Monday, December 31, 2018

Trump goes off in an all-caps New Year's Eve Twitter meltdown: 'MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL'


Nothing like harboring a fugitive at Mar-A-Lago. At least the @FBI knows where he’s at. Odd Mr. Trump doesn’t have ICE deporting him though. Bad look for @POTUS on many scores.


NARRATOR: There are in fact no "heads of countries" calling asking why Sen. Schumer is not approving "otherwise approved Ambassadors." The heads of other countries know that McConnell, not Schumer, is majority leader, and that there is only a 50-vote threshold for confirmations.


"I suspect that most Republicans, and most people in general, haven’t the slightest idea of how bad things may well get for the GOP. We could witness a schism over Trump that ultimately leads to the downfall of the party, akin to the Whigs of the 1850s"


Rep. Debbie Dingell: "Right now, we have a Republican President, Republican House, Republican Senate. They're in control."


BREAKING: US stocks suffer worst year since 2008 financial crisis; S&P 500 sees 6.2 percent annual drop, Dow falls 5.6 percent.


China 'releases' Canadian teacher Sarah McIver


For now, the fate of LGBT workplace rights lies in Mitch McConnell's hands


Trump claims there’s a 10-foot wall around the Obamas’ D.C. home. He is wrong.


Syrian President Bashar Assad authorizes Iraqi forces to strike the Islamic State group


Israel's Netanyahu said would not resign during possible indictment hearing


Trump to appear on Fox News for New Year's Eve special


Elizabeth Warren said her 2020 campaign's central issue is the skyrocketing costs of housing, healthcare and education. "It has been decades in which profits have gone through the roof and workers' incomes have stayed flat," she continued


#Russia's state TV, July 2018: Lawmaker Leonid Kalashnikov re: Maria #Butina's arrest: "Let's arrest an American here and that's it... They arrested Butina, let's immediately arrest some Amerikashka here."


Interesting update - Sam Patten knows a lot Patten worked with Konstantin Kilimnik and Paul Manafort, was a consultant for Cambridge Analytica, worked on mayoral campaign of Vitalii Klitschko who had also been supported by Dmitry Firtash and Rudy Giuliani & knew Rinat Akhmetshin


Trump-Pelosi showdown over shutdown the first battle of new era:


At midnight, the military-industrial complex about which Dwight Eisenhower warned 58 years ago will be fully realized. A 31-year employee of Boeing—who joined Trump’s team with no military or foreign policy experience—will take charge of the Pentagon


Interesting. Government just filed a joint status report under seal for Sam Patten, a Manafort/Kilimnik associate who pleaded guilty in August to failing to register as a foreign agent and admitted to steering foreign funds to Trump's inaugural. He's been cooperating ever since.


From the Editorial Board: Is Russia about to invade Ukraine again? That may depend on Trump.


Trump: I Should Be a ‘National Hero’


#TeamPatriot knows #WeStandWithCanada and Xi and all his regime should understand what happened to their APT10 hackers can happen to them - individually tracked, named, sanctioned and worse, if they touch a hair on the head of Canadian civilians


Larry Behrendt, who practiced law for more than 30 years in New York and California, filed one of the 83 misconduct complaints against Brett Kavanaugh. Writing for The Post, he says they should not have been dismissed.


State Dept. Was Granted $120 Million to Fight Russian Meddling. It Has Spent $0. - The New York Times


the president just tweeted that he was in the oval, but no marine outside the west wing


Mom, Billy’s Dad is here to pick me up..


Twenty Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bernie Sanders


Republicans are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Trump tax cuts. They shouldnt be.


Walmart gains patent to eavesdrop on shoppers and employees in stores


Russian ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky tells me: “Ukraine is our territory, part of our country.” Easy to dismiss as populist rant, but a recent poll found Zhirinovsky to be Russia’s 2nd most trusted politician. His party is very much part of Russia’s political system.


The Day Trump Never Stopped Tweeting


Gen. @MarkHertling: "You combine not only Stanley McChrystal but Bill McCraven, Secretary Mattis, John Kelly and you say well a lot of people are saying not only is there a leadership void, but there's also a lack of understanding of the intellectual requirements of the job"


Week 84: This Was the Year Mueller Made the Liars Writhe


With the standoff over the shutdown lengthening, early polling shows that Trump is paying a political price


.@realDonaldTrump is an angry, emotional, unstable man who shut down the government because he is scared of folks like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. 800K+ Americans lost their paychecks over the holidays because Trump is a weak man who’s unfit to serve.


"This is James Mattis' last day on the job," reports @barbarastarrcnn. "At midnight tonight there will be a phone call initiated by the Pentagon Communications team... and there will be that transfer of power"


Trump’s presidential legacy is already etched in dirty air and rancid rivers


Russia's detention of U.S. citizen comes amid intensifying tensions


The suddenness and ferocity for which the Bernie-left attacked Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke recently— backed by bots and Russian trolls— shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s 2015-2016 all over again with the sabotaging of Democratic candidates who can win nationally.


