Wednesday, January 8, 2020

I just can’t tolarite him.


So it wasn’t just me? I wondered whether I was imagining things, but it truly upset me to watch the man in the White House look and sound, well . . . tranquilized. The fact that lots of others sensed the same thing is creepy at best. We need to know more.


Breaking sniff count.


AP FACT CHECK: Trump's mistold tale of Obama and Iran. "Trump ... assailed the Obama administration for being hoodwinked by Iran, making his case with a frequently told and false story about the U.S. giving billions of dollars to Tehran."


Sen. Joe Manchin, a member of the Armed Services Committee, on whether he saw evidence of justification for Soleimani strike: "No, I did not."


Those of us who lived through the Cheney lies of 2003 must not allow America to relive them in 2020. We must call out the lies at every turn lest they cost US and the Middle East more lives and trillions of dollars in blood and treasure


WE OUTNUMBER Trump supporters by at least 5 to 1. But they do not want you to know that. 75% of USA is made up of women, non-whites, & veterans, few who support trump. The leaves the 25% white males, less than half who are MAGAts. So why are we tolerating trump? RISE UP


Arizona official resigns months after being charged with running a human smuggling operation that paid pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to give up their babies in the U.S.


Al Asad Airbase is the US base that POTUS visited in Christmas 2018. That’s the symbolism.


Schiff: "If McConnell really wants to follow the Clinton precedent, then he should be demanding that all those documents be provided now. But of course he isn't. He wants to have it both ways. What he really wants to do is give the appearance of" a trial.


For those who missed it, watch the Joint Chiefs faces when he mentions hypersonic weapons


Trump’s ramblin’ 10 minute speech summarized into 4 words? I. Have. No. Plan.


The Soleimani saga shows how desperately our country needs a president we and the world can trust. The Ukraine scandal explains why we don’t have one, writes


A bipartisan group of campaign finance lawyers is urging the White House and congressional leaders to “work together and immediately” to restore a voting quorum on the Federal Election Commission


Even wars have rules. #NotATarget


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Sen. Mitch McConnell to "immediately" publish the resolution detailing the rules for the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, saying that needs to happen before the impeachment articles are sent to the Senate


A mysterious virus in central China has infected dozens, raising fears of a new epidemic. Here's what to know


Everything we know about the plane crash in Iran that killed 176 people


This video purports to show the Iranian attack against U.S. forces stationed in Iraq. The IRGC said the attack was "a total success," Trump tweeted "All is well!" adding, "So far, so good" regarding casualties.


I don’t speak Arabic, so I can’t say if google translate is accurate here; however, this a a verified account saying Iran shot down @Ukraine’s passenger jet, apparently by accident


So forever Trumpers call engagement with North Korea (with zero results so far) brilliant diplomacy, but Obama's negotiation with Iran to achieve an actual nuclear deal was appeasement? Not logical.


Needs to talk to Putin first, and it's not yet 5am in Moscow.


JUST NOW: As Mitch McConnell continues to push for a sham Senate trial with no witnesses and no evidence, we flooded his office, reciting Article II, Section 4 of the US Constitution.


New: To understand top presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, you have to learn his family history


Remember when that black woman unknowingly voted illegally and was sentenced to 5 years in prison? Meanwhile, treasonous weasel Michael Flynn lied to the FBI, failed to accept responsibility, undermined a criminal case, and faces 0 to 6 very rich, very white, very male months.


Whoever you support in the primary, they should be stating this clearly right now.


Trump's campaign has run more than 800 different Facebook ads bragging about the Soleimani assassination. Don't let anyone claim it's too soon or inappropriate to question his disastrous foreign policy. These people are dangerously incompetent.


Opinion: How we try to find hope amid the slaughter in northern Syria


While this whole shit show in Iran and Iraq is unravelling, let's not forget the thing @realDonaldTrump is trying to distract us from.


“Do we want a senator who understands it is sometimes his duty to question a president, especially one who threatens constitutional boundaries? Or do we want one so consumed with currying favor that he embarrasses himself and the state he represents?”


They used to clash. Now they share a common goal—to disrupt Europe


Tonight's news is all the more sobering because, if history is any guide, this won't constitute the totality of the retaliation. We should be prepared for months or even years of this, across theaters and with different tactics -- all for choosing a path we never had to go down.


These threats of war crimes & mass murder by Iran make this the most dangerous night in history of American military in the Middle East and the President of the United States has no idea what to say. White House says Trump won't make a statement. He's literally speechless.


Florida man meets his banker


Update: Iraqi Senior Officials are now saying they also suffered no Casualties and now my thinking has just gone a different direction right back to a planned trumpf/Putin/Khomeini Op. Now Back to Presidential Removal. I see one big Giant Wag the Dog now.


