Trump Watch

Chronicling the ongoing disaster that is the Trump (mis)administration, proving the educator maxim: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

The Trump administration is The Bog of Eternal Stench...
The 1986 movie Labyrinth had one very colorful and memorable element: The Bog of Eternal Stench. The bog regularly emits unpleasant gurgles, belches, and other noises, and sends forth a repulsive odor. (Sound familiar?) Legend has it that if you put so much as one toe in the Bog you will smell bad....forever. This is the fate which has befallen all of those who have associated themselves with this White House occupancy. They have fouled themselves. Even the once respectable H.R. McMaster has taken on the stench, having multiple times abandoned all self-respect to go forth to mislead, excuse, and explain away any mis-deed of those in Trump's circle. While Trump wanted to go to Washington to "drain the swamp", he has created his own there.

Party over country (again): monumental Republican hypocrisy on full display

Now that Democrats dominate the presidency and Congress, Republicans have decided to refuse to raise the debt ceiling this time. Why? Purely for political fodder in the 2022 elections, where they can blame the "irresponsible" Democrats for that horrible national debt, thus playing into Trump's Save America crap. As you could predict, the master of obstruction, Mitch McConnell, is leading Senate Republicans to withhold every vote on this issue. McConnell is shameless, doing everything possible to block every initiative that Democrats pursue to improve the country.

Here's the hypocrisy: Democrats have cooperated with past Republican administrations to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats cooperated to raise the debt ceiling three times during the Trump presidency...when Republicans drove up the debt 7.8 trillion dollars. Now, raising the debt is not to pay for current spending proposals, but to pay for the excesses of the Trump period. (98% of the number was incurred by Trump and his Republican enablers, who happily raided the Treasury to further enrich the rich.) As usual with today's alleged "Republicans", it's all about party...the country be damned.

The Arizona fraudit that Trump was promoting to his followers backfires on him, declaring him a loser

After many months and six million dollars of blatantly partisam ballot "auditing", the Ninjas delivered their preliminary report today. It not only verified that Biden had won Arizona, but that Biden got even more votes than even originally counted (at least as tabulated by this amateurish effort). Trump had to be beside himself...and in being defined a loser even by his most stalwart supporters, he would be enraged. Unsurprisingly, Trump attacked media reporting of the fraudic conclusions, saying: "I have heard it is far different" than what has been reported; and Trump took to even lying about the results of the fraudit, falsely claiming that it found "significant and undeniable evidence of FRAUD!" (A spokesperson for Cyber Ninjas told an NPR affiliate in Arizona: "Was there massive fraud or anything? It doesn't look like it.") Countering Trump's assertion was a statement from the corrupt Republican politician in Arizona who commissioned the fraudit: in a hearing Friday afternoon, Republican Senate President Karen Fann acknowledged that Cyber Ninjas' final vote totals were close to the official Maricopa County tally.

It should be noted well that, despite his protestations and allusions to the contrary, Donald Trump is indeed a loser: he was soundly rejected by the voters in both of the elections he entered, in 2016 and 2020.

Complicit with Trump's campaign against democracy, Texas governor Greg Abbott happily casts doubt on the 2020 election

Why on earth would Trump dictate an audit of the Texas election? Because it is his nature to disrupt, and to cast doubt on everything, because it then allows him to exploit fear. Trump is currently engaging in his latest con-job, under the ingenuine banner of Save America. As anyone with half a brain would understand, this has nothing to do with America — it is all about Trump, to further his self-enrichment, with the side goal of seeking the protection of the presidency once again, to shield himself against the mounting, costly lawsuits against him, current and likely. This is Trump, exploiting fear, out of fear.

Donald Trump is flailing, and lashing out indiscriminately

Trump's attack is just further evidence that Trump will turn on anyone unwilling to sacrifice their own personal integrity or future to support the corruptions of Donald Trump. The Republican Party had been repeatedly warned that Trump would drag the party down into the mud if they put their faith and support into Donald Trump, and yet they did it anyway. Here, Trump is cementing a public perception that he is a raving old fool who is obsessed with living in a past of vindictiveness. A Republican Party that subscribes to this pathology and failing to address concerns of the present is not going to win general elections...without cheating; and they are going further down the Trump rabbit hole to adhere to that pathology, but adopting a party-wide strategy of declaring elections being rigged against them — even pre-emptively.

A rally for those poor, poor January 6th rioters

The rally turned out to be a poorly attended, inconsequential event, with approximately 450 people takng part.

Oh, those poor, poor January 6th rioters

This is the ever-lying Trump attempting, as usual, to rewrite history to serve his self-centered goals. The whole world saw the videos of Trump's rioters invading the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, assaulting police and trying to hunt down any congress-people they could find — and in particular seeking to hang Mike Pence. These were violent insurrectionists, the core being white supremacists. They are not "political prisoners" as so many radical Republican leaders attempt to portray these criminals.

Mike Lindell's Trump reinstatement day is today

Mike Lindell's Cyber Symposium spends 72 hours presenting nothing

One of Lindell's zealots who took the stage actually said this:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not a computer guy... I don't know what most of this stuff means. But I've been researching this election since November 3rd. But the CNNs of the world: You guys need to start reporting this and stop fact-checking it!"
So there's your admission right there that facts don't matter.

Lindell hand-picked a cyber security expert, Josh Merritt, to review the "evidence". Unfortunately for Lindell, this expert wanted to preserve his reputation rather than lie for Lindell, and on Wednesday declared that the key data underpinning the China hack theory "is illegitimate". Lindell claims that the data consists of network data captures collected by hackers, which could be unencrypted to reveal that a cyberattach had occurred. As you would expect with encrypted packets, Merritt informed that data in such packets is unrecoverable, and thus this data cannot prove a China attack. Merritt: "So our team said, we're not going to say that this is legitimate if we don't have confidence in the information." Merritt added: "We were handed a turd." All this begs the question as to where the terabytes of data actually came from. Merritt revealed that the data came from Dennis Montgomery. Montgomery is a con-man who set himself up as a government contractor and swindled large sums of tax payer money. Among other cons, Montgomery duped the CIA into believing that he had the ability to decode secret al-Qaida messages embedded in Al Jazerra broadcasts.

The event was a vacuous fiasco, with no evidence presented. It was full of people talking, displays of meaningless data on the big screen, and MyPillow product promotions. Attendees were not happy to have their time and money wasted like this. CNN brought a real cyber expert (Harri Hursti) to the event and had him evaluate what was being presented. His conclusion: what was presented was meaningless; there was nothing there. Asked why he didn't simply present his evidence to cyber security experts in the first place, Lindell said because they would doctor the data and then report that there was no evidence as claimed. Now Lindell is saying that his proof will be in a case to the Supreme Court.

Like Rudy Giuliani, Lindell has through repeated performances demonstrated himself to be a buffoon...yet another absurd side show character in the Donald Trump tent of the deranged. As with Giuliani, no one wants to be around Lindell, either, now. Note also that, like Giuliani, Lindell is the subject of a multi-billion-dollar defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, which Lindell, Giuliani, and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell continually claimed had their voting machines switch Trump votes to Biden — without evidence, as usual. (Federal judge Carl Nichols of the DC District Court yesterday ruled against these three yahoos, who were attempting to defend their false statements as "free speech", and claiming that the Dominion suit was "another act of intimidation by the hate-filled left-wing" intended to silence them. Those cases are now clear to go forward — which will be a particular legal defense challenge for Giuliani, who is out of money.)

Right wing media: dedicated to keeping 30% of our country ignorant and stupid

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have this additional epidemic of delusion and stupidity. Republicans are forever sanctimoniously promoting themselves as the right-to-life party and here they are promoting death of people in their own party! How obliviously self-defeating can you get? Well, one thing is for sure: there are going to be fewer and fewer Trump voters over time.

Pressed to directly answer about January 6th, Jordan is as jittery as yesterday, again attempting evasion

Jim Jordan nervously tries to dodge an answer to whether he spoke with Trump during the Capitol insurrection

Clearly, this is Jordan being as evasive as possible, feeling the heat that is descending upon all those who did everything they could as co-conspirators in Trump's Big Lie about a "stolen" election. And clearly: anyone in Congress will vividly remember where they were and what they did on that infamous day; so Jordan's fake amnesia act doesn't work. Jordan is seen here trying to uphold the party line of "let's ignore the riot and try to blame anyone else for what happened that day".

DOJ tells Mo Brooks to go take a hike

Brooks certainly knew that he was dealing with a dangerous mob on January 6th: he has admitted that he was wearing body armor as he stood on that podium that day. Remember how outsized that windbreaker looked on him that day? Voila. In an interview with Slate, Brooks said:
"I was warned on Monday that there might be risks associated with the next few days. And as a consequence of those warnings, I did not go to my condo. Instead, I slept on the floor of my office. And when I gave my speech at the Ellipse, I was wearing body armor.'"

Measuring Trump's influence: the candidate he backed in Texas loses

Gosh, how could a Trump-backed candidate ever lose?? What this election rigged?? Stolen?? Thousands of dead voters?? Ballots in suitcases?? Call the Cyber Ninjas!! Look for bamboo fibers in ballots!! Round up all the routers!!

Egocentric con-man Trump, ever portraying himself as infallible, attempted to portray this as anything but a weakness on his part: "... this is not a loss, again, I don't want to claim it is a loss, this was a win."

The lunatic Trump is out fomenting more violence with his Big Lie

Trump attacked Democrats in general with this gem: "There's no way they win elections without cheating." So many of Trump's attack statements are actually confessional. It's very well documented that, as an increasingly desperate, shrinking party, it is Republicans who notoriously do everything possible to cheat in order to win elections.

This is Trump deliberately fomenting unrest and division in our country, just as in the past. This is where the epidemic of violent attacks against Asian Americans comes from. This is Trump programming his simpletons to send him millions of dollars to purportedly make America great again, or secure election integrity, when of course he will pocket all the money, with not a dollar going to the crusading he purports. (Scamming people is easier than competently running a business.)

Oh, and it goes without saying that this Trump rally was a coming together of the stupid and ignorant, in a county which is just 36% vaccinated. With 100% predictability, not one attendee wore a mask, as all of them crowded together, yelling and cheering and spreading the very contagious delta variant throughout the auditorium. Make America Sick Again!

We hear Trump lying about the January 6th insurrection

This is classic Trump, shirking responsibility for anything negative, no matter how culpable he is. ("That wasn't my rally, per se.") Con-man Trump is completely shameless, unhesitatingly perpetraying a portrayal of January 6th that is completely contrary to thoroughly documented reality.

Predictably, Trump could not help but perpetuate The Big Lie during the interview: "What I wanted was what they wanted. They showed up just to show support because I happen to believe the election was rigged at a level like nothing has ever been rigged before. There's tremendous proof. There's tremendous proof. Statistically, it wasn't even possible that (Biden) won. Things such as, if you win Florida and Ohio and Iowa, there's never been a loss."
This, of course, is just Trump's perpetual ego-serving delusion. If Trump had "tremendous proof", the place to pursue it would have been in the dozens of lawsuits that his unscrupulous lawyers filed in numerous states...none of which presented any substantive evidence of fraud.

Federal prosecutors are draining Trump's swamp of corruption

Trump adds to the right wing whitewashing of the January 6th insurrection

Another CPAC, another cavalcade of lies

Trump exposes his lying regimen

The Trump organization and its CFO are criminally charged

The Trump Organization, despite its name, is an organization only in Trump's mind. As people who have probed it found, "it's a hodgepodge of his own passions and interests, untethered from sophisticated strategic thinking," as Trump biographer Tim O'Brien puts it. Donald Trump is essentially a child, and this "organization" is like a child playing make-believe; and in your make-believe construct, you don't pay taxes.

Predictably, Eric Trump, who has supposedly been running the Trump organization while his father was grifting in Washington, was indignantly railing against the charges made against his company. Ever oblivious to irony, Eric bitched about law enforcement pursuing what he characterized as the trivial charges filed against the company instead of attending to what's happening in New York city, where he says "crime is rampant". Yes: and the Trump organization is in New York city and crimes are being committed in your organization, and the authorities are pursuing that.

The Trump organization notified of potential criminal charges

Trump's corrupt lawyer officially declared a liar by the New York State appellate court

As we all witnessed, Giuliani was an enthusiastic liar for his boss, the monumentally corrupt Donald Trump. At the same time, Trump was contemptuous of Giuliani, says Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender in his new book. Trump frequently mocked Rudy Giuliani, called him "pathetic," and said he "sucked". And yet Giuliani persisted, as a professional sycophant, denying and forsaking the laws he should have been upholding. Now Giuliani is paying the price for blind loyalty to a man who cares only about himself.

Texas Republican legislators define themselves as lying, racist enemies of democracy

What's in this Texas SB 7 bill: Known as the Election Integrity Protection Act, it would, among other things:

• ban 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting
• make it a crime to aggregate ballots for a candidate, also known as vote harvesting
• create at least 10 categories of new or enhanced criminal penalties related to elections
• protect partisan poll watchers by criminalizing elections officials who reject a designated watcher
• define a higher threshold for who can qualify to vote by mail based on a disability
• ban after-hours voting
• mandate that all weekday early voting take place sometime between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• make it illegal for elections officials to send applications to vote by mail to people who did not request one
• make it easier to overturn an election, allowing courts to throw out results if enough ballots were cast illegally that it could have made a difference...without needing evidence that fraud actually altered the outcome of a race
• block Sunday voting before 1 p.m.

Alleged House Republican Minority "Leader" Kevin McCarthy doesn't want the January 6th truths to be explored

The deposed professional liar continues to spew crap to undermine democracy

So, here is another contrived lie as Trump tries to manufacture false "evidence" of conspiratorial actions taken against him. As always, not a shred of anything to back up his claims — just the usual incendiary statements intended to blow up the foundations of democracy.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer was sitting in his office when this Trump grenade landed in his domain. As Richer said, on his terminal at that very moment was the database that Trump flamingly claimed was deleted. Richer was understandably outraged, all the more so as state officials, taking this Trumpcrap at face value, started accusing his office of unlawfully deleting evidence. Writing on Twitter, Richer pushed back on this insanity:
"Wow. This is unhinged. I'm literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can't indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country."
Maricopa County's top officials (most, Republicans), on Monday blasted the GOP state Senate president and the auditors she hired to run an unprecedented, partisan recount in the county. Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, a Republican, said Karen Fann is making an "attempt at legitimatizing a grift disguised as an audit."

The "Big Lie" is not exclusive to Trump: Republicans are infamous for big-lying

Big lies are a tradition in the Republican party.

The cult of Trump seeks to shove truth-speaker Liz Cheney aside

Trump cultist Kevin McCarthy was caught on an open mic yesterday, ahead of a "Fox and Friends" interview, grousing about Liz Cheney, and about getting rid of her: "I think she's got real problems. I've had it with ... I've had it with her. You know, I've lost confidence. ... Well, someone just has to bring a motion, but I assume that will probably take place." Who to replace Cheney? New York representative Elise Stefanik is apparently poised to become the next House Republican conference chairwoman. Because she is such a great conservative? No. She has a 48% rating for conservative voting and stances, while Cheney has an 80% rating. A furher irony is that Stefanik had been a Trump critic, but has since succumbed to a lust for power, prostituting herself to become a Trump loyalist and dedicated subscriber to all the lies.

Donald Trump is the Jim Jones of the Republican party.

Giuliani's actions in Ukraine further exposed

Facebook continues Trump's suspension

Trump being Trump, he jumped to lash out, with this written statement:
"What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."

Laughably, this is Trump himself demonstrating why his suspension should continue. So-called "conservatives" are forever decrying "liberals" suppressing the voices of "conservatives". The reality is that people who care about the truth and facts are in firm and justified opposition to concerted lying.

Trump keeps his Big Lie alive

Trump would be pathetic, raving like the old fool he is, execept that he is so dangerous to democracy because there are so many fools like him who subscribe to blatant lies.

An FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani

Giuliani was deeply immersed in the Ukraine, puffed up as being on a mission for president Trump, meeting with government officials as though he was an official representative of the U.S. government. Giuliani bragged that he was instrumental in the abrupt ouster of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch — a dedicated foe of the corruption that had become the hallmark of Ukranian officials. Investigators now are pursuing exactly why Giuliani was so dedicated to the removal of Yovanovitch. Clearly, she was an obstacle to the sordid Trump mission to scour Ukrain for dirt on the Bidens, and get the Ukranian president to purport that his government was investigating the Bidens. She was also an extreme irritant to corrupt Ukranian officials, where the suspicion is that funds or favors were being exchanged for Giuliani getting Yovanovitch out of the way. Recall that Trump defined that Barr's State Department have a channel open to receive all the "goods" that Giuliani would be sending. You can believe that Putin's FSB was absolutely thrilled to have Giuliani so close by, where they could feed him engineered misinformation that would be conveyed directly into the bowels of the U.S. government. Giuliani was so full of himself that he openly bragged that he was assigned to do this by Trump. Just as predictably, Trump covered himself, falsely claiming that he had nothing to do with Giuliani's Ukraine exloits. Obviously, assigning a private citizen to effectively take the place of the State Department in interacting with a foreign government is highly problematic, if not illegal. This whole affair is just so underhanded and sleazy that it smacks of Trump's usual method of operation. As Giulini is pressed by prosecutors, Trump has reason to be worried.

So eager to malign Biden, Republicans run with any any misinformation or lie that they think serves them

Again, this is about right-wingers doing everything they can to divide the country by feeding lies to the millions of irresponsible, feeble-minded consumers of this crap who eagerly consume it without question. Fox News and and other purveyors of the truly "fake news" abandon all integrity to keep pushing lies like this, and without hesitation undermine democracy at every opportunity.

Marjorie Taylor Greene's America First Caucus, promoting racial purity

So what did this lanuch document proclaim? First and foremost, to follow in President Trump's footsteps, and potentially step on some toes and sacrifice sacred cows for the good of the American nation. [As though Trump is still president.] Its first objective is to deal with — you guessed it — Election Fraud. In conformance with Trump's Big Lie as an unproven premise, the document says: "Recent election results demonstrate a compromised integrity of our elections and made our election system a subject of global mockery. Across the country federal elections have been undermined by using voting machines that are readily compromised and illegally accessed whereby results appear manipulated, voters are disenfranchised, and faith in our system eroded. Mail-in voting, long recognized as subject to fraud, has become normalized. We will work towards an end to mail-in voting, implementation of national voter ID and substantive investigations into mass voter fraud perpetrated during the 2020 election." Next, the document rails against "deep state actors": you know, the career government professionals who, in carrying out their work, were impeding Trump's goal of becoming Dictator of The United States. Then Big Tech is targeted: these are the companies who moderated Trump's caustic, lying tweets as he attacked everyone who opposed him. Ah, Immigration...the big one, where the goal of racial purity is under threat: "America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions." Cited is the enduring myth that these undesirables must be kept out and prevented from taking American jobs...when in fact disadvantaged immigrants have always labored in jobs that established Americans do not want to do.

Remember Adolph Hitler's dream of, after a victorious war, creating a grand new city in Germany to serve as the seat of the Nazi party and be the capital of the conquered world? Greene and her authoritarian aspirees have much the same dream, once they take over the United States as a dictatorial force: "The America First Caucus will work towards an infrastructure that reflects the architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny of European architecture, whereby public infrastructure must be utilitarian as well as stunningly, classically beautiful, befitting a world power and source of freedom." The document complains that "our domestic infrastructure is failing, crumbling and decaying". No mention, of course, that in four years as president, Donald Trump took no action on that crumbling infrastructure, despite promising to do so at the outset of his administration. (That would have involved personal effort.)

Nikki Haley — hypocritical enemy of American democracy

In February, Haley conformed to the voices of outrage at Trump having incited the Capitol riot of January 6th. Speaking to Political, Haley said: "We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again." That, of course, would include depriving Trump of the powers of presidency that he so flagrantly abused over the past four years.

Haley had been weighing a run for president herself, but today completely contradicted her February outrage, in her response when asked by The Associated Press if she would support a second bid by Trump: "I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it. That's something that we'll have a conversation about at some point, if that decision is something that has to be made." This is not the stance of someone who treasures democracy. This is fealty by a Trump loyalist, who would readily allow, and presumably support, resumption of the Trump tyranny.

Republican unity? Not in Trump's world

This was a further reminder of how toxic Trump (still) is. He's a chronically hate-filled, utterly self-centered, mentally ill old man who clings to the past and revels in exacting revenge on an ever-growing number of people he perceives as having slighted him. One of the attendees of this event said: "It was horrible, it was long and negative. It was dour. He didn't talk about the positive things that his administration has done." Large swaths of the Republican Party have had their fill of Trump and just want him to go away.

Gaetz in trouble

Gaetz told Fox that the former DOJ employee in the extortion plot is David McGee, now a lawyer at Beggs & Lane. McGee was interviewed by The Daily Beast late Tuesday night, saying that any reports of extortion involving him or his firm were "completely, totally false." McGee added: "This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls." Neither the FBI nor DOJ will comment on this matter.

Everyone hearing this story judges it as bizarre. Indeed, the alleged extortion plot basis makes no sense as related by Gaetz. Even Tucker Carlson said that his interview with Gaetz was one of the weirdest he ever conducted, particularly after Gaetz claimed that Carlson and his wife were at a restaurant with Gaetz, joined by a woman who was being threatened by the FBI to come up with evidence against Gaetz: "I can say that actually you and I went to dinner about two years ago, your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine — you'll remember her — and she was actually threatened by the FBI, told that if she wouldn't cop to the fact that somehow I was involved in some pay-for-play scheme, that could face trouble." (Carlson was reportedly livid that Gaetz was trying to drag his family into this mess.) Note the apparent Gaetz gaffe here, in citing yet another potential jeopardy item for himself: a political pay-for-play scheme of two years ago, which by definition means doing political favors for individuals or companies who pay the politician for carrying out the favors — which is often at odds with their oath of office and/or direction of the district involved. Gaetz is clearly operating in panic mode, rushing to get on TV to deny and distract, in an effort which gives the appearance of consciousness of guilt. Legal experts observed that Gaetz should be having a good lawyer advising him, rather than running his mouth in the face of a federal investigation. Note an extreme irony: Gaetz was the only Republican to vote against an anti-sex trafficking bill in 2017. (Ponder that, in this context.) All this demonstrates that wisdom is still not a Gaetz quality.

So, how did this investigation originate? It started with a federal investigation of Florida official Joel Micah Greenberg. Greenberg was elected in 2016 as Tax Collector in Seminole County. It would quickly become evident that Greenberg was an utterly corrupt yahoo. Soon after taking that office, Greenberg mandated that office employees carry firearms on their hips. He then took to wearing his tax collector badge as though it signified him being a law enforcement officer, using that to intimidate a female motorist whom he stopped for speeding. He gave government contracts and salaries to close friends and business partners including up to six people who were part of his wedding party in 2016. He used public funds to buy body armour, firearms, ammunition, and a drone. Greenberg then spent $66,000 more of public funds to purchase computer servers in a county office room where he intended to generate cryptocurrency monies for himself in a company he founded called Government Blockchain Systems LLC...and he amateurishly installed the servers such that they overloaded a circuit breaker, causing a fire in that uninsured structure. He made a habit of identity theft, using county facilities to steal IDs. He used Florida database facilities to pursue under-age females with whom he was conducting "sugar-daddy" relationships. He conducted a smear campaign against his next political rival, using fake identities to accuse that person of illegal activities. Arrested at his home, federal authorities found numerous IDs of Florida citizens and evidence of sex-trafficking a child. Greenburg is now in very serious trouble, his trial scheduled for June. This is the person whom Matt Gaetz regarded as a close friend and political ally, whom Gaetz even took the the White House. This is the linkage that led to Gaetz being investigated. Gaetz is now in jeopardy of his corrupt friend cooperating with federal authorities in the Gaetz investigation.

If you think that Matt Gaetz is above the behavior alleged, then you are unfamiliar with his pattern of his behavior — and resulting reputation. Gaetz is reviled, even by Republicans. He is known in Congress for bragging of his sexual expoloits, going so far as to show the naked pictures and videos of the women he has "conquered" to his congressional colleagues — even on the floor of the House of Representatives. (Note, here, this example of Republican hypocrisy, portraying theirs as "the party of family values", and doing nothing about egregious behavior like this from fellow Republicans.) Gaetz's high school classmates are not surprised at his current situation. Erin Scot, former friend and debate team partner, wrote in her blog in 2010: "While the rest of us grew up, Gaetz stayed the same. He may have gotten his law degree and put on a suit and tie, but behind all that he's still the same guy who takes out his cell phone to show friends naked pictures of the women he's recently bedded. He can come and knock on your doors, smile for your photo ops, and hold all the babies he wants, but the fact of the matter is that Gaetz is a smarmy womanizer with no intention of doing anything for the district that doesn't first and foremost advance his political career." Like his mentor, Donald Trump, Gaetz views himself as a privileged elitist, increasingly emboldened by what he has gotten away with thus far, and will attempt to portray himself as victim when he gets caught doing something nefarious. As David Jolly said this week, we'll find out if Gaetz is just a dirt-bag...or a criminal. (Gaetz's communications director, Luke Ball, had enough and quit Gaetz's team.)

Trump crashes a wedding to air his grievances

Now, we clearly know that Trump cares nothing about "humanitarian" issues, given his zeal for separating children from their parents at the border and throwing them into detention pens as a deterrent to the non-white people trying to get into the United States from southern countries. Standard Trump xenophobia is on display here.

Asian-Americans suffering the xenophobic racism that Trump fostered

Trump continues to concoct big lies

Okay, this claim doesn't even pass the initial sniff test. It is very well established that Trump loves to brag about crowd sizes for his events, and would never do anything to deter numbers — particularly after some crowd size failures that greatly embarassed him. Further, this was a rally where he specifically called for big numbers in his December 19th invitation for his crazies to amass in Washington: "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" In the Fox interview, Trump claimed that he "hated" to see what happened on Jan. 6 at the U.S Capitol — a claim directly refuted by eyewitness accounts of him gleefully watching the riot on TV, and refusing to take any action as Capitol defenders were being attacked and the building desecrated. Subsequent hearings about the riot produced no evidence that indicated Nancy Pelosi had anything to do with the decision of how or when to deploy National Guard troops, either before or during the riot. There is no evidence that Trump took any initiative to have any troops guard the Capitol during his rally. Now the blatantly obvious fact: Trump addressed and agitated that crowd on the morning of January 6th. He saw how large the crowd was. And he directed them to go to the Capitol, where the election was being "stolen", saying that he would march with them (his lie to them). The manifest reality is that Trump fomented the crowd, after two months of lying to his base about "widespread voting fraud", and sent them to the Capitol to keep the disloyal Pence and weak Republican senators from affirming Biden as the winner of the election. For his many months of lies undermining the election, the rule of law, and the Constitution, Trump was impeached a second time...and in the Senate there was the most bi-partisan vote to convict of any impeachment. Trump's fiction about troops for the Capitol is yet another concoction to try to absolve himself from responsibility for whatever goes wrong around him.

Trump appears at CPAC, repeating his big lie

Trump took to the stage to address these fake Republicans and claim that he isn't going to start another political party (though he actually is the leader of The Trump Party). He teased running again in 2024, saying: "I may even decide to beat them for a third time" — which is perpetuation of his big lie that he won the 2020 election, and that it was stolen from him. Of course, Trump's reality in 2024 is likely to be a full time effort to defend himself in a raft of criminal and civil prosecutions.

Speaking of CPAC: If you want to understand the objectives of right wing extremist groups like this, just examine the demographics of the attendees. You can also observe the complexions of the fully qualified candidates that President Biden put before the Senate, and the Republicans in that body going out of their way to publicly brand them as "dangerous".

He packed the Supreme Court solely to protect himself — but to no avail

A seriously rattled Trump, perceiving the legal system coming for him, predictably lashed out, having yet another grievance for his thick catalog of grievances, issuing the following statement today (while portraying himself as still being president):
— February 22, 2021 —
Statement on the Continuing Political Persecution of President Donald J. Trump
This investigation is a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country, whether it was the never ending $32 million Mueller hoax, which already investigated everything that could possibly be investigated, "Russia Russia Russia," where there was a finding of "No Collusion," or two ridiculous "Crazy Nancy" inspired impeachment attempts where I was found NOT GUILTY. It just never ends!
So now, for more than two years, New York City has been looking at almost every transaction I've ever done, including seeking tax returns which were done by among the biggest and most prestigious law and accounting firms in the U.S. The Tea Party was treated far better by the IRS than Donald Trump. The Supreme Court never should have let this "fishing expedition" happen, but they did. This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo. These are attacks by Democrats willing to do anything to stop the almost 75 million people (the most votes, by far, ever gotten by a sitting president) who voted for me in the election — an election which many people, and experts, feel that I won. I agree!
The new phenomenon of "headhunting" prosecutors and AGs — who try to take down their political opponents using the law as a weapon — is a threat to the very foundation of our liberty. That's what is done in third world countries. Even worse are those who run for prosecutorial or attorney general offices in far-left states and jurisdictions pledging to take out a political opponent. That's fascism, not justice — and that is exactly what they are trying to do with respect to me, except that the people of our Country won't stand for it.
In the meantime, murders and violent crime are up in New York City by record numbers, and nothing is done about it. Our elected officials don't care. All they focus on is the persecution of President Donald J. Trump.
I will fight on, just as I have, for the last five years (even before I was successfully elected), despite all of the election crimes that were committed against me. We will win!

What has to be additionally rattling Trump is that Manhattan's district attorney Cyrus Vance has brought in top prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to join its Trump investigation. Pomerantz is expert in pursuing white collar and crime boss cases. He will be investigating the highly suspect Trump Organization for having committed insurance and tax fraud.

Just hours after the Supreme Court statement, the subpoenaed tax records were turned over the New York District Attorney's office. The material reportedly consisted of millions of pages of documents spanning from January 2011 to August 2019, as well as financial statements, engagement agreements, documents relating to the preparation and review of tax returns, and work papers and communications related to the tax returns.

Greg Abbott demonstrates how much Republicans love to lie

In the midst of this emergency, Texas governor Greg Abbott went on Fox News to blame the outage on Democrats and their Green New Deal — despite no aspect of Green New Deal anywhere near implementation. Talking with Fox News's Hannity, Abbott proclaimed:
"This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America. Our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10 percent of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. ... It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary."
Observe the magnitude of that lie: that it was the wind and solar units by themselves caused the entire electrical system to fail. That's absurd and completely untrue. Abbott took the opportunity to lie to the nation as to the cause of the failure of the state electrical system. Interestingly, minutes earlier, Abbott was on local TV explaining that the failure was due to frozen gas supply infrastructure as feeds the power plants. This defines Abbott as an opportunistic liar. And, like liar Trump, he takes no responsibility for what happened in his state. Standard procedure for Republicans, where the buck always stops somewhere else.

Oh... And what about that self-righteous, loud-mouthed, and Senate-hated Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz? What's he doing to help his state in this emergency? He was caught quietly flying down to sunny, warm Cancun, to stay at the Ritz-Carlton (where his wife says they have stayed "many times") at the same time that his fellow Texans were literally freezing. Abandoning the people who voted for you is a huge political "don't". But, of course, those are just "the little people", as the elite view the public. Ted's office had nothing to say about this disappearing act. (And some in his office weren't even informed that he was going to Mexico.) As word of Ted's exploit spread and his trip became untenable, Cruz boarded a standby flight to return to Texas. His office would then be able to say that a concerned Ted was on the job, and avoid questions on where he had been. Cruz then lied about this travesty, first concocting the story that he was just escorting his children to the Mexico resort, then when that was found to be a lie, he admitted that he actually intended to stay in Mexico through the weekend. What a shithead. The Republican leadership in Texas is thoroughly corrupt, convinced that they are entitled, and don't have to answer to anyone. Texas: You should have voted for Beto O'Rourke...a guy who takes public service seriously and isn't obsessed with himself.

Trump casts Giuliani adrift

Trump attacks McConnell (again)

So, here is Trump once again propping up his big lie that the election was rigged, that he was entitled to win, and that Republican leaders failed to negate the legitimate results of the election to keep Trump in office.

Mitch McConnell delivers damning statement on Trump's responsibility in the January 6th Capitol attack

"January 6th was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like. Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President. They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth — because he was angry he'd lost an election. Former President Trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty. The House accused the former President of, quote, 'incitement.' That is a specific term from the criminal law. Let me put that to the side for one moment and reiterate something I said weeks ago: There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President. And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth. The issue is not only the President's intemperate language on January 6th. It is not just his endorsement of remarks in which an associate urged 'trial by combat.' It was also the entire manufactured atmosphere of looming catastrophe; the increasingly wild myths about a reverse landslide election that was being stolen in some secret coup by our now-President. I defended the President's right to bring any complaints to our legal system. The legal system spoke. The Electoral College spoke. As I stood up and said clearly at the time, the election was settled. But that reality just opened a new chapter of even wilder and more unfounded claims. The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things. Sadly, many politicians sometimes make overheated comments or use metaphors that unhinged listeners might take literally. This was different. This was an intensifying crescendo of conspiracy theories, orchestrated by an outgoing president who seemed determined to either overturn the voters' decision or else torch our institutions on the way out. The unconscionable behavior did not end when the violence began. Whatever our ex-President claims he thought might happen that day... whatever reaction he says he meant to produce... by that afternoon, he was watching the same live television as the rest of the world. A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags, and screaming their loyalty to him. It was obvious that only President Trump could end this. Former aides publicly begged him to do so. Loyal allies frantically called the Administration. But the President did not act swiftly. He did not do his job. He didn't take steps so federal law could be faithfully executed, and order restored. Instead, according to public reports, he watched television happily as the chaos unfolded. He kept pressing his scheme to overturn the election! Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in danger... even as the mob carrying Trump banners was beating cops and breaching perimeters... the President sent a further tweet attacking his Vice President. Predictably and foreseeably under the circumstances, members of the mob seemed to interpret this as further inspiration to lawlessness and violence. Later, even when the President did halfheartedly begin calling for peace, he did not call right away for the riot to end. He did not tell the mob to depart until even later. And even then, with police officers bleeding and broken glass covering Capitol floors, he kept repeating election lies and praising the criminals. In recent weeks, our ex-President's associates have tried to use the 74 million Americans who voted to re-elect him as a kind of human shield against criticism. Anyone who decries his awful behavior is accused of insulting millions of voters. That is an absurd deflection. 74 million Americans did not invade the Capitol. Several hundred rioters did. And 74 million Americans did not engineer the campaign of disinformation and rage that provoked it. One person did. I have made my view of this episode very plain. But our system of government gave the Senate a specific task. The Constitution gives us a particular role. This body is not invited to act as the nation's overarching moral tribunal. We are not free to work backward from whether the accused party might personally deserve some kind of punishment. Justice Joseph Story was our nation's first great constitutional scholar. As he explained nearly 200 years ago, the process of impeachment and conviction is a narrow tool for a narrow purpose. Story explained this limited tool exists to "secure the state against gross official misdemeanors." That is, to protect the country from government officers. If President Trump were still in office, I would have carefully considered whether the House managers proved their specific charge. By the strict criminal standard, the President's speech probably was not incitement. However, in the context of impeachment, the Senate might have decided this was acceptable shorthand for the reckless actions that preceded the riot. But in this case, that question is moot. Because former President Trump is constitutionally not eligible for conviction. There is no doubt this is a very close question. Donald Trump was the President when the House voted, though not when the House chose to deliver the papers. Brilliant scholars argue both sides of the jurisdictional question. The text is legitimately ambiguous. I respect my colleagues who have reached either conclusion. But after intense reflection, I believe the best constitutional reading shows that Article II, Section 4 exhausts the set of persons who can legitimately be impeached, tried, or convicted. The President, Vice President, and civil officers. We have no power to convict and disqualify a former officeholder who is now a private citizen. Here is Article II, Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Now, everyone basically agrees that the second half of that sentence exhausts the legitimate grounds for conviction. The debates around the Constitution's framing make that clear. Congress cannot convict for reasons besides those. It therefore follows that the list of persons in that same sentence is also exhaustive. There is no reason why one list would be exhaustive but the other would not. Article II, Section 4 must limit both why impeachment and conviction can occur... and to whom. If this provision does not limit the impeachment and conviction powers, then it has no limits at all. The House's 'sole power of Impeachment' and the Senate's 'sole Power to try all Impeachments' would create an unlimited circular logic, empowering Congress to ban any private citizen from federal office. This is an incredible claim. But it is the argument the House Managers seemed to make. One Manager said the House and Senate have 'absolute, unqualified... jurisdictional power.' That was very honest. Because there is no limiting principle in the constitutional text that would empower the Senate to convict former officers that would not also let them convict and disqualify any private citizen. An absurd end result to which no one subscribes. Article II, Section 4 must have force. It tells us the President, Vice President, and civil officers may be impeached and convicted. Donald Trump is no longer the president. Likewise, the provision states that officers subject to impeachment and conviction 'shall be removed from Office' if convicted. Shall. As Justice Story explained, 'the Senate, [upon] conviction, [is] bound, in all cases, to enter a judgment of removal from office.' Removal is mandatory upon conviction. Clearly, he explained, that mandatory sentence cannot be applied to somebody who has left office. The entire process revolves around removal. If removal becomes impossible, conviction becomes insensible. In one light, it certainly does seem counterintuitive that an officeholder can elude Senate conviction by resignation or expiration of term. But this just underscores that impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice. Impeachment, conviction, and removal are a specific intra-governmental safety valve. It is not the criminal justice system, where individual accountability is the paramount goal. Indeed, Justice Story specifically reminded that while former officials were not eligible for impeachment or conviction, they were 'still liable to be tried and punished in the ordinary tribunals of justice.' We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one. I believe the Senate was right not to grab power the Constitution does not give us. And the Senate was right not to entertain some light-speed sham process to try to outrun the loss of jurisdiction. It took both sides more than a week just to produce their pre-trial briefs. Speaker Pelosi's own scheduling decisions conceded what President Biden publicly confirmed: A Senate verdict before Inauguration Day was never possible. This has been a dispiriting time. But the Senate has done our duty. The framers' firewall held up again. On January 6th, we returned to our posts and certified the election, uncowed. And since then, we resisted the clamor to defy our own constitutional guardrails in hot pursuit of a particular outcome. We refused to continue a cycle of recklessness by straining our own constitutional boundaries in response. The Senate's decision does not condone anything that happened on or before that terrible day. It simply shows that Senators did what the former President failed to do: We put our constitutional duty first."

Trump's lawyer lies for him at Trump's second impeachment trial

Adam Schiff on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy

Representative Greene attempts to disavow all the lunatic statements she has been making for years

House Republicans chose to do nothing about Greene. This left Democrats in the position of forcing a vote on removing Greene from her committee assignments. The vote carried, with only 11 Republicans voting for it. The QAnon party.

McConnell surprisingly sets the tone for quashing Marjorie Taylor Greene

No less crazy, still proffering the election lie

The Republican Party's civil war, driven by the mob that now dominates the party

The adherence to a dogma of lies that now forms the belief system of the Republican Party has led to the rabid members that now lead the party enforcing a loyalty test: if you don't express support for this doctrine of lies, you're not loyal to what now passes as this political party. One of the most rabid, Matt Gaetz, flew 1500 miles to appear at a rally in Wyoming to turn voters against Liz Cheney...even bringing in Donald Trump Jr. on the phone to address the crowd. This is Republican against Republican because she voted for Trump's second impeachment. (Gaetz did this the day after Kevin McCarthy said to his infighting party members: "Cut that crap out".) Cheney is evidencing disloyalty to the organized insanity that is now the essence of the Republican Party and needs to be excised from the party, according to the irrationals like Gaetz, Cruz, and Jordan. There remain real Republicans who are appalled by what they have let the party become. They see the party dominated by a faction that is to extreme that the party has turned into an American Taliban. This is a party that is self-destructing and is engaging in a civil war along the way.

How did the Republican Party get this way? By abandoning leadership. Under Mitch McConnell, the party has become a collection of do-nothings who have learned that they can just sit on the sidelines and object, impede, and block anything Democrats want to do to further our nation. They were witness to McConnell proudly proclaiming that his greatest accomplishment during the Obama era was preventing a Supreme Court vacancy from being filled, and from this learned that preventing progress is a lofty goal. The Republican Party has so descended into money-grubbing and power-grabbing that they have abandoned all ideals and principles that might attract rational people, and have let the party degenerate into such a disorganized mess that they now have to depend upon the worst elements of our civilization for votes. The mob now leads them.

Dominion files suit against Giuliani; Trump impeachment proceeds

In the U.S. Capitol this evening, the House of Representatives impeachment managers walked over to the Senate chambers and delivered the single article of impeachment against Trump, citing incitement to insurrection for invasion of the Capitol, and citing the months-long campaign of lies leading up to that, including intimidation of the Georgia Secretary of State to "find more votes" in Trump's attempt to overturn the results of the election in that state.

The pandemic charts were political, not scientific

It was even worse than we thought

Trump's support is predictably disintegrating

Joe Biden's inauguration day

This is the first time in 152 years that the concluding president has failed to preside over the transition to his successor. Donald Trump is a hate-filled narcissist and life-long coward, and today he flees like the childish coward he is.

Today, the swamp was really drained.

Trump releases a farewell address video

In a statement completely incongruous with his own actions, Trump said: "All Americans were horrified by the assault on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated." Senator Mitch McConnell said this today in the Senate chamber today: "The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people." So why this and similar statements from Trump since the January 6th Capitol invasion that he provoked? Fear. Trump's lawyers have impressed upon him that he is in serious jeopardy, most immediately of being convicted in the Senate after impeachment, and of losing the ability to run for federal office in the future. This verbal pablum from Trump is his attempt to mollify the Senate Republicans so that they don't vote to convict him.

What we have been seeing of late is the juvenile Trump who has been roaming the emptied White House proclaiming to the few who will go near him that he won the election, refushing to acknowledge Joe Biden as the victor. This is the Trump who, like a sulking child, intends to slink out of Washington and not be at the White House to welcome the new president, as is a long tradition.

The idiot son's tweet comes back to haunt him...a second time

As defiant and arrogant as ever

At Alamo, Texas, in a visit to his infamous wall, trump spoke, delivering this arrogant statement...and even threat:
"The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration." "As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for."

Trump also spoke of honoring and respecting law enforcement officers, pointing out those around him. This is the same Trump who would not lower the White House flag for three days after his mob killed Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick.

Nikki Haley finally criticizes Trump — but it takes a historic tragedy for her to do it

This goes to show that people in the Trump cult turn off their brains at entry, and thereafter become incapable of independent thought and critical thinking, accepting anything that the cult leader does — until there is a severe shock. To everyone outside the cult it was completely clear that Trump is unlimitedly dangerous, and that the more stressed he got the more extreme he would get. Like so many Republicans in Congress, Haley chose to be a Trump enabler, just like them, disregarding all the obvious warning signs.

And righteous outrage among Republicans is absurdly ephemeral. On February 17, Haley tried to get back into Trump's graces, despite her earlier criticism of him. Sitting in Florida, Trump rejected Nikki Haley's request for a meeting. Despite being rebuffed, she repeated her fealty attempt. Fast forward to CPAC, February 28, 2021 and this was Haley's reaction to Trump in an 8:33 pm tweet:
"Strong speech by President Trump about the winning policies of his administration and what the party needs to unite behind moving forward. The liberal media wants a GOP civil war. Not gonna happen."
This is Haley saluting the corrupt, exiled party leader, regardless. As many political analysts have pointed out, in attempting to cling to Trump, Haley has undermined her reputation and credibity.

The grotesque hypocrisy of Rudy Giuliani

Pariah!

Mitch McConnell has expressed delight in seeing the progress toward Trump's second impeachment, where that would make it easier to purge Trump from the Republican Party. McConnell's personal motivation is clear: Trump caused McConnell to lose his job as Senate majority leader. McConnell is bitter enough to say that he is through with Trump.

The second day after

Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick died last night, succumbing to his injuries suffered after one of Trump's thugs bashed him with a fire extinguisher during the Capitol invasion. At the Capitol today, the flag there was lowered to half staff. At the White House, the flag remained at full staff.

The day after

What of Trump? He has been hunkered in the White House, under increasing pressure resulting from his actions. He went too far and his now feeling the heat. After 30 hours of hiding and refusing to condemn what happened yesterday, Trump acceded to the pressure and recorded a 2 minute, 40 second video to briefly pretend to act like a president. Not a live speech, at the time it would matter, but a rehearsed performance from our reality TV president, long after the fact. This was clearly another instance of Trump reading from a teleprompter...reading words that someone else wrote and that he could not possibly believe in. Outrageously, Trump even started this speech with an egregious lie: "I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement". He did not. (This is his habitual ploy of commandeering credit from the actions of others.) He claimed to decry the violence...30 hours after the fact. In reality, reports appeared that Trump was jubilant as he watched the rioting on television. Senator Ben Sasse said that, watching his people breaking into the Capitol, that Trump was "delighted" — and couldn't understand that others in the White House were not sharing his glee. As always, Trump evaded any responsibility for what he did. Worse, he closed the video by suggesting to his supporters that more of his crap is yet to come: "I also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning." This stupid video is the worst president in the history of the United States trying to save his own fat ass from the fire he started.

Any regrets? Trump's only regret was having made this video, which alienated many of his followers for capitulating to Biden displacing Trump. Two words you never hear from Trump or Pence: I'm sorry.

Meanwhile, at Fox News, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson were downplaying the horror at what happened at the Capitol, portraying the event as simply being peaceful demonstrators.

