Labor Day Holiday

Off to a beautiful Trumpless Labor Day weekend of quiet walks in the woods, reading, and good food and wine. The best part is poor internet connection!

Be excellent to each other! And to my Florida family and friends: Take care and be safe!

COMEY IS COMPLETELY EXONERATED!

The DOJ has found no evidence Former FBI Director James Comey leaked classified memos or information to the media. 

Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director, asserts the finding reveals ‘Comey did not leak classified information,’ but raises the question ‘what was the FBI director to do when he thinks the President is corrupted and obstructing?


Answer: He does exactly what he did because he put country first!




"Mr. Comey responded on Thursday by noting that the new report found he had broken no laws and criticizing those who had accused him of lying or leaking information. 

'I don’t need a public apology from those who defamed me, but a quick message with a ‘sorry we lied about you’ would be nice,' he wrote on Twitter, challenging his critics to stop trusting 'people who gave you bad info for so long, including the president.' ” 

Inhuman and Depraved. Trump goes after sick migrant children.

The Trump administration is ending a program implemented by the Obama administration that allowed very sick migrant children to temporarily stay in this country while they are being treated for life-threatening illnesses.

The families have followed the rules, applied for the program, and been accepted. Many of the children are being treated for illnesses and life-threatening diseases that they cannot be treated for in their own countries. 

The Trump administration is taking very ill and terminally ill children and kicking them out of a hospital bed in 33 days; deporting them to countries that don't have the facilities to keep them alive.

What kind of a monster does this? Who supports this?

Trump, the monster, does this, and the people who voted for him support this.


"This attack on children and their families is inhumane and unjust," said Ronnie Millar, executive director of IIIC, in a press release. "These families are all here receiving treatment that is unavailable in their home countries, and our government has issued them a death sentence."

Trump Administration Ends Protection For Migrants' Medical Care


Dismaying immigrants and advocates, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has sent out letters saying the agency will no longer consider most deferrals of deportation for people with serious medical conditions, documents show. 

 The agency is now saying those decisions will be made by another agency: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement That was not made clear to Boston-area immigrants who received the denial letters last week. Advocates said they received no formal announcement of a change in policy. The small program, known as "medical deferred action," allows people to remain in the U.S. for two-year periods if they can prove extreme medical need. 

Many of the people affected by the policy change came to the U.S. through a visa or other permitted status and are requesting to stay beyond those terms to receive medical treatment. Hours after this story was published Monday, a USCIS spokeswoman responded to several requests for clarification about the policy shift to say that "medical deferred action requests are now submitted to ICE for consideration." 

 This shift in policy has not been announced publicly by the government, and immigration advocates and attorneys question why this new process wasn't mentioned in the denial letters. In response to a WBUR request for details, a spokesman for ICE sent this statement late Tuesday morning: "As with any request for deferred action, ICE reviews each case on its own merits and exercises appropriate discretion after reviewing all the facts involved." 

 Anthony Marino, director of legal services for the Irish International Immigrant Center, explained that up until now, federal immigration officials would routinely permit eligible sick people to stay in the country under this program. But last week, five of his clients — who he says would have typically qualified — received what appeared to be template denial letters with the exact same language. 

 "The denials say specifically that the immigration service is just no longer considering deferring action at all in these cases, which would be a first in decades," he said. Marino added many of the affected clients at the center are families whose children have cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. 

 According to the apparent form letters, USCIS field offices "no longer consider deferred action requests, except those made according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies for certain military members, enlistees, and their families."

Throw this wicked, wicked monster out of office in 2020!

For American companies, being publicly conservative is unpopular.

Americans who support Trump believe they're in the majority that embraces conservative ideas and values. That's simply not true. Trump was elected because of an 18th century mechanism called the electoral college. He was outvoted by a popular vote of 3 million. He's a minority president, and his followers are a distinct and tyrannical minority who believe a majority of Americans and American corporations agree with them.

This is a delusion, just like the delusion they hold that Donald Trump is a powerful leader (he's not; he's a weakling who is not respected at home or abroad).

Here's what is happening all over the country:


Companies Are Realising That Being Publicly Conservative Is Really Unpopular 


A new poll shows that people like brands more when they embrace progressive causes like LGBTQ rights, and dislike companies that support Republicans.


For a while now, conservatives have been complaining that big corporations, from social media giants to Nike, are biased against right-leaning values. A new poll from Morning Consult highlighted by Axios Monday morning shows why they’re probably right. It also suggests that there's good reason for companies to take a progressive stand: The buying public is on the left side of a lot of culture-war issues.

[skip]


The Morning Consult poll, which surveyed around 2,200 Americans, had a number of findings, but the one Axios pointed to was a list of "hot button issues" and the corresponding amount of respondents who felt positively or negatively about a company that took a stance on them. 

