#also why are all the Tillersons so angry

[topguncortez]

Day 10: Poor Unfortunate Souls ➢prompt: ALT stabbed ➢character: Rhett Abbott ➢warnings: stabbing, death, bleeding out ➢word count: 2.3k ➢song inspo: Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michelson

|| masterlist || whumptober || whumptober masterlist || library page ||

Rhett was a fighter. It was obvious for anyone who knew him or even looked at him. Rhett Abbott loved a good fight. When he was sober, he held in a lot of anger stemming from issues with his parents failing ranch, to issues with his brother, to being in a constant state of pain due to bull riding. But when he was drunk, Rhett let all that anger bubble over. There was only one person that could help reel the angry bull that was Rhett Abbott, and that was Y/N. 

No one could quite understand why a girl like Y/N, the pastor's daughter and a local school teacher could be with someone like Rhett Abbott. But that was one of life’s greatest mysteries. Y/N liked to tell people that Rhett was misunderstood, which was correct. He spent years in the shadows of his older brother Perry. Anything that Perry did wrong, was somehow Rhett’s fault. Overtime, after being blamed for being such a bad person, he slowly adapted to that new title. But it had changed when he met Y/N. 

Cecelia liked to call her ‘Saint Y/N’ because she turned Rhett into a different person. He quit drinking, which was a big thing. Instead of drowning himself in alcohol after a competition, he went home with Y/N, where she’d properly patch him up, give him a massage, and give him the correct dosage of pain medicine. Rhett started working harder on the ranch, helping to turn it into something profitable. He also swallowed his pride, and asked to be a ranch hand for the Tillersons when they needed it. Rhett had saved up enough money to buy a diamond ring for Y/N, which he planned to give her tonight.  

Even though Rhett seemed to turn his life around, there was still that part of him, that old angry Rhett, that never quite left. It took more to get him angry when he was sober, but tonight was different. He had just won the county bull riding circuit, and was set to go compete at a state level next. Y/N was proud of him, and beamed with pride as they walked into the Pit Bar together. Perry was trailing behind, deciding to not grovel in his misery, and celebrate. Rhett placed his hat on Y/N’s head, and pulled her onto the dance floor. She giggled as he twirled her around, dancing to a couple songs before retreating to a booth that Perry had gotten. 

“Didn’t know you could dance like that, Rhett,” Perry said, pushing a drink over to him. 

“Well, it pays to have a pretty teacher,” Rhett said, looking down at her. 

“I got you a vodka tonic,” Perry said, sliding the drink over to her. 

“Oh, I’m not-” 

“She can’t drink,” Rhett said, taking a sip of his beer. Perry looked between the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed before he came to the realization of what was going on. 

“No shit?” Perry said with a smile on his face, “Really? How far along?” 

“Ten weeks today,” Y/N said, and Rhett put his arm around her, puffing his chest out slightly. It was the most exciting and terrifying moment of his life when she told him. He was terrified that her daddy was going to come at him with a shotgun for getting her pregnant before marrying her. But that night they told her parents, Rhett had asked her father for her hand in marriage. 

“Well, congrats you two,” Perry said, and raised his beer up to clink with Rhett’s, “You tell Mom and Dad yet?” 

“Not yet,” Rhett sighed. That was a whole other conversation they were waiting to have. As much as Cecelia and Royal loved Y/N, they also didn’t like the idea of her taking their hardest working son away. When Rhett announced he was moving out and in with Y/N, Royal had lost it. Him and Rhett got into a yelling match right in front of Y/N, and it had her in tears. She had never seen Rhett so angry in her life, and it scared her. He almost lost her that night, her fear of the past getting the best of her, and Rhett understood. 

As much of a troubled soul that Rhett was, Y/N was too. The dark secrets that she hid under a pretty smile, were enough to make a grown man cry. When she opened up to Rhett after the fight, hitting his chest and cursing at him for making her so scared and putting her back into the never ending nightmare, Rhett promised to never do anything like that again. And true to his word, he never did. 

“We are going to,” Y/N said, and put her hand on his thigh, “We just wanted to wait a little bit longer. Make sure everything is okay before we start telling people.” 

“I get it,” Perry said, “Secrets safe with me.” 

The three of them fell into comfortable conversation, beers being shared between Perry and Rhett. Y/N happily sipped on her water as she sat against Rhett’s side. Perry was telling stories of how Rhett was as a child, and Y/N was near tears in laughter. Rhett was trying to correct the errors in Perry’s story which made Y/N laugh even harder. 

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Y/N said, wiping a tear from her eye as she stood up, “I’m gonna use the restroom, I’ll bring back drinks.” 

“Budweiser!” Perry said, holding up his beer bottle. 

“Same for me, sweets,” Rhett said, giving her a smile. She nodded and walked off towards the bathroom. Rhett’s blue eyes followed her frame, his stetson still on her head, as she smiled and greeted people along the way. She was just nice like that. Rhett had gotten a bit annoyed the first time they went out, and everyone on the sidewalk in Wabang said hi to her and asked about her parents, but he knew that she wasn’t going to be rude and ignore them like he would. 

“She’s good for you,” Perry said, sipping the last of his beer, “I always knew you two would get together. When she ran off with that one jackass.” 

“Colby,” Rhett said, looking down at his drink, “He fucked her up badly. She still has nightmares about him. She doesn’t say much about him, other than what she said the night of the fight I got in with dad.” 

“Listen to me,” Perry said, and leaned across the table, “You marry her, and get the fuck away from here. You don’t want your kid growing up in this mess and being stuck here. She makes good money, you make good money, get out while you can.” 

“I’m trying,” Rhett dug into his pocket, and pulled out the diamond ring, “I’m gonna do it tonight.” 

Perry smiled with pride at his baby brother. He was proud that he managed to figure shit out, and leave. Perry once had that opportunity with Rebecca, to leave and be away from all this, but he never did. And everyday since she disappeared he regretted it. 

Y/N hummed along to the song that was playing as she walked towards the bar. She smiled at a couple more friendly faces before the bartender came over to her. She placed the order and turned around, watching the couples on the dance floor. 

“Do my eyes fucking decieve me?” She froze, hearing that voice. It was like a knife running down her spine, and it felt like his hands were once again on her throat constricting her air, “Y/N.” 

“Colby,” Y/N said, softly, “What are you-” 

“Saw your little boy toy ride,” Colby knocked the brim of her hat slightly. She trembled as he walked towards her. It was like a lion stalking his prey, “You look good.” He looked down at the sight of her breasts peeking out of her shirt. Her boobs had grown slightly since becoming pregnant, “Looking like a whore. That’s how he likes ‘em, right? Slutty and stupid?” 

“I’m not stupid,” Y/N said, “What do you want?” 

“You, baby. I want you. You’re still my girl.” 

“I am not your girl,” She said, and stepped on his white cowboy boots. He groaned and grabbed her arm. 

“You listen to me-” 

“Hey, let her go,” The bartender said, and placed the drinks down in front of her. Colby clenched his jaw, not wanting to get into a fight, and let her go. 

“Sorry, baby,” Colby said, and winked at her, before going back into the crowded bar. 

Y/N felt frozen in fear, tears in her eyes as she watched him leave. Her hand flew to her mouth, as her body pushed through the crowd to the front door of the bar. Rhett looked up from his conversation with Perry to see her beelining it for the door. 

“Shit,” Rhett said, and got up from his seat, and quickly followed her. Perry was up on his feet as well, following in the same direction as his younger brother. 

Y/N paced the gravel in front of the bar, taking deep breaths and shaking her hands out, trying to calm herself down. She knew that she couldn’t get worked up, that it wasn’t good for her or for the baby, but she couldn’t help it. She stopped pacing, and put her hand on the wall to brace herself as she vomited. Rhett had just gotten outside, and ran to her, holding her hair back as she got sick. 

“I’ll go get her some water,” Perry said, and went back into the bar. 

“You’re okay, darlin’,” Rhett said, and rubbed her back, “You’re okay. What happened? Get too hot?” 

“Colby,” She whimpered out, as she stood up and wiped her mouth. 

“He’s here?” Rhett asked, feeling the anger course through his veins. It was like he had heard his name, Colby walked out of the bar, placing his stetson on his head with a smirk, and a girl on his arm. 

“Rhett, no-” Y/N tried grabbing Rhett’s arm, but he was already moving towards the other man. 