In the wake of Trump terrorists attack on the U.S. capitol

Trump will not condemn his mob's actions today

What Trump was doing while the capitol was being invaded and people were dying

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy was on the phone with Trump during the attack. Remember that Trump had incited this and was sitting secure in the White House, watching his followers attack the Capitol. McCarthy, on the other hand was at the Capitol and was subject to that attack. McCarthy clearly saw all the attackers carrying Trump flags and banners, and was seeking to get Trump to call off his mob. Trump revealed his self-serving motivation for inciting the attack by reacting to McCarthy by saying: "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are." A furious McCarthy told the then-President the rioters were breaking into his office through the windows, and challenged Trump with: "Who the f--k do you think you are talking to?", according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the call. Trump was elated to watch the attack, as a big-mouth coward con-man having conned his feeble-minded marks to do the fighting for him. This is an alleged president abrogating his responsibilities as president, deliberately avoiding doing anything to stop the attack. This is Trump demonstrating culpability for the attack.

At 7 pm, Trump's farcical personal attorney Rudy Giuliani also called the wrong number, reaching Senator Mike Lee's voicemail instead of reaching Senator Tommy Tuberville, again. Without conscience, after a riot that left four dead, Trump's sub-human enablers are still at it, trying to get senators to reverse the election results as they reconvened at 8 pm.

Trump's mob of deplorables storms Capitol Hill and breaks into chambers

Here you have definitive evidence of Trump and his mob members being human trash, with no redeeming qualities. Completely ignorant people behaving mindlessly with no regard for what this country is all about. This is insurrection incited by a demented president. This is how democracies turn into dictatorships.

The whole world is seeing this...seeing how Trump and his ilk have literally been trashing our democratic institutions.

Trump is repudiated by principled Republicans in the Senate

Trump himself went out to to the south end of the White House grounds to address the rabble — including white supremacists, of course — who showed up in Washington in their support of this renegade president. This was actually called the Save America Rally...the one he told his crazies on December 19 to attend, to descend upon the nation's capital with "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" Trump deliberately whipped the already-programmed mob into a frenzy, with inflammatory rhetoric, exhorting his mob to "stop the steal". "Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong." "If they do the wrong thing, we should never, ever forget that they did. Never forget." "The radical left knows exactly what they were doing. They are ruthless and it's time that somebody did something about it." He declared that he will never concede to Joe Biden and attacked "weak Republicans", calling out "the Liz Cheneys of the world", for failing to support his efforts to overturn the results of the election for his own selfish benefit. (Well, he's staying true to form, denigrating women at every opportunity.) Then, Trump closed his nearly 11,000-word performance saying: "So we are going to...we are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we are going to the Capitol, and we are going to try and give...the Democrats are hopeless, they are never voting for anything, not even one vote but we are going to try...give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help, we're try...going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue." He also put out a video continuing to claim electoral victory, inflaming and already unstable situation around the U.S. capitol building. Donald Trump is a criminal, dedicated to criminal activity. Speaking at this White House mob meeting, Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani himself called for "let's have trial by combat", inciting the mob to violence.

And then there was the disgusting Republican opportunist, Senator Josh Hawley: on his way into the Capitol building, he raised his fist in solidarity with the Trump mob gathered outside...his bid to rally them to his ambitions in the coming years. There is a photo of Hawley with his fist raised. Let that define him in those coming years.

Trump allegedly goes to Georgia to aid the Republican senate races

Why worry about Russians interfering in elections when you have Trump flagrantly doing it?

In the call, Trump provides zero evidence of fraud, in effect admitting that his "information" is based on "rumors I've heard"; and when confronted with the facts, he simply ignores them. Trump also said that the senatorial run-off elections for Republican candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler were in jeopardy: "Because of what you've done to the president, a lot of people aren't going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president." The reality, as we know, is that people in Georgia no longer trust the election there because Trump himself has been declaring them fraudulent. In the call, Trump attempts to intimidate Raffensperger into doing what Trump says to do on the basis of fear of criminal prosecution. Trump went on and on, with a litany of conspiracy crap and lies. It's all innuendo, where there has never been any substance that could be presented in court. You can hear Trump saying all this in the recording, portions available here. This is a man who lives in an alternate reality of fiction, wholly devoid of facts. Where does Trump get all this crap...all this utter misinformation? He was questioned about that in the call and actually told us where: "Trump media". That's right — the echo chamber of delusion and fiction and imagined conspiracies.

This is like the Ukraine phone call all over again! The cherry on top would be Trump insisting that this call, too, was "Perfect." This is flagrant unethical and probably illegal behavior on the part of Trump, emphasising why he was impeached. If he were not being kicked out of office now, he should be impeached for this as well.

This man is thoroughly corrupt...thoroughly. It also shows how desperate he his to stay in office, out of the reach of prosecutors, that he will do just about anything, no matter how wrong or illegal it may be...oath of office be damned; and by extension, Trump's deperate efforts are a de facto admission of guilt. We can expect Republicans to excuse this egregious behavior, just as they have excused every vile thing that Trump has done in the past. To wit: David Perdue, the corrupt Georgia senator engaged in a run-off election, heard the recording, heard Trump acting as a mob boss and soliciting criminal activity, trampling on the Constitution, and what is Perdue's reaction: to criticize Mr. Raffensperger for recording the call! Nothing more; just that. (Footnote: Trump is known to have a long-hewn habit of secretly recording conversations.) And what of Kelly Loeffler, the appointed Georgia senator? She completely dodged questions about the egregious phone call. Further, she joined Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz (hurriedly, ahead of Trump returning to the state) to become the 13th senator announcing intent to reject Joe Biden's electoral college win on January 6th.

Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell is a partner at the law firm Foley & Lardner. This is a rarity, in that Trump has been understandably having trouble getting respected lawyers to help in his corrupt quest to overturn the election. The N.Y. Times reports: "In the day after the audio emerged, Foley & Lardner sought to distance itself from Ms. Mitchell, saying in a statement on Monday that its lawyers were expected to refrain from representing or advising anyone in the election. The firm said it was examining Ms. Mitchell's role on Mr. Trump's legal team." Mitchell had not previously been known to be involved with Trump's efforts to undermine the election, and it has since been learned that she is the unprincipled lawyer who has been aiding and encouraging Trump's malignant actions. Mitchell was subsequently asked to resign from the law firm, which she did. The Bog of Eternal Stench.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows cheers on the subversion of democracy

I deem the Georgia results invalid not just for me, but the upcoming Senate runoffs as well

So writes our "constitutional scholar" who is bunkered in the White House. Again, this reinforces Trump being a member of the Trump party, not the Republican party.

The Senate (finally) rebukes Trump

Trump returns early to Washington from Mar-a-Lago

Trump is also back early due to self-agitation over the election and his desperate but hopeless effort to undermine democracy and reverse the results of that election. Oath of office to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution"? To be disregarded, just like the Hatch Act. He's also back early to intimidate congressional Republicans for them to stand up against the election results on January 6th, to participate in and support Trump's delusion can somehow reverse the election and keep Trump in office into a second consecutive term as president.

In concert with that fantasy, we are hearing that 140 House Republicans intend to stand with Trump and openly object to the results of the election when Congress meets on January 6th to ratify Joe Biden as president elect. This, in addition to the Josh Hawley travesty against the Constitution. This demonstrates that the Congress is rife with democracy-hating Republicans intent on declaring that they care nothing about their country, and who are spitting on the graves of the countless Americans who have died to protect the democracy of the United States.

Meanwhile, back at Mar-a-Lago, D.J. Trump Jr. and the crowd that paid $1000 a head to attend the New Year's Eve celebration there, all crowded together without masks, sitting around dinner tables and then the evening's festivities. They who are immune to learning.

Investigators are digging deep into Trump illegal busines activities

Defying Mitch McConnell, the junior Republican senator from Missouri announces that he will object to Biden's election on January 6

True, adult Republican Party members lambasted Hawley for launching this attack on democracy. Outgoing GOP Representative Denver Riggleman (Va.) leveled this tweet against Hawley: "Of course he's fundraising off fantasy. Getting ready for 2024. Using disinformation and conspiracies as a baseline for fundraising. Grift. Fooling people to take their money. #QAnon and conspiracy theories are the new 'normal'. Shameful stuff." Senator Ben Sasse also ripped into Hawley, with this as part of his post on Facebook: "The president and his allies are playing with fire. They have been asking — first the courts, then state legislatures, now the Congress — to overturn the results of a presidential election. If you make big claims, you had better have the evidence. But the president doesn't and neither do the institutional arsonist members of Congress who will object to the Electoral College vote." Senator Jeanne Shaheen likewise was disgusted with Hawley's intention, saying in an interview with MSNBC that what he intended to do was "outrageous"; and: "More than that, it borders on sedition or treason."

Hawley's ethics are manifest not only in this action, but his history. Hawley is the junior U.S. Senator from Missouri. So, obviously, he's a resident of Missouri, right? As the Missourian newspaper points out, the reality is that the Hawleys live full time in their $1.3 million house in northern Virginia. Josh Hawley has been pretending Missouri residency by having registered to vote using the address of his sister's home in Ozark, Missouri. And this is the guy objecting to "voter fraud"?!

Mitch McConnell single-handedly denies suffering Americans $2000 relief checks

So, this is about the Republican caucus in the Senate worried about debt spending?? They had no such concerns when they gleefully voted for the 2017 massive tax reduction for corporations and the wealthy. Trump and the Republicans lied about the effects of that cut, claiming that the cuts would "pay for themselves" while boosting the economy — a claim contradicted by the Congresional Budget Office, which instead found that this raid on the Treasury would add at least $1 trillion to the national debt. The great boost of the economy that Donald Trump runs to the front of the room to take credit for is a house of cards, delusionally based upon debt. Reflective of the reality, here are the annual U.S. budget deficits during the Trump administration:

2017 $666 billion
2018 $779 billion
2019 $984 billion
2020 $1 trillion (before the pandemic and associated recovery programs; estimated $3 trillion after)

Trump publicly calls upon the Republican governor of Georgia to resign...because he would make Trump the election winner

This is Trump reinforcing his Georgia delusion, whereas the reality is that Biden handily won the state. And, as usual, Trump doesn't care that he's trashing the Republican party...of which he claims, for self-advantage, to be a member of.

Trump lets the coronavirus relief bill go unsigned past a critical deadline, and Americans suffer

So, why would Trump do this? Several reasons are evident...

• First and foremost, this is Trump sticking it to Mitch McConnell, getting back at him for his "lack of loyalty" in turning to Biden. Trump knows that the Republican caucus in the senate is hard-opposed to aid checks larger than $600, and so suddenly insisting on $2,000 checks puts McConnell in a vise.
• Next, this is Trump's way of exacting revenge on the public and Congress members in general for not loyally supporting his efforts to overturn the election (that he lost).
• Show how he really feels about the Republican party, on his way out the door: Trump is not a Republican. Trump is solely in the party of Trump. As with everyone in life, Trump has used the Republican party to benefit himself, and give him a base of irrational fools that he could exploit to further his malignant agendas and enrich himself.
• Jealousy: Trump perceives the spotlight of attention swinging away from him as his relevance fades. His ego craves attention, and creating upheaval is one of his signature methods of achieving that.
• The hero: As an extension of getting attention, Trump has a life-long method of operation where he expends no effort to achieve a goal, lets others do the work to achieve it, and then swoops in to claim credit. We've seen this over and over with him. Here he is pretending that he and Mnuchin didn't support $600 checks over the past months, then after the fact express outrage that the checks weren't larger.

Graham says it's perfectly okay

More loyalty award pardons

The fake friend of the military

Trump's rage action with the NDAA and the relief bill abundantly portrays that Trump is all about the Trump Party, and that he has never given a damn about the Republican Party. The senatorial run-off election in Georgia is just days away, on January 5th, where two Republican senators who have publicly pledged allegiance to Trump are appealing to voters, many of whom are on military bases where Trump just denied them expected monies, and a struggling population in general where Trump won't commit to signing a relief bill — and all if this at Christmas. It is bedrock, fundamental politics that you never do such things; and yet Trump has unhesitatingly done them. This is Trump, on a headlong campaign to wreak as much vengeful distruction as possible, indifferent to whomever is in his path.

Jackass of the year

Dominion Voting Systems employee sues the Trump campaign and associates

Like a delusionals convention

As is plainly evident, Trump is not "fighting really for the country": he's just desperate to stay behind the prosecution shield of the the presidency, as well as rake in as much money as he can from his fools, over the next 29 days.
Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday hosted a packed, masked-free, black-tie ball to kick off the Turning Point USA conference.

Like Hitler's last days

Attorney General for the next few days, Bill Barr, continued his split with Trump and openly declared that, contrary to Trump's desires, there is no need for a special counsel for either investigating Hunter Biden or investigating (non-existent) election fraud. Barr's pronouncements have a nice side benefit: they give Mitch McConnell (and Nancy Pelosi) extra gravitas to keep their Congressional members from buffoonishly jumping up and opposing Joe Biden as president-elect on January 6th. Certainly, any Republican senator who makes a fool of himself on that day will reflect negatively on McConnell, and earn the "displeasure" of McConnell.

We now face 30 more days of increasing insanity and desperation by a madman in the White House as he grows increasingly agitated at the thought of being exposed to prosecution; and he faces millions of dollars of loan payments coming due, and failing hotels and resorts, at the same time that he can no longer milk the taxypayers for trips he mandated to his properties.

Trump sets the stage for the Capitol riot that will occur on January 6

Operation Warp Speed? No, impulse power, thanks to Trump administration incompetence

Comrade Trump placates Puting by downplaying the massive cyber attack

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff was rightly disgusted with this crap response coming from a U.S. president whose country was just attacked, reacting in a tweet:
"Another day, another scandalous betrayal of our national security by this president. Another dishonest tweet that sounds like it could have been written in the Kremlin."

No, everything is not "well under control". This is the same idiotic phrase that Trump used to downplay the coronavirus pandemic back in February and March, which is to say that this is Trumpcrap that has no association with reality. Imagine president Franklin D. Roosevelt having let slide the Pearl Harbor attack for days, as Trump did in this attack, and then belatedly came out with a statement that pooh-poohed the attack...not to mention contradicting his Secretary of State in the process. The reality is that experts are just beginning to determine the real extent of the attack. In the roughly nine months that the widespread intrusion went undetected, the perpetrators had abundant time to collect and alter immense amounts of information as well as establish enduring access portals to assure their ability to continue monitoring government agencies and companies.

Pompeo attributes the cyber attack to Russia

While his Rome burns, Trump abandons his responsibilities as president and tweets lies for money

In the face of multiple national crises, what is President Trump doing? Tweeting about the election he won't admit he lost. Today he again went after Senate leader Mitch McConnell with this:
"@senatemajldr and Republican Senators have to get tougher, or you won't have a Republican Party anymore. We won the Presidential Election, by a lot. FIGHT FOR IT. Don't let them take it away!"

Now, we know that Trump doesn't give a hoot about the Republican party. What Trump is known to be doing, while he remains in office, is keeping up the turmoil so that he can continue to sucker his agitated followers out of their money by continuing to feed them a fabric of lies that form a false reality that allows Trump to rake in money from these willing fools.

Flynn suggests using the military to subvert the election

These statements reflect willful ignorance of the Constitution and law, akin to Trump's own ignorance, not to mention the danger that unprincipled, power-greedy people like Flynn and Trump pose to democracy. Martial law does not override the constitution, and the president cannot change the constitutionally-defined date of elections; and in any case, the election results have been certified by the states, which is their jurisdiction. Consider also that as a former U.S. Army lieutenant general and federal employee, Flynn necessarily took an oath to uphold the Constitution...an oath that obviously means nothing to him now, and probably never did.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville would, the next day, issue a joint statement saying that there "is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election." Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized such in a November 12 speech at the new National Museum of the United States Army: "We are unique among militaries. We do not take an oath to a king or a queen, a tyrant or a dictator. We do not take an oath to an individual. No, we do not take an oath to a country, a tribe or a religion. We take an oath to the Constitution."

Republican delusions relentlessly continue in Washington

This is the caliber of Republicans in Washington, taking taxpayer money and pursuing Trump cultism rather than the business of the nation. Derliction of duty and abandoning their oathes of office is the hallmark of Republicans in Congress.

Mitch McConnell finally acknowledges Joe Biden as the winner of the election — and Trump doesn't like it

No surprise: Trump publicly attacked McConnell for doing this, and failing to support Trump's election-win delusion. Trump tweeted:
"Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!"
One can perceive that McConnell is casting Trump adrift, transitioning to the reality of a new president with whom McConnell will have to work: Trump has lost his relevance. This can further be seen as McConnell conducted a call with Republican senators, warning against objecting to the presidential election results when they are delivered to a joint session of Congress for certification on January 6.

Another alleged Republican senator demonstrates what a joke Washington Republicans are

The Electoral College affirms Biden's win

At the same time, the Republican nut-jobs were still running loose. At the Michigan state house in Lansing, a group of Republicans were intercepted by Michigan State Police as they attempted to enter the building, as the Electoral College members for the state were in session. What were they there for? They were self-assigned "GOP electors" who were there to cast "their votes" for Trump, and therefore declare Trump winner of the state that Biden won. This simultaneously demonstrates that Republicans live in a fictional reality, and that they are a manifest danger to democracy.

Also in Michigan, state Rep. Gary Eisen was interviewed on WPHM-AM. Eisen said he was "concerned about violence today in Lansing". Eisen was then asked: "Can you assure me that this is going to be a safe day in Lansing, nobody's going to get hurt?" Eisen paused...then said, "No." This is the same Eisen who tweeted a photo of a semi-automatic handgun and ammunition last year after Michigan's governor proposed a gas tax. After today's performance, GOP state leaders stripped Eisen of his committee assignments.

An ignorance of all things, including the law

Trump starts acting on his latest grudge

The Supreme Court smacks down Paxton and Trump

Before this rejection, twenty more Republican representatives rushed to join the suit so as not to miss out in demonstrating their fealty to the lawless, corrupt liar who still occupies the White House...despite his short remaining occupancy. Tyrants have power only because people like these 126 unprincipled Republican representatives willingly give power to authoritarians. (It's terrific that these 126 have their names permanently recorded in history as the traitors to democracy that they are.)

So, what now? Is this crap over? Don't expect that. Instead, expect the crap generators to next foment revolt in Congress as a further crass attempt to undermine democracy, as the Electoral College is to convene on Monday.

More Republicans sign on to the Paxton farce lawsuit

Dismayingly, 106 House Republicans also joined this looney-tune suit — roughly half the number of Republicans in the House of Representatives. So: we have 18 attorneys general, a president, and 106 U.S. representatives in violation of their oaths of office, to uphold the Constitution.

Pennsylvania's attorney general on called Texas's bid to invalidate the election results of Pennsylvania and three other battleground states a "seditious abuse of the judicial process." Conservative Erick Erickson neatly summed up what Paxton was doing, tweeting:
"Some of you see a map of states participating in a lawsuit in the Supreme Court. Those of you who live in the real world see a group of politicians who intend to run for higher office and know they'll need to kiss Trump's ring plus one Texas AG who wants a pardon."

Now, is it not the case that a group of states getting together like this to oppose the current federal government is known as a confederation? And did not Rush Limbaugh just say: "It can't go on this way. There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs." "I actually think that we're trending toward secession." Given the blatant racism of our current president, he may as well be regarded as the new Jefferson Davis. And there's considerable irony that Trump thought it was appropriate to award Limbaugh with the Medal of Freedom in February.

Our would-be White House mathematician

McEnany's attempt to discredit the election is similar to Trump's own idiotic attempt, where he has been claiming that there was rampant fraud because he was winning around 10 pm on November 3rd...and then came these massive "dumps" (as Trump puts it) of allegedly fraudulent ballots for Biden...which is to say that if Trump is winning, no issue, but if Biden is winning, there must be fraud. What Trump is saying here is a knowing lie: a scam. It was Trump himself who pressured states to not count mail-in ballots on election eve, where he thought that if he could stall them en masse, he may be able to have courts declare mail-based voting as somehow illegal and toss all those batched ballots. But, of course, he could not get the courts to agree that mail-based voting was rife with fraud (it's not); and so those batches started to be counted after midnight. And it happens that people who voted for mail were rational Democrats, using their heads and avoiding crowded polling places where COVID-19 could be contracted. Hence, a preponderence of ballots for Biden after midnight.

Republicans once again show how utterly self-serving they are

To meaningfully file suit, the law requires that you have "standing", which is to say the filer has been affected by the issue and is seeking remedy. Here, Paxton very obviously has no standing, and knows it. Why is he doing this? Because he has been desperately holding off prosecution of his corrupt actions through several years of legal maneuvers, and he sees this grandstanding and sucking up to Trump as the way of stepping into a spotlight whereby Trump will save him from prosecution by way of presidential pardon. In other words, Paxton is so willingly corrupt that he will sacrifice the country to save himself.

Republicans keep demonstrating that they care only about themselves, to the exclusion of the once great nation of the United States. The election didn't go the way you wanted it? File an blatantly partisan lawsuit to artificially render your candidate the winner, after the fact. Does the Constitution get in the way of their self-centered ambitions? Toss it into the trash. All of this comes from the lawless Donald Trump, who is desperate to continue hiding from prosecutors, behind the office of President.

The U.S. Supreme Court smacks Trump down, in a single sentence

Contrary to those false expectations, the Justices outright rejected this attempt to steal the election, succinctly writing their rejection in one, stark sentence:
"KELLY, MIKE, ET AL V. PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL
The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied."

Note that today, December 8, is known as the "safe harbor" deadline for states to certify their election results, compelling Congress to accept those results at Electoral College time (December 14th this year).

Republican Representative Jody Hice — an embarrassment to our democracy

This is a U.S. representative, a supposed responsible, thinking adult who is deliberately feeding false information to millions of Trump's unstable mob, knowing that he is fomenting potential violence of the type we have repeatedly seen from thse imbalanced people.

This irresponsible idiocy rankled Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling who responded to Hice on Twitter thusly today:
"With all due respect Congressman, this is flat out disinformation and it is irresponsible for you to share it. Ware County has accounted for all of their equipment. There are no vote flipping machines. We have the forensic audit from the @EACgov certified lab showing no hacking."

Trump's Georgia obsession continues

As anyone could have predicted, once Trump was in Georgia in front of a microphone, he dwelled on is grievances about the month-old election, starting off by proclaiming: "You know we won Georgia, just so you understand.", to which his audience of numbskulls enthusiastically applauded. "They cheated and rigged our presidential election, but we'll still win; and they're trying to rig this election, too." Trump talked up Loeffler and Perdue as he was supposed to, but of course also engaged in a diatribe against the alleged widespread election fraud that has monopolized his time over the past month. But wait, there's more! Trump brought with him videos from right-wing outlets Newsmax and One America News to, um, "prove" that there was a sinister election plot against him. Trump also took the opportunity to lash out at Governor Kemp over "allowing" Biden to take the election: "Your governor could stop it very easily if he knew what the hell he was doing." Ethics and laws need not pertain.

After railing against the "rigged" election in Georgia, Trump encouraged the audience to vote using the same voting machines, in the same system, run by the same officials. This is not a party wherein logic need not prevail, and nothing has to make any sense.

Pandemic? Is there one? Remember when the Trump campaign used to conduct rallies and pretend that attendees were wearing masks by placing the few actually wearing masks behind Trump, in camera view. The Trump people have given up pretending. In today's rally almost no attendees, not even those in view of the cameras, behind Trump, were wearing masks. Trump is a sociopath who cares absolutely nothing about those people who showed up to hear him, and many of those attendees who emulate Trump's refusal to wear a mask can be predicted to be seriously ill by Christmas.

Trump's desperate attempt to go directly to the Wisconsin supreme court is rejected

As you can perceive, Trump has been on an escalation path, from county courts to state courts to federal courts. His next tactic is to insist that state legislatures instruct their electors to disregard the vote from their millions of citizens and instead cast their Electoral College votes for Trump. Trump dictatorship in action. If that doesn't work, he'll want the U.S. Supreme Court to wholesale invalidate the November election and simply declare Trump the winner. Trump's ego must surmount everything. It is absolutely Freudian that Trump claims that Democrats "stole the election" when that is precisely what he is overtly trying to do.

Rudy keeps making a fool of himself

Thwarted at every turn, and marginalized by legitimate media, an infuriated Trump rants from the White House

Trump claimed that our election system was "under coordinated assault and seige." In 46 minutes of shouted vitriole, Trump attacked everyone who thwarted him in the election, claiming that he "easily" won every state. Trump attacked the Dominion Voting Machines company and proclaimed that their people are corrupt, and 96% of their political contributions went to Democrats. He attacked all mail-in voting as corrupt. He attacked the governor and secretary of state in Georgia. He attacked the Democrats, saying that they would "say or do anything" to win the election. He said that because of the claimed corruption, "Joe Biden can't be president". He claimed, "We have so much evidence," and, as usual, his "everybody knows" nothingness. "Detroit is totally corrupt." The recount in Georgia "means nothing". Trump claimed that it's impossible that other Republicans won and he lost. He claimed that votes were "counted in foreign countries, not in the United States". He called for the election to be overturned, saying it was "an election we won, without question".

This, as expected, was 46 minutes of Trumpcrap. Obviously, if Trump had such substantial "evidence", he would have presented it in lawsuits challenging the election; but, as we know, what his attorneys presented in court contained no such evidence. The accuracy of Dominion voting machines was repeatedly tested in validation runs; and we know that there were exhaustive recounts which verified the accuracy of the machines. (The votes on Dominion machines were backed up on paper.) Though Trump rails against voting fraud because he lost, he contradicts himself by proclaiming how many Republicans won their races: he screams "fraud!" only where Democrats won.

Republicans will be pulling their hair out for Trump having engaged in this rant. Trump said: "In Georgia, they're using those horrible Dominion system". This further undermines Republican voters' confidence in the upcoming senate runoff elections — so why should they even bother voting.

As always, Donald Trump is wholly preoccupied with himself, to the exclusion of everything else. At the same time that over 2500 Americans are dying every day from the pandemic, Donald Trump has abandoned his responsibilities as president, and continues to ignore this tragedy, reinforcing his reputation as being without empathy.

Donald Trump continues to be contemptuous of mask wearing — despite having experience coronavirus himself. At the White House, Trump hosted a holiday party which, just as at his rallies, he wasn't wearing a mask and the attendees were shoulder to shoulder, most not wearing masks. At the State Department, Mike Pompeo is planning a holiday party with 900 attendees, allegedly requiring masks, but obviously there will be no mask-wearing in all the partaking of food and drink that pervades such parties. (Expect to see photos of large number of people maskless, and expect a lot of very sick people to result from this party.)

Trump family corruption being investigated

Pardon me! (For what I've done and will do)

Barr (finally) rebukes Trump

Trump's legal team of Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis immediately attacked Barr:
"With all due respect to the attorney general, there hasn't been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation."

Trump called out by a Georgia official for reckless statements targeting election officials

Trump's accomplices target Trump's enemies for killing

Sore loser Donald Trump lashes out

Meanwhile, the White House staff know they are dealing with a nut-job. One close adviser explained to the Washington Post that Trump was like "Mad King George" going around the White House "muttering, 'I won. I won. I won.'" The adviser added that Trump's aides are "happy to scratch his itch." "If he thinks he won, it's like, 'Shh . . . we won't tell him.'"

Trump and his anti-democracy Republican allies lose another frivolous court case

Trump's latest election vandalism effort is shot down as well

Speaking of taking credit...

Take credit for what's good, avoid responsibility for what's bad

An increasingly irrelevant Trump emerges to recharge his ego

The other stark reality here is that Trump thinks only of the stock market. At the same time that market is soaring, the real economy is in dire straits as restaurants are giving up now that the cold weather is upon us, mortgage forbearance is coming to an end (postponed mortgage payments due in full), the renter eviction moratorium is facing an end date (past rent due in full), jobless people have exhausted their savings, unemployment assistance is running out, there are long lines at food banks, and Americans are living in fear of a deadly virus while having no health insurance. Trump celebrates greed at the same time that millions of Americans are becoming desperate. You see no initiative whatever from Trump, Mitch McConnell, or Senate Republicans to put forth a relief package for struggling Americans. (A third of McConnell's constituents in Kentucky are in economic distress.) Why? Simple: power retention. Like Trump, McConnell won't recognize Biden as the president-elect because doing so would upset things as two Senate run-off elections are pending in Georgia.

Meanwhile, bunker-minded Donald Trump continues his efforts to undermine democracy, still screaming about rampant election fraud and having his fumbling lawyers file suits contesting election results. And, of course, Trump is refusing to concede defeat. (The irony is that for someone who hates being called a loser is pursuing useless lawsuits that he keeps losing.) These actions can do nothing to keep Trump in office. What he's doing is what he has always done: generating instability and turmoil, designed to keep his deplorables engaged and be a source of income for what he does once he's evicted from the White House.

Trump is also doing what he can to make the Biden administration's work as daunting as possible. Current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is putting $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into an account that will be out of reach for designated new Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, where she will have to go to Congress to gain access.

The GSA administrator finally stops blocking the transition

Well, consider who you chose as your personal lawyer

Sidney Powell has been evicted from the Trump legal team

Chris Christie calls for an end to the Trump charade of election stealing

Maryland's moderate Republican Governor Larry Hogan today also sharply criticized Trump's efforts, telling CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that he's "embarrassed that more people in the party aren't speaking up" about what he called the "bizarre" moves. "We used to go supervise elections around the world, and we were the most respected, you know, country with respect to elections. And now we're beginning to look like we're a banana republic. It's time for them to stop the nonsense." Hogan added that Trump's meeting last week with members of the Michigan state Legislature's Republican leadership to obviously pressure local leaders on election results, was "completely outrageous."

Another delusional tweet from the White House nut job

Investigators... This recalls Trump's birther vendetta against Barack Obama, when Trump claimed to have sent investigators to Hawaii to find evidence that Obama was not a U.S. citizen and sensationally proclaiming that what the investigators have been finding is incredible. That was Trumpcrap as well, where Trump never produced anything, and likely would not have spent any money to hire investigators. In other words, a lie on top of a lie.
Donald Trump, single-handedly diminishing the United State to banana republic level.

Trump's Pennsylvania election subversion attempt is shot down

The Trump team likely expected this outcome. They are likely using this as a stepping stone to go to the Supreme Court that Trump packed with "his people". If I were one of his appointees, I would look forward to ruling against this destructive outgoing president, to no longer have to be under his thumb...or have this country dragged down to a gutter of irrelevance by the malignant growth that is Donald Trump.

Trump to Georgia: Keep recounting until I win

Trump's coup attempt continues; and if that fails, he intends to leave the country in shambles

In their latest attempt to subvert the Georgia election results, Trump's attorney Lin Wood hurriedly filed suit in federal court to block certification of the election in Georgia. Federal judge Steven D. Grimberg rejected the suit last night, writing: "It is well established that garden-variety election disputes do not rise to the level of a constitutional deprivation. The fact that his candidate didn’t win doesn’t rise to the level of harm." Today, Georgia election officals certified the results of the election.

Recall that Trump summoned Michigan GOP leaders to a White House meeting today. Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield met with Trump for an hour. Evaluating the meeting in advance, John Bolton expected Trump to "squeeze" his visitors. Surprisingly, the Michigan leaders came out of the meeting and within minutes issued this joint statement — which they obviously had at the ready even before the meeting began:
"As legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan's electors, just as we have said throughout this election."
That statement took courage, knowint that it will likely incur the wrath of Trump.

Giuliani conducts a farcical "press conference" today...another effort to undermine democracy

That same Trump lawyer Sidney Powell talked with Lou Dobbs of Fox Business today and actually said this:
"The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be overturned, and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump."
So there it is: a blatant intention to wholesale steal the election and completely disinfranchise millions of voters in multiple states. Anther word for this is "coup". And this is from an alleged lawyer, who by definition is supposed to adhere to and support laws.

Also from the farce zone today: Congressman Louie Gohmert, representative from Texas, and conservative TV news outlets Newsmax and One America News, engaged in spreading the lie that the U.S. Army seized an election software company's server in Frankfurt, Germany, that could supposedly prove there was fraud in the 2020 election. All of that is garbage...the kind of crap that we now expect to get from people who call themselves conservatives but who are actually just power graspers.

Reporting today is that Trump has no expectation of overturning the election: he is simply exercising petty vengeance, flinging debris into the machinery of democracy. Trump is lashing out at everybody, no matter the cost, including the majority who voted against him.

Where legal efforts at subverting the election don't work, go illegal

In Wisconsin, Trump's deputies are conducting another subversion where the Trump campaign has paid $3 million for recounts in two heavily liberal counties, Dane and Milwaukee. His apparent objective is to demonstrate that rampant voter fraud exists, as he continually claims without evidence. The Milwaukee county recount completed on Friday November 27 and not only proved that Biden won, but increased his lead there by 132 votes. Predictably, there was no proclamation from Republicans that the election was proven fair.

In Georgia, their thorough recount there confirms that Joe Biden soundly won that state.

The next stop on the Trump post-election retribution tour: the Department of Homeland Security

That truthful statement was obviously wholly incongruous with Trump's torrent of lies about the election he just lost, and thus the DHS statement was intolerant to him, and so, predictably, Trump lashed out, firing Christopher Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Being the coward he is, Trump conducted the firing by tweet, as he has been doing, the tweet itself congruent with Trump's ongoing lies:

"The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud - including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, 'glitches' in the voting machines which changed votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency."

How predictably petty and vindictive. The word from the White House is that rather than edging toward accepting the overwhelming results of the election, Trump is going the other direction, becoming ever more strident about the results, and ever more frustrated at the lack of support from Republicans, as well as his fanned-out lawyers giving up on the frivolous lawsuits they were assigned to pursue in various Democrat-won states. (The lawyers fully recognize that the issues they were assigned to litigate were not based upon truth or fact, and that courts will censure lawyers who knowingly bring crap cases before the courts.) Trump has canceled his annual plans to spend Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago resort, instead remaing in the White House, to brood and sulk and lash out, in what his aides are calling a "bunker mentality". Trump is obviously considering what act of political vandalism he can next perpetrate. It is reported that he has already contemplated initiating an attack on Iran: hey, why not start a war as part of your presidential transition?

It's the Republicans who are — relentlessly — trying to steal the election, not Democrats

The chair of the Michigan Republican Party applauded this farce and issued this statement:
"I am proud that, due to the efforts of the Michigan Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump Campaign, enough evidence of irregularities and potential voter fraud was uncovered resulting in the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refusing to certify their election results. This action will allow more time for us to get to the bottom of these deeply troubling irregularities. The people of Michigan deserve fair, open, and transparent elections, and we will continue to fight for just that."

The Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, declared those board members to be pursuing blatantly partisan politics, to undermine the election process and prolong the certification process to sow doubt among the public over the validity of the ballot results. Benson noted that this same board was content with the results of past elections where Republicans won, and there were more issues in evidence.

Governor Whitmer issued this statement on the action by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers:
"In refusing to approve the results of the election in Wayne County, the two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers have placed partisan politics above their legal duty to certify the election results. The people have spoken: Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 140,000 votes. Today's action is a blatant attempt to undermine the will of the voters. The process, however, will move forward. Under Michigan law, the Board of State of Canvassers will now finish the job and I have every expectation they will certify the results when the job is done."

Across the country, Trump lawyers continue to bring suits attacking vote counting...only in states where Biden won, at the same time that Trump is waging verbal war of lies against the election results.

At 9:17 pm, Trump tweeted this garbage:
"Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!"
Another Trump misrepresentation. "Michigan" did not refuse to certify the election results; and America is not proud of officials attempting to disinfranchise voters.

But: Trump spoke too soon. The two Republican board members realized they weren't getting away with the outrage they were attempting to perpetrate and reversed their vote. Certification of the Wayne county results then occurred. This will really annoy Trump, who doesn't like being contradicted and won't tolerate disloyalty. Indeed, Trump actually called Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, who then expressed their wish to rescind their votes for certification. Incredible, direct election interference.

The other pandemic: the extremely contagious Trump corruption among Republicans

It is reported today that Lindsey Graham called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday, in the midst of that state's recount of the presidential election ballots recount, and asked Raffensperger if he had the authority to toss out ballots in counties with high rates of nonmatching signatures. Graham also questioned if poll workers had accepted ballots with nonmatching signatures due to political bias, according to Raffensperger.

Anyone can see this for what it is: pressure on Raffensperger to be a good Republican and do what the party wants, to discard legally cast Democratic votes, to both make the count look better for Trump, and to support Trump's malicious fiction about "voter fraud". This, on top of all the other pressure that Raffensperger has been getting, among which was, of course, Republican senatorial run-off candiates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue calling on him to resign because he so doggedly insisted upon fidelity in the election count. On top of this, Raffensperger has said that he and his wife have been receiving death threats recently, one of them saying: "You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it."

This is the blatant level to which the Republican party has sunk, to not just seek to win elections by cheating, but to outright alter the results of a legally conducted election — by resorting to illegal actions the likes of which Republicans are falsely accusing Democrats of perpetrating. This is outright election interference. The Senate Ethics Committee — if there's any integrity left there — should fry Graham for what he did.

Predictably, weasel Graham tried to wiggle out of what he did, attempting to deny the essence of what he said in that phone call. He, the established champion of voter suppression. Inconveniently for Graham, Georgia election implementation manager Gabriel Sterling was witness to that phone call, and corroborates what Raffensberger related about the phone call.

Many will view this as an isolated episode on the part of one individual. Do not underestimate what's going on here. Indications are that Graham's action was just a trial foray into what could be a much wider initiative to have votes thrown out in counties that Biden won, in an effort to give credence to the voter fraud lies that Trump has been relentlessly touting.

Trump's pandemic quack foments violence in Michigan

Money versus democracy

Critics of these law firms shined a spotlight on their efforts, which were clearly attacking democracy and the integrity of the electoral process — without evidence. The exposure and negative publicity has resulted in these firms to either withdraw their vacuous suits and/or distance themselves from the whole debacle. There's a lot to be said for the first amendment, allowing citizens to defend democracy against wanton onslaughts like these.

Trump didn't just lose — he has stopped being president

Republican principals see this, as well as all the Trump lies that are undermining our democracy, and, like Trump, they do nothing. They are complicit with madness and corruption. The Republican party is defining itself as the enemy of democracy.

Trump is contradicted by his own administration

The members of Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) Executive Committee — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Assistant Director Bob Kolasky, U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chair Benjamin Hovland, National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) President Maggie Toulouse Oliver, National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) President Lori Augino, and Escambia County (Florida) Supervisor of Elections David Stafford — and the members of the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) — Chair Brian Hancock (Unisyn Voting Solutions), Vice Chair Sam Derheimer (Hart InterCivic), Chris Wlaschin (Election Systems & Software), Ericka Haas (Electronic Registration Information Center), and Maria Bianchi (Democracy Works) — released the following statement:

"The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.

"When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.

"Other security measures like pre-election testing, state certification of voting equipment, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) certification of voting equipment help to build additional confidence in the voting systems used in 2020.

"While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections."

Absolutely insane irrationality

Still no evidence of voter fraud, vindictive Trump still refusing to concede or allow the transition to proceed

We are hearing that, privately, Trump understands that he irrevocably lost the election. What he's engaging in now is transition vandalism, his petty way of sticking his thumb in the eye of the universe. Trump doesn't foster things; he breaks things.

The world-class hypocrisy of the Trump family was on display today as Ivanka Trump cited the Associated Press projecting Donald Trump the winner in Alaska (on the basis of 70% of the vote counted). She tweeted:
"BREAKING: President Trump and Senate Republicans win Alaska, overwhelmingly and by a massive 20 point spread! Put AK in the books for @realDonaldTrump! Congratulations Senator @DanSullivan_AK!
Thank you Alaska!"
This is the same family who vehemently asserted that there was no validity in accepting Joe Biden as being the election winner on the basis of major news organizations calling the election for Biden. These people have no personal integrity.

Meanwhile, the food fight that is the senate race in Georgia continues, as a run-off election will be occurring. The two Republican candidates, US senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, have called for the resignation of the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, who defended the integrity of the November 3rd election where Joe Biden won. Raffensberger himself is a Republican, and so this action by Republican senators amounts to political cannibalism. Why are they doing this? They want to at least cement the Trump fiction that there is not just voter fraud, but also corruption among the election officials...which of course is to say "conspiracy" — Trump supporters' favorite word. Should they lose the run-off election, they can point to the fake "facts" that they earlier planted to claim that the results were rigged.

Republicans continue to ignore the pandemic, not just in national terms but in daily personal terms. Today there was a Republican rally in Georgia, at the Cobb County Republican headquarters, the major names attending: Kelly Loeffler and Marco Rubio. This rally was held in a window-less room, and most of the Republicans in the room were crowded together with no masks. Just incredible. The Republican community is quietly supporting the perverse "herd immunity" approach to the pandemic. This allows them to ignore the pandemic and pretend that they can carry on as though nothing momentous was happening. Fundamentally, this is about greed, raking in as much money as possible in a supposedly unaffected economy.

Trump undermining democracy? Oh, just let it slide

A smooth transition? Sure, just listen to Trump loyalist Mike Pompeo

Trump continues to refuse to concede the election and, predictably worse, he continues to file frivolous lawsuits claiming election fraud. Judges continue to dismiss these suits for the garbage they are. Republicans unhesitatingly have been latching onto any unsubstantiated "evidence" of fraud, regardless of peril for embarrassment. In Pennsylvania, recall postal worker Richard Hopkins had claimed that officials tampered with mail-in ballots, asserting that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., told workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day. More than claim, Hopkins had signed a sworn affidavit attesting to his claims. Hopkins was questioned by a U.S. Postal Service inspector general — at which time he realized the gravity of what he was doing, and recanted his claim. This is what Trump zealots do.

Trump has no numerical path to 270 electoral votes, and yet he continues to perpetuate this myth that he can prevail. This is pure obstructionism. Why? Part of it is money...Trump's fundamental motivator. He has established a "recount fund", encouraging his followers to send in their monies, to undo the "steal". Guess what? The fine print shows that 60% of the funds go first to Trump's newly formed PAC, Save America. Forty percent will go to the Republican National Committee's operating account. This is called grifting. It is also the case that Trump is stringing his followers along for the next act in his reality show, be it a Trump TV channel or Limbaugh-like radio show, as Trump seems likely to run again in 2024. Assuming he gets out for good behavior.

At the White House, Trump is doing nothing but brooding and bitching. He seems to have given up the pretense of functioning as President. While Trump ignores the pandemic, there are today more COVID-19 patients in hospitals than in any time since the pandemic began. In Michigan, hospitals are full. In El Paso, Texas, officials are desperate to get more mobile morgues to deal with the death toll.

To the jeopardy of the country, Trump refuses to engage in office transition

Meanwhile, even in loss, Republican leadership continues to support Trump. Leaders from around the world have congratulated president-elect Joe Biden. Shamefully, at home, only four Republican senators have done the same. Party over country.

Trump's vindictiveness and utter lack of concern for our nation was on display again today: By tweet, Trump fired secretary of defense Mark Esper. Here we are in a period of presidential transition and Trump does this. What's worse, this firing is likely just the first. Expectations are that Trump will next express his dissatisfaction with FBI chief Christopher Wray and CIA chief Gina Haspel by firing them as well. (They failed to pursue Trump's fictional "deep state plots" against his administration.) This is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. It puts the United States in jeopardy, making for an ideal time for adversary nations to launch attacks against us. This is Trump beginning his scorched-earth campaign, his "I'll show them!" vengeful retailiation against everyone in general.

To support Trump, the corrupt Attorney General William Barr issued an order to federal prosecutors across the country to look for fraud in the election. This is another Barr action that demonstrates that Barr is a Trump stooge, who has politicized the Justice Department and perverted it to be a shield for this corrupt president. Recognize this for what it is: It is the Attorney General of the United States acting as a personal ally of a corrupt president to call upon federal lawyers to take up arms against Donald Trump's political enemies. This is perversion of government at the highest level, and further evidence of Trump turning the government into his personal criminal enterprise. Will those prosecutors pursue such "fraud"...and seek to invent cases of it where it doesn't exist, the satisfy Barr's dictum? Those prosecutors do so at their own peril: judges will sanction lawyers who frivolously bring false cases before federal court. Barr should be impeached.

At the White House, irrationality and self-delusion prevails as usual. The ever-lying Kayleigh McEnany took to the White House briefing room podium to launch into lies about election fraud. It was even too much for Fox News, which was broadcasting the rant and cut her off. Fox News host Neil Cavuto explained their termination of transmission: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I just think we have to be very clear: she's charging the other side as welcoming fraud and illegal voting, unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue to show you this."

Speaking of irrationality, Trump today tweeted:
"Nevada is turning out to be a cesspool of Fake Votes. @mschlapp & @AdamLaxalt are finding things that, when released, will be absolutely shocking!"
This is standard Trumpcrap. If you remember Trump's birther vendetta against Barack Obama, Trump claimed to have sent investigators to Hawaii to find evidence that Obama was not a U.S. citizen and sensationally proclaiming that what the investigators have been finding is incredible. That was Trumpcrap as well, where Trump never produced anything.

Elsewhere in the careless Trump administration, the coronavirus continues to infect Trump's allies. A few days ago it was Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Today it is Ben Carson and David Bosse who have tested positive for the virus. Was that mask-less White House election party worth it, guys?

