Sound The TRUMPets! A Thread for Presidential Pondering 2016-2020(?)

[BasilValentine]

Keeping it klassy: available for purchase at the Trump store website:

A "Mr. Pencil Neck" T-shirt mocking Adam Schiff.

From supporters of a man internationally known as "Mushroom Dick!" 

[Todd]

There's no reason to assume he's innocent of collusion/conspiracy yet.

Aside from the summary from the Attorney General.

It has become clear that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real.  People like you and some others on this forum suffer from it.  The free entertainment offered by people who believed, and continue to believe, what much of the press has pedaled for over two years has still not stopped yielding chuckles.

More sober, realistic, and successful people and politicians are already moving on.  Impeachment is dead.  Trump will (rightfully!) pummel Dems about their witch hunt in his bid for reelection.  Dems had better put up a good candidate this time around.  Maybe Biden.  A good grandpa fight would be worth watching.  The debate(s) would be a hoot.

Keeping it klassy: available for purchase at the Trump store website:

A "Mr. Pencil Neck" T-shirt mocking Adam Schiff.

Too spendy.  Knock it down to $20 with some better artwork, and it would be worth buying.

[BasilValentine]

Aside from the summary from the Attorney General.

It has become clear that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real.  People like you and some others on this forum suffer from it.  The free entertainment offered by people who believed, and continue to believe, what much of the press has pedaled for over two years has still not stopped yielding chuckles.

More sober, realistic, and successful people and politicians are already moving on.  Impeachment is dead.  Trump will (rightfully!) pummel Dems about their witch hunt in his bid for reelection.  Dems had better put up a good candidate this time around.  Maybe Biden.  A good grandpa fight would be worth watching.  The debate(s) would be a hoot.

A man willing to accept the conclusion of a partisan hack expressed in a four page summary without reading the report has no business talking about delusion. It's like a mushroom dick yelling pencil neck. 

[Todd]

A man willing to accept the conclusion of a partisan hack expressed in a four page summary without reading the report has no business talking about delusion. It's like a mushroom dick yelling pencil neck.

Hopefully, big pharma comes up with a treatment for TDS.  I mean, other than Xanax.

[BasilValentine]

Hopefully, big pharma comes up with a treatment for TDS.  I mean, other than Xanax.

Maybe lay off the Xanax for a while. Your comebacks are going limp.

[Todd]

Maybe lay off the Xanax for a while. Your comebacks are going limp.

Ouch.  I guess. 

Now, back to your fantasy world where you have some understanding of law and politics. 

[drogulus]

     Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a fan of a geeky economic theory called MMT: Here's a plain-English guide to what it is and why it's interesting

     This is a fairly good article on the subject.

[SimonNZ]

US halting aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras


News outlet that covered 'lizard people' and called Obama a demon just interviewed Trump Jr.


Former Trump Family Driver Has Been in ICE Custody for 8 Months


Arizona Republican busted for paying $10 to underaged boys 'at least 10 times' for sex

-

Federal judge declares Trump's push to open up Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas drilling illegal

"A federal judge in Alaska declared late Friday that President Trump's order revoking a sweeping ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans is illegal, putting 128 million acres of federal waters off limits to energy exploration.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason is the third legal setback this week to Trump's energy and environmental policies. The judge, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2012, also blocked on Friday a land swap the Interior Department arranged that would pave the way for constructing a road through wilderness in a major National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, ruled that Interior's Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service illegally approved two gas drilling plans in western Colorado. The judge said officials did not adequately analyze wildlife and climate impacts in their plans — which were challenged by a coalition of environmental groups — to drill 171 wells in North Fork Valley, which provides key habitat for elk and mule deer.

Trump's rollbacks of Obama-era conservation policies have suffered nearly two dozen setbacks in federal court, largely on procedural grounds. While the administration is appealing many of these decisions and holds an advantage if the cases reach the Supreme Court, the rulings have slowed the president's drive to expand fossil fuel production in the United States.