“Jackass!” Rhett yelled, and punched Colby in the jaw. The girl next to him shrieked and jumped back, as Rhett grabbed the collar of Colby’s shirt and pushed him up against the wall, “You think you can try shit on my girl and get away with it?” 

“You’re girl, now huh, Abbott?” Colby smirked, “She’s a fucking whore! Always has been. She tell you that she’s the reason I got on the pills? It was her that did it. That fucking bitch-” 

His words were cut off again, as Rhett threw him to the ground, and started fighting him. Colby was a bit bigger than Rhett, but when he was drunk he was like gumby. Rhett was quick, and was able to get the upper hand, delivering punches to him. Y/N was frozen, watching as Rhett fought him while the other girl was yelling at her to stop them. Y/N finally pulled out of her reprieve when the girl pushed her slightly. 

“Stop your fucking boyfriend!” She yelled, as Rhett was beating Colby’s face into a bloody pulp. 

“Rhett, stop!” Y/N said, and stepped forward to grab his arm, “Please, stop! You’re scaring me!” 

That was all Rhett needed to hear to stop beating in Colby’s teeth. He sighed and felt guilt course through his veins as he looked at Y/N’s face. He stood up from Colby, who was on the ground groaning. Rhett tucked his shirt in, and gently cupped her face, brushing a tear from her cheek. 

“I’m so sor-” 

“Rhett!” She screamed as she watched Colby drive a knife into Rhett’s back. He sagged against her at the pain hitting him, “No!” Colby dropped his knife quickly, and ran towards his truck. The other girl looked at the scene in shock. Y/N somehow managed to get Rhett’s body down to the ground, and placed her hands on the bleeding stab wound, “Go get Perry!” She yelled at the girl, who nodded and ran into the bar. 

“Darlin-” Rhett choked out. 

“No, it’s okay. Don’t talk, okay. Perry is coming, and we’ll get you to county,” Y/N said, and Rhett’s hands went down to where the blood seeped through his white shirt. 

“I bought a ring,” Rhett said, as he looked into her eyes, “I was gonna do this right.” 

“You always did, Rhett,” Y/N cried, feeling as his pulse was starting to slow. Rhett’s eyes got heavier as his face paled, “Do not fall asleep on me, Rhett Abbott. You keep your eyes open.” 

“Okay. . .” Rhett nodded, “I love you, Y/N.” 

“Don’t talk, Rhett, save your strength.” 

“I can’t. . .” He said, and looked up at her. She could see it in his eyes, he had accepted his fate. He had accepted that he was never going to get to marry her. He accepted that he was never going to see his son or daughter grow up. He had accepted that he was going to die in the arms of the person he loved

“You can’t do this, Rhett. You can not leave me here,” Y/N said, and watched as Rhett’s chest stilled. She pulled his body in close and sobbed. Perry had run out of the bar, breathlessly as he heard Y/N let out an earth shattering sob. Perry walked over to her, and fell to his knees next to her and his brother. 

“He bought a ring,” Y/N whispered against Rhett’s forehead.

#outer range #outer range fan fic #outer range fan fiction #outer range imagine #Rhett abbott #Rhett abbott fan fic #Rhett abbott fan fiction #Rhett abbott imagine #Rhett abbott x reader #Rhett abbott x y/n #Rhett abbott x you #outer range Rhett abbott

[skepticraven]

Dear Trump Fans,

I keep hearing you say that Trump has done so much for America but you never elaborate on that, even when I ask you to. So, I’m asking again & my question is simple. What has he done that you think is so great? Aside from insulting people you don’t like, I just don’t see any achievements. This is what I do see:

-Trump didn't end the overseas wars like he promised. Instead, he got us involved in Syria. And he has nearly started a couple new wars with Iran & North Korea

- It seems you don't have your giant, waste-of-money wall. You have a small amount of fencing that anyone could cross should they want to. And Mexico won't EVER pay for it. Now, I’m fine with no wall but you shouldn’t be. 

- Trump is trying to cut the CDC budget by almost 20% amidst a pandemic. 

- Trump fired the pandemic response team last year.

- Trump is already saying he wants everyone back to work by Easter & all of the churches full on Easter- except every doctor & all his medically educated advisors are advising Trump against that. The cases of coronavirus are still increasing rapidly. Sending people back into such close proximity to one another will only inflame the problem, increasing the number of infected & dead tenfold.

-Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the constitution by failing to put his assets in a blind trust & thus is charging foreign leaders & American politicians inflated prices to stay at his hotels to win his favor & get private access to the president since he goes there all the time

- Trump is guilty of blatant nepotism. For example, he appointed Jared Kushner to negotiate peace in the middle east, handle diplomacy with China & Mexico, address the opioid epidemic, manage the wall construction process, etc. Jared isn't qualified for any of that, he only has that job because he bones Trump's daughter. Jared wouldn’t be qualified to manage a Pizza Hut. He was born rich and has done nothing but lose billions when he landed in his father job because his father went to prison for tax evasion, witness tampering, & illegal campaign contributions.

- Trump, who claims to be tough on terrorism, signed a multi-billion dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia RIGHT AFTER they murdered & dismembered an American journalist. Not to mention the genocide they were waging in Yemen. There is a reason that 80% of the 9/11 terrorist were from Saudi Arabia.

- Trump has eliminated funding for programs that work to de-radicalize people in extremist groups/organizations & help them escape that life.

- Trump cut his own taxes & that of his rich buddies & corporations BY 40%. Due to all the tax loopholes & shady financial dealings (like equity swapping or offshore tax havens) which the wealthiest Americans & corporations do, they already historically weren't paying anywhere near the marginal tax rate they should be on paper. Trump cut the corporate marginal tax rate from 35% to 21%. So after the loopholes & their shady bullshit, they're very likely paying a lower effective tax rate than you are. Thanks to Trump, many paid no income taxes at all in 2018 like Amazon, Netflix, Chevron, IBM, Delta Airlines, General Motors, Whirlpool, Goodyear Tires, etc.

-Trump promised to reduce the deficit but he has actually raised it by a lot. When you decrease the amount of taxes coming in that drastically & you increase government spending that much, the deficit is going to increase. The Caronavirus situation has only exacerbated that problem but the problem was already there.

-Trump pulled out of the Iran deal, solely because Obama did it. And Mr. Art of the Deal did not even try to negotiate a new deal. 

- This great healthcare Trump promised hasn't happened. Less people have insurance now than when Trump first took office. Drug prices have only gone up. There have be cuts to Medicaid as well.

-Trump appointed a judge who clearly lied to congress & whom likely sexually assaulted someone. Why Trump did not pick a different conservative judge to nominate, I will never understand.

- Trump cut all the social safety net programs that help the poor & disabled: SSI Disability, Food Stamps, Medicaid, HUD, etc.

- Like it or not, Trump was technically impeached. He just wasn’t removed from office by the Senate because there are a bunch of scared Republicans who are too scared to do or say anything against Trump. Tribalism saved him. That’s it. Because he admitted on national television that he talked about Biden & his son on that phone call- you can even see the exact moment when he realizes he shouldn’t have said that. So, he did do what he was accused of.

-His administration is a revolving door of hiring & firing/quitting. Trump said he knew the best people so why would he need to fire so many of them? Think about how many people have come & gone. These are just some of the big names who left the administration but there are WAY MORE than I am listing: Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo, Scott Pruitt, Steve Bannon, John Bolton, Jeff Sessions, John Kelly, Anthony Scaramucci, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer,  Sarah Sanders, James Mattis, Rick Perry, Nikki Haley, Dan Coats, Alexander Acosta, Scott Gottlieb, Bill Shine, Tom Price,  H.R. McMaster, Ryan Zinke, Mick Mulvaney, James Comey,  Sebastian Gorka, Omarosa Newman, Gary Cohn, Don McGahn, Rod Rosenstein, Michael Flynn, Sally Yates, Tom Homan, Ty Cobb, Tom Bossert, K.T. McFarland, Rob Porter, Dina Powell, Rick Dearborn, Matthew Whittaker, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Hope Hicks, Brenda Firtzgerald, Rob Snyder, Michael Dubke, Sean Doocey, etc.

-This is kind of a minor point but it does illustrate Trump’s hypocrisy.  Trump criticized Obama for golfing so much & then Trump turns around & plays 2.6 times more golf than Obama in his first 2 years and 91 days & has cost the tax payer an estimated $74 million more than Obama. 

