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/

 

This school teacher was arrested for challenging a pay raise for a school Superintendent.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/10/577010534/outcry-after-louisiana-teacher-arrested-during-school-board-meeting

 

• Robert Reich pointed out in a tweet that with the $18 billion they are talking about spending on the wall, we could end homelessness for 500 thousand Americans.
• Christopher Steele briefed reporters about his findings regarding the Trump/Russia scandal before the election.
• It has been reported that a person died due to the release of the Steele documents. Who was this?
• Is Steve Bannon just the first to try to distance himself from an administration riddled with corruption?  Everybody in the White House is going to be pointing and saying: He’s Spartacus.
• Why hasn’t Rosenstein recused himself? The memo he wrote was used as a cover story for firing Comey.  Rosenstein will be a witness regarding the firing of Comey.  Some have argued that Mueller et. al. are just conveniently ignoring the conflict here.  Others have mused that Muller isn’t going after obstruction.
• Why can’t Nicole Wallace stop talking? She’s getting to be just like Chris Matthews.  Every question she asks is four paragraphs long.
• What difference would it make if the investigation had been initiated by the Steele memos? Why are the Democrats trying so hard to argue that the investigation was not initiated by the Steele memos?  What difference does it make?  They are so intimidated by Republican arguments.
• Joe Scarborough and others are repeatedly advancing the argument that Trump is suffering from dementia. This argument (that Trump has changed, deteriorated) seems especially self-serving coming from Scarborough.   He can try to justify his own slavish support for Trump up until Trump dumped him as an advisor.  Also, the danger of this argument (aside from the face that it’s probably untrue and almost impossible to prove) is that it forms a convenient out for Trump.  He can resign, claim that he if suffering from dementia, and get to keep all his ill-gotten gains and cover up his criminal, and (if we were in a war) treasonous behavior.
• Why is everybody in the media constantly apologizing for calling out Trump’s behavior? You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to see that somebody’s behavior is erratic, impulsive, out of the ordinary.  You would say that about your neighbor if he behaved like Trump.   You don’t have to have a formal medical diagnosis to know that somebody is off-kilter (to put it mildly).  Just say it and stop wringing your hands.
• Diane Feinstein has released the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Fusion GPS founder, Glenn Simpson. Let’s hope this is an indication of Democrats growing some kind of spine.

Just saying…

• The Hill is reporting that Nancy Pelosi’s son partied with the Trumps at Mar-a-lago on New Year’s Eve. These folks in the Democratic Party are going to have to decide which side they are on.
• Morning Joe and Mike started off talking about how the country was going to survive the Trump Administration, how institutions are going to hold and save us from the threat to democracy. This only reinforces my notion that we are not going to survive at least not as a democracy.  My bet is that it’s going to be a spiral toward autocracy from here on out.
• Scarborough is also talking about the dementia defense for Trump. He has been pushing this one for months.  At least one journalist has proposed that this is likely to be the out for Trump and his minions – claim dementia and then resign and therefore be allowed to get away with treason, money laundering and god knows what else.
• The hypocritical pair (Joe and Mika) also were talking again this morning about “poor” Hope Hicks, and “poor” Reince Priebus. There was also comment on what a decent human being Priebus is.  These people are adults, they have been part of one of the most corrupt administrations in history.  I have no, I repeat no, sympathy for any of them.
• Steve Bannon is now trying to say his comments about treason were not about Donald Trump Jr, they were about Manafort.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-eric-trump-russia-investigation-tweets-2018-1

 

Jimmy Carter, the Republican Tax Bill and Citizen’s United

This is a quote from an interview with Jimmy Carter after the Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United

“As the rich people finance the campaigns, when candidates get in office they do what the rich people want. And that’s to let the rich people get richer and richer and the middle class get left out. All the statistics show that the middle class are stagnant or going down in their income for the work that they do.”

 

It’s me, Little Neal.  Mom and I are making a list, checking it twice, writing down who’s been naughty and nice.  Bob Corker has been really naughty, sleazy as well.

Bob Corker says he has no idea how a provision that would benefit him financially got into the new Republican Tax bill.  Really?  That’s the best he can come up with?

Also, he says he hasn’t read the bill.  Congresspersons who haven’t read the bill shouldn’t be voting on it.  Do you think perhaps Bob Corker and the rest will stay in Washington over the Christmas holiday and read the bill?  I don’t think so.

The Young Turks

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks/