UPDATE BELOW Light posting again this week. I'm spending quality time with my SoCal grandson. But not so light posting that I can't show my readers the immature, embarrassing, and contemptible Donald J. Trump, the disaster of a human being that the 30 percenters still support,
The POTUS calls a U.S. senator "sleazy." Adam Schiff is a decent man who is not afraid to speak truth to power. Trump is despicable and deplorable and bereft of any human decency. Trump has brought shame and embarrassment to our country and to the office of the presidency. The thirty percenters who blindly support this abcess on our democracy are just as contemptible as Trump is. The day when Trump leaves the presidency and goes back to his golden tower and takes his disreputable family with him can't come soon eno Dear Gawd!:
UPDATE:
From PM Carpenter: The infinitely indecent Mr. Trump "For many conservatives, Trump's character is no longer a glitch … it’s what they love" — Charlie Sykes, from the old, now-defunct school of actual conservatism In his latest online entry, Sykes quotes fellow anti-Trumper Ben Shapiro:
"Trump’s character is now a thoroughly accepted positive good" among conservatives. "Trump isn’t the engine, he’s the hood ornament for a certain movement that now feels liberated from traditional rules of decent behavior."
Sykes also quotes National Review's Jonah Goldberg:
Trump's "petty vindictiveness" has been "redefined" by conservatives "as leadership."
All of which is somewhat superfluous. From the vile hood ornament himself, just three hours ago:
And there you have it, straight from the once-dignified office of the U.S. presidency: leadership as petty vindictiveness — embraced and cheered on by modern conservatives, who've lost all sense of decency.
To see Trump's contempt for the rule of law displayed so nakedly is more unsettling than usual. Digby: "Dahlia Lithwick summarizes just a few of the other unresolved questions posed by Donald Trump's asymmetrical warfare against the United States Constitution and the rule of law:
'Can the president truly continue to enrich himself and his family by leveraging his office to benefit from foreigners? Can the president really fire the FBI director and admit he was thinking about the Russia probe while doing it? Can the president leak classified information to the Russians in the Oval Office? Can the president’s son take a meeting with Russians who are promising dirt on Hillary Clinton? Can he do that with multiple campaign advisers in the room? Can the president’s son-in-law attend such a meeting and still retain his security clearance?
Today, we have a new set of questions to toss on the pile: Can the president really pardon himself and all his friends, family, neighbors, and pets, plus fire Robert Mueller, plus threaten his attorney general?'
"Answers to those questions are in short supply, Lithwick writes. The system was not designed for a Trump.
'The Framers erected an edifice of law intended to constrain power, and the president believes that framework is made of spun sugar and cobwebs. The United States is a nation built upon, as John Adams told us, “a government of laws and not of men.” The Trump administration adheres to no law, and whatever men or women keep faith with the law rather than him are discredited as biased against the president. This only goes one way: Norms are for losers, and laws are for poor people. And now Trump has his dream team of mob lawyers and mad dogs hard at work proving that the only lawyer without a disabling conflict of interest is the one pledging fealty to him.'
On vacation in Antarctica, filmmaker and photographer Alex Cornell captured an unusual sight
While exploring Cierva Cove, a glacial bay off the peninsula, a scientist aboard Cornell's boat became excited by one iceberg in particular. “Everything I was seeing was pretty exciting,” Cornell admits. “This particular iceberg at the time kind of blended in with all the crazy stuff we were seeing.” But as they approached the mass, which rose about 30 feet out the water, Cornell understood his guide’s excitement. Whereas most iceberg tips are covered in snow or have been weathered by the elements, this one was free of debris, exposing glassy, aqua-green ice with water flowing through it—“almost like an ant colony,” he says.
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's new communication director: Scaramuccia (literally "little skirmisher"), also known as Scaramouche or Scaramouch, is a stock clown character of the Italian commedia dell'arte. The role combined characteristics of the zanni (servant) and the Capitano (masked henchman). Usually attired in black Spanish dress and burlesquing a don, he was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice.
"Sean Spicer, the White Huse press secretary, resigned on Friday morning, telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director. Mr. Trump offered Mr. Scaramucci the job at 10 a.m. The president requested that Mr. Spicer stay on, but Mr. Spicer told Mr. Trump that he believed the appointment was a major mistake, according to a person with direct knowledge of the exchange." NOTE: Scaramucci began his career at Goldman Sachs. How many Goldman Sachs vultures are now in Donald "I'm Gonna Drain The Swamp" Trump's administration? This is Scaramucci BEFORE he decided to work for Donald Trump and when he had a conscience:
“I don’t like the way he talks about women, I don’t like the way he talks about our friend Megyn Kelly. And you know what, the politicians don’t want to go at Trump because he’s got a big mouth and because [they’re] afraid he’s going to light them up on Fox News and all these other places. But I’m not a politician. Bring it. You’re an inherited money dude from Queens County. Bring it, Donald.”
