so I suspect it shall remain ever thus.

    If there is a "promise of America," it's probably this: We don't exactly always deliver on our promises, but we do have our beautiful moments.

    There will surely be something rotting in America when Trump, one way or another, leaves office and, it won't be easy to wash away. Come to think of it, it will require a Herculean effort of the sort that cleaned the Augean stables.

    It's definitely a stench that's going to linger, and I expect Trump's name will go down in history at the top of the lists of American A**holes and at the bottom of the lists that rank presidents. What the turncoat Benedict Donald has done makes even Nixon look good. Sad to say.

  74. [74] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Are you aware of Senator Biden's America Promise tour?

  75. [75] 
    neilm wrote:

    People who spend any amount of time learn that very quickly... so they take notes or record him and keep tangible records.

    I assume that anybody of minimal intelligence who is in a position anywhere near Trump is recording and documenting everything they can at all times.

    For most of them it might mean a good book deal with evidence to back up the stories, but for some it could mean the difference between a guilty or innocent verdict.

    If the Democrats win the House in a couple of months there will be subpoenas being issued like ticker tape in a parade. At that point the finger pointing and ass covering is going to become rampant in white House and former White House staffers. This is going to be everything the Republicans hoped Benghazi!!! would be, but with them in the firing line and real crimes and cover ups.

    Amusing.

    I give the Manfort verdict a 50/50 chance of coming in this week. Any longer and we could have the politically motivated hold out I was concerned about. It just takes one Trumpista to put politics ahead of justice and America and we have an acquittal.

  76. [76] 
    Kick wrote:

    Russ

    [EDIT]

    Oops! I forgot to add the part meant specifically for Balthy and LB:

    Well... oops again! I meant to say the tag team of Balthy and Russ!

    You beat me to it! Great post! I thought it was funny that FoxNews couldn’t get anyone from the intelligence community to speak out against Brennan.

  77. [77] 
    Kick wrote:

    EM
    78

    Are you aware of Senator Biden's America Promise tour?

    Vice President Biden's book tour?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amiRBbcIgsc

    I sure hope he runs. I have this theory that VP Biden could run a successful campaign by promising to hit the ground running and fix the Trump stench while training the next generation. I discussed it last year but will require another link so...

    CONTINUED...

  78. [78] 
    Kick wrote:

    … CONTINUED

    EM: It always amazes me that the US media and many Americans are so quick to refer to their president as the leader of the free world and yet seem to have little interest in foreign affairs or in US foreign policy and how the rest of the world is impacted by how the US decides it will act or not act.

    On this we can agree 100%. I refer to the current POTUS as the biggest threat to our country/democracy, and this would sadly be the case had he won or lost the election. I believe Trump would be even more potent had he lost, and now regardless we are witnesses to the largest criminal and counterintelligence investigation in world history with parallels to Watergate being remarkable... meaning, we've seen this before, and we survived it; Trump too shall pass.

    This indifference to all things foreign predates the Trump era but he is the first president in modern times with a reflexive tendency toward disengaging from the world.

    You will find that Trump's genuine concern with foreign issues will be limited to that which affects either his reputation/ego and/or his assets; Trump is genuinely not concerned with anything except Trump or how any said issue affects Trump, but presidents come and go every 4-8 years, and Trump too shall pass.

    I'll tell you what, no matter how much longer Trump remains in office, foreign policy and national security will have to be firmly in the wheelhouse of the next president of the United States...

    Again, I agree 100%. Do we perhaps know anyone who fits this description? Say it with me: Joseph Biden. I believe if Joe chooses to run in 2020, he should run on a platform that he will lead our country out of this quagmire and turn over the reins to the presidency after 2 years, with the proviso that his running mate be no older than 55. America needs Joe's experience, but she also needs to make way for a new generation of leaders. Republicans I would trust to lead this nation forward include John Kasich and Marco Rubio (with a big maybe as a qualifier), yet very few others as the GOP we once knew has given way to the Bannonites, nativists, Birthers, conspiracy nuts, white supremacists, paranoids, anti-science uneducateds, misogynists, isolationists, and others who have moved from the far-right fringes into the mainstream and have now taken over the Republican Party.

    I will take Biden/Booker in 2020 for the win... one can dream. :)

    http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/12/27/nominations-still-open-for-round-two-awards/#comment-112936

  79. [79] 
    Kick wrote:

    neilm
    79

    For most of them it might mean a good book deal with evidence to back up the stories, but for some it could mean the difference between a guilty or innocent verdict.

    *laughs* I know, right!?

    It's a choice between CMA or MAGA:

    CMA - Cover My Ass
    MAGA - My Ass Got Arrested

    I think you're right, of course, the House is going to be lit come January 2019. If Democrats/women get their asses to the polls, of course.

    I give the Manfort verdict a 50/50 chance of coming in this week.

    I give it a 99% chance of coming in this week. I heard this jury had a birthday party for one of their members, and that means they like each other and are socializing. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they finished on Friday and just wanted to return on Monday so they could trade personal information and tie up a few loose ends... getting another day off from work. It wouldn't surprise me either if they announced they had a verdict at the end of the day Monday and then the Court decided to read it on Tuesday morning. I fully admit this may be wishful thinking.

    The evidence is airtight on a majority of the charges so I expect guilty verdicts for at least half of them; although, based on several factors which I won't elaborate, it also wouldn't surprise me in the least if verdicts were handed down where both sides declared victory. So there's that. :)

    Any longer and we could have the politically motivated hold out I was concerned about. It just takes one Trumpista to put politics ahead of justice and America and we have an acquittal..

    I can't for the life of me see an acquittal on 18 counts based on the evidence. A hung jury, maybe... but an acquittal... no way! <--- Now watch me have to print this out and eat those words. *shakes head* :)

  80. [80] 
    Michale wrote:

    Asia Argento Paid Off Sexual Assault Accuser (Report)
    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asia-argento-paid-sexual-assault-accuser-report-1135872

    This is why it's impossible to get all hysterical about Left Wingers and all their hysterical accusations..

    Because, when it comes right down to it, they are committing the same crimes and bullshit that they accuse others of..

    Their positions are hypocrisy writ large..

  81. [81] 
    Michale wrote:

    DEM REP. ALCEE HASTINGS JOKES ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP DROWNING IN THE POTOMAC RIVER
    http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/19/dem-rep-jokes-president-trump-drowning/

    What IS it about you Democrats that love to joke about the death of ya'all's enemies???

  82. [82] 
    Michale wrote:

    Scumbag Brennan backpedaling furiously..

    “I didn’t mean that he committed treason. But it was a term that I used, nothing short of treasonous. Sometimes my Irish comes out and in my tweets.”
    -Scumbag Former American Brennan

    What is it about Democrats that they hate America so bad??? Is it because they threw the scumbag America Hating Democrats out of office and elected a REAL leader?? Someone who is actually doing GOOD for this country??

