YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

TRUMP SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL, PUTIN:

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

 

FAUX NOOZ's TUCKER CARLSON AIDING AND ABETTING THE CRIMINAL PUTIN REGIME

Despicable

On Sunday, Russian state TV translated this Tucker Carlson rant:

"They're promoting war, not to maintain the democracy that is Ukraine. Ukraine is not a democracy. It has never been a democracy in its history and it's not now. It is a client state of the Biden administration."

Russian TV Uses Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard to Sell Putin’s War 

Fox News clips of Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard trashing Ukraine and the Biden administration were a mainstay of news coverage this week on Russian state television.

Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, and as Putin began his illegal invasion of a sovereign nation, a former president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, called him a "genius," "savvy," and "wonderful!" 

From a Twitter user:

"Trump's shooting his mouth off before the invasion began puts Trumpists in a bind. If they mimic Trump & call Putin the savvy genius being unfairly provoked by US & Ukraine, they're gonna be in the decidedly minority position & look like they're coddling a vicious tyrant (as they are). But if they accurately describe what Putin is doing, they risk the ire of Trump & his sycophants. 

Many in the R establishment are lining up behind Biden (& most of the rest of the world) for most part, i.e., condemning Putin as murderous thug (a position Trump will NEVER endorse). This issue could drive a serious wedge between Trumpists & the R establishment, leaving the former in the minority & making Trump look like a weak & feckless Putin apologist (as he is)."

Never forget Trump's treachery.

Imagine a supremely qualified SCOTUS nominee with two Harvard degrees with honors, a SCOTUS clerkship for the justice he'd replace, and two years as a federal judge.

That's Chief Justice John Roberts. 

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has all of that, plus seven more years as a judge.

 

Congratulations to Judge Jackson on her nomination to the Supreme Court.

photo via Washington Post

“I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine. That is my view.” -- Tucker Carlson

Wounded Ukrainian woman, who became 

the face of Putin's bloody invasion, 

is a 53-year-old teacher. 

(World News Online Photo)

Via NBC News:

People attend an anti-war protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Thursday night as Russian forces invade Ukraine

"In the midst of an assault on democracy and the concept of a rules-based international order, a major political party has thoroughly debased itself and boosted the enemy of both. 

The public has a right to know: Are Rs on Team America or Team Trump/Putin?" --Conservative Columnist Jennifer Rubin

Russia Attacks Ukraine From Land, Air and Sea

It's difficult to hear the noise from the attack on Ukraine because of all the cheering from Russia's biggest supporters: 

 

Trump, Pompeo, Tucker Carlson, FAUX NOOZ, and the GQP, who are in love with Putin and his thugs.

Ukraine’s Zelensky to Russians: ‘What are you fighting for and with whom?’

"Putin's war will raise, is raising, the cost of fuel and food. Be ready to explain that to friends and neighbors when Putin-friendly talkers [See above.] and politicians try to blame our elected leaders."--David Frum

Here's the former POTUS, and Putin's good friend, blaming America for Putin's illegal attack on Ukraine: 

"In an interview with Fox News, former president Donald Trump said Putin had undertaken the military maneuver “because of a rigged election” in the United States." 

 Max Boot @MaxBoot · Feb 23 

Not only did Trump praise the invasion of Ukraine as an act of “genius,” he went on to rhapsodize about his relationship with Putin —“He liked me. I liked him.”—and to praise him as someone with a lot of “charm and a lot of pride” who “loves his country.”

David Rothkopf @djrothkopf

I'm lying awake here tonight because I honestly can't fathom how we have gotten to the point that the leader of the GOP, the last SecState, some of the party's most vocal members & a major US TV network all are actively taking Russia's side in a conflict with America & the West.

***********************

IMO, it was crucial for Putin to see so many Americans in former high places in government (POTUS, SoS, the Senate and US House) and America's biggest propaganda cable news station FAUX NOOZ, all supporting and cheering him on, while mocking a sitting American president during this crisis. Putin saw we're divided and took comfort and strength in that and went ahead with his illegal attack on a sovereign country.

Trump and his anti-democracy, anti-American supporters have a lot to answer for their disgusting betrayal of America, Ukraine, and her allies.