- Does it ever embarrass you how little Trump knows about anything? Ever notice how he never goes in depth talking about anything? Its all vague because he doesn’t know enough about healthcare or the Iran Deal or climate change to address it in any kind of depth. You still see that idiocy spill out regardles. During an interview for SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S. channel, Trump said that former President Andrew Jackson was angry about the Civil War. The only problem is, Jackson couldn’t have been angry about the war. He died in 1845. The Civil War was in 1861. Another example would be during a call with Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, Trump claimed Canada burned down the White House during the War of 1812. Canada didn’t exist as a country until 1867. That was the British... Trump also claimed General John J. Pershing dealt with Muslim terrorists by shooting them with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. That did not happen. The story began circulating the internet around the September 11 terrorist attacks. Apparently Trump believed it was factual, talking about it during his 2016 presidential campaign & again after a terror attack in Barcelona. Then, speaking to the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump confused the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, with the Kurds, the minority group battling ISIS in northern Iraq (who he would later abandoned). Maybe that confusion could be forgiven for an average Joe but if you’ president, you need to know stuff like that (especially given the region these two groups are in). Hence why most presidents study political science, law, or economics in college or at least, they bother to read up on this stuff. But Trump doesn’t really read. The only book he claims to have read was a biography about Andrew Jackson whom, he thought was mad about a war that happened 16 years after his death & he also seems to have missed the whole Trail of Tears thing.

-  By pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal & the Paris Climate Accord, Trump has isolated us from our allies. Our word means nothing anymore. And who can blame them for being pissed? Whether Iran has a nuclear weapon effect more than just us. Given the size of our nation, our refusal to take the looming threat of climate change seriously is a detriment to the entire world that can & likely will have devastating consequences for everyone. Furthermore, Trump trash talks our closest allies & has placed tariffs on nearly all of them. For example:

AUSTRALIA: Shortly after taking office, Trump reportedly berated then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over an agreement between the U.S. and Australia involving refugee resettlement. 

CANADA: Trump also attacked Canadian President Justin Trudeau as “meek, mild, dishonest, & weak” during a conversation on trade at the G7 summit in 2018. He also threatened to withhold the U.S.’s signature from a joint communique from the meeting over the feud. Trudeau he also found it “insulting” that tariffs were placed on Canada under a rarely invoked law that allows levies to be placed on a country in the interest of national security. Since when is Canada a national security threat? 

DENMARK: Trump also went after Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after she refused to sell him Greenland. She called the idea “absurd,” & Trump referred to her as “nasty & inappropriate.” The people that live there don’t want to become American. You can’t just buy a country on whim. Greenland belongs to Denmark but its semi-autonomous. 

FRANCE: Trump threatened to slap tariffs on French wine & called French President Emmanuel Macron “foolish” after he signed a digital services tax on tech companies making at least 750 MILLION EUROS annually, a figure which meant U.S.-based tech giants like Apple, Google, Facebook & Amazon would be included. 

GERMANY: Trump has had a particularly tumultuous relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The president has repeatedly threatened Germany with auto tariffs, saying if companies like BMW and Mercedes wanted to sell cars in the U.S., they should build them in the country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday criticized President Donald Trump's tweets about four Democratic congresswomen of color telling them to go back to where they came from. She said that the president's tweets contradict "the strength of America." "I distance myself firmly from this & feel solidarity with the women who were attacked," Merkel said. (Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau also criticized Trump for the same thing).

JAPAN: Trump has lamented the U.S.’s responsibility to defend Japan if attacked, saying the alliance between Washington & Tokyo is uneven. Trump has also threatened Japan with auto tariffs, though it announced in May it was delaying any levies for six months. 

MEXICO: President Trump has repeatedly torn into Mexico, slamming it on trade but focusing much of his ire on the country over immigration. Trump has threatened America’s southern neighbor with tariffs over its alleged inaction in working to stem the flow of undocumented migrants in the U.S. And let’s face it, he doesn’t exactly talk about the Mexican people in the nicest way and stroked racial tensions.

SWEDEN: President Trump feuded with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven after American rapper A$AP Rocky was detained in Sweden & charged with assault following a June incident in Stockholm. Apparently Kanye West told Trump about it. 🙄 The rapper was ultimately released in & returned to the U.S AFTER he was convicted & had to pay a fine (plus time served).

UNITED KINGDOM: While Trump has bashed the United Kingdom over trade practices, threatening tariffs on one of the U.S.’s closest allies to rectify what he sees as an imbalance, he has directed much of his criticism toward the country’s handling of Brexit. He also attacked the UK's National Health Service, claiming it is "going broke & not working." That’s not true but its not really his business either way. Trump is so disliked in the UK that at one point, 75,000 protestors gathered in central London’s Trafalgar Square to protest U.S. President Trump’s visit to the U.K

SOUTH KOREA: The Trump administration is reportedly demanding South Korea pay 400% more for U.S. troops in the region- despite the fact that having a base in South Korea is essential as much for us as it is for them. We need a base near North Korea should we ever have to attack. Maybe raising it some is reasonable but raising anything 400% overnight is a little absurd.

I see failure & corruption in Trump. I see a danger to America. Feel free to try to change my mind.

#politics #conservative #liberal #democrats #republicans #explain #political blog #PoliticalQuestions #potus #potustrump #failure

[bellboy905]

Six months into his administration, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had grown alarmed by gaping holes in Trump’s knowledge of history, especially the key alliances forged following World War II. Trump had dismissed allies as worthless, cozied up to authoritarian regimes... and advocated withdrawing troops from strategic outposts and active theaters alike... To have a useful discussion with him, the trio agreed, they had to create a basic knowledge, a shared language.

[...]

Mattis, Cohn, and Tillerson... decided to use maps, graphics, and charts to tutor the president, figuring they would help keep him from getting bored... Mattis devised a strategy to use terms the impatient president, schooled in real estate, would appreciate... He sought to explain why U.S. troops were deployed in so many regions and why America’s safety hinged on a complex web of trade deals, alliances, and bases across the globe.

[...]

Trump appeared peeved by the schoolhouse vibe but also allergic to the dynamic of his advisers talking at him. His ricocheting attention span led him to repeatedly interrupt... for instance... to say how “crazy” and “stupid” it was to pay for bases in some countries... Trump proceeded to explain that NATO, too, was worthless. U.S. generals were letting the allied member countries get away with murder, he said, and they owed the United States a lot of money after not living up to their promise of paying their dues... “You would totally go bankrupt if you had to run your own business.” 

[...]

Trump then repeated a threat he’d made countless times before. He wanted out of the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama had struck... “It’s the worst deal in history!” Trump declared. “Well, actually...” Tillerson interjected. “I don’t want to hear it,” Trump said, cutting off the secretary of state... Before they could debate the Iran deal, Trump... demanded an explanation for why the United States hadn’t won in Afghanistan... calling Afghanistan a “loser war.” That phrase hung in the air and disgusted not only the military leaders at the table but also the men and women in uniform sitting along the back wall behind their principals... “You’re all losers,” Trump said. “You don’t know how to win anymore.”

[...]

Trump by now was in one of his rages. He was so angry that he wasn’t taking many breaths... “I wouldn’t go to war with you people... You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.”

[...]

This was the gravest insult he could have delivered... So many people in that room had gone to war and risked their lives for their country, and now they were being dressed down by a president who had not. They felt sick to their stomachs.  

[...]

Tillerson, Dunford, and Mattis... failed to rein in Trump’s impulses or to break through what they regarded as the president’s stubborn, even dangerous insistence that he knew best. Piece by piece, the guardrails that had hemmed in the chaos of Trump’s presidency crumpled.

#trump #civility #competence

[gibsongirlselections]

Bob Woodward: Stenographer of the Washington Establishment

At the end of Trump’s first term, there are scores of people the president has humiliated, fired by tweet, and excoriated publicly after nasty and public fallings out, and all of them have stories to tell. These angry, jilted rejects from the Trump administration, the presidential version of The Apprentice, have poured out their hearts, and their grievances, to Washington’s reporting angel, Bob Woodward. From national security heavyweights, to former and current senators and White House officials, to generals famous for their silence, the veteran Watergate journalist transcribes them all in his latest book Rage.

While Trump wasn’t interviewed for Woodward’s first book on the administration, the president picked up the phone and spoke to Woodward a total of 18 times for this latest offering. Yet even with that level of access, the book suffers from Woodward’s uncritical embrace of narratives spun by ex-officials transparently attempting to resuscitate their own reputations after Trump’s unceremonious defenestrations.