Earlier this month, for example, a federal judge halted drilling on more than 300,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Wyoming. Friday's decision on offshore drilling could affect a five-year leasing plan the administration plans to issue in the summer, as well as block the six offshore lease sales it proposed to schedule in the Arctic Ocean starting as early as this year. Friday's decision applies to 98 percent of the Arctic Ocean, as well as undersea canyons in the Atlantic spanning a total of 3.8 million acres, stretching from the Chesapeake Bay to New England."

[SimonNZ]

Elizabeth Warren runs to catch train, then takes reporter's questions not even out of breath:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKHbJEAs2D4

[SimonNZ]

Hardly breaking news, but...

Trump is 'world's worst cheat at golf', new book says

Donald Trump played golf on Saturday and Sunday at his course in Jupiter, Florida. According to custom, once off the fairways the president tweeted angrily on political subjects.

But by Sunday afternoon he had not yet targeted a story in the US press that might have been expected to attract his ire: a report in the New York Post that said fellow players called him "the world's worst cheat at golf".

The Post report was taken from a book that will be published on Tuesday. Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump is by Rick Reilly, an award-winning former Sports Illustrated columnist who has played with Trump himself."

[...]

"Trump's alleged lack of clubhouse etiquette and previously reported penchant for driving golf carts on greens were also mentioned. But perhaps the most startling story concerned a round with the sportscaster Mike Tirico before Trump was elected.

Tirico, the Post wrote, "hit the shot of his life, a 230-yard 3-wood towards an elevated green he couldn't see. But he knew it was close. When he got to the putting green, however, Tirico's ball was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was 50ft left of the hole in a bunker. It made no sense – until Trump's caddy caught up with him after the round.

Tirico was quoted as saying: "Trump's caddy came up to me and said, 'You know that shot you hit on the par 5? It was about 10ft from the hole. Trump threw it in the bunker. I watched him do it.'"

[SimonNZ]

Trump intervenes in case of Navy Seal charged in stabbing of Isis prisoner. Edward Gallagher also accused of shooting unarmed civilians. President cites Fox & Friends, says prisoner will be moved.

"Donald Trump cited the Fox & Friends TV show on Saturday as he announced his intervention in the case of a US Navy Seal charged with murder in the stabbing of a teenage Islamic State fighter taken prisoner in Iraq.

Special operations chief Edward Gallagher is accused of killing the teenager while he was under his care, then holding his re-enlistment ceremony with the corpse. Navy prosecutors also accuse Gallagher of shooting two civilians in Iraq and opening fire on crowds."

[...]

"Kilmeade told Norman Trump "cited your great work for alarming him and alerting him to this situation" and said "the president understands that when you go to war, all bets are off"."

[drogulus]

     Trump welcomes infestation of Norway rats: 'very fine rodents'

[SimonNZ]

White House whistleblower says 25 security clearance denials were reversed during Trump administration

"White House officials whose security clearances are being scrutinized by the House Oversight Committee include the president's daughter Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton, according to the panel's letter.


The White House whistleblower bombshell, and what it could mean

"The hypocrisy side of it is one thing. This is a president, after all, who once said merely being negligent about email was disqualifying. He said Clinton was "putting all of America and our citizens in danger — great danger." He added on Facebook that it was "a profound national security risk."

But even setting that aside, the evidence of a fast-and-loose and even negligent approach to information security is building. One longtime national security aide has apparently thought it serious enough to go through the arduous process of being a public whistleblower, and she will apparently have some backup — both from other people and from documentation.

In many ways, the argument that Trump could be either a witting or unwitting asset of the Russians is missing the much less speculative potential national security threat. And we shouldn't underestimate the importance of a named whistleblower stepping forward in this manner."

[SimonNZ]

In what can only be an April Fools Day prank, Mitch McConnell has written an op-ed in Politico calling for an end to this "new" practice of obstructing the president's nominees:

Time to Stop the Democrats' Obstruction

[drogulus]

     Bill Barr Has Promised Transparency. He Deserves the Chance to Deliver.