  83. [83] 
    Michale wrote:

    Why is San Francisco ... covered in human feces?
    Nathan Robinson

    People aren’t pooping on the streets because they unlearned basic hygiene. Rather, the incidents reflect shameful levels of inequality in the city

    It’s an empirical fact: San Francisco is a crappier place to live these days. Sightings of human feces on the sidewalks are now a regular occurrence; over the past 10 years, complaints about human waste have increased 400%.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/18/san-francisco-poop-problem-inequality-homelessness

    Yea... Democrat-run San Francisco is such a LOVELY place... :^/

  84. [84] 
    Michale wrote:

    Deroy Murdock: Trump's job approval nearly doubles among black Americans

    THE LEFT and its henchmen in the old-guard media relentlessly insist that President Donald J. Trump is America’s racist-in-chief. This exhausted lie seems to fall on increasingly skeptical ears. And a surprising number of them are black.

    An Aug. 7 NAACP poll found that 21 percent of black registered voters approve of Trump’s job performance. Even better, in Wednesday’s Rasmussen tracking survey, 36 percent of black voters gave the President thumbs up, compared to 19 percent a year ago.

    These are not landslide numbers. And Trump’s disapproval ratings — 79 percent in NAACP’s study and 64 percent in Rasmussen’s — are daunting. Still, the fact that Trump enjoys the support of one-fifth of black voters in one poll and more than one-third in another is astonishing for someone routinely smeared as a white supremacist. These statistics should trigger klaxons at Democrat headquarters.

    Trump’s progress among this demographic strongly suggests that his policies are serving all Americans, including blacks.
    http://www.unionleader.com/article/20180817/OPINION02/180819597/1004/opinion

    Democrats are losing black American support hand over fist.. :D

    Without the black American vote, Democrats will wither and fade.. :D

    Face reality, people...

    Ya'all are LOSING the battle... President Trump is winning over ALL Americans and the Hysterican NeverTrumpers are being exposed for the hateful and intolerant frauds that they are...

  85. [85] 
    John M wrote:

    [87] Michale

    "Yea... Democrat-run San Francisco is such a LOVELY place..."

    Yes, it IS Michale. Have you ever actually been there? It's a beautiful city to visit. I fell in love with the whole Bay Area.

    But, like so many large American cities, you have to be extremely wealthy to be able to afford to actually live there.

    Poverty and homelessness are endemic in so many American cities. That's precisely why America is not so great anymore. Or at least, not as great as the promise and American ideals we could be living up to be.

    We pride ourselves of being the richest nation in the world. But we do such a poor job of providing for our own citizens. We care more about spending on a bloated military and policing other people around the world than we do on whether people are dying alone sleeping on our sidewalks without decency or dignity.

  86. [86] 
    Michale wrote:

    These figures are splendid news for Americans of every hue. But the outlook for blacks is even sunnier. July’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for black Americans is 6.6 percent, well below Obama’s 8.4 percent in July 2016. Trump’s current black-teen jobless rate is 19.9 percent. Two Julys ago, Obama’s analogous figure was 25.7 percent.

    “This President, since he took office, in the year and a half that he’s been here, has created 700,000 new jobs for African-Americans,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told journalists on Tuesday. “When President Obama left, after eight years in office — eight years in office — he had only created 195,000 jobs for African-Americans. President Trump in his first year and a half has already tripled what President Obama did in eight years. Not only did he do that for African-Americans but for Hispanics; 1.7 million more Hispanics are working now. This is a President who cares about all Americans, who is committed to helping them, and is putting policies in place that actually do that.” These statistics help explain Trump’s 35 percent approval among Hispanics, as the NAACP survey reports.

    Blacks increasingly are profiting from this economic boom. And more and more of them recognize that President Trump and his pro-growth, pro-jobs measures deserve credit for these developments.

    Oh... SNAP ..... :D

    Once again, ya'all need to face reality...

    Patriotic Americans are winning and the hateful, intolerant and violent NeverTrumpers are LUSERS... :D

  87. [87] 
    Michale wrote:

    Yes, it IS Michale.

    Despite ALL the **FACTS** to the contrary..

    We pride ourselves of being the richest nation in the world. But we do such a poor job of providing for our own citizens.

    That's part of what makes America great.. We allow Americans to provide for themselves..

    Put it another way... A person who poops in the street has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever..

    No one else is to blame for that...

    That's the problem with you Democrats.. Ya'all want to blame everything else and anything else and everyone else...

    Just so long as ya'all don't have to look in a mirror and think, "Hmmmmmm Maybe *I* am the problem.."

    What a sad and pathetic way to live...

    We care more about spending on a bloated military and policing other people around the world than we do on whether people are dying alone sleeping on our sidewalks without decency or dignity.

    HELLO!!!! MCFLY!!!!

    It's DEMOCRATS who run San Francisco...

    If they can't provide for their own citizens, that is on THEM....

    Once again, you try to avoid responsibility and blame everyone BUT the Demcorats who are in power..

    Sad

  88. [88] 
    John M wrote:

    [88] Michale

    "Democrats are losing black American support hand over fist.. :D"

    No, they are not. He didn't even double his support. A small double digit increase while the economy is doing well is par for the course for ANY president.

    "Without the black American vote, Democrats will wither and fade.. :D

    Face reality, people...

    Ya'all are LOSING the battle... President Trump is winning over ALL Americans and the Hysterican NeverTrumpers are being exposed for the hateful and intolerant frauds that they are..."

    Sounds like more of just EXACTLY what it is from you, more whistling in the dark. People know who really supports them and takes their interests to heart or not when the chips are down. And a man who gives a wink and a nod to white supremacists and others of their ilk
    is not it. When the economy does poorly again or some other huge event happens like Watergate did for Nixon, you can watch that increase in support evaporate like ice in the sun.

  89. [89] 
    Michale wrote:

    All of this good news for black Americans could be a major downer for Democrats.

    Black voters are the foundation, lobby, and ceremonial entrance of the Democrat Party. Come Nov. 6, if 21 or 29 percent of black voters — or even half that number — either stay home or actually vote Republican, the Democrat skyscraper will buckle badly or tumble totally. As last week’s still-undecided U.S. House special election in Ohio confirmed, a mere 1,800 or so ballots can divide victor from vanquished. In similarly tight races, Democrats and Republicans will need every vote they can muster. Donald J. Trump’s rising popularity among blacks could augur far greater triumphs for the President and his party.

    Yep.. The Demcorat Party is toast!! :D

  90. [90] 
    John M wrote:

    [90] Michale

    The IMPORTANT take away from that, which I see you totally glossed over as usual was:

    While Trump got black unemployment down from 8.4 to 6.6 percent, Obama got black unemployment down 12.7 to 8.4 percent. That's more than double the decline under Trump.

  91. [91] 
    John M wrote:

    [93] Michale

    "Yep.. The Demcorat Party is toast!! :D"

    I'll be sure to file that with all the previous Trump is toast comments that you used to equally make fun of all the time.

  92. [92] 
    Michale wrote:

    No, they are not. He didn't even double his support. A small double digit increase while the economy is doing well is par for the course for ANY president.

    Oh.. OK.. So *NOW* it's your claim that President Trump is a "par for the course" ANY president??