Rage is awash with an astonishing array of self-serving narratives: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein drafting the memo that justified firing FBI Director James Comey in May 2017; pious Marine Corps General Jim Mattis praying at Washington’s National Cathedral for the country’s fate under Trump’s command; oil executive and erstwhile Secretary of State Rex Tillerson bemoaning Trump not keeping his word and his fire-by-tweet; Jared Kushner opining on his brilliant father-in-law’s “great strength” of unpredictability, to name a few.

The biggest problem with Woodward’s books on the Trump administration is that he serves up these self-interested perspectives with far too much credulity. History is written by the winners, and everyone wants to be certain Woodward captures their version of events. Throughout both Fear and Rage, the reader can never be certain who is talking, because Woodward serves up his narrative in omniscient voice. Almost all the original reporting Woodward conducted is on “deep background.” Whomever it is that spoke to Woodward wasn’t willing to publicly put their names to what they told him. 

But it’s not too difficult to guess who his sources are, because in their own telling, they are the heroes. And who, other than the people present in the room themselves, could tell Woodward the thoughts of central players or word for word what happened at private White House meetings, or on the golf course with Trump? 

In Fear, a predictable bevy of former White House officials like Steve Bannon, Gary Cohn, Rob Porter, H.R. McMaster, John Kelly and Chris Christie tell Woodward how lunatic, imbecilic, or angry Trump is, and how they personally stood between the president and disaster. 

In Rage, Woodward has some new sources, and new heroes. In this passage from the Epilogue of Rage, see if you can guess who they are:

Mattis, Tillerson and Coats are all conservatives or apolitical people who wanted to help him and the country. Imperfect men who answered the call to public service. They were not the deep state. Yet each departed with cruel words from their leader. They concluded that Trump was an unstable threat to their country. Think about that for a moment: The top national security leaders thought the president of the United States was a danger to the country.

It’s Mattis, Tillerson and former director of national intelligence Dan Coats—coincidentally the very same people whom Woodward has heavily relied on for his Rage narrative. 

In one particularly striking scene, Woodward writes that Mattis told Coats, “There may come a time when we have to take collective action” since Trump is “dangerous. He’s unfit.”

It’s not clear what sort of action Mattis is referring to. After all, Mattis famously declined to dish any dirt on his former boss after resigning. Mattis said, “if you leave an administration, you owe some silence,” and “when the time’s right to speak out about policy or strategy, I’ll speak out.”

Mattis resigned in December 2018 after disagreeing with Trump on withdrawing troops from Syria, something the president had promised to do many times during the 2016 presidential campaign. As recently as June 2020, Mattis said he had just come to the realization that Trump was a threat to the Constitution as a result of Trump’s decision to deploy soldiers to quell the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C. This means that Woodward’s account, in which Mattis calls Trump “dangerous” and “unfit” in 2019, can’t be true. 

According to Woodward, Mattis disagreed with Trump on policy: Trump made “a terrible decision” on Syria; he “didn’t agree” with Mattis and crossed his “red line.”

“I was often trying to impose reason over impulse. And you see where I wasn’t able to, because the tweets would get out there,” Mattis said of Trump. He calls Trump’s attitude towards allies “indefensible.”

“It was jingoism. It was a misguided form of nationalism. It was not patriotism.”

When Mattis resigned, he reportedly told Trump, “You’re going to have to get the next secretary of defense to lose to ISIS. I’m not going to do it.”

The retired Marine Corps general tells Woodward he’s “buried too many boys” to risk Trump escalating violence in the Middle East. Trump is the first president that hasn’t either started a war or brought the U.S. into a new armed conflict in over 39 years. Yet Woodward doesn’t press Mattis on his conclusion that Trump is “dangerous,” “unfit,” and going to get boys killed.

In another chapter of Rage, Woodward writes uncritically that Tillerson and Mattis “had stopped or slowed some of Trump’s intentions in Afghanistan and South Korea, but their ambitious goal of directing foreign policy had largely failed.”

In another chapter, Tillerson is unceremoniously fired via tweet. Tillerson “was never told why he was fired. The president did not give him a reason.”

Maybe Tillerson was axed because he was, on his own admission, obstructing the president’s wishes on foreign policy?

None of these people were forced to work for the Trump administration. But by doing so, one would presume they all agreed to carry out Trump’s policies, not surreptitiously work to sabotage his agenda behind his back. They also all had the option of resigning and speaking out publicly about what they believed the dangers they saw were.

But that’s not what they did. They talked to Woodward, anonymously, and in his telling, people like Mattis and Tillerson are the “adults in the room”—even when they behave appallingly, openly flouting Trump’s policy goals, Woodward doesn’t seriously question their accounts.

Consider this scene Woodward describes: Gary Cohn, then-chief White House economic adviser, prevented President Trump from withdrawing from a trade agreement with South Korea by simply removing a letter announcing the withdrawal from the Resolute desk. Trump reportedly never noticed the letter was missing. 

In conversations with former White House adviser Rob Porter, Cohn threatened to reprise his tactic and remove another letter in order to prevent Trump from leaving the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA.)

“I can stop this. I’ll just take the paper off his desk,” Cohn tells Porter.

It is shocking that Cohn felt empowered to literally take options off the table of the duly-elected president of the United States; and more shocking still, Woodward recounts this without putting any pressure on Cohn as to the story’s veracity or the narrator’s chutzpah.

While there’s an endless parade of self-serving accounts from disgruntled former staff in both books, there’s nothing about the deal President Trump helped facilitate between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. While the deal is only the third Arab-Israeli peace deal negotiated since Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, and the first time a diplomatic relationship has been established between Israel and a Gulf Arab country, it doesn’t merit a single word in the forty six chapters of Rage. 

In the epilogue, Woodward abandons journalistic impartiality and weighs in on his opinion of Trump: he’s “the wrong man for the job” of president. But Woodward need not have written this for the reader to know his conclusion. Napoleon once said that history is “an agreed upon fable.” Through his unquestioning use of self-serving sources, Woodward allows Rage to be nothing more than a shockingly unabashed stenography of the Washington establishment.

The post Bob Woodward: Stenographer of the Washington Establishment appeared first on The American Conservative.

[laboratorium2d]

Ideologues and Grifters, Douchebags and Snowflakes: A Theory of the Trump Administration

I've read a lot of confused takes trying trying to make sense of the Trump administration through a traditional left-right lens. I'm sure you have, too. They use words like "pivot" and "establishment" and they struggle to explain when and why Trump does things other Republicans complain about. I find this particular style of Kremlinology unhelpful. Whether "conservatives" or "moderates" are winning is less than half the story.

The biggest division in the Trump White House is between ideologues and grifters. Ideologues care about policy; grifters don't. Ideologues sometimes fight viciously among themselves over their policy commitments, but they're united by having commitments at all. Grifters are driven only by the enrichment of the Trump family and the appeasement of Trump's ego.

Within the ideologue camp, the starkest contrast is between ethno-nationalists (economically populist, isolationist, and sometimes overtly racist) and globalists (economically libertarian, cosmopolitan, and not necessarily racist). There are also disagreements about military policy, but the overall distance between hawks and doves is much narrower.1 There are no analogous divisions within the grifter camp; any side cons they have going are small and personal. The grifters, as I said, are unconcerned with policy for its own sake, but are happy to go along with whatever position is more expedient at the moment.

The other deep division is a matter of style rather than substance: there are douchebags and there are snowflakes, with drones somewhere in between. The key here is shame: the douchebags are psychologically incapable of feeling it, the snowflakes struggle with it constantly, and the drones keep it at bay by crossing their arms and scowling at the floor. Douchebags call up reporters for lengthy profanity-laden tirades; snowflakes call up reporters to say how embarrassed they are; drones call up reporters but ask not to be quoted by name. Douchebags don't quit because they can't take a hint; snowflakes constantly wring their hands about quitting but never go through with it; drones quit when asked but never on their own. Douchebags make Trump angry by stealing his headlines; snowflakes by public signs of disloyalty; drones by telling him 'no'.

Within the Republican party over the last two decades, there has been a rough correlation between ethno-nationalist ideologues and douchebags on the one hand ("conservatives") and globalist ideologues and drones on the other ("moderates"). But this alignment of substance and style has always only been rough and partial, and one of the things that Trump did during the campaign was to expose, in literally spectacular fashion, how hard it is to pin down a grifter on the conventional political spectrum.

