Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston
~~~
General John Kelly: "He said that, in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law."
Monday, April 29, 2019
Of all the lies, deliberate misinformation, and twisted truth Donald J. Trump has told over the last 3 years...
this is the sickest, stupidest, most egregious of all his disgusting lies.
He's either mentally deranged or the stupidest man in America.
Maybe both:
Michelle Goldberg, NYTimes:
"It’s not a stretch to imagine an unstable Trump acolyte taking him both seriously and literally. Indeed, it seems that at least one already has. Last week, a 30-year-old Trump supporter named Matthew Haviland was arrested and accused of threatening to rape and murder a professor who supports abortion rights. According to an affidavit by an F.B.I. joint terrorism task force officer, Haviland wrote in an email, “I will kill every Democrat in the world so we never more have to have our babies brutally murdered by you absolute terrorists.” He also made over a hundred threatening calls to an abortion clinic. Besides their potential to inspire violence, Trump’s words are a cruel insult to parents who have to make agonizing decisions about end-of-life care for babies that are born extremely prematurely, or with serious anomalies.
Doctors and mothers don’t choose to “execute” newborns. They are forced to decide, in excruciating situations, when to forgo medical interventions and provide palliative care instead. There are exceedingly rare cases where babies survive an attempted abortion, but federal law already extends the same protection to them due any other infant."
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Don McGahn and others in the White House did what’s become common among Republicans in Washington: Dealing with Trump by ignoring him.
Trump claims he never told McGahn to fire Mueller, but they say otherwise
In an interview with Mueller, McGahn recalled Trump telling him "Mueller has to go" and "call me back when you do it."
The Mueller report details how McGahn received at least 2 phone calls with Pres. Trump in which the president "directed him to call" Deputy AG Rosenstein to have Mueller "removed."
Trump claims he never told McGahn to fire Mueller.
Let's see...trump, who's been documented to have lied 10,000 times since being inaugurated, claims McGahn, a man who kept precise notes on his meetings with Trump and whom Trump castigated for keeping those notes, is not to be believed?
McGahn was questioned under oath. Trump answered some questions on paper, to which questions he claimed, over 30 times, that he had no recollection.
No one believes the lying liar, trump, except the delusional fanatics in his base.
They admire liars, cheats, and frauds.
"Take care that the laws be faithfully executed."
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This clause, known as the Take Care Clause, requires the President to enforce all constitutionally valid Acts of Congress, regardless of his own Administration's view of their wisdom or policy.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said that complying with congressional requests was unnecessary after the White House cooperated with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian interference and the president’s own conduct in office. “There is no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, two White House officials said the administration plans to fight a subpoena issued by the House Judiciary Committee for former White House counsel Donald McGahn by asserting executive privilege over his testimony.
Separately, the administration directed a former White House official not to comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, prompting the panel to move to hold him in contempt of Congress. And the Treasury Department defied a second demand from House Democrats to turn over six years of President Trump’s tax returns.
In his interview with The Post, Trump maintained that the White House Counsel’s Office has not “made a final, final decision” about whether it will formally assert executive privilege and try to block congressional testimony. But he said he opposes cooperation with House Democrats, who he claimed are trying to score political points against him.“I don’t want people testifying to a party, because that is what they’re doing if they do this,” Trump said.
The president said Democrats should be satisfied with what McGahn and other officials told Mueller, calling his decision to allow them to meet with federal investigators an act of transparency that made further congressional cooperation unreasonable.
“I allowed my lawyers and all the people to go and testify to Mueller — and you know how I feel about that whole group of people that did the Mueller report,” Trump said. “I was so transparent; they testified for so many hours. They have all of that information that’s been given.”
“I fully understood that at the beginning. I had my choice,” Trump added of his decision to allow his aides to testify as part of Mueller’s probe. “I could have taken the absolute opposite route.”
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Here's something you don't see every day:
Principled Republicans.
(NOTE to RN: They DO exist. You're not alone.)
Number 1:
Iowa's longest-serving GOP lawmaker joins the Democrats because of Trump
"He sets, in my opinion, a poor example for the nation and particularly for our children by personally insulting -- often in a crude and juvenile fashion -- those who disagree with him, being a bully at a time when we we are attempting to discourage bullying, his frequent disregard for the truth and his willingness to ridicule or marginalize people for their appearance, ethnicity or disability," McKean said."