Trump lies about the Nevada vote

On Wednesday night, April 21, 2020, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (a Republican) would announce that her office had found zero "evidentiary support" for claims of fraud or bias in the Silver State's 2020 election results, saying: "While the [Nevada Republican Party] raises policy concerns about the integrity of mail-in voting, automatic voter registration, and same-day voter registration, these concerns do not amount to evidentiary support for the contention that the 2020 general election was plagued by widespread voter fraud," wrote Cegavske in a letter to the Nevada GOP. Another refutation of Trump's Big Lie claiming that the cause of him losing the 2020 presidential election could only be vote fraud, because his ego would not allow him to admit to himself that he's a loser.

In the Republican Party, allegiance to truth, oath of office, and country is to be punished if allegiance to party does not come first. As has been reported, Cegavske has paid a political price for doing her job as the state's top election official. Cegavske would end up formally censured by the Nevada Republican Party for "disregard of her oath of office by failing to investigate election fraud, her dismissive public statements regarding election integrity concerns, and her failure to ensure compliance with Nevada and federal election law." In this action, the corrupt Nevada Republican Party hews to Trump's Big Lie of "election fraud" to fabricate a mythical excuse to punish a state office holder who, in contrast to party officials, has integrity.

Biden is the presumed president-elect

Of course, Trump and his associated anti-American Republican cohorts are continuing to filing grievance lawsuits — despite Trump's hopeless 214 electoral vote count. Expect Trump to pardon himself...and every other corrupt person he can think of. The country looks forward to seeing state prosecutors bring Trump to justice where a federal pardon cannot protect Trump from his brazen criminal activity.

In the next two months we can expect Trump to undertake a "Saddam Hussein", where that dictator ordered that the oil fields of Iraq should be set ablaze to cause an environmental disaster as coalition forces advanced in the country. You can expect Trump to vindictively lay waste to everything he can in retribution to the country having repudiated him. Maybe Lindsey Graham will finance construction of the traditional presidential library for Trump, given that there may be no other willing avenue of funding.

So where was Trump today? Was he working on his illusory health care plan that he has been perpetually claiming was "imminent"? Was he conferring with experts to formulate an infrastructure plan that he has been promising since the beginning of his presidency? No; Trump was where he so frequently is: on the golf course. The delusional Trump even tweeted this at 10:36 this morning:
"I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!"

So where was Trump's buffoon of a personal attorney, Rudy Guiliani, today? He was at Four Seasons Total Landscaping outside Philadelphia. Huh??? On Saturday, current White House buffoon Donald Trump tweeted that a "big press conference" was to occur that morning at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia. So, of course, the Four Seasons deluxe hotel. But then Trump tweeted a revision to that: the announcement, hosted by Rudy Giuliani, would happen at...Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Hardly believing what they were reading, the press rushed to this suburban location, half expecting to find mulch rather than Trump campaign personnel. They found the place to be adjacent to a sex shop and a crematorium. One can only imagine that this venue was the result of some Trump campaign staffer arranging for the "Four Seasons" location without understanding what he/she was doing. So, what was this momentous press conference about? It was Giuliani denying that Biden had won the election, and parroting Trump's claims of massive voter fraud. Evidence? Trumpworld never needs evidence...they simply have to believe concocted stories. At the landscaping place, Rudy said: "In Philadelphia, they keep the votes of dead people secret." Such was the quality of his information. No lie is too ridiculous in Trumpworld.

The vote counting and Republican obstruction continues

At our soiled White House, our alleged president continues to lie about the ballot counting, pumping out false hope to his supporters, and stirring his crazies to occupy the grounds around the ballot counting center. Word is that Trump has no intention of conceding defeat any time soon. His hencemen have reportedly considered subverting the Electoral College process by instructing their electoral voters to disregard Biden state wins and cast their votes for Trump instead. You have to wonder if they have contemplated the extreme measure of invoking the military to keep Trump in office. These democracy vandals persist.

While Trump is wholly preoccupied with himself, the deadly coronavirus finds increasing numbers of victims. For the past two days, the official count of infections across the nations has exceeded a whopping 120,000, and over 100,000 in the past three days.

This democracy thing must be stopped!!

Well, the counting did not stop, and a rattled Trump then tweeted:
"ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!"
So says The Dictator Of The United States. Of course, there is this thing called states' rights, among which is their right to define their own vote processing rules: there is no federal jurisdiction here.

Meanwhile, judges in Michigan and Georgia threw out the Trump lawsuits as lacking merit.

In the White House briefing room, Trump went on TV at 6:45 pm ET, abusing his position to conduct a grievances rant. Trump started by braging about winning states in spite of "media interference" with their "suppression polls". He then went on to claim great accomplishments in the election, and how wrong the polls were. Trump profoundly denied the legitimacy of the election by saying: "If you count the legal votes I easily win. If you count the illegal votes they can try to steal the election from us." Then, claims of fraud because the undeclared states are "run by Democrats" where his votes were "whittled away in secret", talking about rampant "corruption" to "manufacture results", and vote counters in Pennsylvania are disallowing observers to that they could "commit fraud". He singled out the cities and states with Democratic leadership — Detroit and Philadelphia &mdash, claiming "Tremendous corruption and fraud." and "The corrupt Democratic machine." as vote counting continues in those states...saying nothing about Georgia and Arizona, which are run by Republicans. He also claimed that the mailing of unsolicited ballots was "unprecedented in American history". He claimed that mail-in ballots were being counted "with no identification". He claimed that in Detroit and other counting sites, "large sheets of cardboard" were put over the glass. He claimed that there's something obviously wrong that all these mail-in ballots are for Biden: well, the simple reason for this is that Trump himself called upon his deplorables to not vote by mail...to only vote on election day. What's the evidence for all these claims? None: this is Trump, after all. He went on and on with these lies for 17 minutes, in front of the world, thoroughly embarrassing our nation. What the world saw was not a president...and not even an adult: what the world saw tonight was a crybaby. Worse, with these incendiary lies, Trump is fomenting violence among his unhinged followers. This is precisely what Putin is gleeful to hear: the president of the United States himself undermining democracy. NBC News and CBS News cut Trump off because he was on a lying rant. CNN called it a sad night that the president of the United States should flail and lie like this. Dana Bash reached out to Republican principals asking when there is going to be an intervention to put a stop to this undermining of democracy.

Donald Trump Jr. overtly called for violence with this tweet:
"The best thing for America's future is for @realDonaldTrump to go to total war over this election to expose all of the fraud, cheating, dead/no longer in state voters, that has been going on for far too long. It's time to clean up this mess & stop looking like a banana republic!"
Total war. Believe it that Trump's followers will heed this. It says something about Donald Jr. that he can't perceive that it has been his family's presence in the White House that has been making this country look like a banana republic.

This is a time when Republicans can either honor their oath of office and defend democracy, or instead choose to stand by a liar who cares only about himself. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz chose the latter course. They can hereafter be known as un-American and the enemies of democracy.

Low on electoral votes, Trump predictably tries to subvert democracy

And Trump supporters now, seeing Trump losing: They were documented on video storming the Michigan vote counting center, pounding on the glass wall keeping them from getting at the ballot counting staff. Police and security had to converge to removed these yahoos. Recall Trump Junior on September 21 calling for an "army" of Trumpers to descend upon polling places (to obviously intimidate people); and this seems to be part of that "army", intent on disrupting the vote counting as well.

Trump and his vile children don't hesitate to inflame things. Eric Trump today retweeted a video supposedly showing "Burning 80 Trump ballots". This was found to be a staged nothing, where a Trumper set fire to a bag of sample ballots to fabricate a literally inflammatory video. The Trumps never care if anything they convey has factual basis. It's a family that lives in lies.

On Trump stupidity: Donald Trump kept hammering on Arizona senator John McCain, not stopping even after McCain's death. Trump did this regardless of the risk to his re-election chances, his hatred for McCain overriding everything. McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, then endorsed Joe Biden for president. And today Biden is winning Arizona.

Not to be forgotten is Trump's denial of the coronavirus that is killing so many Americans. Today, the number of cases exceeded 102,000...that in just one day.

It's election day, and Trump declares himself the winner even before the votes are counted

Trump's war on voting and ballots has been continuing

For his part, Trump is vitriolic that the election results must be finalized tomorrow night. He has threatened legal action if that doesn't happen. This is Trump high anxiety and desperation. Election results have never been certified on election night. It certainly didn't happen in the 19th century, and not in the 20th century. It takes time for votes to be full counted. Further, it is states that define the rules of voting: it is not controlled or defined at the federal level...and certainly not by Donald Trump. Ultimately, the only requirement is that the voting must be certified before December 14, which is the Monday after the second Wednesday in December of presidential election years is set (3 U.S.C. section 7) — the date on which the Electoral College electors meet and vote. Principal Republicans are appalled at what Trump has been doing to undermine the election and dictate what the results should be, where Trump has been saying that allowing ballot counting to proceed after election day allows unbridled cheating. Trump has even threatened the governor of Pennsylvania that he "will be watched", and threatened to withhold aid to the state if things don't go his way. Turning the United States into Trumpistan.

What's seriously rattling Trump? Historic, record voter turnout. Trump sees that as an ominous thing. What he was looking for was ordinary voter turnout, with the majority of those voters choosing him. A record turnout could be the result of people being completely fed up with the Trump insanity of the past four years, and wanting it to end. Is this the case? Consider that Trump has never reached and stayed at even a 50% approval rating, never mind reaching levels of favorability enjoyed by most presidents. Even in the election which put him into office, the majority of voters cast their votes against him, and many of those were people voting their displeasure with Hillary Clinton. It's unlikely that those "swing voters" will be on his side this time, having seen the vindictive, divisive fraud that Donald Trump really is, and perceiving the damage that he is inflicting upon this once-great nation.

If the election goes against him, expect Trump to scream "Rigged!!" and send out an army of lawyers to contest every (Democrat) vote possible. He did say that he would not accept a vote that did not go his way. Note Trump's complete lack of concern about the Republican congresspeople he is pulling down with him.

Person, woman, man, camera, TV, loser.

Fire Fauci, and get those inconvenient pandemic experts out of the way

How disgusting Donald Trump can get

"Our doctors get more money if someone dies of COVID."

An absolutely incredible lie. Disgusting. And his deplorables were nodding in agreement behind him.
It's an assault and deliberate insult against our dedicated front line health workers. Donald Trump is worse than heinous: Donald Trump is human trash. This is Donald Trump attempting to diminish the inconvenient death count by denigrating those who are with those who take their last breaths and have to report yet another death from the deadly virus. Donald Trump can't conceive of anyone doing anything if there wasn't a monetary payback. This is the Donald Trump who stood over a veteran's grave and asked, what was in it for him? Obsessed with greed, Donald Trump sees everything in life with a dollar sign on it. Someone as amoral and depraved as this should never be in a position of power.

Like father, like son: lie, lie, lie about the pandemic

This, at the same time that President Trump is continuing to host superspreader rallies, claiming to his fools that we're "rounding the corner" on the pandemic...about which he has been doing nothing. At his packed rally in Tampa, Florida today, in 89-degree heat, Trump proclaimed:
"We know the disease. We social distance. We do all of the things that you have to do. If you get close, wear a mask. 'Oh, it's controversial.' It's not controversial to me. You get close, you wear a mask. Social distance, social distance."
Cameras panning around the crowd showed his attendees shoulder to shoulder, no social distancing and almost no one wearing a mask. (There has been no encouragement or enforcement of social distancing or mask wearing at any of his rallies; and Trump has never appeared at a rally wearing a mask.)

Countering Trump's unrelanting lies about the pandemic

Speaking of absolutely outrageous lies... Trump's White House today issued a press release summarizing the administration's accomplishments over the last four years. The release cites this incredible alleged accomplishment:
"Highlights include: ENDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC".
As this shows, there is no limit to the audacity of the Trump administration, and the degree to which his staff is eager to congruently lie along with Trump. Mission accomplished, huh? Confronted with this, the White House dismissed it as just being "poorly written". It's not poorly written: it's an intentional lie. They even lie about lies. This coven of despicables needs to be thrown out of the White House, followed by fumigation of the people's house.

As everyone has noticed, no one hears from the administration's Coronavirus Task Force any more. Why is that? Because Trump didn't like the task force medical experts contradicting his lies minimizing the pandemic. Thanks to Bob Woodward's recorded interviews with Trump staffers, we got insight into how this situation came to be. Here is what boy genius son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said on April 18, claiming a comeback of the economy as though the virus had gone away (though by that time there were thousands of Americans dead):
"There were three phases. There's the panic phase, the pain phase and then the comeback phase. I do believe that last night symbolized kind of the beginning of the comeback phase. That doesn't mean there's not still a lot of pain and there won't be pain for a while, but that basically was, we've now put out rules to get back to work. Trump's now back in charge. It's not the doctors. They've kind of — we have, like, a negotiated settlement."
So, on the basis of political self-interest, Trump and his nepotistic aides pushed science out of the White House so that they would be free to spew their own propaganda in order to get their autocrat re-elected in November. In the spirity of disavowing responsibility, dealing with the deadly virus was left to the states.

What Trump's despicable Stephen Miller said today

Is Miller modeling himself after Hitler's propaganda minister Paul Joseph Goebbels? What he's saying is blatant contrived, baseless, and intentional lying. The false narrative that Miller is spewing is obviously playing to the appalling ignorance and conspiracy-obsessiveness of Trump deplorables who subscribe to the QAnon nonsense that, like white supremacy, Trump has refused to condemn. Miller, working in the center of our federal government, is paid by the taxpayers to more effectively administer government, and here he is spending his time and effort to reinforce conspiracy theories that will inflame Trump's simon-says supporters.

Trump in Michigan, protesting coronavirus coverage

Very conspicuously absent from the Trump presidential campaign is any support for congressional Republicans. Likewise, just like in the 2016 campaign, Trump doesn't mention the Republican party: this is a party of one...this is The Trump Party. As always, it's me, me me.

A judge disagrees that the Justice Department should be Trump's personal law firm

Trump in New Hampshire

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was on CNN's "State of the Union" saying "we're not going to control the pandemic." Asked why not, Meadows said "because it is a contagious virus, just like the flu". There's that familiar Trump administration minimization of the deadly COVID-19 as being just like the flu. Their response to the pandemic is to do as little as possible, and let Americans die.

News reports say that five of Vice President Mike Pence's staff, including his chief of staff have tested positive for coronavirus...testimony to this administration's cavalier attitude toward the virus. Pence should self-quarantine as a result of this, in the same way that Kamala Harris did when one of her staff members tested positive, right? Not Pence. He intends to go to the Senate tomorrow to confirm the Supreme Court nominee that his party rushed through, just before the election, contrary to the dying wish of Ruth Ginsberg. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows refused to disclose the extent of the Covid-19 outbreak in Pence's VP realm.

Donald Trump: as sexist today as ever

Then there's the even more overt sexism. Not long after he uttered the words quoted above, Trump returned to lying about Democrats intending to turn the United States into a socialist or even communist nation. To quote Trump:
"We're not supposed to have a socialist — look we're not going to be a socialist nation. We're not going to have a socialist president, especially a female socialist president, we're not gonna have it, we're not gonna put up with it."
Overt: "...especially a female..." There it is, right out there, this case disparaging vice president candidate Kamala Harris; and by extension, all American women.

This is the self-professed sexual predator who is now hiding behind his stooge Bill Barr, having the United States Justice Department shield Donald Trump against E. Jean Carroll's sexual assault suit.

When I see one of those revolting Trump rallies, and I see women carrying signs saying "Women For Trump", my reaction is this: There is no greater fool than a woman who is for Trump.

Trump anti-ballots suite thrown out

The final presidential debate: Trump lies and airs his grievances

What would you do differently? "Not much"

Trump agrees to a 60 Minutes interview, then walks out

Among the things that Stahl challenged Trump about was his empty claims that he was (perpetually) coming up with a far better health plan than Obamacare...at the same time that he was in the courts to have the Affordable Care Act eliminated, as part of his vindictive effort to destroy Barack Obama's legacy. Well, guess what: After Trump walked out of the interview, he had his alleged press secretary Kayleigh McEnany bring Stahl, on camera, what McEnany claimed was Trump's health care plan...a binder about 9 inches thick. Said McEnany: "Lesley, the president wanted me to deliver his health care plan, it's a little heavy." Stahl specifically asked McEnany whether whether the binder actually contained the claimed health care plan, McEnany replied, "Yes." The 60 Minutes staff found, however, that what was in the binder was not a health care plan. Stahl subsequently reported: "Filled with executive orders, congressional initiatives, but no comprehensive health plan."

A look into Trump's attitude toward illegal campaign fundraising

Trump can't resist the urge to slam Fauci

This is Trump demonstrating how irredeemably dumb he is. Here it is two weeks before the election, with his own people telling him that the last thing he needs to do is remind voters about the pandemic, but Trump can't help but vent, no matter how self-defeating it is.

Do people go to Trump rallies for the freak show?

Lies and irresponsibility continue to be hallmarks of the Trump administration

HHS secretary Alex Azar has been delivering a contrary message, that masks should be worn, but inconsistently, as in defending Trump's decision not to wear a mask.

Trump once again defines Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer as a target for his mentally unstable followers

The New York Times declares Trump the enemy of democracy

Make America Greatly Impoverished: Trump establishes a deficit record

Donald Trump: president of just red states

Trump conducts his latest herd immunity experiment in Georgia

Frustrated by the continuing virus, Trump's latest approach is what experts regard as mass murder

William Haseltine, Chair and President of ACCESS Health International, said he is "extremely concerned that the President is being advised by people who speak of herd immunity." (As in Trump's doctor-shopped White House pandemic advisor, Scott Atlas, who has no epidemiology credentials.) "Herd immunity is another word for mass murder. That is exactly what it is," Haseltine said on CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of this: "Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy for responding to an outbreak, let alone a pandemic."

So where is this coming from? It's certainly not from the science community or the reputable medical community. It's from fringies. (You can count on Trump to latch onto fringe idiocy.) Most recently, this is coming from The Great Barrington Declaration, which the White House is now pursuing. The declaration is not a document from reputable people: it is a website, whom anyone can sign...among them, Scott Atlas. As you can expect, the signatories include obviously bogus names such as Dr. I.P. Freely, Dr. Person Fakename and Dr. Johnny Bananas, who listed himself as a "Dr of Hard Sums," as well as "18 self-declared homeopaths listed as medical practitioners."

Trump pleads with suburban women to like him (again)

Completely indifferent Trump conducts another superspreader rally

Remember Florida governor Ron DeSantis months ago reacting to those appealing for caution in reopening busineses as being "negative"? DeSantis was eager to reopen bars and restaurants — which resulted in infection surges. Why bring up DeSantis in this context? DeSantis was seen on televised coverage of this rally walking in through a crowd-lined corridor, no mask, high-fiving many along the way, and then touching his face with that same hand. Is there intelligence among Republicans?

And then there is the question of intelligence within the Trump family. Today, son Eric Trump was stumping for his father in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, at the Village Bowl facility. This was a crowded indoor rally, only a couple of attendees wearing masks, with Eric Trump of course not wearing a mask. Still maskless, Eric Trump then waded into the equally maskless crowd to shake hands.

What many people don't perceive is that Trump is eager to do rallies because it gets him out of Washington, DC: he escapes work and responsibilities. Donald Trump has never wanted to do the work required of a president: he just seeks celebrity and adulation.

And these rallies are all about adulation and ego — nothing else. Think of the idiocy involved here... Trump is holding rallies of just his (dwindling) supporters. He is doing nothing to inspire the majority of voters. Worse, Trump is stupidly reinforcing his image of irresponsible response to the virus. Trump's ego is blinding him to the reality that he just barely won the 2016 election, and that was largely due to a confluence of coincidental factors. And here he is sticking to the same routine he used in 2016, even as he knows that large swaths of the voters have recoiled from him. Trump is demonstrating that he is hopeless, and the majority of the populace sees this.

Speaking of Trump himself undermining confidence in him, Trump did it again during this rally. Trump keeps talking about vanquishing the virus that beset him, because "I'm a perfect physical specimen". (...waiting for laughter to subside...) Standing on the rally podium, Trump exuberantly proclaimeed:
"They say I'm immune. I feel so powerful, I'll walk into that audience, I'll walk in there, kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women."
This immediately made me think of Trump as captured on the Access Hollywood tape:
"You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything..."
Donald Trump: the definition of irresponsible behavior. He is a creep who should not be allowed anywhere near the White House...and increasing numbers of people are of the same belief.

Trump campaign commercial lies about Trump's coronavirus response, intentionally misusing a Fauci quote

Fauci was furious to find his image and voice being used politically, to promote a president who would not expend the effort to confront the virus, wholly indifferent to the loss of many thousands of American lives.

Speaking of Trump's commercials... They all stress division and fear-mongering: no positivity, never any plans for helping suffering Americans now or in the next four years. As always, it's all for Trump's benefit, always at the expense of others.

Rallies resume, starting at...the White House

Note also that the equally ethically bankrupt Attorney General William Barr, sworn to uphold our nation's laws, was silent on today's abuse of power by Trump.

Speaking of the campaign: Trump is cancelling ads in key states for lack of monies in his campaign. I would say that this reinforces New York Times reporting that Trump is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, as this self-declared "billionaire" can't even come up with the money he needs to counter Joe Biden's election bid, as so many people are contributing to the Biden campaign rather than Trump's. Adding to Trump's support: The Taliban today offered its endorsement for President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.

A prominent justice endorses Biden

My way or no way

Trump insisting upon an in-person debate, despite his condition, only reinforces the public perception that he is reckless and has learned no lessons from the pandemic. This aggravates his polling numbers.

God's (deranged) drug salesman

This recommendation from a know-nothing habitual liar who doesn't need physicians to be certain that after just a few days, unlike anyone else he is fully cured of COVID-19 and, feeling so great that he believes that he could not possibly still be contagious. This pronouncement, at the same time that the number of people connected to the White House and now testing positive for the virus has risen to 34. At this point, the White House is literally the epicenter for COVID-19 cases in Washington, DC.

The White House has still not responded to questions as to the last time that Trump tested negative for the virus, in order to establish when this all started, with with what individual. Remember Trump repeatedly saying over months that he didn't have to worry about the virus because he was tested daily (for all the good that would do)? Well, White House insiders have leaked that Trump was not being tested every day. The White House has conveniently revised their terminology to now say that Trump was being tested "regularly"...and still not saying when his last negative test was. This is absolutely typical of the Trump administration, hiding information, lying, and denying. A culture of corrupt behavior.

The VP debate tonight

Well, the debate occurred, and we saw Pence follow Trump's debate lead by interrupting Senator Harris and repeatedly overrun his time allotment...to slight this opponent who is a Democrat and, worse, a woman...what Trump deems a lesser type of person who can be taken advantage of. Likewise, Pence disrespected moderator Susan Page. In this arrogance, Pence disregarded Trump's desperate need to repair his standing with women...and instead Trump and Pence further alienated women. Pence did not hesitate to lie for Trump, as in claiming that Trump's foremost interest was the health of Americans, as in claiming that Trump paid "tens of millions" of dollars in undefined taxes, and deflecting from the issue of Trump frenetically preventing his tax returns from being revealed by saying that Trump has submitted "stacks of financial disclosures". Most importantly, Pence would not explain why this country leads the world in pandemic deaths despite having a fraction of the population.

Harris missed some major opportunities. When Pence had the audacity to portray Trump's impeachment as a baseless attack on Trump, by trivializing it as being over "a phone call", Harris could have come back by pointing out that Trump's behavior was yet another instance of Trump violating major laws, here soliciting another nation to conduct an investigation for Trump's self interest. Harris had the opportunity to aid the election of Democrat senate candidates by pointing out how Republican senators have been willing enablers of Trump's attacks on American democracy. Harris could have gone after the Trump administration for its complete perversion of the EPA, turning the EPA into a pollution allowance agency.

Note well that Pence would not answer important questions. Pence evaded answering what the Trump administration would offer for their perpetually teased and perceived fictional healthcare plan. Pence sidestepped the question as to presidential continuity — of great importance at this time when Trump had to be rushed to the hospital, remains infected, and is on a regiment of drugs. Pence would not answer the question about what would he do if Trump would not accept the results of the election if the Democrat candidate won. And then Pence went on to echo Trump's lie that mail-in voting will result in fraudulent results. This is Trump announcing that he intends to be Trump's accomplice in denying the results of an election that does not keep them in office.

And tonight we got to see the most famous fly in the world. Pence was his usual mannequin self such that he didn't even disturb the fly. This is not the type of man that Trump's male voters want in the office.

The New England Journal of Medicine blasts the Trump administration

A former CDC head calls upon the current director to speak up

Trump's White House goes from mess to disaster

The pervasiveness of Trump's disavowal of the virus can be seen in a video created by an eagle-eyed reporter who turned the camera at the outdoor eating area at the executive office building adjoining the White House, where young men and women staffers were bunched at the picnic tables with no masks.

Republican senators are apoplectic over how Trump has been behaving because Trump is leading them to defeat in the imminent election. This is definitive karmas for all these Trump loyalists and enablers, who have chained themselves to that unhinged captain of the sinking ship they are on.

Trump panics and holds suffering Americans and failing small businesses hostage

This is Trump saying to everyone now without a job, to everyone facing eviction, to everyone with no more savings, to everyone in a food line — to hell with you: my election is all that matters.

Why call off stimulus talks? Because Trump wants his complicit Republican senators to wholly concentrate on getting his Supreme Court nominee approved and installed. Why? Because Trump wants the Supreme Court fully packed with "his people".

Consider the whole picture here... In denying a deperate populace the stimulus they need, Trump is knowingly alienating them. Why? The indication here is that Trump sees the polls showing him well behind Biden and Trump is essentially giving up on voters. And yet, Trump is desperate to stay in office, to stay out of the reach of prosecutors. He's in panic mode. This indicates that Trump intends to perpetrate a constitutional crisis to stay in office, where the Supreme Court will save him. In his tweet, heed that Trump says "after I win". Stay tuned for a huge October dirty trick from Trump.

Trump again lies to try to minimize the virus

This is an intentional lie, as is apparent to anyone who has gone through a flu season; and yet Trump tries to get people to believe an obviously false assertion. During the 2019-2020 flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 38 million people in the U.S. got the flu and 21,909 of them died.

Pretend everything's fine: this evening's episode of the Trump reality show

What an incredible display of self-serving stupidity! It is Trump demonstrating to his supporters that you don't have to wear a mask. At the same time, it is demonstrating to every intelligent person that Trump is absolutely the wrong person to be in the White House.

The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that Trump told an aide, who was just tested positive for the virus, to not disclose those test results. However, putting a lid on the growing White House infections: Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and two of her deputies have tested positive for the virus. (This is the Kayleigh who famously said that Trump would not allow the virus to come to this country.)

Take another look at the video of Trump reaching the center of that balcony after climbing the stairs. Trump is repeatedly opening his mouth. He is laboring to breathe while trying to look like he isn't laboring. He is clearly not in good shape.

What did Trump say in that return-of-the-native video production?
"I just left Walter Reed Medical Center and it's really something very special, the doctors, the nurses, the first responders, and I learned so much about coronavirus. And one thing that's for certain: Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines, all developed recently. I went, I didn't feel so good. And two days ago, I could've left two days ago. Two days ago I felt great, like better than I have in a long time. I said just recently, better than 20 years ago. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader would not do what I did. And I know there's a risk, there's a danger, but that's ok. And now I'm better, and maybe I'm immune, I don't know. But don't let it dominate your lives. Get out there. Be careful. We have the best medicines in the world and it all happened very shortly and they're all getting approved. And the vaccines are coming momentarily."
In other words: be as reckless and irresponsible as I am.

Don't overlook that Trump just received the best medical treatment in the world — and paid only $750 in taxes to get it.

Even when infected, Trump dismisses the virus, for political purposes

Unbelievable! This is monumentally insulting to the friends and relatives of the 210,000 people in this country alone who have suffered and tied from this deadly virus. The message, as Trump has said before, is that the virus is insignificant, and that even the old, overweight Donald Trump can "vanquish" it. Even better, the virus is rejuvenating!!! Go get some virus!

Trump's physician shows how corrupted he is

Trump's ego goes for a drive

Donld Trump and Melania Trump test positive for coronavirus

The White House announced that Trump would continue working during his bout with the virus was hilarious, given that his "workday" consists mostly of watching television, insulting people, and otherwise avoiding work.

Trump (finally) getting the virus that had been closing in on him, and that he and his Republican apologists have been denying since the beginning of the year, is devastating for them because they can no longer deny the ongoing dangers of the pandemic.

You can just envision Susan Collins saying, I hope the President has learned his lesson.

Should we feel badly for Trump? Hardly, given the enormous amount of abuse that he has relentlessly inflicting on anyone getting close to Hurricane Trump, no one should have any sympathy for this democracy-ravaging tyrant. Given Trump's history, there's high probability that Trump has been engineering some underhanded October dirty trick, like having his accomplice Barr on like October 20th announce an investigation of Joe Biden or indictment of his son, based upon "expert investigator" Rudy Giuliani's trips to the Ukraine. This is exactly the ugly kind of thing that Trump, in his vindictiveness and nastiness, would do without hesitation.

The way Trump and his party have abetted and facilitated the spread of COVID-19, an appropriate nickname for it would be The Republican Virus.
Edward J. Rollins, co-chairman of the pro-Trump super PAC said: "There was a panic before this started, but now we're sort of the stupid party."

Trump uses food aid for self promotion

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, said of this: "These are federally purchased boxes. In my 30 years of doing this work, I've never seen something this egregious. These are federally purchased boxes."

Another packed rally

Trump ad supports the spreading of false information

The day after: same old Trump

Why is Trump refusing to forsake these groups? Because they are foot-soldiers in Donald Trump's culture war. They are Trump's reserve forces. If you recall when there was discussion of forcing Trump out of office via the 25th amendment, Trump reacted by saying that he would encite his followers to a civil war to stay in office. This is what Trump intends if the election is decided against him, as he desperately will do anything to stay in office, protected from prosecution by the office.

The first presidential debate

Trump once again blamed the states afflicted with wildfires for negligence, for not grooming the forest. Recall Trump saying in the past that if the forests were raked, these fires would not be happening. Besides this being imbecilic, it doesn't dawn upon this simpleton that most of the burning forests are under federal control, meaning that Trump is responsible for the lack of "raking". This is also Trump unwilling to acknowledge that the reason for the increasing frequency and severity of the fires: the relentless worsening of global warming that Trump disavows and refuses to act on.

On the coronavirus: Biden called attention to Trump's reckless rallies, where he insisted on attendees being packed together because it made for good "optics". Trump claimed it was no problem because the rallies were outdoors (well, the first two notorious rallies this year were indoors). Obviously, being outdoors doesn't matter if people are directly breathing on one another. Trump also falsely claimed that, in any case, there were no negative effects from the rallies...which he cannot possibly know, as the campaign certainly did not conduct the weeks-long post-rally testing that would be needed to determine this. Trump moronically took debate time to ridicule Biden for wearing a mask: "I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 ft. away and he shows up with biggest mask I've ever seen." Clearly, the mask that Biden sports is no bigger than any other; and this demonstrates Trump's negative leadership, openly telling his supporters not to wear masks during a pandemic.

Remember Trump seriously saying that a cure for the virus would be to inject bleach? Biden called attention to this, and Trump dismissed it by claiming that he was being sarcastic when he said it...which is manifestly untrue to everyone who saw how Trump uttered those words in the White House briefing room.

Biden called attention to net fewer jobs being created during Trump's four years than in four years of Obama's administration. Attempting to cling to his fiction of a fantastic economy, Trump claimed that the economy was roaring back, in a V-shaped recovery. Biden emphasized that what is happening as K-shaped, with the rich getting richer and the poorer poorer. The government statistics about the economy are known to be deficient in failing to portray how frighteningly serious the situation is for many, many millions of real people in this country. Over 800,000 people are filing unemployment claims every week. Major businesses are laying off huge numbers of people (Disney: 28,000; airlines: 45,000; etc.). There are mile-long lines of automobiles at food banks. Renter eviction prevention is devastating landlords and leaving renters facing huge, accumulating rent oblications at the end of the moratorium. (And many renters are being evicted despite the supposed protections.) Homeowners who have appealed for mortgage forbearance are facing impossible ballon payment obligations when their forbearance period ends. Thousands of people are living without electricity or water because they have been unable to pay utility bills. Businesses which would provide hopes for employment for the desperate are shutting down or going bankrupt. Trump is lying about the state of the economy. Millions of people are suffering while Donald Trump golfs.

Chris Wallace and Joe Biden both called upon Trump to disavow white extremists. He would not do it. He could not even bring himself to say "white extremists". The most they could get out of Trump was for him to speak to the extremist group Proud Boys, saying to them: "Stand back and stand by". That group was thrilled with this, which they took to be encouragement. They even took it on as a slogan for their movement and even said that they are "awaiting orders" from Trump. The FBI has stated that white supremacist groups like this are one of the greatest threats to the United States, and yet Donald Trump supports and is supported by white supremacists. John Bolton said of Trump's response: "I thought it was a real threat

Trump claimed that he had people in Philadelphia to stand over polling stations and complained that they were thrown out, adding: "Bad things happen in Philadelphia...bad things." The reality is that these were rogue individuals who were intruding upon voting: unsurprisingly, you have to be approved to observe voting. In reality, the "bad things" consisted of Donald Trump's attempts at voter intimidation.

And, oh yeah: Those attending the debate were instructed by the Cleveland Clinic to wear masks during the debate, for the safety of everyone in the hall. The Trump family refused to comply, as seen in photos. A Cleveland Clinic staffer, seeing the Trumps not wearing masks, went to them offering masks for them to wear: they waved the staffer away. The Trump family consists of elitists, and that rules should not apply to them. This is organized arrogance, that pervades this family as well as the Republican Party in general.

Moderator Chris Wallace's failure to reign in Trump was widely criticized. Wallace admitted that he foolishly under-anticipated what Trump would do. While this allowed Trump to turn the debate into a mess, letting Trump run amok could be seen as a good thing, in letting him demonstrate to the world how despicable and repulsive this man is and always will be.

Trump conducts a high-level virus-spreading event at the White House

White House coronavirus task force member and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci later said of this reckless ceremony:
"We had a super spreader event in the White House and it was in a situation where people were crowded together, were not wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves."
Moreover, those newly infected people then dispersed, returning to their home locations, where they further spread the virus.

Fox News undermines their own Tucker Carlson to get out of a lawsuit

Trump labors to undermine another truth-teller

Take up arms for Trump: a call to action

Is there widespread voter fraud? Remember Trump's notorious Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which he established out of grievance that Hillary Clinton somehow won the popular vote in 2016? That commission disbanded after finding no such fraud. Despite the endless evidence that there is no such fraud, Trump persists in his delusion that such fraud does exist.

Two more superspreader rallies for Trump's deplorables

At the Swanton rally, Trump continued to lie and portray the pandemic as a hoax, saying of COVID-19:
"It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems and other problems. That's what it really affects. In some states, thousands of people — nobody young. Below the age of 18, like, nobody. They have a strong immune system, who knows? Take your hat off to the young, because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects virtually nobody. It's an amazing thing."
So, this deadly virus "affects virtually nobody", and the elderly are discardable anyway. This is hurtful and offensive to the parents who have lost their children to the virus. This is Trump's value system. Witness the man who has zero empathy. Reality: As is very well documented and proven, the virus attacks people of all ages. At the same time that Trump was dismissing it today, it had officially killed 200,000 people — and is projected to kill hundreds of thousands more Americans in the absence of leadership from this fraud of a "president".

On Fox&Friends this morning, Trump again gave himself rave reviews for his handling of the virus:
"We've done a phenomenal job. Not just a good job, a phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but that's because I have fake news. On public relations, I give myself a D. On the job itself, we take an A+."
An A+... With 200,000 of the people that an American president is supposed to protect, dead, Donald Trump gives himself superlatives. Only Donald Trump would climb to the top of a pile of corpses to adulate himself.

McEnany lies again for Trump

Recall on May 1, upon taking over as press secretary, McEnany pledged:
"I will never lie to you. You have my word on that."
That was her first lie.

Trump hosts another superspreader event, as his former coronavirus advisor rebukes him

Olivia Troye, former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence who was his lead staffer on the coronavirus task force, had left the administration after realizing that Trump had no intention of taking any effective action on the pandemic, instead being focused only on his re-election. This, from a life-long Republican. Troye filmed a video to make the country aware of the danger that Trump poses to the health of the nation. Pence's only reaction was to call her "disgruntled".

Forget science and reality: you need to adhere to my political agenda

Trump didn't like any of this, and publicly rebuked Redfield in a press conference this afternoon. What Redfield said was based upon science and reality, and thus conflicted with Trump's political agenda...in particular the fantasy that the fix-everything vaccine will magically be out before the election, and that the public in general can be all vaccinated by then. Trump also rebuked Redfield's stance on masks, saying: "I think there's a lot of problems with masks." (Trump's usual tactic of maligning something but giving zero evidence.) The reality, of course, is that the efficacy of masks has been proven: just look at how well South Korea did with the pandemic, with few deaths — in sharp contrast to the horrible death record of the United States under the "leadership" of doltard (as Kim terms him) Donald Trump.

Trump goes to California, ravaged by wildfires, and again dismisses climate change

Remember Trump's idiotic assertion 2018 Finland doesn't have forest fires because they rake their forests? With idiocy there is persistence. It is Trump's belief now that the west coast forest blazes are due to all the leaves left on the ground in the forests there, as Trump attempts to blame the fires on California leadership failures — in Trump's zeal to dump on Democrats. Once again, this is Trump making a fool of himself through his ignorance and failure to collect basic facts before he opens his mouth: the fires are concentrated in the federal lands that he is responsible for.

Trump, the aspiring dictator

Yet another ego rally, arrogantly disregarding state rules to protect public health

Governor Sisolak, earlier that day, issued a Twitter saying that Trump's decision to hold the rally was "reckless and selfish." "He came into our State and blatantly disregarded the emergency directives and tough choices made to fight this pandemic and begin reopening our economy by hosting an indoor gathering that's categorized as "high risk" according to his own CDC." "This is an insult to every Nevadan who has followed the directives, made sacrifices, and put their neighbors before themselves. It's also a direct threat to all of the recent progress we've made, and could potentially set us back." "At a time when Nevada is focused on getting our economy back on track and protecting public health, the President's actions this weekend are shameful, dangerous and irresponsible."

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh responded to the lack of social distancing or the use of face masks:
"If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States."

Time for another superspreader event!

Trump attempts to lie away the lies that Bob Woodward documented

Trump has been silent on the disastrous west coast wildfires: why?

Pence goes for the George Orwell Most Ridiculous Propaganda award

A highly dubious eviction moratorium from the CDC, of all places

Obvious problems: First, the legality of the act, as it collides with contracts as well as states' rights. Second, the order is myopic: landlords are to continue to be left with zero income as they face large mortgages, property taxes, and ongoing expenses with their properties. While some emergency monies will be available to some landlords through HUD, there's no way the amounts can get to or be sufficient for the millions of landlords. The property could go into foreclosure, with all associated implications for the tenants of the properties. Landlords without income will not be able to afford expensive repairs, which will result in deteriorating conditions and safety/health issues. Third, there is the enormous balloon payment that millions of tenants will inevitably be facing...tenants who could not make monthly payments. Fourth, there is the question about what happens on January 1: will millions of landlords, desperate for income, immediately begin pent-up eviction proceedings? (Keep in mind that this order does not totally prohibit evictions: landlords will still be permitted to evict tenants in certain cases, such as instances in which the tenant has destroyed property or poses a threat to the health or safety of neighbors. Expect many landlords to find such faults with their non-paying tenants.)

Kellyanne Conway leaves the White House

I want to have a second term — but have no idea what to do in it

This is something that Trump has been asked about before...and he still has no answer. On June 25th, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump offered this up when asked about four more years:
"One of the things that will be really great — the word experience is still good, I always say talent is more important than experience, I've always said that — but the word experience is a very important word, a very important meaning. I never did this before, never slept over in Washington. I was in Washington maybe 17 times and all of a sudden I'm the president of the United States, you know the story, riding down Pennsylvania Avenue with our first lady and I say this is great but I didn't know very many people in Washington, it wasn't my thing. I was from Manhattan, from New York, and now I know everybody. And I have great people in the administration. You make some mistakes, like an idiot like Bolton, you don't have to drop bombs on everybody."

Clearly, Donald Trump is a simpleton who is not only utterly unqualified for any public office, but a clear and present danger to the safety of the American public. Trump's only objective for the next for years is to stay in office (in order to remain out of the clutches of prosecutors), and simply "preside" while simultaneously avoiding work and responsibility.

Trump continues to lie about the state of the economy

Pence's outragous speech supporting Trump and denigrating Biden

Pence added: "The hard truth is you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America." Another perversion of reality. Around 200,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus that Trump continues to dismiss and ignore. Americans are not safe in Trump's America.

Kudlow puts the pandemic in the past

As so many critics pointed out, Kudlow is here is talking of the pandemic in past tense...something that happened in the past, and that Trump vanquished that peril. Here again is the Trump administration fabricating an alternate reality that portrays the inept and uncaring Trump as our savior.

Note that Kudlow is the pretend medical expert who on March 6 purported that the coronavirus was "contained".

Trump publicly supports the QAnon conspiracy nuts

Another Trump rally, more COVID-19 cases

Trump starts programming his deplorables to keep him in office, no matter what

This is obviously as utterly outrageous as it is irresponsible...and an example of Trump violating his oath of office, denying that the 200 year old American election process is fraudulent if he is not declared the winner.

Not to be outdone by Trump, Pence fails to exhibit any pandemic leadership

Farmers for Trump? Sad to say, but these people are fools. Family farms have been rapidly disappearing due to Trump's ruinous trade war with China. Family farmers filed 595 bankruptcies in 2019, an eight-year high.

Trump just doesn't know when to shut up

Trump was also asked about his recent appeal to "suburban housewives" voters (who seem to be deserting him, disgusted with him). This has been Trump's latest race card. He responded:
"And I think that the suburban housewife, as you say, and I think that women and men living in the suburbs who fulfilled their American Dream or at least got a big part of it, they now live in a safe, beautiful area. They don't want to have people coming in and forcing low-income housing down their throats."
Note that this was in the same press meeting in which Trump criticized Michelle Obama for being "divisive"!

Trump's sexism and racism in plain view as Biden chooses his VP

"Group of people" is obviously code for the non-white group that Trump loathes. And men being "insulted" is obvious denigration of women, which Trump regards as inferior. Adding "some would say it's fine" and "I don't know" is Trump's familiar "back door" tactic where he makes an attack and then runs out the back door, absolving himself of responsibility for what he just said. This is the way of the bully coward.

Hmm... How can we make the rich richer? I know! Reduce the capital gains tax

The old man in the White House

Speaking of lies: Have you noticed how Trump's "signature" looks like the results of his test on a lie detector?

Kudlow flounders and lies about what Trump signed yesterday

Another Trump lie-fest

"Only I can fix this"

This was a complete sham. It was another instance of Trump exploiting a situation for his own benefit, inventing a set of topical actions that he self-promoted as momentous when in fact they were empty exercises.

Trump's amateur approach to this situation exemplified why we have professionals in Congress. Trump's idea to fund unemployment benefits was to take billions of dollars away from he Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund...money that Congress specifically appropriated to that agency. (And guess what happens when a disaster hits. This is why you leave appropriated funds where they are, dunce.) The amount that Trump would give to destitute people would be $400 — down from the $600 they had been getting. Trump promoted this as an extention of the expired benefits, when in fact they were a reduction. But it gets worse. Destitute citizens would get those federal monies only if their state kicked in $100 of that. (Trump, dictator of the governors.) This $100 is impossible for most states, which are in dire financial straits now. And, Republicans under Mitch McConnell will not provide financial aid to states, where he has said that they should go bankrupt.) Trump says that the $200 reduction is to incentivize people to return to work (to jobs that no longer exist, or where their lives will be in danger). Trump also pretended that he was extending the ban on evictions from housing financed by federal funding. However, this was actually an "intention to review". Trump also signed to stop the payroll tax...which is Trump's mindless insistence that will do absolutely nothing for the 40 million unemployed, for shutting off funding the Treasury, and cutting the underpinnings from Medicare and Social Security.

Note well this is a demonstrated failure in Trump's responsibility to lead his party. Instead of directing and working with his fellow Republicans, Trump waited until they left and then circumvented Congress.

Democrats were joined by Republicans in condemning Trump's unilateral action. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), termed Trump's power grab as "unconstitutional slop", adding: "President Obama did not have the power to unilaterally rewrite immigration law with DACA, and President Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law."

And there's no hypocrite like a Republican hypocrite: Trump was very vocal during the Obama administration, criticizing Obama for presidential power grabbing — as Obama tried to get things done for the country as Mitch McConnell and the Republicans functioned as professional obstructionists, dedicated to doing everything they could to spitefully block everything that Obama wanted to do.

Republican resistance to helping their citizens continues

As desperate as he is unhinged, Trump says that Biden will "harm God"

This from the Donald Trump who holds up a Bible but eschews religion.

Here we are in a pandemic, now with 160,000 Americans dead under Trump's do-nothing-about-it administration; and here he is in Cleveland, Ohio where, just before he give his speech, his campaign plays this tune to the waiting audience: Live and Let Die.

As though we've been having these meetings all along

Twitter removed the posting for violating their misinformation policy, because what Trump was saying was stupidly false. The U.S. death toll now is well over 156,000 and continuing to climb, over a thousand U.S. citizens every day.

The world wishes that Trump would "go away like things go away."