Trump himself is a douchebag grifter, and at the extreme on both axes. But consider some of the other players, past and present, in his administration:

Steve Bannon: douchebag ideologue, subtype ethno-nationalist

Sebastian Gorka: douchebag ideologue, subtype ethno-nationalist

Reince Priebus: snowflake ideologue, subtype globalist

Jared Kushner: snowflake grifter

Gary Cohn: snowflake ideologue, subtype globalist

Anthony Scaramucci: douchebag grifter

John Kelly: drone ideologue, subtype hawk

Jeff Sessions: drone ideologue, subtype ethno-nationalist

Mike Pence: drone ideologue, subtype globalist

Michael Flynn: drone grifter

With this multi-dimensional taxonomy in mind, some of administration's personnel gyrations make more sense. Consider the linked fates of Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus. In January and February they were at each other's throats, fighting over policy. But by July, as ideologues working for a grifter increasingly hostile to ideologues, they found common cause in fighting for policy at all. Priebus, of course, went out on his ear -- but that was primarily for being a snowflake in a position where Trump wanted a douchebag. He got one par excellence in the person of Anthony Scaramucci. Then Scarmucci flew too close to the douchebag sun, so he was one of the first go when Kelly started firing douchebags of all stripes.

In conventional political terms, it looks as though the White House lurched away from Priebus's pro-business Republican establishment towards Bannon's insurgent right-wing populism, and then quickly back. Those shifts are to some extent real -- a collateral consequence of Kelly's housecleaning is that the globalist ideologues have (or perhaps had) an open shot on goal in getting Trump to push their tax agenda. But it would be a mistake to see the back-and-forth primarily in those terms, not when so often the motivations are personal rather than political, driven entirely by personalities and rhetoric.

At least when it comes to setting policy, the palace politics of the Trump court are less important than they seem. Trump may swagger and rage like a medieval monarch, but unlike them he lives in a modern media environment. His ministers can keep the courtiers out of the throne room, but they can't keep the king from seeking the counsel of Vulpes et amici or from listening to the tweeting of a million birds in his ear. The flow of information -- both the raw "facts" and the all-important framing -- to the current president depends less on White House staff filters than at any time in living memory. James Murdoch's personnel decisions matter in a way that John Kelly's don't: more turns on whether Hannity keeps his job than on whether Bannon does.

The place in which it matters more who survives each successive purge is not in who has Trump's ear at the moment but in who is there to take orders from him. The Office of Legal Counsel is of the view that the President could scrawl a legally binding executive order on a napkin, but Trump's tweets are deeply underspecified. Someone has to translate them into directives specific enough to implement on the ground and defend before a judge. When that someone is a Steve Bannon, you get the first Muslim ban: malevolence tempered by incompetence. When that someone is a James Mattis, you get the transgender ban: malevolence subjected to a slow rollout. When that someone is a Leonard Leo, you get Neil Gorsuch.

This is why the current apparent depopulation of the White House staff is significant: Trump's capacity to execute is dependent on having the cadres to embrace his vision, such as it is, and carry it into effect. One reason the "Reagan revolution" deserves the name is that it swept into Washington a large and ideologically coherent cohort of conservative officials and bureaucratic professionals capable of leaving their stamp on every significant government program. To the extent that anything like this is happening under Trump, it's a bumper crop of grifters and douchebags with an ethno-nationalist streak -- and there are only enough of them to destroy existing programs, rather than to create enduring alternatives. This is the future of your Republican Party, ladies and gentlemen.

Except for this: shift your attention from the White House to the agencies and things look rather different (with the notable exception of the State Department under the singularly ineffective Tillerson). The left may mock and disparage, but the reaction from every conservative I've talked to has been consistent: Trump's cabinet is a conservative dream team, and they're moving quickly and confidently across a wide range of issues. Perhaps simply because Trump has neither a personal financial stake in nor any actual knowledge about most of what the agencies do, he's been content to leave things up to a crop of appointees who are mostly ideologues and mostly drones.

The current status of the Trump administration, then, might be described as an administrative inversion. The White House, ordinarily the center of policy direction, is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and dignity wraiths die like dogs. The real action is in the agencies. Trump, in this view of things, functions primarily as an electoral rocket car: destructive and uncontrollable, but at least capable of getting things moving. Some Republicans are sticking with Trump because of his style rather than in spite of it -- better a right-wing douchebag than a left-wing snowflake -- but even those driven by ideology still have something to like. Trump himself may be less than worthless in pushing the policies they care about, and his White House may be a badly-written daytime drama, but as long as he can sign bills and judicial commissions, he's better than any available alternative. 2

There are ways this alliance of convenience could fall apart, but they are less direct than, "Trump says something else utterly indefensible," or "The White House staff keep on murdering each other with pickaxes." These are daily occurrences now, and they are not really news when they happen. Anyone who is ever going to have an experience of total moral clarity about Donald Trump has already had theirs by now. One possibility is that high-profile failures of the conservative agenda in Congress undercut the hope that legislative (as opposed to merely administrative) success is possible under Trump. Another is that Trump's own appetite for drama and domination -- something that is both innate in his personality and strongly encouraged by his preferred media diet -- causes him to act out in ways that sabotage the political prospects of his supposed allies and the policies they care about. This is what it takes to get Congressional Republicans upset. Better to have the douchebag grifter inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in, they reasoned during the election, but now here he is in office, inside the tent and still pissing inside it. It's enough to make a drone ideologue go full snowflake.

The reason is that Trump's path to power as a Republican outsider effectively fenced out both Give Peace a Chance leftists and Carthago Delenda Est neoconservatives of the second Bush administration -- that is, anyone committed to significant and sustained departures from the status quo. Trump himself defines both ends of his administration's military Overton window: tough-talking swagger and fear of getting blamed if something big goes wrong. ↩︎

Mike Pence is technically unavailable, even though he's next in the line of succession. The only plausible way to remove Trump without party-destroying revenge would be a massive stroke -- or something else disabling his ability to yell and tweet. ↩︎

#politics

[aregularfakenewshound]

(Ref.: Previous post(s) here...) Re Trump: ”Case is closed”

(*Pls. see the bottom of the post for some updated info.*) (Brief commentary:) The President of the United States of America, Commander-in-Chief, shining leadership example for your children, etc. etc....↓apparently believes it’s acceptable to “re-tweet” this (while employed as POTUS. ..Which renders it not "just" a (maybe 9-year-old's-level) "joke" (...if we gotta spell that out)..):

(Copy, no affiliation:)

Donald Trump's amazing golf swing #CrookedHillary pic.twitter.com/vKhxxFCBV1

— Mike (@Fuctupmind)

September 14, 2017

(Source 9/17/17 real-news article link: 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/17/politics/trump-tweet-clinton/index.html)

9/24/17: A quick insert for anyone still stragglin' by here (Please see blogger statement further below..): As the U.S.'s unhinged "Embarrassment-in-Chief" rants, raves and endlessly incites on world affairs:

Where is U.S. Secretary of State, "chief diplomat" Rex Tillerson?? Where are congressional Republican "leaders"? (And where are other U.S. leaders, incl. former presidents and others?) As Trump's public threats and flame-fanning increase chances of armed-conflict (and/or "miscalculation", possibly nuclear..) -- their silence is unconscionable. Their lack of (- at minimum -) criticism, rebuke, plus "suggested" alternative actions ...is unconscionable...

...Failure of (official) duty and responsibility abdicates action to unstable, unpredictable leaders/governments.(...That could really ruin somebody's Sunday NFL game...)

(Previously-written comment:) Just words, not gonna happen: ..↓It’s total movie fantasy, but how I occasionally ( -- and others I’m sure may --) dream of “meeting” a “man” like Donald Trump. (Hint...he’d be (fictionally) represented by the “man” (initially) inside the house. (Note: Movie-style (acted) violence:))

(YT video link. No copyright or affiliation)

...Why “honorable men” (link) continue to “serve” (or support) the sexist coward is beyond me......

(Unaffiliated 9/17/17 source link. No copyright.)

