Friday Talking Points [472] -- Infrastructure Week!
Before we get to all the rest of the news, here's an interesting anniversary: it has been exactly one year since Trump's last solo press conference. In all the time he's been president, he has held a grand total of precisely one press conference, a month after he was sworn in. So what is he afraid of?
Of course, Trump has hijacked joint press appearances on two other occasions, turning them into de facto solo pressers. The most memorable was when Trump appeared at Trump Tower to introduce "Infrastructure Week," and instead wound up offering praise for white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Infrastructure Week he tried to have before that one was buried by the news of James Comey testifying on Capitol Hill. So perhaps in the future even the phrase "Infrastructure Week" will become an inside-politics joke, meaning: "a screwed-up, scandal-packed week that was originally supposed to be about something else," who knows? Or maybe it'll just become a new swear word in politics: "Oh yeah? Well infrastructure you, Buddy!"
Here's how HuffPost reported on the week that was:
The rollout of Trump's long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday was quickly overshadowed by furor over spousal abuse allegations that forced the resignation of a senior White House aide, the president's days-long silence on the issue of domestic violence, an admission by Trump's longtime lawyer to paying $130,000 to a porn star, and another horrific mass shooting at a high school in Florida -- the 18th school shooting since the start of the year.
And today, we've also got another indictment from Bob Mueller thrown into the mix. So, in the future, when the White House announces yet another Infrastructure Week, all we can say is: "Buckle up -- it's going to be a wild ride!" Keep your hands inside the car at all times, or else they may get badly infrastructured, kiddies.
Where to begin? White House Chief of Staff John Kelly survived the week, when it was rather doubtful if he would, earlier on. Before we rehash the earlier stuff, though, a remarkable memo from Kelly just leaked, on changes he wants implemented to the whole security clearance process. It had one rather extraordinary item that so far has failed to get the attention it might soon deserve:
Effective one week today [sic], discontinue any Top Secret or SCI-level interim clearances for individuals whose investigations or adjudications have been pending since June 1, 2017 or before.
Assuming there should have been a "from" as the fourth word in that sentence, does this really mean what it says? Because that might affect an awful lot of people. From earlier in the week:
As of November of last year, over 130 political appointees working in the Executive Office of the President did not have permanent security clearances, and 47 of them report directly to President Donald Trump, internal White House documents obtained by NBC News have revealed.
Those in the White House without a permanent security clearance as recently as November include Trump's daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, social media director Dan Scavino and Christopher Liddell, a strategic initiatives assistant. The four have interim clearances for information classified as "top secret" or "TS/SCI" known as top secret compartmentalized information, NBC reported.
Kushner and Trump were kept on interim clearances, despite the fact that others had been granted full security access. It's not currently known if some staffers' clearances have changed since November or if "the delay is the result of a bureaucratic backlog or potential complications in the background of these aides," CNN reported.
As recently as November, 34 government officials who began working on Jan. 20, 2017, Trump's first day in office, still only had interim clearances. Among those included are top staffers like White House Counsel Don McGahn, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah, NBC reported.
Now, that list was from last November, so it's possible some of them have since received permanent security clearances. Still, if nothing's changed, it means that within one week we could see any of the following forced out of the White House: Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Don McGahn, and/or Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Plus 30 others. That's quite a list, so it'll be interesting to see if there really will be an exodus in the next week or not. Kushner, in particular, seems almost as eminently blackmailable as Donald Trump. Maybe President Trump will just ignore the red flags and grant them all permanent clearances anyway (as he is fully allowed to do, to be clear).
While it was little noticed in the flurry of other news this week, one senior Trump advisor already had to quit this week because his security clearance was denied (over past marijuana use). If others will soon be heading for the White House door, it will only add to the incredible amount of employee turnover in Trump's White House so far. We wrote about this earlier in the week, after learning that Trump's rate of churn (34 percent of top staff left in his first year) is far above most recent presidents, and is indeed actually twice the second-highest administration (Ronald Reagan's, 17 percent).
But back to Kelly and the onslaught of revelations from congressional hearings. The head of the F.B.I. testified that their investigation wrapped up a lot earlier than the White House was admitting, putting the lie to pretty much everything Kelly and others had said about Rob Porter's firing. The White House has been writing complete fiction for two weeks, in other words. One might even call it "bull-infrastructure." Things got so bad that Trey Gowdy even announced his committee would be investigating the Porter departure.
Other news from the testimony: President Trump has not once directed any of the heads of any of the federal security agencies to either focus on or disrupt Russia election meddling at all. Trump's not convinced any of it is real, so why should he ask anyone to try to do anything about it?
News from the Mueller investigation: beyond the indictment of Russian hackers and trolls, it is rumored that Rick Gates (who is already under indictment) is close to flipping and cutting a plea deal with Mueller. Also, Steve Bannon spent 20 hours being interviewed by Mueller's team this week.
John Kelly somehow survived the week, as we mentioned earlier, but he has clearly lost the respect of his own staff. The Trump White House reverted to form, which could charitably be described as the worst cliques you ever experienced in high school. Here are just two random quotes on Kelly from his own staff this week:
Kelly is "a big fat liar," said one White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid opinion. "To put it in terms the general would understand, his handling of the Porter scandal amounts to dereliction of duty."
. . .
When asked if Kelly could have been more transparent or truthful, [another White House aide] wrote: "In this White House, it’s simply not in our DNA. Truthful and transparent is great, but we don't even have a coherent strategy to obfuscate."
Ouch.
The upshot of all of this was that Infrastructure Week once again crashed and burned. Trump's budget was pronounced dead on arrival in Congress (by both parties), and his infrastructure plan wasn't even close to what he had promised on the campaign trail. Democrats helpfully pointed out that Trump promised a trillion dollars of spending before getting elected, one-and-a-half trillion just last month in his State Of The Union speech, but only ponied up a paltry $200 billion in his big plan. Elsewhere in the budget, Trump actually cut $240 billion in infrastructure spending, meaning his giant infrastructure plan is actually net negative in infrastructure spending. In other words, he royally infrastructured it up.
In election news, Mitt Romney has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the race to replace retiring Senator Orrin Hatch. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, Senator Bob Corker is apparently rethinking his own announced retirement. Seems the prospect of having Marsha Blackburn be the Republican candidate to replace him might have made him change his mind about running. A Blackburn spokeswoman reacted rather strangely:
Anyone who thinks Marsha Blackburn can't win a general election is just a plain sexist pig.... We aren't worried about these ego-driven, tired old men. Marsha has spent her whole life fighting people who told her she wasn't good enough, and she will do it again.
In Wisconsin, meanwhile, the parents of a Republican running for Senate have maxed out their donations -- to his Democratic opponent. Thanks, Mom-n-Dad!
Donald Trump is reported to have settled on his own strategy for the midterm election season: use "cultural flashpoints" (like kneeling N.F.L. players) to "stir up the base." Hey, it's what he does best, right?
Speaking of stirring up the Republican base, this week the Republicans officially let it be known that they are now the party that isn't just against illegal immigrants, but instead against all immigrants, legal or not. That's a big shift, but it seems to be getting little attention. The Senate voted on three DACA fixes this week, but all of them failed to get the 60 votes needed to proceed. The Trump plan only got a measly 39 votes, while the other two got more than 50 each.
Of course, the biggest story of the week was yet another school shooting massacre, this time in Florida. The best commentary we read pointed out that when data was collected worldwide on violent school deaths between 2000 and 2010, there were 57 such incidents in total. Half -- 28 -- were from the United States. The others came from:
Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Yemen.
All of those countries combined equalled the United States. The United States has 310 million people. The other countries listed are home to 3.8 billion. More perspective: a reporter overheard the following in Beirut: "Things may be crazy over here, but at least we don't have kids walking into schools and shooting other kids." That's a pretty astonishing statement, when you think about it.
President Trump echoed some hollow words about "tackling" the problem of mental health, after which Politico pointed out that Trump's budget request cut over $400 million from school programs -- money used "to prevent bullying or provide mental health assistance." That pretty much sums up Trump's dedication to tackling mental health in any way.
It was somewhat of a quiet week for Democrats, but we've got three who deserved recognition this week. First up, an Honorable Mention goes to Senator Elizabeth Warren, for directly taking on her Native American ancestry issue. She gave a speech about Pocahontas, to a group of Native Americans. That's pretty direct, you've got to admit.
From the story (or if you prefer, you can read the full transcript of her speech):
"Now we have a president who can’t make it through a ceremony honoring Native American war heroes without reducing native history, native culture, native people to the butt of a joke," Warren said Wednesday. "The joke, I guess, is supposed to be on me."
Warren added that she understood why "some people think there's hay to be made" with regards to her background, because she wasn't enrolled in a tribe -- a distinction she said she respected.
"I understand that tribal membership is determined by tribes -- and only by tribes," Warren said. "I never used my family tree to get a break or get ahead. I never used it to advance my career."
. . .
She said her paternal grandparents had been "bitterly opposed" to her parents' relationship because her mother's family was part Native American, though Warren did not provide further details about their background. She said her parents eloped in 1932 and remained married for 63 years.
"They're gone, but the love they shared, the struggles they endured, the family they built and the story they lived will always be a part of me," Warren said. "And no one -- not even the president of the United States -- will ever take that part of me away."
If Warren does decide to run for president, this speech will be remembered for taking the issue on directly. Contrary to right-wing belief, there is absolutely no proof that Warren did in any way use her ancestry to better her career in any way. But with Trump making jokes about it, she had to address it. She did so, in powerful fashion.
We have two Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week awards to hand out this week, the first to yet another success story at the state legislative level. There was a special election for a statehouse seat in Florida this week, and Margaret Good impressively beat her Republican opponent by over seven points -- in yet another district that had voted for Donald Trump. This continues a rather notable streak for Democrats in state-level elections across the country. So far, the scoreboard shows 36 such seats that Democrats have flipped from Republican control, to only 4 seats flipped by the GOP. That's a net 32-seat pickup, and it's not over yet. This continues to bode well for Democrats up and down the ticket in the upcoming midterms. Congratulations to Margaret Good, and we hope there will be many more like her later in the year.
Our second Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award goes to Randy "Iron 'Stache" Bryce, the Democrat running to take on Paul Ryan in his home House district. Bryce is a great guy and a powerful speaker, and his backstory is about as solid as you can get for a Midwestern Democrat. He used to be an ironworker, then a labor leader for the ironworkers (he also sports a mustache, hence the nickname).
We have no idea what Bryce's chances are of defeating Ryan, but we've always been impressed by him (since seeing him speak at last year's Netroots Nation conference). This week, however, Bryce proved he can not only talk the talk but also walk the walk on unionizing:
Several Democratic congressional campaigns have agreed to bargain collectively with the Campaign Workers Guild, a new union trying to organize election campaign staff in what may be a first for national politics.
The CWG announced Monday that it had secured a union contract with the campaign of Wisconsin activist Randy Bryce, the leading Democratic challenger to Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan in this year's midterm elections.
Unionized campaign workers should be championed by all Democrats, so it's refreshing to see a labor candidate lead the way in doing so. Which is why in addition to Margaret Good, Randy Bryce is also a winner of this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award.
[Neither of these candidates is actually in office yet (with a public contact page), and as a rule we do not link to campaign websites, so you'll have to search for contact information for Margaret Good and Randy Bryce on your own, to let them know you appreciate their efforts.]
We did consider giving the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award to the three Democrats who voted against the centrist Senate bill on DACA and immigration. The bill got 54 votes, so it wouldn't have mattered if Kamala Harris, Martin Heinrich, and Tom Udall had voted for it (since it still would have failed to get 60).
They voted rather cynically and politically, waiting until the last minute (to see if the bill was going to get 57 other votes) before voting against it. This suggests that they might have voted for it if theirs had been the crucial votes.
All three portrayed it as a brave stance, but it really wasn't. How brave is it to decide at the last minute, when you obviously could have gone either way? In other words, rather than taking a stand on an issue, they waited to see which way the wind was blowing before doing so -- hardly a profile in courage. If the votes had been there, they would likely have voted for the bill, so their professed principled stand was negotiable up to the last minute, in other words.
But we decided (at the last minute) that this didn't really rise to the level of a MDDOTW award. Since it didn't affect the outcome, it was a meaningless (and rather craven) political stand, but in the grand scheme of things can just be chalked up to playing politics.
This leaves us without a candidate for the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week, so (as always in this case), feel free to nominate anyone who disappointed you this week, in the comments section.
Volume 472 (2/16/18)
Another mixed bag of talking points this week. There are so many scandals flying around it's really hard to even whittle the list down to seven, if truth be told. Three come from the pages of the Washington Post (two excellent talking points, and one that's rather funny), and the rest are homegrown.
The fish rots from the head
It's always fun when you get to use this old cliché in politics....
"It should come as no surprise to anyone that Donald Trump's White House seems to be full of people who can't get the highest security clearances. After all, they're just following Trump's lead. If Trump hadn't been elected president, there's no way he would ever get a White House job because Trump himself couldn't get a security clearance. There are so many wide-ranging issues he could easily be blackmailed for it's almost impossible to keep track of them. How many women has he paid hush money to, after all? That's just to state the most obvious question this particular week. So why should it be surprising that Ivanka and Jared may still only have temporary clearances? After all, they're just following Donald Trump's example. There's an old saying that seems rather appropriate: the fish rots from the head."
In their own words
The stories from the White House over the firing/resignation of Rob Porter were so contradictory that Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank put them all together to show how laughable the chaos had become. His entire article is worth a read (it's a hoot!) but here are his best two paragraphs, all taken from White House officials' statements over the past two weeks:
[Rob] Porter "is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character" and is the victim of "a coordinated smear campaign." As a result, there is "no reason not to believe the women" who accused him, and his "resignation was appropriate."
Resignation "was a personal decision that Rob made and one that he was not pressured to do, but one that he made on his own." Furthermore, "we dismissed that person immediately."
As the Travelgate turns
There's a label all ready to go for this widening scandal, but so far few media outlets have noticed. Technically, you'd have to call it "Travelgate 2.0" or something similar to differentiate it from Bill Clinton's mini-scandal back in the 1990s.
"It seems every time you turn around there's another Trump cabinet member or high-ranking official who has a vastly overrated sense of their own importance. When traveling around, these primadonnas insist on first-class tickets, private charter jets, or even military transport because they deem themselves so important and so threatened that flying coach is simply out of the question. This week, it was the head of the Veterans Administration and Scott Pruitt of the Environmental Protection Agency who were exposed for racking up luxury travel on the public dime, for no real reason. These revelations follow a long list of other Trump officials who felt exactly the same. It's like every week brings a new episode of As The Travelgate Turns or something."
Bimbo eruptions!
Another throwback to a different Clinton term also seems appropriate this week.
"Donald Trump seems to be going through a long-delayed scandal over hush money he paid to his various mistresses so they wouldn't talk during the election season. This week it was revealed by a Trump lawyer that porn star Stormy Daniels was indeed paid $130,000 in hush money. The statement was very closely parsed, and seemed to say that Trump didn't foot the bill. However, upon close examination, the lawyer only said that the Trump campaign and the Trump organization never reimbursed him -- notably leaving out 'Donald Trump himself' from the list. Now Daniels has stated that since Trump's lawyer has talked, she is no longer bound by any agreement, so we should be hearing her side of the story any day now. And today it was revealed that there was a Playboy playmate from the same period in Trump's life who was also paid off -- this time by the National Enquirer, so they could effectively bury her story of an affair with Trump. So there's obviously more to come, one way or another. Remember Bill Clinton's 'bimbo eruptions'? That's where Trump now finds himself, it seems."
Democrats on immigration
These next two are also from the Post, both from the "Plum Line" blog written by Greg Sargent. He perfectly summed up what Democrats should be saying about the two parties' stances on immigration so well we decided to just run them without changing a word. Any Democrat running for office just about anywhere could use these talking points to good effect in a stump speech. First, the Democratic position:
Democrats believe the Dreamers have a claim to a place in American life, along with millions of other undocumented immigrants who have not otherwise broken the law and have longtime ties to communities. Democrats want to facilitate their humane integration, rather than ramping up their removal; they favor allowing current legal immigration levels to continue.
Republicans on immigration
Compare that to what Republicans now stand for:
[Donald] Trump and most Republicans don't believe the Dreamers have a claim to a place in American life. They believe that as many undocumented immigrants should be removed from the United States as possible, even if they have otherwise broken no other laws and have longtime ties to communities. They want far fewer legal immigrants to settle here in the future.
Why doesn't Trump pay?
Seriously, he's supposed to be a multibillionaire, right?
"This week, Trump's budget director testified that the military parade that Trump wants to throw for himself would cost the taxpayers between 10 million and 30 million dollars. Of course, sane people would spend that money on actually helping out America's veterans in some way rather than stage a display straight out of North Korea. If Donald Trump is so personally insecure about America's military might that he needs to roll tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue, why doesn't he pony up the money himself? I would have less of a problem with a parade of tanks and missiles if I knew Trump was personally footing the bill. After all, to a billionaire that's not all that much money, right? Maybe Trump could even spend a few extra bucks and hire the North Korean cheerleading squad from the Olympics? That certainly seems like something he'd enjoy, too. After all, if it's good enough for Kim Jong Un, then it's good enough for Donald Trump!"
-- Chris Weigant
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Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
CW: another excellent Friday wrap-up.
I find it interesting that you downplayed the Mueller indictments from today as I had been thinking myself that these were simply setting a predicate for further indictments, rather than a vindication of the Trump organization itself. Laying a foundation, so to speak.
Righties have seized on the phrase "unwitting Americans" as proof that neither Trump nor his associates knowingly aided the Russians, but aside from the clear fact that it doesn't mean that, do Trump supporters really want to hang their hat on the premise that Trump and his supporters were dupes rather than co-conspirators?
Are they insisting then, that they're witless?
I imagine more than a few Dems would agree with that premise.
And interesting sidelight to the indictment is a partial listing of Russian-written 'fake news' poststhat reads like a summary of Michale's pre-election posts. heh
Neither Trump nor Warren has any business involving the genuine Indian princess Pocahontas in the debate over the legitimacy of Warren's Indian ancestry claims.
The only Indian princess in this story would have to be "Fauxcahontas". Warren has not the slightest demonstrable justification for claiming to be part Cherokee.
And she definitely DID trade on the lie to further her professional career, by allowing Harvard to use her as an example of their compliance with minority employment goals established by the gov't.
And if I might be allowed an "off topic" quickie here, I've heard that hospitals all up and down the two coasts are calling in extra emergency-room help to cope with the anticipated stampede of liberals seeking help for treating all their bleeding wrists, self-slashed over the release of the Mueller indictments naming just 13 Ruskies for "interfering with the U.S. presidential campaign" (all 13 of whom are no-doubt suffering from uncontrollable spasms of laughter), and not a single Trump campaign person person included.
In the new "Social Media" age, people better get used to the fact of foreign participation in American elections, at least to the extent of 'fake news' blog posts advocating for or against given candidates.
Dems/Libs are outraged to discover that the Russians and the Israelis posted propaganda in favor of Trump or against Hillary, but when all the facts finally come to light, it'll turn out that pretty much the entire rest of the civilized world (and a significant share of the UNcivilized world), were all all posting THEIR 'fake news' FOR Hillary and AGAINST Trump, and there'll never be a single Dem/Lib objection to that!
Dead hippie on a stick, it is going to be a long weekend of a couple of people telling us what is in the indictment as preached by the foxaganda machine.
For those who prefer the unfiltered and total facts of what exactly the indictment contains here it is...the indictment that is.
https://tinyurl.com/y8cubzv9
Given how Muller has been building his case I would say that this opens more doors than closes them.
CW: Assuming there should have been a "from" as the fourth word in that sentence, does this really mean what it says?
Since you asked, upon reading the entire memo, it seems it might not {time will tell} because it reads more like a CMA* more than anything else.
https://tinyurl.com/ya5o2k6k
There's simply no way around the fact that the incoming Trump administration dropped the ball on this issue, and General Kelly, et alia before him, could have saved themselves a hefty chunk of time and a huge amount of embarrassment if they had simply adhered to the relevant sections of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 which sets out in no uncertain terms how security clearances of transitioning administrations are to be handled.
Indeed, the Obama administration submitted 200 likely staff names to the FBI before election day in order to facilitate the process in the event they won the election.
General Kelly's memo seems like a lame attempt to deflect the blame and cover his backside for turning a blind eye to well documented processes that he either overlooked or simply ignored.
________________
* CMA - cover my ass
a significant share of the UNcivilized world..were all posting THEIR 'fake news' FOR Hillary and AGAINST Trump...
Pre-industrial election meddlers? Reminds me of Trump's talking point during the campaign that the DNC could have been hacked by a guy sitting on his bed (self-referencing?).
If this were a detective book puzzle, we'd assemble it this way:
1. Evidence of crime - contained in indictment.
Also public release of hacked materials, and apparent foreknowledge of those releases by Trump associate Roger Stone. Meetings and emails between Trump campaign officials and Russian cutouts. Criminal denial of contacts with Russians by Trump campaign and administration officials, including the National Security Advisor to the President, who has since become a cooperating witness. Public testimony by Facebook and Twitter officials detailing massive media buys and impersonations by Russian cutouts.
2. Smoking gun - financial transactions, communications intercepts, etc., for a start.
3. Whodunit? - under investigation. More singing going on than heard at the last audition for "The Voice", mostly for investigators ears only. There is apparently substantial participation in this effort from US intelligence agencies and the counter intelligence unit of the FBI and by international banks.
Y'know, the book about what's going on right now in the Mueller investigation will be a bestseller, and the movie will be even better.
So far I've got John Voight as Trump, Sofia Vergara as Melania, Sam Elliot as Robert Mueller (they're the same age), Reese Witherspoon as Kellyanne Conway, Daniel Craig as Putin. That's a good start.
And Meryl Streep as Hillary, of course.
C. R. Stucki
2
Quite the contrary, Stucki. Did you even read the indictment? Including the newly unsealed indictments of these Russians and the guilty plea of the American, Bobby Three Sticks now has made public outstanding charges, through either pleas or indictments, against 17 people and 3 organizations... and more to come.
Today's indictments do not address the hacking of accounts of the DNC and others nor does it address those who participated in the June 2016 meeting with multiple Russians in Trump Tower in order to obtain negative information regarding Hillary Clinton. You righties do realize that Trump Jr. confessed to this meeting, right?
It seems the right-wing propaganda machine is cranked up into high gear with their latest propaganda exlaiming that Trump is absolved and the investigation is all but over. Remember when the Nunes memo was the end of the Russia investigation? Seems like only a couple weeks ago... oh, wait! :) *LOL*
THIS JUST IN
Mueller levels new claim of bank fraud against Manafort in new court filing of today's date where prosecutors set forth "additional criminal conduct" against the former Trump campaign chairman.
Sounds to me like Mueller is "turning the screws" and considering holding Manafort in jail instead of allowing him to remain out on house arrest and possibly another indictment coming.
Also sounds like Gates has definitely flipped. Stay tuned. :)
And today, we've also got another indictment from Bob Mueller thrown into the mix.
Yep..
An indictment that EXONERATES Trump and his entire staff from ya'all's bogus collusion accusations..
Just to repeat for the cheap seats..
FACTS from the indictment..
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
Ya'all were WRONG as WRONG could be...
That is the beginning and end of that discussion..
GT,
Given how Muller has been building his case I would say that this opens more doors than closes them.
Except for the fact that the indictment exonerates ALL Americans from the claim of collusion..
CRS,
And if I might be allowed an "off topic" quickie here, I've heard that hospitals all up and down the two coasts are calling in extra emergency-room help to cope with the anticipated stampede of liberals seeking help for treating all their bleeding wrists, self-slashed over the release of the Mueller indictments naming just 13 Ruskies for "interfering with the U.S. presidential campaign" (all 13 of whom are no-doubt suffering from uncontrollable spasms of laughter), and not a single Trump campaign person person included.
heh...
Yea, I imagine there are going to be a LOT of hysterical NeverTrumpers this weekend..
To have such a YUGE buildup of suspense only to have Mueller TOTALLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY deflate the TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! teat that hysterical NeverTrumpers have been sucking on for the last year +...
Well, that's just GOTTA hurt... :D
This leaves us without a candidate for the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week, so (as always in this case), feel free to nominate anyone who disappointed you this week, in the comments section.
How about the entirety of the Democrat Party for putting so much faith in the TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! meme only to have the rug pulled out from under them by Mueller?? :D
All of those countries combined equalled the United States. The United States has 310 million people. The other countries listed are home to 3.8 billion. More perspective: a reporter overheard the following in Beirut: "Things may be crazy over here, but at least we don't have kids walking into schools and shooting other kids." That's a pretty astonishing statement, when you think about it.
Yea, it's pretty astonishing when you consider how many HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS die in the region every year!??
And you HONESTLY think that's comparable to the casualty rate of school shootings???
Gabberflasting...
But, as I have said...
Give me a law that will actually prevent or help prevent Crowd Based Mass Shootings and is permissible under the auspices of the 2nd Amendment and I will join you in moving heaven and earth to make that law happen...
But the ONLY laws that would fit the criteria are laws that converge mental health databases with gun own/carry applications...
But Democrats are too afraid of stigmatizing mental health patients.
Get that??
Democrats are more concerned about FEELINGS than they are about saving lives...
Aww, who am I kidding!?
Democrats are more concerned that their hysterical anti-gun agenda will be rightly thrown onto the trash heap of history and replaced with REAL and COMMON SENSE mental health laws to prevent Crowd Based Mass Shootings...
Except for the fact that the indictment exonerates ALL Americans from the claim of collusion..
Glad to see you have read the indictment. My reading comprehension must be off due to speaking a different language for the past couple of days...
Can you show me the exact verbiage that states ALL Americans did not collude?
Now Michale, do you honestly believe that Mueller is finished? After all, in today's indictment there was no mention of obstruction, lying to Federal authorities, conspiracy, or abetting. Mueller just flipped Rick Gates and had a long heart-to-heart with Bannon. Do you think Mueller thinks that he just vindicated Trump, or that he's just getting started?
I'd hate to see you setting yourself up for disillusionment and anguish later.
Now Michale, do you honestly believe that Mueller is finished?
He is finished with Trump et al as far as Russian Collusion goes...
I'd hate to see you setting yourself up for disillusionment and anguish later.
Of the two of us, which has MORE experience in that regard?? :D
YOU, who was TOTALLY wrong and devastated by the 2016 election and who has been screaming hysterically TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! for the last year +???
Or me, who called BOTH perfectly?? :D
Now, every time ya'all bring up Trump and Russia, all I have to do is point to Mueller's indictment and say
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
Put another way... The Russians were involved in Bernie's campaign as much as it was involved in Trump's campaign..
You lost... It's that simple...
Glad to see you have read the indictment. My reading comprehension must be off due to speaking a different language for the past couple of days...
Can you show me the exact verbiage that states ALL Americans did not collude?
I am going by Rod Rosenstein's press conference and am saying what HE said was in the indictment..
If you have any FACTS from the actual indictment that proves me wrong, by all means.. Let's here them..
But Rod Rosenstein's own statements are good enough for me...
Of course they are not good enough for you because they UTTERLY decimate your case against President Trump..
To recap...
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
"These are the facts of the case. And they are undisputed."
-Captain Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN
If you have any FACTS from the actual indictment that proves me wrong, by all means.. Let's here them..
And HEAR them, even.. :D
You people really need to come to grips with the reality of your position...
Ya'all have invested EVERYTHING in the TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! TRUMP!!! RUSSIA!!! construct and it's been unequivocally torpedoed by Mueller....
Ya'all have LESS credibility now than ya'all had on 9 Nov 2016... Never thought that would be possible..
Maybe it's time to give up and shake off ya'all's HHPTDS and be REAL patriotic Americans again and support your President, eh??
Or...
Ya'all can CONTINUE to embarrass yerselves and hand the GOP a BIGGER majority in November...
"You must choose. But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you."
-Knight, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
Before this indictment, I was hoping Trump would fire Mueller.. There probably would have been a lot of bad fallout, but it would be worth it to see NeverTrumper's heads explode..
But now??
The BEST way to stick it to the hysterical NeverTrumpers is to let Mueller continue because every day that he does, every day that Mueller moves further and further away from Trump, is a dull rusty spoon being twisted deeper and deeper into the psyche of the hysterical NeverTrumpers..
Every single second that Mueller is on the job is another second of reminder for the hysterical NeverTrumpers that:
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
"Revenge is a dish best served cold"
-Klingon Proverb
Before this indictment, I was hoping Trump would fire Mueller.. There probably would have been a lot of bad fallout, but it would be worth it to see NeverTrumper's heads explode..
https://a.disquscdn.com/get?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgranitegrok.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FIMG_1004.jpg&key=er5X4BUmeK21tBDfl2iM0Q&w=800&h=371
:D
Now that Mueller has exonerated President Trump and all of his campaign staff, here's a new product for hysterical NeverTrumpers...
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3c6d81deb2de94f9d679f7ab478eab4aff99c1e65f52dbb3f150a1af8fa52501.jpg
Michale,
It's a weak America that does nothing in the face of what the Russians have done with its election process.
Unbelievable!
It's a weak America that does nothing in the face of what the Russians have done with its election process.
It happened under Obama's watch...
And it's also nothing that hasn't happened in the past...
The *ONLY* reason it's an issue now is because Trump won the election...
Trump won the election and, unlike his predecessor, has done nothing about Russian interference with American democracy and elections.
Actually, Trump has done worse than nothing - he has systematically undermined his own intelligence archipelago.
Why? Because, as with everything else, it's all about Trump.
You, Michale, of all people, should stand against that kind of behavior.
Trump won the election and, unlike his predecessor, has done nothing about Russian interference with American democracy and elections.
Liz, that is just not factually accurate..
It is well documented that Obama knew about the Russian interference and DID NOTHING because he didn't want to mess up Hillary's chances of winning.
This is documented...
Actually, Trump has done worse than nothing - he has systematically undermined his own intelligence archipelago.
Is that the same intelligence archipelago that allowed 17 school kids to be gunned down in cold blood in Parkland, FL??
Is that the same intelligence archipelago that created an "insurance policy" to prevent Trump from being elected???
"NONE of these facts are in dispute, Mr President!!"
-Klingon Ambassador, STAR TREK VI-The Undiscovered Country
[27] Michale
"NONE of these facts are in dispute, Mr President!!"
-Klingon Ambassador, STAR TREK VI-The Undiscovered Country
Yeah, and we ALL know how THAT turned out, don't we? Or don't YOU remember Michale? The Klingon ambassador WAS trying to say that the detonation of the Genesis device was a test explosion by Kirk's son as part of a plot at Kirk's direction to kill off the Klingon empire through genocide and was foiled by Commander Krug and his crew. When in fact the reality was quite different. The Genesis device was stolen by and exploded by Khan, while Krug and his crew were trying to steal it for themselves, and which later lead to a greater conspiracy by elements of Starfleet, the Romulans and the Klingons to sabotage the peace process, and was saved by Kirk and crew whom the Klingon ambassador had labeled as Terrorists and imprisoned in Rura Penthe.
So much for the FACTS NOT being in DISPUTE Mr. President!
Kick [7]
The reason "Today's indictments did not address . . .etc." is what I've been telling you from the beginning, that collusion, getting dirt on you opponent, hacking, meeting with foreigners and all the rest of your list of alleged 'sins' are either not illegal in the first place, or non-prosecutable even when they are illegal.
I'm not quite as close to Russia as Sarah Palin, but I can hear those Russkies laughing at Muellers indictments clear down here.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted foreign citizens for trying to influence the American public about an election because those citizens did not register as a foreign agent nor record their financial expenditures to the Federal Elections Commission. By that theory, when will Mueller indict Christopher Steele, FusionGPS, PerkinsCoie, the DNC and the Clinton Campaign? Mueller’s indictment against 13 Russian trolls claimed their social media political activity was criminal because: they were foreign citizens; they tried to influence an election; and they neither registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act nor reported their funding to the Federal Elections Commission.
https://lawandcrime.com/opinion/does-mueller-indictment-mean-clinton-campaign-can-be-indicted-for-chris-steele/
Kick [8]
Your litany of Manafort' financial sins reads like a scaled-up carbon copy of all the 'no-doc' fraudulent mortgage loans perpetrated on the banks during the housing bubble. Bank frauds are perpetrated every day of the year. The banks that are dumb enough to allow themselves to be victimized lose some money, and the fraudsters often go to jail. If Manafort is guilty, I hope Mueller locks him up. Either way, I couldn't care less, (or as Dems/Libs usually say "I COULD care less".
Now Michale, do you honestly believe that Mueller is finished?
Michale is desperate to convince himself that Mueller is finished.
And CRS seems to think that it is over too and that all the "Lib/Dems" must be distraught.
Reality check:
1. Mueller isn't finished until Mueller (or his replacement) says he is finished.
2. The only potential emergency on the Coasts is a popcorn shortage - we are loving this and laughing our asses off. Not only did the Republican Party elect the most useless man to ever sit in the White House, but now we get to watch as Michale soils his diaper trying to convince himself that everything is OK with his orange king.
Michale [31]:
Are you trying to prove that this statement means that all Americans are innocent?
You do understand simple set theory, right?
Here is a primer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory
most likely scenario based on facts we have thus far: manafort worked on behalf of russia (and was paid) to help subvert the election system. trump and family were unwitting patsies. he's guilty. they're dumb but innocent of wrongdoing.
Now that Mueller has exonerated President Trump and all of his campaign staff
You know how we ask Michale for facts, sources, etc. and he never replies?
Well, just from an entertainment perspective ...
Hey Michale, how about a link to the statement where Mueller said he had exonerated 45 and his gang?
Now that Mueller has exonerated President Trump and all of his campaign staff
I heard that on Fox News they are telling their viewers that if they say it three times, turn around and put their finger on the end of their nose it becomes true.
Probably just as likely to work as posting it on CW I suppose.
well.... innocent of CRIMINAL wrongdoing anyway
JL
45's best defense against collusion charges is incompetence and he has been building that case every day since he got into the White House.
In fact, he might be over doing it.
neilm your [33]
Re "The Republicans elected the most useless man to ever sit in the White House"
WRONG! (Sorry about the caps, still too lazy) The Republicans NOMINATED the most useless man . . ., that's true but the Dems/Libs that couldn't stomach HRC are the ones who ELECTED the "most useless man".
That must be hell to live with, right?
That must be hell to live with, right?
Not really - nothing to do with me - he is your burden. I'm just eating the popcorn and laughing.
You RWNJs have got everything you ever wanted, and your finally seeing what the small print says.*
* Warning: Republican Party runs on feel-good issues and fear but when in power will screw the bottom 95% to reward the 5% and companies that pay them. You will still be expected to support them and their employees at all costs (which you will bear) to ensure the 5% continue to prosper.
Trump's budget cuts Social Security by $72 billion, Medicare by $266 billion, and Medicaid by $1.1 trillion.
Well at least corporations and the very rich are getting their $1.5T - now we can see where it is going to come from if 45 gets his way.
Anybody here counting on SS and Medicare now, or expect to in the future?
The Klingon ambassador WAS trying to say that the detonation of the Genesis device was a test explosion by Kirk's son as part of a plot at Kirk's direction to kill off the Klingon empire through genocide and was foiled by Commander Krug and his crew.
WOW.. Nothing like reading an entirely different scene, eh JM??
"The Chancellor of the High Council is dead - the result of an unprovoked attack while he traveled to see you under a flag of truce on a mission of peace. Captain Kirk was legally arrested for the crime. May I remind you that he and Dr. McCoy boarded Kronos One on their own free will? No of these facts are in dispute, Mr. President."
-Klingon Ambassador
Leave Trek to the Trek experts...
"mmm Kay Pumkin..."
-Will Smith, HITCH
:D
1. Mueller isn't finished until Mueller (or his replacement) says he is finished.
Mueller DID say he was finished..
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
You lose, Neil...
Accept it gracefully...
JOSHUA!!!!!!!!!!!!
most likely scenario based on facts we have thus far: manafort worked on behalf of russia (and was paid) to help subvert the election system. trump and family were unwitting patsies. he's guilty. they're dumb but innocent of wrongdoing.
INNOCENT OF WRONG-DOING
Case closed...
WRONG! (Sorry about the caps, still too lazy) The Republicans NOMINATED the most useless man . . ., that's true but the Dems/Libs that couldn't stomach HRC are the ones who ELECTED the "most useless man".
That must be hell to live with, right?
For them??
Why, yes... Yes it is! :D
[30] C. R. Stucki
"The reason "Today's indictments did not address . . .etc." is what I've been telling you from the beginning, that collusion, getting dirt on you opponent, hacking, meeting with foreigners and all the rest of your list of alleged 'sins' are either not illegal in the first place, or non-prosecutable even when they are illegal."
And what WE having been telling you all along and what you have been IGNORING is that COLLUSION DOESN'T MATTER. Collusion is NOT the reason for the investigation nor will it end up being an INDICTMENT.
HACKING IS A CRIME, and PROSECUTABLE, along with MONEY LAUNDERING, PERJURY, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, LYING TO THE FBI, CONSPIRACY, FRAUD, AND ACCEPTING ANY GRATUITIES FROM A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT, ETC.
The Russians are FURIOUS, NOT LAUGHING. Otherwise Putin would not be trying so hard to get rid of the SANCTIONS.
[43] Michale
"The Chancellor of the High Council is dead - the result of an unprovoked attack while he traveled to see you under a flag of truce on a mission of peace. Captain Kirk was legally arrested for the crime. May I remind you that he and Dr. McCoy boarded Kronos One on their own free will? No of these facts are in dispute, Mr. President."
-Klingon Ambassador
Leave Trek to the Trek experts..."
And YET, none of that changes the FACT that:
1) The Klingons were attacked by other Klingons, not by Kirk and the Federation as the Klingon ambassador had assumed.
2) McCoy had boarded the ship to save the Chancellor, not complete the assassination as the Klingon ambassador had assumed.
Facts may not be in dispute, but like the Klingon ambassador, YOUR assumptions and conclusions regarding them ARE Michale.
https://a.disquscdn.com/get?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi0.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Foriginal%2F001%2F336%2F289%2Ff31.jpg&key=GMvfAv8W3OV4cXBXC8CIyA&w=800&h=360
BWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
That's it in a nutshell!!! :D
Facts may not be in dispute, but like the Klingon ambassador, YOUR assumptions and conclusions regarding them ARE Michale.
I was talking about the scene where the facts were not in dispute..
YOU brought up a different scene as a strawman argument because you can refute the facts of the scene I was talking about..
NOW, if you want to get away from me whacking your pee pee over Trek...
What facts of mine are in dispute and provide facts of your own that prove my facts are in dispute...
The Russians are FURIOUS, NOT LAUGHING.
Now look who is spewing fact-less bullshit.. :D
M-
I am going by Rod Rosenstein's press conference and am saying what HE said was in the indictment.
We are either having a Biden rule moment here or you are going by the press conference as put out by foxiganda.In either case it is abundantly clear you have not read the indictment or watched the press confrence.
Here is the link to the transcript of the press conference. the one for the indictment is in comment 4. Go on find the words that support your alleged FACTS...
The rules are simple you must use the complete sentence you are quoting... So really it is just one rule.
https://tinyurl.com/ya58vhks
Failure to follow the one rule will show that you have only FACTS. In this case.
FACTS= stuff you type faster than you can think.
facts= Reality as supported by the actual words used.
YOU brought up a different scene as a strawman argument because you can refute the facts of the scene I was talking about..
Because you CAN'T refute the facts... Grrrrrr
GT,
"No Allegation in This Indictment That Any American Had Any Knowledge"
FACTS and facts proven...
"any more ball busters??"
-Billy Madison
:D
Fizzbiners indeed.
I do like parallels from Star Trek to define opposing narratives, one learns more about another from their interpretation of fiction, than one ever could of their understanding of reality. If wheeling out quotes from what is universally considered the most tiresome of Trek films isn't in and of itself, tedious... completely missing the theme renders it redundant and vapid. Michale, this behaviour is becoming of people who suppose quotes are more important (and easier to disseminate) than their full understanding. Coincedently, ''memos'' have the same effect on people who cherry-pick snippets to bolster their own narrative.
For instance; Something that stuck in my craw from last week, the parsing of the word ''traitor''...depending on your angle, your use in context and its role within your narrative, it has a few definitions. Trump seems to think it means not standing when he thinks he's said something patriotic, not applauding when he seems to think he's negotiated some deft epiphany or fawning over him after another poorly chosen syllogism (We are American, Americans stand for the anthem, ergo, all Americans must stand for the anthem!) Then, I put my interpretation of ''traitor'' under scrutiny...''18 U.S. Code § 2381 – states that''[w]hoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere” is guilty of treason. Those found guilty of this high crime “shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.'' Curious, isn't it...One simple addition to this tidy passage like, say, ''...or adhere's UNWITTINGLY or otherwise...'' This whole Trump and his motley crew business would be nothing more than a smear on pages of American history by now, were differences of interpretation considered verboten. Interestingly, it's not the first time offence has been taken at the mouth of Trump, his flat out statement about Israel, it's capital and his intention to move the US embassy...according to the man who believes his 48% popular-vote mandate gives him the right to speak for all Americans, if sovereign nations don't agree with American opinion, then they are wrong and subject to derision. Deliciously undemocratic and vain, we all think.
All that aside, one can barely swing a defrocked and shamed Trump White House appointee without hitting a paid-off and quietly swept under the rug Trump mistress these days, let alone focus on what (or simply isn't) going on at The White House. What struck me as being odd, why were people aghast to discover that there were all these sketchy, un-vetted characters lurking the halls of the White House? We assumed that, having embraced chaos, the Trump 'experiment' would extend to not worrying about piffeling security trifles, and the begrudged telling of truth only when found out. "In this White House, it’s simply not in our DNA. Truthful and transparent is great, but we don't even have a coherent strategy to obfuscate." I'm glad these people have retained their sense of humour, it might be all they retain from the 'halcyon' days of their fingers on the pulse of the nation, heady memories of paradigm altering political maneuverings and the collective insouciance generated by their combined effort. I honestly think a saturation point has been achieved, Trump and his antics have reached such breadth that The White House resembles the Satyricon more than it does a place of hard graft and industry, in fact, when one wafts aside the chaff, it becomes apparent that nothing is being done in the way of governing...That gives me comfort, imagine the ''clusterfizzbin'' this rag-tag of feral bureaucrats could unleash given their heads to try.
Keep your wits about you and your towels close, above all else, Don't Panic!
LL&P
Face reality people...
President Trump is free and clear from any accusations of Russian collusion..
President Trump won the election free and clear, fair and square despite ANY covert activities of the Russian government..
These are the FACTS and these are the facts..
Whine and cry and spin and scream at the sky all you want...
That won't change the reality that, once again, ya'all were wrong and I was right.. :D
AGAIN... :D
ICE arrests 212 illegals, targets 122 businesses in LA sweep
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/16/ice-arrests-212-illegals-la-sweep/
ICE is nice.. :D
Sanctuary state my ass!! :D
And for the Democrat Party.....
Democrats struggle with rising popularity of GOP tax law
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-struggle-with-rising-popularity-of-gop-tax-law/article/2649354
The HITS just keep on coming!!! :D
JT Canuck,
Funny how you didn't have a SINGLE problem with all the Clinton mistresses, eh??
Which simply proves that mistresses are not an issue unless the person having them has a -R after his name... :D
Funny how that is, eh? :D
M-
Good you can read... you do understand the very operative words of IN THIS INDICTMENT,right.You as well as foxiganda conveniently forgot to use them first time around.
If you were talking about your assertions being applied to JUST this one indictment you would be correct... but your not so...yada yada yada.
C. R. Stucki
30
The reason "Today's indictments did not address . . .etc." is what I've been telling you from the beginning, that collusion, getting dirt on you opponent, hacking, meeting with foreigners and all the rest of your list of alleged 'sins' are either not illegal in the first place, or non-prosecutable even when they are illegal.
You as well as others living in the alternate universe seem genuinely uninformed... so let me help you.
I know you righties have had it pounded into your head, but the propaganda regarding "collusion" is merely semantics. "Collusion" is simply a synonym for "conspiracy," and you can bet the farm it's a crime.
When Mueller brings additional charges, expect to see individuals charged separately unless they committed crime(s) together.
JM,
If you DO want to talk Trek....
https://disqus.com/home/discussion/channel-scifi/season_one_star_trek_discovery_warning_spoilers_ahead/#comment-3762548241
And I promise you that THERE, discussions are civil... :D
GT,
I took the words and the quotes from your OWN link..
NOW yer whining about that???
Face the facts, dood.. You lost....
Get over it....
TRUMP CAMPAIGN INDICTMENTS
AND/OR GUILTY PLEAS
* George Papadopolous
* Paul Manafort
* Rick Gates
* Michael Flynn
Except NONE of that has ANYTHING to do with President Trump.. :D
You lose..
From GT's link..
"No Allegation in This Indictment That Any American Had Any Knowledge"
You lose.. :D
Kick [61]
You totally overlooked *jaywalking.
You totally overlooked *jaywalking.
I know, right!!??
And don't forget the dreaded *Overdue library book
OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!! :D
Gods, these snowflakes crack me up :D
I know you righties have had it pounded into your head, but the propaganda regarding "collusion" is merely semantics. "Collusion" is simply a synonym for "conspiracy," and you can bet the farm it's a crime.
Then tell me..
Why have the hysterical NeverTrumpers gone on and on and on and on (see where I am going with this??) and on and on about COLLUSION...
If it's about CONSPIRACY what kind of MORON would hysterically double down again and again and again on COLLUSION when you admit it's not even ABOUT collusion??
DUh!!!!
C. R. Stucki
32
Your litany of Manafort' financial sins reads like a scaled-up carbon copy of all the 'no-doc' fraudulent mortgage loans perpetrated on the banks during the housing bubble.
It's Mueller's litany, but yes, it sure does.
If Manafort is guilty, I hope Mueller locks him up.
Then lucky you. I suspect Mueller is turning the screws and Manafort might land in prison sooner versus later... maybe no bail for him after all. Nothing like the prospect of the rest of your life in prison to bring one to one's senses. :)
And yet, it STILL has nothing to do with Trump.. :D
M-
I took the words and the quotes from your OWN link..
Good, now please try to comprehend them. You are the self-proclaimed be all end all LEO expert, I would expect you of all people to understand what using the words IN THIS INDICTMENT mean.
NOW yer whining about that???
I am not the one doing an awesome imitation of a Florida gator doing a death roll in the swamp. I simply asked you to find the words that as you put it in your own wordsPresident Trump is free and clear from any accusations of Russian collusion..
Annd... I am still waiting.
Face the facts, dood.. You lost....
How have I lost? My contention has always been that this indictment does not clear trump and that the investigation is not over and Mueller is not finished.
I have even conceded that if you were talking about THIS INDICTMENT you would be correct. BUT your not and you have failed miserably to find the words that totally "
vindicate trump" and "Mueller DID say he was finished.."
Get over it....
There is nothing for me to get over...I have pointed out the fallacy of your statements and you have failed to provide proper evidence to prove them correct.
If it helps you sleep better I will point out that this indictment also does not implicate trump...
But it does open up some more interesting doors that may or may not lead to trump. I would say that they probably will lead to more people pleading guilty.
Good, now please try to comprehend them.
What part of
"No Allegation in This Indictment That Any American Had Any Knowledge"
is incomprehensible to you???
How have I lost?
You had sooo much invested in Trump being found guilty of collusion and Mueller just exonerated not only President Trump but his entire campaign.. :D
I admire the brave front you are putting up but you and I both know it's a facade...
If it helps you sleep better I will point out that this indictment also does not implicate trump...
Not only does it not implicate President Trump, it EXONERATES President Trump and his entire campaign..
What part of "No Allegation in This Indictment That Any American Had Any Knowledge" is unclear to you???
The Russians targeted Sanders campaign and Clinton's campaign and Rubio's campaign and a host of other..
And ALL the Russians' efforts were for naught because NONE of their efforts had ANY effect on the elections...
These are the facts..
You lost...
Deal with it...
Michale
67
Then tell me..
Why have the hysterical NeverTrumpers gone on and on and on and on (see where I am going with this??) and on and on about COLLUSION...
I was unaware that Donald Trump was a "NeverTrumper." It is, in fact, Donald himself that goes "on and on and on and on and on and on" about collusion preceded by the word "no" because that's how propaganda to the sheeple actually works.
If it's about CONSPIRACY what kind of MORON would hysterically double down again and again and again on COLLUSION when you admit it's not even ABOUT collusion??
The kind of moron like Benedict Donald, but it's merely semantics. "Collusion" is a layman's term or "term of art," while the legal term is "conspiracy."
I suspect that Benedict Donald prefers using a layman's term over and over until it sounds innocent and harmless to the sheep because repeating "no conspiracy... no conspiracy... no conspiracy" just wouldn't quite have the same effect. It's about what you'd expect from a guy with a 4th-grade vocabulary whose geopolitical strategy and foreign policy is: "I'm speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things." :)
I was unaware that Donald Trump was a "NeverTrumper." It is, in fact, Donald himself that goes "on and on and on and on and on and on" about collusion preceded by the word "no" because that's how propaganda to the sheeple actually works.
ANd, of course, you ignore how it's been ya'all that's gone on and on and on about COLLUSION...
Typical...
The kind of moron like Benedict Donald, but it's merely semantics. "Collusion" is a layman's term or "term of art," while the legal term is "conspiracy."
Ahhhh The old I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I rebuttal...
Typical....
Being an economist rather than a lawyer, and without bothering even to consult the old "Webster's New Collegiate", I gotta think 'collusion' and 'conspiracy' are damn near synonymous, right?
Being an economist rather than a lawyer, and without bothering even to consult the old "Webster's New Collegiate", I gotta think 'collusion' and 'conspiracy' are damn near synonymous, right?
Check the ol' "Websters" for the definition of economist, because you are in a state of delusion if you think you are one ;)
Being an economist rather than a lawyer, and without bothering even to consult the old "Webster's New Collegiate", I gotta think 'collusion' and 'conspiracy' are damn near synonymous, right?
They are..
But, when you have just been handed a YUGE defeat and black eye based on COLLUSION, you are DESPERATE for ANY spin that allows you to save some SEMBLANCE of face...
Check the ol' "Websters" for the definition of economist, because you are in a state of delusion if you think you are one ;)
Typical in the People's Republic Of Weigantia...
When confronted with FACTS that are not desirable, ALWAYS respond with personal attacks.. :^/
Neil,
You have been the FBI fan-boi of late..
How do you feel about how their incompetence and their lust for pursuing Trump/Russia collusion allowed 17 kids to be gunned down in cold blood..
Kinda makes you all warm and fuzzy for the FBI, doesn't it... :^/
1.
I think it's equally probable that Blotus himself and/or people close to him were complicit in Russia's election meddling as that he/they were unwitting stooges. I think we will eventually find out as a result of Mueller's investigation.
But that's by no means the end of what will be discovered (and what is being investigated).
Blotus may or may not have been directly involved in Russian election interference but he's most directly involved in failure to enforce Russian sanctions.
And Blotus has been directly involved in attempts to curtail the investigations into Russian meddling.
So the question about whether Blotus is being blackmailed or is simply doing Putin's bidding because he wants to, or for money, remains very much alive. Blotus may/may not have colluded pre-election. He appears to be colluding post-election.
Separately, by indicting Russian operatives first, Mueller puts Blotus and the GOP in the position of having to defend their co-failures to deal with Russian attacks. These indictments, in conjunction with recent testimonies by American intelligence officials warning us about Russian cyber-warfare against us makes it increasingly difficult for Blotus/GOP/RW Propagandists to insist Russia is "innocent" and nothing needs to be done.
Indeed, Blotus' tweets about "see, no collusion!" are tacit admissions that Russia DID interfere. With that admission Blotus now has to do something about it, or defend his failure.
Ditto GOP.
I think it's equally probable that Blotus himself and/or people close to him were complicit in Russia's election meddling as that he/they were unwitting stooges. I think we will eventually find out as a result of Mueller's investigation.
We already have the results of Mueller's investigation...
"No Allegation in This Indictment That Any American Had Any Knowledge"
"NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS..."
You lost...
Get over it already...
neilm [75]
Shoulda said 'Hobby Economist', which I have actually often said, however I do have a degree with an Econ major, which I guarantee you do not.
Indeed, Blotus' tweets about "see, no collusion!" are tacit admissions that Russia DID interfere.
What part of The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY.... is incomprehensible to you???
You lost, Paula.. You put ALL of your eggs in the TRUMP!!!! RUSSIA!!!! COLLUSION!!!! basket and you lost...
Grow up and accept it....
Shoulda said 'Hobby Economist', which I have actually often said, however I do have a degree with an Econ major, which I guarantee you do not.
Oh snap! :D
Paula [79]
At this point, I doubt that anybody would disagree about the Russkies having 'interfered' in the U.S. election, by revealing that HRC and the HRC/DNC stacked the deck against Bernie Sanders in the primaries, which fact nobody even bothered to dispute the veracity of.
That is not the question anymore. The question now is, why does anybody other than HRC and you Dems/Libs nut cases care?
2.
Blotus is an unfit president. He has been all along. Whether he "won" fairly or unfairly, through indirect or direct meddling (such as actively changing vote totals) he remains an unfit president.
Prior to elected office Blotus has engaged in numerous corrupt and illegal activities.
While in office Blotus has violated the Emoluments clause in multiple ways.
He also appears to have shared classified info with various Russians since taking office.
He has surrounded himself with people who can't get security clearance, but he has allowed them access to classified information. (Cue reference to rightwing hysteria over HRC's email server and total lack of concern about Blotus' order-of-magnitude increase in security violations.)
From The Hill today:http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/374356-kushner-requests-more-intel-info-than-almost-all-white-house-staff
President Trump's son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has reportedly requested more intelligence information than almost every other White House official.
Kushner is a very.deep.debt and the speculation is that he may literally be selling information to Russia and/or China.
For reasons as yet unpublished Ivanka can't get security clearance either.
In addition Blotus is an acknowledged liar, to the point people began telling reporters the other day they can't vouch for anything they offer because they don't know if what they're being told internally is true or false. (I posted Maggie Haberman's tweet about that.)
And so on - the list of reasons for why Blotus is unfit for office is too lengthy to note here - and every day new reasons are added.
IOW, the man should be impeached whether he is found to have knowingly colluded with the Russians pre-election, or not.
These 13 indictments, rather than freeing Blotus, will box him in. He is going to be forced to respond to the now-acknowledged reality that Russia has been and is continuing to interfere in our elections. We do not yet know WHY he's trying to end sanctions against Russia but we know he has been. That position will become untenable.
Paula
Really, an "unfit president"?? Whoda ever seen that coming, from a guy who is not just an unfit human being, but a world-class asshole???
And in the final analysis, who is responsible for that? How about the Dems/Libs who nominated the only person in the whole gawdam world who could possibly ever lose to him????
3.
The GOP is ensnared in this mess.
Mueller's 13 indictments disable McConnell/Ryan and other top Repubs' abilities to dismiss Russian meddling, or excuse their failures to protect us from further interference.
Ditto GOP's ability to allow Blotus to not enforce Russian sanctions.
My prediction has been, and remains, that Republicans will support Blotus as long as they can, up til the point where it becomes him or them.
Mueller, by making his first indictments "non-partisan", takes away their ability to scream "witch-hunt" and and thereby dodge having to deal with Russian interference.
The GOP is going to have to act, with or without White House cooperation.
And meanwhile Mueller's team continues onward, looking into what the RNC was doing, looking into all the business connections Blotus and people around him have had with Russia, looking into where all those strands come together.
But now that Mueller has delivered a round of extremely compelling results its going to be even harder to screw with him or threaten his investigation. And anyone doing that is going to be damaged.
Mueller is playing this brilliantly.
We know Obama wanted to go public with info about Russian meddling, but McConnell threatened to turn it into a "partisan" issue if he did.
Apparently FOX Propaganda is now blaming Obama for Russian interference.
I think Obama should call a press conference and get it all out there. Then let McConnell explain himself. I'm for "full-disclosure"!
however I do have a degree with an Econ major, which I guarantee you do not.
I demand to see your transcript!
;)
I do have a degree with an Econ major, which I guarantee you do not.
Based on your statement concerning current economics, you either got your degree many, many decades ago, or you should demand your money back.
Sometimes even simple evidence is too difficult for cultists:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/world/americas/mass-shootings-us-international.html
neilm
Definitely true about the "many, many decades ago", almost six, but it says a lot about you that you imply that you think the principles of the science change with the passage of time.
it says a lot about you that you imply that you think the principles of the science change with the passage of time.
Based on your statement concerning current economics
Supply and demand don't change much, but I doubt they taught you Black-Scholes back then
Michale, I don't recall expressing an opinion either way about Clinton and his extra-marital, horizontal jogging. I'm somewhat weather-beaten when it comes to politicians getting their leg over. Growing up in 1970's England, where streakers were deployed at every sporting event, bras were being torched and wife swapping was all the rage...Trump and Clinton don't even raise an eyebrow.
This is why Trump is shitting his pants, collusion is just another word he can't spell, his business dealings are his true worry. Zembla is a highly regarded European Union news site, they are famous for digging for truth about the left and the right, you can rest assured, everything they publish and produce is unassailable fact, the measure for investigative news has higher standards in Europe as the libel laws are far stricter than the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nf0K713Zv4
LL%P
michale,
What you keep trumpeting in all caps is that Mueller (actually, it was the AAG, Mueller has not spoken in public since the start of the investigation) said NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS... Of course, these lawyers are very careful, and he plainly referenced only the narrow scope of the current indictment.
Within those four corners, the best indication of what remaining scope there may be to the investigation and grand juries' work comes from pp. 2-3:
defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States...
That Delphic clause I bolded can be read to mean diametrically different things. It's possible, but shaky, to construct the "no americans ergo no collusion" interpretation from that. Not that anyone is bothering to do so; just projecting the specific to the general, and lifting the AAG's words without the context is evidently good enough for now.
If I held your belief, though, I'd worry that it implies, simply, that more indictments are forthcoming.
We'll probably know, one way of the other, before May.
Typo: Rosenstein is, of course, the DAG, not the AAG, as I fat-fingered.
JTC [94]
Thanks for the link. I'd read about much of the Bayrock stuff before but learned a lot about the individuals.
I said all along that the conspiracy charges would be due to prior business deals and money laundering, and it was far less likely that Russian Intelligence Services would get involved with an obvious clown like Trump.
I just wonder how many bricks Mueller has in the wall he is building. If he is solely focused on the election he will have done his job and we will have an obvious crook in the White House, but he'll get to stay there and his subjects will crow.
If Mueller keeps building and expands into RICO charges then all bets are off.
Every night is popcorn night with this White House fiasco.
neilm [93]
Right, no Black-Scholes in my day, however, I'm guessing that Black-Scholes would normally be a topic for a Finance class rather than Econ. anyway.
I'm guessing that Black-Scholes would normally be a topic for a Finance class rather than Econ. anyway.
Fair position. However ...
"Black, Merton, and Scholes — Their Central Contributions to Economics"
https://www.darrellduffie.com/uploads/surveys/DuffieBlackMertonScholesContribution1998.pdf
Quote from the introduction ...
"Of course, the contribution that first comes to mind is the Black-Scholes
option pricing formula, for which Robert Merton and Myron Scholes were
awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1997."
Paula,
Blotus is an unfit president. He has been all along. Whether he "won" fairly or unfairly, through indirect or direct meddling (such as actively changing vote totals) he remains an unfit president.
In YOUR opinion..
But you have proven over and over again that you are a Party slave so, as such, your opinion is meaningless..
Sometimes even simple evidence is too difficult for cultists:
NY Grime???
BBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You call that "evidence"?? That's so cute.. :D
And YOU would believe a link from InforWars, right?? :D
JTC
Michale, I don't recall expressing an opinion either way about Clinton and his extra-marital, horizontal jogging.
Exactly my point...
And WHY didn't you express the same opinion about Clinton's rapes and sexual assaults??
Because Clinton has a -D after his name...
This is why Trump is shitting his pants,
Yet, you have NO FACTS to support your claim..
Funny how that is, eh? :D
What you keep trumpeting in all caps is that Mueller (actually, it was the AAG, Mueller has not spoken in public since the start of the investigation) said NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Mueller signed the indictment...
It's his words...
defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States...
Yes.. And, if those persons known and unknown are Americans, then they did so UNKNOWINGLY...
That Delphic clause I bolded can be read to mean diametrically different things. It's possible, but shaky, to construct the "no americans ergo no collusion" interpretation from that.
No more "shaky" than the entire Trump/Russia collusion narrative..
Put another way.. It's been almost two years and there are absolutely NO FACTS that prove Russian Collusion on the part of Trump and anyone in Trump's campaign..
NOW we have definitive evidence that there WASN'T any collusion on the part of ANY American...
If I held your belief, though, I'd worry that it implies, simply, that more indictments are forthcoming.
I have no doubt that there are more indictments coming.. Probably against more Russians and maybe against more Americans on issues having NOTHING to do with Trump OR Collusion...
But this indictment spells out the FACTS in plain english...
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS
There can be no spin in that statement. It's not ambiguous in ANY way, shape or form..
Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!
-President Donald Trump
Yep.. Yep..
If the scumbag school shooter had said he had evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians, the FBI would have been all over him like white on rice..
But alas, ALL the scumbag said was he was going to be a "professional" school shooter, so the FBI didn't give a rats ass and now 17 people are dead because the FBI cared more about pursuing the phantom Trump/Russia boogeyman then actually saving American lives...
Definitely true about the "many, many decades ago", almost six, but it says a lot about you that you imply that you think the principles of the science change with the passage of time.
Neil is such an ageist.... :D
Actually, to be fair, that's not right.. It has nothing to do with your age, CRS...
It has everything to do with the fact you won't toe his Party line...
No tolerance or respect whatsoever...
Mueller's 13 indictments disable McConnell/Ryan and other top Repubs' abilities to dismiss Russian meddling, or excuse their failures to protect us from further interference.
Actually, Mueller's own words dismiss Russian meddling..
What part of The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY.... is incomprehensible to you???
In other words, Russians tried to meddle in the election and failed..
That's the beginning and end of your hysterical bullshit...
If one needed proof that Mueller’s investigation was an utter farce, they were in for a treat this morning when the Deputy Attorney General announced the indictment of indicted 13 “Russian trolls,” for allegedly interfering in the 2016 Presidential election by posting on social media accounts.
Laying Mueller’s disregard of the First Amendment aside, the indictment is blatantly hypocritical in light of active social media intervention by pro-Clinton David Brock and his multi-million dollar efforts to ‘Correct The Record.’ Julian Assange tweeted on the matter:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-16/muellers-investigation-farce-files-joke-indictment-against-russian-trolls
You really can't make this stuff up! :D
We know Obama wanted to go public with info about Russian meddling, but McConnell threatened to turn it into a "partisan" issue if he did.
DO you have ANY facts to support your claim??
Of course, you don't..
*I* on the other hand, ALWAYS have the facts at hand..
They also worried that any action they took would be perceived as political interference in an already volatile campaign. By August, Trump was predicting that the election would be rigged. Obama officials feared providing fuel to such claims, playing into Russia’s efforts to discredit the outcome and potentially contaminating the expected Clinton triumph.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/?utm_term=.0392a1f9ba75
Odumbo expected NOT-45 to win and didn't want to risk contaminating that expected win...
So, as per the usual...
You have hysterical bullshit...
*I* have the facts...
Look, people.. I get it..
For the last year, ya'all have inexorably put ALL your eggs in the TRUMP!!!!!!!! RUSSIA!!!! TRUMP!!!!! RUSSIA!!!!! basket... Ya'all have screamed hysterically that Trump, with the help of the Russians, stole the election...
You now come to find that it was ALL for naught.
No American colluded with the Russians..
The Russian meddling had NO EFFECT on the outcome of the election..
President Trump did *NOT* collude with Russians and President Trump is the legal President Of The United States, having won a FREE, FAIR, LEGAL and UNTAINTED election...
Ya'all's reign of hysteria and bullshit has come to an end...
It's time to swallow your pride, suppress yer egos and move on with your lives...
President Trump is going to be with us as President until 20 Jan 2025...
It's time to accept this fact....
For the sake of ya'all's own psychological well-being, it's time to accept the facts...
It's for your own good and the good of the country....
Appears to this observer, that Michale's inevitably gonna have the last laugh here, and I guarantee you, it ain't gonna be a mere chuckle.
All you Dems/Libs are going down in flames. I'm tempted to say that when the dust all settles, you guys are gonna have egg-encrusted faces, except now, it looks so bad that even your desperate attempts to 'save face' are gonna be so futile that you wont have enough face left for the proverbial egg to stick on!
Appears to this observer, that Michale's inevitably gonna have the last laugh here, and I guarantee you, it ain't gonna be a mere chuckle.
Oh I dunno..
Where close to the tipping point from legitimate and earned ridicule to sadistic gloating
I mean, the news is SOOO bad for the hysterical NeverTrumpers and they keep getting body-slammed by hit after hit after hit....
It may get to the point to where it's just not sporting anymore..
"The sport ends. The massacre begins"
-Grand Primus T'Cael, STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER
I guess pretty much the determining factor is going to be whether the denizens of the People's Republic Of Weigantia is going to accept the facts and accept reality... Or the are going to continue to spin their fantasy delusions...
Time will tell.....
Where close to the tipping point from legitimate and earned ridicule to sadistic gloating
That should read WE'RE close to the tipping point from legitimate and earned ridicule to sadistic gloating
My bust...
The trolls are out in force I see, trying to elicit a response.
Their collective physical age probably exceeds 100, but mentally they are struggling to get into double digits between them.
Sad.
Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTosB6V_V24
The trolls are out in force I see, trying to elicit a response.
Their collective physical age probably exceeds 100, but mentally they are struggling to get into double digits between them.
Sad.
As usual, you have NO FACTS, nothing but immature and childish name-calling and personal attacks..
No wonder ya'all continue to get yer asses kicked all around Weigantia... :D
What is "physical age"? Is that Limey talk for 'chronological age'?
What counts in these ideological rants is 'maturity', and the Dems/Libs ain't got enough of that to get beyond the up-raised 'middle digit' of one hand!
Everyone want a new topic for discussion? I sure do.
So here's one: while we obsess about whether or not Russia had an influence on the US election,
(and does it matter? Japan and Germany didn't win any territory, but still attacked us.)
I've noticed a peculiar reticence in Congress about examining yet another element of the election that has so far received far too little attention...
Why hasn't Congress hauled the heads of the cable News networks in to answer for the close to two billion dollars worth of free media given to Donald Trump over EVERYONE else beginning practically from the time he announced?
After all, I think (though I couldn't prove it) that they spent more time WAITING for Trump to speak than they did covering any other candidate. One could actually forgive a casually observing alien for believing that an empty podium was the front-runner for the Republican nomination for a time.
In particular, I'd haul in the heads of MSNBC and CNN (never mind FOX - we know that Ailes was in the bucket for Trump, and since he kicked it later on, he's not around to answer for his actions anyway).
And I'd ask them straightforwardly: what were you thinking? You knew that you were bolstering this guy, and yet you persisted. Did someone have his thumb on the scale? Was your sense of ethical behavior overwhelmed by pure greed, or did greed enter more directly into the equation in the form of cash payment or other reward?
This is something that has to be taken up by Congress - there is no other forum for it. Maybe the Republicants will be so happy not to be talking about Russians, and to grill the heads of CNN and MSNBC that they'd actually participate, for a change.
What counts in these ideological rants is 'maturity', and the Dems/Libs ain't got enough of that to get beyond the up-raised 'middle digit' of one hand!
Funny you should say that Stucki, since Norman Lear, back during the election, called Trump "the upraised middle finger of the American Right".
And indeed, I think that he's still the walking talking embodiment of that gesture.
That's why, no matter how boorish, how obscene, how inescapably crude and obnoxious the man is, he simply can't lose any support. He was MEANT to be that way - a direct insult to everyone who has made fun of the right for being that way themselves.
So if Democrats react in-kind, it's understandable.
Like the family who boarded a Carnival Cruise ship in Australia thinking that they would spend their vacation drinking and brawling, eventually this obnoxious trouble maker has to be unceremoniously removed from the Love Boat for everyone else's sake.
Everyone want a new topic for discussion? I sure do.
TRANSLATION: President Trump played the game better than NOT-45... Waaaaaaa Waaaaaaaaa
That's why, no matter how boorish, how obscene, how inescapably crude and obnoxious the man is, he simply can't lose any support.
ANd no matter how stoopid, boorish or moronic or racist Odumbo was, he simply COULDN'T lose support..
What's yer point??
Like the family who boarded a Carnival Cruise ship in Australia thinking that they would spend their vacation drinking and brawling, eventually this obnoxious trouble maker has to be unceremoniously removed from the Love Boat for everyone else's sake.
Except President Trump is not boozing and brawling.. He is simply dismantling all the BS and crap that Odumbo and the Dumbocrats heaped on this country...
"Elections have consequences"
Sound familiar???
To clarify, in [118] I didn't mean to say that Japan and Germany never conquered any US territory inside the continental US.
Or to put it differently, if someone has taken a swing a you, it doesn't matter if the punch connected. You'd be an idiot not to prepare to defend yourself.
Or to put it differently, if someone has taken a swing a you, it doesn't matter if the punch connected. You'd be an idiot not to prepare to defend yourself.
Unless, of course, that someone took a swing at you and missed for like 5 hours..
Eventually, you just laugh and say, Get the frak outta here!!
:D
Balthy [118]
Sorry, you don't get to change the subject just because your case just got totally demolished.
You REALLY gonna claim that the hyper-lib media gave Trump all that 'free publicity' because they favored his candidacy??? That's as ridiculous as the Dem/lib claim that aggravating Bernie's backers by stacking the primary deck caused them (the people at the far left of the political spectrum) to switch their votes to Trump! Give us a break. They covered Trump so much because every utterance that came from his Twitter Hole was either stupid, crazy, offensive, or all of the above.
I've appreciated several pieces today, sharing a common theme:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/02/16/we-are-in-the-midst-of-an-utterly-failed-presidency/
Taking a step back from getting caught up in the latest outrage, a look at what has happened over the last 13 months paints a picture of an utterly failed presidency. Because Donald Trump is incompetent, ignorant and mentally unfit to be president, he is not likely to improve on his performance to date.
https://millennialpolitics.co/donald-trump-americas-first-illegitimate-president/
When you put it all together, it’s quite simple. We have a “President” who lost the popular vote by 3 million, “won” the electoral college as a result of a Russian cyber-propaganda campaign, routinely fails to uphold his oath of office (“preserve, protect, and defend the United States of America”), and stokes division amongst the electorate. Not only has the United States lost its moral compass, but we’ve become the laughingstock of the world. Even Russian leadership has acknowledged the reality of the situation while the GOP base is stuck in an alternative universe only thinking “What about Obama? What about Hillary?”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-presidents-day-without-a-real-president?ref=home
When Trump addressed the nation in the wake of the Parkland massacre, my team and I looked at the TV but the words coming from his mouth had no effect. They neither resonated nor moved a single person in the room. It truly didn’t matter what he said, particularly after he tweeted out blame for the carnage at the neighbors and classmates of the killer. Trump is as hollow a vessel as there has ever been in the White House. His rule lacks even a shred of moral authority.
ANd no matter how stoopid, boorish or moronic or racist Odumbo was, he simply COULDN'T lose support..What's yer point?
That is my point. Even you don't believe that crap, because Obama was never any of those things. You may have disagreed with him, but he never embarrassed himself or the country.
You should OWN Trump's boorishness, be proud of it.
He is, after all, the Anti-Obama from hell. Obama was (and is) everything Trump isn't: from humble roots, urbane, sophisticated, well-read, and highly educated. Not a hint of scandal in his background or presidency, or in his adorable and loving family life. Never paid a hooker, engaged in a shady business deal or hauled into court for defrauding anyone.
And all that BEFORE we discuss his tenure as president.
And no one in his administration ever called him a 'moron'. Not once. No one ever contradicted him on a matter of policy, as McMaster did to Trump yesterday, and several of Trumps appointees have done recently during Senate testimony. No one ever accused the Obama White House of being 'chaotic', or spoke off-the record about what a dumbfuck he is.
So you're right: there's a lot of difference.
There's so many implications to process re: the 13 indictments. One is that Blotus was Putin's preferred candidate.
Putin wanted Trump.
Putin's second choice was Bernie Sanders.
Re: Paula [127]
That's the most damning part: no moral authority.
Even baby Bush, as intellectually challenged as he was by the job, could still rally the country after 9/11 because the country believed that he really cared.
Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that all he cares about is himself, and himself alone. One gets the feeling that if his own son got indicted, Trump's reaction would be to say, "at least it isn't me."
I've appreciated several pieces today, sharing a common theme:
I hope you did that in private.... :D
When you put it all together, it’s quite simple. We have a “President” who lost the popular vote by 3 million,
ANd if the popular vote had any relevance, then that would be a rational argument..
But it's not so it's not..
“won” the electoral college as a result of a Russian cyber-propaganda campaign,
Except for the FACT that it's been established AS FACT by your own hero, Mueller, that the Russian trolling did not affect the outcome of the election whatsoever..
So, other than that, yea.. Compelling.. :^/
That's the most damning part: no moral authority.
Except, it wasn't damning when Odumbo was POTUS..
Funny how that is, eh :D
Putin's second choice was Bernie Sanders.
Sadly true. Which really burns Jill Stein, apparently.
That is my point. Even you don't believe that crap, because Obama was never any of those things. You may have disagreed with him, but he never embarrassed himself or the country.
Yea, whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night..
Odumbo OFTEN embarrassed this country..
You can spin all you want, Balthy..
But it's ALL nothing but Hyper Hysterical President Trump Derangement Syndrome..
That is ALL it is..
You got bitch-slapped over Russian Collusion and now yer lashing out, throwing ANYTHING against the wall in a desperate attempt to have SOMETHING... ANYTHING stick..
It's sad to see...
Except, it wasn't damning when Odumbo was POTUS..
Except it wasn't TRUE when Obama was POTUS.
Trump's different. Own it. Why won't you own it?
Odumbo OFTEN embarrassed this country..
Name one example.
You got bitch-slapped over Russian Collusion and now yer lashing out, throwing ANYTHING against the wall in a desperate attempt to have SOMETHING... ANYTHING stick..
You're projecting: Mueller's indictment presented proof of Russian interference in the election, and now you're trying to deflect back to the issue of collusion, which Mueller hasn't addressed yet.
[115] neilm: Randy Rainbow is always fun!
[133] Balthasar: Burns Jill Stein - yep!
Another "story" of interest in all this is the FBI's investigating whether the NRA was a conduit for Russian money. There would be a certain perfection to that if it turns out to be true.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/nra-russia-and-trump-money-laundering-poisoning-us-democracy-commentary.html
The kids calling B.S. on the NRA and all their lackeys want to make being a member of the NRA, or accepting money from the NRA, a badge of shame. Bless the kids.
Except it wasn't TRUE when Obama was POTUS.
It wasn't YOUR truth..
But it was factually accurate...
Trump's different. Own it. Why won't you own it?
Frakin A he is different.. In all the good ways...
You LOST.. Get over it already...
Another "story" of interest in all this is the FBI's investigating whether the NRA was a conduit for Russian money. There would be a certain perfection to that if it turns out to be true.
BBWWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
So, the Trump/Russian collusion BS has dis-intergrated before everyone's eyes..
NOW it's the NRA/RUSSIAN collusion!!!!
BBBBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Odumbo OFTEN embarrassed this country..
Name one example.
Why bother?? YOu won't concede the point..
His apology tour for one...
His COPS ACTED STUPIDLY for another...
His IF I HAD A SON HE WOULD LOOK LIKE TRAVYON for still another..
His "Tell Vlad if he helps me win the election, I can be more flexible for him after I win" for another...
Like I said.. You won't acknowledge the facts and reality so why bother asking??
You're projecting: Mueller's indictment presented proof of Russian interference in the election,
What part of The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY.. is incomprehensible to you??
Basically, Mueller indicted some Russian internet trolls..
"OH MY GOD, WHAT A FUCKING NIGHTMARE!!!"
-Marisa Tomeii, MY COUSIN VINNY
and now you're trying to deflect back to the issue of collusion, which Mueller hasn't addressed yet.
What part of NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS... is incomprehensible to you??
I don't HAVE to deflect the issue back to collusion because Mueller has made it absolutely 1000% clear that there WAS NOT COLLUSION..
No matter HOW you want to spin it, Balthy..
YOU LOST....
CW used to brag about being "The last person in the world not on Facebook." Haven't heard that from him for a while, but if it's still the case, then actually there are TWO people in the world "Not on Facebook" the other one being yours truly.
And the biggest problem with almost everybody being on Facebook is that the type of person who relishes that sort of stuff invariably tends to overestimate the role that it plays in the real world.
You Facebookers buy into the crazy notion that if the Russians spent $bazillions on getting anti-Hillary stuff posted to the various forums, that surely that must be why Trump won.
I've always maintained that the vast majority of voters cast their votes based on the twin factors of ideology and pocketbook, and precious little political hype ever changes that. I realize that that inevitably leads to the conclusion that most of the vast amounts of $ spent on political ads is wasted, and I'm aware that not a single Dem/Lib will ever believe that, but I stand by it. And therefor, I couldn't care less(or ,as Dems/Libs always say, I COULD care less) how many posts the Russkies make on social media.
Paula,
You remind me of Harvey Weinstein..
When he got busted, he tried to be the hero and drag out the NRA strawman..
Ya'all are SO much like Harvey Weinstein... Flailing around DESPERATELY for ANY semblance of face-saving...
Ya'all LOST.... Just like ya'all did on 8 Nov 2016....
For christ's sake, have some self-respect and accept your loss....
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) -
A Cherokee Antique Row business owner says she and others in the area are being harassed for displaying flags supporting police on their storefronts.
However, the flag wasn’t accepted by everyone in the area.
“People came by, they would cuss at you, harass you,” she said, “They would harass the customers.”
She eventually took the flag down to avoid any more confrontations.
“I thought things were getting better,” said Elder, “but apparently it’s not.”
A month later she found a handwritten letter posted on the front window of her shop that read:
“Pig supporters not welcome. Flag goes down or you go down.”
http://www.kmov.com/story/37532228/business-owner-threatened-harassed-after-flying-flag-supporting-police
Dumbocrats.. :^/
Balthy [136]
Re "Name one (national embarrassment) example." How about the poison gas "redline" that the Syrian guy promptly stepped over with zero consequence.
However, I do not point that out to bash Obama, in fact I actually mostly respect him as a person and as a POTUS. I disagree with him substantially on ideological grounds, but I consider him a first-class human being. The fact that his mom was a flake and his sperm-donor dad was mostly a worthless human being actually adds to his credit for becoming what he did.
Re "Name one (national embarrassment) example." How about the poison gas "redline" that the Syrian guy promptly stepped over with zero consequence.
Ooooo nice. Forgot that one...
However, I do not point that out to bash Obama, in fact I actually mostly respect him as a person and as a POTUS. I disagree with him substantially on ideological grounds, but I consider him a first-class human being
Well, there is no accounting for taste.. Or in this case, lack thereof.. :D
His apology tour for one...
Never happened. Completely made up by Fox News.
His COPS ACTED STUPIDLY for another...
They busted a famous college professor for climbing though the window of his own house. Given all the ways that this could have been resolved that didn't involve his arrest and booking, this is an easy call.
His IF I HAD A SON HE WOULD LOOK LIKE TRAVYON for still another..
That is a factually true statement. You don't agree with Obama's reason for making that statement, and I do.
His "Tell Vlad if he helps me win the election, I can be more flexible for him after I win" for another...
That's a misquote (projection again?): what he actually said was:
Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space."
Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand, I understand your message about space. Space for you .?.?."
Obama: “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”
Medvedev: "“I understand, I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
Said the Washington Post: "The exchange provided a rare glimpse of a world leader speaking frankly about the political realities he faces at home."
From what I've been able to glean on the subject, Putin was pushing Obama to back out of eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, but also out of Ukraine. Back home, Romney was pushing for the exact opposite. Obama privately agreed with Romney, at least as regards defensive weapons, so used Romney's attacks as an excuse to delay, to put off such talks until after the election.
But relations between the two countries deteriorated, and after Russia's seizure of Crimea, Eastern Europe's missile defenses were significantly strengthened.
So Obama's answer was, "no, not now."
Now compare that to the hours that Trump has reportedly spent with Putin that have been kept completely off the record. Trump has refused throughout to allow transcriptions of his discussions with Putin to be made. He's talked to Putin with only a Russian translator present.
Obama never did that. Virtually every word he spoke to Putin is archived somewhere, and will probably become a matter of public record someday.
Can't say the same about Trump. We do know that Trump unmasked an Israeli agent in Syria during a meeting with the Russian ambassador (because of a leak from the White House, no less), so what he said to the former KGB boss is beyond speculation.
How about the poison gas "redline" that the Syrian guy promptly stepped over with zero consequence.
Obama told Congress "I'll attack Syria if you'll give it your Okay." and Congress, not Obama, stopped the action. Blame your fellow GOP for that one.
By the way, just a few days earlier, the British Parliament had done the same thing.
Strong the memory hole is in your kind.
They busted a famous college professor for climbing though the window of his own house. Given all the ways that this could have been resolved that didn't involve his arrest and booking, this is an easy call.
The guy was a belligerent prick and refused to obey the lawful orders of police...
The cops did their jobs..
Of course, a cop-hating jackass wouldn't see that...
That is a factually true statement.
You do realize how utterly racist a statement that is, right???
Irregardless of that, it had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING.. It was Odumbo being dumb and embarrassing..
Like I said, why bother asking if you are not going to accept the FACTS...
Obama told Congress "I'll attack Syria if you'll give it your Okay."
That's NOT what he said BEFORE Syria used Chemical Weapons..
Face the FACTS, Balthy.. Yer wrong.. On EVERY point...
You had sooo much invested in Trump being found guilty of collusion and Mueller just exonerated not only President Trump but his entire campaign.. :D
Contrary to the fact that I stated I would keep my powder dry until the investigation is over...
You on the other hand seem to have a severe problem comprehending the words "in this idictment" as is evidenced by your spin to attempt to apply it to the whole of the investigation.
If one uses the normal definitions of the words "in this indictment" it clearly an unambiguously means the statements made apply to the contents of the indictment only. NO more and NO less.
If the indictment and press conference were meant to exonerate everyone there would have been an announcement that the investigation had closed and that no further charges were forthcoming.
But it didn't so it didn't...
That's NOT what he said BEFORE Syria used Chemical Weapons..
Oh, he was supposed to know BEFORE the chemical attack that Congress wouldn't allow him to respond.
Even Bush, by the way, went to Congress to approve the Iraq invasion.
Congress has to be consulted, you see, before launching an attack on a country that hasn't attacked us directly. It's in the rule book that Trump uses to prop up his nacho chips.
[143] Stuck:
ultracrepidarian: adjective noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/ultracrepidarian
You seem to believe your unfamiliarity with Facebook enables you to evaluate it. Since when does ignorance bestow expertise?
You do realize how utterly racist a statement that is, right?
Aw, stop. Your accusation of racism is racist.
Contrary to the fact that I stated I would keep my powder dry until the investigation is over...
The investigation into the Trump Russia collusion question IS over...
Mueller himself stated so...
If the indictment and press conference were meant to exonerate everyone there would have been an announcement that the investigation had closed and that no further charges were forthcoming.
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS..
The investigation into whether Americans colluded with the RUssians, IS over..
Mueller said so...
You lost.. Get over it..
Congress has to be consulted, you see, before launching an attack on a country that hasn't attacked us directly.
No, it doesn't...
Leave military matters to military experts...
The guy was a belligerent prick and refused to obey the lawful orders of police...
They were accusing him of breaking into his own house, and not allowing him to prove otherwise. He was outraged.
The investigation into whether Americans colluded with the RUssians, IS over..
Goode Trickle is right, you're conveniently leaving out the phrase "in this indictment". Typical leap to a conclusion. 9.5 with points off for a sloppy landing.
Tell yourself what you want, Mueller's got the 'dream team' of prosecutors lining up appointments for interviews, including of the President himself, before he's done.
Leave military matters to military experts...
Yeah, we've got a White House full. Let's hope they can keep his little cheeto-colored fingers off the nuclear buttons.
Mueller said so...
Umm... about that, it was actually the DAG and he said...
"Now, there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.
he also said...
The special counsel's investigation is ongoing. There will be no comments from the special counsel at this time.
So again Mueller said nothing...
You lost.. Get over it..
Ahh, the good ol' declarative statement indicator that you have nothing in the tank except for spin and taking statements out of context.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4b48a0f47647b70257a3cdc596bed7964494dc5ec110cc1ac11ff1c928861408.jpg?w=800&h=485
Yep.. Says it all....
They were accusing him of breaking into his own house, and not allowing him to prove otherwise. He was outraged.
Makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER..
You don't get to pick and choose which lawful police orders you will obey and which ones you won't..
You fight the law, the LAW will win...
It's THAT simple...
So again Mueller said nothing...
Mueller signed the order..
EVERYTHING was Mueller's words..
Ahh, the good ol' declarative statement indicator that you have nothing in the tank except for spin and taking statements out of context.
That's exactly what ya'all have...
Tell yourself what you want, Mueller's got the 'dream team' of prosecutors lining up appointments for interviews, including of the President himself, before he's done.
Mueller IS done with the collusion investigation...
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS..
You can spin all you want and try to salvage whatever your desperation allows you to..
But it's OVER...
President Trump has been exonerated by Mueller...
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/70fedd9c7d9dc88e2c3e5d2ad867ede544d18760c1f0304158173e74d8a5bd0c.jpg?w=800&h=480
This is EXACTLY ya'all.....
That's exactly what ya'all have...
Says the person who has cherry picked the words from statements thus changing the context.
Michale [105]
Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!
-President Donald Trump
Yep.. Yep..
If the scumbag school shooter had said he had evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians, the FBI would have been all over him like white on rice..
But alas, ALL the scumbag said was he was going to be a "professional" school shooter, so the FBI didn't give a rats ass and now 17 people are dead because the FBI cared more about pursuing the phantom Trump/Russia boogeyman then actually saving American lives...
WOW! Michale, you’ve sunken to a disgustingly new low that I never believed possible! How dare Trump invoke the deaths of those murdered in FL in his cowardly attempt to tarnish the credibility of the FBI investigation into Russia’s meddling in our election?!?
If Trump is innocent and the investigation has nothing to do with him, as he constantly claims, then why the hell does he feel the need to attack it at every turn???
And then you go and repeat the idiot’s points like a good trained troll! To suggest that the FBI ignored investigating the FL shooter because all of their agents were too focused on finding info against Trump shows that you either do not know SHIT about how law enforcement works in this country, or that you are intentionally making dishonest statements regarding the FBI’s investigation.
So which is it?
The FBI did their job regarding the comments made by Cruz online. They interviewed the man who took the screenshots of the comments made, but they could not be 100% sure that Cruz was the person using the account when the comments were made. The FBI cannot prevent someone from buying a gun without a court order. There was not enough evidence to support charges against Cruz to get such an order. I don’t know what people believe the police or FBI can do in situations like this, but I can tell you that they cannot infringe on a person’s constitutional rights on a whim!
Dear me, I guess no one told Robert Mueller his investigation is over. This just broke:
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-rick-gates-plea-deal-20180218-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true
"Former Trump aide Rick Gates to plead guilty; agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say."
Dear me, I guess no one told Robert Mueller his investigation is over.
heh!
Or anyone else either, but I guess Michale and Trump watch the same Florida news.
It'll dawn on them sooner or later.
The FBI did their job regarding the comments made by Cruz online.
HELLO!! MCFLY!!!!
The FBI had TWO OTHER independent reports of this Florida scumbag from TWO completely different sources..
The FBI dropped the ball... This is fact...
No amount of your Party slavery bullshit will change that fact...
"Former Trump aide Rick Gates to plead guilty; agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say."
And what does THAT have to do with President Trump, Russia or Collusion???
Absolutely NOTHING..
Like I told CRS above.. You guys are going to hang onto ANY delusion you can, because you CAN'T ADMIT that, when it comes to President Trump, Russia and Collusion...
it's OVER...
YOU LOST...
Deal with it...
You lost.. Get over it..
Ahh, the good ol' declarative statement indicator that you have nothing in the tank except for spin and taking statements out of context.
I wonder if all of orange subjects are as scared as Michale is, or if it is just him and the giant clown in the White House himself?
He keeps going on and on about the potential conspiracy (aka collusion) and keeps forgetting that the conspiracy claims are just the appetizer. The charges the whole family are scared of are money laundering with a topping of RICO.
The Soho deal with Bayrock is going to get the Whitewater treatment when the Democrats get one of the branches of government, that is if Mueller doesn't investigate it first.
Michale - relax - it will play out like it should - you are convinced your idol is innocent - so stop panicking and telling us it is all over when all know it will be over when Mueller, or his replacement(s) tells us it is over.
Michale,
The FBI dropped the ball... This is fact...
What exactly do you think they could have done to have prevented this? The President’s claim that people just need to report their neighbors to prevent mass shootings is a fairy tale aimed at the easily fooled in this country!
Are you now gonna call for the government to take people’s guns from them? Isn’t that against what you ammosexuals believe is most precious in life — the right to own enough firepower to mow down a dozen kids in under a minute?
There suddenly seems to be a bunch of articles retracing Blotus' activities in Russia in 2013 and 2014.
By tweeting about how he wasn't running for office in 2014 when the Russian interference effort commenced, he focused attention on that time-frame.
[174] Listen:
Are you now gonna call for the government to take people’s guns from them? Isn’t that against what you ammosexuals believe is most precious in life — the right to own enough firepower to mow down a dozen kids in under a minute?
Exactly.
neilm
115
Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTosB6V_V24
Desperate Cheeto *LOL*
Balthasar
137
You're projecting: Mueller's indictment presented proof of Russian interference in the election, and now you're trying to deflect back to the issue of collusion, which Mueller hasn't addressed yet.
Of course he addressed collusion/conspiracy but only as relates to the 13 Russians and 3 companies in the newly unsealed criminal indictment. Criminals are generally charged on an individual basis unless they committed crime(s) together.
The righties who insist the current indictments of these 13 Russians and 3 companies and the guilty plea of the American who sold fake identities to Russians are the end of Mueller's road are:
A. Not paying very good attention.
B. Deluding themselves and others.
C. The same morons who claimed the "Nunes memo" ended it.
D. All of the above.
Paula
169
Dear me, I guess no one told Robert Mueller his investigation is over. This just broke:
"Former Trump aide Rick Gates to plead guilty; agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say."
So much hardware in 45's inner circle being turned, and if it seems like Benedict Donald is hysterical now... just wait. :)
So much hardware in 45's inner circle being turned, and if it seems like Benedict Donald is hysterical now... just wait. :)
Yea..
Ya'all have been saying "Just Wait" for almost TWO YEARS now!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/70fedd9c7d9dc88e2c3e5d2ad867ede544d18760c1f0304158173e74d8a5bd0c.jpg?w=800&h=480
You guys lost.. AGAIN...
Accept the facts and move on..
What exactly do you think they could have done to have prevented this?
Are you REALLY that dense???
Multiple reports of threats of violence.. You DO realize that communicating a threat is a crime, right???
Do I *REALLY* have to spell it out for you??
Com'on, Russ.. I know yer a brain-dead Lefty on MOST things, but not THIS kind of thing... :^/
Are you now gonna call for the government to take people’s guns from them?
Are you aware of the Red Flag laws???
Isn’t that against what you ammosexuals believe is most precious in life — the right to own enough firepower to mow down a dozen kids in under a minute?
And NOW that it suits your agenda, NOW you agree that THAT is perfectly acceptable???
My gods, man! How can you look in a mirror every morning!???
[174] Listen:
Are you now gonna call for the government to take people’s guns from them? Isn’t that against what you ammosexuals believe is most precious in life — the right to own enough firepower to mow down a dozen kids in under a minute?
Exactly.
And now Paula joins in on accepting such a ludicrous claim SOLELY because it suits her agenda..
You guys really ARE pathetic, ain'tcha ... :^/
He keeps going on and on about the potential conspiracy (aka collusion) and keeps forgetting that the conspiracy claims are just the appetizer. The charges the whole family are scared of are money laundering with a topping of RICO.
So you concede that the Trump/Russia/Collusion investigation IS over..
BBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And NOW you're pinning your hopes on that Mueller finds something... ANYTHING...
You have been wrong SO MANY TIMES before, Neil..
I fail to see your rationale in doubling down on stoopidity....
Mueller was hired to investigate Trump/Russia/Collusion..
That investigation is over and Mueller has completely exonerated Mueller..
If Mueller persists in pursuing unrelated topics, then President Trump will fire Mueller...
Friday’s grand jury indictment in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election destroys Democratic claims that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia to win the race, and that the Russian interference cost Hillary Clinton the election. It is now time for Mueller to look into real election interference and collusion with the Russians by the Democrats.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/02/17/trump-russia-collusion-narrative-is-dead.html
Now Special Counsel Mueller must turn to real and far more serious instances of election meddling and collusion with the Russians by the Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Obama administration to damage the Trump campaign. These efforts included misleading the FISA (Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act) Court to approve electronic surveillance of a Trump campaign staff member and leaking highly classified National Security Agency intelligence to the press.
Although Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election is a serious matter that must be addressed, Democratic abuses to weaponize U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to win a presidential election represent grave threats to our democratic system. There must be indictments of everyone involved in Democratic election meddling as soon as possible.
And, while the hysterical NeverTrumpers look for ANYTHING to fling against the wall in hopes something sticks..
The White House announced its eleventh set of judicial nominees on Monday. As we've come to expect, the Administration put forward an impressive list of jurists, led by four noteworthy picks for appellate courts, including several who are guaranteed bipartisan support.
http://reason.com/volokh/2018/02/14/the-judicial-nomination-train-keeps-roll
President Trump is stacking the federal courts....
This will ensure that President Trump has an easy time pushing his agenda in his second term..
President Trump is playing 3-D Chess while hysterical NeverTrumpers can't master tiddley-winks...
Democrats, spare me your hypocrisy on guns
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/opinions/democrats-spare-me-your-hypocrisy-on-shooting-cupp/index.html
If gun legislation is "soooo important", why didn't Democrats pass anything when they had a Super Majority Congress AND the White House???
If Sandy Hook couldn't bring about any changes in the gun laws, that pretty much says it all..
There are NO LAWS that can be enacted that A> Haven't already been enacted B> Will prevent or help prevent Crowd Based Mass Shootings and C> Are permissible under the US Constitution...
These are the facts that no amount of hysterical Party bigotry will change...
After 18 months of Russia, Russia, Russia, we finally meet a cast of real Russians. But par for the convoluted course, they were pretending to be Americans.
The indictments obtained by special counsel Robert Mueller on Vladimir Putin’s attempts to create discord in the 2016 election and eventually support Donald Trump are important both for what they say and what they don’t say.
They offer huge victories for Trump — and thus more defeats for Hillary Clinton — but they don’t close the books on everything about 2016.
The very good news for the president is that the indictments are firm in saying that any Americans contacted by the 13 charged Russians, including Trump campaign associates, did not know they were dealing with Russians.
The indictments also state forcefully that despite their social media efforts, which ranged from creative to clumsy, the Russians had no impact on the election results.
https://nypost.com/2018/02/16/russian-indictments-prove-trump-won-fair-and-square/
There it is in black and white, people...
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTION WAS *NOT* ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
You hysterical NeverTrumpers lost..
"It's over.. Go home.. Go...."
-Matthew Broderick, FERRIS BEUHLER'S DAY OFF
Oh and let's not forget how bad the Hysterical NeverTrumpers pushed a TOTALLY BULLSHIT theme..
A White Nationalist Would Never Lie to Me: Desperate to pin the horrific and heartbreaking Florida high school massacre on Donald Trump—after all, the NRA-has-blood-on-their-hands mantra isn’t sexy enough any more—the media fell for the old “trust me, I’m a white supremacist” pick-up line. Based on the flimsiest of evidence, the Anti-Defamation League reported that “a spokesperson for the white supremacist group Republic of Florida (ROF) claimed that Nikolas Cruz, the man charged with the previous day’s deadly shooting spree at a Parkland, Florida, high school, was associated with his group.” (Since when do white nationalist groups have “spokespeople?”)
But nothing is more powerful an aphrodisiac to the media than the word “alt-right” so upon the suggestion of it, they started shedding their clothes without a second thought. The New York Post declared the shooter “trained as a member of the white nationalist militia” and ABC News also claimed the killer was a member of the group. Pundits wasted no time connecting the killer to the alt-right, to Trump, and to the GOP:
David Cay Johnston
?
@DavidCayJ
Nikolas Cruz Instagram profile had Trump MAGA Hat. He also parroted Trump bigotry about Muslims.
1:15 PM - Feb 15, 2018
Nikolas Cruz’s Instagram Profile Contains Trump MAGA Hat
Nikolas Cruz, the accused Florida school shooter, wore a Trump-style MAGA hat on one of his Instagram pages. Learn more about his politics.
2,076
1,941 people are talking about this
An eager NeverTrumper even got in on the act:
Erick Erickson
?
@EWErickson
I don't know whether the shooter really was a white supremacist or not, but the fact a white supremacy group is claiming him should remind Republicans they need to stop flirting with the alt-right.
2:29 PM - Feb 15, 2018
3,822
1,337 people are talking about this
But tragically, from the point of view of the media, the hook-up was brief: The whole thing was a hoax. (Politico published a good explainer.) Friday night, the Associated Press embarrassingly admitted that “a white nationalist appears to have lied to The Associated Press and other news organizations when he claimed that Florida school-shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was a member of his obscure group.” Dear God, if we can’t trust white supremacists, who can we trust?
https://amgreatness.com/2018/02/18/medias-walk-shame-wont-end/
I have said it before and I'll say it again..
In the throes of their Hyper Hysterical President Trump Derangement Syndrome, these hysterical NeverTrumper sluts will jump into bed with *ANYONE* who whispers sweet I DESPISE PRESIDENT TRUMP in their ears... They'll even enjoy a roll in the hay with racists and white supremacists if the racists and white supremacists say what the hysterical NeverTrumper sluts want to hear...
Sad AND pathetic....
Until such time as a gun walks into a crowd of it's own volition and makes a conscious and sentient decision to start shooting...
Then... and ONLY then... Will hysterical anti-gun nuts have a logical and rational argument...
It's really THAT simple...
California Democrat, and #MeToo activist, allegedly urged staffers to play 'spin the bottle': report
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/19/california-democrat-and-metoo-activist-allegedly-urged-staffers-to-play-spin-bottle-report.html
Democrats.. :^/
Do as I say, not as I do....
The rollout of Trump's long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday was quickly overshadowed by furor over spousal abuse allegations that forced the resignation of a senior White House aide, the president's days-long silence on the issue of domestic violence, an admission by Trump's longtime lawyer to paying $130,000 to a porn star, and another horrific mass shooting at a high school in Florida -- the 18th school shooting since the start of the year.
Typical HuffPoop..
The Dumbocrat obsession with sex is *MORE* important and rates first mention over innocent Americans getting gunned down because the FBI was more concerned about the bullshit of Trump/Russia collusion than they were about saving American lives...
When attention turned to the 2016 race, the Russians "engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump."
Funny how no one here wants to talk about the Russians attention to Bernie's campaign...
The fact of the matter is, this is a huge nothing... Russia routinely attempts to sow havoc in the elections of the US and other Western countries.. They have done this since they were the USSR
Just like the US tries the same thing in other countries...
The *ONLY* reason it's an issue now is because NOT-45 got her ass handed to her...
That's it..
If people spent half the energy they spend fighting with each other over the divide and conquer distractions dangled in front of them fighting the Big Money interests it would do a lot more to improve our country.
yep, yep, yep....
If people would spend less time HATING and more time LISTENING (yes, myself included) People's Republic Of Weigantia AND this country would be better off..
But I don't see the hate abating, so we go with what we have...
Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., expressed astonishment that President Trump would use the tragedy they experienced last week to push back on the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/parkland-students-angered-trump-connecting-shooting-russia-probe-190118563.html
It was Barack Odumbo who said, "We *must* politicize these tragedies..."
Chris,
You need to find a moderator.
Otherwise, the comments sections of your blog are in jeopardy of becoming (the equivalent of) a Russian misinformation operation.
Yea.. Cuz SILENCING voices you don't like is SO MUCH EASIER than actually addressing the points those voices make.. :^/
Otherwise, the comments sections of your blog are in jeopardy of becoming (the equivalent of) a Russian misinformation operation.
OK, Hillary.. Whatever you say.. :D
The BEST way to counter such operations is with FACTS..
When you don't have facts, then the next best option is your option..
Silence with censorship...
You're very clever, Michale.
You use facts some of the time. But, mostly you purposefully misconstrue the facts, misrepresent the facts and spew outright lies.
Your target audience is made of people who are not intelligent enough to see through your efforts to muddy the waters and obscure the facts.
What isn't so clever is allowing your destructive behavior here to continue unabated.
You're very clever, Michale.
Thank you.. :D
You use facts some of the time.
And yet, many here claim I *NEVER* have any facts.. :D Thank you for acknowledging that THAT accusation is bullshit..
But, mostly you purposefully misconstrue the facts, misrepresent the facts and spew outright lies.
As does many here as well... :D But they seem to get a pass from the majority of your condemnation...
What isn't so clever is allowing your destructive behavior here to continue unabated.
No, what's not so clever is that, as usual, you only look at *MY* behavior and never condemn the behavior of the others that are politically acceptable to you, whose behavior is much MUCH worse..
That's why your complaints are usually rarely credible because they are usually directed towards people who don't toe the ideological line you do...
SILENCING voices you don't like is SO MUCH EASIER than actually addressing the points those voices make..
Actually, it's about aligning the comments section with the blog itself in terms of reality-based political discourse.
No, what's not so clever is that, as usual, you only look at *MY* behavior and never condemn the behavior of the others that are politically acceptable to you, whose behavior is much MUCH worse..
And, I am constrained to point out, THAT bad behavior is what prompts my bad behavior...
So, the course of action is clear.. get them to stop and you won't see any issues from me.. :D
See how easy that is??
Actually, it's about aligning the comments section with the blog itself in terms of reality-based political discourse.