Here's what Trump and his cultists cheered on:

The Kyiv Independent 

Dozens of Ukrainians killed within hours of Russian invasion 

Russian bombardment kills 18 people in Odessa Oblast. 

The local authorities reported that 18 people died as a result of Russia’s attacks on a military base in Lypetske village outside Odessa, a Black Sea port city in the south.

Ben Rhodes

@brhodes

·

1h

It is not partisan to point out that it's profoundly disturbing that the former President of the United States was calling Putin a genius on the eve of the largest invasion in Europe since World War II. It's a fact. This isn't normal but we have become numbed to it.

Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC · Can’t possibly imagine why Trump, as President, might have been so eager to deprecate and weaken NATO.

WTAF?

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers.

He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see. 

Greg Abbott has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers. He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see.

Does this include circumcision? It certainly looks like it.

Isn't that interfering in personal family health?

Why is he targeting families with this issue??

TRUMP: YAY PUTIN! BOO AMERICA!

Never thought I'd ever hear a former US president praise an anti-democracy authoritarian dictator, but here it is:

TRUMP PRAISES PUTIN IN HIS INCURSION INTO UKRAINE:

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday called Vladimir Putin a "genius" after the Russian president made moves to take over parts of Ukraine. Trump made the remarks during an interview with conservative podcaster Buck Sexton. 

 "I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius,'" Trump recalled. "Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine -- Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful." "I said, 'How smart is that?'" the former U.S. president continued. 

"And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. 

No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy." Trump added: "But here’s a guy that says, you know, 'I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,' he used the word 'independent' and 'we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.' 

You gotta say that’s pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad. Very sad."

Why would Trump want a response from Biden? He just made it clear that what Putin did was "wonderful!" Trump is in awe of the glorious brilliance of a murderous, anti-democracy thug who beats, imprisons, and murders anyone who challenges his hold on power! 

Nothing in our US history prepared me for seeing a former American president give praise to such an anti-liberty, anti-democracy murderous goon. And yet there he is -- Trump praised a foreign dictator over his American president. 

This was a low point in American history when an American president sided with a foreign dictator against his own intel people. Trump keeps showing us that he prefers Russia and its dictator over America. Treachery!

And here are his weak-minded cultists who parrot Trump's praise of this anti-democratic despot:

Here's "Blame America First" Candace Owens (may her shame increase.) I hope this anti-American tweet follows her the rest of her confused and dishonorable life:

And another Putin fanboy, Andrew McCarthy. Russia IS NOT a "millennia old" empire, but that's just the least of his idiotic statement. 

“There's no Team America for Trump," Hill recalled. "Not once did I see him do anything to put America first. Not once. Not for a single second.

I'm pretty certain other Trump cultists will chime in with their support for Putin, so they can "own the libs" with their treacherous statements against their own country. 

Stay tuned.

Anyone else remember this?:

 

BREAKING NEWS: 

via Axios:

 The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former President Trump's latest request to block the National Archives and Record Administration from releasing records to the House Jan. 6 select committee.

Tuesday, 02/22/22

Please read INFIDEL753's post for an analysis on the Ukraine crisis:

Washington Post

By Josh Rogin July 18, 2016 

"The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington. 

Throughout the campaign, Trump has been dismissive of calls for supporting the Ukraine government as it fights an ongoing Russian-led intervention. Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, worked as a lobbyist for the Russian-backed former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych for more than a decade." 

 (Why was Viktor Yanukovych removed? After rejecting the Ukrainian-European Association Agreement, Yanukovych was ousted from office in the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution. ... He currently lives in exile in Russia. Yanukovych served as the governor of Donetsk Oblast, a province in eastern Ukraine, from 1997 to 2002.) 

 "Still, Republican delegates at last week’s national security committee platform meeting in Cleveland were surprised when the Trump campaign orchestrated a set of events to make sure that the GOP would not pledge to give Ukraine the weapons it has been asking for from the United States."

It all makes sense now:

What Did Ex-Trump Aide Paul Manafort Really Do in Ukraine? 