As though we've been having these meetings all along

And then Trump makes a fool of himself by reversing himself on mail-in voting

Blatant, contradictory hypocrisy here, purely out of self-interest. This is the result of prominent Republicans having reminded Trump that there are lots of potential Republican voters in the form of senior citizens in Florida who, fearing for their lives in a pandemic, won't go to a polling place.

Note well that in this statement, Trump completely undermined what Pence just said, as Trump declares "vote by mail" and "absentee voting" to be the same thing.

Asked in a press conference about this obviously sudden contradiction, Trump responded:
"So Florida's got a great Republican governor and it had a great Republican governor (before that) ... and over a long period of time they've been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally. Florida's different from other states."
Interesting that after literally months of universally condemning mail-in voting that Trump suddenly declares it okay in Florida, a pivotal election state.

VP Pence never hesitates to make a fool of himself for Trump

Large numbers of people pounced on Pence via Twitter to point out the idiocy of what he was saying, given that absentee voting is mail-in voting: the process is the same.

Note that threatening to take legal action to prevent voting is as blatant as voter suppression ever gets.

Trump attempts to contradict the reality of pandemic conditions

Today, Trump proclaimed:
"But I think we're doing very well. I told Dr. Birx I think we're doing very well. She was in my office a little while ago. She's a person I have a lot of respect for. I think Nancy Pelosi's treated her very badly, very, very badly, very nasty. And I'm just referring to the fact that I thought that, really, they should say the job we've done...I think we're just doing very well."
Note well that this is Trump telling his expert what she should think and say. And isn't the "She's a person I have a lot of respect for" rather inconsistent with publicly insulting her?? This is also Trump attempting to quell the pandemic by simplistic statement.

But: have no fear. By declaration, the virus is "receding". At a press conference at the White House, Trump declares: "We are beginning to see evidence of significant progress nationwide. An encouraging sign, very encouraging, I have to add, that the virus is receding." This, despite the horrifying statistics and health officials warning that the virus has become very widespread.

So why is Trump not dealing effectively with the pandemic?

The simple answer is that Trump is not capable. The pandemic require dedicated work. This isn't what Trump signed up for. Trump took on the presidency so that he could be the Chief Celebrity, to be celebrated while doing next to nothing. It's well known that Trump has no attention span and doesn't read anything. He's lazy and does whatever he can to avoid work. This is Trump demonstrating what so many have said — that he is unfit for the office.

You would not know that there is a pandemic

It subsequently became known that this impromptu mini rally was organized by Trump's handlers as an almost nostalgic effort to give him something of an audience in the face of increasing rejection of his loathsomeness.

Oh, the inconsistencies of the Trump administration

Trump suggests something that no president should either think or say

Joe Biden predicted that the despicable Donald Trump would engage in this... On April 23, Biden said: "Mark my words: I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow; come up with some rationale why it can't be held." And we know that Trump perpetually contradicts himself. On April 27, President Trump said: "I never even thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that?" And here we are today.

Another motivation for Trump to issue this outrageous tweet: he did it just after the appalling GDP numbers were reported. This is Trump's standard practice, to distract from his failures.

This proposal of postponement of a keystone of our democracy was met with widespred condemnation, by many Republicans. Steven Calabresi, a Northwestern University law professor who has offered broad defenses of the President in recent years, wrote, "I am frankly appalled by the president's recent tweet seeking to postpone the November election. Until recently, I had taken as political hyperbole the Democrats' assertion that President Trump is a fascist." "But this latest tweet is fascistic and is itself grounds for the president's immediate impeachment again by the House of Representatives and his removal from office by the Senate," he said.

It is further egregious that Trump chose this day for an attack on voting. Today is John Lewis's funeral. John Lewis was a champion of rights, which included voting rights, and here is Trump seeking to deny that right. Trump was absent from the funeral, which was attended by three past presidents, as Trump chose to continue to hold his grudge against Lewis, even in that man's death. Notably, Trump chose to not even go down the street to pay respect to Lewis as his body lay in state under the Capitol rodtunda.

The U.S. economy: worse than the Great Depression

Congressional Republicans remain in disarray as Americans suffer

What this Republican disorganization and bickering means is that the roughly 40 million Americans who are without jobs and are facing hunger and evictions and foreclosures will be going weeks with no assistance from the dysfunctional federal government under the rudderless Donald Trump. Americans are clearly seeing that the Republican Party is a greater threat to this country than any foreign adversary.

In today's coronavirus briefing act, Trump was called out for last night's irresponsible video retweet

In the questions period, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins confronted Trump about his retweeting a garbage video last night that contradicts everything he has been saying in his briefings: "The woman that you said is a 'great doctor' in that video that you retweeted last night said that masks don't work and there's a cure for COVID-19, both of which health experts say is not true, She's also made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens and that they're trying to make a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious. So, what's the logic in retweeting that?"
Trump shook his head and looked down. He then said:
"I can tell you this. She was on air with many other doctors. They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. And I thought she was very impressive in the sense that where she came — I don't know what country she comes from — but she's said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. And I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her."
As Collins was starting a follow-up question, Trump abruptly left the briefing, obviously sensing that he was making a fool of himself — again. (Another bleach moment.)

Dr. Jonathan Reiner says that doctors are concerned about Trump's mental state. Reiner framed things this way: If you were on a plane where the plane was flying into a storm and the pilot was exhibiting mental instability, wouldn't you want the crew to take over?

Trump was also asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci's popularity. Said Trump:
"He's got a very good approval rating, And I like that, it's good, because remember, he's working for this administration. And he's got this high approval rating. So why don't I have a high approval rating with respect — and the administration, with respect to the virus? Nobody likes me. It can only be my personality."
So there you have it, from Trump's own words, that all this is about ratings...Trump's popularity. As of today, there are well over 150,000 Americans dead from this virus that Trump is completely bored of and doesn't want to address any more. What Trump will do is ignore his experts and spend hours on nutjob conspiracy sites to retweet information and videos despite, as he admits, knowing nothing about the people behind the misinformation. All that Trump cares about is what benefits him.

Trump continues his assault on the 2020 election

America, get this flaming imbecile out of the White House

Tonight, Trump retweeted a toxic video, full of misinformation, that wholly contradicted what his daytime briefings are saying. The video was originally posted by the right-wing "news" site Breitbart, featuring four men and women in white coats, standing in front of the Supreme Court building, identying themselves as doctors. One was Stella Immanuel, who claims to be a physician in Houston. She said that Trump's favorite drug in the world, hydroxychloroquine, was a cure for COVID-19. She claimed that she has treated "350 patients and counting" with the discredited drug, and attested that the drug was great because "nobody is dead". She attacked "fake doctors (the real doctors) who doubt the efficacy of the drug. She added: "You don't need a mask." Who is Immanuel? A homophobic preacher who uses "alien DNA" as a cure, who blames witchcraft for illness, sex with aliens as the cause of disease, and more gibberish.

Trump's idiot son Donald Jr., as impressed with the video as his father, also retweeted that video, noting on Twitter that it was "a must-watch". Facebook, Twitter and YouTube took down the video. In response to his poor judgement, Twitter block Junior for 12 hours.

Donald Trump obviously believes none of the information that he is given to convey in his alleged briefings. Trump is immune to externally supplied expert information, because what is in his head or that comes from Internet wackos is all the information he needs.

As though there haven't been enough deaths, Trump bullies governors to re=open their states

This is Trump insisting upon what will benefit him, as the clock ticks closer to November and Trump gets so desperate in his own self-interest that he will sacrifice American lives to get what he wants. He just doesn't care. With Trump, it's always me, me, me.

Further, this is the Donald Trump who has given up on America's pandemic because he doesn't have what it takes to deal with a crisis, reinforcing the chorus of voices saying that Trump was never qualified to be president of this country.

In a single tweet, Nikki Haley ruins her reputation

While Trump today cancelled the Jacksonville event claiming coronavirus dangers, this cancellation follows the cancellation of other Trump events over the past month, the reason being that he didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of low attendance, as suffered in Tulsa. Numerous prominent Republicans were declining to attend the convention, with the virus being a convenient excuse, as Republicans have started withdrawing from the increasingly unwanted Donald Trump...and most have no desire to be part of a public spectacle where they have to acclaim this self-promoting White House occupant.

Trump brings women back to the 1950s

Senate Repubicans: No urgency on that pandemic aid thing

Meanwhile, many of the Americans who have been receiving that weekly $600 or so check per the CARES Act unemployment insurance provision likely do not realize that, while the act talks about the assistance running until July 31, that day falls on a Friday and, per unemployment compensation rules in all states, such compensation is only paid for full weeks. This means that the payments will cease on Saturday, July 25, leaving many without that check just before the rent is due. Further, the CARES Act eviction moratorium for housing that is financed through federal loans also expires on July 25.

Republicans actually continue to portray the pandemic as a ruse perpetrated for political purposes by the Democrats

Congressional Republicans are factionalizing well ahead of Trump's expected November loss

Manifestations of disarray are evident in the inability of Republican leaders to agree on an approach to the recession among themselves, never mind having to thereafter conference with Democrats. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor: "Where have the Republicans been? I have never seen a political party in the middle of a crisis so tied in a knot that the Majority Leader can’t even mention it in his speech and spends time ranting against favorite targets of the far-right and can't come up with a proposal."

We're nearing election time — it's time to bring out the fake Trump. And with that we get: person, woman, man, camera, TV

Still, Trump goes out there and idiocy ensues.
Speaking outside the White House today to Fox News medical correspondent and New York University professor of medicine Dr. Marc Siegel, Trump continued harping on that cognitive test he took, that he "aced". He is so proud of that. In the process, he today established an Internet meme that he doesn't seem to realize undermines him. Trump's monologue on his glowing cognitive test performance:
"If you're in the office of the presidency, we have to be sharp. It was 30 or 35 questions. The first questions are very easy, the last questions are much more difficult. Like a memory question. It's like, you'll go: person, woman, man, camera, TV. So, they'd say, 'Could you repeat that?' So, I said, yeah. So it's: person, woman, man, camera, TV. Okay, that's very good. If you get it in order you get extra points. Okay, now he's asking you other questions...other questions, and then 10 minutes...15 minutes...20 minutes later they say, 'Remember the first question — not the first, but the tenth question? Give us that again. Can you do that again?' And you go: person, woman, man, camera, TV. If you get it in order you get extra points. They say, 'Nobody gets it in order' It's actually not that easy, but for me it was easy. And that's not an easy question. In other words, they ask it to you, they give you five names and you have to repeat them. And that's okay. If you repeat them out of order, it's okay, but you know...it's not as good. But then when you go back about 20 to 25 minutes later and they say "Go back to that que...they don't tell you this, 'Go back to that question, and repeat them. Can you do it?' And you go: person, woman, man, camera, TV. They say, 'That's amazing. How did you do that?' I do it because I have, like, a good memory. Because I'm cognitively there."
(This harks back to Trump proclaiming: "I know words. I have the best words.")

You have to imagine world leaders seeing this video, with Trump's usual childish delivery and repetitions, and shaking their heads as to the simpleton that Americans elected to the highest position in their country. Given what his niece has said about Trump, one wonders if Trump paid someone to take this test for him.

He's not a health expert, but he plays one on TV

The following is extraordinary. Trump actually said this:
"We are in the process of developing a strategy that's going to be very, very powerful. We're developing it as we go along,"
This is Trump actually admitting that, six months and 140,000 deaths later, he still has no plan!!"

Trump once again talked of how the virus "will disappear". Then he contradicted that by saying that conditions will get worse before they get better. He put emphasis on the states addressing the pandemic, with no plan expressed, and the usual lack of leadership. (It's always up to others to deal with the crisis.) He then ended his solo note-reading, and took questions.

A reporter asked why no health experts in the room: where are doctors Birx and Fauci? Trump responded that Dr. Birx was outside (and no mention of the outspoken Dr. Fauci...who was not invited). Another questioned him not setting a continuing example of mask-wearing. He claimed that he wears a mask whenever it is necessary: the reality is that he has been seen only twice wearing a mask, and then only recently, as his poll numbers were dropping by double-digits. (Indeed, he was just recently photographed not wearing a mask among numerous people in the lobby of his D.C. hotel.) Another reporter asked Trump about Ghislaine Maxwell, the captured, accused sex trafficker for Jeffrey Epstein. (Both had socialized with Trump.) In a response that would have Trump's White House handlers tearing their hair out, Trump had kind words for Maxwell, saying "I wish her well." (With Trump, perpetrators are always the victims.)

The pandemic has been raging, and yet Trump would not have briefings for about three months. It's transparently obvious that Trump conducted the meeting today because his poll numbers have dropped; and it was a solo performance so that all the attention was on him, not diluted by attending health experts. Trump yesterday signaled that he was resuming the briefings because he beleives they give him tremendous ratings. The Trump reality show continues, with this utterly corrupt and disgusting man 100% consumed with self-interest.

COVID-19 briefings will resume — for Trump's ratings

Meanwhile, Trump continues to insist that more money for more testing not be included in the next relief appropriation. And get this: Trump is pushing for a payroll tax reduction to improve the economic situation! Hello? 40 million people are out of work, not getting a paycheck.

Trump also tweeted this today:
"We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!"
This was accompanied by a photo of him wearing a mask — (taken when he visited Walter Reed hospital, the second of only two times that he wore a mask during this pandemic). This is all posing; cynical, insincere, incited by his drop in the polls.

Bored of the pandemic, Trump now ignores it

I shall determine the validity of the election

Trump was as dismissive as ever about the pandemic. "Many of those people are young people that would heal in a day. They have the sniffles." Trump repeated his mantra about the virus disappearing by itself — which is to say that there is no need for him to do anything. Trump: "I'll be right eventually. I said it's going to disappear. I'll say it again: It's going to disappear — and I'll be right."
If Trump had educated himself about the virus he would know that its proper name is SARS-CoV-2, being an outgrowth of SARS by virtue of genetic relation...which is to say that SARS did not "disappear", as Trump fantasizes that viruses would. (SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that causes the illness called COVID-19, in the same way that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.)

The ethically depraved Trumps use the White House to promote Goya food products

Yesterday, Ivanka Trump posted a picture on Twitter of her holding up a can of Goya beans in her right hand, and her left hand held out below it, like a game show product poser gal showcasing a prize, which Ivanka Trump captioned: "If it's Goya, it has to be good". This resulted in well-deserved derision on socual media, such as: Finally, a job that Ivanka is qualified for. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to this blatant violation of federal ethics by saying, in Spanish: "If it's Trump, it has to be corrupt."

Not to be outdone by his daughter's flaunting of ethics laws, today Donald Trump upped the ante by planting five Goya products on the White House Resolute Desk and sitting behind them, smiling, with two thumbs up. Clearly, this amounts to play-for-pay, where the Trumps reimburse lauders for their praise of the Trumps.
Walter Shaub, the former director of the U.S. Office of Governmental Ethics, wrote of this situation: "As a pictorial representation of the Trump administration's war on government ethics, both photos are perfectly clear. They scream 'the rules don't apply to us,' a central message of the Trump administration from the start."

Our ethically depraved "president" conducts a campaign rally at the White House under the guise of a "press conference"

Exploiting the people's White House for a political campaign rally is despicable, but it is well established that Donald Trump is without ethics. He likely resorted to this because his campaign rallies have become low-attendance disasters. (He cancelled his most recently planned two rallies, avoiding embarrassment.) Doing this today was a sign of desperation.

On July 10th, Trump claimed that he took a cognitive test, which he "aced". However, we see Trump's cognitive state on a daily basis, and it's frightening. In today's incoherencies, Trump reacted to Biden's objective of net-zero carbon emissions from buildings by saying this: "That basically means no windows, no nothing." What? Huh? (Everyone: hide your windows, NOW!)
In one of his attacks on Joe Biden, Trump said this: "Biden personally led the effort to give China permanent, most-favored nation status, which is a tremendous advantage for a country to have. Few countries have it. But the United States doesn't have it. Never did. Probably never even asked for it, because they didn't know what they were doing." If you ever needed evidence that Donald Trump is brain-addled, here it is. He's saying that under Joe Biden, the United States did not give the United States most-favored nation status. Trump: you're the one not knowing what you're doing...or saying.
Trump railed against the Democrats supposedly ending school choice, saying of that: "in the suburbs, youʼre going to abolish the suburbs".

You can read the full, official transcript of this hour of idiocy here.

Daily destructive lying from our liar in chief

In the face of all this, Trump conducts this daily lying, completely ignoring that over 130,000 of the citizens he is responsible for are dead. His idiot son in law declares that the National Stockpile is for the federal government, not the states. Trump hasn't conferred with Dr. Anthony Fauci for over two months. Worse, the White House has been conducting a subversive campaign to discredit Fauci, after Trump publicly disparaged Fauci last week. This comprises a conspiracy to silence anyone who doesn't comply with Trump's lies about reality.

To attempt to reinforce his lies, Trump will cite anything, no matter how idiotic. To that end, Trump re-tweeted the following crap from former game show host, Chuck Woolery:
"The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it."
So here is the president of the United States, surrounded by health experts, citing the ignorant cogitations of a former game show host. Unbelievable. This is vintage Trump playbook: Deny, conceal, disparage, discredit, and lie, lie, lie. Just imagine...trying to disavow and discredit a pandemic.

In the face of a pandemic ravaging his country, what is this alleged president concerned with? Commuting the sentence of his convicted felon friend. Supporting white supremacists. Tweeting insults and lies. Watching television for hours. And golfing, golfing, golfing. All in concert with Trump's lifelong objective: avoid work, get others to do your work, take credit for their work.

Trump sends his personal stormtroopers into Portland, Oregon

These troops have apparently come from the ranks of Customs & Border Protection and like agencies. From their behavior, they seem to have been chosen for their brutality and willingness to do anything for money, functioning like mercenaries. They remind one of Nazis securing the streets in Warsaw. Local and state officials are outraged at this Trump invasion tactic. The Oregon Department of Justice is suing several federal agencies for civil rights abuses, and state prosecutors will potentially pursue criminal charges against a federal officer who seriously injured the protester whose skull was fractured.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said of Trump: "As best as I can tell, this is an effort — a last gasp effort — by a failed president with sagging polling data, who's trying to look strong for his base."

This invasion is perceived to be Trump seeing what he can get away with, where Portland is the trial city. Next will come other cities, such as Chicago and Oakland. Why would Trump engage in this? As Wheeler says, this is Trump "dominating" dissenters to show his remaining supporters how tough he is...the "law and order president", as he put it on June 1. This is also Trump looking for voters from the police unions, quashing citizens who would never vote for him anyway. And, lastly, this is a pre-emptive attempt to keep anyone from defacing his own properties. Again, Trump does not do anything that does not personally benefit him. He cares as little about Portland and federal buildings as he does about the Constitution: this is all about him. Trump's imperious position: states' rights do not exist.

Why use camouflage battle dress in cities? Because of the intimidation factor. I suspect that Homeland Security director & Trump stooge Chad Wolf suggested this, and that Trump liked the idea. The military reportedly doesn't like anything about this move, as these thugs lend to a negative impression of the miliary and distrust thereof.

One last thought: Wouldn't it be interesting if the Portland police or the Oregon state police arrested these federal thugs.

Trump brags that he "aced" a cognitive test

Trump mentioned that it was "a standard test". This allowed reporters to determine that it was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). It consists of 30 brief visual and textual questions on paper which includes drawing the hands on a clock, naming pictures of animals and repeating a list of numbers forwards and backwards. It takes about 10 minutes. The test was developed and copyrighted in 1996 by Dr. Ziad Nasreddine. Of the test, he said: "It is supposed to be easy for someone who has no cognitive impairment." It's not an IQ test. Trump is figuratively waving this in the air as though it demonstrates that he's qualified to be president, when in fact he contradicts that every day.

The latest, blatant obstruction of justice

Senator Mitt Romney was outraged at this commutation and tweeted:
"Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president."

Trump flies to hard-hit Florida on the presidential 747

Trump cancels his New Hampshire rally

The expected result

Kids: Be virus warriors for Trump...go back to school and pack those classrooms

Note the complete lack of leadership in Trump's back-to-school demand. School districts were just scraping by before the pandemic, where it is well known that teachers have been buying school supplies out of their meager salaries, because they care. The pandemic has immensely strained state and local budgets. And here is Trump ordering schools to re-open — and not providing any funding assistance to help those school districts. Nothing, from a do-nothing president. Similarly, his Betsy DeVos puppet, who is just complicitly reinforcing Trump's cruelty.

To be clear: Trump doesn't given a damn about other people's children. In all the years that you've seen Trump in public, including the 2015 campaign, you've never seen him strive to socialize with children. To him, these are just part of the mass of citizens whom he can manipulate and exploit to his own self interests. So why the push to get children back into school? It has nothing to do with education. It's solely to get them out of the house so that parents can go back to work and get the economy righted in order to help his re-election chances. Nothing more than that.

Another Independence Day opportunity to lie and misrepresent

"And we will protect and preserve American way of life, which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America." Note to history-ignorant Trump: Christopher Columbus never saw or set foot on the American continent. Columbus discovered Caribbean islands, and thought he was off the coast of India. Columbus is being reviled now because his incompetent and indifferent governorship of those islands resulted in the extinction of the native peoples there, who were replaced by slaves from Africa, to toil for the European settlers.

Trump went on to tell the nation not to worry about the pandemic:
"Now we have tested almost 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country can show because no other country has the testing that we have, not in terms of the numbers or in terms of quality."
As you would expect, this is a statement with no basis, being another lie that Trump has concocted. Even his Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, would not support Trump's claim. (Applause for Dr. Hahn.) The mayor of Austin, Texas, where COVID-19 cases are surging, called President Trump's remarks "dangerous" and "wrong. Mayor Steve Adler urged people to listen to local officials for public safety guidance rather than the "ambiguous message coming out of Washington."
There was no social distancing or mask wearing at this gathering. Good luck to the attendees. Well...the virus is harmless, anyway, right?

Another of the Trump inner circle contracts that hoax virus

Meanwhile, Trump continued his assault on testing:
"Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn't test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases."
This, of course, is Trump continuing to attempt to hide the result of his indifference and incompetence in the face of a pandemic, where he repeats a lie over and over again, depending upon a populace being gullible and stupid enough to start believing it. Any even semi-intelligent person who gives this any thought would perceive that, if the virus were not rampant then testing would increasingly exhibit negative results that Trump could point to. You will notice that Trump's tweet doesn't mention that the death toll in his country is now officially 132,000 (and probably much greater in reality), with health workers overwhelmed in the hardest-hit states...those with Republican governors who opened things up at Trump's urging.

Trump stages another superspreader event today, at Mount Rushmore

And, oh yeah, this was another Trump event where none of his contingent would wear a mask, and the crowd sat shoulder-to-shoulder without masks, cheering this repulsive demagogue.

It's July — do you know where your recovery is?

Trump continues to do nothing as Americans continue to die

That Republican irrationality was today exemplified by Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, lambasted Anthony Fauci — naturally, on Fox News:
"Fauci said that he's concerned about states like Texas that skipped over certain things. He doesn't know what he's talking about. We haven't skipped over anything. The only thing I'm skipping over is listening to him. He has been wrong every time, on every issue. I don't need his advice anymore."
Of course, Fauci has not been wrong: the statistics demonstrate that. This relentless denial of reality is why the Republican part is a clear and present danger to our country, and should go away.

And to punctuate Trump's dismissive attitude toward a pandemic killing his citizens: White House press secretary (aka Trump apologist and professional liar) Kayleigh McEnany today described COVID-19 outbreaks in states including Texas, Florida and California as "embers", despite the huge number of infections occurring in these states. "We're aware that there are embers that need to be put out..." That's incredibly insensitive and offensive. This is Trump's reprehensible White House trying to talk the fatal virus into submission, intentinally lying to the American people...who at the same time see people around them getting horribly sick and/or dying while Trump does nothing.

Giving Putin what he wants

Trump's next superspreader event

Speaking of self-delusion: Prior to the event, the church's senior pastor Luke Barnett stood shoulder to shoulder with the church's chief operations officer, Brendon Zastrow, to claim that the church had installed air purifiers that "kill 99.9 percent of COVID in 10 minutes." He explained that the church had contracted with local company CleanAir EXP to install the purifiers. He added: "When you come into our auditorium, 99 percent of COVID is gone, killed — if it was there in the first place." "You can know when you come here you'll be safe and protected. Thank God for great technology and thank God for being proactive." Health officials had to point out the obvious, that this is idiocy. When audience members are sitting right next to each other, they breathe each other's air, and they are exposed to whatever pathogens the people around them are expelling from their respiratory tract. The immediacy of proximity. No building ventilation equipment can address that.

Another Trump rally of fools and tons of empty seats

Among the garbage that Trump spewed at this rally was this complaint about media coverage of his ineptitude and indifference in handling the pandemic:
"You know testing is a double-edged sword. Here's the bad part ... when you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people; you're going to find more cases. So I said to my people, slow the testing down please."
This has been Trump's continuing stance on testing: less is best, because occurrences of the virus make him look bad. Better that Americans just quietly die and not be on the death rolls.

Among the ugliness that Trump spouted at this rally, he chose to use the racially charged term "kung flu" to disparage China as the source of CoViD-19. His strategy, as in 2015, is to fire up the latent racism and xenophobia in the white race that he sees as his base: the more of them that vote for him, the better he sees his chances of winning in November. This is the strategy of division. He can't bring himself to take the approach of unity, to instead get more voters by appealing to the greater population, because his aversion to all those others.

We later got to see a dejected Trump, returning to Washington, getting off the helicopter disheveled, his yard-long tie removed, being carried in his hand along with his red MAGA hat, walking like a defeated, overweight old man.

The dictator's absolute power

Don't care if people get sick or die: I'll have my adoring crowd images

An obvious concurrent issue is that, contrary to all medical advice, Trump was doing this in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of people crowded together in an indoor venue. The Trump campaign addressed this...in a manner absolving itself, as per this notice of waiver on the sign-up website:
By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.

Trump today conducted a news conference about this, covered by ABC News et al. Trump sat at the table with his arms folded, which we've seen before to be his posture of defiance, and in a rambling response said of the virus danger:
"Oklahoma's at a very low number." "We're close to or even over one million people wanting to go. We have a 22,000 seat arena; but I think we're also going to take the convention hall next door and that's going to hold 40,000 so I have 22,000 plus 40,000 which would mean we would have over 900,000 that won't be able to go, but hopefully they'll be watching. But it's an amazing...nobody's heard of numbers like this. I think we're going to have a great time, we're going to talk about our nation, we're going to talk about where we're going, where we've come from; and I can tell you on COVID or coronavirus or whatever you want to call it — plenty of names — tremendous progress is being made. I spoke with the governor of Texas where they've done a fantastic job, and he said they have had some outbreaks in prisons, and that's where their numbers went out and the numbers change a little bit because of the prison population but he's got it in great shape, Texas. Florida's doing very well. Georgia's doing very well. We have tremendous numbers. We have hot spots, as I said you might, and we take care of the hot spots. But many of the governors have done a very good job...some not as good as others, some very good. But Oklahoma's been a place that one of the reasons we chose it because how well...because it's early because of what a great job the governor and everybody else has done in Oklahoma. And we expect to have, you know, it's like a record-setting crowd. We've never had an empty seat, and certainly won't in Oklahoma. We've never had an empty seat, and certainly won't in Oklahoma."

No evidence was offered of the "million" number. As for empty seats: There is certainly documented evidence of empty seats at his rallies, especially if his speech drags on or starts meandering. An outdoor rally would be much safer than indoor; but that would result in the wind messing with Trump's hair, as well as make the acoustics less dramatic. After all, this is another episode in the Trump reality show which pretends to be a presidency. As media reports have said, the campaign is setting up a situation where people will sit next to each other and stand shoulder to shoulder on the floor of the arena: there will be no "social distancing". (Do you detect any contradiction between what Trump said about how safe Oklahoma is for the rally versus the mandatory disclaimer in the rally sign-up process?) You can also expect to see no face masks: Trump won't wear one, after all, so why should devotees who adhere to whatever he does or says. (After all, the virus must be a hoax, or a liberal conspiracy, or a product of that sinister "deep state" that's always after Trump.) Trump said in April that social distancing "wouldn't look too good" for a campaign rally. This will thus be a "superspreader" event for the virus. At another level, it will be a Darwin event whose result will be fewer Trump voters come November.

What coronavirus problem??

Trump also got his VP puppet to reinforce his false message. In a call to governors, Pence urged them to further the Trump propaganda on the pandemic:
"I would just encourage you all, as we talk about these things, to make sure and continue to explain to your citizens the magnitude of increase in testing. And that in most of the cases where we are seeing some marginal rise in number, that's more a result of the extraordinary work you're doing. But also encourage people with the news that we are safely reopening the country. That, as we speak today, because people are going back to hospitals and elective surgery and getting ordinary care, hospitalization rates may be going up. But according to our most current information, hospitalizations for coronavirus are going down across the country."

This, in short, is a cover-up, an attempt to redefine history, to try to erase Trump administration laziness, indifference, and ineptitute in the face of a pendemic. This is Trump and Pence lying through their teeth, in their usual self-serving way, to try to save their jobs by keeping themselves in office across through the 2020 election. Abundant reporting has clearly defined the situation to be contrary to the garbage information coming out of the White House, where many states are reporting the number of cases climbing, and hospitals filling with patients. As of today, there are some 2,189,558 cases of CoViD-19 in the United States, and the U.S. death toll is now 118,520 and climbing. (One model cited by the White House now predicts 200,000 US deaths from coronavirus by October 1 — an increase of 30,000 deaths since last week's projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.) The Trump administration is knowingly sacrificing tens of thousands of American lives in a hasty reopening that they hope will restore the economy so that they won't be voted out of office for their inept, indifferent handling of this crisis.

Now, not just failed leadership, but trampling on the Constitution and vowing to break the law

Trump then walked off, leaving the White House grounds and heading down the tree-lined promenade in Lafayette Park. To make this possible, peaceful protestors, exercising their constitutional rights, had been forcibly removed from the area by DC and military police, pelted with teargas, fired upon with rubber bullets, deafened by flash-bang grenades. The bangs that could be heard in the distance during Trump's Rose Garden speech were his military thugs assaulting peaceful protestors to clear Lafayette Park in advance of Trumps post-speech stunt. In the face of protests over the police killing of a black man, Trump actually led a march of white people that finally arrived in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. For what? Even Trump did not seem to know. Trump seemingly did not have any plan. Someone handed him a bible, and he stood in front of the closed church awkwardly holding it up, having nothing planned to say. This was incredibly ham-fisted. For lack of any planned thing to say, he actually launched into a short presidential campaign speech where he proclaimed how great he's going to make America. Then he moved over to the stairs in front of the church and called in his Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Attorney General William Barr, White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to partake in a clearly political photo opportunity. Then Trump led his white parade back to the White House.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington said Monday evening that she is "outraged" after President Donald Trump visited her church without advance notice. "Let me be clear: The President just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus," she said of Trump's bible-waving, partisan outrage. "What I am here to talk about is the abuse of sacred symbols for the people of faith in this country to justify language, rhetoric, an approach to this crisis that is antithetical to everything we stand for."

An assortment of people commented that Trump should try opening the book he was holding up. Others expressed surprise that he wasn't struck by lightning at that point in his stunt. Trump clearly has no familiarity with the Bible, as was abundantly obvious in his August 26, 2015 interview with Bloomberg Politics reporters.

Why did Trump conduct this stunt? He did it because on Friday night it was widely reported that Trump rushed into the White House bunker, huddling there for an hour, effectively hiding from his own citizens. This evening's stunt was an episode of the Trump reality show, attempting to counter the perception of his bunker cowering on Friday.

Today's theme was exclusively about getting tough. There was no leadership evident in all this: it was instead Trump the dictator declaring his intolerance and his perception of his total and absolute power. Standing in front of the church, holding up a bible, was like Trump demonstrating the divine right of kings — and dictators. Rather than address what the protestors are out there about, Trump chose to not speak about legal reforms or actions to address police misconduct and racism. Instead of a speech calling for calm and demonstrating leadership of the United States, Trump demonstrated that he is the president of those who vote for him; and, clearly, the rabble out there protesting are not those who vote for Trump.

Even in this extreme event...as repulsive and undermining it was to our democracy...Trump's Republican enablers in Congress were silent.

It was subsequently learned that the attack on the peaceful protesters was orchestrated by Attorney General William Barr — the man charged with enforcing civil rights in the United States. This demonstrates how thoroughly corrupt the Trump administration is.

Another day, another display of failed leadership

So what's with Trump never see wearing a mask? Part of it is vanity. Asked about this, a White House official said that Trump views it as a sign of weakness. More fundamentally, this is part of the Trump reality show (which is his view of what his presidency is about). Trump is frantic to be re-elected, as a shield from prosecutions. Essential to that is return the econony to "normal". Wearing a mask would telegraph to the public that things are not normal. Hence, no mask. This is Trump's wishful but short-sighted, self-defeating gut-directed approach. The first problem is that the pandemic has resulted in a major recession, with countless businesses failing, over 40 million people having lost their jobs, and state and local governments having lost an enormous amount of income that will likely have to be covered by tax increases. There will be no quick recovery...economists are saying that it will take a year or more for the economy to slowly climb out of this recession. The second problem is that Trump's dim-witted followers will model their behavior after his and likewise refuse to wear masks...and this can help the virus to keep killing people and keep the economy depressed.

Also today, a modeling study performed by Columbia University concludes that if the country had locked down two weeks earlier than it did, that could have prevented 84% of deaths and 82% of cases, according to the research. Today, the U.S. death toll is an incredible 94,000. Asked about the research, Trump's response was:
"Columbia's an institution that's very liberal," and without providing any evidence, added, "I think it's just a political hit job, if you want to know the truth." Again, this is the script of the Trump reality show, where anything that contradicts the script is phony, fake, and to be disregarded — even if it's science research.

Medical professionals, too, are exasperated with Trump's very dangerous, self-serving ignorance

"But punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it is not the solution. The Administration is obsessed with magic bullets-vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. But only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like test, trace, and isolate, will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency. The CDC needs a director who can provide leadership without the threat of being silenced and who has the technical capacity to lead today's complicated effort.

"The Trump administration's further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics."

Another self-congratulatory press briefing, gone bad

Another self-congratulatory press briefing, gone bad

Then came a disaster of a Q&A session... Weijia Jiang, White House correspondent of CBS News, asked Trump about his perpetual need to portray himself as "winner", this time in testing.
Jiang: "Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day?"
Trump seized upon what he obviously perceived as an opportunity, with this Asian-looking woman on camera. He pointedly said: "Well, they are losing their lives everywhere in the world. Maybe that is a question you should ask China. Don't ask me. Ask China that question. When you ask China that question you may get a very unusual answer."
Trump dismissively pointed to a next reporter, Kaitlan Collins of CNN. Jiang, obviously agitated, poised to interject and Collins paused to allow that.
Jiang: "Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically?"
Trump: "I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I am saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that."
Jiang: "That is not a nasty question."
Collins then tried to ask her question, but Trump dismissively ignored her to go on to another reporter; but Collins asserted her turn. At that point, Trump abruptly halted the meeting, turned his back, and left. He obviously wasn't going to tolerate assertive behavior from mere "women".

This is the behavior that has GOP leaders cringing, as Trump continually fails to function as a leader, of either his nation of his supposed party. Everything is always just about him, with his "I alone can fix this" braggadocious assertions. Republicans have foolishly tied their fate to this horrible, dictatorial fraud and are now dreading the payback they see coming in November.

To help Trump get re-elected, let's pretend there is no fatal virus

This is all part of Trump's rush to rev the economy back up and distract people from the realities of a fatal virus still killing tens of thousands of Americans (the death count is at least 72,000 now) so that Trump can take credit for the economy that his predecessor restored so that he can get re-elected and stay out of the clutches of prosecutors. Remember when we had health experts advising the White House and speaking at briefings, warning against spreading the virus? It must be okay to tour the country if Mnuchin says so, right? He's part of an administration which would never deceive you in order to further a politician's personal agenda, right? The CDC web page says: "Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. CDC recommends you stay home as much as possible, especially if your trip is not essential, and practice social distancing especially if you are at higher risk of severe illness."

Now, to contradict and cover up what I said yesterday...

Meanwhile, there is the reprehensible Jared Kushner, whose nepotistic presence serves to augment Trump's propaganda machine. Kushner appared on that fount of authoritative information, "Fox and Friends", to claim that the federal government has accomplished its mission:
"We're on the other side of the medical aspect of this. And I think that we've achieved all the different milestones that are needed. So the federal government rose to the challenge, and this is a great success story." This here-because-I'm-related advisor to our genius in chief added: "I think you'll see by June a lot of the country should be back to normal and the hope is that by July the country's really rocking again."
How callous are these people...declaring a "great success" with sixty thousand Americans dead, and the death toll still climbing?? Hey, why not celebrate this on an aircraft carrier and put up a huge banner declaring "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"?

So, where's all the testing??

Later in the day, Trump conducted a news conference. A reporter asked about the level of testing. Trump responded: "We're doing more testing than any other country in the world, by far," which is a lie.
NBC News' Kristen Welker asked: "Some health experts say the U.S. needs 5 million tests per day by June in order to safely reopen. You unveiled a plan yesterday that will increase testing, but not by that much. Why not? And can you get to that benchmark?" Trump responded in his usual meandering way, peppered with false claims and outright lies...
"Well, it will increase it and it'll increase it by much more than that in the very near future. We're way ahead of everyone on testing. We haven't been given the press — in terms of, I think, fairness of the press — but that's okay. And that's why I appreciated the — the statement before by Yahoo. We are way ahead on testing. We are the best in the world on testing. We've tested much more than anybody else, times two — or every country combined. We've tested more than every country combined. And they keep talking about South Korea, and I'm very friendly, as you know, with President Moon, who just had a great victory — a new victory — as we're very happy about. But he will tell you how well the United States has done on testing. And he told me that very strongly. The quality of our tests is the best and the number is the best. Now, with all of that being said, we will be going to an even higher number, and it goes up exponentially. And I've told you that we inherited a very broken test — a broken system and a broken test, and within a short period of time, we were setting records. So we have set records. We've done more than the entire world combined. We've done more than any other country in the world. So I think we've done a really good job."
Welker, increduous, followed up: "Did I hear you saying you're confident you can surpass 5 million tests per day? Is that —"
Trump: "Oh, well, we're going to be there very soon. If you look at the numbers, it could be that we're getting very close. I mean, I don't have the exact numbers. We would've had them if you asked me the same question a little while ago because people with the statistics were there."

So, despite expert proclamation that the 5 million tests a day was fantasy, and knowing that testing would come up at a press conference, Trump was unprepared and just made up a Trumpcrap answer, the usual kind, to make himself look good.

Oh, poor me...again

This reporting is corroborated by Trump's lack of accomplishments, week after week, month after month, particularly compared to past presidents. Where is progress on infrastructure? And, particularly appropriate during a pandemic, where is work on a comprehensive health care system? The only legislative work being done is by Congress, not this alleged president. Work? Reading intelligence briefings is the work a president is responsible for doing. To Trump, it's optional and unnecessary (it cuts into his TV time) — which is another reason that Trump failed to absorb all the warnings about the pandemic that were in the briefing booklets he was given to read in January and February.

Today's barrage of caustic, petty, immature tweets is just more proof that Trump is not the "very stable genius" he claims, let alone a functioning adult. Again, this is an 8 year old brat in the body of a bloated 73 year old.

Rather than admit fault, just invent a lie, no matter how obvious the lie

The situation that Trump created is so bad that it has resulted in the briefings being re-shaped. Today's briefing was missing both Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci. Trump made a short statement and then stalked off the stage, taking no questions from the assembled reporters. That is how sour things have gotten. Rather than being about the virus and tens of thousands of Americans dying, this is now all about Trump. And today's briefing was also a demonstration of acrimony. The CNN reporter sits in the front row. White House staff, undoubtedly acting on instructions from Trump, went to a print press pool member (Chris Johnson, of the Washington Blade) seated in back and told him to swap seats with CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. They both refused, citing guidance from the White House Correspondents' Association, which traditionally oversees the seating assignments. The White House person actually threatened to have the Secret Service compel them to change seats, but he and Caitlin were steadfast. With the meeting about to start, the White House person backed off rather than have an incident in progress. Future meetings are expected to be shortened. Excluding the less-than-useless Trump will facilitate that. He is now in a very foul mood, given that these briefings have been his substitute for the deplorables rallies he has been deprived of, and the briefings are filled with reporters who seek facts and truth, which is anathema to Trump.

Speaking of lies, there is sycophant VP Pence, out there reinforcing Trumpcrap. Today Pence proclaimed on Geraldo Rivera's radio show today:
"I truly do believe that if we all continue to do that kind of social distancing and other guidance broadly from federal and state officials, that we're going to put this coronavirus in the past. I believe by early June we're going to see our nation largely past this epidemic. I think honestly, if you look at the trends today, that I think by Memorial Day weekend we will have this coronavirus epidemic behind us."

Absolutely stunning Trump moronity at today's coronavirus briefing

I can just imagine Trump's family, who are accustomed to idiocy like this from Donald, thinking to themselves, there he goes again.

Noticeable at these briefings is that we are getting more and more of Trump and less and less of scientists...people who actually know things on the basis of study, knowledge, and clinical experience. Now the dosage of stupidity, ignorance, and lies is escalating at what once were informational hearings to provide the American public with vital information.

Oh, and by the way: the U.S. death toll from the virus is now 50,000 and climbing — and about to get substantially worse as Georgia and other Republican-led states are about to re-open, despite all warnings against doing so, way too soon. And the Trump administration continues to laud itself for their stellar handling of this pandemic.

Trump happy-talk again needs to be doused with reality

The United States, with 850,000 cases and 48,000 deaths as of today from this virus, is far, far worse than any other nation in the world in having failed to properly address this pandemic. This further undermines the United States as either a model or leader in how to run a nation. Trump and his propaganda machine are perpetually self-promoting the United States as the best nation on the planet, led by a so-called president who claims himself to be far superior to his predecessors. Turning the United States into a morgue is how to "Make America great again"??

Trump's wonder drug...is not

King Donald makes another nighttime unilateral decision

Another incredible example of Trump's ego above all else

To add to the lies, now it's time to firmly define and punish a scapegoat

Now it's time for the big cover-up lie, as King Donald speaks

"Everything we did was right"??? If you had done everything right there would not be 23,000 people dead in your country right now — the highest number in the world. As so many people have said, this is a man with zero empathy. Here he is, in the middle of a pandemic, with tens of thousands of his citizens dead, over 17 million people now without jobs, totally self-absorbed, patting himself on the back once again despite being surrounded by tragedy, just like with hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. He just doesn't care about anyone but himself. You will note Trump had his staff produce this video, complete with musical overlay, which is to say paid for by government funds. This was obviously a campaign video, and using government money to produce campaign material is against the law.

It gets even worse. Trump said he is now looking to have the country resume on May 1 (despite what his medical experts are saying). When a reporter asked how he would compel governors to reopen their states' economies during the coronavirus pandemic, Trump's response was that "when somebody is the president of the United States" their "authority is total." He added: "The federal government has absolute power. As to whether I'll use that power, we'll see." So, here you have King Donald imperiously claiming that he has unlimited power. This, of course, has no basis in the Constitution. The response from Constitutional scholars was unanimous: where does he get thig stuff? Many in his own party were highly critical of his arrogant statement. You will note that he used this "absolute right" crap back on October 3 as a contrived excuse for pressuring Ukraine to provide dirt on his political opponent, Joe Biden.

Trump's presidency results in the United States having the most CoViD-19 deaths of any nation

Trump continues to rail against mail-in voting

As the Washington Post says: "These attacks should be considered only in light of Trump's overall track record on the country's voting process, which has been uniformly dishonest, divorced from reality and motivated primarily by his own political interests."
The ever-shrinking Republican party is frantic to do anything that will suppress voter turnout because it means that more Democrats will be voting.

The lies keep coming: the supposed widespread voter fraud thing again

Yet another White House press secreta bites the dust.

No, it was not Trump who made this economy what it became: that was Barack Obama

Scientists have to content with the ignorance of Trump's loyalists

Later that day came Trump's coronavirus briefing where, in complete ignorance, he actually said:
"What do you have to lose? Take it. I really think they should take it. But it's their choice. And it's their doctor's choice or the doctors in the hospital. But hydroxychloroquine. Try it, if you'd like."
Unbelievable. Here is know-nothing Trump further stressing that patients "take" a drug not intended for their disease, with no study as to consequences.

Trump's revenge campaign continues

An Orwellian example of the damage that Trump nepotism is doing to truth, reality, and U.S. effectiveness

Trump keeps hyping what he wants to believe is a magic cure

Trump and company continue their attempts to cover up as the death toll rises

Despite the Federal Reserve's efforts, markets continue to be a disaster. As CNBC reporst, the Dow secured its worst first-quarter performance ever, losing more than 23% of its value in the first three months of 2020. The 30-stock benchmark had its worst quarter since 1987. The S&P 500 fell 20% in the first quarter, its worst first quarter ever and its biggest quarterly loss since 2008. The Nasdaq fell more than 14% in the first quarter.