9.18.17: (Blogger comment:)...Seems like as good a spot as any to put this tiny site on at least a temporary hiatus. (..I won't, so..:) No one should ever stop fighting/resisting the volatile, unqualified, two-faced, lying demagogue "elected" to the White House....(Mainly by an overall minority of largely-misinformed, easily-led, lesser-educated white people. Too often: Endlessly-cynical/scared/paranoid/probably-armed malcontents... (...Not impossibly..:) ..The same "(white-)dudes-forever-screwing-around-at-the-back-of-your-high-school-(middle-school?)social-studies-class"..(Or 'Civics' class, Un-Civics class, or whatever might (be attempted to) be "taught" nowadays....) (Try a good long look straight in the mirror sometime soon, "dudes".)) (Yes: Our "Embarrassment-in-Chief" regularly acts like an angry clown, but...) Never "just ignore" President Donald Trump and his actions. Or somehow gloss-over (or buy-into the gloss-over of..) the damage that he -- and his repugnant appointees -- are doing to the United States...its society....its (physical) environment, and on and on. Trump is too risky and dangerous to ignore. (Check out a few of this tiny blog's 234 posts for some evidence/examples of the above, if interested....(FWIW, I tried to support and document my various assertions here.)) (Insert:) Also culpable (as per above): National Republican "leadership"/enablers.... Thank you to any and all readers. This small blog has primarily been an outlet for my own discontent and frustration with the (unpopular) election of ...erratic, under-qualified, lackadaisically-prepared, (possibly-) overly-"cozy"-with-Russia...(etc.)... Donald Trump. I believe the majority of Americans generally share my disapproval. (E.g.: Ref. Trump job approval aggregated polls result posted above.) In some cases belatedly, (but) many are now "on" to Trump and his administration (Robert Mueller (et al) hardly in the least...). I'm going to find new and different outlets/paths/"mechanisms"/forms of expression....whatever, to (basically) keep after it -- for as long as necessary. And no...I don't plan to "...let the door hit me in the ass on the way out"... (detractors). For any still interested in checking it out, I plan to "turn up" somewhere else. For now, I may return to this location at least for awhile. (Link:) https://medium.com/@vere (FWIW....Maybe with more humor/less frustration/less filling, etc....) Farewell, and please keep fighting those "bad guys". I always will. P.S. Please especially don't ever stop fighting for your U.S. national parks, monuments, and for protecting the country's air/water/environment. ...And for god's sake (..or whatever), get out and vote next election, and every election.

#donald trump #notmypresident #trump resistance #trump idiocy #trump coward #hillary clinton #commentary #us politics #ridiculousness #hillary won the popular vote #trump unhinged

[johnark]

I have just finished reading James Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty. There are quite a few points I gleaned from this book. First, Comey makes it clear to the reader that he is a man of great integrity and unimpeachable character. Soon the book introduced the era of USA torture, murder and illegal, secret prisons. Back when it was going on with Cheney – Bush and we knew about it, I looked into who could have created a legal opinion justifying this activity. I couldn’t find any info along this line. Evil is evil. You can’t justify evil by saying “it’s not as evil as it could have been, or as evil as it was before or we needed it as a matter of national security.” Torture is illegal. It is immoral. It is in violation of USA law and the Geneva Accord, which we signed. There is no way it can be justified or legalized. After it was all over and Cheney - Bush were gone, some low-level names began to become known – Comey’s name never came up. Now, by his own admission, we know he was right in the thick of it. Integrity? Character? He participated in “legalizing” it. I put him right in there with Cheney – Bush. Another now prominent figure is in the thick of this by his own indirect admission. That is the now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He was Bush’s Legal Secretary during this time. This meant that all documents to and from the White House passed through him and many of the WH documents were created by him. He bragged under oath to the congress during his confirmation hearings that he was with President Bush this whole time and “went everywhere with President Bush.” So Kavanaugh was at the center of this illegal activity. It is no wonder that both former President Bush and Trump quickly invoked executive privilege when an attempt was made to acquire the about 102,000 documents in Kavanaugh’s ‘Bush file.’ The information in these documents would surely negatively expose all three of them - Bush, Cheney and Kavanaugh. Also, regarding Kavanaugh, I believe Christine Blasey Ford. In response to the accusations against him, Kavanaugh launched into an angry, aggressive, vitriolic, chaotic, tantrum brimming with rambling sarcasm, scorn and conspiracy theories. This appalling partisan rebuttal to the accusations brought by Ford was disgusting. Certainly not the conduct and temperament you would expect from a Justice of the Supreme Court. Incidentally, I also believed Anita Hill in the confirmation hearing of Clarence Thomas. The Thomas rebuttal to Hill’s testimony is eerily similar to the Kavanaugh diatribe. Thomas had Senator Orin Hatch’s angry, aggressive support. Kavanaugh had Senator Lindsey Graham’s angry aggressive support. I can’t help but wonder if the Thomas case was a template for the Kavanaugh case. Neither Kavanaugh nor Thomas should be on the Supreme Court. A supreme court judge should be above reproach in all things in addition to being a judicial intellect.                     OK. Back to this book. Judging from his book, Comey holds most politicians in very low regard. Hillary among them, and further than that I think he is and was prejudiced against Hillary. He was involved in the Clinton ‘Whitewater’ investigations. He was involved with Kenneth Starr in his Clinton investigations. No convictions after years of hard work. He prosecuted Marc Rich, oil trader and big Clinton donor, and after years of work, convicted him of tax evasion and trading with Iran. Rich fled to Switzerland and was given safe haven. Later Comey and a team went to Switzerland thinking to bring Rich back to the USA. That fizzled. And just before Bill Clinton’s second term ended, Bill pardoned Rich. Comey then investigated the Clintons’ and Mar Rich’s ex-wife for a potential illegal contribution to the Clinton Library. Again after lots of work, no criminal liability was found. Years and years and years of hard work on Clinton related potential prosecutions, resulting in nothing – absolutely nothing. When Hillary was NY Senator and Comey was US Attorney for the Southern District in NY, Hillary refused to meet him. With this background, and there is even more that I don’t mention, I definitely feel that Comey was and is prejudiced against Hillary Clinton. Now I come to the salient point in all this ‘Clinton – Comey’ dialog. Comey states that on 6 July 2015, he received a referral from “the inspector general of the intelligence community” regarding Secretary Clinton’s possible mishandling of classified information while using her personal email system. Is there some reason why Comey doesn’t state in the book “referral from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Jim Clapper?” He mentions the agency and person like this later on in the book. Was this referral really from Jim Clapper, of from some GOP political faction? Anyway, four days later, on 10 July 2015 a criminal investigation was opened. This entire investigation, another year plus, of Comey investigating Clinton matters, is quite interesting with lots of very interesting points. I’ll make only one. In one email that was made public the dialog on the page appeared like this:

According to the media the FBI said this indicated that the material was classified as c for confidential. I would interpret this as item c of items a, b and c in that document. I have seen a lot of confidential material and that is not the way confidential material is identified. Anyway, I fast forward. On 1 November 2015 during the campaigning for president (Comey I), Comey disclosed to the media that Hillary was under investigation regarding possible misuse of classified information. It is not written in the FBI mission statement, but it is unwritten policy that the FBI will make no announcements or statements during an election that could in any way influence the election. This quickly became one of the main topics of debate, if it wasn’t already. Although the FBI knew their conclusion in May, they waited until 5 July 2016 (Comey II), four months before the election, to disclose that the one year investigation found nothing illegal. However, the intense political rhetoric on the topic continued. On 28 October 2016 (Comey III), 11 days before Election Day, Comey announced that he was reopening the “Clinton email investigation.”  Political rhetoric exploded. On Sunday, 6 November 2016, with the election on Tuesday, 8 November 2016, Comey announced that he was closing the investigation, again, and for a final time, this time. For Comey, this was another year and a half investigating the Clintons and no conviction. However, I think that this time he delivered a blow to the Clintons that far surpassed any result that he could have achieved through the courts. He deprived Hillary of the office of President of the United States. I think he knew this as he did it. I think he believes that his actions tilted the scale for Trump. Hillary says that she thinks that. I also think Trump thinks that. Then why did Trump fire him? Trump thought Comey knowingly tipped the scale in his favor, that Comey was ‘one of the team.’ Observe how Trump actively tried to pull Comey closer into the ‘inner circle’ with several one on one meetings and a personal one on one dinner. That first meeting that Comey had with Trump in NY’s Trump Tower was very interesting. Trump really looked like he thought Comey was “one of the team.” Perhaps Comey knew at that time that a Trump presidency was a disaster, not worth getting the satisfaction of finally getting to whack the Clintons. However, I think that after Comey met Trump and personally discovered without question the type of person he had helped to put into the White House, he realized what a blunder it was. Trump demanded loyalty. Comey could not play the game, and in fact criticized Trump in front of Reince Priebus in the Oval Office on 8 February 2017. That was the end for Comey. Trump then ‘fired with malice’ the Director in such a way as to humiliate him. Comey got the news via TV when he was delivering a speech in LA. Trump intended to cut him loose with no security and no secure transport back to Washington. Andrew McCabe was elevated to Director with the firing and he authorized security and secure transport back to Washington – just as if Comey was still Director. This infuriated Trump and McCabe was soon out the door as well. And with more malice than with Comey. Trump fired McCabe on the day before he was to retire. Don’t cross Trump in any way or there will be dire consequences. The ego demands it. Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State, remarked in a conference at the Pentagon that Trump was a moron. He learned of his dismissal on TV, as did Comey. He was replaced by Mike Pompeo, a guy who apparently has kissed the ring. H.R. McMaster, former NSA Director, remarked in a private dinner that Trump was an idiot. He was replaced by John Bolton, another guy who apparently has kissed the ring. Anyway, it is now obvious that only those who stroke his ego and never, never ever criticize him in any way will remain long in the inner circle. 