Trump's former campaign chief worked for an anti-NATO party and a politician (Yanukovych) who fled the country amid charges of corruption and collusion with Russia.

A former Trump aide now under federal investigation (UPDATE: convicted felon on 8 counts) on  as part of the Russia probe earned millions working for a corrupt pro-Russian political party that repeatedly disparaged America's most important military alliance. Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chief from May to August 2016, spent nearly a decade as a consultant to Ukraine's Party of Regions and its standard bearer, Viktor Yanukovych. Backed by Russian-leaning oligarchs, the party opposed NATO membership and spouted anti-Western rhetoric that once helped fuel violence against American marines. Its reign ended when Yanukovych fled to Russia after bloody street protests against his personal corruption and pro-Moscow actions.

It's not just abortion the Trumpublicans want to outlaw.

 

Dana Nessel is Michigan's attorney general.

Dana Nessel

@dananessel

All 3 Republicans running for Michigan Attorney General just stated that they oppose the ruling in Griswold v Connecticut which outlawed prosecuting married couples for using contraception. You read that right. Terrifying.

7:36 PM · Feb 18, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

The three Trumpublican candidates running for AG in Michigan want the states to decide if birth control should be outlawed.  Just read what they said in their answers to the question on whether or not birth control should be outlawed:

The full report is here in Mother Jones: 

 The final question from the audience at Friday night’s debate for the Republican candidates for Michigan attorney general was as straightforward as it gets: “How do each of you stand on Griswold v. Connecticut?” 

 Griswold was the 1965 Supreme Court decision that struck down Connecticut’s ban on the sale of contraception. The landmark decision, a rare opinion to invoke the Third Amendment, articulated a “right to privacy” that would go on to be cited in Roe v. Wade. 

With the Supreme Court poised to strike down or at least thoroughly gut Roe, it was notable to see a conservative activist ask three men who oppose it, and who are aspiring to be the chief law enforcement officer of a state that still has an abortion ban on its books, what they think of the famous contraception case. But that assumed that all the candidates even knew what Griswold was. 

No one immediately answered, but Tom Leonard, a former state speaker of the house who lost in 2018 to the current incumbent, Democrat Dana Nessell, eventually spoke up—to ask for clarification. 

 “Remind me,” said Leonard, who was endorsed in December by Right to Life of Michigan. 

 “Griswold v. Connecticut—do you know the case?” a moderator asked. 

 “Which—give me a quick—” Leonard said. 

 The voter explained what it was. “Yeah, okay, I just, and I wanted clarification,” Leonard said. 

“This case, much like Roe v. Wade, I believe was wrongly decided, because it was an issue that trampled states’ rights and it was an issue that should have been left up to the states.”

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

 For Valentine's week, heeeeeere's Marilyn! (1953 "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

(Check out @3:14 George Chakiris, the original West Side Story's "Bernardo" in the video!)

 

Who doesn't love some Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little on a Friday night?

 

JUST ANOTHER INSTANCE

 ...of FAUX NOOZ lying to their gullible audience (not at all surprised about Trump lying because he lies like he breathes):

BREAKING: John Durham says claims by right-wing news outlets — and Donald Trump — that Hillary Clinton’s campaign had paid to spy on Trump White House servers ARE FALSE. 

" Former President Donald J. Trump has seized on the inaccurate reporting to declare that there is now “indisputable evidence” of a Clinton campaign conspiracy against him — and to suggest that there ought to be executions. (Who are the fools who want this dictator/fascist wannabe back in office? Executions? Over LIES!??)

Mr. Trump, Fox News hosts and others have also criticized mainstream journalists for not covering the purported revelation.

"Mr. Trump" is an irresponsible idiot who knows nothing except promoting himself, claiming victimhood, and stirring up his ignorant and easily duped cultists.

Fortunately, Trump steps in it every time he opens his uninformed maw and makes a fool of himself.

 

They knew. And did nothing to stop Trump.

 

via Huffington Post:

A Republican member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus who had advanced knowledge of former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 plans reportedly sent an alarming message to the White House in the days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

 “If POTUS allows this to occur… we’re driving a stake in the heart of the federal republic,” the unnamed lawmaker wrote to then-chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 1 or Jan. 2, according to The Washington Post.