Trump signs the $2 trillion pandemic relief bill, and delivers a cover-up lie

Our horrible excuse for a president attacks governors

Is Trump knowledgeable about realities? Hardly. This morning he fired these tweets at General Motors, making them caustic to vent his enduring dislike for GM CEO Mary Barra (she's a woman, after all). His 11:16 am tweet: "As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B. Invoke 'P'."
The reality that Trump is conveniently ignoring is that GM committed to producing the ventilators at cost; and it takes a month or more to establish a parts supply and assembly line to change from making cars to making respirators.
That tweet was followed by this 11:23 gem:
"General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!"
This demonstrates Trump's failure to acquire knowledge (aka pay attention). The reality is that GM sold the Lordstown plant a while ago: it is property they no longer own.
Why is Trump so agitated about the production of respirators? It's not that he cares about the people who desperately need them: it is so that an abundant supply will stop the incessant call for them...which reflects upon his failure to start federal actions in January to address the pandemic that intelligence officials had briefed him on, then.

What happens when you have a self-serving, irresponsible simpleton as president

A bit latter, Hemmer walked with Trump and asked Trump: "How did you come up with that day?"
Trump, looking like he's having a vision: "Easter is a very special day for me. And I see it sort of in that timeline that I'm thinking about, and I say 'Wouldn't it be great to have all of the churches full' — you know the churches aren't allowed, essentially, to have much of a congregation there. And most of them, I watched on Sunday online — and he was terrific, by the way — but online is never going to be like being there. So I think Easter Sunday; and you'll have packed churches all over our country — I think it would be a beautiful time. And it's just about the timeline that I think is right."

Here you have a clear example of Trump demonstrating himself to be a raving simpleton, completely detached from reality, and utterly disinterested in the essence of this crisis: public health. His medical experts are stressing the absolute need for social distancing, and here is Trump waxing poetic about "packed churches". This is mental illness in evidence here, in a man utterly unfit for any office.

At a later press conference a reporter revisited this Easter fantasy and asked Trump: "You have two doctors on stage with you. Have either of them told you that's a realistic timeline?" Trump would not answer the question, instead throwing out empty words, and talking about "opening sections of the country" — as if there were a virus wall conveniently isolating each part of the country from the rest. The reporter pressed: "Who suggested Easter? Who suggested that day?" Trump's idiotic response: "I just thought it was a beautiful time...a beautiful time...a beautiful timeline. It's a great day."
So, like so many things in Trumpworld, he just made it up. An arbitrary date, with no basis in reality.

This is Trump, his childish attention span on this crisis having run out, just as with school shootings. He's bored with this, and wants to go on to other things. One thing he really wants to resume is rallies of his deplorables, where he can try to convince them that all this was a hoax initiated by Democrats, and another opportunity to play the victim, where everyone is inexplicably out to get him.

Also at that "town hall" broadcast, Trump emphasized the need to get the economy going again, regardless of the health consequences...
"We have to put the country to work. Look, you're going to lose a number of people to the flu; but you're going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession...or depression. You're going to lose people. You're going to have suicides by the thousands. You're going to have all sorts of things happen. You're going to have instability. You can't just come in and say let's close up the United States of America, the biggest, most successful country by far. You know, when I came in, when I was elected — and you knew this number — China was going to overtake us in the year 2019. It wasn't even close. We went way up, and they didn't. We've done great — they pay us a fortune in tariffs and everything else, and yet we have a good relationship with them. We just signed a trade deal. But we're the number one in the world by far. And now, a few people walk ito the oval office, they say, 'Sir, we have to close up the country.' I said, what are you talking about?"
And in his later news briefing, Trump returned to this, saying:
"People get tremendous anxiety and depression, and you have suicides over things like this when you have terrible economies. You have death. Probably and — I mean, definitely — would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that we're talking about with regard to the virus."
Well, this is obviously Trumpcrap, spouting made up claims as though they were facts. Suicides do not happen in levels of 40 or 50 thousands, as he is purporting, when there is an economic downturn. Just look back to the 2009 economic crisis, when people were going bankrupt and having ther mortgages foreclosed. This is Trump's usual fearmongering, a con-man's ruse to get people to do things that will personally benefit him. In this case, he is petrified that there will be a recession that will cause him not to be re-elected, and thus lose the immunity of presidency such that he will be exposed to prosecution once again.

Lindsey Graham counters Trump's rashness

Trump's ego runs a press conference

Trump remains very agitated that the collapsed economy will mean no re-election and thus removal from office and exposure to prosecution. In an 11:50 pm tweet, in all caps, he agitatedly screamed:
"WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!"
Again, this is Trump's egocentricity at play, not any concern about people. In this, he is also saying that he's eager to get things going again, regardless of the risks to public health...no matter how many people may die as a result of premature return to crowds and easy contagion. Trump is also reportedly losing his patience with doctor Anthony Fauci, who had had to repeatedly correct Trump's misinformation about the pandemic. How long before we don't see Fauci any more?

My dismissal of CoViD-19 is fake news

The situation worsens

Trump declares a national emergency, and creates a mess

Trump also orders the testing of all people arriving at airports on international flights. This, with insanely few screeners. This resulted in monumental crowds of people filling terminals, up onto stopped escalators, and beyond. So, at the same time that Trump's administration is telling Americans to practice social distancing, these thousands of arriving passengers are pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in conditions which are guaranteed to pass the virus on from anyone in the crowd who is infected, to multiple people around that individual.

The Federal Reserve reacted to the crisis with their own emergency measure, cutting the prime interest rate to essentially zero. While a comfort measure, this will be of no value to the economy, and in fact will do a lot of harm — not that Trump cares, as all he is concerned about is his own re-election, as facilitated by a good economy. The harm is that this rate cut makes for an extreme imbalance in the stability of finance, where people who depend upon interest income (particularly the elderly) have that income reduced to almost nothing, and it all but eliminates the incentive to put money into bank accounts, which in turn jeopardizes banks.

Having Trump declare a national emergency is a horrifying thought, in that it gives this dangerous autocrat even more powers. As The Atlantic points out: This is a president who asserts that Article II of the Constitution allows him to do "whatever I want to do," who orders federal officials not to comply with congressional subpoenas, and who describes as "perfect" a phone call in which he solicited foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election. To Trump, the national emergency constitutes even more reason for him to do whatever he wants to do, and that is frightening, particularly with a Senate full of gutless Republicans who willingly enable Trump's abuses of power.

No buck stops here — I'm completely blameless

Asked by reporter Yamiche Alcindor about his administration disbanding the National Security Council's Pandemic Response Team. (The team was formed under the Obama administration in wake of the 2014-2016 ebola outbreak in the U.S. The unit was tasked with leading the country's preparation for a global pandemic like the coronavirus.) Trump's response:
"I just think it's a nasty question." "You say we did that, I don't know anything about it."
Really?? Refer to the video of Trump's February 26, 2020 news conference in which he defended the cut:
"Some of the people we cut, they haven't been used for many, many years. And if — if we have a need, we can get them very quickly. And rather than spending the money — and I'm a business person — I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them. When we need them, we can get them back very quickly."
Of course, being "a business person", Trump is as ignorant about experts as he is quick to dismiss the need for them, and the obvious reality is that you can't "get them back" very quickly.

NBC News' Kristen Welker asked Trump whether he should take responsibility for the failure to disseminate larger quantities of tests earlier. The completely predictable Trump response: "I don't take responsibility at all." An adult would take responsiblity, and certainly a president should take responsibility. Trump's perpetual immaturity, however, has him eagerly take credit for accomplishments which surround him, even if he had no part in them, and certainly to completely disavow any responsibility for failures. Before he sadly became our pseudo-president, Trump routinely lambasted the then sitting president, pointing his finger at them for things. On November 8, 2013 Trump tweeted this gem:
"Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible."
That, of course, does not apply to himself when he is president.

Markets don't buy into Trump's late, rushed, inadequate response to the COVID-19 emergency

The market response left Trump fuming, and trying to cast blame on his favorite whipping-boy, the Federal Reserve, as though they are supposed to bail him out of his perpetual fiscal ineptitude.

Trump addresses the country on COVID-19

Trump announced a 30-day travel ban from the European Union — with notable exceptions: the United Kingdom and Ireland. Why weren't they included? Because Trump golf courses are located there, and those resorts are struggling for business. As per his usual practice, Trump did not confer with European leaders before dictating this latest travel ban.

How many Americans have needlessly died because Trump intently disavowed the virus since January because it was in his best interest to do so...because if he acknowledged its seriousness, it would deflate markets, the U.S. economy, and thus worsen his re-election chances, and with that expose him to prosecutors? Just about everything Trump does is motivated by self-interest.

So, how was Trump's address received? Complete lack of confidence in words from this professional liar and con-man. Markets sank further as the virus made further inroads and killed more Americans, in the continued absence of test kits. Schools, venues, and businesses shut down in an avalanche of closures. It's going to be hard for Trump to minimize this debacle as he continues his presidential campaign.

Also: Remember the "phase one" trade agreement signed with China a few months ago? It contains a force majeure clause whereby exceptional circumstances can allow China to not meet the requirements of the deal on time. China is already dealing with delays in major projects due to the impact of the virus, which stresses its ability to manufacture or trade.

A display of ignorance and insensitivity

Trump is likewise having his adminstration officials down-play the impact of the virus. White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow today spoke to MSNBC and said:
"Regarding the containment issue, I will still argue to you that this is contained. We don't actually know what the magnitude of the virus is going to be. Although, frankly, so far it looks relatively contained."
Here you have a Trump administration financial analyst making a definitive epidemiological statement...and a false one, at that. As the CDC clearly points out, the virus is not contained. It is widespread and being carried by large numbers of people in many countries. Recall also that the (misattributed) Spanish Flu of 1918 mutated and became extremely virulent: it subsided and re-emerged in three waves and lasted more than a year, killing tens of millions of people. In today's highly mobile populations, it is virtually impossible to keep congagious pathogens from being spred around the world.

The Trump way: When you have an opportunity to be forthcoming and presidential, lie and smear instead

The coronavirus is a hoax

My stellar ratings; and how I will now distance myself from the coronavirus thing

Dementia or gross stupidity, take your pick

Trump also announced that V.P and chief sycophant Mike Pence will take full responsibility for the virus response:
"And what I’ve done is I’m going to be announcing, exactly right now, that I’m going to be putting our Vice President, Mike Pence, in charge. And Mike will be working with the professionals, doctors, and everybody else that’s working. The team is brilliant. I spent a lot of time with the team over the last couple of weeks, but they’re totally brilliant, and we’re doing really well. And Mike is going to be in charge, and Mike will report back to me."
This is hilariously typical Trump mode of operation: if something is good, take credit for it; if something is bad, assure that someone else is accountable for it. This was Trump walking away from responsibility, letting the anti-science Pence take control of the government's health sciences response — and take full blame for everything that will inevitably go wrong. (Notably, Trump has made no commitment to Pence as his re-election V.P.)

Trump once again attempted to minimize the coronavirus and pat himself on the back for the just wonderful job he has done, saying:
"Because of all we've done, the risk to the American people remains very low. ... When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. That's a pretty good job we've done."
Who needs facts when you can portray your uninformed impressions as reality?

Trump's profound ignorance of world realities was on full display today as he said: "The flu in our country kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year, that was shocking to me." That's a statistic widely known to adults on this planet who pay attention to things. For the president of the United States to not know this is itself shocking. The phrase "unqualified for the office" is reinforced by his own admission. Then Trump uttered this lie about his administration's handling of the pandemic, accompanied by predictable self-praise:
"But we have it so well under control. I mean, we really have done a very good job."
The reality, of course, was that the Trump administration's abject failure to properly handle the pandemic situation would result in immense tragedy in the United States, with tens of thousands of people suffering and dying.

CDC director issues a strong warning about the virus — and suffers the consequences under the Trump regime

Trump did not like that, and threatened to fire Messonnier. Ron Klain, a former aide for former Vice President Joe Biden who served as former President Obama's Ebola czar in 2014, said that Messonnier faced "immediate blowback" for sounding the alarm about the coronavirus and observed: "Starting the next day, Dr. Messonnier no longer appeared at public briefings of the White House coronavirus task force. The president and the White House sent a clear message to scientists in the government — there would be a price for speaking out and speaking up."

Ignorance and misinformation continue to be the hallmarks of the Trump adminstration

Trump is deliberately minimizing the coronavirus because he's petrified of what it can do to his house-of-cards U.S. economy, built on a foundation of horrendous debt and severe economic disparities. He knows that if the U.S. economy declines, with that go his hopes of re-election — which he needs to happen to keep him out of the clutches of prosecutors who are just waiting for him to be out of the presidency. He sees Japan and Germany just barely above recession level and the debilitating effects on production that the coronavirus has caused, where China is largely shut down.

The coronavirus is under control

More than 1100 former Justice Department officials call upon corrupt William Barr to resign

Barr's ingenuine protest about Trump's tweets

Given Barr's record of functioning as Trump's personal attorney and ally rather than as attorney general for the United States, there was widespread derision of Barr's statements, and wholesale disbelief in what he was professing. Not going to be influenced? Think back to Barr's appearance before Congress on April 10th when he parroted Trump's allegation that there had been spying on Trump associates during the presidential campaign — like Trump, offering no evidence. This is being a willing puppet for Trump. Many opined that Barr's complaint about Trump's tweets making it impossible to do his job was really saying that his job was to carry out Trump's whims covertly, where Trump exposing the actions was counterproductive to that intent.

Trump attacks the forewoman of the Stone jury

U.S. prosecutors resign in protest of Barr overriding their sentencing recommendation in the Stone case

Trump attacks a federal judge via tweet

The indictee visits the impeachee; ingenuine "peace plan" unveiled

Trump declares no pandemic — everything's just fine

Trump's ego goes to Davos

So, what commitment did Trump make to the climate in this context? Plant trees. This, from the ongoing champion of coal and eased emissions standards for U.S. SUV makers. And he again went after the world's representative of the youth who will inherit the climate tragedy he is furthering... Speaking shortly after the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, Trump proclaimed: "we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apocalypse." Notable is that while in Davos, Trump did not even mention climate change, despite that being a key agenda item for the conference. Oh, the inconvenience of reality: let's pretend that there is no pressing problem.

And where's the fun of a trip to Europe if Trump doesn't threaten or insult our European allies? Trump threatens tariffs on Italy and Britain if they pursue taxes on large digital companies like Facebook and Alphabet's Google. He already brow-beat France into delay their digital tax to dodge Trump's tafiff ire. The United States and Europe are now at odds over trade, climate change, taxation, privacy, Iran, and defense funding.

The coronavirus is found to be transmittable

Predictably, McConnell it out to sabotage the impeachment trial

Alan Dershowitz — shameless enemy of the Constitution

Lev who??

The GAO rules that Trump broke federal law in holding back Ukraine money and aid

A good example of haw far the Republican party has deteriorated under Trump

The simpleton's stance on encryption

Trump further revises the Soleimani lie: Now "imminent" doesn't matter

What Trump is doing in this statement is discounting the "imminent" contrivance that he and his team have been clumsily promoting over the past 8 days, to instead assert that he can arbitrarily execute anyone he chooses, without getting permission from anyone... following the model of tyrannical Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. (You know how much Trump admires and envies strongmen who can do anything they want, with no accountability.) There is also an extreme irony here. Trump himself has a "horrible past", particularly in the past three years of vandalizing our constitutional government; and all we have done is to impeach him.

Imminent? Not if it was set up many months ago

In a January 9th rally of his deplorables, Trump offered this excused for not conferring with Congress on this act of war: "These are split-second decisions." Obviously, seven months is more than a split-second.

We don't need to talk to the press when we have propaganda outlets

Encourage reporters — in Iran

Still fumbling to invent an excuse for the assassination

Trump depends upon people not actually thinking through what he says, else it would reveal how idiotic his fabrications are. So, let's delve into this... Trump is positing that Iran was intent on launching an "imminent" attack on four U.S. embassies, ostensibly to inflict great harm, as in killing as many occupants as possible. This would be a blatant, state-level act of war against the United States...something they have never done before and have no obvious compelling reason to undertake. Then, the probability of this being true is very small. Now, let's consider their retaliatory act in response to the killing of their general. If they were originally going to attack four U.S. embassies, would they not be even more incensed after their general was assassinated, and then unleash an even greater assault? But they didn't. Instead, they launched a ballistic missile attack against a distant U.S. base in Iraq. Think about that. They chose ploddingly slow, big, noisy missiles with hot, flaming exhausts that would be readily detected by everyone monitoring the region, and implicitly give the Americans at the targeted base plenty of time to get out of the way. This, then, was a very measured and surprisingly benign response, given the extreme affront to their senior officials. This was, more than anything else, a demonstration of Iran's military capabilities where they reasonably believed that they could respond in this way without provoking the United States into further action.

Meanwhile, European leaders strongly disagree with Trump's handling of Iran, and have rejected Trump's call for them to bail out of the Iran nuclear deal, as he did in May of 2018. France, Germany, and the UK have issued a joing statement of continued support for maintaining the Iran nuclear deal... "We, the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, share fundamental common security interests, along with our European partners. One of them is upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) plays a key role in this respect."

Was the assassination of Soleimani motivated by Trump's self-interest?

Congress is briefed on the attack...sort of

Trump assassinates a popular Iranian general

Think about this: does this make sense? If the supposed attack was as substantial as it was "imminent", then what good would it do to kill the general who planned it, given that the action would have been well along to execution? In the case of an imminent attack, you take action against the means of attack, to at least mitigate its impact. But there was no such action; and, by implication, there was no imminent attack. This smells of another Trump fabrication. And what about the timing? Trump is saying that this general should have been killed "years ago". Well, Trump has been in office almost three years, and yet in all that time he did not act on Soleimani. Why now? Perhaps because "now" is when Trump is under impeachment attack, where forces are acting against him that he, unaccustomedly, has no power to stop. Trump is renowned for fabricating distractions when he needs to take the heat off himself. And, certainly, defining himself as "a war-time president" would help assure his re-election, as a president enmeshed in a war should continue in office. This tactic has been in Trump's mind. Recall Trump sitting in his Trump Tower office on November 16, 2011 and saying of president Obama:
"Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective. So the only way he figures that he's going to get reelected — and as sure as you're sitting there — is to start a war with Iran."
And there you have it, straight from someone who is weak and ineffective and who is a demonstrated failure at negotiation. Trump repeated that "warning" multiple times, in 2011, 2012, and 2013. A potential tactic burned into his brain.

Had Trump not conducted this attack and put Iran on high alert, 176 innocent civilians would still be alive today. Trigger-happy Iranian military personnel, wary of a U.S. air attack after Iran counter-struck U.S. bases in Iraq, launched two surface-to-air missiles against Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, thinking it could be U.S. military aircraft. The airliner was thoroughly destroyed, killing everyone on board, including 63 Canadians. As many have pointed out, and polls confirm, Trump is making the world a less safe place through his unthinking actions and inflammatory language which always escalate tensions. A great many in Canada knew the victims, and are very angry. One angry Canadian took to Twitter on January 12 to express his outrage at Trump:
I'm Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, and these are personal reflections. I am very angry, and time isn't making me less angry. A MLF colleague of mine lost his wife and family this week to a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran... U.S. government leaders unconstrained by checks/balances, concocted an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes. The world knows Iran is a dangerous state, but the world found a path to contain it; not perfect but by most accounts it was the right direction... A narcissist in Washington tears world accomplishments apart; destabilizes region. US now unwelcomed everywhere in the area including Iraq; tensions escalated to feverish pitch. Taking out despicable military leader terrorist? There are a hundred like him, standing next in line... The collateral damage of this irresponsible, dangerous, ill-conceived behavior? 63 Canadians needlessly lost their lives in the crossfire, including the family of one of my MLF colleagues (his wife + 11 year old son)! We are mourning and I am livid. Michael McCain.

There is foundational reason for former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson having referred to Donald Trump as "a moron" (but with a more damning adjective before the word moron).

Kim Jong Un has given up on Trump

Today, Kim dismissed the possibility of denuclearization, saying it will "never be" a reality. He is resigned to continuing to operate withing a sanctions reality and pursue international standing via military strength, not capitulation. Despite all this, Trump perpetuates the facade of a potential denuclearization agreement as an extension of a great relationship with Kim, as Trump tries to cling to the illusion of a major accomplishment with North Korea as he campaigns for re-election.

Another smoking gun emerges, pointing to Trump's guilt

Recall that Trump called Ukraine president Zelensky on July 25, around 09:00, in a telephone conversation that lasted 30 minutes. The documents show that at 11:04, just 90 minutes later, the White House budget office in the person of Michael Duffy communicated the Pentagon that the $391M congressional appropriation to Ukraine should be put on hold — and that the hold action be kept quiet. In that communication, senior OMB political appointee Michael Duffey told the Pentagon's comptroller: "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute the direction." In other words, keep it secret. At the time, it was peculiar that a political appointee would be given this coordination task, but it's apparent in light of Trump's motives. White House staff were nervous about this in that it could be in violation of federal law: the Impoundment Control Act says that once Congress appropriates funds — like the Ukraine assistance — and the president signs the relevant spending bill, the executive branch must spend those funds. A president cannot simply ignore Congress's direction. Pentagon officials, likewise aware of the law, were very concerned about the hold.

Entirely predictably, congressional Republicans are as intent on ignoring this latest documented evidence of Trump's unlawful actions as with all prior evidence.

Christianity Today advocates Trump's removal

While this is healthy to see, some perspective is in order. First, consider that 80% of evangelicals voted for Trump, despite his long established immoral character. Second, it should not have taken three years of this depraved presidency for evangelical leaders to finally be forcefully speaking about this. Third, far too many religious leaders continue to be steadfast in their support of Trump, such as Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and the heir to his ministry. The reality is that evangelicals have effectively hired Donald Trump as a mercernary to pursue their interests in narrow issues, to the exclusion of the greater base of moral tenets to which they subscribe.

Galli included this in the editorial: "Let's grant this to the president: The Democrats have had it out for him from day one..." While that may have been intended to be a slight of the Democrats, it is in reality a compliment, in that the Democrats were well aware from day one that Donald Trump is morally and ethically and mentally unqualified to hold the office of President of the United States, where the outcome of his occupancy of the White House was obvious from the outset. It is the Democrats who saw the clear and present danger of a Trump presidency, and undertook steps to try to uphold the Constitution and protect the world's greatest democracy from undermining by Trump and his affinity for Russia.

Predictably, Trump's reaction to the editorial was to belittle the publication by tweet, in his traditional approach of diminishing the source of opposition as irrelevant:
"A far left magazine, or very 'progressive,' as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn't been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather..... ....have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President. No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it's not even close. You'll not get anything from those Dems on stage. I won't be reading ET again!"

The grotesque Donald Trump resorts to insulting the dead

This deplorable action clearly demonstrates the true nature of Donald Trump: a thoroughy petty, vindictive, low individual...a bully and a coward who thinks that cheaply attacking others that it diminishes them, when in reality it just lowers him to the gutter. Donald Trump keeps definining himself as human trash.

As John McCain's daughter Cindy said of Trump after her father's death, in responding to Trump's incessant verbal assaults on her father: "[Trump] spends his weekend obsessing over great men because — he knows it and I know it and all of you know it — he will never be a great man. My father was his kryptonite in life, he's his kryptonite in death."

Trump is impeached

The next step is for the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to choose managers and refer the impeachment to the Senate for trial. There, you can expect the same shameless party-over-country Republican response — which we are already seeing now, with senators like Lindsey Graham saying that he will vote against impeachment, having seen no evidence and not wanting to see any. The very good thing is that Trump now has this permanent, indelible, well-earned stain on his presidency. While senate Republicans are intent on not convicting him of his manifest crimes, the historical perspective is that no U.S. president has ever been removed from office via impeachment.

Trump erupts over pending impeachment with a six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi

Trump closed this assault on truth saying: "I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record. One hundred years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another President again." What history will learn of Donald Trump from this letter and his cavalcade of corruption is what we Trump victims can see today: a developmentally arrested simpleton and horrible human being who is utterly unqualified to be President of anything, much less the United States. Pelosi's reaction to the letter was: "really sick", and that summarizes Trump and the whole situation he has put this country into.

Giuliani returns to the scene of the crime

Trump heralds Giuliani's return from Ukraine dirt-gathering

As any thinking person would expect, what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine was the antithesis of either science or the fact-finding that reporters do. He was actually on a mission to find any information — no matter how sketchy or baseless — to support what Trump wants to believe, or have others believe, about the Bidens or the source of the misinformation which helped Trump subversively win the 2016 presidential election. Trump is continuing to pursue the fully discredited conspiracy nonsense about the Ukraine having been the agents behind the spread of misinformation in 2016, rather than Russia so as to try to undermine the well-established reality that it was Trump's comrades in Russia who conducted the subversive campaign to get Trump elected rather than Hillary Clinton.

There are three notable things about this situation and Trump's herald. First, it is so reminiscent of Trump's sensationalism voiced on April 7, 2011 when he said that he had investigators in Hawaii to dig up dirt about Obama's birth certificate, back when Trump was on a mission to somehow prove that Obama was not a natural-born American and thus his presidency was illegitimate. Then, Trump was touting incredible information that the investigators has found — and later never come forward with anything. This is Trump grandstanding as part of discrediting an opponent. Second, here is Trump heralding Giuliani going before Congress, at the same time that Trump is prohibiting any of his executive branch officials from complying with congressional subpoenas to testify before House panels. Third, this whole situation is completely upside-down. Here we have this amateur "sleuth", with no governmental affiliation, going to a foreign country, representing the president of the United States, gathering garbage "information", and intent on presenting it to the president and other top-level officials as though it were as authoritative as the well-vetted information which our intelligence community gathers and fully checks out before presenting it to anyone. This is nuts, and for an alleged president to support this as legitimate information gathering is itself evidence that Trump is unfit for the office.

The king of hypocrisy calls Canada's prime minister two-faced

Now I'll resume taunting Kim Jong Un with childish name-calling

Trump is obviously peeved that his supposed great accomplishment with North Korea was illusory and that, as experts expected, Kim had no intention of denuclearization, which Trump has been demanding. Now Trump is faced with somehow salvaging an "accomplishment" from this obvious failure as he campaigns for reelection.

I love the trade war so much that I'm going to keep it going indefinitely

Let's have some more tariffs!

Trump's Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross expounded on Trump's prolonged trade war, saying today: "You don't have a deal on anything until you have a deal on everything", for what little logical sense that makes. What of the impact on the economy? Ross dismissed that by saying: "But it's great that he has the hammer of December 15th, because that's a real hammer. That won't interfere with this year's Christmas. Nobody's reordering stuff after the 15th of December. Retailers have stocked up. So, it's a very good time, if we have to put more tariffs on."
Note that Ross is implicitly acknowledging that Trump's tariffs have a negative effect upon consumers and retailers, but none of that matters to the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, China is bypassing the U.S. to reach out to the other countries in the world for trade and alliances, a campaign which marginalizes and weakens the U.S. on the world stage and which is helped by Trump's America-first isolationism.

Trump now spends his time compiling an enemies list

Fiona Hill and David Holmes testify in the Trump impeachment investigation

I shall bludgeon China into submission to my will

Stephanie Grisham: despicableness emulated

The first day of public impeachment hearings

Sondland's memories miraculosly return

Trump loses appeal case trying to keep his taxes concealed

Trump is fighting this, saying that releasing his tax information to the investigators would be "detrimental" to him. On that basis, plus abundant past information, we can believe that the tax records will show that Trump has nowhere near the "billions and billions" of wealth that he keeps claiming, and that he cheated on his filings.

Republicans go as low as possible to support Trump's outrages

Today, an American patriot testifies

Trump could not simply leave things alone: he just had to tweet some vile thing about this latest witness — even before that witness testified. Trump tweeted: "Supposedly, according to the Corrupt Media, the Ukraine call 'concerned' today's Never Trumper witness, Was he on the same call that I was? Can't be possible! Please ask him to read the Transcript of the call. Witch Hunt!"
Well, Trump, everyone saw what you relased of that call, and though it reflected just a fraction of the 30 minute conversation, it was damning. If you don't get it, maybe you should read that "transcript". Of course, Trump's tweet was just his usual bugle call to his mindless defenders, who took up the attack on Trump's behalf, smearing and maligning the purple heart recipient, one of Trump's rabid supporters even referring to Vindman's service in the NSC as "espionage" (said alleged law professor John Yoo, of the University of California Berkeley — who should dismiss him). House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney came to Vindman's defense and, in opposition to always-Trumper Republicans, said that this mistreatment of Vindman was shameful: "I also want to say a word about something else that's been going on over the course of the last several hours and last night, which I think is also shameful, and that is questioning the patriotism, questioning the dedication to country of people like Mr. Vindman, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, who will be coming today, and others who have testified,"

What is shameful in the extreme is for president Trump, the ultimate commander of the U.S. military, to malign this active duty officer this way. It is particularly offensive for Trump, a life-long coward, to be maligning active duty military personnel, particularly those who endured battle.

Staphanie Grisham defines herself as a shameless Trump suck-up

Republicans shamelessly disrupt closed-door impeachment hearings

Trump to Republicans: Protect me

The Constitution is crap

Again doing what Putin wants

Lying about U.S. troops

Mulvaney blurts out the truth again

In an angry tweet (is there any other kind from him?) Trump cancels the G-7 Doral plan

Surprise, surprise: Trump's Doral country club is chosen as the next G-7 site

Mulvaney admits to the quid pro quo, but tries to unadmit it

One House GOP aide subsequently mused that Mulvaney's performance was "so bad that it's plausible he was trying to get fired." Even Trump's legal staff went out of their way to distance themselves from Mulvaney's performance, as Trump attorney Jay Sekulow issued the statement: "The President's legal counsel was not involved in acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney's press briefing." Hours later, after Trump got on his case, Mulvaney denied what he said earlier, claiming that the corrupt media had misreported the briefing — despite the whole thing having been captured on video and broadcast as-is. This is Trump trying to define an alternate reality.

This event was revealing in another way: Why is the White House Chief of Staff conducting a standard press conference? Why is there no White House communications director? Why, after a year, is Mulvaney still acting Chief of Staff? It's like there's no one left in the White House...that no one wants to work under Donald Trump. This is testimony to Donald Trump being considered toxic. It is for this reason that Trump is likely to not dismiss Mulvaney. Another reason is that Trump doesn't want to turn Mulvaney loose and then have Mulvaney tell all about what's been going on within the administration for the past year.

Gordon Sondland testifies

Trump's disastrous White House meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer

The House votes to condemn Trump's Syria debacle

George Kent testifies

Fiona Hill testifies

The claimed, partial trade deal with China

Getting out of the Middle East? Trump sends in more troops, to Saudi Arabia, of all places

Trump would later claim, on October 21: "You read where we're sending some troops to Saudi Arabia. That's true. Because we want to help Saudi Arabia. They have been a very good ally. They've agreed to pay for the cost of those troops. They've agreed to pay fully for the cost of everything we’re doing over there. . . . Saudi Arabia is paying for 100 percent of the cost, including the cost of our soldiers."
So: now U.S. forces are being contracted out as mercenaries! This is not lost on U.S. military members, who now see themselves as being abused for the personal interests of Donald Trump. Will military families vote for Trump after this?

U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies before Congress

Allies around the world now see the U.S. as unreliable

One of the few people of integrity at Fox News resigns

Lev Parnas? Igor Fruman? I don't know them

Pompeo's senior adviser resigns

The first arrests of the impeachment period expose Trump/Republican corruption

These two were funneling foreign monies into U.S. elections to support Republicans, including $350,000 for a Trump PAC. The Washington Post reports: According to the indictment unsealed in New York, Parnas, Fruman and other defendants "conspired to circumvent the federal laws against foreign influence by engaging in a scheme to funnel foreign money to candidates for federal and state office so that the defendants could buy potential influence with the candidates, campaigns, and the candidates' governments." These two were in cahoots with Guiliani. John Dowd, a lawyer for Parnas and Fruman, told Congress in a statement earlier this week that they had been assisting Giuliani in his work on behalf of the president. Additionally, Giuliani was getting money from these two, who were working for Trump in Ukraine, and arranged Ukraine connections for Giuliani to talk to in his quest to get anyone there to put their name to a statement claiming Biden corruption.

These two were also funneling $20,000 to the campaign of congressman Pete Sessions — but this was to buy his cooperation in the Trump Ukraine scheme. (Sessions is "Congressman-1" in the Parnas-Fruman indictment.) U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, as a career professional, was getting in the way, because she was greatly distubed and objected to the State Department facilitating Rudy Giuliani's dirt-gathering foray into Ukraine. She had to be gotten out of the way, but covertly, as this whole scheme was a shadow foreign relations subversion. So, Parnas and Fruman met with Sessions and specified a task for him to perform in exchange for the money: write a letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, smearing Yovanovitch and urging her removal. Sessions wrote the letter in November, and Pompeo readily complied. So, what to do about that position vacuum? Trump picked Gordon Sondland to fill in. Sondland was serving as the ambassador to the European Union and had nothing to do with Ukraine. Indeed, Ukraine wasn't even a member of the European Union. So, Sondland was a career diplomat, right? No, his career has been in hotel administration: he got the EU ambassadorship by contributing $1M to Trump's 2016 campaign, the source of which he tried to hide through LLC arrangements (think Michael Cohen techniques). Sondland was thus a loyal Trump soldier who would do what he was told.

Trump's reaction to the arrests: "I don't know them. I don't know about them. Maybe they were clients of Rudy. You'll have to ask Rudy." Really? Don't remember someone who donated $350,000 to the Trump Super PAC? That's something most people would remember, and Trump touts a perfect memory. (Parnas and Fruman were photographed with Pence and Trump.) And, throw Rudy under the bus. By the way: the legal team for Parnas and Fruman is the same who represented Paul Manafort: Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle and John Dowd.

The public statement about the arrests was made by Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who stated that the investigation is "ongoing". One can infer that Giuliani is a conspicuous target in that. A great irony is that Berman succeeded Guiliani at the Southern District in 1989.

Parnas and Fruman were fleeing to Europe. Coincidentally, Giuliani was scheduled to go to Vienna at the same time. Vienna? What's there? One thing there is Dmytro Firtash. You may remember that name as being on the front of that stapled sheaf of papers that Giuliani waved during a Fox News interview saying that it was statements from a high-ranking Ukranian proving Biden corruption in Ukraine. Dmytro Vasylovych Firtash is a Ukrainian businessman/oligarch who is under house arrest in Vienna, fighting extradition to the United States on bribery and racketeering charges. To make things more interesting: In July, Firtash changed his Washington legal team, hiring Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, a husband-and-wife duo closely associated with the Trump administration.

And, finally: Bye, bye Rudy. Through his bumbling, amateurish exploits, Giuliani has just defined himself as a liability to Trump. It is 100% predictable that, tomorrow, Trump will start publicly distancing himself from Giuliani.

Conservative lawyers backing impeachment

The Republican smoke screen generation continues

George Conway slams the White House letter

Trump's inane letter to Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan

His Excellency
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
President of the Republic of Turkey
Ankara

Dear Mr. President:

Let's work out a good deal! You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy — and I will. I've already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor Brunson.

I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don't let the world down. You can make a gread deal. General Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you, and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of his letter to me, just received.

History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!

I will call you later.

Sincerly, [scribbly Donald Trump signature written with Sharpie]

Where to start? There are so many problems evident here. First of all, this was a disaster of a letter. Many people went checking to see if this was actually a hoax...and hoped it was a hoax, rather than something that a U.S. President actually sent to another country's leader. Political commentator Charlie Sykes said of this letter that is it what you would expect of a 9 year old writing in crayon. This is not what adults write. This doesn't even rise to the level of "adolescent". Secondly, this is disturbing in that no one at the White House kept Trump from sending something as stupid as this. Third, this illustrates that the only way that Trump knows how to address problems is to insult, bully, and threaten people. Fourth, our country is not in a position to destroy Turkey's economy. Fifth, Trump sent a copy of a supposedly confidential letter from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader, Mazloum Kobani, with Erdogan, whose forces were launching an attack on the SDF. This demonstrates to every leader in the world that they cannot communicate with the U.S. president and be confident in the communication being private. Further, as Ned Price, a former CIA officer and National Security Council spokesman wondered: "How much NATO correspondence has been forwarded to Putin?" Sixth, Donald Trump has never "worked hard" as president. He is notorious for work avoidance, as is evidenced by his lack of accomplishments. (Note to Trump: insulting people and destroying your predecessor's legacy do not constitute "accomplishments".) Lastly, a letter like this will accomplish nothing positive...and it did not, as Erdogan ignored Trump's letter and kept right on blasting the Kurds out of northern Syria. (The BBC subsequently reported that Erdogan's reaction to Trump's letter was to throw it into the trash.)

The slaughter of the Kurds begins, dismissed by Trump

In the face of bipartisan criticism of his unilateral decision to abandon the Kurds, Trump offered this muddled excuse while standing in the White House, flanked by his grinning Republican defenders:
"The Kurds are fighting for their land, just so you understand. They're fighting for their land and as someone wrote in a very, very powerful article today: They didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy, as an example… but they're there to help us with their land. And that's a different thing. And in addition that, we’ve spent tremendous amounts of money on helping the Kurds, in terms of ammunition, in terms of weapons, in terms of money, in terms of pay. With all of that being said, we like the Kurds."

Trump remains consistent in cheating people

Another Trump absurdity: The military was out of ammunition and I fixed that

Trump unilaterally abandons the Kurds

What's really going on here? Two things. First, this is Trump pandering for votes from U.S. military families. All that he cares about in all this is votes. People who can't (or won't) vote for him don't matter. He doesn't care about Kurd men, women, and children about to be slaughtered — by F-16 figher jets which the U.S. sold to Turkey. Ask U.S. military members who served alongside the Kurds what they think of abandoning those people who fought so valiantly against ISIS. Second, Trump's coziness with Erdogan and dismissal of the Kurds is easily understood by Trump's financial inerests in Turkey, as iconified by Trump Towers in Istanbul. In December 2015, Trump stated in a radio interview that he had a "conflict of interest" in dealing with Turkey because of his property, saying "I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul ... It's called Trump Towers."

Indefensible?

Trump admits the real purpose of his call to Zelinsky

Here is Trump readily admitting that the purpose of his call to Ukraine president Zelinsky was to get him to investigate the Bidens. On top of that, Trump openly solicits yet another country, China, to interfere in the 2020 election by investigating the Bidens for him.

Trump quotes Sondland, in reality repeating his own claim of innocence

Pompeo belatedly admits to having been on the Ukraine phone call

Trump lashes out, claiming that the move against him is a coup

How about we shoot them in the legs?

The State Department Inspector General requests urgent Capitol Hill meeting

Through Trump's abuse of people, norms, and laws he has created large numbers of enemies and people who generally want him away from any position of power; so we can expect more and more people to come forward where they sense that there is hope of ridding the world of this scourge of a human being.

Reports say that Pompeo was listening to Trump's July 25 to the Ukraine president

Tom Bossert reveals his warnings to Trump

Bossert added: "The DNC server and that conspiracy theory has got to go, they have to stop with that, it cannot continue to be repeated in discourse.... If [the president] continues to focus on that white whale, it's going to bring him down. Enough."

All this reinforces that Trump has the mind of an 8-year-old child, fixated on fantasies and intent on excluding reality.

The special envoy to Ukraine resigns

Those who are not loyal to me are traitors and should be executed

Trump tries to deflect by bringing Pence into his scandal

The whistleblower drama escalates

With indications that the foreign government involved in the whistelblower complaint is Ukraine, Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani was interviewed on CNN about his earlier intention to go to Ukraine to get dirt on 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden's family. Interviewer Chris Cuomo pressed Giuliani on what transpired...which resulted in a denial — quickly followed by an admission:
Cuomo: "Did you ask the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden?"
Giuliani: "No, actually I didn't. I asked the Ukraine to investigate the allegations that there was interference in the election of 2016 by the Ukrainians for the benefit of Hillary Clinton, for which there is already a court finding."
Cuomo: "You never asked anything about Hunter Biden? You never asked anything about Joe Biden and his role with the prosecutor?"
Giuliani: "The only thing I asked about Joe Biden is to get to the bottom of how it was that Lutsenko, who was appointed, dismissed the cas."
Cuomo: "So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?"
Giuliani: "Of course I did."

An intelligence community member blows the whistle on Trump

There is reason to believe that the foreign government is Ukraine, based upon Trump phone call records. In its conflict with Russia, Ukraine has been seeking the latest military hardware from the U.S., where being given status as NATO’s special partner, allowing Ukraine to buy any weapons that the U.S. sells, including the latest missle offerings.

Sharpiegate takes an ugly turn

What's going on here? This reeks of coercian by Trump. If NOAA reports were in any way incorrect, they would have been addressed in a timely manner — not a week after the fact. And note well that no one at NOAA would put their name to this statement. It was subsequently reported by the New York Times that Trump pressured Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to force NOAA to issue a statement which supported Trump's growing lie about the hurricane going into Alabama. Ross called acting NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs, who rightly opposed the outrageous and irresponsible demand. At that point, Ross threatened to fire top NOAA staff if they did not comply.

This is incredible abuse of power. We have an absolute dictator in the White House, and corrupt cabinet officers who carry out Trump's outrages for him. Even science will be perverted to support the lies of this deranged president.

Trump quadruples down on his Alabama hurricane gaffe by falsifying a NOAA diagram

Trump triples down on his erroneous Alabama hurricane prediction

Trump doubles down on his erroneous Alabama hurricane prediction

Trump the meteorologist predicts that Alabama will be hit by hurricane Dorian

Trump bludgeons China again, with additional tariffs

This is Trump conforming to his life habit of enforcing his will by bullying and bludgeoning people: give the illusion of elevating yourself by bringing other down. This is Trump's life-long goal of seeking benefits while putting as little effort as possible into life pursuits. He doesn't care how bad this makes him look, as long as he comes out on top; and if the bullying and bludgeoning doesn't work, he will relentlessly claim victory regardless of the reality: if you say it often enough, (enough) people will believe it. Thus, what's happening to the United States is an extension of Trump's warped view of social behavior. Rather than actually making America great, he is trying to beat China down. This is driving our country down into a second-rate power as China has been accelerating under its president — who makes Trump look like the imposter of a president that he is.

My resort is threatened by a hurricane!!

Emoluments Clause of the Constitution — what's that?

Ever heard of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, Donald? Here it is:
"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
Perhaps you should have taken up Khizr Khan's offer to give you a copy of the Constitution.

Those who respect the law condemned Trump's blatant money grab. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, said that effectively forcing world leaders to pay at one of Trump's properties "would be one of the most egregious examples of corruption and self-dealing in a presidency replete with them."

Also, in a news conference at the end of the G-7: While answering a question about Iran, Trump pivoted to North Korea: "I also say that, by the way, with respect to North Korea, Kim Jong Un — who I've gotten to know extremely well; the first lady had gotten to know Kim Jong Un, and I think she'd agree with me — he is a man with a country that has tremendous potential." This is another instance of Trump simply making things up (i.e., lying). White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham had to clean this up, issuing a statement soon after noting that the first lady has never met Kim: "President Trump confides in his wife on many issues including the detailed elements of his strong relationship with Chairman Kim — and while the First Lady hasn't met him."

Trump culpability in the Amazon rain forest destruction

Comrade Trump pushes for Russia to be readmitted to the G-7/G-8

Trump rails against China and tells U.S. companies to leave China

This is not leadership: this is moronity...the signature of the Trump presidency. More to the point, this is abuse of power. You don't order your country's companies to pull out of a world region, and spend something like a trillion dollars doing it, on the basis of a tweet. And what would that massive upheaval do to the American and world economy? That's astoundingly stupid, but exactly the kind of fit-of-pique, rash outburst we've come to expect from Trump. Numerous Twitter users pounced on Trump's blatant hypocrisy in this, posting pictures of IVANKA TRUMP and DONALD J. TRUMP Signature Collection branded apparel prominently labeled MADE IN CHINA — including Trump's MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN red hats.

Jobs growth isn't what Trump would like to believe

There's no endorsement like an endorsement from a wacko, right-wing conspiracy theorist

But it gets better... Rather than seeking out real news and information and facts, Trump demonstrates that he continues to subscribe to right-wing conspiracy wackos. In a tweet, he praised Wayne Allyn Root for his effusive Trump popularity claim:
"Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. 'President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God. But American Jews don't know him or like him. They don't even know what they're doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that's OK, if he keeps doing what he's doing, he's good for all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone. And importantly, he's good for everyone in America who wants a job.' Wow!"
So, if there's anything that Trump likes more than empty praise and validation, it's being lauded as a messiah. All hail the new King of Israel.

Jews who vote Democratic are being disloyal to me

No Greenland, no visit!!

Predictably retreating from gun-buying background checks

Playing the victim once again

Trump denies recession, but it's already hitting U.S. manufacturing

As a measure of spending in the economy, manufacturing numbers have been an indicator of whether a recession can be approaching. The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers index fell to 49.1 in August, weaker than all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, data released Tuesday showed. Figures below 50 indicate the manufacturing economy is generally shrinking. The group's gauge of new orders dropped to a more than seven-year low, while the production index hit the lowest since late 2015.

This is the president who said that he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. Empty words. Trump is notorious for being unable to perceive linkage effects, and for being fixated on just what's current. He brags about being his own, best counsel, and ignores advisors' inputs as being inferior to his own judgements — regardless of the far greater knowledge and experience of those advisors. Make America great again? Trump has done nothing to do that, and instead has degraded everything he has touched. Trump is nothing more than a civilization vandal, who cares nothing beyond enriching himself.

Vote for me, out of fear

Trump blocks U.S. Representatives from entering Israel

Trump wants to buy Greenland

The operative wisdom here is, as usual: If Trump wants something, you can bet that it's a bad idea. He comes up with this idea despite having added a record $2.07 trillion to the national debt (so far) during his term, more than any other president not dealing with a recession. As Trump proudly declared on June 22, 2016: "I'm the king of debt."