     Barr managed to deftly give Trump a meaningless victory in the short term while signalling clearly that he really is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[Daverz]

     Bill Barr Has Promised Transparency. He Deserves the Chance to Deliver.

     Barr managed to deftly give Trump a meaningless victory in the short term while signalling clearly that he really is the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It's quite obvious that Barr was brought in as a Republican fixer in the James Baker mold.

[SimonNZ]

Trump Tears Into Puerto Rico, Falsely Claims It Has Received $91 Billion in Aid

"In a series of furious tweets that began Monday evening and continued well into Tuesday, President Donald Trump lashed out at Puerto Rico's leaders—twice labeling them as "corrupt" and "incompetent"—and falsely claimed the island has already received $91 billion in federal aid after Hurricane Maria. Moreover, he complained that Puerto Rico's politicians "only take from USA"—despite the fact that Puerto Rico is part of the United States and its residents are American citizens.

While it's unclear exactly how Trump arrived at the $91 billion figure, the claim is a likely misrepresentation of the $95 billion that the government of Puerto Rico projected in November it would take for the island to recover from Hurricane Maria over a long period of time. The Washington Post estimated that Puerto Rico has actually received just $11.2 billion so far—well below the $91 billion Trump has been citing in recent days.

The president's latest outburst came after Senate Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican disaster relief bill, arguing that it was wholly inadequate to deal with the ongoing crisis on the island. "The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any 'place' in history," Trump fumed after the bill failed to advance. By Tuesday morning, Trump was claiming that the "best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump."

[drogulus]

It's quite obvious that Barr was brought in as a Republican fixer in the James Baker mold.

    Trump wants and needs far more fixing than Barr will provide. He got the "exoneration" T-shirt. We'll see if he gets any more than what a conservative but otherwise normal AG can deliver.

[SimonNZ]

The NYT has a series of long investigative pieces on the state of Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch family's influence and ambitions, including the Fox-Trump relationship, starting here:

PART 1: IMPERIAL REACH.
MURDOCH AND HIS CHILDREN HAVE TOPPLED GOVERNMENTS ON TWO CONTINENTS AND DESTABILIZED THE MOST IMPORTANT DEMOCRACY ON EARTH. WHAT DO THEY WANT?

[SimonNZ]

Some on Mueller's Team See Their Findings as More Damaging for Trump Than Barr Revealed

"Some of Robert S. Mueller III's investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.

At stake in the dispute — the first evidence of tension between Mr. Barr and the special counsel's office — is who shapes the public's initial understanding of one of the most consequential government investigations in American history. Some members of Mr. Mueller's team are concerned that, because Mr. Barr created the first narrative of the special counsel's findings, Americans' views will have hardened before the investigation's conclusions become public.

Mr. Barr has said he would move quickly to release the nearly 400-page report but needed time to scrub out confidential information. The special counsel's investigators had already written multiple summaries of the report, and some team members believe that Mr. Barr should have included more of their material in the four-page letter he wrote on March 24 laying out their main conclusions, according to government officials familiar with the investigation. Mr. Barr only briefly cited the special counsel's work in his letter."

[...]

"The officials and others interviewed declined to flesh out why some of the special counsel's investigators viewed their findings as potentially more damaging for the president than Mr. Barr explained, although the report is believed to examine Mr. Trump's efforts to thwart the investigation. It was unclear how much discussion Mr. Mueller and his investigators had with senior Justice Department officials about how their findings would be made public. It was also unclear how widespread the vexation is among the special counsel team, which included 19 lawyers, about 40 F.B.I. agents and other personnel.

At the same time, Mr. Barr and his advisers have expressed their own frustrations about Mr. Mueller and his team. Mr. Barr and other Justice Department officials believe the special counsel's investigators fell short of their task by declining to decide whether Mr. Trump illegally obstructed the inquiry, according to the two government officials. After Mr. Mueller made no judgment on the obstruction matter, Mr. Barr stepped in to declare that he had cleared Mr. Trump of wrongdoing."