The closer Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team comes to Trump's finances, the harder Trump is going to fight him, even threaten him. There's probably a very good reason for Trump implying that Mueller would cross a "red line" should he probe the Trump finances: Trump is probably a dirty money launderer for the Russians. Trump is most likely a crook:
Trump legal team spokesman resigns
Here is The New York Times editorial board on the interview (h/t Daily Kos): "In less than an hour on Wednesday afternoon, President Trump found a way to impugn the integrity and threaten the livelihoods of nearly all of the country’s top law enforcement officials, including some he appointed, for one simple reason: They swore an oath to defend the Constitution, not him. For a president who sees the rule of law as an annoyance rather than a feature of American democracy, the traitors are everywhere. [...] In the end, Mr. Trump is concerned with nothing so much as saving his own hide, which means getting rid of the Russia inquiry for good. He previously said this was why he fired Mr. Comey, and it may yet be the undoing of Mr. Sessions, Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Mueller." Mueller will surmount Trump's threats. Our democracy demands it. | Editorial
Unprecedented in the history of the American presidency:
Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people. A second person said Trump’s lawyers have been discussing the president’s pardoning powers among themselves.
The Washington Post 'breaking' headline: Trump lawyers exploring pardoning powers and ways to undercut the Russia investigation, people familiar with the effort say
Will likely weigh on USD/JPY
It hasn't hit Bloomberg nor Reuters as far as I can see ... the newspaper's page is reporting that headline only (the one I have in italics above)
OK, here we go, more:
Some of President Trump's lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation, building a case against what they allege are his conflicts of interest and discussing the president's authority to grant pardons, according to people familiar with the effort.
Trump has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with the probe, according to one of those people.
A second person said Trump's lawyers have been discussing the president's pardoning powers among themselves.
Trump's legal team declined to comment on the issue. But one adviser said the president has simply expressed a curiosity in understanding the reach of his pardoning authority, as well as the limits of Mueller's investigation."This is not in the context of, 'I can't wait to pardon myself," a close adviser said.
The collapse of the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is a monumental political defeat wrought by a party and a president that never took health-care policy or the need to bring coverage to millions of Americans seriously. But their bungling also demonstrates that the intense attention to Obamacare over the past six months has fundamentally altered our nation’s health-care debate.
Supporters of the 2010 law cannot rest easy as long as the current Congress remains in office and as long as Donald Trump occupies the White House. On Wednesday, the president demanded that the Senate keep at the work of repeal, and, in any event, Congress could undermine the act through sharp Medicaid cuts in the budget process and other measures. And Trump, placing his own self-esteem and political standing over the health and security of millions of Americans, has threatened to wreck the system. [...] As long as “repeal Obamacare” was simply a slogan, what the law actually did was largely obscured behind attitudes toward the former president. But the Affordable Care Act’s core provisions were always broadly popular, particularly its protections for Americans with preexisting conditions and the big increase in the number of insured it achieved. The prospect of losing these benefits moved many of the previously indifferent to resist its repeal. And the name doesn’t matter so much with Obama out of office.
One of our blogging buddies, Jersey McJones, who commented here, has passed away. I'm posting this poem by Dylan Thomas in memory of Jersey:
AND DEATH SHALL HAVE NO DOMINION And death shall have no dominion. Dead man naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. And death shall have no dominion. Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews give way, Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break; Faith in their hands shall snap in two, And the unicorn evils run them through; Split all ends up they shan't crack; And death shall have no dominion. And death shall have no dominion. No more may gulls cry at their ears Or waves break loud on the seashores; Where blew a flower may a flower no more Lift its head to the blows of the rain; Though they be mad and dead as nails, Heads of the characters hammer through daisies; Break in the sun till the sun breaks down, And death shall have no dominion. -- Dylan Thomas
It’s exhausting, I know, but don’t let outrage fatigue numb you to the moral bankruptcy and gross incompetence of the Trump administration. This ugly departure from American norms and values must be opposed with sustained passion — and with the knowledge that things will probably get worse before they get better. [...]