The most popular issues included LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, criminal justice reform, and civil rights—all causes associated with the political left. And while support for the campaign of a Democrat attracted 3 percent more approval than disapproval from those surveyed, support for a Republican was the least popular stance a company could take at -12.

EMPTY SUIT LEAVES EMPTY CHAIR AT G-7 SUMMIT

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump skipped a discussion on climate with other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in France, leaving an empty chair as global power brokers debated how to help the fire-ravaged Amazon and reduce carbon emissions. 

 Trump was scheduled to attend Monday’s session on climate, biodiversity and oceans at the G-7 summit in Biarritz , but didn’t. French President Emmanuel Macron, the summit host, said Trump’s aides were there instead.

 [SKIP] 

 Trump was scheduled to attend Monday’s session on climate, biodiversity and oceans at the G-7 summit in Biarritz , but didn’t. French President Emmanuel Macron, the summit host, said Trump’s aides were there instead. Trump is a climate change skeptic who once had claimed it’s a hoax that was invented by the Chinese. His decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord has severely damaged global efforts to reduce emissions. 

 Trump started the morning behind schedule, and held one-on-one meetings while others were in the climate discussions. However, one of his interlocutors, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, managed to make it to the climate meeting. Trump then met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he was asked about attending the climate session. Trump said it would be his next stop and that he wants clean air and water. But he never showed up. 

Macron shrugged off Trump’s absence, saying it wasn’t his goal to try to persuade Trump to rejoin the climate accord. “You can’t rewrite the past,” Macron told reporters.

MORE ORDERS AND DEMANDS FROM THE LUNATIC-IN-CHIEF

WASHINGTON — Hours after China said it would increase tariffs on $75 billion worth of American goods in response to President Trump’s latest round of levies on Chinese goods, the president ordered companies in the United States to stop doing business with China and warned that he would retaliate further. 

 In a series of angry Twitter posts, Mr. Trump said “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing our companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” 

 The president also said he was ordering the United States Postal Service and private American companies like FedEx, Amazon and UPS to search packages from China for the opioid Fentanyl and refuse delivery.


FedEx and UPS have both issued the same exact statements in response:


Mr. #King Of The Jews, to quote; LOL!

The Maniacle Messianic Trump

He now claims he's the King of the Jews and that American Jews should pledge allegiance to Israel and the Republican Party or else...




‘President Trump is the greatest president for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America... and the Jewish people in Israel love him like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God’ Wayne Allyn Root

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. “President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him....

71.3K

7:34 AM - Aug 21, 2019

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Jewish leaders outraged by Trump saying Jews disloyal if they vote for Democrats

"It's unclear who @POTUS is claiming Jews would be 'disloyal' to, but charges of disloyalty have long been used to attack Jews. 

As we've said before, it's possible to engage in the democratic process without these claims. It's long overdue to stop using Jews as a political football," Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted later Tuesday. 

Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, called the comments "yet another example of Donald Trump continuing to weaponize and politicize anti-Semitism."

Thanks Aaron!

Rabbi Jill Jacobs

✔@rabbijilljacobs

PSA #1: an antisemitic Evangelical is not a good source on Judaism or Jews.

PSA #2: That second coming thing? Ummm...not Jewish.

Also, your periodic reminder that close to 80% of Jews voted against the guy who's encouraging white nationalists. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164138796205654016 …

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Replying to @realDonaldTrump

....like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God...But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for.....

Greenlandia

UPDATE BELOW

The Republicans' preznit announced he was interested in buying Greenland from the Danish government, then when the idea was not welcomed by Greenland and Denmark, Trump, like the immature little snot that he is, cancelled a planned state visit to Denmark because Greenland and Denmark didn't want to sell him Greenland.

I'm not making this up. That's what really happened! 

Remarkable.

Each day I read the news and am astonished at the puerile behavior of America's POTUS and wonder what the next outrage will be, and President Porn Star Shagger never disappoints. This time he threw his usual childish temper tantrum because he didn't get his way, so he cancelled a scheduled state visit. What really sticks in President Dotard's craw is that the Danish PM called his idea of buying Greenland "absurd."  President Dotard really hates being laughed at. But it 's hard to think of him as other than an absurd little man!

The Danes would do well to keep away from this clueless maniac and raging dumpster fire of an administration. 

BTW, the current national debt is $22+ TRILLION!  HEY! LET'S BUY GREENLAND!!!

To recap Trump's current lunacy:

Trump wants Denmark to sell him Greenland.

Denmark said, "We don't own Greenland so we can't sell it to you."

Greenland said, "We're not for sale," with the subtext,"Are you out of your mind?"