The Crown Prince delivered an in-person message to Trump on Monday. Over the weekend, some Putin emissaries flew to Mar-a-Lago to deliver a in-person message to Trump. In-person communications escape interception. No way to know what these pariahs are cooking up.


"Watching this administration try to deal with what is now their most dangerous scenario they've ever faced is like watching a slow motion train wreck. You know that the train's gonna crash... you just don't know how bad it's gonna be"


Fake text messages about a military draft are being sent to Americans, the US Army warns


I lost both legs in Iraq, this pic is me walking again for the 1st time (I'd spend 2yrs in a hospital recovering). The other pic is my squad in Fallujah. 4/7 ended up being wounded & 1 lost to suicide. Don't let Trump waste any more lives. Speak out


I don't like it when national symbols become euphemisms for d*ck measuring


This week once again provided true insight into what our government stands for above all else: war profiteering. Start wars, make profits, lather, rinse, repeat. Worse, this system is designed to keep replicating & never solve real problems. Groundhog day.


Kamala Harris calls for the declassification of the Soleimani War Powers Act notification: "Having reviewed the president's formal notification to Congress, it is clear that this information should not be classified and hidden from the American people."


.@DonaldJTrumpJr, my daughter was a victim of AR 15 violence in Parkland. You know that and you know some of the families. This photo and its incitement of violence only confirms you are a dangerous low life peice of garbage who may get someone killed.


Another 20 percent cut in IRS auditing. America is giving away tens of billions a year to tax cheats by cutting the IRS, even as its responsibilities grow. This is madness.


NEW: The House impeached President Donald Trump three weeks ago, but a gusher of evidence related to the case has continued to flow — threatening to intensify the Ukraine scandal, regardless of what happens in the Senate.


Wow, it's like the whole Soleimani-Iran-Iraq Op is just to make Russia the regional hegemon they've always wanted to be.


This is Nawres Hamid. He is the American killed in the Dec. 27 attack in Iraq that spiked tensions between the U.S. and Iran. He worked as an interpreter for U.S. forces. He was a dad and husband, born in Iraq and naturalized as a U.S. citizen. RIP.


Let’s recap what William Barr has done on Ukraine: - Bogus legal opinion that whistleblower complaint should not be sent to Congress; - Refused even to open an investigation; - Argued in court that Administration can block all witnesses. So much for the search for truth.


Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko said 82 Iranian citizens were on board, as well as 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, three Brits, and 11 Ukrainians. No survivors.


U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided the documents, obtained during the FBI investigation into possible connections between Trump's campaign and Moscow, would be released after 60 day.


American people before WW1 had become pacifist. They didn’t want to join the 1st world war. But the money men did. By the end of the propaganda campaign, the American people were crying to join the war.


Atheist Group Asks IRS to Probe Megachurch Over Pro-Trump Rally, Says Event Violates Rule Banning Political Participation


The devastating Australian bushfires have been burning for months and there's no end in sight. Here's how you can help


Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.


Facebook exec says company was responsible for Trump’s victory but warns against policy changes


I’m seeing a lot of: “Why aren’t we all out in the streets??” Guess what? Mass #NoWarWithIran protests are schedule for Thursday! Let’s walk the talk.


.@RepJasonCrow, who has served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, says President Trump's tweet that "all is well" shows he does not understand or care about what troops and their families are experiencing as Iran targets two U.S. bases in Iraq.


New from me on how Facebook and Twitter and the dangerous “newsworthiness” loophole that lets public figures act recklessly. Platforms claim it’s in the public interest. Maybe. But newsworthiness is a choice masquerading as an inevitability.


NEW: Rudy Giuliani — hired by Iran's MEK to get it off the terrorist list — is in Trump's ear and cheering the recent Iran actions. Soleimani was “directly responsible for killing some of my MEK people,” he told The Beast. “We don't like him very much.”


Tucker Carlson blames Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer for advocating for war against Iran


Footnote: George HW Bush pardoned 6 Reagan officials convicted of crimes in the Iran-Contra affair, as recommended by his Attorney General Bill Barr.


We published a paper in 2016 that discussed (among other things) how “breaking news” accounts propagate rumors during crisis events. It appears that this dynamic has only grown more pervasive (and possibly more intentional).


Trump is trying to portray Democrats as Iran sympathizers for questioning the his decision to kill Qassem Soleimani


Rachel Maddow on Trump and Iran: “There isn’t any part of his head that thinks, no other president has wanted to do this probably for a reason”


The guy paid by Fraud Garunteed

This is how Trump has influenced our military. This man says that he wants Iran “blown the fuck up” to the point that it no longer exists. And he wants it because they “talk shit.” He must be dishonorably discharged.