Canada stood up for the rule of law. If China thinks they can bully them into submission, then it’s time to remind Beijing that #WeStandWithCanada. Let’s ensure they get the message, patriots. The rule of law and our shared values are worth defending.


You know what? I’m thinking China might not so boldly trumpet this strategy if MBS hasn’t been given the enthusiastic murder/torture green light by Trump & henchmen.


Kellyanne Conway criticized @NancyPelosi for visiting Hawaii during the shutdown, while chillin’ in Florida waiting for Trump’s NYE party. Classic @GOP hypocrisy


Leg-breaking Russian thugs: Paul Manafort pressured by Russians to pay back debt while Trump's campaign chair, Time magazine says


John Kelly was known to tell aides that he had the "worst job in the world," and frequently told people that Donald Trump was not up to role of president, two former administration officials said


Today was cool. We stopped at Jeffrey Epstein’s house.


Identity of Russian ex-spy who served as Manafort's main foreign contact during 2016 election revealed as Viktor Boyakin


Written with my friend & former senior DoD official Mike Vickers. We’re not arguing for a best way to keep the pressure on, just that we do so. Having said that, it would be wise for the President to rethink the troop withdrawals from Syria & Afghanistan.


Russia’s FSB has detained a U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, on espionage charges


Opinion: We are living in a new gilded age. 2018 proves it.


Last surviving prosecutor at Nuremberg trials says Trump's family separation policy is ‘crime against humanity’


President Trump's acting secretary of defense will step into the role with no foreign policy or military experience


Lindsey Graham: "To my Democratic friends, there will never be a deal without wall funding and many Republicans are going to offer something as an incentive to vote for wall funding that you have supported in the past."


Belarus warns Putin is destroying countries to re-create Soviet bloc under Russian flag


2018: The Year in Trump Lies


Lindsey Graham has turned into a total buffoon. "I learned a lot from President Trump" has never been uttered by anyone....until now.


"Snowflake is a word used by sociopaths in an attempt to discredit the notion of empathy." - John Cleese


Russia Detains U.S. Citizen in Moscow on Suspicion of Espionage. Looks like Putin wants a hostage for leverage purposes. Generally countries kick out suspected foreign spies, not arrest them


China could execute a Canadian for drug smuggling -- in escalation of Huawei dispute.

ICYMI

Chief of Staff John Kelly to leave White House by end of month, Trump says. In recent times, the president has often spent only 6 or 7 hrs in the Oval Office daily. Kelly told others that the less time Trump spent in the Oval Office, the better


House Dems are scooping up staff and lawyers to power Trump investigations. One job posting asked for counsels with a variety of expertise: "criminal law, immigration law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, commercial and administrative law."


Mar a Lago WIFI by Cloud4 - a major partner with Russia's biggest mobile/cell network.


Report: Alabama sheriff pocketed $1.5 million for jailing ICE detainees


Guns are the second leading killer of U.S. kids, after car crashes, according to a new report


A Holiday Mystery: Why Did John Roberts Intervene in the Mueller Probe?


Bernie alumni seek meeting to address 'sexual violence' on ‘16 campaign


Clarence Thomas's wife facing scrutiny for spreading far-right stances on social media


Trump tweeted this 2 years ago right now, during a transition period in which his incoming national security adviser was having secret conversations with the Russian ambassador that he later lied to FBI agents about.


Manhunt underway in Texas for man who gunned down 7-year-old girl


So are we staying? Or are we still going? Kind of both? Maybe neither? Is Lindsey now Secretary of State? American foreign policy = dumpster fire


Trump's lies sometimes seem strategic. But polls shows that most Americans see right through it & realize he's untrustworthy.


Congratulations @SpeakerRyan on your retirement. Please take with you the knowledge that when you left, the government was shutdown, an incompetent traitor was president, the country’s debt was higher than its ever been, & you did nothing. You were the worst Speaker in history.


So totalitarian dictatorship China thinks it’s a good idea to execute Canadian citizens in retaliation for the lawful prosecution of their ‘agent’ and Huawei Executive, Meng Wazhou. It isn’t. If China crosses that line, they will regret it.


John Kelly, who is leaving the White House imminently, occasionally told others that the less time Trump spent in the Oval the better, and that the president did not really understand how the government worked.


Half of residents in 11 Southern states believe that the US was founded as an explicitly Christian nation The view is a crux of Christian Nationalism, a belief system that supports the idea the US should be governed as an explicitly Christian nation


Judge says Affordable Care Act can remain law while his ruling that its unconstitutional is appealed


His disorders are acute. He's very dangerous. Mad with fear. Legal and criminal exposure. A lifetime of lies. A malignant narcissist will fight, distract, double down. His mental state NEEDS to be discussed by experts. #UNFIT. Click, watch trailer, support


A former NSA contractor's Twitter messages played a role in the NSA hacking-tools leak probe, according to a federal judge