    Hmmmmmmmm

    That would seem to contradict yer hysterically claims of the last 2 years about President Trump...

    When the economy does poorly again

    And Democrats are just HOPING and PRAYING for that to happen, eh??

    Democrats want and BEG for ALL Americans to suffer hardships. Democrats want black people's unemployment to be 100%.. Democrats want hispanics to suffer horrendous catastrophes..

    Democrats want ALL Americans to suffer....

    All so Democrats can point to President Trump and blame him...

    Remember what I said above about "looking in a mirror"??? Democrats won't do that..

    THAT is why Democrats have had their asses handed to them in the last 3 elections..

    THAT is why Democrats will lose and lose big in November...

  93. [93] 
    John M wrote:

    [91] Michale

    "It's DEMOCRATS who run San Francisco..."

    So??? What's your point???

    It's REPUBLICANS who run the country.

    You can't really expect one city on its own by itself to solve a national problem.

    That's not a rhetorical question, just in case you were wondering.

  94. [94] 
    Michale wrote:

    I'll be sure to file that with all the previous Trump is toast comments that you used to equally make fun of all the time.

    The difference being, of course, is that YA'ALL have been WRONG each and every time and I have been correct a LOT more often than I have been wrong...

    In other words, I have a track record of credibility that ya'all are SORELY lacking....

    That's because I base my statements on FACTS and REALITY...

    Ya'all?? Not so much...

  95. [95] 
    John M wrote:

    [96] Michale wrote:

    I won't even bother with this one. Just more typical hysterical ranting, which if the same accusations were made about Republicans, would be met with screaming accusations about bias, slavery to party ideology, blah, blah, blah.

  96. [96] 
    Michale wrote:

    "It's DEMOCRATS who run San Francisco..."

    So??? What's your point???

    You blame the people in charge...

    You can't really expect one city on its own by itself to solve a national problem.

    I can within their own city limits..

    I don't expect that government in San Francisco to solve the problems in Miami FL..

    But any REASONABLE or RATIONALE person would expect the government in San Francisco to fix the problems IN SAN FRANCISCO...

    The fact that you don't illustrates my point perfectly...

    You always want to blame Republicans, even though DEMOCRATS are in charge...

    That is EXACTLY my point..

    It's ALWAYS someone else's fault. Democrats are pure as the driven snow.. :^/

  97. [97] 
    Michale wrote:

    I won't even bother with this one.

    Yea, that's usually what you do when you get caught in a load of BS.. :D

    Remember your claim about the Democrat's chances in Nov when you accused me of not reading the link I posted??

    You have hysterically stated for 2 years that President Trump is the epitome of incompetence and racism..

    NOW... Now that black support for President Trump is skyrocketing..

    NOW you want to claim "well, that's par for the course for ANY president"...

    Com'on JM...

    You can't have it both ways...

    How can President Trump be the epitome of racism and yet, have black support rise "par for the course for ANY president"???

    They both can't be true..

    Either President Trump is "par for the course of ANY President" (that includes Odumbo, by the bi..) as far as racism goes..

    Or

    This skyrocketing black support for President Trump shows that ya'all's claims and attacks against President Trump is complete and utter bullshit..

    Address the FACTS....

    If you can...

    Or run away.. Like ya'all usually do when confronted with ya'all's bullshit and lies..

  98. [98] 
    Michale wrote:

    It's like shooting fish in a barrel.. :D

  99. [99] 
    Michale wrote:

    Liz,

    Democrats Don’t Need a National Message
    A bottom-up approach is better than a single line imposed by party leadership.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/democrats-message-trump/567541/

    Yer thoughts???

  100. [100] 
    Michale wrote:

    After the jury began deliberations, there was a mysterious pause and after recessing the trial the judge inexplicably left the courtroom through the door reserved for jurors. That mystery was apparently solved on Friday when CNN, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, the New York Times, NBC Universal, and the Associated Press filed a motion to obtain the names and addresses of the jurors. Judge Ellis then revealed that he had received death threats and is being accompanied by federal marshals. He said the jury had expressed to him their fears for their own safety and he denied the request, as he should.
    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/08/the_story_of_ohr_and_more.html

    Pretty sad that your Democrats are so hysterical about hating President that they are sending death threats to the Manafort trial judge and jurors are scared...

    THAT is the Democrat Party today...

    And, NO ONE here condemns that...

    Strange how that is, eh? :^/

    Just like ya'all with antifa...

    I have heard ONE lame, milquetoast opposition to antifa amongst Weigantian commenters..

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    That's it... A Democrat TERRORIST organization and the "BEST" condemnation ya'all can come up with is:

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    :^/

  101. [101] 
    Michale wrote:

    The Untouchables vs. The Deplorables
    By Julie Kelly| August 18th, 2018

    Trump’s one-man crusade against The Untouchables is working. Regular Americans see this crowd’s shameless sense of entitlement and their resentment for anyone outside their circle. Their hatred for Trump is just an extension of their hatred for those he is defending. That’s why Trump will continue to fill up school auditoriums in the Midwest while The Untouchables will continue to fill up their columns with whining.
    https://amgreatness.com/2018/08/18/the-untouchables-vs-the-deplorables/

    OK, in the CALL A SPADE A SPADE department..

    President Trump was wrong..

    I am NOT getting tired of winning.. :D

  102. [102] 
    Michale wrote:
  103. [103] 
    Michale wrote:

    Chelsea Clinton: I might consider running for office - but in the future
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-6078669/Chelsea-Clinton-I-consider-running-office--future.html

    Of course.. The Democrat Clinton Dynasty MUST continue!!

    Clinton.. Putting the NASTY in Democrat Dynasty for decades....

    :^/

  104. [104] 
    Michale wrote:

    Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser
    JUNE 11, 2018
    The Italian actress and director Asia Argento was among the first women in the movie business to publicly accuse the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. She became a leading figure in the #MeToo movement. Her boyfriend, the culinary television star Anthony Bourdain, eagerly joined the fight.

    But in the months that followed her revelations about Mr. Weinstein last October, Ms. Argento quietly arranged to pay $380,000 to her own accuser: Jimmy Bennett, a young actor and rock musician who said she had sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room years earlier, when he was only two months past his 17th birthday. She was 37. The age of consent in California is 18.

    That claim and the subsequent arrangement for payments are laid out in documents between lawyers for Ms. Argento and Mr. Bennett, a former child actor who once played her son in a movie.
    https://outline.com/vB8xj8

    What IS it about Left Wingers that they wallow in blatant hypocrisy???

  105. [105] 
    Michale wrote:

    Mr. Bennett’s notice of intent asked for $3.5 million in damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, lost wages, assault and battery. Mr. Bennett made more than $2.7 million in the five years before the 2013 meeting with Ms. Argento, but his income has since dropped to an average of $60,000 a year, which he attributes to the trauma that followed the sexual encounter with Ms. Argento, his lawyer wrote.

    Of course...

    It's *NEVER* about money.. :^/

    The stench of Left Wingerism permeates and debases all it touches...