Anti-Black History Parents/Americans:

UPDATE:

h/t to Possumlady:

Brown County Schools: Letter was 'erroneously advising' Black History Month opt out

A public school in Indiana is giving parents the option to opt their children out of learning about Black History during Black History Month.

Why? What are they afraid of? Knowledge? Can a parent chose to opt their children out of learning about the history of the Civil War? The story of the first Thanksgiving? Manifest Destiny? The Ronald Reagan Presidency?

Where does it end? And why are Trumpublican parents afraid of teaching their children American history? 

"Learning about great Black people in history will clearly make their kids feel uncomfortable. Better to limit their knowledge of Black folks to whatever Fox News and Rogan say about them, just to be safe." --Joy-Ann Reid

 

Do they give Black students the chance to opt out of White history, because that would give those students the whole year off.

Everything old is new again: 

Some Parents Oppose Obama School Speech  

By James C. McKinley Jr. and Sam Dillon 

Sept. 3, 2009

HOUSTON — President Obama’s plan to deliver a speech to public school students on Tuesday has set off a revolt among conservative parents, who have accused the president of trying to indoctrinate their children with socialist ideas and are asking school officials to excuse the children from listening. 

The uproar over the speech, in which Mr. Obama intends to urge students to work hard and stay in school, has been particularly acute in Texas, where several major school districts, under pressure from parents, have laid plans to let children opt out of lending the president an ear.

Let's see -- White parents asking to have their kids opt out of Black History month classes AND listening to a speech by America's first bi-racial POTUS.

There's something here that's a common thread in Conservative parents' fear of these two things.

I wonder what it is?

Anyone?

Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements

 

Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements 

The firm, Mazars USA, said in a letter that it could no longer stand behind the annual statements, which are central to an investigation by the New York attorney general. 

Trump’s history of fraud will now be exposed. It’s one thing duping voters and MAGA sycophants; it’s surely another to try to defraud banks and insurance companies. Not only should they recall Trump’s loans, but no bank, insurance company, or financial entity should do business with his failing organization ever again. And that’s as it should be. 

If any American lied to their bank about assets to secure a loan, they’d be in big trouble. Let’s see what happens to the Trump crime family.

Trump's former accounting firm implies that Trump gave them numbers and the numbers he gave do add up BUT they do not know if the numbers he gave them are, in fact, truthful. So the accountants, just like everyone else's accountants, can only work with the numbers that they are given. It's up to the client to deliver the numbers properly and factually. If the client lies, the accountants have no way of knowing. It's not up to them to investigate. The report points out that Trump's accounting firm does not believe Trump anymore. 

How did someone like Trump, who was and is entangled in numerous lawsuits, ever make it through the vetting process before being allowed to run as a presidential candidate for the former Republican Party? 

A person with a business history like Trump is certainly more at risk for blackmailing and cover-up attempts -- the Stormy Daniels scandal was in that category -- than acceptable for the position of the most powerful person in the world, controlling the most deadly weapons on this planet.

Every day there’s a new outrage from Trumplandia. What’s particularly tedious is the number of calcified and comical supporters this criminal has hoodwinked into believing he’s some sort of powerhouse or patriot. 

Trump’s neither, never was, and absolutely never will be.

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Roses from my sweetheart:

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

 

Dance of the Knights with Rudolf Nureyev from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet:

DECENCY

 We never saw it during Trump's presidency.

But President Biden shows America what it means:

Source: CNN 

By Maegan Vazquez and Steve Contorno, 

(CNN)President Joe Biden on Tuesday took the rare step of weighing in on a controversial Florida bill that would ban certain discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, telling LGBTQ kids that he has their back. 

 "I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve," Biden tweeted Tuesday evening. 

The message from the White House on Tuesday condemning Republicans for advancing the bill was a rare step as Biden and his aides called the bill part of a larger trend of GOP leaders across the country taking actions to treat students like political pawns. 

 Republicans in Florida have advanced legislation, which opponents have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that states school districts "may not encourage discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students." 

It is not clear what would be considered "age" or "developmentally" appropriate. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared to voice support for the measure on Monday.