Folks, it's time for a new hat...a green hat. On it we will emblaze: MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN
(Shhh: Don't tell the Danes.)

An admission that the U.S. consumer would indeed pay for the tariffs

Another national intelligence official leaves

Gordon was in line to replace the departed Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Trump had nomincated Representative John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) for the position, but Ratcliffe quickly withdrew after a barrage of unflattering media stories about his background and his brief tenure on the House Intelligence Committee. In other words, chosen because he was a Trump loyalist rather than on the basis of qualifications. Like at Trump's eviscerated State Department, morale had suffered at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and was not helped when it was learned that Gordon had been told that she would not be considered for the job of director, and that she would not be selected to serve as the acting director. This is because Trump wanted a loyalist in the position who would tell him what he wanted to hear, not what was needed.

Trump claims he's not racist

Trump delivers a scripted speech about the weekend shootings

Trump's trade war with China gets even worse

What no one seems to be talking about is that, in a de facto way, the Chinese are "meddling" in our elections by retaliatory tariffs which particularly hurt those who voted for Trump in 2016, particularly farmers. In the same way, note that Trump is doing much the same to Iran by way of the economic sanctions that he is imposing on that populace, where a goal is to make the Iranian people dissatisfied with their leadership.

Ivanka decries white supremacy

In contrast with this, Donald Trump. Using taxpayer funds, he had flown to Bedminster, N.J. to visit and promote and cause money to be infused into his Trump National Golf Club there, in a weekend trip to one of his properties. Standing next to his wife Melania at the airport, Trump said: "I want to extend our condolences to the people of El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, incredible people who have been through a lot." And he added: "Hate has no place in our country." Really? Really? This from the most hate-filled politician most of us have ever seen. This is the man who learned nothing from Charlottesville, and continues to support white supremacists. This is the president who capituated to the NRA on March 1, 2018 after saying the day before that people should not be petrified of the NRA, and that he would sign a gun control bill that would be put before him.

For Trump's trip, this was an annoying intrusion into his golf trip, where he had to say something, briefly, and then get on with the essence of his trip. After all, these shootings are just a normal part of American life, right? They happen all the time: no sense getting all worked up about them. But, more than golf, it was party time! Trump made a surprise appearance at a wedding reception being held at the golf club. (This is a Trump habit: he has done it before, as it helps attract people to the venue, benefitting his bottom line.) Trump was widely criticized for having a great time while families were grieving. America is great enough, apparently.

One of Trump's white supremacists massacres 22 people

Piling on China tariffs, again claiming that China will pay for them

Trump clearly does not understand China or its history or its culture. The more he presses and demands, the more impossible it is for China to concede, and in doing so lose face to the American dictator. Trump's tactics also undermine his credibility: the more irrational he becomes, the less he can be perceived to ever be a viable partner for a trade deal. China will, of course, retaliate, and make goods even more expensive for the American consumer. This is Trump amateurism — the pretend president, whose ignorance is doing immense harm to this country and every other country depending upon the United States.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is out

The notorious call with Ukraine president Zelensky

Another rally to sow national division

Barr and Ross are held in contempt for obstruction

The House condemns Trump for his overt racism

Trump racism on full display again

A Republican representative quits his party

July 4th — a day to celebrate Trump

A reminder of Republican hypocrisy

A new low for Trump, concocting a story about aborting a military strike just in time.

But there's more that's wrong with this picture. There is the matter of acting like a president. You don't tweet about a serious situation like that: you issue a formal statement from the White House — one in which words are actually spelled correctly. In issuing a tweet, Trump is being juvenile and trivializing the situation. It is well known to international leaders, and certainly to Iran's leaders, that Trump is a traditional bully coward. As one analyst put it, Trump blusters loudly but carries a little stick. To the Iranians, he demonstrated weakness last night, and today is, as usual, spewing vitriolic words about the situation, including how a war with Iran would result in "obliteration like you've never seen before," reminiscent of his similar threat to North Korea of "fire and fury like the world has never seen".

All this is happening when the United States still does not have a Secretary of Defense (something that Trump hasn't bothered getting around to). Diplomacy? Trump conducted a campaign to eviscerate the State Department, because diplomats are superfluous. He won't even talk to Iran. He chose John Bolton as National Security Advisor, a well known warmonger and promoter of regime change in Iran. He decided to unilaterally back out of the internationally forged "Iran deal" (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and then bore down on Iran, imposing crippling sanctions. Trump is as inept as he is reckless. He is the architect of this fabricated crisis and is painting the United States into a corner with this, as he makes Iran increasingly desperate and more inclined to extreme responses.

Iran is a sophisticated country with a very well equipped and dedicated military. They are no Iraq. Further, Iraq's might is not bordered: they have trained forces who are throughout the region. A war with Iran would be extremely costly in all aspects, and would seriously destabilize the Middle East. It would also push the U.S. economy into the toilet.

Hope Hicks avoids answering questions on the basis of a fabrication

Recall Trump claiming how "transparent" his White House has been in providing information in the investigations. Today's fiasco proves Trump to be a liar — as if we needed more evidence of that.

Trump officially opens his 2020 candidacy, with a predictable lie about crowd size

Trump's speech was heavy on fear-mongering, contriving projections on what the Democrats would do if they took over the presidency, and devoid of a roadmap of what he would do over the next four years — which was predictable, given Trump's aversion to doing work as president. Trump lamented the horrible investigations of him and his finances, telling the crowd, "They are really going after you", as his traditional ploy to get others to shield him by trying to define his enemies as their enemies.

Speaking of which... Trump had his "spiritual advisor", televangelist Paula White, open the rally with a fiery prayer targeting "every demonic network" that is working against your holy Trump:
"Right now, let every demonic network who has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus! Let the council of the wicked be spoiled right now."
The proposition that Trump was specially chosen by God to return America to its Christian roots is not at all uncommon in evangelical circles. He still has the backing of prominent evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the evangelical Liberty University, and Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham. Last month, Graham called on Christians to set aside a special day of prayer for Trump, claiming that "in the history of our country, no president has been attacked as he has." How conveniently these God-is-my-ally-against-you fanatics overlook all the damage that Trump is doing to their country, and to the health of the planet for which their God has assigned them stewardship.

So what about the rest of Florida? The Orlando Sentinel says it won't endorse Trump. The Sentinel said in an editorial Tuesday that some readers may wonder how the publication can eliminate a candidate before anyone knows who his opponent will be, so far in advance. The Sentinel answers that it's "because there's no point pretending we would ever recommend that readers vote for Trump." The publication said it has had enough of "the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies."

Conway should go, says the US Office of Special Counsel

Conway's arrogant response, in front of the press on May 29: "If you're trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it's not going to work," and "Let me know when the jail sentence starts."

Trump is stingingly rebuked by the FEC chairman

"Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept. Electoral intervention from foreign governments has been considered unacceptable since the beginnings of our nation. Our Founding Fathers sounded the alarm about 'foreign Interference, Intrigue, and Influence.' They knew that when foreign governments seek to influence American politics, it is always to advance their own interests, not America's. Anyone who solicits or accepts foreign assistance risks being on the wrong end of a federal investigation. Any political campaign that receives an offer of a prohibited donation from a foreign source should report that offer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

She subsequently punctuated that with a tweet saying: "I would not have thought that I needed to say this."

Sarah Sanders leaves

I have learned nothing about election interference

Another love letter from my pal Kim

You can just picture Kim Jong Un with his staff, showing Trump's response and laughing about how easy it is to play an American fool.

Trip to London? Must insult the mayor

Call Meghan Markle "nasty", then deny having said it

An admission by Trump that Russia helped get him elected, and a "torrent of lies"

Then, some 42 minutes later, on the White House South Lawn, Trump responded to a reporter's follow-up question to that tweet by contradicting himself, agitatedly saying:
"Russia did not help me get elected. You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn't help me at all."
This was part of what Jeffrey Toobin later called a 17 minute "torrent of lies". Clearly rattled by Robert Mueller's appearance before the press yesterday, in which he made clear that Trump was not "exonerated", Trump lashed out at Mueller in a lie-filled attempt to discredit Mueller, the investigators ("some of the worst human beings on Earth"), and the report (which Trump and his staff previously praised), saying that Mueller was "deeply conflicted" (without providing any evidence, of course), saying that "He wanted to be FBI director" (which is false, contradicted by Steve Bannon's sworn testimony), and that "I had a business dispute with him" (also completely false). The prospect of impeachment is finally sinking in with Trump, who in this press appearance said: "To me it's a dirty word, the word 'impeach.' It's a dirty, filthy, disgusting word.". He went on about possible impeachment, saying: "I can't imagine the courts allowing it." This is the guy who brags about being a Wharton graduate, and yet doesn't even know junior high school civics. As the Constitution specifies, impeachment is the sole domain of Congress: the courts have no part in it. Trump is likely confused, in thinking that he has stacked courts with partisan judges who will protect him, but none can protect him in this arena. (Trump should have taken up Khizr Muazzam Khan's offer to give Trump a copy of the U.S. Constitution.)

Trump is greatly fearful that Mueller further appearing in public — as in a congressional hearing — because it will contradict the Republican propaganda that the Mueller report completely exonerates Trump. Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash spoke before his constituents this week. He actually read the Mueller report, was appalled by what he learned about Trump, and is the only Republican on the hill calling for Trump's impeachment. In his talk before his constituents, Amash educated them on some of the damning elements of the report. It was clearly the first time any of them had heard anything like the truth. NBC showed a video of constituent Cathy Garnaat, a Republican, who said she was "surprised to hear there was anything negative in the Mueller report at all about President Trump." "I hadn't heard that before. I've mainly listened to conservative news and I hadn't heard anything negative about that report and President Trump has been exonerated." This makes very clear that the rabidly conservative media have been going to great lengths to conceal the truth, as part of a concerted campaign to keep the ever shrinking number of Republicans staunch supporters of that party, no matter what happens to this democracy as a result of their actions. It is also the case that Republicans such as these willingly subscribe to false information, and make no effort to learn the truth.

Our "genius", on national security

Another unhinged press conference, attempting to excuse his aberrant behavior

Naturally, Trump took the opportunity to hark back to the fiasco he perpetrated 4yesterday in walking out of a meeting on infrastructure before the meeting could even begin. In the room, ringed by White House staffers, Trump took the opportunity to disparage Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, expressing his own distorted view of the reality of yesterday's fiasco. Beginning, as usual, by saying "No collusion, no obstruction", Trump criticized Pelosi on the USMCA trade deal, awaiting congressional approval, as being too stupid to understand that trade deal: "They're being very nice to her, she's a mess, she doesn't understand it...they sort of feel that she's disintegrating before their eyes: she does not understand it". Asked by a reporter on Pelosi's statement yesterday that she hopes the Trump's family will stage an intervention for him, Trump launched into a protracted defense of his behavior, claiming he was completely calm during the three minutes he was in that meeting. Trump described walking into that meeting in the Cabinet Room: "You had the group — cryin' Chuck, crazy Nancy. I tell you what, I've been watching her for a long period of time; she's not the same person. She's lost it." "I don't think she's capable of understanding it." Trump then went around the room (now we know why the staffers were there) to, one by one, testify that Trump was perfectly calm. First he had Kellyanne Conway testify to his demeanor, then Mercedes Schlapp, then Larry Kudlow, then Sarah Huckabee Sanders, then Hogan. "We can get 20 other people to say this." "It was sad when I when I watched Nancy all moving...the movement, and the hands [flails his hands] and the craziness — that's, by the way, a person who's got some problems." This went on and on, wasting the time of the farmers and ranchers who attended: another display of Trump's concentration on me, me, me.

Trump again contended that the Democrats should not be conducting an investigation of him because: "You should focus on one thing. You shouldn't go down two tracks at the same time because they can't. The whole Democrat party is very messed up — they have never recovered from the great election [Trump's ego-based emphasis] of 2016, an election that I think you folks liked very much, right? Well, Nancy Pelosi was not happy about it and she is a mess." "They are a do-nothing group of people - the Democrats have done nothing, other than obstruct...they are obstructing this country; but they are obstructing."

Trump's most outrageous and unsupportable claim during this diatribe: "I'm an extremely stable genius." Stable? Look at his own life. Donald Trump is on his third wife, conducts affairs and then pays for silence, and brags about sexually assaulting women. And to be clear: walking out of meetings is not what adults do, and is a clear sign of instability, not stability.

Pelosi recommends an intervention for Trump

The fake president walks away from his responsibilities

Obviously, this whole thing, from the purposely delayed arrival at the meeting, to the histrionic performance in the meeting, to the Rose Garden set-up, it was clear that this whole thing had been pre-planned. In other words, it was another scripted episode of the Trump reality show. But in storming out of the meeting, Trump foolishly demonstrated weakness by behaving like a petulant 8-year-old, refusing to play until he gets his way. This is not just un-presidential — it is unprofessional. No one could imagine any other president doing what Donald Trump did. As a president, this is deriliction of duty. In military terms, this is desertion.

So what's with Trump all of a sudden? Trump has been called all kinds of things by many people, and he has certainly unloaded on countless numbers of victims of his Twitter rants. So why now? One reason is that "cover-up" is a trigger phrase for Trump, because it brings back the Southern District of New York investigation into Trump's orchestrated pay-offs to silence women he had affairs with, with the pay-offs arranged shortly before the 2016 election, which constitutes campaign finance laws. Trump felt he needed to come up with this two-act play as a big distraction to the SDNY situation, to push is off the stage. Second, Trump is obviously very rattled by two judicial decisions against him in his attempts to thwart congressional subpoenas seeking Trump finance records as part of determining if Trump is behaving according to financial entanglements. Lastly, there is reason to believe that Trump bailed out of the meeting because financing infrastructure work would require finding many billions of dollars to pay for it. Recall that Trump effectively raided the Treasury to give a trillion dollars to the wealthy in his cynical tax bill. It is also the case that Trump has been raiding budgets to pay for his "wall" "emergency". A spending bill would call embarrassing attention to this.

The enormous irony in this move is that it monumentally contradicts his four year old slogan of "Make America great again". An infrastructure bill would physically make the country better; but Donald Trump just doesn's care...even about American families at risk of losing their lives on collapsing bridges. This clearly demonstrates, once again, that all that Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump: it's about me, me, me.

Mnuchin stonewalls Congress

So there you have a clear example of Trump's cronies protecting him and disregarding the law, with Mnuchin completely evading answering a simple question underlying the issue, leaving the impression that he did indeed tell the IRS commissioner to not comply with the law — which would thereby make them both in violation of the law.

A judge slaps down Trump's subpoenas resistance

Trump's reaction: Attempt to discredit the judiciary, once again: "It's totally the wrong decision by, obviously, an Obama-appointed judge." In other words, it's outraeous that the judiciary should want to defend the Constitution rather than be loyal to Donald Trump.

More obstruction in plain sight

Deutsche Bank was protecting Trump, even as their staff flagged his transactions

The inevitable China retaliation for Trump's tariff escalation

Trump's big trade tariffs lie contradicted by his own people

The big trade tariffs lie

Giuliani intends to dig up dirt on Biden in Ukraine

This is obviously outrageous, and goes to demonstrate Trump's disregard for ethics and laws. Here, Trump is acting as president to dispatch his personal attorney (someone not part of the federal government) to pay a visit to a nascent head of a foreign country with the aura of this being a state visit, with the objective to collect information of personal value to Trump. This demonstrates that Trump is contemptuous of any and all reprimands coming out of the investigations of the 2016 campaign, clearly violating campaign finance laws to actively solicit foreign government for items of value, to personally benefit him.

The outing of this planned trip resulted in such a stink that Trump called it off. But, with Biden having become the leading Democratic presidential candidate in August 2019, you could expect Trump to not abandon this avenue, and that became the notorious whistleblower affair of September 2019. Recall also the bizarre Republican convention platform change regarding Ukraine in 2016.

The likely coming war with a nation-state, engineered by Trump and Bolton

This is not far-fetched. We have seen that Trump will do absolutely anything to protect himself, including destroy democracy in the United States. The more desperate he gets, the more extreme his actions, and the larger the "distraction" he creates. It's a completely predictable mode of operation for Donald Trump, who has established a perpetually belligerent administration.

The Trumps and their lies

Today, President Trump continued the false narratives. DJT said that his son spent hours testifying in the past and should not have do do that any further — completely disregarding the inconsistencies which are the basis of the subpoena. DJT said that the Mueller report exonerated DJTJR — which it in fact did not. And, DJT continued the long-discredited lie that the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians was just "opposition research".

Side effects: Predictably, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr came under fire from other Republicans for not blindly protecting the Trump family — no matter the extent of their outrages or what they are doing to this democracy. (Burr is one of the few Republicans on capitol hill with any personal integrity.) A close associate of DJTJR ripped into Burr "Don continues to cooperate by producing documents and is willing to answer written question, but no lawyer would ever agree to allow their client to participate in what is an obvious PR stunt from a so-called 'Republican' Senator too cowardly to stand up to his boss Mark Warner and the rest of the resistance Democrats on the committee." Also: In an interview, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney actually said that it was "bad form" for the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. without a "heads up"...which is to say that the Trump family should be treated differently than anyone else who is served with a subpoena.

Trump's tax return numbers of 1985-1994 expose him as a fraud

What really, really bothers Trump the most about this is that it publicly declares that Donald Trump is A Loser — and not just a garden variety loser, but one of the biggest loser of all time. Recall that Trump's ultimate put-down of other people is to call them a loser. Now he is defined by his own numbers as a loser. He is going to stew about this for the rest of his life...it's going to stick in his craw, as the expression goes.

Trump is guilty of a felony, say more than 500 ex-prosecutors

The lawlessness of the Trump adminstration continues

A related, very interesting development is that legislators in Albany, NY are working on a law that will allow the State of New York to convey state tax returns to Congress. They are doing this in order to help protect the democracy against the conspiratorial behavior we are now seeing in the Trump administration's subversion of democracy. State returns contain numbers that come from federal tax returns, and this will provide Congress with valuable information they need to pursue investigations into miscreants such as Donald Trump.

Oh, sure, we'lll rebate Trump two years

Kayleigh McEnany takes over as press secretary; promises not to lie

Signalling how much they have to hide

Trump: Law enforcement officials are "scum"

Paying North Korea for Americans to be tortured

Anna Fifield uncovered that as a condition of Warmbier's release, that the U.S. would vouch for paying North Korea $2 million per a bill they presented, for the medical care of Otto Warmbier. The lead State Department envoy there, Joseph Yun, was told that he would not be able to repatriate Otto without that bill being signed. Yun called his boss, Rex Tillerson, who called President Trump, who gave the authorization. In essence, the United States would be paying North Korea for having one of its citizens tortured. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un must have been fully aware of Warmbier's trial, and would have specified his sentence and subsequent fate in prison. This is the brutal dictator whom Trump called "very honorable" on April 24, 2018.

Kushner blatantly lies. Trump continues to obstruct

Despite Trump's ceaseless mantra of "No obstruction!", he continues to obstruct. Trump is stonewalling congressional investigators on every front, even if it means blatantly violating the law. Today's 5 pm deadline for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to turn over six years of Trump's tax returns passed, with Mnuchin defying Congress — and the law. U.S. Code Title 26 specifies: "Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request ..." Secretary Mnuchin has chosen to blatantly violate that law. In other stonewalling, Trump has instructed his staff members not to comply with congressional summons to appear before committees for questioning. Trump has even sued his own accounting firm and the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee at the same time yesterday, attempting to prevent the firm from giving that committee information about Trump's past financial dealings. There are simply no limits to the audacity and complete disregard for the law.

Trump claims to not remember, in his written response to Mueller questions

The Mueller report is released — in redacted form

Other highlights:
No surprise, but Sarah Sanders' testimony as laid out in the document proves her to be a professional liar, where she had not hesitated to feed reporters untruths or fabricated "facts" during press conferences.
There are more than a dozen investigations and prosecutions yet to come.

Our Sergeant Donald Schultz

Trump's current claim to amnesia on the topic is what prosecutors tell us is "consciousness of guilt". While Assange was secluded in the Ecuadorean embassy, that part of Trump's inconvenient past was neatly stored away; but now it is literally coming back at him, as the unsealed indictment of computer hacking will eventually bring Assange back to the United States to be tried by Trump's own government, shining a fresh spotlight on that secreted period and how Trump's long time friend Roger Stone interacted with WikiLeaks to provide the Trump campaign with "dirt" on Hillary. As analysts have pointed out, there was an eerie correlation between Trump's statements about Hillary Clinton and WikiLeaks releases that then appeared.

Bill Barr defines himself as a Trump stooge

Drug salesman Trump

The threat to close the southern border? Never mind

A new low in presidential approval ratings

Threatens to close the southern border

Oh, poor me — again

Much to the GOP's chagrin, Trump starts on health care again

A big, distracting lie about health care

Barr releases his summary of the report

The Mueller report is released

George Conway says that Trump has a mental disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder
DSM-IV Criteria
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
4. Requires excessive admiration.
5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations.
6. Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends.
7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others. American Psychiatric Association
8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.
9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

The coward in the White House attacks the deceased John McCain

As so many have said — particularly after this weekend — that Trump is a despicable coward. Trump will only attack people when they are at a safe distance from him; and the grave is as safe as distance as you can get. The world again got to see how dark and foul this man's mind is. This man is a fear-monger and a hate-monger who thrives on division, and doesn't hesitate to encourage violence: go back and re-read his March 13's threatening language.

On the TV show The View, Meghan McCain said of Trump:
"He spends his weekend obsessing over great men because — he knows it, I know it, and all of you know it — he will never be a great man."
Unable to rise above great people, Trump's reaction is to attempt to debase such people to bring them down below his level, as the only way he can perceive himself to be above them. In resorting to this, Trump doesn't qualify to be termed a man: he is an overgrown child who is racked by life-long insecurities which cause him to perpetually lash out in frustrational temper tantrums whenever exposed or criticized. The level and frequency of his lashing out now is proportional to the number of investigations which are shining light on all the slimy and illegal things that he and his family have done over the years, in their lust for money.

Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters (U.S. Army, retired) refers to Donald Trump as "midtown Mussolini" and "a physical coward with a big mouth". Suffice to say that Trump's unending disrespectful behavior toward a war hero only alienates him from the U.S. military.

I intend to keep hiding my tax returns

Threatening all who oppose him

Ravings at CPAC

This was a raving old man. It was an institutional display that has the street corner parallel of a mentally imbalanced person ranting to everyone and no one about their grievances against the world.

Note that what Trump is doing here is what he always does at rallies: he foments the crowd, to stir them into believing that his enemies are their enemies such that they will do his bidding for them. This is what a coward does, and Trump is well known to be a coward; as well known as that bullies are inherently cowards; and Trump is king of the bullies.

Another reveal as to how little the Republicans care about truth

Trump's former lawyer & fixer Michael Cohen testifies in open session

But it got bizarre: Out of the blue, in a completely jarring display, an African-American woman suddenly appeared behind GOP Rep. Mark Meadows. He introduced her as Lynne Patton, a high-ranking political official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and then used her to claim that because she doesn't agree with Michael Cohen's assessment that Trump is a racist, because she was hired to work for him, then Trump cannot be a racist. Meadows was accused of using Ms. Patton as a prop — because that is exactly what this bizarre spectable looked like.

Mark Meadows went bizarre again, as he waved a copy of the Foreign Agents Registration Act form that Cohen had filled out, excoriating Cohen for not disclosing his foreign contracts on that form. He went on and on about it, literally screaming at Cohen, getting red-faced from the effort, and accusing Cohen of "lobbying" as part of that. For his part, Cohen looked bewildered, because he had filled out that form in conjunction with his lawyers, and believed that he had done so correctly: "I read it and it was reviewed by my counsel, and I am a non-government employee who is not lobbying, and they are not foreign countries." After a recess, chairman Elijah Cummings rectified the situation, explaining that the form requires listing government contracts with foreign countries, which had nothing to do with the contracts that Cohen had with private companies. In other words, Meadows either didn't know what he was talking about or was fabricating false charges. I guess this is what we have come to expect from Republicans.

Cohen outlined Donald Trump's unbridled corruption (and ego), citing an episode at the Art Hamptons auction where a portrait of Trump by the artist William Quigley was up for bidding. Trump arranged for a straw bidder to bid the painting up so that it would garner the highest price among all of the works in the sale — just what the Trump ego needs. The portrait ultimately went for $60,000, and Trump had the Trump Foundation (a registered charity) then repay the straw bidder. A clear example of Trump using the charity's funds for his own purposes.

Trump is right: there is ballot fraud — and it's perpetrated by his party (big surprise)

This is one of those rare occurrences where you find systematic Republican ballot fraud laid bare, testimony to that party's fear of not being able to win elections fairly, and therefore engage in illegal practices to assure an outcome for their party. Republicans are notorious for voter suppression; and where that is deemed insufficient, direct interference with balloting will be undertaken.

Trump declares a fake national emergency to pander to his xenophobic base

He went on: "But one of the things I said I have to do and I want to do is border security, because we have tremendous amounts of drugs flowing into our country, much of it coming from the southern border. When you look and when you listen to politicians, in particular, certain Democrats, they say it all comes through the port of entry. It's wrong. It's wrong. It's just a lie. It's all a lie." (Wrong: longstanding government statistics document that drug smuggling occurs through ports of entry: it has to, in order to ship the volume of drugs needed for the cartels to make money.) Trump was talking from brief notes that he had carried out on a sheet or two of paper, and he predictably filled in the rest with ramblings, given his lack of oratory skills. Then he added: "And a big majority of the big drugs, the big drug loads don't go through ports of entry. They can't go through ports of entry. You can't take big loads because you have people, you have some very capable people, the border patrol, law enforcement looking." Again, this statement is completely wrong, in that large shipments have to occur by vehicle, and it is very well documented that the cartels undertake all manner of ingenious concealment methods, in cargos and even within vehicle bodies. They continue going through ports of entry because, obviously, they have so much success: they would not bother trying if all the shipments were intercepted. Trump then went on to his fabrications about rampant human trafficking or women into the United States, despite any evidence.

"So I'm going to be signing a national emergency, and it's been signed many times before. It's been signed by other presidents, from 1977 or so, it gave the presidents the power. There has rarely been a problem. They sign it. Nobody cares." This is the same Donald Trump who in 2016 and other times railed against Obama and others effecting actions through executive orders.

Trump then went back to drugs, citing talking with China's president Xi, and expressing admiration for Xi putting drug dealers to death, Xi's explanation for the claimed absence of a drug problem in China. The irony, of course, is that China has been a major source of the synthetic illicit drugs coming into the United States — largely through the U.S. mail. (And then there is China's trade in counterfeit drugs.)

"So we're going to be signing today, and registering, national emergency and it's a great thing to do. Because we have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people and it's unacceptable. And by signing the national emergency, something signed many times by other presidents, many, many times — President Obama, in fact — we may be using one of the national emergencies that he signed having to do with cartels, criminal cartels." (Again, the leap of logic in building a wall where there is no such influx. And note the hypocrisy of praising Obama only when it suits his purposes.)

Trump then complained of getting only $1.375 billion out of the current bill: he's going to raid the Defense Department appropriations to fill that out to $8 billion — this, after two years of saying that we have to give more money to the U.S. military to make it stronger and better equip our troops. Trump also talked about having to renovate sections of the existing wall due to lack of effectiveness. Trump then lapsed into this immature, sing-song voice enumerating how "we will then be sued" and stepwise end up in the Supreme Court.

After his prolonged ramblings, Trump took reporters' questions. Trump is notorious for blurting things out, and a huge blurt was coming... NBC's Peter Alexander noted that Mr. Trump criticized former president Barack Obama in 2014 for using executive orders to enact his immigration agenda. Trump responded:
"I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this, but I'd rather do it much faster."
This made headlines everywhere, as it reflected monumental stupidity on Trump's part. Here he was, making this speech about "crisis" and "emergency" — and then he completely contradicts all that by saying "I didn't need to do this". As many pointed out, those words will be used in every suit brought against him and his administration which counters his flagrant, arrogant abuse of power.

Another reporter question was about conservative talk show hosts defining his decisions. Trump deflected that by praising: "Sean Hannity has been a terrific, terrific supporter of what I do. Not of me. If I changed my views he wouldn't be with me. Laura's been great. Laura Ingraham. Tucker Carlson's been great." Then he came to Ann Coulter: "Ann Coulter, I don't know her. I hardly know her. I haven't spoken to her in way over a year. But the press loves saying Ann Coulter. Probably if I did speak to her she would be very nice. I just don't have the time to speak to her. But she's off the reservation but anybody that knows her understands that. I haven't spoken to her, I don't follow her, I don't talk to her."

Coulter fired back on Twitter, saying "He seems to think 'the reservation' is HIM, not his campaign promises." "It was one thing, the promise he made every single day at every single speech. Forget the fact that he's digging his own grave." "The only national emergency is that our president is an idiot." (Many have said that this is the first time they have agreed with Ann Coulter.) Coulter elaborated in further writings... Replying to a tweet that claimed 'the goal of a national emergency is to end illegal immigration and cartel smuggling," Coulter wrote that "no, the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years."

The border situation is such a crisis that Trump left Washington for a holiday weekend of golfing at Mar-a-Largo, with not a peep out of him or his administration since that speech about any of it.

Trump's physical exam is finally reported: he is officially obese

The Republican accomplishment: record national debt

At the same time, the perpetually beleagured middle class is finding itself screwed again as they compute their 2018 income taxes and find either greatly diminished tax refunds or owing thousands of dollars this time.

Trump's lack of initiative is crippling government effectiveness

Trump...work??

Oh, those intelligence chiefs completely agree with my uninformed opinions — they were just misquoted

U.S. intelligence chiefs give fact-based assessments, enraging Trump

These assessments overall were at odd with the Trump administration's self-serving fictional view of the world situation. What the chiefs said undermined Trump, and that infuriated him. In particular, Trump raged that Dan Coats is "not loyal and "he's not on the team". As usual, truth and facts are immaterial to Trump and his ilk, who are intent on pursuing objectives detached from reality.

Trump caves, proving Nancy Pelosi the superior deal maker

In Trump's theatrical performance today he tried to portray himself as some kind of victor, citing "a deal" as if he achieved one, when in fact he got nothing of what he wanted. He was out-powered by the House leader and the minority leader of the Senate. With his public approval rating dropping below 35% and widespread recognition that he was to blame for this shutdown, Trump caved in.

It did not take the Left to make clear that Trump gave in: the Right made this clear. Ann Coulter tweeted:
"Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States."

What this whole protracted, pointless exercise clearly demonstrated is that what's bad for Trump is good for the country, and vice versa.

Trump's temper tantrum shutdown ends

Let them eat cake

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow spoke about the continuing shutdown — and demonstrated how tone-deaf he is about the victimized federal workers. In a press interview, Kudlow attempted to minimize the suffering they are being subjected to, saying:
"Yes, soon as this thing goes, the switch will be turned on, the payments will be made, we'll go back to normal, this is just a glitch." As if being evicted for non-payment of rent or trying to live on one meal a day is "a glitch". Then Kudlow tried to frame this as government workers being loyal to Trump:
"Am I out of touch? I don't think I'm out of touch. I'm addressing the problem. I've met with my individual staff members and God bless them. They're working for free. They're volunteering. But they do it because they believe government service is honorable and they believe in President Trump."
A reporter challenged Kudlow on this propaganda statement: "That's not volunteering if you're being forced to work without pay. If you don't show up you lose your job. That's not volunteering..." Kudlow dismissed that as he walked away: "I'm not even going to go there. You know what I'm saying. It's very clear..." As the Washington Post reports: Close to half of the unpaid federal employees are required to continue coming to work. Those who are required to keep working cannot file for unemployment benefits, and many have said they cannot afford child care or commuting expenses while they aren't being paid.

Then there was Eric Trump's wife Lora, who characterized what workers are going through as "a little bit of pain", saying that the pain is "for the future of our country and their children and their grandchildren." Spoken like a one-percenter.

Note a huge irony in this overall situation: The federal workstaff is being forced to work without being paid at the same time that the Republican senate isn't doing their job but being paid generously for it.

In this shutdown battle, a very important principle

Now, a big "compromise" lie

The immediate takeaway here is that, in addition to holding tens of thousands of government workers hostage to suit his whim, Trump is adding hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants as pawns. The proposal was ingenuous in that it was just temporary protection for all those DACA kids. But it got worse. When people got to finally read the GOP bill into which this proposal was incorporated, what they found was extremely ugly and mean-spirited: it contained what many have described as a "poison pill". The Republican bill would gut asylum laws, and was specifically aimed at Central American children. As analysts have said, the notorious Stephen Miller's finger prints are all over this. It's not a compromise: it's an escalation, one that would obviously repel Democrats. There is no sincerity in this. This seems like more reality show antics for his base, where he can claim that he offered all these things and the intransigent Democrats still would not budge.

Trump responds to Pelosi with reckless pettiness

"Dear Madame Speaker:
Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate. I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.
I look forward to seeing you soon and even more forward to watching our open and dangerous Southern Border finally receive the attention, funding, and security it so desperately deserves!"

As congressional experts have explained, it is the business of congressional leaders to gather informnation, first-hand, wherever in the world there are situations and issues affecting the country. That is especially true where that location is a war zone, and the people providing the first-hand information are deployed U.S. troops. So here is the master of pettiness belittling such a trip by trying to portray it as an "excursion" and a "public relations event". In the same stroke, Trump insults the troops involved by trivializing the thwarted visit. Then there's the recklessness: the visit to Afghanistan was supposed to be kept quiet, obviously; and Trump undermines security by publicizing it.

Note also Trump's immunity to hypocrisy. What was his recent trip to McAllen, Texas, which he described as a "photo op" of so little value that he didn't even want to go. That truly was an "excursion" and a "public relations event", complete with staged display of drug bales and agents saluting from a blackhawk helicoper.

Rudi Giuliani changes the collusion story again

Tonight's statement is illuminating. Firstly, it is contracting the defensive walls such that everyone other than Trump is now outside the wall and at their own peril. Note also that Giuliani is making a specific statement about Trump's innocence/guilt in a matter that no one asked him about. The expectation here is that Giuliani once again knows that further revelations are coming out of either the Russia investigation or press research such that he seeks to innoculate the public so that it won't seem so bad when that ultimately appears.

Trump is astounded to be dealing with someone in Congress standing up to him

Why did Speaker Pelosi do this? Beyond the real security concerns, there was also the reality that Trump would predictably use the forum for a propaganda speech, railing about southern border security, alleged "crisis", and unquestionable need for a wall (expectedly with his traditional misrepresentations, distortions, and outright lies).

The ISIS that Trump says was defeated in Syria kills our troops among others

Trump conceals his talk with Putin

I lie, and I lie, and I lie; and I take responsibility for nothing

In that McAllen, Texas "photo op" (as Trump called his trip), Trump stood in that barren landscape in front of prop bales of "drugs", which by implication was seized from people crossing that desert area. Wrong. False. Intentionally misleading, just a show. It's well documented that shipments of drugs occur through border checkpoints, smuggled inside cars, trucks, and shipping containers.

Outside the White House, Trump was asked by NBC reporter Kristen Welker "Does the buck stop with you over this shutdown?", Trump responded: "The buck stops with everybody." Every president knows and has acknowledged that "the buck" stops with them: they are ultimately responsible for what the government does. Not Trump, the immature adult: he proclaims himself responsible for nothing, though he eagerly takes credit for anything that benefits him.

The petulant Trump walks out

Should the Democrats give in and let Trump have his damned wall? No. The first and foremost reason is that with Trump you are dealing with a child, and have to operate accordingly. To simply give in you would be rewarding bad behavior — which as any child psychologist would tell you is something you should never do, because it just encourages more of the same, and worse. Second: There is no border crisis. You don't divert billions of tax payer dollars to areas that don't need it. Third: This is not a national priority: it is essentially the Rush Limbaugh Wall, which is to say that you would be jumping to do what a conservative extremist says you should do, where Limbaugh represents nothing more than his radio audience, and not the population of the United States. Fourth: You would essentially be funding Trump's re-election campaign, by satisfying his most stupid 2016 campaign promise to his population minority core.

Honoring Rush Limbaugh, the real director of national policy

Trump prime time national address on his fake southern border "crisis"

Trump's speech was followed by a rebuttal by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer made the dramatic point: Do we want the United States to be known by the Statue of Liberty, or by an enormous, ugly wall? Amusingly, this rebuttal got higher ratings than the Trump speech that precipitated it. That had to greatly irk Trump. But, then, Trump's performance was lackluster. As analysts have noted: if Trump doesn't believe in what he's reading from the teleprompter, it shows.

Note the enormous irony here: If you regard border security as absolutely essential as Trump does, wouldn't you really, really want the government open to assure that all agencies were on deck to assure that security??

It became known that, in advance of the speech, Trump confided to reporters that he had no interest in doing the speech, but was doing it because of prompting by his advisors. Likewise, he said that he wasn't interested in visiting the southern border, as promoted, as it would just be a waste of time. Why this lack of interest, despite endlessly banging the drum of "crisis"? Because he's doing it only because he's being coerced to, by conservative extremists like Rush Limbaugh. Trump is boxed in, and souring on this whole thing — and undoubtedly still stewing over "having" to spend the holidays in Washington rather than at Mar-a-Largo.

The federal workers can just adapt to having no income

Sarah Sanders lies for Trump

Make things up to support the wall nonsense

Keeping the 1% above the rabble

Lindsey Graham predicts the end of the Trump presidency

Harry Reid on Trump

The wall or nothing

If you didn't think that "the wall" was Trump's single-minded obsession, note well that Trump as president is doing nothing other than dwell on this: he is not addressing infrastructure, nor health care reform, and certainly not the tax relief that he teased for the middle class just before the mid-term elections. He certainly isn't providing leadership for his Republican party: he is only playing to his base, which he perceives will preserve him.

The wall thing also completely undermines his empty bragging about being the ultimate deal-maker. If he were such, he would not hesitate to pay a state visit to Mexico and work with their president on a deal for Mexico to pay for the wall — as Trump incessantly insisted during his campaign would happen. Deal-maker? No: fraud.

Home alone

Is "the wall" literal or figurative?

Trump goes to Iraq and lies to the troops

Obliquely referencing his unilateral decision to remove U.S. troops from Syria, Trump also told the troops:
We're no longer the suckers, folks. The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world,"
The reality is that the fight against ISIS has been a coalition effort, with 72 nations contributing to it. Trump's unilateral and uncoordinated decision to pull all troops out of Syria was abandonment. With no communication with the coalition beforehand, Trump simply abandoned them — and portraying the situation as though the United States was the only party fighting ISIS. Worse, Trump proclaimed victory, as though the U.S. had vanquished ISIS.

Blame anyone but me for the collapsing markets

Trump has been raving against Fed chairman Jerome Powell for months. Trump has also reportedly been asking if he can fire Powell (which demonstrates his ignorance of how our country works: the Fed is inherently independent). Blaming Powell for the rate hikes further demonstrates Trump's ignorance of how things work. Rate hikes are decided by the twelve members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). If you don't go outside of Twitter, you would not know that. Trump now harbors a grudge against his Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, because it was Mnuchin who pushed Trump to appoint Powell as Fed chairman. Why is Trump obsessed with Powell and interest rates? As usual with Trump, it's self-interest: it costs the Trump organization more to pay down debt when interest rates are higher.

Panic about the declining economy

As shutdown nears, Trump predictably tries to blame it on anyone but himself

A pertinent question: If Trump is so concerned about border security, then why has he not made use of the $1.5 billion he was given toward that in 2017? As lawmakers have pointed out, only about 10% of that money has been put to use for border security, while the rest is languishing.

And now "the last adult in the room" is leaving

This has frightened everyone. If a crisis occurs, who is there to make intelligent decisions? Trump's nepotistic, unelected son-in-law?? And to replace Mattis we can expect Trump to choose a yes-man stooge, just as he appointed Matthew Whitaker acting Attorney General.

Former CIA director, John Brennan, said it was now up to Trump's party to constrain him, issuing the following statement:
"Okay, Republicans. How much longer are you going to let this farcical 'presidency' continue? At a time of such political, economic, and geo-strategic turbulence — both nationally and globally — are you waiting for a catastrophe to happen before acting? Disaster looms!"

The New York Times put it this way: "Mr. Mattis's resignation letter was the sharpest, and most public, protest from inside the Trump administration over the president's rejection of the alliances and relationships that have underpinned American security since the end of World War II." "Mr. Mattis's letter did not single out any decision. Instead, it condemned Mr. Trump's approach to the world as destructive to American influence and power."

In case you were wondering who's making national policy: it's Rush Limbaugh

This is chaos. This is the antithesis of stability. This is why the stock market is down 1700 points, at its lowest December level since The Great Depression. This is devaluing the retirement monies of about a hundred million Americans. Trump simply doesn't care. His single-minded fixation is the stupid wall, wanted only by the two xenophobes in the White house — Trump and extremist Stephen Miller — who view people below the southern border with revulsion.

Where does this wall fixation come from? Go take a look at the beginning scene in the movie Soylent Green. It portrays the 1% living in luxury, protected by a wall which protects them from the rest of the population which is living in squalor.

Trump is a berserker. Trump is a vandal, only destroying things. Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency, is incompetent, and doing exactly what Vladimir Putin wants in dismantling the world's largest democracy. Trump is determinedly ignorant: he ignores expert advice, has no policies, and acts purely upon whim. Governments are based upon compromise. Thats anathematic to Trump, who wants to purely be a dictator.

One last thing about "the wall": We had a president named Ronald Reagan, who went to West Berlin on June 12, 1987 and delivered a speech before an assemblage of free Germans in which he said: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Do you see a contradiction with our current, alleged president?

Another gift to Putin

In a video tweet, Trump said: "We have won against ISIS. We have beaten them and we have beaten them badly. We have taken back the land and now it's time for our troops to come back home." And: "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency." Later, Trump added: "Our boys, our young women, our men, they're all coming back. And they're coming back now. We won. And that's the way we want it. And that's the way they want it."

Why this move? It's Trump carrying out one of his campaign promises — which are nothing more than ill-conceived panderings to his unthinking deplorables in order to get votes. In this one, it's about "bringing the troops home". What this is doing is contracting the United States toward isolationism and demonstrating to the world that our country is undependable in efforts to maintain stability in the world. The effects of this move are immaterial to Trump, who is thinking only of 2020 re-election by appealing to his ignorant supporters.

Trump has just created a vacuum in Syria. With that, he claims that it's no problem: if anything comes up, we can readily deal with it from our bases in Iraq. As military experts point out, this is simpleton thinking: it's exactly the position we were in two years ago. We had to go into Syria because ISIS took over towns and used their populaces as human shields, where ISIS then had to be surgically removed, and that requires both in-place intelligence gathering and troops to carry out operations. Senator Lindsey Graham said that withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan would be a "high risk strategy' that could pave "the way toward a second 9/11." That is, if we don't deal with extremists on their home turf, they will come to the U.S. to wage their fanatical war in our country. Isolationism is has never been a solution.

You will note the great irony that Trump sent troops to guard our southern border against a fictional "invasion" by immigrants. Those troops will not be home for Christmas to spend the holidays with their families.

Violations of campaign finance laws as intentional

With a defender like this, who needs enemies?

Further corroboration of Trump's involvement in campaign finance violation

Trump perpetuates southern border myths

A circus in the oval office

I characteristic style, Trump went to minimize the woman in the room, turning to Nancy Pelosi and saying: "Nancy's in a situation where it's not easy for her to talk right now." With Nancy Pelosi, pending Speaker of the House, that was a mistake, and she let him know her position: "Please don't characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats, who just won a big victory."

Nancy Pelosi later that day said of Trump and his wall obsession: "It's like a manhood thing for him. As if manhood could ever be associated with him."

Oh; there was actually a fourth official in the room: mannequin Mike Pence, who simply sat there and said absolutely nothing for the full duration of the meeting.

Not a criminal act — just a "simple private transaction"

Cohen's sentencing memo effectively indicts Trump of a criminal act

Incredibly, in response to the documents, Trump then tweeted:
"Totally clears the President. Thank you!"
At that, the world broke into laughter at the utter absurdity of what he said, in light of the extreme seriousness of the charge being made against him. Trump even said of the charging documents: "I haven't read it". This is not unexpected, given that Trump is well known not to read. Nevertheless, ignorance of reality has never stopped Trump from acting in ignorance.

Self-disruption, again

The markets reject Trump's fake news about a trade agreement with China

Trump's fake news about a trade agreement with China

An explosive day

To be sure, Russian government officials who had been conversing with Trump representatives would be taking detailed notes on all this. Consider the interesting situation, that the Russians have known for two years now that Trump and his people have been concealing this information.

Upon learning of Cohen's confession, Trump predictably went ballistic and embarked upon another smear campaign, accusing Cohen of lying in the confession, and referring to Cohen as "a weak person". A reporter picked up on this and adroitly asked Trump: "If Cohen is such a bum, why did you hire him and have him on your payroll for 12 years and have him do so much of your dirty work?" Trump's answer was like that of a mob boss: "Because a long time ago, he did me a favor." (Note that Trump did not contest the "dirty work" characterization.) Trump was so rattled by this Cohen situation that he abruptly called off the planned meeting with Vladimir Putin that he was to have at the G20 summit that he was about to fly to. Indeed, Trump faces great embarrassment at being exposed, and having to sit with the guy who has known about this all along. Trump is making a fool of himself by claiming that Cohen is lying now: this plea is part of Mueller team prosecution, and all assertions being made in the plea are certainly backed up by abundant factual information which research by the team investigators has amassed.

Neal Katyal, an American lawyer and partner at Hogan Lovells, as well as Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center said this evening that we may mark this day as the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency. As others have said, given all that Cohen and all his meticulous documentation have to offer, that today's revelations are just the tip of the iceberg in what's to come, for Trump and for his family.

I take only credit, never blame

Trump is also miffed at General Motors for shutting down multiple vehicle production plants and laying off 15% of its workforce. This is the Trump who campaigned in Michigan in 2016, saying "If I'm elected, you won't lose one plant.", and the guy who promoted himself as the ultimate deal-maker. Now, Trump is not bothered by thousands of people losing their jobs or communities having their economies crippled: Trump cares about this only because it jeopardizes his ability to win re-election, and thus his ability to use the office of president to further enrich himself.

Climate change? I don't believe it, therefore it doesn't exist

So, here we have the ignorant opinion of one very uneducated and money-driven man, who by virtue of "I don't believe it", thwarting any U.S. initiative to address the horrendous effects of climate change, as glacier and polar ice melts and the global temperature rises.
See also Trump's 2012/11/06 absurd statement on climate change.

Chief Justice John Roberts rebukes Trump on his "Obama judge" rant

Bashing an "Obama judge"

I want to use the office to slay my political enemies

The dumb blond award goes to...

Let me attack one of our admirals, and further alienate the military

McRaven subsequently responded, in a statement to CNN on Sunday: "I did not back Hillary Clinton or anyone else. I am a fan of President Obama and President George W. Bush, both of whom I worked for." "I admire all presidents, regardless of their political party, who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times." "I stand by my comment that the President's attack on the media is the greatest threat to our democracy in my lifetime. When you undermine the people's right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the Constitution and all for which it stands."

Trump just never passes up an opportunity to make an ass of himself. He can't resist launching a childish attack on a remarkable American who served his country with distinction, even if that attack will (further) alienate the military he allegedly admires. Donald Trump: William McRaven is ten times the man you are. Ted Cruz had it right when he characterized Donald Trump as "a sniveling coward."

Votes don't matter: just declare the Republicans as winners

And I'll skip the Veteran's Day commemoration, too

A memorial to falled soldiers? Too inconvenient.

Astounding stupidity in blaming California for fires

Trump's irresponsible tweet and threat to make things worse by withholding funds were met by widespread condemnation of this fake president. Brian K. Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters union, blasted Trump's comments with:
"The president's message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines. At a time when our every effort should be focused on vanquishing the destructive fires and helping the victims, the president has chosen instead to issue an uninformed political threat aimed squarely at the innocent victims of these cataclysmic fires."

The Wall Street Journal counters Trump's lies about hush money payments

I don't know Matt Whitaker

Is Whitaker "extremely highly thought of"? Hardly. He had established a reputation of subversive opportunist, publicly auditioning to Trump for the Attorney General position upon seeing Sessions being spat upon in Trump tweets. Whitaker has demonstrated himself to be unprincipaled: he proclaimed that there was no evidence of Trump collusion with Russia, despite the investigation being ongoing, and that Trump Jr. and Jared's notoriouys meeting with Russians in Trump Tower was innocent election campaign information gathering.

The border "crisis" was fake

Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions

A staff member of the Justice Department is given the title?? The order of succession is supposed to be Deputy Attorney General, the post currently held by Rod Rosenstein. Why Whitaker? Because Trump dislikes Rosenstein and because Whitaker is a professed Trump loyalist. (Loyalty to Trump always trumps qualifications.) Whitaker, like Devin Nunes in the House of Representatives, has been Trump's mole in the Justice Department, routinely reporting things back to Trump. John Kelly himself has "privately described (Whitaker) as the West Wing's 'eyes and ears,'" according the New York Times.

Trump's angry post-election news conference

Why is Trump so agitated and angry? Because of a confluence of factors. First, he lost ego-supporting power as half of capitol hill went to the Democrats (who will likely gain up to 40 seats in the House of Representatives). The mid-term electins were also a rebuke to Trump, who said in each race that he supported that a vote for the candidate he traveled to support was a vote for Trump; but the inverse is true, that a vote against his candidates was a vote against him. The public rebuke also undermined Trump's value to Replican politicians in general, who now see Trump as weak, no longer a guarantor of election success worthy of blind, uncritical allegiance. Trump now fully realizes that he will be facing at least two years of Democrats determinedly seeking the truth as to what the executive branch is doing, even using subpoenas, as the Democrats exercise the responsibility for checks and balances that is the House's role, and which Republican members perpetually shirked. Also, Trump is coming down from his "sugar high" of the mid-term elections, of going around the country and feeling the love of adoring gatherings. In hindsight, Trump now sees all that effort and elation being of little value or comfort toward the coming realities. And, of course, there is the dread of what's coming from Bob Mueller.

Trump likes to portray those who oppose him as Democrats. The reality is that people of reason, and people who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law oppose Trump, because what is coming out of the White House is irrationality, self-interest, and disregard of laws.

Trump clearly defines himself as Racist in Chief

Shoot the migrants at the border

Why can't I be dictator?

Trump can't resist criticizing even fellow Republica, House Speaker Paul Ryan

Trump's defend-anything-Trump-says dimwit Kellyanne Conway predictably fully supported Trump's amendment cancellation nonsense by saying on Fox: "Many other constitutional scholars say that the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted or misused in this way." Amusingly, Conway's husband George, who routinely demonstrates more intelligence than she, penned an op-ed calling Trump's birthright proposal 'unconstitutional'.

Making the Pittsburgh trip all about him

Trump abuses even more military members for "border theatre"

Trump abuses the military for "border theatre"

Trump thinks he can cancel the Constitution's amendments with an executive order

On one level, this all seems comical, reflecting Trump's entrenched ignorance and incompetence for the office, but at the same time it demonstrates how dangerous he is. It's inconceivable that an American president would even think of unilaterally cancelling elements of our bedrock Constitution. And yet this doesn't bother Trump in the least. Note well that giving fuel to his own impeachment here. Trump took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". In contradiction to his oath, Trump seeks to dismantle the Constitution whenever it's inconveient to him.

Trump's hate speech is not the problem — it's those who report it

Mail bomber suspect arrested

Mail bomber suspect arrested

Following the capture, that afternoon Trump made a (scripted) public statement, saying:
"In these times, we have to unify. We have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America."
Clearly, this is what a speechwriter wrote for him to say. This is Teleprompter Trump.

Trump was later asked if he had called the intended bombing victims. After all, one of the intended victims was the most previous president. No, Trump had no intention of speaking with any of them. This not a president. Trump has no idea what it is to be a president.

That evening, Trump went to one of his deplorables rallies, in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, he launched into his usual vitriol in attacking the press.

The alleged bombs are interfering with my plans

Trump: blame the media, not me, for the anger, division, and violence I promote

Very notable: In this week of someone conducting a widespread assassination campaign across the country, the department of Homeland Security should be prominently out front, speaking on this terrorism attack. Homeland Security was absent. Where was Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen? She was on Fox, with Martha MacCallum, discussing that great distraction of a caravan in Mexico heading north toward the U.S. southern border. Nielsen did her best to portray these desperate migrants as an imminent threat to the United States, saying:
"If they come here illegally with no legitimate reason to stay, they absolutely will be apprehended and removed immediately." "Everything is on the table to make it very clear that we have a sovereign right to protect our citizens." "If they come here illegally with no legitimate reason to stay, they absolutely will be apprehended and removed immediately." "Everything is on the table to make it very clear that we have a sovereign right to protect our citizens."
This implied threat to fire upon bedgraggled people who have walked hundreds of miles is in concert with Trump's desire to send the U.S. military to the border, as Trump strives to portray these men, women, and children as some kind of invading army.

Fake Trump: let's come together

Again encounraging violence

The ballooning deficit: let's ignore the real cause, and take from the poor to aid the rich

Claiming "too busy" to visit the troops

Trump and his river of money from Saudi Arabia

Facing growing criticism of his soft-pedaling of Saudi leadership culpability in the Turkish consulate killing, Trump tweets:
"For the record, I have no financial interests in Saudi Arabia (or Russia, for that matter). Any suggestion that I have is just more FAKE NEWS (of which there is plenty)!"
This is not the first time he has denied this. However, the admitted reality is that the Saudi's have deep financial interests in Trump, as he gleefully bragged at rallies in 2015, and is well documented. In no coincidence, it was Saudi Arabia that Trump chose to make his first state visit as president.

Trump as a model for Republicans

I know Matt Whitaker

One of Trump's crazies gives an Oval Office performance

West expressed his devotion to Trump as a father figure. More than anything else in this event, this was particularly disturbing because it's an insight into how Trump's followers view him. What every autocrat and dictator strives to achieve is to be seen by his followers as a father figure, where they dotingly do whatever he dictates. We've seen this through history, and most disturbingly in World War II, with its repeated references to "the fatherland".

The whole world got to see this spectacle, as Trump further debases the office of president. In pictures of the event you will note that Trump had cleared all sharp objects from his desk beforehand.

It's always about money and ego

This situation is partly Trump's making. In his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit on May 21, 2017 Trump said to the Saudis: "We are not here to lecture — we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship." This was Trump telling the Saudis that they can feel free to do whatever they want: the U.S. doesn't care any more.

The huge problem here is that Trump has no understanding of international relations. Trump approaches another country by simply socializing with its (current) leader. You'll hear him repeatedly using the phrase "getting along with (_person_)". Trump's purpose in this, perhaps unconsciously, is to gain a personal supporter, and that gets back to Trump being ego-driven. This is not international relations: this is interpersonal relations. Government players change. Experienced presidents know that what needs to happen is that your country needs to establish solid diplomatic relations with the other country — not its (current) leader. What Trump is doing is naive and highly problematic, because the U.S. then becomes tied to the mis-deeds of the other country's leader; and then you are stuck, with no way forward. Trump has seemingly convinced his equally naive son-in-law Jared Kushner to do just as Trump is doing, and this has left Kushner personally tied to the quagmires created by the Saudi leader.

It's election season — time for Republicans to suppress the vote again

A rally is more important than being president

A hilarious sidelight to the event was that Fox, knowing it would be the same old rehash of Trump vitriol and lies, they decided not to broadcast the event. Learning of this later, Trump was very unhappy about it and let Fox know.

Trump invents "paid protestors"

This is the same Trump who paid people $50 each to cheer for him at his presidential announcement in 2015. Remember that scene of wildly enthusiastic people in identical Trump T-shirts as Trump came down that escalator with his latest wife Melania and was brought to the podium by Ivanka to deliver his presidential run announcement? (See these paid enthusiasts being primed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsFYmy1mvXM)

Trade wars remain just wonderful

The real Trump resurfaces

Trade wars remain just wonderful

Christine Blasey Ford testifies against Kavanaugh

Christine Blasey Ford testifies against Kavanaugh

Then there was Lindsey Graham's eruption in the meeting, in which he shouted his accusation of Senate Democrats perpetrating "the most unethical sham since I've been in politics". Once known as a free thinker and a critic of Trump's antics, Graham has become a sell-out, defending Trump and supporting whatever Trump wants to do. Apparently, Graham doesn't think that Trump's baseless accusation of Obama having wiretapped Trump tower, or the disaster of separating children from parents at the Mexico border, are major when compared to Republican outrages in getting a conservative zealot onto the Supreme Court.

A weirdness in this hearing: The Republican senators had brought in Rachel Mitchell, a career prosecutor experienced in prosecuting sex crimes, to question Ford and Kavanaugh, to give the appearance that it wasn't Republican old men questioning the testifying woman. Mitchell questioned Ford throughout Ford's testimony, seemingly trying (unsuccessfully) to poke holes in that testimony. Then Mitchell started questioning Kavanaugh; but Kavanaugh was doing poorly when being questioned about facts. At this point the Republican senators in effect fired Mitchell, summarily dismissing her and going on to question Kavanaugh — sympathetically — themselves.

Certainly, this process was never intended to be fair or fact-finding. And, naturally, Trump applauded Kavanaugh's belligerance. What this hearing signals to survivors of sexual assault is that no matter how vividly you recall the attack and no matter how credible you are, you will be treated dismissively by the establishment old men — who previously scheduled a vote tomorrow morning.

Another aspect to all this: The hearings for a Supreme Court nominee constitute a job interview. Thinking in terms of an interview for a position in a corporation, do you think that any executive interviewer would hire someone who evidenced dishonesty and who would not answer questions and who expressed vitriolic anger?

The United Nations General Assembly laughs in Trump's face

This is so ironic. On Aug 9, 2014 Trump then tweeted: "We need a President who isn't a laughing stock to the entire World..."
Well, Trump is president and laughing stock of the world; and with this buffoon, the United States has been reduced to the laughing stock of the world.

Anothere example of Republicans not wanting truths to get in their way

It should be noted that the Republicans absolutely will not have the FBI look into the charges, regardless of any testimony. You would think they would want the FBI involved, as any false statement made to a federal agent — unlike to a senate committee — is a felony. But this is characteristic of Republicans, who don't want any facts to get in the way of doing whatever they want to do.

In their rush and anger, the Republicans are overlooking the obvious: it is six weeks before the mid-term elections, and what voters are seeing is a group of old men, utterly entrenched in equally old attitudes, intent on stuffing the Supreme Court with right-wing idealogues, at any expense.

Why Republicans have a huge credibility gap with women

Note the monumental hypocrisy surrounding this Kavanaugh situation. Republicans are pushing to hurriedly get this supreme court nominee confirmed, in time for the upcoming court calendar year. These are the same Republicans who had no problem with leaving a supreme court seat empty for many months: Following the February 2016 death of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court on March 16, 2016. Republican leadership then launched a campaign to block the convening of the Senate panel to review the candidate, and succeeded in doing so for the full remainger of Obama's term. Senate leader Mitch McConnell bragged that denying Merrick Garland a SCOTUS hearing was the biggest accomplishment of his career.

A familiar pattern

Trump gave some private advice to a friend who had acknowledged some bad behavior toward women. Real power is fear. It's all about strength. Never show weakness. You've always got to be strong. Don't be bullied. There is no choice.
"You've got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women," he said. "If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you're dead. That was a big mistake you made. You didn't come out guns blazing and just challenge them. You showed weakness. You've got to be strong. You've got to be aggressive. You've got to push back hard. You've got to deny anything that's said about you. Never admit."

The classic old male attitude problem extends to the senators involved. The comments of senator Orrin Hatch were particularly indicative. Pre-judging Dr. Ford the same way he did when he sat questioning Anita Hill in 1991, Hatch said of Dr. Ford that she's "mixed up". There's no better example of the need for term limits than Orrin Hatch.

Demonstrating himself to be unhinged, and unfit for ANY office

Self-congratulation again on Puerto Rico

Monumental stupidity from Trump in eliminating climate change mitigation

Trump attacks Bob Woodward on his upcoming 'Fear' book release

In the court of nations, the U.S. is above the law

More false economic stats from Trump

Extraordinary revelation by someone claiming to be inside the administration

Trump subsequently tweeted an attack:
"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"
Oh, the irony of Trump calling someone else "gutless".

Don't pursue investigation of Republicans who could prevent my impeachment

Running scared, the lies become ever more bizarre

Trump ousts White House counsel Don McGahn

Truth isn't truth

Trump now admits to knowing about the hush money payments

Cohen utterly rejects Trump

They're guilty, but none of that involves me

As usual, Trump labored to distance himself from these felons, saying on the tarmac that Paul Manafort is a good man, and repeated his mantra that the investigation is just a big witch hunt, and repeatedly said "no collusion"; and said of the Manafort conviction, "It doesn't involve me". For someone who claims innocence of everything, why does Trump sound so guilty? (In legal circles, this is termed "consciousness of guilt".) That evening, Trump conducted one of his propaganda rallies, in Charleston, West Virginia — complete with the obligatory chant of "lock her up", as though Hillary Clinton had any relevance now. (Some irony, there, considering who's being locked up these days.) Interestingly, Trump had nothing at all to say about the momentous events that transpired that day involving high level people involved in his campaign and his professional life. Of course, he went on again about no collusion. Playing to his deplorables gives Trump some solace as he somehow convinces them that he in any way resembles a president.

All this further goes to demonstrate — and prove — that Donald Trump both surrounded himself with people who thought nothing of engaging in fraud, and illegal activity in general. Cohen's testimony strongly implicates Trump in criminal activity as well. There's obviously much more to come, including Manafort going before another court, in Washington, on September 17 on seven separate charges including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. Not to be overlooked is the huge "gift box" to follow-on prosecutors of Michael Cohen's voluminous records on Trump and his business dealings. Stephanie Clifford's attorney Michael Avenatti can greatly benefit from such material as he pursues charges against Cohen — and by implication, Trump, who is now testified to be the director of the hush money payment to Clifford.

Note well the "law doesn't apply to us" mentality among Trump, people around him, and people like him. It's hypocrisy on a monumental scale to be vehemently anti-crime — and then to proclaim what a disgrace it is that your friends could be investigated, tried, and convicted for criminal activity.

Trump expresses admiration for Manafort having fought the charges against him. Why? Because this meshes with Trump's life-long autonomic combativeness response to everything that runs counter to his wishes. To Trump, being combative is always the thing to do — even if it's the most unintelligent and self-defeating approach to a problem.

Tell West Virginians how well off they are — when they aren't

George Orwell was right that there would be people who would proclaim that truth is not truth

Parade? No parade.

Many people pointed out how many millions of dollars could much better be used elsewhere, such as in veterans' affairs, or even devoted to infrastructure repair (as in preventing the next catastrophic bridge collapse and loss of life).

Ego over national security

Former officials historically retain security clearances so that, with their years of experience, they can continue to contribute to national security deliberations. This revocation, and threats of more to come, is further evidence that Trump's ego matters far more than national security.

The next person to denigrate in a tweet: Omarosa

Another Trump swampmate is arrested by the FBI

Representative Chris Collins was the very first congressman to endorse Donald Trump's presidential campaign, in February 2016, and remained a Trump supporter despite Trump's rampant greed and vandalism of the United States. Like Trump, Collins seems to believe that laws should not apply to him.

Current lies count

Publicly obstructing justice

Trump further tweeted today:
"Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders. He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!"
Well, the reality is that when Donald Trump went to make Manafort his campaign manager, there were abundant reports of Manafort's financial escapades. Trump simply ignored all that, in his usual mode of operation that he can do anything he wants, without consequences. Note also that Trump is rather undermining his "why didn't somebody tell me" complaint by the use of the phrase "old charges", as in known long ago.

A glaring example of Trump lacking the temperament to be President

Trump twists reality into a pretzel, saying that Russia will favor Democrats

Paul Ryan again fails in his responsibility as a congressional officer

Trump twists reality into a pretzel, saying that Russia will favor Democrats

The dictator enforces his firewall against reality

Trump attempts to rewrite his failed homework

Comrade Trump goes to Helsinki to meet with his Russian idol

Once it commenced, it was a private meeting. In fact, Trump astoundingly instructed U.S. officials, who are always in the room during summit meetings, to not be in the room; and there was no recording or minutes of the meeting. Following their private meeting, Trump and Putin came out to address the press.
Reporter: "The Russian president denies having interfered in the 2016 elections but all US intelligence agencies conclude the opposite. Who do you believe?"
Trump: "President Putin has just told me that it was not Russia. I do not see why it would be."
This blind assertion, despite Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and others having briefed Trump on Russian interference.
Republican Senator John McCain's reaction: "The Helsinki press conference is one of the most shameful performances of a US president. It's clear that the Helsinki summit was a tragic mistake."

Another Trump lie to artificially prop up his "ratings"

Trump idiocy about The Wall

Pruit is out

This insight came to light, revealing how underhandedly the Trump administration pursues their agenda: According to CNN, Pruitt kept a secret, nonpublic calendar to hide meetings with industry representatives and controversial figures. Just minutes before Trump's tweet announcing Pruitt's resignation, the Times reported that a Pruitt staffer had been fired after questioning the deletions from the public schedule.

Michael Cohen's loyalty to Trump wanes

Trump slams a restaurant

The liar backs down

There was moral outrage across the political spectrum over Trump's actions, and his longstanding vile behavior. Even Trump's own family was on his case over this. Outraged Republican leaders laid into Trump, disgusted with him. Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist, issued a statement in which he renounced his membership in the Republican Party, saying in a tweet: "29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump. It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party's greatest leaders. This child separation policy is connected to the worst abuses of Humanity in our history. It is connected by the same evil that separated families during slavery and dislocated tribes and broke up Native American families. It is immoral and must be repudiated. Our country is in trouble. Our politics are badly broken. The first step to a Season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities. I do not say this as an advocate of a progressive agenda. I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency."

"You have to take the children away"

Thousands of people in cages

Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen took to the podium today to unapologetically defend the splitting of families. As CBS reported, Nielsen claimed this policy is in place not as a deterrent to keep families of immigrants away from the border, as other administration officials have said, but rather as a means of keeping the children safe. "The children are not being used as a pawn, we are trying to protect the children," she said. She blamed Congress for the situation — despite it clearly having been a dictum of Jeff Sessions — who claimed that the Bible gave him justification for doing it. Nielsen has defined herself as a shameless shill of Donald Trump, abandoning all ethical standards, and her own reputation, to support whatever Trump decides to do.

And, today, we learned that the architect of the policy of splitting families is none other than Stephen Miller, that revolting fascist who functions as the worst of Trump's impulses.

Michael Cohen is the next to learn that Trump's loyalty street is one-way

Manfort who?

Use children as pawns to get what he wants

Where to begin? This is Trump lying through his teeth. Nothing new in this. And he's employing a well worn and familiar mode of operation: he will do something heinous, and then blame someone else for it. So he's blaming the Democrats for this — despite them having nothing to do what is purely a Trump administration elective action. As the reporter accurately stated, there is no law mandating that illegal immigrant families be split up upon apprehension. This is an arbitrary action by the Trump administration...a deliberate, cruel, calculated action. Why? To get his damned wall to keep out people he abhors. Frustrated in having failed to get his wall via other means, he has resorted to the incredibly low tactic of taking children from their parents...using them as pawns in his twisted obsession with a wall. There is no limit to the lows to which Trump will stoop.

Jeff Sessions uses the Bible to justify taking children from illegal immigrant parents

It wasn't unusual in Nazi camps.

Take a good look, Republican voters...take a very good look. Your party has long portrayed itself as the "family values" party. Is it? Or is that just another lie in a litany of lies that your party has been content to live with for a year and half. You need to finally face the reality that you've chosen a lying monster to be the head of your party — and for that matter, someone who in fact has no allegiance to your party.

Trump's submits to a summit meeting which elevates the stature of North Korea's dictator

Kim had made two trips to Beijing before the summit, where he was undoubtedly coached on how to play Trump and get the most out of the meeting for himself. Kim got even more than he expected when Trump idiotically saluted one of Kim's generals, which made for a terrific propaganda video on North Korea state TV.

The reality is that this was principally another episode of The Trump Show, where Donald Trump gives a self-promoting performance of doing something — which in reality amounts to little. This is Trump's obsession with his "ratings" — literally as though this is a TV reality show, with form dominating over substance.

Trump's trained attack dogs bark at Trudeau

Trudeau addresses Trump's tariffs

Ryan rejects Trump's "spygate" garbage

I can pardon myself: I just made that up

Hard core racist and Trump loyalist Rosanne Barr tweets herself out of a job

Barr subsequently tried to invent a "twinkie defense", claiming she was "Ambien tweeting", referring to a prescription sleep aid. In one of the greatest corporate responses ever, Ambien maker Sanofi responded to that with: "While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication".

This event begs the following question: Why does a television network have higher standards than the Republican Party?

Trump, the absoulutely disgusting

Figuratively standing on the graves of dead American soldiers, Trump shamelessly delivers this missive of pure self promotion. Donald Trump has absolutely no sense of morality. It would be unbelievable except that we know to expect this from Trump.

Trump once again demonstrates his ignorance of what his own administration is doing

Why Trump bashes the press

Trump's sycophant Homeland Security Secretary denies knowing about what the 17 intelligence agencies said about Russia and Trump

Trump initiates another witch hunt of his own by interfering with the Russia investigation

As Adam Schiff and many others have pointed out, Trump's charges are nonsense. It is the mission of the FBI to investigate criminal activity and espionage activities within the United States. It had been well established, even back than, that Russia was intent on influencing and steering the 2016 election; and, as we know, the Trump campaign was willing and eager to work with foreign governments to gain every advantage they could, whether or not U.S. laws were being broken in the process. It is standard procedure to deploy investigators to do fact-finding where criminal activity is evidenced to be occurring, and that's what the FBI was doing: their jobs.

Note well what's being completely obscured here: Russia heavily meddled in the 2016 presidential election and, with learning ane experience gained from that wildly successful foray, they will certainly do so in future U.S. campaigns, where we can expect that in the 2018 mid-term elections. In the face of that threat to democracy, Donald Trump has shown absolutely zero interest in combating that menace. In refusing to do anything, Trump is in effect colluding with Russia. Vladimir Putin has to be absolutely elated with Trump's de facto aid in Russia's goals, with Trump undermining the FBI and the rule of law to make it all the easier for Putin to achieve his goals. Putin counts on Trump to relentlessly preserve, protect, and defend his own ego. With Trump, it's always about me, me, me. He will sacrifice democracy itself to keep his inflated ego intact.

Tillerson warns America

Trump: no policies, just whims

Let's put this action in Trump world context to see how absurd it is. Imagine Trump campaigning in Pennsylvania. He's standing in front of a huge, attentive audience, eager to hear more of his America-first policies. Looking out over the crowd, Trump takes a breath and proclaims:
"I pledge to save jobs in China!"
People would walk out, wondering where Trump's mind is. And yet this is just what Trump did.

So, what's behind this? Why on earth would trump do such a thing? It subsequently became known that just two days earlier, on May 11, state-owned Chinese construction company Metallurgical Corporation of China announced it would float a $500 million loan to Indonesian developers to facilitate the construction of a vast "integrated lifestyle resort" called MNC Lido City that includes Trump-branded hotels, residences, and a golf course. Gosh, what a coincidence.

A measure of how vile the White House has become under Trump

Joe Biden's statement in reaction to this:
"People have wondered when decency would hit rock bottom with this administration. It happened yesterday. ... Given this White House's trail of disrespect towards John and others, this staffer is not the exception to the rule, she is the epitome of it."

Jeff Sessions announces his draconian implementatn of Trump's April 6th zero tolerance requirement on illegal border crossers

Many of these illegal immigrants are families seeking to escape the horrors of unchecked violence in their native Central and South America countries; and much of that violence stems from the unbridled greed and violence of drug cartels run by ruthless druglords, who don't hesitate to kill any person in their way, be they man, woman, or child. The grotesque irony here is that so much of the immense amount of cocaine and other drugs they are producing is destined for the millions of American citizens who have chosen to become and continue to be drug addicts. This situation is what gives rise to so many families fleeing northward. What has the Trump administration done about this causal situation: almost nothing. Trump, in his simplistic ignorance, mindlessly addresses the resultingsymptom, no matter how ineffectual or costly that may be.

Giuliani tries to put the genie back into the bottle

This is a hilarious non sequitur. First, the Trump family is very well aware of Donald's daliances: he plainly proclaimed his behaviour in the Access Hollywood recording. There's nothing left to hide in that department. Second, Donald Trump's behavior every day has been embarrassing to the family — and the United States as a country.

Another day later, Trump further contorts the lies

Here's the thing: If Giuliani did not have his facts straight on Wednesday night, why did Trump have his staff reinforce Giuliani's very public statements all day Thursday instead of correcting them? Why was all that left out there, only to have Trump offhandedly contradict Giuliani today?

Next day, the White House bolsters Rudy's statement

Rudy and Trump get together and re-engineer the Stormy Daniels payoff lie

Giuliani subsequently said that the information that he disclosed was approved by Trump. The apparent reality is that the two of them put their heads together — independent of the legal team — and came up with this revision to the Trump team story about the Stormy Daniels payoff, the motivation being — as evident in Giuliani's reiterations — that the investigations about the money were getting too close to prosecutable campaign finance violations. This is what happens when people try to cover up misdeeds and invent subterfuges without full strategizing, and then create a shambles by trying to revise the subterfuge after the fact.

Giuliani also sought to revise history by saying this about why Trump fired Comey: "He fired Comey because Comey would not, among other things, say that he wasn't a target of the investigation. He's entitled to that." As though people who may or may not be under investigation should have investigators report to them about the path of the investigation. Giuliani also praised the May 10, 2017 interview with Lester Holt, saying:
"Lester Holt's interview was as good as anybody could do, better than I think any of the people around Mueller could have done".

Trump's lack of judgement hurts him again

In the call-in, Trump also finally admitted that he stayed overnight in Moscow during the Miss Universe pageant. In James Comey's contemporaneous notes on conversations with Trump, Comey logged Trump having several times spontaneously — without being in any way prompted for such information — had told Comey that he did not stay in Moscow overnight. Trump apparently made this assertion to counter the "Steele dossier", whose raw intelligence painted a perverse picture of events occurring in the hotel that night. On CNN last evening, Comey referred to Trump's unprompted assertions as known within criminal investigation as "consciousness of guilt".

Remarkably, the Fox & Friends hosts themselves terminated Trump's call-in, seemingly recognizing the damage that Trump was doing to himself — and to get in some commercials.

Also today, Trump's nominee to run the Veteran's Administration, White House doctor Ronny Jackson, withdrew his nomination. Incredibly, this is the 24th nomination of Trump's to go down. Jackson withdrew in the face of some 23 accusers (who brought the accusations to Senator Jon Tester) who claimed that Jackson was prone to drunkenness, readily gave out drugs, among other things. Trump decried the accusations — and yet did not stick with and vigorously defend his nominee...despite saying "I'll always stand behind him." In fact, Trump yesterday gave Jackson an "off ramp", saying: "If I were him ... the fact is I wouldn't do it. What does he need it for?" Accusations aside, Jackson was grossly unsuitable for the VA post. He was nominated by Trump not on the basis of qualifications but — familiarly — Trump chose him on the basis of loyalty and convenience, where he was simply nearby. This is typical Trump laziness: do no research, do not seek out the most qualified candidates, just go for a buddy or someone who looks the part (as if this were a TV show, with type casting).

Trump calls Kim Jong Un "very honorable"

Trump doesn't hesitate to contradict anyone, not even himself

Newt Gingrich: Poster boy for the Republican elite

A Congressman confesses hating Trump

Trump...strategy?

The FBI raids Trump's personal attorney

Ironically, "fixer" Cohen has suddenly become the kind of problem for Trump that Cohen usually took care of for Trump.

Trump was livid at the news, using his standard phrase "witch hunt", and adding the ridiculous assertion that it was an "attack on our country in a true sense". Law enforcement officers routinely raid the premises of those who so manifestly evidence criminal activity that a warrant for such an evidence-gathering search is granted by a magistrate. This is standard, lawful procedure. Obviously, Trump is reacting to being boxed in. He wants to blame Mueller for the situation, but the Cohen investigation is wholly separate from what Mueller's team is working on. Trump would probably like to start firing Justice Department heads or U.S. Attorneys, but that would then constitute interference with an investigation. Trump's real lawyers should have made clear to him that the matter is very serious, that the U.S. Attorney does not hunt witches.

The Syrian regime, emboldened, resumes chemical weapons bombing of civilians

It appears that "the other people", as mythically referred to by Trump on March 29, did not take care of things in place of the retreating Americans.

Trump condemned the chemical attack, but his March 29th rash proclamation of withdrawal contributed to it. Senator John McCain blasted the mindless Trump in a statement:
"President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria. Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children, this time in Douma."

Trump calls for zero tolerance on illegal border crossing

So, why is Trump fixated on just illegal immigration from south of the border? The mass infusion of illegal drugs coming through Mexico is via official vehicle border crossings. Trump isn't interested in that. The largest number of people illegally in the country are those who have over-stayed their visas. Trump isn't interested in that. But he can't stand all those non-white people getting into the country and then opposing rich people like him.

Trump's first public statement on the Stormy Daniels situation

Assigned to explain the unexplainable

Let's create border drama to create a reason to send troops and compensate for my spending bill cave-in

What was Trump's justification? In front of the press he said:
"We have very bad things for our border. And we are going to be doing some things. I've been speaking with General Maddis. We're going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we are going to be guarding our border with our military. That's a big step. We really haven't done that before, certainly not very much before. But we will be doing things with Mexico — and they have to do it — otherwise I'm not going to do the NAFTA deal."
This is hypocritical, deceptive Trump. Trump regularly rails against his predecessors for allegedly having done nothing about problems, but the reality is that Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush both sent National Guard troops to the Mexico border, in conjunction with border-state governors who oversee their respective National Guard operations, to supplement the U.S. Border Patrol.

In a press conference alongside Baltic leaders, Trump said:
"The Mexican border is very unprotected by our laws. We have horrible, horrible and very unsafe laws in the United States, and we're going to be able to do something about that hopefully soon. Hopefully congress will get their act together and get in and create some very powerful laws like Mexico has and like Canada has and like almost all countries have. We don't have laws: we have catch and release. You catch and you immediately release and people come back years later for a court case except they virtually never come back. So what we are preparing for the military to secure our border between Mexico and the United States. We have a meeting on it in a little while with General Maddis and everybody and I think it's something we have to do. Now the caravan which is over a thousand people coming in from Honduras thought they were going to just walk right through Mexico and right through the border."
This is Trump making up "facts" to justify his actions. There was never any evidenced intention that the "caravan" (as Fox News characterized it) had any intention of invading the United States. And "We have horrible, horrible and very unsafe laws in the United States"? This sounds like the inanity that a dim-witted beauty contestant would utter in attempting to answer their intellectual acuity question.

And deploying "the military"? To do what, exactly? Trump doesn't seem to understand that this takes National Guard members, which are under the command of state governors, who have to fund them. And these Guard Members are not permanently active: they have jobs and lives, which are now going to be upheaved to satisfy the whims of this unstable old man? And why is Trump doing this? To compensate for him signing the Omnibus Spending Bill without provisions for his notorious "wall" or DACA — for which Ann Coulter and other right wingers harshly criticized Trump. This border action is Trump manufacturing a crisis so that he can distract and mollify his base of deplorables.

By the way, I think we shouild abandon Syria, too

Michael Cohen's attorney states that Trump was not aware of the Stormy Daniels payoff

Trump replaces the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with a loyalist

Is Jackson well suited to running the VA? Jackson is a doctor: he has no substanative managerial experience, where something as massive as the VA system requires someone with abundant experience to oversee the annual expenditure of $200 billion (second only to the Pentagon). So, why Jackson? This is Trump once again rewarding loyalty over qualifications or competence or capability. Back on January 16, Jackson heaped effusive praise on Trump's physical and mental condition in reporting the results of Trump's physical examination. It should also not be overlooked that Jackson is an active duty officer, which constitutes a conflict in being required to directly take orders from the commander in chief at the same time that he is supposed to be objectively running a high-profile government service. Trump might as well have posted the following:

       HELP WANTED
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Higly paid, lucrative position
NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED
The only qualification demanded: Loyalty
Must be a white male

Ted Olson and other lawyers reject Trump's solicitation to join his legal team

Likewise, Dan K. Webb, a former U.S. attorney for Illinois and a corporate and white collar defense lawyer, likewise turned down Trump. The word in Washington is that lawyers who value their firm's reputation don't want it sullied by association with Trump (The Bog of Eternal Stench).

I can get lawyers (though not the ones I ask)

Let chaos reign

Trump today also announced that he is replacing national security adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton. McMaster had been a moderating influence in the White House. Replacing him with the ultra extremist Bolton is horrible for the nation and the world. This is Trump undertaking a campaign to surround himself with people at least as imbalanced as he is ... people who think like Trump and who will agree with him on everything, and reinforce his worst impulses. The extreme dangers here cannot be overstated.

Also today, Trump dismissed his attorney John Dowd. They had been at odds, with Trump disregarding legal advice as an impediment to him doing whatever he has wanted, most noticeably in conducting escalating tweet rants against Special Counsel Mueller.

My buddy Puting "won" re-election

Bring on more lawyers, no matter their quality

Gowdy to Trump: If you're innocent, act like it

Trump's lawyer interferes with the Mueller probe

Brennan reacts to Trump's increasingly hostile behavior

Trump vindictively has McCabe fired, just before his pension date

"A second Trump attorney is linked to the Stormy Daniels payoff

"Like father, like son"

The Mueller probe reaches the Trump organization

Trump continues to just make up "facts", even when meeting with world leaders

Trump continues to be appalling. A life-long habit of lying, continued as he's president. He has no respect for facts, or the intelligence of the people he's dealing with. How does this man have any self respect?? He obviously has no respect for the office of president or the reputation of the country he represents.

Trump fires Tillerson — by tweet

House Republicans conclude their sham investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election

Trump rally in Pennsylvania for his deplorables

Former CIA chief John Brennan speaks on Trump's latest instabilities

Reports of Jared Kushner taking revenge on Qatar after a financial deal fell through

The context: January 2007: Tishman Speyer, along with the German investment firm TMW, announced the sale of the 666 Park Avenue building to the Kushner Properties for $1.8 billion, at the time the highest price ever paid for an individual building in Manhattan. Jared Kushner sought the purchase as a "Manhattan trophy" for his company. This was real estate lust. Kushner's purchase was reported to have been "heavily leveraged", meaning very much debt financing: a $1.2 billion mortgage, with escalating interest rates, comes due in 2018. The purchase deal culminated shortly before the economy tanked in late 2007. Since then, income from the property has been poor, with lease revenue not even sufficient to cover interest payments: as of late 2017, a quarter of the building's leasable office space was empty. This has left Jared Kushner's company very much in a deep, overcommitted financial hole, with no source of funding to pay the looming mortgage. This left Kushner scrambling to try to cover the pending payment, seeking funding sources in China, Russia - and Qatar. Kushner Companies representatives met with a Qatari investment company, run by the country's former prime minister and finance minister, Hamad Bin Jasim al-Thani, one of the world's wealthiest men. When Jared received his nepotistic White House assignment, that prompted the Qataris to pull out. The following month, Kushner and the White House supported a blockade of Qatar organized by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (This was partly based on incendiary quotes attributed to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, later found to have been faked through United Arab Emirates orchestrated hacking of Qatari government news and social media sites.) This was counter to what Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had been negotiating in the region. Tillerson put two-and-two together and concluded that Kushner was running a second foreign policy out of the White House family quarters, with Jared taking advantage of his stepfather-assigned role of Middle East specialist to convince Trump to lay into Qatar, as exemplified by Trump's June 9 2017 rose garden pronouncements against Qatar as a funder of terrorism.

Trade wars are good!

Lets's have a trade war, and treat our friends as enemies

The NRA reprograms Trump after his anti-gun performance yesterday

Hope Hicks resigns

Trump pretends discord with the NRA after another mass shooting

Trump lashes out Jeff Sessions, who pushes back

Sessions subsequently pushed back with this statement:
"As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this Department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution."

Jeff Sessions may just turn out to be the one person who ended up being the mainstay in stemming Trump's relentless assault on the federal government.

Trump's mythical health care plan

Trump lashes out at his national security adviser

Let's continue to do nothing

So, what was our President's institutional reaction to this expert warning of Russia's ongoing effort to undermine our democracy? Nothing. Despite all the reports, evidence, and warnings over the past year, Trump chosen to do absolutely nothing. Indeed, he has even denied that this could not be happening because Putin so sincerely denied such activities. Donald Trump as President has been derelict in his responsibilities and, in his concscious inaction, is effectively aiding and abetting Putin's Russia. Trump needs to go.

The White House changes its story

In a late morning briefing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, FBI Director Chris Wray said under oath that the bureau reported had submitted a partial report on Rob Porter to the White House in March of 2017, and a completed report in July; then responded to a follow-up request in November. The FBI closed its file on Porter in January.

With that, the White House could not keep up the now-evident lie that the FBI had not provided them with the needed information on Porter. Instead of coming clean, they concocted another subterfuge. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders went before the press to claim that the months-long delay in handling the Rob Porter situation was the fault of the almost unknown White House Personnel Security Office. As is characteristic of the Trump administration, the fault always lies elsewhere — even if the culprit has the words "White House" in its title. Those familiar with the office say that it's no more than a small HR staff, where they have no decision-making powers, and any information they had would have been passed on to White House officials.

The scandal sticks to the White House

The White House has continued in their "blame the FBI" mode, even with this scandal, suggesting that the FBI never passed along the information. Sarah Sanders said: "It is handled by law enforcement and intelligence communities. We support the process. It's the same process that's been used for decades for previous administrations. We are relying on the process."

Further White House churn

Trump can't resist wading into it again

In response, numerous people supported that call for due process: have a full investigation of the credible allegations that have amassed against Donald Trump's predations of women.

Trump predictably defends the abuser

What's conspicuous about this statement is the absence of any mention of the actual victims. Here, Trump is defending Porter in the same way that he defended other conspicuously egregious abusers such as Mike Tyson, Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Corey Lewandowski, Roy Moore — and himself.

Now, about Kelly's knowledge of Porter's character

Porter is forced out

The next White House scandal emerges

John Kelly, Chief of Staff, subsequently responded to the report: "Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor, and I can't say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him."

Now, obviously, someone working in the White House, and certainly someone working alongside the president and handling reams of sensitive information, would have gone through a background check, which would include in depth interviews with the ex-wives; and given that Porter has been in his position since the beginning of the Trump administration, a variety of high level staffers in the White House would have known about the problems with Porter. Indeed, it became known that Porter was working without having been given a full security clearance.

It subsequently became known that Hope Hicks was helping draft statements defending Rob Porter in this mess — and that she was in a romantic relationship with Porter.

Nunes further debases himself

Moreover: On March 21, 2016, Donald Trump met with the Washington Post editorial board. Its publisher, Frederick Ryan Jr., asked:
"We've heard you're going to be announcing your foreign policy team shortly... Any you can share with us?"
Trump provided a list: "Well, I hadn't thought of doing it, but if you want I can give you some of the names... Walid Phares, who you probably know, PhD, adviser to the House of Representatives caucus, and counter-terrorism expert; Carter Page, PhD; George Papadopoulos, he's an energy and oil consultant, excellent guy; the Honorable Joe Schmitz, [former] inspector general at the Department of Defense; [retired] Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; and I have quite a few more."

So, yes, Trump was well aware of Papadopoulos. Nunes is again intent on manufacturing a fiction.

The Bully in Chief attacks again

If you thought that was extreme: Trump was at a Cincinnati suburb promoting the tax bill he signed into law last December. He took the opportunity to complain of Democrats not standing and applauding him at his state of the union address, saying:
"Even on positive news — really positive news, like that — they were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. Yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."
There's your definition: anyone who doesn't suck up to Trump is un-American.

Self-declaration of vindication — again

Chaos, and who's loving it

You know who is immensely enjoying all this? The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. For the 2016 election, Vladimir Putin put into play extensive resources to spread propaganda, fake news, and lies through the naive and obliviously-led American social media companies Facebook and Twitter. Vladimir Putin was delighted to see Trump winning state primary elections and then become the Republican Party's candidate. Vladimir Putin obviously had a full psychological profile on Donald Trump, and knew that Trump was driven by impulses, was egotistical, and always put himself above party and country. Helping Trump get elected President had to be Putin's greatest accomplishment. Vladimir Putin has to be laughing hysterically at the chaos he has engineered into being in the highest levels of the country he despises the most. Instead of doing anything about Russia's interference in the 2016 election, United State officials and branches of government are fighting amongst themselves. It's unbelievable. It's everything Putin ever wanted, come true.

Trump's own FBI pick disagrees with him

At his Senate confirmation hearing, Wray had said: "If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop. My loyalty is to the Constitution and to the rule of law." Democratic senator Patrick Leahy asked Wray what he would do if the president asked him "to do something unlawful or unethical." Wray then responded: "First I would try to talk him out of it, and if that failed, I would resign." This could come to pass with this memo fiasco.

Time for the State of the Union address, and Teleprompter Trump

Trump lawyers send a letter to special counsel Mueller, with an admission

Collusion with Russia continues

Today, the Trump administration unilaterally decided that they would not implement this legislation — because it would be detrimental to businesses selling to the Russian defense and intelligence sectors. The Sanctions Act also requires the administration to send Congress both classified and unclassified reports on Russian oligarchs and sovereign debt within 180 days. Just as in prior deadlines, the Trump administration waited until the last day to do so, where yesterday they submitted a list — which was nothing more than information gotten off the Internet.

Trump keeps saying "there's no collusion", but his actions persistently contradict what he says. Senator Chuck Schumer said: "Any other President would have already made it their priority to take decisive action against Russia in their first year. But this President is paralyzed when it comes to Putin & his cronies in Russia."

The irresponsibility of Republicans

At the same time we have disgraced Representative Devin Nunes, the lapdog of Donald Trump, claiming to have a four-page memorandum, said to outline how the federal government abuses its secret surveillance powers. The reality is that this is another Nunes fabrication, like his March 21 acting performance, created to distract from Mueller's advance on the White House. The memo was in fact written by Nunes's staff, being a gross distortion of classified intelligence reports, according to unbiased intelligence committee members who have read the actual source material. Hilariously, this right-wing effort was supported by an army of Russian bots that made sure the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo remained a trending topic on social media — which speaks volumes about its veracity. It's amazing that Nunes believes that he has any credibility left after his farcical behavior last year.