  106. [106] 
    C. R. Stucki wrote:

    Human physiology being what it is, the only way a 37 yr old woman having sex with a teenage boy can be characterized as "rape" is in the statutory sense of the word.

    The crime should be define as "seduction", not rape.

    Not that I don't believe such should be defined as illegal, but the truth is, most teenage boys would be happy to be "raped".

  107. [107] 
    Michale wrote:

    I can sum up the whole sordid story for ya'all...

    Bennet, who played little Jimmy Kirk in STAR TREK 90210, got hisself some nookie a couple months after his 17th birthday and seemed pretty content with things...

    When the Argento bimbo went public against Creep Extradionaire Weinstein, Bennet figured he could profit handsomely from his lil romp in the hay.. He could have a great piece of ass and get PAID for it besides.. Yea, we call those HOOKERS, I know..

    Democrats seem to be rife with them... But I digest..

    So, Bennet took his 380 thousand smackers and lived the high life..

    After a few years, Bennet, being the no talent one hit wonder he was, was down in the dirt again, so he figured, why not.. Let's go back to the Argenta trough and really rack up the payday to a cool 3.5 MILLION smackers.....

    And now ya'all are up to date...

    Again, this begs the question..

    What IS it with Left Wingers???

  108. [108] 
    Michale wrote:

    Human physiology being what it is, the only way a 37 yr old woman having sex with a teenage boy can be characterized as "rape" is in the statutory sense of the word.

    The crime should be define as "seduction", not rape.

    Not that I don't believe such should be defined as illegal, but the truth is, most teenage boys would be happy to be "raped".

    It's easy to define the terms..

    If it's a Right Wing female, it would be rape..

    If it's a Left Wing female, it would be seduction..

  109. [109] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    So to recap the weekend: 13 former CIA directors denounced Trump's stripping of Brennan's security clearance [see post 62], and Giuliani says "Truth isn't truth" [see post 53].

    No wonder Michale wants to talk about Asia Argento.

  110. [110] 
    Michale wrote:

    No wonder Michale wants to talk about Asia Argento

    Yea.. And that's ALL I talked about right??

    No wonder you ignore all the rest..

    So to recap the weekend: 13 former CIA directors denounced Trump's stripping of Brennan's security clearance

    Emphasis on FORMER.. They are all NeverTrumpers so their opinion means very little..

    and Giuliani says "Truth isn't truth" [see post 53].

    Guiliani likely meant, there is TRUTH and there are FACTS...

    Left Winger morons are real big on "truth"... THEIR version of "truth".. But, ironically enough, they never have any facts...

    But hay, since yer around, let me recap for you...

    After the jury began deliberations, there was a mysterious pause and after recessing the trial the judge inexplicably left the courtroom through the door reserved for jurors. That mystery was apparently solved on Friday when CNN, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, the New York Times, NBC Universal, and the Associated Press filed a motion to obtain the names and addresses of the jurors. Judge Ellis then revealed that he had received death threats and is being accompanied by federal marshals. He said the jury had expressed to him their fears for their own safety and he denied the request, as he should.
    americanthinker.com/articles/2018/08/the_story_of_ohr_and_more.html

    Pretty sad that your Democrats are so hysterical about hating President that they are sending death threats to the Manafort trial judge and jurors are scared...

    THAT is the Democrat Party today...

    And, NO ONE here condemns that...

    Strange how that is, eh? :^/

    Just like ya'all with antifa...

    I have heard ONE lame, milquetoast opposition to antifa amongst Weigantian commenters..

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    That's it... A Democrat TERRORIST organization and the "BEST" condemnation ya'all can come up with is:

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    :^/

    [ PermalinAfter the jury began deliberations, there was a mysterious pause and after recessing the trial the judge inexplicably left the courtroom through the door reserved for jurors. That mystery was apparently solved on Friday when CNN, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, the New York Times, NBC Universal, and the Associated Press filed a motion to obtain the names and addresses of the jurors. Judge Ellis then revealed that he had received death threats and is being accompanied by federal marshals. He said the jury had expressed to him their fears for their own safety and he denied the request, as he should.
    americanthinker.com/articles/2018/08/the_story_of_ohr_and_more.html

    Pretty sad that your Democrats are so hysterical about hating President that they are sending death threats to the Manafort trial judge and jurors are scared...

    THAT is the Democrat Party today...

    And, NO ONE here condemns that...

    Strange how that is, eh? :^/

    Just like ya'all with antifa...

    I have heard ONE lame, milquetoast opposition to antifa amongst Weigantian commenters..

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    That's it... A Democrat TERRORIST organization and the "BEST" condemnation ya'all can come up with is:

    "Jeeze, I wish antifa would cool it."

    :^/

    That has nothing to to with Argenta...

    All of this good news for black Americans could be a major downer for Democrats.

    Black voters are the foundation, lobby, and ceremonial entrance of the Democrat Party. Come Nov. 6, if 21 or 29 percent of black voters — or even half that number — either stay home or actually vote Republican, the Democrat skyscraper will buckle badly or tumble totally. As last week’s still-undecided U.S. House special election in Ohio confirmed, a mere 1,800 or so ballots can divide victor from vanquished. In similarly tight races, Democrats and Republicans will need every vote they can muster. Donald J. Trump’s rising popularity among blacks could augur far greater triumphs for the President and his party.

    That has nothing to do with Argenta...

    The Untouchables vs. The Deplorables
    By Julie Kelly| August 18th, 2018

    Trump’s one-man crusade against The Untouchables is working. Regular Americans see this crowd’s shameless sense of entitlement and their resentment for anyone outside their circle. Their hatred for Trump is just an extension of their hatred for those he is defending. That’s why Trump will continue to fill up school auditoriums in the Midwest while The Untouchables will continue to fill up their columns with whining.
    amgreatness.com/2018/08/18/the-untouchables-vs-the-deplorables/

    OK, in the CALL A SPADE A SPADE department..

    President Trump was wrong..

    I am NOT getting tired of winning.. :D

    These figures are splendid news for Americans of every hue. But the outlook for blacks is even sunnier. July’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for black Americans is 6.6 percent, well below Obama’s 8.4 percent in July 2016. Trump’s current black-teen jobless rate is 19.9 percent. Two Julys ago, Obama’s analogous figure was 25.7 percent.

    “This President, since he took office, in the year and a half that he’s been here, has created 700,000 new jobs for African-Americans,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told journalists on Tuesday. “When President Obama left, after eight years in office — eight years in office — he had only created 195,000 jobs for African-Americans. President Trump in his first year and a half has already tripled what President Obama did in eight years. Not only did he do that for African-Americans but for Hispanics; 1.7 million more Hispanics are working now. This is a President who cares about all Americans, who is committed to helping them, and is putting policies in place that actually do that.” These statistics help explain Trump’s 35 percent approval among Hispanics, as the NAACP survey reports.

    Blacks increasingly are profiting from this economic boom. And more and more of them recognize that President Trump and his pro-growth, pro-jobs measures deserve credit for these developments.

    Oh... SNAP ..... :D

    Once again, ya'all need to face reality...

    Patriotic Americans are winning and the hateful, intolerant and violent NeverTrumpers are LUSERS... :D

    THAT has nothing to do with Argenta...

    Deroy Murdock: Trump's job approval nearly doubles among black Americans

    THE LEFT and its henchmen in the old-guard media relentlessly insist that President Donald J. Trump is America’s racist-in-chief. This exhausted lie seems to fall on increasingly skeptical ears. And a surprising number of them are black.

    An Aug. 7 NAACP poll found that 21 percent of black registered voters approve of Trump’s job performance. Even better, in Wednesday’s Rasmussen tracking survey, 36 percent of black voters gave the President thumbs up, compared to 19 percent a year ago.

    These are not landslide numbers. And Trump’s disapproval ratings — 79 percent in NAACP’s study and 64 percent in Rasmussen’s — are daunting. Still, the fact that Trump enjoys the support of one-fifth of black voters in one poll and more than one-third in another is astonishing for someone routinely smeared as a white supremacist. These statistics should trigger klaxons at Democrat headquarters.

    Trump’s progress among this demographic strongly suggests that his policies are serving all Americans, including blacks.
    unionleader.com/article/20180817/OPINION02/180819597/1004/opinion

    Democrats are losing black American support hand over fist.. :D

    Without the black American vote, Democrats will wither and fade.. :D

    Face reality, people...

    Ya'all are LOSING the battle... President Trump is winning over ALL Americans and the Hysterican NeverTrumpers are being exposed for the hateful and intolerant frauds that they are...

    THAT has nothing to do with Argenta

    Why is San Francisco ... covered in human feces?
    Nathan Robinson

    People aren’t pooping on the streets because they unlearned basic hygiene. Rather, the incidents reflect shameful levels of inequality in the city

    It’s an empirical fact: San Francisco is a crappier place to live these days. Sightings of human feces on the sidewalks are now a regular occurrence; over the past 10 years, complaints about human waste have increased 400%.
    theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/18/san-francisco-poop-problem-inequality-homelessness

    Yea... Democrat-run San Francisco is such a LOVELY place... :^/

    And THAT has nothing to do with Argenta...

    So, as I have proven once again, you are spewing nothing but bullshit... :D

    Now, you want to address any of these FACTS??

    Or just run away like you usually do?? :D

    I'll be around.. :D

  111. [111] 
    neilm wrote:
  112. [112] 
    neilm wrote:

    “President Trump is welcome to march in the parade all by himself if he would finally like to enlist,” the statement read.

    Har har.

  113. [113] 
    John M wrote:

    [110] C. R. Stucki

    "Human physiology being what it is, the only way a 37 yr old woman having sex with a teenage boy can be characterized as "rape" is in the statutory sense of the word.

    The crime should be define as "seduction", not rape."

    UH NO. While not technically rape, the crime is still SEXUAL ASSAULT because of the minor child, who, despite how willing a partner they are, has been determined by adults to not be able to give informed consent because of their age and immaturity.

    "Not that I don't believe such should be defined as illegal, but the truth is, most teenage boys would be happy to be "raped"."

    Most gay teenage boys would also be happy to engage in sexual contact with adults as well, but I don't see anyone arguing in their favor. In fact, just the opposite happens whenever the subject is even brought up. With a vehement negative reaction in fact. Why is that? Double standard much??? Or is that just straight male privilege???

  114. [114] 
    neilm wrote:

    Wow, Michale is really insecure - based on column inches alone he is about as scared as Treasonous Trump. The deflections (SF streets, etc.) show his level of desperation is only getting more extreme.

    Calm down buddy - you must have known from day one that you were supporting a con man. What did you think was going to happen? You might want to chat to a doctor about some chill pills in case the Democrats win the House in November and the real fun starts.

  115. [115] 
    neilm wrote:

    Treasonous Trump: "I'll talk to Mueller, I'm innocent and I've got nothing to hide".

    His lawyers: "Hell no."

    Treasonous Trump should fire his lawyers and follow his instincts - isn't that what his fanboys love about him? And there is no such thing as a "perjury trap" if you are innocent and just tell the truth.

  116. [116] 
    Michale wrote:

    Military Refuses to Participate in Trump’s Parade, Citing Bone Spurs

    https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/military-refuses-to-participate-in-trumps-parade-citing-bone-spurs

    Another bullshit claim you try to pass off as fact...

  117. [117] 
    Michale wrote:

    Wow, Michale is really insecure - based on column inches alone he is about as scared as Treasonous Trump. The deflections (SF streets, etc.) show his level of desperation is only getting more extreme.

    yea, that's what you usually claim when I have bitch-slapped you so hard yer stuttering like a blubbering fool.. :D

    Howz that "slam dunk" Manafort trial going for ya??

    Jurors are wanting to know about reasonable doubt.. :D

    Yer gonna look SO foolish when Manafort walks...

    Not that THAT is any change for ya'all :D

  118. [118] 
    Michale wrote:

    UH NO. While not technically rape, the crime is still SEXUAL ASSAULT because of the minor child,

    OK So, you concede it's NOT rape..

    OK good..

  119. [119] 
    Michale wrote:

    Or is that just straight male privilege???

    As opposed to the FEMALE privilege this Left Winger took???

    Do you REALLY want to take her side??

    Color me shocked...

  120. [120] 
    John M wrote:

    [123] Michale

    "Color me shocked..."

    Color me shocked. NOT!!! That you once again miss the POINT I was making.

    Which was the hypocrisy in Stucki's position of it being perfectly fine with him for an adult to assault a child as long as:

    1) The adult was female and

    2) The child was a straight teenage boy

    But would apparently be WRONG for everyone else....

    Would Stucki still be perfectly fine with it if it was

    1) A 40 to 45 year old adult male and

    2) a gay teenage boy instead???

  121. [121] 
    Michale wrote:

    So, neil.. You want to talk about President Trump's meteoric rise in popularity amongst blacks and hispanics??

    Not too bad for a POTUS that *YOU* claim is the biggest most obvious racist in history..

    So, either YOU are spewing bullshit and lies as usual...

    OR...

    You are claiming that black Americans by the tens of thousands are full of shit.. Which, between you and me..... sounds kinda racist....

    So, which is it???

  122. [122] 
    John M wrote:

    [112] Michale

    "It's easy to define the terms..

    If it's a Right Wing female, it would be rape..

    If it's a Left Wing female, it would be seduction.."

    UH again NO. It would STILL be sexual assault in either case.

  123. [123] 
    Michale wrote:

    Which was the hypocrisy in Stucki's position of it being perfectly fine with him for an adult to assault a child as long as:

    Apparently, it was perfectly fine with the boy at the time as well...

    He was probably BRAGGING about it to his buddies..

    THEN he realized he could make some money off of it..

    Would Stucki still be perfectly fine with it if it was

    1) A 40 to 45 year old adult male and

    2) a gay teenage boy instead???

    Are you asserting Male Privilege here???

  124. [124] 
    Michale wrote:

    UH again NO. It would STILL be sexual assault in either case.

    Of course, that is the FACT...

    Just as it is ALSO a fact that, if it was a Right Wing female you Democrats would be screaming RAPE....

  125. [125] 
    John M wrote:

    [118] neilm

    "Wow, Michale is really insecure - based on column inches alone he is about as scared as Treasonous Trump.

    Calm down buddy - you must have known from day one that you were supporting a con man. What did you think was going to happen? You might want to chat to a doctor about some chill pills in case the Democrats win the House in November and the real fun starts."

    Neilm is right Michale. Take a chill pill. We all know you are frantic trying to twist yourself into knots to justify your support of Trump with half truths but don't have a stroke over it!

  126. [126] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    They are all NeverTrumpers so their opinion means very little..

    I don't recall that you emphasized the 'former' in Admiral Mullen's title when you posted his defense of Trump.

    I imagine that the others are NeverTrumpers because they know what a danger Trump is to our national security. Even Patraeus.

    Guiliani likely meant, there is TRUTH and there are FACTS...

    ..and there is bullshit. Giuliani and Trump trade in the latter. As Lincoln pointed out once, you can't expect most folks to ignore reality forever.

    But hay, since yer around, let me recap for you...

    Yeah, I caught your cavalcade of Right wing media tidbits. Everybody in the news gets death threats these days. Blacks aren't leaving the Democratic party no matter how many times you click your heels together. And because it has good weather nearly year-round, San Francisco has had an endemic homeless problem practically since its founding, which has been exacerbated lately by skyrocketing housing prices, jacked up by well paid Silicon Valley employees vying for city apartments.

    Have I covered everything, or do we have to go back to the story about the actor suing the hotter, richer, actress for imposing 'emotional distress' by sleeping with him?

  127. [127] 
    neilm wrote:

    So, neil.. You want to talk about President Trump's meteoric rise in popularity amongst blacks and hispanics??

    Sure, on November 7th.

  128. [128] 
    John M wrote:

    [128] Michale

    "Just as it is ALSO a fact that, if it was a Right Wing female you Democrats would be screaming RAPE...."

    Please don't define terms for me, put words in my mouth or try to explain my position to me. You have a bad habit of doing that which you have been talk to about before.

    You lump me in with all Democrats screaming rape when I have already told you more than once that as a Democrat I would call it sexual assault not rape.

  129. [129] 
    Michale wrote:

    Neilm is right Michale. Take a chill pill. We all know you are frantic trying to twist yourself into knots to justify your support of Trump with half truths but don't have a stroke over it!

    This is no different than any other Monday..

    I lay out the facts and ya'all do yer best to IGNORE the facts and silence me.. :D

    For example.. President Trump is enjoying increased popularity amongst black and hispanic Americans..

    "BE QUIET!!!! WE ORDER YOU TO BE QUIET!!!"
    -Weigantian Peanut Gallery...

    Face reality, people.. Nov 2018 is going to be EXACTLY like Nov 2016....

  130. [130] 
    Michale wrote:

    Yeah, I caught your cavalcade of Right wing media tidbits.

    So, you admit you were lying when you said all I posted was about that Left Wing bimbo, Argenta....

    Glad to hear you can admit it..

  131. [131] 
    Michale wrote:

    neilm wrote:
    So, neil.. You want to talk about President Trump's meteoric rise in popularity amongst blacks and hispanics??

    Sure, on November 7th.

    Yea, I can understand why you don't want to talk about the FACTS now..

    Because it shows your ENTIRE hysterical Anti-Trump campaign is nothing but bullshit.. :D

  132. [132] 
    Michale wrote:

    You lump me in with all Democrats screaming rape when I have already told you more than once that as a Democrat I would call it sexual assault not rape.

    Unless it was a RIGHT Wing female..

    THEN you would call it rape..

    Just like when you claimed, in response to President Trump's meteoric popularity amongst black Americans, that President Trump was "run of the mill" when it comes to racism..

    Yet, you have claimed in the past that President Trump is an obvious and blatant racist..

    Like then, you are wanting to have it both ways..

    And I won't let you... :D

  133. [133] 
    Michale wrote:

    Asia Argento delivers searing speech calling Cannes festival Weinstein's 'hunting ground'
    “And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women," she added.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/asia-argento-delivers-searing-speech-calling-cannes-festival-weinstein-s-n875846

    Of course, according to this Left Winger hypocrite, sexual misconduct BY women is perfectly acceptable...

    She is the quintessential Democrat, even if she is not part of the Democrat Party...

    Be proud, Democrats... Ya'all are WELL represented... :D

  134. [134] 
    neilm wrote:

    Oh, and Michale, for your health, avoid any news about McGhan for a few days.

  135. [135] 
    Michale wrote:

    Neilm is right Michale. Take a chill pill.

    TRANSLATION:

    "For the love of all that is holy, Michale!!! Please PLEASE give us a break!!! You are kicking all of our asses up one side and down the other and we can't handle it!!!! Please, PLEASE STOP!!!! We're losing it!!!"

    Well, since ya'all put it like that... I get it.. To many FACTS that ya'all simply CANNOT address is bound to be wearing on ya'all...

    I wouldn't want ya'all to pull a Hodgkison or some other normal Democrat Party response...

    I'll cut ya'all some slack....

    Don't say I never do anything for ya'all....

  136. [136] 
    Michale wrote:

    Liz,

    PLEASE tell me you have seen Infinity War... :D I am just dying to talk to someone about it!! :D

    Barring that, we can talk about the blazing racism of BLACK PANTHER..

  137. [137] 
    neilm wrote:

    Because it shows your ENTIRE hysterical Anti-Trump campaign is nothing but bullshit.. :D

    Well, that is one interpretation. Another is that I'm just patient. I'm patient when it comes to Mueller. I'm patient when it comes to Manafort's verdict, and I'm patient when it comes to seeing the real numbers of minorities who vote Republican in November.

    Mind you, I live in California where patience can be procured for 50 cents a day ;)

  138. [138] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    neil [141]: Yep. As CW pointed out a few columns ago, we're in the 'silly season' right now anyway.

    Manafort verdict should be in soon, tho...

  139. [139] 
    Michale wrote:

    Manafort verdict should be in soon, tho...

    If it was the "slam dunk" verdict ya'all CLAIMED it to be, it would have been in already..

    Once again..

    Ya'all were WRONG.....

  140. [140] 
    neilm wrote:

    If it was the "slam dunk" verdict ya'all CLAIMED it to be, it would have been in already..

    No, it wouldn't. Your desperation is getting you over excited. Be patient.

    The Oliver North case (1989) took a jury 12 days to deliberate in a case with 12 counts. The Scooter Libby case (2007) took 10 days of deliberations in a case with five counts. This case has 18 counts, supported largely by scores of documents. The judge prevented the prosecutors from showing some of the evidence to the jury during the trial, which means they are looking at some of it for the first time. They must carefully match the evidence with the counts before they can reach a judgment on any count. That’s what they are doing, and it is not at all surprising that this process will take some time.