As long as there are pro-Trump majorities in the House and Senate, there will be no real congressional oversight and no brake on an out-of-control president’s excesses. Incumbency and gerrymandered districts mean that winning anti-Trump majorities in 2018 will be difficult. But not impossible.
The Democratic Party needs a plan, a message and a sense of urgency. Trump hopes to bully critics into submission, but the country is bigger than this one president. And much better.
**************************
Here's the moral bankruptcy of the Trump administration:
ComradeTrump's goal is to allow the ACA "to collapse" and his pledge is to "not own it."
That statement would leave millions and millions and millions of Americans without insurance: Infants, toddlers, children, the elderly, men, women of all ages. No health insurance.
That is morally reprehensible and inhumane, an outrage to Americans by an incompetent and buffoonish president. His children and grandchildren will not be hurt -- billionnaires won't suffer. But the rest of us who are not billionnaires will.
That's not leadership; that's "I don't giveaship!"
But not all GOPers are on board with that kind of nihilism and irresponsible "I don't giveaship!"
This GOPer along with two other legislators are not going to support the catastrophic Trump solution to health care reform:
West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
GOP women shut down repeal-only scheme: “I did not come to Washington to hurt people”
Brava! to her and every legislator who puts country above party.
Even Donald Trump might agree that a major reason he won the 2016 election is because voters couldn’t abide Hillary Clinton’s legacy of scandal, deception and stonewalling. Yet on the story of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, Mr. Trump and his family are repeating the mistakes that doomed Mrs. Clinton.
That’s the lesson the Trumps should draw from the fiasco over Don Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with Russians peddling dirt on Mrs. Clinton. First Don Jr. let news of the meeting leak without getting ahead of it. Then the White House tried to explain it away as a “nothingburger” that focused on adoptions from Russia.
When that was exposed as incomplete, Don Jr. released his emails that showed the Russian lure about Mrs. Clinton and Don Jr. all excited—“I love it.” Oh, and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Beltway bagman Paul Manafort were also at the meeting. Don Jr. told Sean Hannity this was the full story. But then news leaked that a Russian-American lobbyist was also at the meeting.
Even if the ultimate truth of this tale is merely that Don Jr. is a political dunce who took a meeting that went nowhere—the best case—the Trumps made it appear as if they have something to hide. They have created the appearance of a conspiracy that on the evidence Don Jr. lacks the wit to concoct. And they handed their opponents another of the swords that by now could arm a Roman legion.
***
Don’t you get it, guys? Special counsel Robert Mueller and the House and Senate intelligence committees are investigating the Russia story. Everything that is potentially damaging to the Trumps will come out, one way or another. Everything. Denouncing leaks as “fake news” won’t wash as a counter-strategy beyond the President’s base, as Mr. Trump’s latest 36% approval rating shows.
Mr. Trump seems to realize he has a problem because the White House has announced the hiring of white-collar Washington lawyer Ty Cobb to manage its Russia defense. He’ll presumably supersede the White House counsel, whom Mr. Trump ignores, and New York outside counsel Marc Kasowitz, who is out of his political depth.
Mr. Cobb has an opening to change the Trump strategy to one with the best chance of saving his Presidency: radical transparency. Release everything to the public ahead of the inevitable leaks. Mr. Cobb and his team should tell every Trump family member, campaign operative and White House aide to disclose every detail that might be relevant to the Russian investigations.
That means every meeting with any Russian or any American with Russian business ties. Every phone call or email. And every Trump business relationship with Russians going back years. This should include every relevant part of Mr. Trump’s tax returns, which the President will resist but Mr. Mueller is sure to seek anyway.
Then release it all to the public. Whatever short-term political damage this might cause couldn’t be worse than the death by a thousand cuts of selective leaks, often out of context, from political opponents in Congress or the special counsel’s office. If there really is nothing to the Russia collusion allegations, transparency will prove it. Americans will give Mr. Trump credit for trusting their ability to make a fair judgment. Pre-emptive disclosure is the only chance to contain the political harm from future revelations.
This is the opposite of the Clinton stonewall strategy, which should be instructive. That strategy saved Bill Clinton’s Presidency in the 1990s at a fearsome price and only because the media and Democrats in Congress rallied behind him. Mr. Trump can’t count on the same from Republicans and most of the media want him run out of office.
If Mr. Trump’s approval rating stays under 40% into next year, Republicans will begin to separate themselves from an unpopular President in a (probably forlorn) attempt to save their majorities in Congress. If Democrats win the House, the investigations into every aspect of the Trump business empire, the 2016 campaign and the Administration will multiply. Impeachment will be a constant undercurrent if not an active threat. His supporters will become demoralized.