On Page 213 in the book, the first mention of the Steele Report appeared in a conference with President Obama on 5 January 2017. I say ‘appeared’ because here is the way it was presented. Clapper explained to Obama that here was an unusual matter that needed to be brought to Mr. Trump’s attention: additional material – what would become commonly called “the Steele dossier” – that contained a variety of allegations about Trump.

Steele said that he shared his information with the FBI in the summer and fall of 2016, well before the election. Steele came to believe that the FBI was concentrating resources on the Clinton/email matter and giving little if any attention to his information and in fact that people in the FBI were blocking an investigation of the material rather than pursuing an investigation. He thought they were influenced by Rudy Giuliani, a Trump advisor at the time. At any point there was no real investigation of the material in the report. Comey certainly didn’t deal with this “dossier” with the same zeal he used on the “Clinton referral.” Comey continues in his book The material had been assembled by an individual considered reliable, a former allied intelligence officer, but had not been fully validated. The material included some wild stuff. Among that stuff were unconfirmed allegations that the president-elect had been engaged in unusual sexual activities with prostitutes in Russia while on a trip to Moscow in 2013, activities that at one point involved prostitutes urinating on a hotel bed in the presidential suite of the Ritz-Carlton that the Obamas had used while on a visit there. Another allegation was that these activities were filmed by Russian intelligence for the possible purpose of blackmail against the president-elect. 

Many people will think that this is just too weird, too preposterous to be factual. Regrettably, I think this is just the kind of crude, obscene, perverted, vindictive activity that Trump would initiate. On 30 April 2011 Obama had ridiculed Trump at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. Trump has boycotted the event since then. Trump’s ego will allow no limits to his vindictiveness, even in a petty way. I also think that is why he is so determined to unravel anything and everything that he can that Obama accomplished as President. If the Ritz-Carlton event really happened, we can be certain that Putin has a video of it. Putin political opponents and former KGB agents verify that recording prominent foreigners in Russia is standard procedure for Putin. Just in case it can be useful at some time.  

Back to the Steele Report, Jim Comey was assigned by James Clapper to present the material in the Steele Report to Trump in one of their one on ones. Trump really seems to like these one on ones. Trump took it all in with denials, of course, thinking that Comey was on the team. The ‘on the team’ status began to unravel with a one on one private dinner at the White House on 27 January 2017. Trump wanted Comey to commit to personal and FBI loyalty to him. Comey was well aware at this time who the man he was dealing with really is. The dinner consumes eight pages in the book and clearly reveals Comey’s opinion of Donald Trump. Comey said that there wasn’t a dinner conversation, not a lecture either, just Trump rambling, often repeating lies that he had told and that were proven as such. Trump said that he needed loyalty, that he expected loyalty. Comey said that he wasn’t on anybody’s side politically and could not be counted on in the traditional political sense. At one point Trump brought up what he called the “golden showers thing” (if he called it that, then he was certainly not naïve regarding this activity) and said that it bothered him if there was even a one percent chance that Melania thought it was true. Doesn’t this Trump statement tell us something? Trump’s “on the team” view of Comey certainly dimmed at this dinner. Then it was completely extinguished with Comey’s critical remark to Trump in the Oval Office on 8 February 2017. 

Comey states in the Epilogue to the book: Donald Trump’s presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation. We all bear responsibility for the deeply flawed choices put before voters during the 2016 election (note, he includes Clinton here), and our country is paying a high price: this president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal loyalty. We are fortunate some ethical leaders have chosen to serve and to stay at senior levels of government, but they cannot prevent all the damage from the forest fire that is the Trump presidency. Their task is to try to contain it. 

There is something else in Comey’s book that is unrelated to the 2016 election and Donald Trump that is interesting and merits contemplation. That is the contrast between Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby and David Petraeus. Martha Stewart was suspected of insider trading. The FBI could not prove that, but did convict her of lying to the FBI. She was sentenced to five months in federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia which she served. Scooter Libby was Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff. Cheney – Bush were quite busy fabricating WMD information to support an illegal invasion of Iraq: in violation of the UN Charter and in violation of USA law. There were phony centrifuge claims, yellow cake in Niger, etc. They sent Joe Wilson to Niger; but he would not play along and reported there was no attempt by Iraq to buy nuclear material and that in fact Niger had none. The CIA (Valerie Plame) disputed the centrifuge fabrications. This surely infuriated Cheney and surely he disclosed (or ordered the disclosure) of Valerie as a covert CIA agent. This would accurately reflect his vindictive, revengeful nature. Disclosing the identity of a covert agent is a criminal offense.  Joe and Valerie were married and this ended both careers. Obviously Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby fell on his sword for Cheney. After a three year investigation, Libby was convicted of lying to federal investigators, perjury and obstruction of justice. George Bush commuted his sentence and Trump pardoned him. And incidentally Cheney-Bush had Colin Powel go before the UN to “make the case for war” with Iraq with all the WMD material they had fabricated. Everyone who was observing the facts knew this was not flawed intelligence, but rather fabricated information. The USA media went along with it. The European media disputed all the claims almost immediately. In the USA only the AP, Reuters and the UN Atomic Energy Commission stuck to the facts which indicated that Iraq had no WMDs, was not trying to acquire them, and the entire country was in a shambles due to the sanctions. Now to David Petraeus of military fame in Iraq. He became Director of the CIA after Iraq and Afghanistan and it was in that role when he disclosed top secret information to his girlfriend and even allowed her to photograph some of it. He then lied repeatedly to the FBI about all of it. He was given a plea agreement. He admitted guilt and agreed to a $40,000 fine and probation for two years. Stewart – Libby – Petraeus, all guilty of lying to the FBI and two of them of much more. Only Stewart goes to prison. What’s the difference here? Along this train of thought, Oliver North could also be included. 

Comey commented in his book about the size of Trumps hands. In this case this is certainly a crude, naughty, profane statement. 

However, here in the Trump era this sort of commentary seems to be widely accepted. Rude, crude humor previously was confined to private conversations even that which is subtle. Now, thanks to The Donald, it seems to be the norm in all levels of media. Remember, this began on national TV during the campaign debates. Now we see it in a best seller book. 

#ComeyTrumpClintonCheney #Comey*Trump #JohnArk20 #6Oct2018

[radioleary-blog]

When Chuck Norris Got Bullied, He Called Evel Knievel

I simply can’t keep up with all the crazy things the Trump administration has been up to this past week. He’s only been President for two weeks and he has caused more protests than we have seen in this country since the ending of the last episode of ‘The Sopranos.’ Seriously, after eight seasons, how dare they just cut to black as the Sopranos are sitting there in a pizza joint? If I wanted to decide for myself what happens to Tony and Carmella, I wouldn’t have paid for eight years of HBO. I’m certainly not paying for HBO because of the incredible selection of the same dozen movies they run over and over again until you know every line of dialogue between John McClane and Hans Gruber. You know what? Rather than invent examples, I’ll just grab the remote and check what’s on HBO right now. I have the whole package (if you know what I mean), so I’m sure there are some real cinematic masterpieces. Let’s see...okay, here we go. ‘The Princess Diaries’, from 2001. ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities,’1990, followed by ‘Problem Child 2’, 1991. Then ‘King Ralph,’ ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Wall Street,’ ‘Blues Brothers 2000,’ ‘Demolition Man,’ ‘Point Break,’ and ‘Panic Room.’ Wow, cancel all my appointments! I know what I’m doing for the next 18 hours! Screw the Superbowl, I’ll be watching Charlie Sheen before Aids, Wesley Snipes before prison, and Jodie Foster before she came out of the panic room closet. And luckily, I have HBO West, so I get to watch them all over again three hours later in case I missed something the first ten times. Are you kidding me? These are all movies I would gladly pay fifty bucks a month to avoid.