The word you are looking for is ECHO CHAMBER
Take a week and pick on those who actually start the name-calling and personal attacks...
You have everything to gain and absolutely NOTHING to lose...
My comments here this morning were directed to Chris and concerned all those who participate here only by shedding more heat than light and by straying so far from reality-based political discourse that it looks a lot like the kind of operation the Russians are running.
I singled out no one.
Liz 202-
Here's a manual detailing M's bag of shameless rhetorical trickery.
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/fallacies_alpha.htm
Weigantians could use handy resource to play Rhetorical Fallacy Pokemon with M's vast output of comment fertilizer:
Can you find them all?
Non-serious, TS.
Don't waste my time.
Non-serious, TS.
Don't waste my time.
That's a good start, Liz...
Keep it up and we'll have this place cleaned out in no time!! :D
That's a good start, Liz...
Keep it up and we'll have this place cleaned out in no time!! :D
Get it back to the way it was..
Fun conversations amongst FREINDS...
Liz 210
Sorry, I really did not intend to offend you or waste your time. The Pokemon comment was intended to illustrate that M routinely wastes all of our time with comments that rely on well known rhetorical fallacies. He is not appealing to reason, he is engaged in trickery. He is a propagandist selling political cultural snake oil. On this site* he is a Troll with some familiarity with the art of sophistry. That's why I block him. I don't want to waste my time with somebody who seems to enjoy wasting peoples time.
* I have no idea of what he is like in real life.
Can't anyone around here simply ignore the drivel and just tap out posts that are worthy of reading!?
What about due process for the accused?
Well, that must not be ignored and it goes beyond sexual harassment. The person who is accused has a right to defend herself or himself, and we certainly should not lose sight of that. Recognizing that these are complaints that should be heard. There's been criticism of some college codes of conduct for not giving the accused person a fair opportunity to be heard, and that's one of the basic tenets of our system, as you know, everyone deserves a fair hearing.
-President Donald Trump
Yep, yep, yep...
Can't anyone around here simply ignore the drivel and just tap out posts that are worthy of reading!?
Abso-tively... And posit-loutly...
The PROBLEM is that NO ONE can agree on what those posts are...
Russ,
Pressure on FBI mounts after failure to pursue tip on Florida suspect
The revelation that the FBI botched a potentially life-saving tip on the Florida school shooting suspect is a devastating blow to America's top law enforcement agency at a time when it is already under extraordinary political pressure.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pressure-on-fbi-mounts-after-failure-to-pursue-tip-on-florida-suspect/
You see... It's not just me who thinks that the FBI scrooed the pooch..
You're only defending the FBI because Trump is slamming the FBI...
You simply do the OPPOSITE of what President Trump does despite ANY facts...
Even FBI Director WRAY admits that the agency screwed up...
But ya'all defend the FBI solely because Trump does not..
It doesn't matter that, due the FBI's admitted mistakes, 17 kids and teachers were gunned down in cold blood..
PARTY UBER ALLES rears it's ugly head again...
And this isn't the first time the FBI has dropped the ball..
The white supremacist who killed nine people at a historically black church in South Carolina in 2015 was able to purchase his weapon only because of breakdowns in the FBI's background check system. The background check examiner who evaluated the shooter's request to buy a gun never saw an arrest report in which he admitted to possessing illegal drugs. Under federal rules, that should have been enough to disqualify him from a gun purchase.
And again in 2009, the FBI failed to act when scumbag shooter at Fort Hood traded emails with a known terrorist leader and then shot up Fort Hood...
Defend the FBI all you want..
But it's ONLY because of your PARTY UBER ALLES mentality and has no other basis in reality...
i hate when the blog gets meta.
getting back to the more interesting first 150 or so posts...
@CRS - i'm also a non-user of facebook or other such social media. without all the unnecessary scorn, i think if you're going to style yourself an economist it really does behoove you to read some of the latest literature, from keyensian as well as friedman/hayek centers of thought. my psychology doctorate would be worth nothing if i stopped reading the literature fourteen years ago when i got it - from behavioral epigenetics to social neuroscience to public choice theory, research never stands still.
@michale,
you've read the latest indictments WAY too broadly. it's very specific in which crimes are involved, and does not include the full breadth of the special counsel's investigations. while i agree with you that donald himself is unlikely to be found guilty of anything criminal, the facts we have so far do not exactly paint a flattering picture of his leadership abilities.
@kick,
collusion and conspiracy aren't the same thing; i believe the media tend to use the former rather than the latter because it protects them from charges of libel. there's ample proof that donald is politically negligent to the detriment of our country, but i see absolutely nothing in the evidence thus far that points toward treason or any other prosecutable crime, so i find the "benedict" moniker far below the standards of your intellect.
@liz,
no, they can't.
JL
JL
you've read the latest indictments WAY too broadly. it's very specific in which crimes are involved, and does not include the full breadth of the special counsel's investigations. while i agree with you that donald himself is unlikely to be found guilty of anything criminal, the facts we have so far do not exactly paint a flattering picture of his leadership abilities.
Considering all the forces arrayed AGAINST President Trump, "not painting a flattering picture of his leadership abilities" is the best that can be hoped for..
But the fact is, President Trump is INNOCENT of any wrongdoing with regards to Russian Collusion..
And the further fact is, ANY Russian meddling that did occur DIDN'T have any effect of the election...
So, would you agree that President Trump is the fairly, legally, and freely elected President Of The United States..
collusion and conspiracy aren't the same thing; i believe the media tend to use the former rather than the latter because it protects them from charges of libel. there's ample proof that donald is politically negligent to the detriment of our country, but i see absolutely nothing in the evidence thus far that points toward treason or any other prosecutable crime, so i find the "benedict" moniker far below the standards of your intellect.
Well said..
That's my biggest problem with they way things have become here..
Personal attacks and name-calling has not only become the ACCEPTED practice here... it's a practice that is actually ENCOURAGED....
I mean, honestly?? Attacking a man because of the color of his skin or the size of his hands, and by extension, the size of his penis???
IN WHAT COUNTRY is that acceptable and mature discourse??
Apparently, ONLY in the People's Republic Of Weigantia... :^/
Good ta see you around, JL.. You are missed...
you've read the latest indictments WAY too broadly. it's very specific in which crimes are involved,
Yes it was.. It was very specific in the RUSSIAN crimes that were involved...
And it was ALSO very specific in that NO AMERICANS knowingly worked with Russians..
There goes the charge of Collusion and/or Conspiracy out the window...
Michale,
My issue was with you and Trump using the 17 murder victims as an excuse to attack the FBI’s investigation of pres. Twitler, which you wisely didn’t even attempt to defend! YOU politicized their deaths! YOU did this; no one else did! How morally putrid your soul must be to do such a thing!
The police had been called out to Cruz’s home something like 39 times. The school had made sure the boy was given access to psych counseling. The FBI failed to follow up on calls about Cruz’s comments, and that was wrong — but it is not surprising.
Just like police are supposed to respond to every 911 hangup call from cell phones (often no address can be given with any certainty for these calls), they often just get tossed because the officers know that 99% of the time there will be no way to determine who made the call. I am guessing that the FBI agents recognized that the comments being made were not enough to grant them the ability to do anything.
I do know how hard it is to get a loved one’s rights suspended by our justice system out of concern for their safety and the safety of others, do you? Without actual criminal actions being committed by a person or psychiatric evaluations stating that the person is an immediate threat to their own safety, the courts are not able to preventively strip a person of their rights for any length of time. Quit bullshitting and trying to make it sound like this was the FBI’s fault for not preventing this from occurring!
In other news, Pennsylvania Republicants just got handed their newly redistricted map by the State Supreme Court, after their "Oh hell, let's just cheat" map (that they had used in the 2016 election) was thrown out for being so partisan it even offended Pennsylvanians. The GOP plans to appeal, of course, but the last time a similar situation arose, Justice Alito politely told the appellants to put their crayons back in the box, playtime with district lines is over.
Russ,
My issue was with you and Trump using the 17 murder victims as an excuse to attack the FBI’s investigation of pres. Twitler, which you wisely didn’t even attempt to defend! YOU politicized their deaths!
Oh don't give me THAT crap..
You hysterical anti-gun nuts politicized this incident from the first reports.
Your Messiah, ODUMBO explicitly STATED that Dumbocrats MUST politicize these incidents..
So don't even go there...
The police had been called out to Cruz’s home something like 39 times. The school had made sure the boy was given access to psych counseling. The FBI failed to follow up on calls about Cruz’s comments, and that was wrong —
I never said it wasn't surprising.. I just said it was wrong. That the FBI fraked up.
And YOU disputed that..
So, are you admitting NOW that you were wrong??
Of course not..
You NEVER admit when yer wrong..
Quit bullshitting and trying to make it sound like this was the FBI’s fault for not preventing this from occurring!
It WAS the FBI's fault..
And YOU can't admit that because THEN you think you would be agreeing with Trump..
And you would rather put yer head in a wood chipper rather than even give the INKLING that you agree with Trump on anything...
When the Republican Party tried to pass legislation circumventing HIPPA regulations to allow for mental health screenings for gun purchases, it was the DEMOCRATS who shot it down.
nypoet22
221
collusion and conspiracy aren't the same thing
I didn't say they were the "same thing;" I said they were synonyms, and they are.
http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/collusion?s=t
i believe the media tend to use the former rather than the latter because it protects them from charges of libel.
Perhaps, but it's really hard to "libel" public figures, and the media are so fond of "alleged." Collusion is a layman's term and can be a federal crime in unique cases of antitrust law, but the criminal equivalent of that layman's term is conspiracy.
there's ample proof that donald is politically negligent to the detriment of our country, but i see absolutely nothing in the evidence thus far that points toward treason or any other prosecutable crime, so i find the "benedict" moniker far below the standards of your intellect.
Anyone who has conspired against America constitutes a "traitor" (layman's term) or "Benedict Arnold" (slang) but has not necessarily committed "treason" (legal term). Unlike you, I definitely see several "prosecutable" crimes, particularly abetting a conspiracy to defraud the United States, and/or conspiring to violate the election laws of the United States, violations of 52 U.S.C. 30121, conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, along with several crimes committed in the coverup of same. Of course, that is not to say that Mueller will pursue them, but I believe he likely will. :)
Kick
I'm curious about Trump's "Conspiracy to violate the election laws of the United States." Could you accommodate me by specifying exactly which law it was he (or his team) conspired to break?
The thing that worries me is that it will turn out to be that law that declares it to be an "Illegal capital offense for an asshole Republican to defeat the anointed candidate of the Dems/Libs", right?
The thing that worries me is that it will turn out to be that law that declares it to be an "Illegal capital offense for an asshole Republican to defeat the anointed candidate of the Dems/Libs", right?
Ding, Ding Ding
Unlike you, I definitely see several "prosecutable" crimes, particularly abetting a conspiracy to defraud the United States, and/or conspiring to violate the election laws of the United States, violations of 52 U.S.C. 30121, conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, along with several crimes committed in the coverup of same.
Yet, Mueller doesn't see ANY of those crimes..
Funny how that is....
LWYH
I don't really want to pile onto the FBI here, I have at least two personal friends who are agents, and I respect the job the bureau currently does, but their screw-up on the FL disaster is much worse than you seem to indicate.
I've heard there were MULTIPLE warnings from MULTIPLE people, over the span of almost two yrs, with names and details, that this thing was coming, and NOBODY followed up! I have no idea why it didn't happen, but it definitely did not!
I've heard there were MULTIPLE warnings from MULTIPLE people, over the span of almost two yrs, with names and details, that this thing was coming, and NOBODY followed up! I have no idea why it didn't happen, but it definitely did not!
Exactly.. There are THREE documented reports from three different sources...
The FBI dropped the ball.. This is FACT...
Any equivocation or mitigation is SOLELY and COMPLETELY based on Party slavery and HHPTDS bigotry...
This is FACT...
Michale
233
Yet, Mueller doesn't see ANY of those crimes..
Funny how that is....
It is infinitely funny how you constantly claim to know what other people think; on this I think we might all agree. :)
poet [221]
I'm curious why you conclude that I am unfamiliar with "The 'latest' literature from Keynes, Friedman, Hayek . . ."
"LATEST"??? You do know that all those guys are long dead, right??
I'm intimately familiar with all. I literally revere Milton and Rose Friedman. I could damn near rattle off their entire 10-part "Free To Choose series from memory!
You need to find another way to get your exercise besides 'jumping to conclusions'.
It is infinitely funny how you constantly claim to know what other people think;
I don't have to CLAIM what Mueller thinks..
He wrote it up in the indictment..
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
No guess work necessary...
Michale
238
I don't have to CLAIM what Mueller thinks..
He wrote it up in the indictment..
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign...
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY....
Wrong. Those words are NOT in the indictment.
No guess work necessary...
Fabrication necessary, though. You should really read the indictment; those phrases aren't in it. Here is a searchable copy for your convenience. :)
https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download
No guess work necessary...
And no thinking required, if that's what you got out of it.
"He doesn't understand. Explain as you would a child." - Sarris, Galaxy Quest
So, again:
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWING PARTICIPANTS...
I don't understand where you're going with this, other than to either emulate Trump or just be annoying. It doesn't work like "There's no place like Home", and clicking your heels together only wears out your shoes. I know, I tried. We're not in Kansas anymore, and Mueller's investigation continues.
Russians worked FOR and AGAINST the Trump Campaign
Every public statement by every official, including the Trump appointed heads of the intelligence agencies the other day have stated as fact that the primary target of the Russian disinformation campaign was Hillary Clinton. Read up.
The outcome of the election was NOT ALTERED IN ANY WAY..
No? Hillary was polling eighty percent positive with Democrats before the election. During the election, however, Hillary's numbers tanked, thanks in part, we know now, to a multi-million dollar intelligence led dezinformatsiya campaign that included Russian agents directing operations from within the United States.
Holy Shit. And you're saying that all of that was a big bust, that it didn't hurt Hillary's Presidential Campaign one bit - and neither, by the way, did the Russian hacking of the DNC - both of which converged at the Convention when 'implacable' Bernie supporters demanded the head of Debbbie Wasserman Schultz, a Clinton supporter.
Now we have a different lens to see that through.
What the Russians achieved was to turn both ends against the middle, politically. There goal seems to have been that there would be no center left standing, and they've largely accomplished that, save for a smallish but hardy bipartisan caucus in the Senate.
You'll never convince me that the post-convention Bernie-or-Bust crowd, egged on, we know now, by Russian operative, had no effect on the election. The outsized vote for Jill Stein in Wisconsin alone would have swung the election, and Gary Johnson, who couldn't identify Aleppo, Harriet Tubman or a single world leader, got more votes than she did in cheese country, doubling the normal Libertarian vote in that State.
So don't tell me the election wasn't altered in any way, when it plainly got weirder as it went along. That, we now know, was no accident.
"There goal", how embarrassing. It's they're goal. heh
M-238
Still haven't read the indictment I see....
So again Mueller did not say any of the cherry picked, missing words of the person who spoke them statements that you seem to keep wanting to yell at us.
So again....
Now, there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.
As spoken by the DAG. Who also said ....
The special counsel's investigation is ongoing. There will be no comments from the special counsel at this time.
What Mueller did say in his indictment was ....
From in or around 2014 to the present, Defendants
knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful
functions of the government through fraud and deceit for the purpose of interfering with the U.S.
political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016.
And...
Defendants posted derogatory information
about a number of candidates, and by early to mid-2016, Defendants’ operations included
supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump (“Trump Campaign”) and
disparaging Hillary Clinton.
And...
They engaged in operations primarily intended
to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such
as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.
And...
Oh wait a second...can't find the one about effecting the election outcome. Could it be that is because he does not once use the any combination of those words in the indictment.
At least try to use complete statements that have all of the words in them....
@CRS,
"LATEST"??? You do know that all those guys are long dead, right??
when theorists die, be they keynes and friedman or freud and skinner, their ideas continue to be refined and altered based on new data and research. perhaps i wasn't clear; when i wrote "the latest literature from keyensian as well as friedman/hayek centers of thought," i meant RECENT strands of theory that DERIVE from keynes or friedman/hayek, such as game theory, public choice theory, black-scholes, etc., none of which you've given the impression that you've even heard of. if a sample of amateurs in the field all know more about recent macroeconomics research than you do, perhaps you should read a book.
@michale,
But the fact is, President Trump is INNOCENT of any wrongdoing with regards to Russian Collusion..
that's not a fact, it's a prediction. IF the special counsel investigation finishes and nobody in the trump family is indicted, THEN we'll see that prediction borne out factually. just because CERTAIN russian individuals were indicted, with which mueller believes NO americans were intentionally connected, does NOT mean there aren't OTHER russian individuals with whom they WERE connected. it's pretty simple logic.
@kick,
I didn't say they were the "same thing;" I said they were synonyms, and they are.
yes, but synonyms with some very important distinctions between them.
JL
poet
So who makes up this "Sample of amateurs who know more about macroeconomics than I do"?? Betting it sure as hell ain't you.
Joshua,
Your last couple of posts are very much appreciated and I take them as very important lessons to always keep uppermost in mind.
It is important to be clear in our writing and equally important to read carefully.
CRS,
I've heard there were MULTIPLE warnings from MULTIPLE people, over the span of almost two yrs, with names and details, that this thing was coming, and NOBODY followed up! I have no idea why it didn't happen, but it definitely did not!
I am pretty sure no one knew for certain that “this was coming”, nor did they claim to know when it would take place. Both the local police and FBI had taken calls regarding Cruz and statements he had made.
My issue with Michale was his blaming the FBI’s investigation of Turd as the reason the FBI didn’t investigate Cruz’s claims....thus making the investigation the reason why the massacre was not prevented! Michale should pray that he is never forced to take into his mouth the equivalent of the amount of shit that comes out of his mouth.
Wrong. Those words are NOT in the indictment.
But that is what the indictment says, according to Rosenstein..
You lost.. Get over it already..
Fabrication necessary, though. You should really read the indictment; those phrases aren't in it
Those exact words, no..
But that is the final result..
Aside to CRS...
Didn't I tell you??
They just CAN'T accept reality...
So I guess were still at the point of earned and legitimate ridicule...
I don't ever think we'll get to the point of sadistic gloating because these nimnulls simply CAN'T accept the facts....
Balthy,
"There goal", how embarrassing. It's they're goal. heh
How DOUBLY embarrassing...
It's "THEIR goal"
:D
No? Hillary was polling eighty percent positive with Democrats before the election. During the election, however, Hillary's numbers tanked, thanks in part, we know now, to a multi-million dollar intelligence led dezinformatsiya campaign that included Russian agents directing operations from within the United States.
Not according to Mueller's indictment..
According to the indictment, the outcome of the election was NOT AFFECTED IN ANY WAY..
You lost.. Get over it..
GT,
Oh wait a second...can't find the one about effecting the election outcome.
Really???
There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.
That's from your OWN frakin' quote!!!!
Jesus h christ!!
And WHY is there no allegation that the outcome of the election was changed???
BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAPPEN..
Why is there no allegation that Americans knowingly participated??
BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAPPEN...
You people lost..
Get over it..
Balthy,
So don't tell me the election wasn't altered in any way, when it plainly got weirder as it went along. That, we now know, was no accident.
Except it states clearly in Mueller's report that the charged conduct did not affect the outcome of the election in ANY WAY...
just because CERTAIN russian individuals were indicted, with which mueller believes NO americans were intentionally connected, does NOT mean there aren't OTHER russian individuals with whom they WERE connected. it's pretty simple logic.
No, it's convoluted logic, designed to push a political point..
Where are these phantom more Russians?? Where are these Americans who knowingly participated??
Non-existent..
As of RIGHT NOW, it's a *FACT* that no Americans were knowingly involved..
You are correct that that FACT may change down the road..
But as of right now, it's a FACT...
My issue with Michale was his blaming the FBI’s investigation of Turd as the reason the FBI didn’t investigate Cruz’s claims....thus making the investigation the reason why the massacre was not prevented! Michale should pray that he is never forced to take into his mouth the equivalent of the amount of shit that comes out of his mouth.
The FBI had several reports about the scumbag (do me a favor... Don't mention his name.. Why give him the infamy he craves??)...
For whatever reasons, they chose to ignore them..
Being that it is here in Florida, the site of the Southern White House, it's a reasonable extrapolation that Florida FBI was tasked with chasing down President Trump to the exclusion of all else...
That's the NICEST interpretation possible..
Because if it wasn't that, then THAT means the FBI were simply INCOMPETENT or, worse yet, just didn't care...
My issue with Michale was his blaming the FBI’s investigation of Turd as the reason the FBI didn’t investigate Cruz’s claims..
No, your issue is that you don't want to blame the FBI for *ANYTHING* because that puts you in the same boat with President Trump and you would rather pull out all your toenails with your teeth than be in the same boat with President Trump..
In short, you are reacting emotionally, not logically..
Joshua,
Your last couple of posts are very much appreciated and I take them as very important lessons to always keep uppermost in mind.
It is important to be clear in our writing and equally important to read carefully.
Word......
GT
Ignore comment #249....
You switched tracks on me and went from the indictment to the press conference and back again so it was kind of hard to follow your "logic", such as it was...
Irregardless, the simple FACT is this..
NO AMERICANS WERE KNOWINGLY INVOLVED...
THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTION WAS NOT AFFECTED WHATSOEVER....
These are the facts...
I know, I know.. Ya'all simply CANNOT ACCEPT those facts because it means you would have to ACCEPT the FACT that you have wasted an entire year, believing in the utter bullshit that President Trump is not the fairly, legally and legitimate President Of The United States...
We're still at earned ridicule and will likely never get into the neighborhood of sadistic gloating, because ya'all will NEVER accept reality...
Michael Moore Participated In Russia-Sponsored Anti-Trump Rally
Progressive director Michael Moore participated in an anti-Trump protest in New York that was organized by Russians, according to information released Friday by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein announced indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller Friday against 13 Russian nationals for meddling in the 2016 election, highlighting how the Russians used social media to stir up strife and anger on social media using memes and unwitting Americans to do their bidding. One Russia-sponsored event was a protest of then President-Elect Donald Trump on Nov. 12, 2016, called “Trump is NOT my President,” and it involved Moore.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/19/michael-moore-russian-anti-trump-rally/
BBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Michael Moore was a Russian stooge!! :D
Speaking of polls...
Poll: Most Americans now support GOP tax law
The Republican tax cut law, which once appeared overwhelmingly unpopular, is now supported by a narrow majority of Americans, according to a Survey Monkey poll published in the NY Times.
Support is at 51% overall (up from 37% in December), 89% among Republicans and 19% among Democrats.
Why it matters: Republicans see selling the tax cuts as perhaps the most important part of preserving the congressional majorities in the 2018 midterms.
https://www.axios.com/poll-most-americans-now-support-gop-tax-cut-law-1519076690-b68e2260-368f-4562-bba4-ad56ce596ca7.html
Since ya'all just LOVE polls, you will accept THIS poll at face value, right?? :D
Balthy,
No? Hillary was polling eighty percent positive with Democrats before the election. During the election, however, Hillary's numbers tanked, thanks in part, we know now, to a multi-million dollar intelligence led dezinformatsiya campaign that included Russian agents directing operations from within the United States.
Rosenstein noted that the Russians had posted 176,000 tweets in ten weeks, and that 50,258 accounts had been created and tweeted a million times. The tweets presumably were slanted with anti-Hillary bias. The "interference" began during the nomination season, and the Russians, according to Rosenstein (the reader will please excuse my skepticism), preferred Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. To put this tweet threat in perspective, the reader should know that there are 500 million tweets on average generated every day on Twitter. If the total number of Russian tweets were concentrated on one day, that would still come to only 0.00352% of all the tweets on that day. If it were one million tweets over a five-month period, that would come to 0.0000235% of all tweets over that period. What an impact those tweets must have had!
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/russian_investigation_offers_a_ludicrous_indictment.html#ixzz57dveBuRm
So, what you are saying is that .0000235% twits TOTALLY swung the election to Donald Trump..
Is THAT what you are REALLY saying!!??? :D
"America is no stranger to spending money to interfere with foreign elections. In the last Israeli election, the Obama State Department funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to the opposition of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that the State Department and a group called One Voice coordinated political activities – including the building of a voter database, the training of activists, and the hiring of a political consulting firm tied to President Obama himself."
What have we here???
On Friday, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order in United States v. Flynn that, while widely unnoticed, reveals something fascinating: A motion by Michael Flynn to withdraw his guilty plea based on government misconduct is likely in the works.
Just a week ago, and thus before Sullivan quietly directed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team to provide Flynn’s attorneys “any exculpatory evidence,” Washington Examiner columnist Byron York detailed the oddities of Flynn’s case. The next day, former assistant U.S. attorney and National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy connected more of the questionable dots. York added even more details a couple of days later. Together these articles provide the backdrop necessary to understand the significance of Sullivan’s order on Friday.
Looks like Flynn is turning on Mueller!!! :D
Flashback: CNN and MSNBC Helped Russia Sow Discord by Promoting Fake Anti-Trump Rally
One of the revelations in Friday’s indictment handed down by Special Counsel Robert Mueller was that alleged Russian attempts to sow disunity in 2016 included the organization of both pro- and anti-Trump rallies in New York City on the Saturday after Election Day.
A check of their November 12 coverage showed both CNN and MSNBC gave enthusiastic coverage to the Russian-organized anti-Trump rally that day, with live reports every hour. Correspondents celebrated the idea that it was “a love rally,” and repeated the marchers’ anti-Trump mantras, such as: “We reject the President-elect.”
While the two liberal anti-Trump networks offered heavy coverage of the anti-Trump rally throughout the day, a check of coverage between noon and 5:00 p.m. Eastern found that the Fox News Channel offered only a short re-cap (66 seconds) at the start of their 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2018/02/19/flashback-cnn-and-msnbcs-enthusiastic-coverage-russian-sponsored-anti
BBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Remind me again how the Russians were in President Trump's corner??? I seem to have forgotten, what with all the FACTS to the contrary??
But it IS hilarious...
Seeing Liberal stalwarts like CNN and MSNBC assisting the Russians in sowing discord in America...
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eae53e4885994ef599f21e21065a1fce58e6b608b2b215862cdfcf86aada0e3c.jpg?w=800&h=335
That about sums things up perfectly.. :D
Diseased Streets
An NBC Bay Area Investigation reveals a dangerous concoction of drug needles, garbage, and feces lining the streets of downtown San Francisco. The Investigative Unit surveyed more than 150 blocks, including some of the city’s top tourist destinations, and discovered conditions that are now being compared to some of the worst slums in the world.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Diseased-Streets-472430013.html
Democrat Utopia...... :^/
https://a.disquscdn.com/get?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.homelandsecuritynewswire.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fimagecache%2Fstandard%2Feod-1.jpg&key=XnD8C9ReEHFVuf1ZpeyrSw&w=800&h=465
Required attire for visiting San Francisco... :D
"I sang the National Anthem in the WORST possible way imaginable."
-Carl Lewis
"Hold my beer..."
-Fergie
:D
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cccebc654d16284dbdabd9e4ffa2afb3ea802a96cbc534fed6fe7243aea20f7.png?w=800&h=410&w=800&h=410
"It's funny because it's true!!"
-Homer Simpson
:D
The indictments will never lead to a trial; they were not intended to do that. The bad guys are safely at home in Moscow, never to be seen again in the United States. But the indictments were a necessary career move for Mr. Mueller.
No one outside his circle of friends and associates knows what, if anything, Mr. Mueller has turned up to justify an investigation into whether Donald Trump colluded with Russians to cook the results of the election. There is a growing public opinion that despite an occasional grunt and expectant squeak from the Mueller inner sanctum, Mr. Mueller has hit a dead end. A dry hole, as the oil drillers would call it. Much was expected from Mr. Mueller, a man with a reputation for probity, ethics, honor, positive work habits and other good stuff, but so far, for all the grunting and squeaking, he has produced only a few mice. None of the mice speak Russian with dreadful tales to tell.
Indicting evildoers in absentia is a prosecutor’s good fortune. Since no one will ever come to trial, Mr. Mueller will never have to present a case to be judged whether weak, strong or otherwise. The 13 Russians comprise the ham sandwich that a good prosecutor is said to be able to indict at will. Mr. Mueller is going through the motions of demanding extradition, but that is only to make Mr. Putin laugh. Mr. Mueller knows the chances of seeing them step off a plane from Moscow, with their hands in cuffs and facing the famous perp walk for the assembled reporters and photographers, are between zero and none. The Democratic dream of seeing Donald Trump in an orange jump suit, with his hands in cuffs, is an ever more remote fantasy.
So far Mr. Mueller has not put a glove on the president, measured by what he has laid out for public consumption. Perhaps he will lay out the goods on a later occasion. But Rod Rosenstein, the deputy U.S. attorney general who made the thrilling announcement last week that more mice had been called to justice, went out of his way to concede that the 13 indictments say nothing about Mr. Trump’s guilt or innocence, and if anyone in the Trump campaign stumbled across a Russian it was “unwitting.” Brushing against a Russian in a check-out line at Harris Teeter or Safeway is not collusion, but coincidence.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/19/everybodys-playing-the-new-game-in-town/
"It's over. Go home... Go on..."
-Matthew Broderick, FERRIS BEUHLER'S DAY OFF
Vlad the Imposter loosed his cybernauts against America not to obstruct Hillary Clinton’s path to the White House, but to sow discord and division, to stir resentment, to cripple her if she won or to wound Donald Trump after he won against the expectations of all the wise men. That’s why he encouraged rallies against the winner. The idea was to set American against American, to stir up enough rant and rage that the wise men would be so busy with their anger that they would not stop to figure out Vlad’s game.
The pieces fell into place with unexpected ease and precision. The new president was left wounded, the loyal opposition stuck in a permanent pout. Dysfunction is the name of the game, and everybody plays.
What's so ironic is that it's YOU hysterical NeverTrumpers who are the instruments of Putin's agenda...
You hysterical NeverTrumpers are Lenin's "useful idiots"....
It's dripping with irony....
LAST MAN STANDING!!!! :D
On Friday, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order in United States v. Flynn that, while widely unnoticed, reveals something fascinating: A motion by Michael Flynn to withdraw his guilty plea based on government misconduct is likely in the works.
So right-wing media are telling the sheeple that a motion by Flynn to withdraw his guilty plea is "likely in the works." Likely? Based on what?
I wonder if the sheeple even bothered to read the order in question. I did. Anyone interested may read the order here:
https://tinyurl.com/y78542sy
... continued
It's a standing order that Judge Sullivan issues in all such cases. He has one for civil cases also; they're under the heading "Standing Orders."
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/judge-emmet-g-sullivans-court-web-page
While it's not impossible this could happen, anyone telling you that it's "likely in the works" based on a standing order is full of shit... just the same old talking heads who declared that the "Nunes memo" ended the investigation. The right-wing propaganda machine preys on ignorance.
Looks like Flynn is turning on Mueller!!! :D
Not remotely "likely" but not entirely "impossible." What would be the point of withdrawing a guilty plea for false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 when Special Counsel has other numerous and various assorted airtight cases against you and you've already sung like a canary? :)
What would be the point of withdrawing a guilty plea for false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 when Special Counsel has other numerous and various assorted airtight cases against you and you've already sung like a canary? :)
Except Flynn hasn't..
All you have to "prove" that is anonymous NeverTrumper MSM reports..
Face reality, sunshine..
Mueller already exonerated President Trump and staff, so your free ride on the Russian COllusion Bullshit Exress is over.. :D
Except Flynn hasn't..
Wrong again. You don't get a plea deal without a proffer.
All you have to "prove" that is anonymous NeverTrumper MSM reports..
Wrong again. You know zero about what I "have."
Face reality, sunshine..
As I have said before, you wouldn't recognize reality if it lived on your face. :)
All you have to "prove" that is anonymous NeverTrumper MSM reports..
Wrong again. You know zero about what I "have."
As usual, you have nothing..
You like to brag about all this info you have, but when it all comes down to it, you ain't got jack. :D
You know it. I know it....
As I have said before, you wouldn't recognize reality if it lived on your face. :)
And yet, you have been WRONG about everything Trump for the last 2 years and I have been FACTUALLY ACCURATE about everything Trump for the last 2 years..
Face the facts... I PWN you.. :D
Com'on, Victoria.. Where is all this information you have???
I am not seeing ANY of it, because you ain't got shit.. :D
Wrong again. You know zero about what I "have."
I know that you have ZERO... :D
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
Michale
273
I told you the facts about the judge's standing order and posted a link to it. I even explained that it's not impossible but not likely about Flynn and posted the facts, and what do you do? You insist:
Except Flynn hasn't..
And what do you have to prove that? *LOL* Your Orange Worship is now referring to Flynn as a "liar" instead of the "wonderful man" he used to call him. What does that tell you? Time to clue in. Do you not understand proffers and plea arrangements, Mr. LEO? Read the offense:
https://www.justice.gov/file/1015126/download
There's a lot there in black and white, and it's not the MSM.
You know it. I know it....
Awwwwww. You seemed to have located someone ignorant enough to believe your prolific lying; unfortunately for you... it's you. :)
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Now bugger off.
You claim to have information... You always threaten to post it..
But you NEVER do.
Basically your ENTIRE "argument" (such as it is) is "I have a lot of support in email"
Yer a legend in your own mind, Victoria...
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Now bugger off.
Yea, you keep trying to chase me away but you ALWAYS fail miserably because I always PROVE what a liar you really are.. :D
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
LAST MAN STANDING!!!! :D
Michale
276
You claim to have information... You always threaten to post it..
But you NEVER do.
Basically your ENTIRE "argument" (such as it is) is "I have a lot of support in email"
OMG. You're not even going to discuss the issue... just go straight into your name calling? Dang. Mustn't post anything of substance about plea agreements and proffers because the so-called "LEO" is obviously truly clueless regarding the issue. Thanks for letting everyone know the level of your "expertise." :)
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You like how I can ALWAYS get you to post!! :D
PWNED :D
OMG. You're not even going to discuss the issue... just go straight into your name calling?
Name-calling?? Where??
Any FACTS to support that??
Of course not...
Thanks for letting everyone know the level of your "expertise." :)
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And thanks for admitting once again that your claims of having facts and information is 1000% bullshit :D
PWNED
LAST MAN STANDING!!!!! :D