***
Mr. Trump will probably ignore this advice, as he has most of what these columns have suggested. Had he replaced James Comey at the FBI shortly after taking office in January, for example, he might not now have a special counsel threatening him and his family.
Mr. Trump somehow seems to believe that his outsize personality and social-media following make him larger than the Presidency. He’s wrong. He and his family seem oblivious to the brutal realities of Washington politics. Those realities will destroy Mr. Trump, his family and their business reputation unless they change their strategy toward the Russia probe. They don’t have much more time to do it.
Mitch McConnell Says Senate Will Vote To Repeal Obamacare And Replace It Later This may be in jeopardy as was the bill that collapsed yesterday since many Republicans are nervous about hanging on to their seats in the 2018 elections. Let that sink in: The GOPers are not worried about leaving millions of Americans without health care coverage, they're worried about losing an election. That neatly and concisely tells us all what the current Republican Party is about: It's not about governing; it's about holding onto power, no matter what damage they do to Americans -- especially their own constituents. SAD!
In other news: Trump administration recertified the Iran Nuclear Deal. Remember the deal that Lord Dampnut said was the worst deal ever made in the entire history of the United States? That worst deal ever -- the one that Donald J. Trump, POTUS, would rip up the first day in office? That's the deal that Trump just recertified. But his core supporters, the Thirty-Six Percenters, still cling to him like lint on a wet wool suit. Far right bloggers and news sites:
Donald Jr. certainly doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. Instead of offering a hint of contrition, he offered a complaint that the proffered information was not particularly useful. “I applaud his transparency,” father said of son. But disclosure is not really a virtue if you are admitting highly unethical actions without apology. It is more like the public confession of serious wrongdoing, and the attempted normalization of sliminess. The ultimate explanation for this toxic moral atmosphere is President Trump himself. He did not attend the meeting, but he is fully responsible for creating and marketing an ethos in which victory matters more than character and real men write their own rules. Trumpism is an easygoing belief system that indulges and excuses the stiffing of contractors, the conning of students, the bilking of investors, the exploitation of women and the practices of nepotism and self-dealing. A faith that makes losing a sin will make cheating a sacrament.
"Who in that room do you think is above lying about what transpired there? Paul Manafort? Forget his deep Russian connections. The guy was a lobbyist for Mobutu Seske Seko. When he worked for the Pakistani intelligence service, he pretended to be a CNN reporter for a propaganda documentary he was making for them.
[skip]
Jared? The guy who initially "forgot" that meeting happened at all? Don Jr.? We already know he's capable of lying about the meeting because he's already lied about the meeting.''Oh maybe you're taking the word of the sketchy Russian lawyer. That's a great idea. It's also kind of hilarious. Many of the people pushing back on this story are doing so by questioning Natalia Veselnitskaya's credibility.But we should take her word that nothing happened? Cults of personality are a helluva drug. [skip]
"...the Associated Press report[s] that the sketchy former Soviet counter-intelligence guy, Rinat Akhmetshin, who was in the room claims that Veselnitskaya did indeed hand over a file of incriminating infor. I guess this is just a smudge on the window of Junior's transarency.]
[skip]
It doesn't frick'n mater if -- note the "if" -- nothing came of the meeting. Junior can't claim he, Manafort, and Kushner never sought to collude with the Russian government when he admits that he, Manafort, and Kushner eagerly took a meeting for the express purpose of colluding with Russia. [skip] THE CORRUPTION OF WHATABOUTISM "Which brings me back to my first point...Why on God's good Earth would you defend any of this? Since I've been having this ridiculous argument all week, let me skip ahead. Yes, "Crooked Hillary," Ted Kennedy, and a host of other liberals did bad things. Whether those bad things were analogous to this is highly debatable. WHAT NEXT We already know that Trump opely implored the Russians to dig up Clinton's e-mails. We now know that Junior, Kushner, and then-campaign manager Manafort had no problem meeting with a person the believed to be an emissary of the Russian government. Moreover, not only am I unconvinced nothing damning happened in that room, I think there's merit to Chris Hayes's analysis that there was an important phone call before the meeting.
NOTE: The Trump administration is kicking off "made in America week", today. Of course, if you like your China and Mexico products, you can still buy your "high quality" Trump suits and ties that are not made in the USA. Don't forget, First Daughter, Ivanka Trump, has boat loads of "high quality" merchandise made in China that she hopes you buy with your American money. Make America Great Again, buy Trump products that are made everywhere except in the good ole USA... h/t Mike N.