Evangelicals and Trump

Like father, like son

Physician to the President lavishes praise on Trump

Can it get more bizarre?

This same day, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was at that notorious Thursday noontime meeting, and was asked about it. Like other attending Republicans, she evidenced the same amnesia, telling Senator Patrick Leahy that, as New York Magazine reported, "she had no recollection one way or another as to whether Trump disparaged the population of an entire continent in shockingly gross terms." Leahy quietly asked, "Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it?" Here is Nielsen's incredible response: "I actually don't know that, sir." Here is a supposed adult, in one of the highest posts in the world's most powerful country, responsible for knowing the world's countries and sources of threats, and she comes up with this inane response?? This is the caliber of the people running the federal government?

Martin Luther King day

Martin Luther King is remember for writing:
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Still the least racist, by proclamation

Conservative writer Erick Erickson today tweeted that he spoke to one of the president's friends, who said Trump called him up to brag about the remarks because he felt it would play well with his base:
"It's weird that people in the room don't remember Trump using that word when Trump himself was calling friends to brag about it afterwards. I spoke to one of those friends. The President thought it would play well with the base."

Republican Senators David Perdue and Tom Cotton, who on Friday said they did not recall Trump having said what he did, today have remarkably improved memories, where Perdue now says: "I'm telling you he did not use that word", "and I'm telling you it's a gross misrepresentation." It appears that Perdue is playing a coy game of semantics, as reports are that the word he and Cotton are, out of public, instead saying that Trump used was "shithouse" — as if that is any different.
Of their memory improvement, Senator Lindsey Graham deftly said: "My memory hasn't evolved. I know what was said and I know what I said."

And now, the predicatable denial

Republican Sen. David Perdue and Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said in a Friday statement that they did not recall the "shithole" comment, and like Perdue, Cotton on Sunday accused Durbin of misrepresenting Trump's comments.

The Associated Press reported that Trump made calls to friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to what he said, accordinng to a person who spoke to Trump (but wasn't authorized to discuss a private conversation). Trump wasn't apologetic, the person said. Instead, Trump blamed the media for distorting his meaning, arguing his description of "shithole" was not racist but rather a straightforward assessment of some nations' depressed conditions. Trump also said he believed he was expressing what many people think, according to the person.

Why does it matter what Trump said? Isn't he entitled to his opinion? The huge distinction is that this was a formal meeting to discuss national policy, where Trump was speaking as President of the United States.

Make America white again

Command of facts?

Blame Obama for anything and everything, to fabricate excuses

Lindsey Graham skewers Trump on his self-proclaimed "genius" claim

The presidency doesn't warrant my time

Me genius; stable, too

'Mine's bigger than yours juvenility

Who needs scientific knowledge when you can have arbitrary beliefs?

Trump year end evaluation

Who needs scientific knowledge when you can have artibrary beliefs?

Here, Trump points to a short-term weather event while not mentioning the devastating climate change being experienced on the west coast as long-term drought continues there, resulting in tinder-dry conditions and wildfires which rage for weeks and months, burning millions of acres of land, destroying large numbers of homes, burning horses and wildlife alive, separating firefighters and their families for prolonged periods, draining county and state budgets, and costing insurance companies and their rate payers enormous sums.

The golf course president

Beyond not wanting it known that, like at the White House, he's doing little work while in Florida, it has to be suspected that Trump doesn't want the public to see how grossly overweight he is, with a huge roll of fat around his midsection. (See photos on the Web.) It should be interesting to see the results of his upcoming physical, being conducted by a military doctor rather than an unscrupulous doctor who was paid to say that Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency". Junk food addicts are not healthy people.

The ever-tax-evading Donald Trump has persistently fought tax assessments on all of his golf courses. The Wall Street Journal estimated in 2016 that Trump paid less than $1,000 a year in property taxes on land that would typically require roughly $80,000. As evidence of how far he will go to avoid property taxes: on his New Jersey golf courses he is keeping herds of goats to exploit a state law designed to benefit farmers. This leaves other tax payers to make up for what Trump refuses to contribute to society.

Ego trumps reality — again

"Back to work after Christmas" lie

Christmas

"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"
"They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."
"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."

A June meeting in which Trump reportedly slammed immigrants

Tax relief is for the rich

Proof that the White House is occupied by know-nothings

Such inanity from Ivanka would be just sad if she were simply speaking as the politics-dissociated daughter of the president; but Ivanka Trump has the neoptistic title of assistant to the president. On that level, such ignorance is truly appalling. It clearly demonstrates that the Trump family, from father on down, don't bother to pay attention and be well-informed and be in touch with reality.

Brennan slams Trump on his U.N. tactics

Republicans define themselves as stooges heaping praise onto Trump

Intimidate other nations into supporting outrageious Trump actions

Haley blocks U.N. vote criticizing Trump's Jerusalem move

Also today, Trump tweets:
"The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!"
This shows his lack of perception in legislative realities, in that the tax bill he's cheerleading will add another $1.5 trillion to the deficit, eliminating any chance of budget funding.

Trump's transition team only objects to their own emails being scrutinized

This is the Trump team not paying attention and sputtering complaints after the fact. It is well established and drilled into everyone involved in the operation of the federal government that its computers and email services are the property of the U.S. Government, where there should be no presumption of privacy in the sending or receiving of such communications therewith. GSA deputy counsel Lenny Loewentritt told Buzzfeed News that the Trump transition team were, long in advance, told any material "would not be held back in any law enforcement" eventuality. "Therefore no expectation of privacy can be assumed." Peter Carr, spokesman for the special counsel's office, said of his team's actions: "When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process." (Note the word "criminal", twice.)

Further demonstrating his unfitness for office

Senator Gillibrand appropriately responded:
"You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office."

The daily TV addiction to defend the ego

Making up FBI reputation fiction to again disparage our intelligence organizations

Giving Mueller more ammunition

Throwing ancestry stones

There's remarkable hypocrisy at work here... Trump mocks Warren for claiming (partial) native American ancestry. Trump's parents portrayed themselves as being Swedish, and encouraged Donald Trump to do the same: they were actually German, but such heritage was distinctly disadvantageous to business after World War 2, so they passed themselves off as Swedish. In his book, "The Art of the Deal," Donald Trump reaffirmed the myth of his family's origins, writing that his father's father came to America "from Sweden as a child."

A habit of lying...or dementia?

As David Gergen subsequently said, this is deeply disturbing in that it indicates a man who is so involved in creating his own ego-boosting fictions that he can no longer discern what is real and what is not. Given the powers of the office, this is extremely dangerous to both this country and the world.

Donald Trump Jr. and Wikileaks

Prejudicial comments on the Bergdahl case

Lock them up

Misrepresenting drug traffic in order to get his wall

One of the great memories of all time

One more Republican speaks out against Trump

Also today, Trump was up at Capitol Hill having lunch with Senate Republicans. Laughably and predictably, Trump dwelled on listing his accomplishments. It was reported that during the luncheon, that the Senate Republicans gave Trump a standing ovation — three times.

The Russia thing

The reality, of course, is that "the Russia thing" is something that Trump and his whole campaign were perpetually engaged with Russians; and Trump himself is absolutely enaored of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Never before has an administration been so personally engaged with Russian operatives. This naturally draws attention: it's not something that people outside the administration have concocted.

The buck still doesn't stop here. And it's time to lie about Obama again

Later in the day, a rose garden press conference with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, to pretend that he has an "outstanding" relationship with McConnell — despite widespread reporting on Trump repeatedly denigrating McConnell over the months. During that event, Trump took the opportunity to again depart from the convention of not disparaging your White House predecessor and attempt to slam Obama — even if it takes a huge lie to do it. Responding to a question about why he had not spoken publicly about the killing of four Green Berets in an ambush in Niger two weeks ago, Trump deflected the question by claiming that he had written personal letters to their families (um, yet to be mailed) and planned to call them in the coming week. Never wanting to take blame for anything, Trump felt motivated to cast fault elsewhere, saying:
"If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls. A lot of them didn't make calls. I like to call when it's appropriate."
President Obama's former deputy national security adviser bitterly reacted to that:
"This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards. Also, Obama never attacked a Gold Star family."
It's well documented that Obama, like other past presidents, has certainly honored the fallen, in many ways.
As others have said, you don't use dead soldiers to attempt to score political points. This is how low Trump stoops, without apology, and that facts never stand in the way of his eagerness to heap scorn.

Trump is still colluding with the Russians

Another Trump utterance in this interview:
"I'm a ratings person."
Yes, and it shows in so much of what he does, and in his obsession in scouring the news after one of his appearances to see how well his performance was received. Trump: form over substance.

The attack on Bob Corker didn't work, so let's try to undermine the media's reporting of him

Make America polluted again

This is so representative of the backwardness, concerted stupidity, and indifference of the Trump administration. Not only do Republicans eagerly take away health care, but they enthusistically increase the causes of lung disease and cancer among the population, all in the name of old-industry profits.

With nothing better to do, let's attack Bob Corker again

Senator Corker later that day conducted a telephone interview with The New York Times. Some excerpts:
"So, sure, I mean the president concerns me. I mean there's no question."
"I know for a fact that every single day at the White House it's a situation of trying to contain him."
"I mean, you've talked to enough people to know that that's just a fact. So, thankfully we've got some very good people there. At least today, we've got some very good people there and they have been able to push back against his worst instincts."
"He concerns me. I mean he would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation."
"Do I understand that it's a daily exercise at the White House to keep him in the middle of the road? Yes."
"The vast majority of our caucus understands what we're dealing with here."
"One of the reasons that I've supported Mattis and Tillerson and Kelly last week is, again, as long as there's people like that around him who are able to talk him down, you know, when he gets spun up, you know, calm him down and continue to work with him before a decision is made."
"Sometimes I feel like he's on a reality show of some kind, you know, when he's talking about these big foreign policy issues. And, you know, he doesn't realize that, you know, that we could be heading towards World War III with the kinds of comments that he's making."

This is remarkable in a leading Republican exposing to the world the disturbing reality of the Trump presidency. It says a lot that not one other Republican has had the courage to do the same. However, not one Republican refuted what Corker said, implicitly affirming what Washington Republicans are saying to each other about Trump.

More childishness

An unbelievably appalling spectacle in Puerto Rico, adding to insults

The spectacle began with Trump parading around in a raincoat — probably the only person in sunny Puerto Rico to be wearing one — as though he had happily snagged a free souvenir. (The storm has passed, Donald.) Then he sat down in a conference room and actually uttered the following to the assembled government officials, in front of the press:

"Every death is a horror, but if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendous — hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here, with really a storm that was just totally overpowering, nobody's ever seen anything like this. What is your death count as of this moment? 17? 16 people certified, 16 people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together. Sixteen versus literally thousands of people. You can be very proud. Everybody around this table and everybody watching can really be very proud of what's taken place in Puerto Rico."

Trump then added further criticism of Puerto Rico, on top of his previous insulting tweeting, saying: "You've thrown our budget a little out of whack. We've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico." This is Trump saying that Puerto Rico is a continuing liability to the 50 states, where the island is continuing to be ineptly governed. Trump went on to once again pat his administration on the back for doing a phenomenal job, regardless of reality, which of course is Trump pumping up his ego as usual.

But it got worse...much worse. Trump then moved on to what was said to be a "relief center". This appeared to be a hundred foot square room in which Trump's entourage and the press encountered some sixty well clothed and groomed civilians, portrayed as "disaster victims". Standing at a table prepared for him, Trump picked up a can of chicken, and showed it to the crowd, many of them recording the event on their smartphones. (These were not destitute people; and had they been, what was on the table would obviously have been simply given to them before that.) He held up a flashlight. Ooooh! Then Trump decided to do what no president or intelligent person should do: he picked up paper towel rolls one by one and tossed them into the crowd! This, with cameras rolling, for the whole world to see. An unbelievably tacky and pointless display of mindlessness. To Trump, this was a TV show, just like others he has produced, where he gets to do stuff and be applauded by an audience. He has zero sense of what is means to be a president, or act like one.

HHS secretary resigns after egregious abuses

Trump says Russia did not aid in his election

Trump's lawyers carelessly discuss things in public

Trump advisor Gorka is out

Trump advisor Gorka is out

Further alienating those in his own party, and charitable organizations

It is being reported that over 20 charities and nonprofits that have canceled fundraising events at Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Once a popular gathering place, it is now very tainted by Trump's behavior to the point where organizations who value their reputation now shun the location. This represents a substantial loss to that venue, as a single night's rental can cost as much as $275,000. (Note here the irony that Trump takes money from charities rather than giving to them.)

Mitch McConnell questions whether Trump can save his presidency; and build that wall, or else

Tuesday evening, Trump was in Phoenix, Arizona addressing one of his mob rallies and, pandering to that crowd, threatened to shut down the government in a matter of weeks if Congress did not fund his moronic southern border wall: "If we have to close down our government, we're building that wall."

Following Trump's speech, former director of national intelligence James Clapper appeared on CNN with Don Lemon and proferred his observations on it: "It's hard to know where to start, it's just so objectionable on so many levels. I've toiled in one capacity or another for every president since and including John F. Kennedy through President Obama, and I don't know when I've listened and watched something like this from a president that I've found more disturbing. I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it — maybe he is looking for a way out." Clapper naturally worries about this unstable person's access to nulear launch codes: "In a fit of pique he decides to do something about Kim Jong Un, there's actually very little to stop him. The whole system is built to ensure rapid response if necessary. So there's very little in the way of controls over exercising a nuclear option, which is pretty damn scary."

Bannon is banished

Almost predictably, Bannon went right back to Breitbart, where he vows to wage war on those who antagonized him in the White House — not excluding Trump's daughter and son-in-law. Bannon's contempt for the Republican establishment has likely only gotten worse, which means they will be a chief target for Breitbart News, and that would make for further fracturing of the party.

Trump is well known to stay in regular touch with people who formerly worked for him, as he has with Michael Flynn. So will he have ongoing rapport with Bannon? Trump's huge ego will reduce the probability to nil. When Bannon was featured on the cover of the February edition of Time Magazine, Trump was hugely put out. When writers proclaimed Bannon the architect of Trump's election win, Trump was furious, proclaiming that "...Bannon came on very late". In a Wall Street Journal interview, April 12, 2017, Trump described Bannon as "a guy who works for me".

This is just the latest high profile departure in the chruning White House. On February 16, Donald Trump said at a press conference: "This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine." And he calls the press dishonest.

Don't know much about history

Later in the day, in response to the attack in Barcelona, Spain, where a van operator drove into a crowd, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 100, Trump tweeted (rather than issue a formal statement, as a real president might):
"The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!"
(You will note that, in Trump's view of reality, driving a truck into a crowd is only a terrorist attack if it happens in a foreign country. If it happens in the southern United States, committed by a white supremacist, it's just an ordinary American event.)

Less than an hour later, obviously mulling over that period, Trump came up with this follow-on tweet:
"Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!"
This harks back to Trump's February 19, 2016 campaign speech in South Carolina, in which he said of World War I general John Pershing:
"He caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage — and he took the 50 terrorists and he took 50 men and dipped 50 bullets in pig's blood. You heard about that? He took 50 bullets and dipped them in pig's blood [which is considered haram]. And he has his men load up their rifles and he lined up the 50 people and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said, you go back to your people and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years there wasn't a problem."
This is Trump refreshing his war on Islam, delivering (with variations) a colorful tale — which history shows never happened.

Though Trump talks of learning from history, he obviously hasn't.

Today, Trump furthered his public feud with Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, praising Flake's Republican primary challenger in this tweet: "Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" This is the type of petty, vindictive attack that has Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders fed up with Trump.

Senator Bob Corker (who originally supported Trump), spoke to reporters in Chattanooga, Tennessee after Trump's latest tirade. "The President has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful." "We need for him to be successful...our nation needs for him to be successul...the world needs for our president to be successful. He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation. I think our president needs to take stock of the role that he plays in our nation, and move beyond himself...move way beyond himself...and move to a place where daily he's waking up thinking about what is best for our nation."

White supremacists applaud Trump for his support

Trump-emboldened white supremacists march and kill in Charlottesville, Virginia

This occurs after years of Donald Trump's relentless racism and hate-encouraging tirades against non-whites. This, of course, has emboldened every extremist group in the country to come out of the shadows, perceiving their extremist views to now be mainstream.

Bannon to be banished?

Alienating Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell on Trump

Time for a Mexico lie

"As you know, the border was a tremendous problem and they're close to 80 percent stoppage. Even the president of Mexico called me — they said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they're not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment."

The Mexican Foreign Ministry quickly contradicted the phone call claim: the Ministry issued a statement that said Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto "has not recently spoken to President Donald Trump over the telephone." They also said that the only time that Trump and Nieto spoke recently was at the G20, in Hamburg, Germany.

Trump really felt compelled to invent this? Even press secretary Sarah Sanders undercut Trump by admitting that the phone call didn't happen.

And out goes Anthony Scaramucci

Ivanka Trump today issued a tweet, saying:
"Looking forward to serving alongside John Kelly as we work for the American people."
Everyone pointed out the "alongside". In true nepotism, Trump's relatives report only to Trump.

Trump lies about a call from the Boy Scouts

Now to a second Chief of Staff

Tillerson out of patience with Trump sabotaging the State Department

Manafort retroactively registers with Justice Dept. as foreign agent

The FBI raids Paul Manafort's home

Delivers a politicized speech to the Boy Scouts — and gets booed

Manafort was in debt to Russian oligarchs

His son having admitted collusion, Trump now tries to portray collusion as normal behavior

Trump's approval rating plummets

The Donald Jr. collusion scandal: let's blame someone else

Appearing on Meet The Press, Sekulow repeated what he said earlier on CNN and ABC's Good Morning America about the notorious response that was written on Air Force One as it was returning from the G-20 meeting regarding the substance of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting that Donald Trump Jr eagerly attended, where the New York Times reported that Donald Trump himself dictated that the meeting was merely about adoptions. Sekulow repeats that the president was not involved in drafting Donald Trump Jr.'s initial response to the Times:
"I do want to be clear that the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. It came from Donald Trump Jr. So that's what I can tell you because that's what we know."
This statement would later (in a Januray 29, 2018 disclosure by Trump's then lawyers) be revealed to be a lie: Donald Trump dictated what Jr's response would be, and all parties colluded in the lie.

The petulant juvenile in the White House

This is far from the comportment one should expect of the president of the United States. This is not even adult behavior. What we're seeing is severely arrested development of a child in a man's body, acting out long-seated aggressions toward females in particular. The early Donald Trump seems to have found girls to be convenient victims for some still-unresolved anger issues. Even those who remain among Trump supporters should be repulsed: they voted for him to go to Washington to enact legislative improvements. Instead, he's spending his time sitting in front of a television, trawling for ego-gratifying reporting on his barely-functioning administration, lashing out against those who do not support the fiction of his presidency being grand and glorious. Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be completely unfit for the office of President, let alone any public office.

You need to be in the upper .001% to qualify in Trump's world

In playing to ignorance, Trump also touted: "The time has come for new immigration rules that say ... those seeking immigration into our country must be able to support themselves financially and should not use welfare for a period of at least five years." This plays to the sentiments in his base, but the reality is that such legislation was passed many years ago, during Bill Clinton's presidency, in the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," which states immigrants are "not eligible for any federal means-tested public benefit" for five years beginning when they come into the country.

Trump's lawyer is as incomprehensible and confused as he is

The buck stops somewhere else — again

The bizarre "kiss Trump's ring" cabinet meeting

This is the President who on June 9th said of Jim Comey, "I hardly know the man, I'm not going to say 'I want you to pledge allegiance.'" And yet here we have this en masse loyalty pledge spectacle from people who are very unlikely to have been invited to a private White House dinner with the President. These people are going to have to now live with having debased themselves like this. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made a terrific parody video of that spectacle; and appearing on Chris Matthews' Hardball show, Senator Al Franken launched into a delightful "blessed" and "bless you" exchange with his host.

Lindsey Graham advised Trump to knock off the tweeting

Trump hits back against Comey

Fired FBI director James Comey testifies in Senate hearings

I only care if I'm exonerated

Almost comically, Trump's lawyer boxed himself into a logistical corner, in deciding that Comey's statement on Trump not being personally under investigation was true, while at the same time declaring the rest of the seven-page document to be bogus. This is self-destructive selectivity, as any lawyer should recognize. Logically, if one is purporting through supposition that the majority of content is incorrect, then how can one claim that any one aspect of the document is correct? So, who is this Marc Kasowitz? He is a New York attorney, working in corporate law and real estate, who has sporadically handled Trump cases over several decades. His profile on the Kasowitz Benson Torres law firm website describes him as an "uberlitigator" and "the toughest of the tough guys" Trump likes him, perceiving him as "loyal", in aggressively working to fend off those who sued Trump over the years. This may be another of Trump's failures in strategy. It's utterly obvious that a Special Counsel will doggedly pursue everything he finds as part of his investigation, with the great likelihood, given precedence, that criminal indictments will be among the outcomes. Trump should have chosen a lawyer experienced in criminal law, not real estate. Former White House lawyer John Dean was openly contemptuous of Kasowitz and his statements in this matter, saying "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

No lie is too big

Not "planet first"

Even North Korea came to the defense of the planet that Trump was abandoning, calling Trump's proclamation a "shortsighted and silly decision." North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called global warming "one of the gravest challenges humankind is facing today." Further: "This is the height of egotism and moral vacuum seeking only their own well-being at the cost of the entire planet. Whoever chooses to blindly follow the Trump administration overpowered by its bravado should be fully aware that the judgment of history shall take them all as one."

Why is Trump doing this? It isn't about jobs for the little people, as he would have people believe. It is because Obama's fingerprints are on the Paris accords. Trump has been conducting a vendetta against Obama for years: Trump has demonstrated that he is intent on destroying anything that Obama put into place as president.

"I know words" like "covfefe"

Bring in the henchmen

McMaster demonstrates Trump loyalty over country

Embarrassing the United States in the NATO ministers meetings

It was reported that NATO ministers were told to keep their speeches short, to accommodate Trump's short attention span.

It was later learned that Trump's national security team had drafted Trump's NATO speech to include: "We face many threats, but I stand here before you with a clear message: the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance and to Article 5 is unwavering". US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson worked with Trump on the speech for weeks and pushed hard for the Article 5 language to be included. Instead, Trump omitted it. Vladimir Putin had to be ecstatic, as his puppet did exactly what he wanted, to weaken the NATO that Putin so hates.

After Trump's lack of commitment (and his several past disparaging remarks about NATO), German chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech, "We Europeans have our fate in our own hands. He has presented his positions once more. They have been known for a while. My positions are also known."

In Saudi Arabia, spewing more misinformation

In Saudi Arabia, spewing more misinformation

More disturbing in that speech: Trump abandoned the prevailing U.S. stance of pushing for human rights. Trump said:
"America is a sovereign nation and our first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens. We are not here to lecture — we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship."
This was Trump's America telling the world that we no longer care what any country does, within its borders or beyond them.

O, poor me

Corker: The White House is in a downward spiral

Shared classified information with Russians, in the White House

White House recordings?

The revealing NBC interview with Lester Holt

Sarah Sanders fabricates "information" in a press briefing

Sanders would later testify under oath in the Mueller investigation that she simply made all this up. It was just another in an endless parade of lies from the lying White house. Putting forth crap like this to the nation's press pool demonstrates that it is Trump's administration that is the source of "fake news".

Comrade Trump

Trump banned U.S. reporters from the White House during this meeting — but not Lavrov's photographer (Alexandr Scherbak) — who turned out to be a "double agent", being both a photographer as well as a TASS employee. Moreover, the White House would not release any photographs of the meeting, but TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency, did publish photos, which showed Trump chumming it up with the Russians as though they were long-separated friends — an image which disgusted the intelligence community.

The White House was furious that the photos were released: "They tricked us," an angry White House official said. As Mother Jones reported, Trump (a) didn't know that TASS is a news agency, (b) didn't realize that letting a TASS photographer (with all his electronic equipment) into the Oval Office might not be a great idea from a security point of view, and (c) didn't realize that publishing pictures of this meeting was the whole point Vladimir Putin had asked for it in the first place. As Hillary Clinton pointedly said during the campaign debates, Trump would be a puppet of Putin, and in this play he establishes photographic evidence of that. Putin must be laughing uproariously at how easy it was to play this fool.

FBI Director James Comey is (indirectly) fired by Trump

The planet's environment doesn't matter — only profits matter

Trump tells NRA "I will never ever let you down"

The Trump administration's indifference to Flynn's foreign ties is highlighted in congressional investigations

Remember Trump's campaign promise to reduce taxes? No surprise: it's for corporations, and you will be paying for that

Beyond the points of the tax proposal, there are major problems and issues here. First, this is not a plan: as one analyst put it, this is absurdly incomplete — something that may as well have been just written on a napkin. As his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in response to reporter questions, that no details have yet been prepared. Really. Trump has had about a year to prepare when he was campaigning, to formulate an actual plan, plus almost 100 days in office. Apparently, he's been too preoccupied with tweeting and insulting people and entertaining at Mar-a-Lago to put together even the most basic beginnings of a plan. Another major problem, extending from lack of a plan, is the complete absence of any review of what this will do to the budget and the overall funding of the government. Trump's people are pushing this saying that any shortfall in tax revenues will be offset by the enormous economic growth that this will create. Really? This sounds so very much like the empty hope in every ill-conceived and ill-conducted project that as things are about to become grim, a miracle will occur. The expectation that corporate tax reduction will spur things ignores the huge reality example of Europe, where corporate tax levels have a long history of being where Trump wants to put the U.S. corporate tax rate, and despite that, the ecomony in Europe has been flat. Trump also seeks to keep people wholly distracted from the reality that they aren't boosting the economy by spending because their real wages have been either stagnant of shrinking over decades, the cause of that being institutional disparities in income between workers and corporate leadership, where top management makes an obscene amount of money (at the expense of those under them) and gets a golden parachute when they leave — regardless how poor their performance may have been.

In summary, the Trump tax plan is designed to make the rich richer, as usual at the expense of everyone else. This is Trump using his position to further increase his already obscene wealth. You can see that being in a position to render the tax code advantageous to himself may have been Trump's primary (or even sole) reason for becoming president.

Also: This afternoon, Trump had all 100 U.S. senators pack onto buses, like a school field trip, to go to the White House for a briefing on North Korea. Beyond this being a huge jeopardy exposure, the senators reported that this was simply a waste of time, as the information presented was nothing more than what all of us see in media reports. This was just a stunt by the Trump administration, desperate to show something being accomplished in the first hundred days.

Bragging of getting better ratings than when 2,753 people were killed

This is as unbelievable as it is grotesque. How deplorable can Trump get? How insensitive? On September 11, 2001 thousands of people were burned alive or crushed to death in a horrendous terrorist attack in New York City, and Trump uses this as a yardstick for egotistical self-promotion. A person who stands on tragedy to elevate himself is less than human.

Ivanka hissed and booed in Germany as she claims her father champions women

Trump's first 100 days: little to show for it

Unbridled self-promotion, based upon fiction

North Korea and Trump's wrong-way "armada"

Retaliate against the chemical weapons attack, but without policies

The biggest problem is that this action was only that — an action. There was no strategy or policy behind it — something abundantly apparent to world leaders. Another obvious problem is that the action is completely contrary to Trump's numerous past statements about the need to stay away from the Syrian situation, as well as the very recent statement of his secretary of state Rex Tillerson who on March 30 said: "I think the longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people." Trump's action seems to have been about image preservation, in avoiding negative reactions in doing nothing in the face of that atrocity. The long-term reality is that countless children, women, and men have been slaughtered by Assad's barrel bombings of residential neighborhoods over a period of years, and this is hardly Assad's first use of chemical weapons on civilians. There was no outrage or even concern from Trump then: just stay out of it.

Trump's first real challenge, a chemical weapons attack in Syria. The response: blame Obama

Perpetuating the lie of the non-existent Obama wiretap

Pieces fall into place: The likely engineering behind the Nunes performance

On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in a Fox News interview Wednesday with Tucker Carlson, Trump responded to the wiretap controversy by spontaneously offering: "I think you're going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks."
Ding, ding, ding!
Trump had obviously been eager to find or manufacture some evidence — any evidence — to support his baseless criminal accusation that Barack Obama had wiretapped him in Trump Tower. Of course, Trump had nothing at the time, but he needed to come up with either something substantive, after the fact, or at least one of his traditional distractions. What to do? Hmmmm... Bannon had just recently invited himself onto the National Security Council, giving him access to an abundance of classified material. I can see Trump and Bannon having a discussion on sifting through that stuff to see if anything could be found that would at least give the impression of Trump people being surveilled. That would likely take some time and effort; so assign it to a couple of White House underlings with NSC responsibilities. Now, to make this work, we have to have someone with gravitas pretend to have gotten this material elsewhere and make a public display of discovery, to help support Trump's surveillance accusations. Who can we get? Hey, Devin Nunes was on our transition team, and now he's the head honcho on the House Intelligence Committee. Perfect! Let's fill him in on what to do so he will be ready to go once we have some material. On Monday, March 20, FBI directory Comey announces that the FBI is investigating possible collusion between members of Trump's campaign and Russian officials: the need to get the engineered distraction out there is more urgent now. Tuesday, March 21, evening: The material is ready; call Nunes on his cell phone. Nunes, traveling with a staffer via Uber, receives the call and abruptly switches cars and heads to the White House, alone, and picks up the material from White House staffers.

It seems apparent that the plot was underway on March 15 and that Trump was so pleased with the scheme that he couldn't help himself in blurting out his teaser of what was coming.

The plot thickens in the Nunes farce, and FBI bringing reality to bear

Former FBI special agent Clint Watts went before the Senate Intelligence Committee in an open hearing, providing a serious grounding in reality, explaining what the Russians have been doing and continue to do in Putin's campaign to destroy democracies, particularly those in NATO. The Russian government contracts large number of Internet miscreants who pump out false stories, and in particular push conspiracy theories out when they know that Trump is online. Mr. Watts emphasized that Donald Trump has been complicit with the Russians in adopting and promulgating the truly fake news, as widely seen during his campaign when he repeatedly said the election was rigged — which came directly from Russian propaganda outlets Sputnik, RT, and others. "He's made claims of voter fraud, that President Obama's not a citizen and, you know, Congressman (Ted) Cruz is not a citizen," Watts said. Hillary Clinton was prescient about this during the campaign: After Trump attacked Clinton during the third and final presidential debate, saying Putin had "no respect" for her or President Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee shot back, "Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States."

To add to the drama in Washington, Michael Flynn today had his lawyers send to the House Intelligence Committe, the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the FBI a letter in which he says that he is willing to be interviewed about the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia in return for immunity from prosecution. The letter further says: "General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it."

Nunes' act is exposed

Nunes puts on a show

Nunes' night of sleuthing

Trump can't resist taking a tweet shot at Germany after Angela Merkel's visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the White House, and Trump is an embarrassment

Trump fires U.S. Attorney Another Preet Bharara

Another day, another malicious, false attack on Obama

122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!

Trump isolating himself, and Ben Carson's idea of "immigrants"

Over at Housing and Urban Development, Trump's dubious choice to run that agency gave a speech before assembled agency workers, with this: "That's what America is about. A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they, too, had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land." What? Immigrants? Dream? It's well known that what those Africans went through was a nightmare: there was no dream associated with being ripped from their homeland to be sent across an ocean to destination unknown, in chains, at risk of being thrown overboard to become shark food if they became sick. Carson is the person who believes that the pyramids of Giza were constructed as grain silos.

The White House staff, supporting Trump's unsubstantiated wiretap accusation with further nonsense

Making things worse for himself, the president demanded a congressional inquiry into whether Mr. Obama had abused the power of federal law enforcement agencies before the 2016 presidential election. In a statement from his spokesman, Mr. Trump called "reports" about the wiretapping "very troubling" and said that Congress should examine them as part of its investigations into Russia's meddling in the election. Why ask ask Congress to investigate? Why not simply call your FBI director? Two reasons: first, that knowledgeable grownup would completely deflate the accusations by declaring that no wiretap order exists; and second, that the congressional committes are headed by compliant Republicans. Trump doesn't seem to realize that he is effectively asking Congress to investigate Trump — which would expose his habit of fabricating "facts".

Trump's latest conspiracy theory: Obama wiretapped him

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!

I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to the Election!

How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you.

I will say that the part of the national security apparatus that I oversaw — the DNI — there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president, the president-elect at that time, or as a candidate, or against his campaign.

This was another example of Trump flying off the handle and not thinking, because it just invites further scrutiny of his people's activities during the campaign and prolongs the Russia connection investigation, which he very obviously wanted suppressed, rather than shine more light in that area. It was also the case that Trump spewed this without any communication with his staff, who were caught completely off guard, having no idea where any of this came from. (There was zero communication from White House staff on Saturday, indicative of them trying to figure out how they were supposed to handle Trump's latest flareup.) Frankly, all this makes Trump look crazier than ever, completely negating whatever good graces he earned from Tuesday's congressional address. When other world leaders meet with Trump in the future, are they going to think they are dealing with a fool...someone manifestly unqualified to be the leader of a nation?

The New York Times is reporting that F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, on Saturday asked the Justice Department to publicly repudiate President Trump's assertion that President Barack Obama ordered the tapping of Mr. Trump's phones. Mr. Comey has argued that the highly charged claim is false and must be corrected. The FBI has not, as yet, made a public statement on this. If corroborated, this would be a remarkable case of an agency having to rebuke an irresponsible President, where the agency is effectively having to do babysitting. Everyone in Washington is fed up with Trump and his White House circus. Note further that the FBI keeps its own records about wiretapping, and so such an action on the part of the FBI would cement that Trump's charges are blatantly false, and that his choice for information sources reveals a person who has no sense of responsible behavior. "Make America great again"??? This is Trump flushing America down the toilet, impuning the highly respected former president Barack Obama as a felon. Highly ironically, this all sounds familiar because these are Putin tactics, to falsely accuse, to lash out at opponents, and to discredit the media. Trump doesn't even perceive that he is reinforcing the narrative that he is in league with the Russian leadership.

Trump goes ballistic over the Sessions recusal

Doing the NRA's bidding: everyone should have guns, even if mentally unstable

The address to Congress

Gosh, health care is complicated

Making clear what he thinks of immigrants

Admiral McRaven takes on Trump

The task of explaining Trump's statements to our allies

The problem is the leakers?

For self-puffery, I'll make an election claim which has no basis

The internationally embarrassing solo press conference

In the conference, BBC reporter Jon Sopel got his turn, and encounterd this exchange:
Trump: Where are you from?
Sopel: BBC.
Trump: Here's another beauty.
Besides demonstrating immaturity and being unpresidential, it suggests that Trump has already been compiling an enemies list, a la Richard Nixon.

Trump also says: "I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does."

Winging foreign diplomacy

The problem is the leakers?

So why all the leaks, anyway? Insiders have revealed that they are engaging in leaking as a means of communicating with Trump. Trump maintains an authoritarian tyranny within the White House where dissent is not tolerated: disagree with him and you won't be there anymore. Frustrated staff members have simply found that leaking is the only means of communication they have to influence the administration.

What frightening creatures inhabit this administration

If you haven't seen Miller speaking, you need to watch a video: this guy is scary. He immediately makes me think of one of Hitler's ministers. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Sunday tweeted: "The incompetence on the NSC release and Miller's refusal to get interagency sign off on the refugee order are fireable offenses." On Monday on his show, Scarborough said: "You've got a very young person in the White House on a power trip thinking that you can just write executive orders and tell all of your cabinet agencies to go to hell." No one of this demeanor should be in any position influencing the policies of this great democracy. Miller's presence in his position speaks volumes on the attitudes and goals of this administration.

A president shills for his daughter's private business

Portraying protests as ingenuine

Defending Putin

Seeing this, Retired General Barry McCaffrey said in response:
"I'm actually incredulous that the president would make a statement like that. One could argue that's the most anti-American statement ever made by the president of the United States. To confuse American values with Putin, who's running a criminal oligarchy, who kills people abroad and at home, who imprisons journalists and takes away business property, who shares it with his former KGB agents, who invades and seizes Crimea and eastern Ukraine. This is an astonishing state of affairs."

The response from Republican leadership: none.

"Bowling Green Massacre" — the lies and manufactured "facts" continue

Demanding loyalty of the FBI Director

Who will pay for The Wall? The people who pay for everything: the American middle class

Trump universe perversity: that there exist "alternative facts"

Trump likens U.S. intelligence agencies to Nazis

Trump again denies involvement with Russia

Russians visit Michael Cohen at his office in Trump Tower

The intelligence community reports that Russia interfered in the election, to benefit Trump

Despite this report and a briefing from the intelligence agencies, Trump reacted to this with a statement dismissing foreign interference as having "absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election". Obviously, Trump's ego cannot allow him to admit that his election win could be due to anything other than his popularity.

Trump is indeed capitalizing on the presidency

Trump's not the only administration official buddy-buddy with Russia

It was subsequently revealed that Trump knew about Flynn's deception for some 11 days and kept that information from vice president Pence during that time, allowing Pence to continue believing that all was well, and continue to feed what was false information to the nation and the world. (Kellyanne Conway was sent out on Moday, February 13 to go before the press to say that the president had complete confidence in Flynn, while at almost the same time press secretary Sean Spicer was contradicting that, telling the press that the president was "evaluating the situation". This is disarray.) On Friday, February 10, during a flight to Florida on Air Force One, the press asked Trump about this story and he claimed he knew nothing about it, and saying "I'll look into it." Wait a minute — since when does Donald Trump congenially take direction from "the lying press"? This really smells. It tells us that he was well aware of it, and was feigning ignorance.

Why would Trump do this? Clearly, Trump hoped that the situation would go away and would not have to address a mess that would reflect poorly on Trump's judgement in selecting people to fill the most important positions in government. The press did what the press does best: investigative reporting. When the press exposed the reality, Trump could no longer maintain the pretense, and had to face dealing with the mess.

We're just a few weeks into this administration and already they have driven themselves into a quagmire through arrogance, lies, denial, and incompetence. Further, we see no indication that they inclined to steer in any other direction.

The real issue in the Flynn situation is not Flynn himself, but rather the lingering 800 pound issue of what's going on in the apparently concealed relationship between Trump and the Russian leadership. There are transcripts of Flynn's communications with Russian officials. Beyond that, intelligence agencies have likely accumulated considerable evidence of what has been going on. Eventually this has to come out: it can't simply be ignored, and shouldn't be. The more interesting thing is that Flynn was a deep insider, with abundant knowledge of exactly what went on inside the Trump team: with increasing pressure on Flynn to come, that wealth of information could be divulged to investigators.

So, how did Flynn get into the White House? He was hired by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who ignored red flags and warnings from top officials concerning Flynn, and pushed to get him into office to reward his loyalty to the president, as Newsweek reported. The couple had excessive influence over whom the Trump administration brought in: they encouraged President Donald Trump to hire and fire as they see fit. While coordinating a transition team for the Trump administration last fall, Ivanka praised Flynn's "amazing loyalty to my father," after inviting Flynn and General Keith Kellogg to the meeting without notifying Chris Christie, the former chair of the transition team. According to a New Yorker report, Ivanka asked Flynn: "General, what job do you want?" A participant at the meeting reportedly said, "It was like Princess Ivanka had laid the sword on Flynn's shoulders and said, 'Rise and go forth.'"

One of Trump's loonies follows up on a fake conspiracy with an assault rifle, following lies by Flynn's son

Perpetuating the myth that huge numbers voted illegally

How Zuckerberg's naivite contributed to what we got for a president

Trump starts out with a presidential pledge that means nothing to him

Baseless promises of preserving jobs

Nondisclosure agreement with "Stormy Daniels"

FBI directory James Comey sabotages the Clinton campaign

Trump denies Russia involvement

Threatening to sue the accusers to silence them

I'll say things, then I'll contradict them

I will childishly not accept election defeat

Trump's Wikileaks association

Admission of invading the privacy of pagent contestants

17 U.S. intelligence agencies say that Russia interfered in the election

"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow — the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."

Trump forced to apologize — sort of

Trump on people pleading the 5th amendment

Omarosa's current idolization of Trump

Trump finally lays off the birther crap

Trump's outlook for civility and respect

Trump cowers before the Mexican president

Inciting gun violence against Hillary Clinton

Trump also pledged: "In my Administration, I am going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law."
This, from a virtual dictator who would later behave as though he is above the law — and share classified information with the Russians.

Inciting gun violence against Hillary Clinton

I assure you I won't have time for golf if I'm president

I look to Russia's intelligence agencies, not ours

No collusion with Russia? This was indeed Russia communicating with Russia. The 2019 Mueller report made this clear:
"Within approximately five hours of Trump's statement, GRU officers targeted for the first time Clinton's personal office. After candidate Trump's remarks, Unit 26165 created and sent malicious links targeting 15 email accounts at the domain [redacted] including an email account account belonging to Clinton aide [redacted.] The investigation did not find evidence of earlier attempts to compromise email accounts hosted on this domain."

I look to Russia's intelligence agencies, not ours

Flynn addresses the RNC mob

Interview with Trump's assistant Barbara Res

Interview with Trump's assistant Barbara Res

The notorious Trump Tower meeting with Russians, to seek "dirt" on Hillary Clinton

When the existence of the meeting became known to reporters, Donald Trump Jr. on July 8 initially told the press that the meeting was held to discuss adoptions of Russian children by Americans. (Sure, just the type of meeting that Paul Manafort would attend as campaign director.) It would subsequently be learned that this fallacious statement had been concocted by Donald Trump and his people aboard Air Force One on the way back from the G20 Summit in Germany, where Donald Trump then approved the draft for its release. Trump's advisors opposed the release of this false information, knowing that it would eventually be exposed as a lie. On July 14, 2017 Trump defended his son conducting that meeting, which Trump considered "campaign research", saying: "I think from a practical standpoint most people would have taken that meeting." (despite it being manifestly illegal). On June 2, 2018 Trump's then lawyers issued a statement finally admitting that Donald Trump had dictated the July 8, 2016 statement. (The White House legal team had known for weeks about the emails leading up to the meeting and yet had issued statements then saying that the meeting was about adoptions. White House lawyer Jay Sekelov took to blaming the Secret Service for "letting" Russians get to Trump Jr., when the reality was that Jr. was not yet under Secret Service protection.)

A mysterious announcement of a coming reveal

My African-American

I love debt

Ted Cruz expresses what he thinks of Donald Trump

Who needs experts?

Denigrating NATO

Trump stoops to insulting Ted Cruz's wife

All I know is what's on the Internet

Promoting hurting people

What Scott Pruit really thinks of Donald Trump

Let's assault people

Trump brags about what he can get away with

Mick Mulvaney calls Trump "a terrible human being"

I know the best words

Promoting violence

Global warming is not worth worrying about

Contriving lies about Muslims

No low too low for Trump to stoop.

Contriving lies about Muslims

Amateur militarist

The myth of self-made Trump

Trump criticizes Obama playing golf

Trump criticizes Obama playing golf

Claiming affinity with the Bible, but knowing nothing about what's in it

In other words, Trump has no familiarity with the Bible. This is yet another book he has not read. Trump defines himself as a male version of Sarah Palin, professing a lot but knowing very little.

Mick Mulvaney slams Trump's Mexican border wall

How much of Trump's money comes from the police state of Saudi Arabia

Trump disparage's John McCain's military service

"He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."
Piloting an A4 Skyhawk on a bombing raid into North Vietname, McCain's plane was hit by a missile which took a wing off. In a rough ejection from the spiraling aircraft, he sustained two broken arms and a broken leg. Captured and beaten, he was imprisoned and badly treated. He didn't receive proper medical attention for his injuries until his captors realized the military family he was from. He spent five years as a PoW.
Trump's military service? None. Avoided. Bravery? Trump would never hesitate to roundly criticize anyone where he could do so from a safe distance.

Jared's father goes to jail

What Trump himself would become

Oh, sure, I'll release my tax returns (years of excuses for not doing so)

One of many beliefs that Trump would later self-contradict

Global warming is not just a hoax, but a Chinese plot

Trump criticizes Obama campaigning after hurricane Sandy

Trump's obsession with Obama's birth certificate begins

Trump's crusade against Obama gets more fuel

Trump begins his birther crusade against Obama

This was back when Trump began his 5 year racist campaign against Barack Obama, claiming that Obama was not born in the U.S. He claimed to have "investigators" in Hawaii pursuing this:
"I'm starting to think he wasn't born in this country... Three weeks ago, I thought he was born in this country. Now I've got real doubts. I have people that actually have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they're finding."
When ABC News' George Stephanopoulos asked him about the supposed investigators later that month, Trump refused to say what they had found: "It's none of your business right now. We are going to see what happens." CNN's Anderson Cooper also confronted Trump about the investigation that month: "Can you name even one person who your investigators have talked to?" "I don’t want to do that right now," Trump said. "It's not appropriate right now."
Trump would go on with this neurotic, racist pursuit for five years. There was never any substantiation presented for any of his claims, nor any evidence that he ever had investigators on this.

Approach life with belligerance and retribution

Trump says straight out that he's very knowledgeable about campaign finance laws

The casino initiative, only as a scheme to make Trump richer

Apropos: Nixon and a president being above the law

Nixon later thought better of what he had said, and in a written statement clarified: "First, I do not believe and would not argue that a President is above the law. Of course he is not. The question is what is the law and how is it to be applied with respect to the President in fulfilling the duties of his office."

They don't look like Indians to me

The president cannot pardon himself

Trump's affinity to Nixon

The opinions put forth on this page are solely those of the author.