On Nicole Wallace’s program yesterday, Donny Deutsch (frequent quest on Morning Joe and some kind of branding expert) said something which rings true to me. After he had lunch with Michael Cohen, Deutsch said Trump was going to go to war with the Justice Department.  Trump, he argued, could not afford to allow the “rock” to be turned over.  Nicole Wallace asked: What’s under the rock?  Deutsch responded:  Everything Donald Trump has been and done for forty years.  Trump can’t afford for that rock to be turned over and if it means he will be impeached, he will provoke impeachment because he cannot allow this to happen.   It will uncover everything Donald Trump is – personally, politically and financially.  Pretty well suns up the situation.

CNN is reporting this morning that a doorman was payed to keep quiet over an illegitimate child Trump had with somebody.

Nick Ackerman is saying on Chris Hayes that the underlying crimes the Cohen search warrants were based on does not have to be separate from the Russia probe. People were assuming that if it had to do with the Russia probe, Mueller would have kept it.  But, Ackerman is saying that if the crime occurred in the Southern District of New York, the search warrant has to go through the Southern District.

Five Things You Need to Know About Deripaska

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/382111-five-things-to-know-about-deripaska

In 1935, Sinclair Lewis published a semi-satirical novel entitled “It Can’t Happen Here.” The novel is designed to portray the take over of an authoritarian government in the United States. This is not an easy read, and if you aren’t interested in the parallels between Lewis’ novel and the Trump election and administration, you probably won’t want to wade through it. Lewis, reportedly, took much longer to research the book than he took writing it (four months) and it suffers from lack of character development and plot drift. A play was based on the book was produced just after Trump took office. And, some of the parallels are interesting.

Lewis predicted that the current anti-intellectualism would be part of the authoritarian program.

…the Americans were the first to start new and completely orthodox institutions, free from the very first of any taint of “intellectualism.”

“…the morning papers had been combined by the government into one sheet, rich in comic strips, in syndicated gossip from Hollywood, and indeed, lacking only any news.”

 

 

 

In 1935, Sinclair Lewis published a semi-satirical novel entitled “It Can’t Happen Here.”   The novel is designed to portray the take over of an authoritarian government in the United States.  This is not an easy read, and if you aren’t interested in the parallels between Lewis’ novel and the Trump election and administration, you probably won’t want to wade through it.  Lewis, reportedly, took much longer to research the book than he took writing it (four months) and it suffers from lack of character development and plot drift.   A play was based on the book was produced just after Trump took office.  And, some of the parallels are interesting.

Senator Windrip is the authoritarian President – folksy, charismatic and power-hungry.  People are left wondering what country they are about to get into a war with – Canada, England, Mexico.  At the end of the novel, after sporadic uprisings have occurred, the president launches a war with Mexico.

“As month by month they (the people) saw that they had been cheated with marked cards again, they were indignant; but they were busy with cornfield and sawmill and dairy and motor factory, and it took the impertinent idiocy of demanding that they march down into the desert and help steal a friendly country to jab them into awakening and into discovering that, while they had been asleep, they had been kidnapped by a small gang of criminals, armed with high ideals, well-buttered words, and a lot of machine guns.”

 

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-roseanne-barr-abandoned-all-reason-and-embraced-the-alt-right

 

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2018/0323/In-Trump-emoluments-case-questions-of-ethics-and-constitutional-intent

 

 

The ASPCA is alerting Georgia citizens that on Monday, puppy mill lobbyists will be trying to pass an amendment to a bill in the Georgia house.  This amendment(to HB 876) will “prevent local governments from banning the sale of puppy mill puppies in existing pet stores.”  These Puppy mills, according to the ASPCA “are cruel breeding facilities that prioritize profits over the health and wellbeing of animals.  Dogs in these operations are often kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization.”

Republicans who support the amendment advertise themselves as supporting local control, but this amendment prevents local communities from deciding that they don’t want their pet stores to sell these cruelly treated animals.

Please phone: Lieutenant Gov. Georgia Casey Cagle.  You can leave a message on the weekend, or phone Monday.  (404) 656-5030.  You can also contact your local representative and senator.

 

The Lyin’, the Rich and the Warmongers

Intercepted Podcast: The Lyin’, the Rich, and the Warmongers

 

Hose Intelligence Committee

The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have announced that they are shutting down the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. While this is not surprising, the timing is interesting.  There are already reports in the press that Trump orchestrated the sudden announcement and virtually dictated the “no collusion” statement.

Everybody in punditdom is saying that the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee will be embarrassed in the future for their actions. They are incapable of being embarrassed.  The real question is why they are beholden and I’m still holding out for the explanation that they have taken tons of Russian money.

Tillerson

Trump has fired Rex Tillerson just hours after Tillerson made an unequivocal statement about Russian involvement in the poisoning in Britain.  Reports are that Tillerson was not even informed he was being fired.

Pennsylvania

The polls are predicting a win for the Democrats in Pennslyvania’s 18^th district. The Republicans sunk an estimated $10 million to save this seat even though the district will most probably disappear when redistricting rules are implemented.

The Democratic candidate in Pennlyvania has run to the right of most Democrats.  He made a campaign ad with himself shooting a semiautomatic rifle and he’s personally opposed to abortion.  He supports Trump’s proposed steel tariffs.  If he wins, this will embolden the DNC in their attempt to continue to run non-progressive candidates arguing that they are the only ones that can win.

Trump couldn’t help gloating that he won the Pennsylvania district by 22 points, paving the way for excusing himself if Rick Saccone loses.

Kasich

John Kasich’s critique of Donald Trump in the face of all this news: Trump just “thinks differently.”  What a weasel.

Saudi Arabia

Muhammed bin Salman is supposed to visit the United States this week.  His rise to power and his moves since coming to power are fascinating.

Little Neal

 

Who the hell are these young women standing behind Trump in Pennsylvania? They are holding up “Women for Trump” signs, bouncing up and down like cheerleaders on the sidelines, cheering everything Trump says and making heart shaped signs with their hands.  Who are these people?  What kind of dumb are they from?  When Trump turns around, they bounce up and down smiling and screaming, trying to get his attention, like fans at a 1950s Elvis concert.  It’s revolting, just revolting.  It reminds me of how much women in Germany loved Hitler.  Good God.

• Elizabeth Warren is getting some hate tweeting over the fact that she dared to mention that 16 Senate Democrats voted with the Republicans to advance a bill which would erode restrictions on banks put in place in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Warren was quoted in an article in the intercept: “Just this week we lost the first round in the battle of a bad banking bill — a bill that would take the reins off of Wall Street’s most reckless actors and put as greater risk of another financial crisis. When I saw a handful of my Democratic colleagues vote for it, it felt like a stab in the heart. Not for me, but for all the homeowners who were cheated and all the taxpayers who bailed out those banks. That is wrong.”
• “Saying Democrats are helping to roll back rules on big banks doesn’t make me the most popular kid on the team,” Warren wrote in a Medium post on Thursday, adding that she has been “taking heat from fellow Democrats” since she called them out earlier this week. “But Massachusetts didn’t send me here to fight for big banks. The people of Massachusetts sent me here to fight for them.”
• See the following articles: Elizabeth Warren Says Democratic Votes for Wall Street This Week are a “Stab in the Heart.” Kate Aronoff, March 9, 2018. The Intercept and Common Dreams, “Democrats Who don’t like being criticized by Elizabeth Warren…” March 9, 2018, Jake Johnson
• Thank somebody, Trump has finished this diatribe in Pennsylvania.  He couldn’t help attacking Warren, Maxine Waters (Have you seen her?  She’s a low I.Q. individual) and even Oprah.  He said that he hoped she ran against him.  And, he claims to know her weak spot.  “That would be a painful experience for her.” Trump threatens.  Lovely, just lovely.

WEDNESDAY 7 MARCH 2018

Things I’m Thinking About

• Nicole Wallace admitted this week that she used to watch Fox News exclusively.  I have a hard time understanding how anybody sane could have watched Fox News exclusively much less why they would admit it on national television.
• Joe Scarborough announced last week that he believed God has a special relationship with the United States.
• Donna Brazille continues to work for the DNC and be interviewed on television as if she’s a credible person even though she lied repeatedly and publicly about passing on a question for the debates to Hillary Clinton
• Howard Dean couldn’t keep himself from taking a cheap nasty swipe at Bernie Sanders about some Australian volunteers.  Vice News ran a headline saying that Sanders “colluded” with the Australians.  The reality, however, is that some Australian volunteers worked for the Sanders campaign and the FEC later ruled that stipends they received from their government were campaign contributions.  Sanders paid the FEC.
• The Democratic Party apparatus is attacking their own progressive candidates.

 

 

Things I’m Thinking About This Morning

Trump’s former bodyguard, Keith Schilling, is being paid $15,000 a month by the RNC.  Why?

There are people on Twitter attacking a CNN reporter for tracking down a woman who participated in a Russian organized demonstration for Trump in Florida.  I watched the clip and I don’t understand what the fuss is about.  The woman is the one who is overly aggressive and asserts repeatedly that she doesn’t “believe” that the Russians were involved.

Rachael Brand has given an interview to Fox News in which she tries to defend herself against the perfectly logical conclusion that she quit the Justice Department because she wanted to avoid being put in charge of the investigation of the Russian involvement with the 2016 election.  She says that she had no reason to ever believe that the Russia investigation would come to her.  Well, if she didn’t, she’s an idiot and I suspect she is just lying.  There has been a notable reluctance on the part of commentators to take her on about this.  Rachael Maddow is the only one I’ve heard comment that Brand might well have made the firing of Rosenstein easier by quitting.  Most of the people commenting on her resignation have said that they couldn’t blame her.  She was in a difficult position and being in charge of the investigation might well be bad for her career.  Her career?  Her career?  What happened to concern about the country?  People just assume that if something might be bad for your career you are perfectly justified in avoiding it.  Who cares about the Constitution?  The country?  Democracy?  The Rule of Law?  Marlene Dietrich was once asked whether she missed the war.  She said she missed what people were like when they were trying to be brave.  I do too.  Rachael Brand is a member of the Federalist society, an ultra conservative group that works to get extremely conservative judges and lawyers appointed to important positions.  So, who would expect integrity, courage, morality?  Not me.

Wayne Lapierre of the NRA, and that Lash woman are lunatics.  It says everything that needs to be said about the Conservatives that they were invited as speakers.  They are dangerous people and make no mistake, when Lapierre says that we should “harden schools” he means that we should sell more guns and security equipment.

On Morning Misogyny, Joe Scarborough fawned over Trump and Rubio for actually talking to and listening to (or pretending to) their constituents.  It’s their job, not a favor they do for us.  Trump hasn’t given a press conference in over a year.  He participated in a show with selected students and parents who were screened to make sure they wouldn’t confront him.  Rubio couldn’t even hold up his end of a debate with a teenager.  As someone else said: Rubio’s never brought anything to the  political scene except his ambition.

 

The Republicans are removing vital information from data bases.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-web-pages-erased-and-obscured-under-trump/