    You could speculate that there’s some dynamic involving a holdout, but the better fit with the facts is that they’re just moving through methodically and this is how long it would take.

    Then there would be two kinds of holdouts: One would be a person or persons who are genuinely unpersuaded about one count or another, and then they’d talk it through, and they would take more time. Then there’s the possibility that I speculated on: that there’s a classic holdout, somebody who, for non-merits-driven reasons, doesn’t want to convict, and that could emerge. But now there’s no particularly good proof of that. I think we just have a conscientious jury.

  141. [141] 
    Michale wrote:

    I think we just have a conscientious jury.

    I'll remind you of that claim when they let Manafort walk and then you start trashing them... :D

  142. [142] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Manafort's defense team will certainly appeal in the case of a conviction, even a partial one, based on the behavior of the Judge. This one was exotic, to say the least. I understand that his behavior has been challenged on Appeal before, to no avail.

    I makes sense because one thing that I learned about lawyers when I worked for them was that some of them take particular pleasure in driving on the edge of the cliff, so to speak. They use their knowledge of where the boundary lines are to their advantage whenever they can. It's their superpower.

    One they mainly aggravate each other with all day long. What a world.

  143. [143] 
    Balthasar wrote:

    Should have read: Which makes sense, because..

  144. [144] 
    neilm wrote:

    I'll remind you of that claim when they let Manafort walk and then you start trashing them... :D

    I'll remind you of this if they convict and you start attacking them.

  145. [145] 
    BigGuy wrote:

    I enjoyed reading Jenifer Rubin's piece containing responses from Mayor Garcetti to five economic questions and her reactions to those responses. The article contains a link to a similar piece with Senator Warren. Hopefully she will do the same with Republicans from the center-right and further right.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/08/20/los-angeles-mayor-eric-garcetti-responds-to-our-policy-questions/?utm_term=.1c4e4c028681

  146. [146] 
    Michale wrote:

    I'll remind you of this if they convict and you start attacking them.

    Regardless of how the jury goes, they have my respect for standing strong in the face of Democrat Party/Antifa terrorism..

  147. [147] 
    Michale wrote:

    Terrorism that YA'ALL... save LB... have yet to condemn...

  148. [148] 
    Michale wrote:

    Terrorism that YA'ALL... save LB... have yet to condemn...

    Funny how that is, eh? :^/

  149. [149] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    I see Michale's paranoia of a left-wing conspiracy forcing Manafort to live a lavish lifestyle for the the past 20 years off the avails of corruption is alive and drudgetarded.

    Glad to see all is well in Trumplandia.

    LL&P

  150. [150] 
    BigGuy wrote:

    The rush to judgement on the Manafort trial is perplexing. The results from not guilty to guilty of between one and 18 counts will be rendered by twelve persons who heard all of the testimony, reviewed the evidence and fully discussed the issues. Anyone who goes beyond "Man I thought he would be found ..." would seem to have little faith in our criminal justice system. Any similarity between this thought and anyone on this blog is merely coincidental.

    People seem to base their for/against decision on the source of the indictments.

  151. [151] 
    neilm wrote:

    Anyone who goes beyond "Man I thought he would be found ..." would seem to have little faith in our criminal justice system.

    Well said. My only concern is that the system is influenced by political considerations by one or more jurors.

  152. [152] 
    Kick wrote:

    neilm
    115

    Military Refuses to Participate in Trump’s Parade, Citing Bone Spurs

    *laughs*

  153. [153] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    [154-5]

    Call me a naive romantic, but isn't that one of the few contributions to a criminal proceeding the Judge can call his own...to explain what constitutes a crime, parse the meaning of 'reasonable doubt' and decide what's relevantly evidentiary for the jury to consider?

    Juries are supposed to be pure as driven snow, childlike in their wonder of the world, and equally unbiased. In the case of Manafort, and in 2021, when Trump stands trial for his myriad of financial crimes, the judge will reiterate to the jury what the DA has explained as to their reason for being there...'it's a crime to hide money in offshore accounts with the intent to defraud the American people of taxable income'...'it's also a crime to falsify earnings and equity to secure loans from banks'...'it's an added bonus crime if you engage the US Postal Service and it's subsidiaries in the commission of these crimes'...White collar crime is notoriously easy to prove, paper-trails rarely lie.

    LL&P

  154. [154] 
    Kick wrote:

    neilm
    144

    Excellent summation by Neil all the way around. Only thing I would add is that there are around 300+ exhibits. The prosecutors had about 500 exhibits, but the judge kept hurrying them along and telling them they had introduced enough. There isn't a set of exhibits for every juror so imagine how much time it takes for each of them to methodically review these exhibits.

    Heads up for Manafort's next trial: I hear there are 3 times the number of exhibits at around 1,000. Can you image that pile of paper for each juror to go through? Nobody light a match in the jury room. :)

  155. [155] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    [156]

    I laughed aloud at that also. In petulant huff, trump then harrumphed to no one listening, much less caring, that he'd instead slope off to France where they really know how to throw a parade.

    Montgomery sneered at a VE parade in Paris, he was overheard asking his Bat-man if the French Army walked backwards during parades, to create the illusion of marching forwards.

    Now that's a parade worthy of Private-no-Class-Trump.

    LL&P

  156. [156] 
    Kick wrote:

    James T Canuck
    153

    ***** ***** *****
    drudgetarded
    ^^^^^ ^^^^^

    I can't stop laughing. :)

  157. [157] 
    Kick wrote:

    BigGuy
    154

    People seem to base their for/against decision on the source of the indictments.

    Ahem. Not to poke a hole in your theory or anything, but I saw 3/4 of the exhibits. So there's that. :)

  158. [158] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    [160]

    Indeed, Kick...In my unofficial, self appointed role of 'Cosmic Karmic Stabilizer' I periodically make my presence known in random right-wing sites sprinkled around the web. I joyfully weave my own brand of subtle disdain into the fabric of the conservative consciousnesses I encounter. To that end, I felt a familiarization of the Urban Dictionary would bolster my Quiver.

    Today's quote-bomb seemed apropos, considering the kerfuffle over Brennan's security revocation...

    "L'acte le plus courageux, c'est encore de penser par soi-meme. A voix haute."

    'The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.' (Coco Chanel)

    LL&P

  159. [159] 
    Michale wrote:

    Oh, and Michale, for your health, avoid any news about McGhan for a few days.

    You mean President Trump's White House Lawyer McGhan??

    The McGhan who stated unequivocally for the record that he never saw President Trump go beyond his authority??

    That McGhan??

    President Trump must be pretty confident to waive ALL privileges and allow McGhan to be interviewed by Loves Child Pornographers Mueller..

    Is THAT the McGhan you are referring to???

    Why would that bother me?? I think it's great..

    Since Mueller can interview Trump's White House lawyer to such an extent, he now knows all that is knowable and can wrap up this witch hunt and issue his report..