Washington(CNN) "The Iowa Legislature's longest-serving Republican announced Tuesday that because of President Donald Trump, he will be joining the Democratic Party, calling Trump "a poor example for the nation and particularly for our children." State Rep. Andy McKean, who has served in both Iowa's Senate and House chambers, identified with the Republican Party for 35 years before Tuesday's announcement and is the longest-serving Republican in the state's Legislature today, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
'With the 2020 president election looming on the horizon, I feel as a Republican that I need to be able to support the standard bearer of our party. Unfortunately, that is not something I am able to do,' McKean said at a news conference."
Number 2:
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Friday, April 19, 2019
NO EXONERATION, DEFINITELY OBSTRUCTION
REPUBLICAN GROUP WILL RUN AD ON FOX NEWS URGING GOP TO HOLD TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE: 'NO EXONERATION, DEFINITELY OBSTRUCTION'
"Republicans for the Rule of Law, a conservative group whose stated purpose is "defending the institutions of our republic," will run an advertisement on Fox News over the weekend urging GOP lawmakers to hold Trump accountable over the findings in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign team and Kremlin officials.
The highly-anticipated 448-page report, with redactions, was released by Attorney General William Barr Thursday morning. It details the nearly two-year investigation, which resulted in 199 criminal charges and more than 30 individuals and organizations facing indictments or pleading guilty — including six former Trump associates and three groups linked to the Russian government. Mueller’s team revealed a number of questionable actions attributed to Trump and his inner circle, dating from his 2016 presidential campaign through to his tenure in the Oval Office.
“It's clear from the report today that there's a lot of political interference that was attempted [by Trump],” Sarah Longwell, executive director of Republicans for the Rule of Law, told Newsweek. “This is not the end of the Mueller investigation, this is just the beginning. It looks like the Mueller report really is a road map for Congress. And that there was no exoneration, definitely obstruction.”
NYTIMES:
So much for “complete and total exoneration.” To the contrary, it turns out that Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors and investigators found “substantial evidence” that President Trump broke federal law on numerous occasions by attempting to shut down or interfere with the nearly-two-year Russia investigation.
In addition to pointing to possible criminality, the report revealed a White House riddled with dysfunction and distrust, one in which Mr. Trump and his aides lie with contempt for one another and the public.
USAToday:
"For weeks, Barr has been trying to sell us a Mueller report that simply does not exist. The actual Mueller report, beneath all the redactions, details one of the most successful foreign disruptions of an American election in the history of the republic. It reveals a presidential campaign eager to suck up the benefits of this "sweeping and systematic" interference, and it unmasks a president who attempted to commit multiple crimes to cover the whole thing up.
But beyond all those revelations, this process has shown we are in an emergency unlike anything we've seen since Watergate. Barr has proven that he is determined to help Trump get away with some of the most unpatriotic and corrupt acts ever committed by a president."
Thursday, April 18, 2019
For people who believe there's nothing to see, read this:
Trump did try to sabotage the investigation. His staff defied him.
When Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Mr. Trump that a special counsel had been appointed in May 2017, Mr. Trump grew angry: “I’m fucked,” he said, believing his presidency was ruined. He told Mr. Sessions, “This is the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
Mr. Trump began trying to get rid of Mr. Mueller, only to be thwarted by his staff. In instance after instance, his staff acted as a bulwark against Mr. Trump’s most destructive impulses. In June 2017, the president instructed Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, to remove Mr. Mueller, but Mr. McGahn resisted. Rather than carry out the president’s order, he decided he would rather resign.
THIS SAYS IT ALL
Mueller: Congress still has ability to find the President obstructed justice
In special counsel Robert Mueller's report, the team writes that: "With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President's corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice."
Muller Report: Sarah Sanders made false statements to press on Comey firing.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders acknowledged to investigators with special counsel Robert Mueller's team that she misled reporters when she insisted in May 2017 that "countless" FBI agents had lost confidence in former Director James Comey leading up to his dismissal.
The special counsel's report, released Thursday, cited Sanders’s multiple false statements to reporters as part of its review of whether President Trump obstructed justice in firing Comey. Sanders told investigators that her misstatements were a "slip of the tongue,” and that the claims were not founded on anything.
From the Mueller Report:
“The evidence we obtained about the president’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were making a traditional prosecutorial judgment.
At the same time, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.
Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment.
Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
Trump's Attorney (He isn't an "Attorney General for the U.S.) Shills for Him
Mueller Said He Would Have Exonerated Trump On Obstruction If The Evidence Supported It, But He Couldn’t
"Undercutting Trump’s claim that Mueller, in addition to Barr, had cleared him of wrongdoing on obstruction, Mueller wrote that if his office had confidence that Trump did not commit obstruction, “we would so state.” But based on the facts and the law, he wrote, 'we were unable to reach that judgment.' ”
BUT. HE. COULDN'T!