We've asked: Can this administration do ANYTHING right? And in this case we're glad they can't, because the Trump administration hasn't updated the welcoming letter to new American citizens, so it is still signed by previous POTUS, Barack Obama. But think about this: Who in hell would want a "Welcome New American Citizen" letter signed by a dissolue, degenerate lady-parts grabber? So thank you, Trump administration, for not updating the "Welcome New American Citizen" and leaving a dignified and classy president's name on the letter. White House sends new US citizen welcome letter from President - signed by Barack Obama The welcome packet for new Americans has not been updated
The Kremlin-linked attorney, Natalia Vetlitskaya, who met with Trump, Jr., Kushner, and Manafort in June of 2016 in Trump Tower, admitted to NBC news that when she met with them, she was accompanied by one other person. The other person, whose name has not yet been disclosed by NBC News, was born in Russia, served in the Soviet military, has dual American-Russian citizenship, and is a lobbyist who lobbies for issues near and dear to Russia, and is suspected of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, according to Ken Dilanian of NBC News. Why was this not reported by Donald Trump, Jr., when the story broke about his, Jared Kushner's, and Paul Manafort's meeting with the Russian lawyer, Natalie Vetlitskaya in June of 2016 to discuss Donald Trump Sr.'s, presidential campaign?
Former Soviet Counter Intelligence Officer at Meeting With Donald Trump Jr. and Russian Lawyer by KEN DILANIAN and NATASHA LEBEDEVA WASHINGTON — The Russian lawyer who met with the Trump team after a promise of compromising material on Hillary Clinton was accompanied by a Russian-American lobbyist — a former Soviet counter intelligence officer who is suspected by some U.S. officials of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, NBC News has learned. NBC News is not naming the lobbyist, who denies any current ties to Russian spy agencies. He accompanied the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.
The Russian-born American lobbyist served in the Soviet military and emigrated to the U.S., where he holds dual citizenship.
The so-called POTUS met the the president of France's wife, Bridgitte Macron, and made a personal remark about her physical shape. To Trump, all women are either physical objects to be lusted after or to be demeaned because they do not pass his personal idea of beauty. In polite society, one does not meet a stranger, let alone the First Lady of France, and make a personal remark about her body. But Trump has never been part of polite society. He is a white trash billionnaire who has no manners nor class. From VOX:
Thursday morning, President Trump gave French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte Macron, what might come to be called the “Trump once-over.” The moment came when the two world leaders met for the first time of Trump’s trip to Paris to celebrate Bastille Day. As cameras clicked around them, Macron, Trump, and their wives smiled and embraced.
Trump then took a step back and appraised Brigitte, looking her up and down. “You’re in such good shape,” he said to her, apparently assuming such an assessment would be seen as complimentary, rather than inappropriate or even predatory. He then turned to her husband and offered up his appraisal again: “She’s in such good physical shape.”
Donald Trump shows America and the world how to be an extraordinary con artist, how to turn a scandal into a shoulder shrug and an "Everybody Does It!" or "Anyone Would Do It" explanation for colluding with America's enemies. Remember this, America, when you teach your children that it's okay to talk to foreign agents in order to get the dirt on your political opponent. It's okay to do this with a country that's hostile to America and with a country whose president is a thug and a murderer. Teach your children well and remember: A POTUS said"Everybody Does It," and "Anyone Would Do It." It's only "Opposition Research!"
Trump calls Donald Trump Jr's meeting with Russian lawyer 'opposition research'
“I don’t know many people who would have done this,” Larry Noble, a former top Federal Election Commission lawyer who is now at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “Most people have this sense that American elections should not be influenced by foreign interests.”
“It's called spying, not opposition research.” Richard Painter, President George W. Bush’s former ethics lawyer and a frequent critic of President Trump’s activities, said about any information gleaned from Russian sources during the 2016 campaign. The younger Trump has also faced legal questions about whether his meeting violated federal campaign laws. It’s illegal to solicit or accept a contribution from a foreign entity, even an in-kind contribution. Three watchdog groups – Common Cause, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center – on Thursday filed new complaints with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission, contending that Donald Trump Jr. breached federal law along with the meeting’s other attendees, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. “The e-mails released by Donald Trump Jr. reveal, in no uncertain term, his choice to place his blind support for his father’s candidacy before any allegiance to the nation’s security,” And the Gooper bloggers? They're all fine with this. As long as meeting with foreign agents to interfere with American elections helps one of their tribesmen, it's all good. So, move along. Nothing to see here!