    By the 1st Sep deadline too! :D

  160. [160] 
    Michale wrote:

    Israel eases gun controls following lone-wolf attacks
    https://www.france24.com/en/20180821-israel-eases-gun-controls-following-lone-wolf-attacks

    And THAT is how you handle gun violence...

    It's funny.. Hysterical Anti-Gun Democrats scoff at the idea of putting more "good guys" with guns on the street..

    Yet they have no problem with putting more "good guys" with guns *AND* badges on the street...

    So, obviously the GUN is not the problem...

    "Simple logic"
    -Admiral James T Kirk

    :D

  161. [161] 
    Michale wrote:

    Interesting to note, since I KNOW ya'all love polls.. :D

    According to the RCP Poll Of Polls..

    21 Aug 2018... President Trump approval rating is 43.6%

    21 Aug 2011... Barack Odumbo's approval rating was at 43.5%

    So, apparently, President Trump is a slightly bit better POTUS than Barack Odumbo was..

    BBBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    So much for ya'all's claim that President Trump is the WORST POTUS ever... Because, if factually accurate THAT means that ODUMBO was worse!!!!

    BBBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    Oh my... How do ya'all handle the SHAME and EMBARRASSMENT!!??? :D

  162. [162] 
    Michale wrote:

    You see, THIS is exactly what ya'all's problem is..

    You make SO many hysterical claims about President Trump, claims that ya'all say are obvious and plain..

    Yet, the claims are COMPLETELY unsupported by the facts and by reality..

    For example, ya'all claim that President Trump is the most blatant and obvious racist in the history of racism..

    Yet, Trump has been HONORED by black Americans for his LIFE TIME OF SERVICE to black Americans.. Yet, President Trump's support by black Americans has almost **TRIPLED** since he took office...

    So, the FACTS put lie to ya'all's claims that President Trump is a blatant and obvious racist..

    Another example..

    Ya'all hysterically claim that President Trump is the most stoopidest and blatantly incompetent President in the history of the Presidency..

    Yet, his approval numbers are as good or even BETTER than Odumbo's numbers were..

    Once again, ya'all make a hysterical claim.... And the FACTS completely and utterly destroy that claim as bullshit...

    Ya'all's problem is that you see things as you WISH them to be, not as they really are...

    This is an ongoing problem which belies the claim that this forum is "reality based"...

    If this were an actual REALITY BASED forum, then these FACTS about President Trump would be acknowledged...

    Even during the Bush years, those that were here at that time grudgingly gave credit where credit was due... Ya'all conceded that, yes, Bush did have some victories and good points because *THAT* was the reality...

    If an alien came to earth and ONLY got it's news from Weigantia, it's perception would be so far whacked out from reality as to be in a different galaxy...

    I miss the days where reality was king around here...

    Now it's just HHPTDS, day in and day out....

  163. [163] 
    Kick wrote:

    James T Canuck
    162

    "L'acte le plus courageux, c'est encore de penser par soi-meme. A voix haute."

    Cela devient un problème quand le "penseur" le plus bruyant est un imbécile répétitif qui ne sait pas qu'il est stupide.

    Donc il y a ça. :)

  164. [164] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    [167]

    Kick...Touche, bien joue.

    However, I think the emphasis is more on the courage aspect, not the dodgy content of the outburst. :)

    LL&P

  165. [165] 
    Kick wrote:

    Jury: What if we can't come to a consensus on one count?

    Sounds like they have a verdict on 17 counts. Or... if you read it a different way... they can't come to a consensus on a single count [not likely].

    I would wager they have a verdict on 17 counts. We'll see. :)

  166. [166] 
    Kick wrote:

    Sounds to me like Manafort's going to walk...

  167. [167] 
    Kick wrote:

    His ass back to jail for a very long time.

  168. [168] 
    Michale wrote:

    HUNG? Manafort jury suggests they 'cannot come to a consensus on a single count'...
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/21/manafort-jury-suggests-they-cannot-come-to-a-consensus-on-a-single-count/

    BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA

    Once again.. Ya'all saw things as ya'all WISHED them to be and swore up and down it's a "slam dunk" case..

    I looked at the FACTS and at REALITY and predicted an acquittal or a hung jury...

    And, once again, YA'ALL were wrong and I was dead on ballz accurate...

    "When will you people learn. {I am} NEVER outgunned!!!"
    -Fred Ward, OFF LIMITS

    I'll expect your concessions.. :D

  169. [169] 
    Kick wrote:

    Michale
    172

    I looked at the FACTS and at REALITY and predicted an acquittal or a hung jury...

    Well, he DID predict an acquittal or a hung jury on ALL 18 counts and kept whining incessantly: "Manafort will walk."

    I'll expect your concessions.. :D

    I concede that I never in my life met a "law enforcement officer" who would actually predict an acquittal on ALL 18 counts of a tax and bank fraud case when tax fraud can be proven easily with the tangible evidence of tax returns and bank statements alone; it would truly defy logic, but obviously anything can happen if there's a moron on the jury who ignores the evidence. :)

  170. [170] 
    Kick wrote:
  171. [171] 
    Kick wrote:
  172. [172] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    The Manafort jury are mildly at odds over one charge and the great unwashed are elated and somehow vindicated that Trump and his fellow yellow jump-suit models are the angels they claim to be...lol

    Meanwhile, back in the world, the one where truth has no sliding scale of definition...Cohen--- the decent then inveterate liar, depending on when you plug into the giddy Trumpian farce, has conceded that his former benefactor has sold him off like a rented mule---has opted for striped sunlight.

    I feel sorry for Trump, all these villains around him and he knew none of it. Poor guy...let down by everyone but the hangman.

    Infamy---infamy...they all have it in for me.

    LL&P

  173. [173] 
    neilm wrote:

    The jury’s note to Judge Ellis asked:

    “If we cannot come to a consensus on a single count, how should we fill out the jury verdict sheet for that count, and what does that mean for the final verdict?”

    It reads as one count out of 18, not all counts.

  174. [174] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    My math isn't strong, but by reckoning has Manafort convicted for enough greasy shit to spend the rest of his twitchy life behind bars. He might even convince himself that being Trump's campaign manager wasn't the best hiding place for someone with so much to hide...there's more of this bent reasoning to come, methinks.

    LL&P (live long [in] prison)

  175. [175] 
    James T Canuck wrote:

    Michale...Tired of all the winning yet? 16 felony convictions/pleas in one day. Two intimates of Trump who, according to Mr 'I will get the best people', a few short weeks ago were being treated badly.

    Spin your conspiracies all you want, this can't be explained away. Birds of a feather...etc.

    Face the facts, Trump has been feeding silage to the herd since day one, and no doubt will blame everyone but himself for this day's justice.

    I presage thus; Trump and his stalwarts will insist none of today's revelations connect to Trump or any collusion with Russians. Manafort will be elevated to martyr status as a victim of the deep state. Cohen was always a crook and was lying when he took a plea to save his skin...Above all else...NO COLLUSION.

    Trump only has one play, lie enough and eventually enough idiots start believing the lie, starting with Trump himself.

    I'm guessing you're staying the order for our concessions at this time?

    LL& suck it

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