Normal Americans want to find out why!
**********************************
Barr disgraced himself this morning.
Never mentioned the "10 episodes of possible obstruction" committed by Trump.
Blamed Trump's "feelings" for Trump's possible obstructive behavior.
And then we learn that Trump's attorney, Barr, did this:
White House and Justice Dept. Officials Discussed Mueller Report Before Release
Barr's preamble to releasing the Mueller Report is unprecedented in American history, which makes every fair-minded American wonder who he truly serves, the American people or Trump.
Barr lied:
"He said that Trump totally cooperated with the Special Counsel. He said that with a straight face. In fact, he obstructed the investigation at every turn.
Every day, he attacked it as a "witch hunt" and a "hoax". He got extremely angry with Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, rather than protecting him.
He fired James Comey and cleaned house at the FBI, firing McCabe one day before his official retirement.
He reportedly attempted to fire Mueller himself, thru the WH counsel, Don McGahn.
Not only that, he refused to be interviewed by the Special Counsel.
He refused to answer written questions on certain subject matters.
So, Barr began his news conference with a lie.
There was little cooperation from the White House."
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Hypocrisy on the Right, Part the Infinity
The egregious hypocrites on the right agonize over the attacks on Christian churches in Europe but ignore what the administration they support is doing to Christians at the border in the U.S.of A.
Those same people blubbered over what happened to France's Notre Dame cathedral but ignored what a white supremacist did to four Christian black churches in Louisiana.
What could the reason be for those Christian right wingers to ignore the destruction of black Christian churches by a white supremacist and the attacks on Christian Latinos at the border.
There must be some reason for those professed defenders of Chistianity to ignore the injustices and crimes against black and brown Christians right here in their own country.
I wonder what it could be?
Monday, April 15, 2019
Can Trump Be Anymore Clueless?
Why yes! Yes he can!
(And the guy whose NSA pick was indicted and is awaiting sentencing, whose personal lawyer is going to jail, and whose campaign manager is going to jail needs to STFU about other people breaking the law):
Being the massive narcissist that he is, Trump couldn't stop himself from lecturing French fire officials on how to contain the tragic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral:
So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!
47.9K people are talking about this
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Sunday Science Blog
Here is more background about this talented scientist.
Most news outlets are only showing the blurry zoomed in picture of the black hole . Here's the entire zoomed-out image of the black hole and everything it is consuming.
The tiny black spec in this image is 6.5 billion times the size of our sun.
Flora GrahamVerified account
Computer scientist Katie Bouman and her awesome stack of hard drives for #EHTblackhole image data — reminds me of Margaret Hamilton and her Apollo Guidance Computer source code.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Can someone explain to me why...
this isn't considered high crimes and misdemeanors, or malfeasance of office?
Trump told the head of the Customs and Border Protection agency to break the law and then assured that agent that he'll pardon him if he goes to jail for breaking the law?
And while you're at it, can someone tell me why the "law and order" Goopers aren't appalled at this law-breaking POTUS?
Also, imagine what the Goopers would be doing right now if they learned Barack Obama (or any other president) told someone who works for him to break the law and not to worry because he'll pardon that felon.
That's where we are with this miserable liar, cheat, and fraud.
Trump told CBP head he'd pardon him if he were sent to jail for violating immigration law
WH Mulled Dumping Immigrant Detainees In Sanctuary Cities, Targeting Trump Foes
Trump has said in the past that migrants trying to cross the border are "animals," rapists, drug dealers, and murderers, and yet his administration mulled over the idea of sending migrants to sanctuary cities, which would mean cities run by Democrats -- his opponents.
If trump truly believes his own rhetoric, that the migrants are drug dealers, rapists, and murderers, then what we've heard is that a POTUS would willingly place in mortal danger those citizens of cities that did not support him in the last presidential election.
This is how a dictator operates. Punish your opponents by jailing (Lock Her UP!) or place them in danger by sending what the POTUS believes are drug dealers, rapists, and murderers!
This is where America is under this miserable failure of a president.
The Washington Post reported:
White House officials first broached the plan in a Nov. 16 email, asking officials at several agencies whether members of the caravan could be arrested at the border and then bused “to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities,” places where local authorities have refused to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation.
The White House told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the plan was intended to alleviate a shortage of jail space but also served to send a message to Democrats. The attempt at political retribution raised alarm within ICE, with a top official responding that it was rife with budgetary and liability concerns, and noting that “there are PR risks as well.”
After the White House pressed again in February, ICE’s legal department rejected the idea as inappropriate and rebuffed the administration.