Trump gets made at Denmark for not selling him Greenland, which they can't do in the first place, so Trump canceled a scheduled state visit to Denmark because "That'll SHOW THEM!"

This is truly deranged stuff: Incredible ignorance, arrogance, and petulance.

On behalf of true Americans, I extend an apology to Denmark and Greenland for Trump's stupid and childish behavior.



UPDATE:

Frequent P.E. commenter, Dave Miller, reports that perhaps Trump's canceling his state visit to Denmark is tied to the fact that President Obama is scheduled to visit that country after Trump was scheduled in September, and Trump is too frightened to be seen as less popular than the wildly popular former POTUS. 

That sounds like a more logical reason for Trump canceling his visit: Cowardice -- and fear of seeing President Obama cheered by large, adoring crowds.  Makes sense, since Trump is obsessed with the size of crowds. And somewhere in his small, dark soul he knows he's a lesser man than President Obama.

From "The Root:"

"While all the news has been about Donald Trump canceling a planned trip to Denmark because the Danish prime minister found claims that the president was looking into buying Greenland bogus AF, it turns out that the real story might be that Trump fears being upstaged by forever President Barack Obama. 

Turns out that weeks after Trump’s proposed visit to Denmark, Obama is scheduled to visit the Scandinavian country, according to Denmark site, the Local. 

Obama is a goddamn rockstar. Everywhere he goes, he gets the kind of reception that Trump only gets during his rallies. It’s why the president rallies so much; it’s because he can’t survive without adoration. He must be adored, which is why he spends so much time on Twitter tweeting out his own praises."

TRUMP'S ECONOMY

U.S. NEWS 08/19/2019 04:28 pm ET 


American Families Will Pay $1,000 Per Year For Trump’s China Tariffs, JPMorgan Says 

The estimated costs would wipe out nearly all of the tax breaks from Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul.


Despite repeated assurances from Trump administration officials that U.S. consumers are not bearing the brunt of its tariffs on China, a new JPMorgan analysis predicts that the average American family will shoulder $1,000 per year. 

 According to CNBC, the firm estimates that the administration’s newest round of tariffs ― 10% on $300 billion of Chinese goods ― will result in a $400 increase in costs per household. 

Roughly half of the new tariffs are due to take effect on Sept. 1 and the other half are set for Dec. 15. The Chinese tariffs already in place are expected to cost the average household $600 per year.

MAGA!

From the fingers of the little orange dictator wannabe:

WASHINGTON — In tweets on Sunday morning, President Donald Trump suggested supporters might not want him to leave office after two terms. 

 "The good news is that at the end of 6 years, after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT)," Trump wrote. 

 The president had also been criticizing the Washington Post and the New York Times, calling them "both a disgrace." 

 Trump has talked about the issue before. In March last year, according to a recording obtained by CNN, he told a closed-door fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that "maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day," in reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping's abolishment of term limits. 

It was unclear if the comments were made in jest.


Just imagine how his minority supporters -- TrumpCultists -- would have reacted had President Obama spokent or tweeted those stupid words.


THIS WON THE DAY!

HAPPY SATURDAY

He really, really is disliked by the American people:

Jon Favreau

✔@jonfavs

 · Aug 15, 2019

Replying to @jonfavs

Now for the interesting stuff. We ran this like a campaign poll, not a media poll, so we tested a bunch of positive and negative descriptions about Trump. Between 47-53% agreed with every description except one: “Trump drained the swamp,” which only 33% agreed with.

Jon Favreau

✔@jonfavs

The statements about Trump where the largest majorities of all voters and independent voters agreed were:

“Trump is corrupt”
“Trump is focused on himself, not you”
“Trump fights for the wealthy and corporations, not working people”
“Trump is an ineffective leader”

913

10:18 AM - Aug 15, 2019

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263 people are talking about this

ALSO, THIS:

Bonkers and Weakling

In one day, the GOP's president demanded Israel's PM bar two US Congresswomen from entering the country, and like the weak little weasel that he is, Netanyahu obeyed. 

On the same day, the GOP's demented president asked his aids to look into the US purchasing Greenland -- you can't make this idiocy up! 


”I am sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long term,” said Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a member of the Danish Parliament representing Greenland. Non-politicians in Greenland didn't exactly embrace the idea, either, with responses ranging from “Oh please God no” to “We are not something you can just buy. Keep away from our country.”



The GOP's president is bonkers and Netanyahu is a prissy little weakling.

Jennifer Rubin

@JRubinBlogger

The ban is a stunning, unprecedented step, one that signals Israel, long a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, cannot tolerate criticism. For Netanyahu it sends message that he is Trump’s puppet, willing to damage the long-term relationship with US