'World cannot afford war': U.S. Democrats respond to Iran missile strike


The Facebook exec said their controversial ad policy “very well may lead” to Trump's reelection—but they shouldn't change it and get in his way


“If you offer him a bunch of kind of normal ideas and one cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs idea, there’s no reason to believe that cuckoo for cocoa puffs will seem at all different or less palatable for him.”


JUST IN: Ukraine International Airlines suspends flights to Tehran indefinitely: statement. Latest:


Secretary of state Sean Hannity


The Boeing jet that crashed in Iran on Wednesday was a predecessor to the 737 Max aircraft


JUST IN: Ukraine Security Council says eleven Ukrainian citizens killed in Iran plane crash, including nine crew. Latest:


FAA just out with three NOTAMs banning US operations (US air carriers, US-registered aircraft, licensed airmen) over Iran, Iraq, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman


Trump's second term pledge for Social Security and Medicaid? The chopping block. Make no mistake, this election is the most important in our lifetime. There's too much at stake


A reminder if you're watching TV news tonight: The channels will be littered with people who have always supported US wars, no matter how major the folly, and who have ties -- likely undisclosed on the air -- to companies that will profit immensely from a war.


The Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran has ruled out a terror attack as a possible cause for Wednesday's plane crash. It says preliminary information suggests engine failure was responsible.


Trump’s reelection campaign is planning to drop $10 million to advertise during the Super Bowl, the start of a massive election-year spending spree that will intensify over the coming months


Video footage reportedly showing the Ukrainian jet liner on fire as it crashes shortly after take off from Tehran


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to "immediately" publish the resolution detailing the rules for the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump


.@wendyrsherman, lead negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal, analyzes the latest rhetoric of Donald Trump and Iran – and who it serves.


Perspective: How anti-terrorism laws equip law enforcement to crack down on Iranian Americans


A handful of people waving Iraqi, Iranian and Palestinian flags in Tehran apparently celebrate the missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing US-led coalition forces. Iran says 80 American military personnel killed while Pentagon says there were no casualties


Russia is opening its natural gas link to Turkey, just as U.S. sanctions stall another gas-export project


Tonight will go down in history as the night that an American president got US troops attacked in order to keep himself and his family out of prison. My, how far our country has fallen...


Iran targeted two military bases that house US troops in Iraq earlier today -- the Al Assad air base and a base in Erbil. Here's what we know about them.


#BREAKING: Iranian state media reporting Iranian citizens among the dead after Ukrainian aircraft crashes near Tehran airport. The deceased citizens were on the ground, not on the plane, state media says.


Ukrainian Airplane Crashes in Iran, Killing at Least 170


Analysis: Mideast Strategy Has Even Trump’s Allies Scratching Their Heads


I’m going to hold off on commenting on the news tonight until we know more, but there is one thing I will say: Jill and I are keeping our troops and Americans overseas in our prayers. We hope you’ll keep them in yours. — Joe Biden


Trump officials are bending over backward to say he didn't threaten to commit a war crime after he repeatedly threatened to commit a war crime


Canada's top general says no Canadian forces killed in Iranian missile attack. This is what communications from the military should look like


.@RepJasonCrow, who has served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, says President Trump's tweet that "all is well" shows he does not understand or care about what troops and their families are experiencing as Iran targets two U.S. bases in Iraq.


No Iraqi casualties in 22-missile Iranian attack overnight: military

???

Why Politicians Get a License to Lie


Reminder that as this crisis escalates, we have no Director of National Intelligence, no Dep Dir, no Homeland Security Secretary, no Dep Sec, no head of CBP or ICE, no State Dept Under Sec of Arms Control, no Asst Sec for Europe, and no Navy Sec.


Jimmy Kimmel dunks on Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, who tweeted fake Obama-Iran photo: “He’s the congressman whose own siblings—his brothers and sisters—took out an attack ad against him during the midterms and endorsed his opponent”


Trump impetuousness seen in poorly planned strike on Iran general


Duckworth alarmed at breakdown of Pentagon processes under Trump


Iran attack likely to increase pressure for US to leave Iraq


Journalism crucial as Trump flirts with war without credibility


Trump presents Americans with split screen of calamity


Trump wagged the dog. Now the dog is wagging Trump.


The president won't be making a televised address to the nation on the Iran crisis tonight, WH officials including Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tell CNN.


Can I rewrite this headline? "Tragically, the Iranian missile attack resulted in casualties of Iraqi soldiers, stationed together with their American allied forces."


NEW: Judge denies release of Jeffrey Epstein’s grand jury records


The White House has just released Trump's schedule for tomorrow. Trump has nothing on his schedule except for an intelligence briefing, which he does not receive until 2:15pm.


BREAKING: Ukrainian Boeing 737 plane carrying 180 people crashes near Tehran airport moments after take-off