The White House told the Post that the idea has been dropped. But Pelosi’s office was outraged.
“The extent of this administration’s cynicism and cruelty cannot be overstated,” spokeswoman Ashley Etienne told the Post. “Using human beings — including little children — as pawns in their warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable.”
Thursday, April 11, 2019
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."
And Donald Trump will put them in cages like the "animals" that he says they are.
"If a Muslim man had burned down three WHITE Christian churches, Trump would have banned all Muslims, attacked him incessantly on Twitter, and found a way to blame Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
But since it was a WHITE man who burned down BLACK churches, all we get is crickets. Once again, his silence in the face of white, homegrown domestic terrorism is deafening.." --Omar Romero
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
The GOP's president encouraged border agents to break the law.
The President and the Take Care Clause
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
This clause, known as the Take Care Clause, requires the President to enforce all constitutionally valid Acts of Congress, regardless of his own Administration’s view of their wisdom or policy. The clause imposes a duty on the President; it does not confer a discretionary power. The Take Care Clause is a limit on the Vesting Clause’s grant to the President of “the executive power.”
President Told Border Agents to Break the Law
Digby:
Last Friday, the President visited Calexico, California, where he said, "We're full, our system's full, our country's full -- can't come in! Our country is full, what can you do? We can't handle any more, our country is full. Can't come in, I'm sorry. It's very simple."
Behind the scenes, two sources told CNN, the President told border agents to not let migrants in. Tell them we don't have the capacity, he said. If judges give you trouble, say, "Sorry, judge, I can't do it. We don't have the room."
After the President left the room, agents sought further advice from their leaders, who told them they were not giving them that direction and if they did what the President said they would take on personal liability. You have to follow the law, they were told.
The GOP's President
The GOP's POTUS has the maturity of a 5-year old, calling people names because of their physical appearances. (Who's surprised? He mocked a disabled journalist, didn't he?)
Do you suppose that all the TrumpCultists who support this overgrown man-child tell their children and grandchildren to follow the president's example and make fun of people if they have big ears or a big nose, or a limp, or have Downs' syndrome, because Donald J. Trump, POTUS, does it all the time, so it must be what big important grown ups do?
DJT is a role model for all Republicans' children and grandchildren. The Democrats tell their children and grandchildren to never, never, never copy this so-called adult's rude, cruel, crass behavior.
Trump is exactly the opposite of how an adult should behave.
Before His Firing, Trump Called Secret Service Director ‘Dumbo’ Because Of His Ears
Monday, April 8, 2019
Another One Bites The Dust
We now have an:
* acting Homeland Security Secretary
* acting Defense Secretary
* acting Interior Secretary
* acting chief of staff
If only we had someone acting like a President.
Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary
WASHINGTON — Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, resigned on Sunday after meeting with President Trump, ending a tumultuous tenure in charge of the border security agency that had made her the target of the president’s criticism.
“I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside,” Ms. Nielsen said in a resignation letter. “I hope that the next secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure America’s borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation’s discourse.”
Ms. Nielsen had requested the meeting to plan “a way forward” at the border, in part thinking she could have a reasoned conversation with Mr. Trump about the role, according to three people familiar with the meeting. She came prepared with a list of things that needed to change to improve the relationship with the president.
Mr. Trump in recent weeks had asked Ms. Nielsen to close the ports of entry along the border and to stop accepting asylum seekers, which Ms. Nielsen found ineffective and inappropriate. While the 30-minute meeting was cordial, Mr. Trump was determined to ask for her resignation. After the meeting, she submitted it."
NYTimes:
"Donald Trump flew into a rage on Twitter just hours after Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned as the New York Times reports that he often raged at her for telling him he can’t break the law.
Trump has been making demands and threats for months over a border crisis he manufactured and is only making worse by redeploying border patrol agents away from ports of entry, thus making lines longer and migrants more desperate."
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Saturday, April 6, 2019
The GOP Preznit Is An Idiot, Part The Infinity:
Trump at a Border Patrol station in Calexico, California, on Friday railed against what is commonly known as the "Flores decision" — a landmark federal immigration case — calling it a “disaster for our country” and publicly calling out "Judge Flores" for making the bad decision. The problem with that sentiment: The Flores in that case's title was not a judge, but a teenage girl named Jenny Lisette Flores.
“Some very bad court decisions. The Flores decision is a disaster. I have to tell you, Judge Flores, whoever you may be, that decision was a disaster for our country,” Trump said to the panel. “A disaster and we’re working on that.”
None of the panelists immediately corrected the president.
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