This week Trump pulled more crazy stunts than anyone since Evel Knievel built a rocketship to jump over the Snake River Canyon. And we all know how great that turned out. There are parallels between Evel Knievel and Donald Trump, I guess. Trump wants to build an enormous wall in the desert, Evel Knievel built an enormous ramp in the desert. Of course, the ramp was built to get you across a river, and the wall will be built to stop you from getting across a river, but, whatever. When Evel Knievel appeared somewhere, the crowds would all shout “Evel!”, and whenever Trump appears somewhere, the crowds all shout “Evil!” Kind of similar, but again, whatever. People watched in horror as Evel Knievel’s motorcycle crashed during a jump, on a bus, and people listened in horror as Trump was recorded talking about grabbing pussy, on a bus. Both were consummate showmen, both were thin-skinned, angry, and hated critics. Both were constantly feuding with the media even as they fed off it. But Trump’s approval rating is falling faster than Evel’s rocket-motorcycle fell into that canyon. And that’s as close as Evel Knievel ever came to jumping a shark, yet Donald Trump may have already jumped the shark. Evel Knievel survived that crash on September 8, 1974, simply because he was as badass as they get. It takes a lot more than jumping a mile-wide chasm in a homemade steam-powered rocket-motorcycle and plummeting a thousand feet into a river canyon to kill Evel Knievel. He was old school tough. I watched this guy crash, hitting his landing ramp too fast after jumping 13 double-decker busses in Wembley Stadium,  and he hit the ground at 70mph, so hard it would make crash-test dummies weep, tumbling on the tarmac like a sweater in the dryer. He broke his pelvis, collarbone, some ribs and vertebrae. And you know what he did? No, of course you don’t, you’re less than a hundred years old. Well, I’ll tell ya what he did. He got up. He got to his feet, broken pelvis and all, and walked over to the microphone and told the crowd he was retiring. He was in shock, and ABC broadcaster Frank Gifford was begging him on-air to let the paramedics put him on a stretcher and in an ambulance, but Evel Knievel just turned and walked off the Wembley field, saying, “I came in walking, I went out walking!” It does not get more badass than that. Evel Knievel makes Clint Eastwood look like Jay Baruchel. He makes Vin Diesel look like Shia LaBeouf. Over his entire career, he spent more than 3 years in a hospital due to traumatic injuries from his jumps! And although Evel Knievel didn’t actually break "every bone in his body," as legend had it, the truth is he suffered 433 broken bones during his career. He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of the most bones broken in a lifetime.

He was so tough, when Chuck Norris got bullied, he called Evel Knievel.

But as I say, I’m having trouble just keeping up with all the blunders of the Trump administration this past week, far more than any other President screwed up in their entire first term. I think in the four years Jimmy Carter was President, the worst thing he ever did was one time he went fishing, and he whacked a rabbit that was trying to climb into his canoe. With a paddle, I mean, he didn’t have it whacked like a mob hit. Ah, simpler times, when presidential scandals were as wholesome as fishin’ and whackin’ rabbits with a paddle. Now it’s all about pussy grabbin’, golden showers, and whackin’ something else entirely.

I just can’t write fast enough to keep up. To write down all of Trump’s bullshit this week, I would have to type faster than a court stenographer taking down the testimony of Busta Rhymes being sued by an auctioneer. (For you old people: Busta Rhymes talks really fast. For you young people: auctioneers talk really fast.) I would  have to type faster than Stephen King cranking out schlocky horror novels, although I think Trump is a hell of a lot scarier. Like a Stephen King novel, Trump was elected by states populated by the ‘Children of the Corn,’ and now we’re all in ‘Misery.’ In Ronald Reagan's farewell address from the Oval Office, he called America “the shining city on hill”, but after only two weeks of Trump, it’s starting to look more like just ‘The Shining.’ And President Obama’s term in office is over, so just like in ‘The Shining,’ things get really crazy after the black guy retires.

Speaking of horror movies brought to life, his cabinet picks are all being confirmed, and it looks less like the cabinet of a President, and more like ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.’ Rex Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon/Mobil is now the Secretary of State. The State Department is busy preparing for his arrival by making sure all the bathrooms are just as disgustingly filthy as the bathrooms at every Exxon/Mobil gas station. Diplomats received an inter-office memo instructing them not to flush until further notice, and to no longer worry about their aim. To add authenticity, all of the bathrooms will also be kept locked with only one key for the entire building, and the key will be attached to a hubcap from a late-model Buick LeSabre to make sure no one walks off with it.

So what did Trump do this week? Well, at a Black History Month prayer breakfast, Trump seemed to think the famous orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass was alive and well. Which may come as a shock to his family, seeing as he died in 1895. Well, not his family, so much, but his descendants might be pretty freaked out to know he walks among the living. Frederick Douglass would probably be a very eloquent zombie. He could probably convince you to agree to let him eat your brains as reparations for slavery. I remember his famous quote, “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, so how’s about you let me eat your brains?” Or this insightful quote they taught us in school, “No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck. Now let me eat your brains, seriously.”

When asked about Douglass, Trump said, “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.” Yeah, he’s getting recognized more and more, Mr. President, and you noticed. Nothing gets by you, does it? I think he might just win this season of Celebrity Apprentice, if that scheming Harriet Tubman doesn’t call him out in the boardroom for being a lousy project manager. Harriet Tubman was like the Omarosa of the underground railroad, and putting her face on the twenty-dollar bill will only feed her ego and make her even more insufferable to be around. “Let me get the tip, but all I have are twenties...Anybody got change for a ‘me’?” I wondered how any U.S. President could be quite this stupid, then I realized he must have learned everything he knows about black history from his Education Secretary pick, Betsy DeVos. Now, I’m not saying Betsy DeVos is an idiot and far too unqualified to run our nation’s public schools. I’m not saying it, I’m typing it. She knows nothing about our education system.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks a ‘scholarship’ is a boat full of smart people.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks ‘trigonometry’ is the study of firing guns.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks that ‘tuition’ is when a woman gets a hunch about something.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks ‘Tufts University’ is where you learn to cut hair.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks ‘Tulane University’ is on a highway.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks ‘Loyola’ is where they make all those crayons.

Betsy DeVos is so stupid, she thinks a ‘Bachelor of Arts’ is a gay male dancer.

Apart from Trump providing a perfect example of why we actually need Black History Month, he upped the crazy ante at this prayer breakfast when he started ranting about the ratings on his old TV show, from which he was fired for being a racist. "They hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place...The ratings went down the tubes. It's been a total disaster...And I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings." WTF? Somebody tell this guy he’s supposed to be worrying about the really big things now, like war, and comets, and aliens, and climate change, and everything else that can possibly go wrong. But instead he is worrying about his old TV show? Snap out of it, man, you’re on a new reality show now, it’s called ‘Celebrity President.’ And this first season sucks. And your ratings are awful. How the hell did we end up with a President who is in bed with Russia but at war with NBC? Franklin Roosevelt will always be remembered for winning the war against the Nazis and the Japanese, and Donald Trump will always be remembered for losing the war against Saturday Night Live. I think it was a racist thing to do, actually, to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ratings at a Black History prayer breakfast instead of any number of African-Americans who lost their lives in the past year. Frankly, I think he brought up Schwarzenegger because he knew the only way he could use the n-word was by putting “Schwarzen” in front of it.

And another scary development, two weeks into Trump's presidency and Republicans have given the mentally ill easier access to guns, as they voted to overturn an Obama administration law that blocked people with mental disorders from buying guns. Wow. Talk about playing to your base.

What else. Oh yeah, he threatened to invade Mexico, probably worth mentioning that. Nothing like a military invasion to teach people to respect borders. I guess his next move will be to annex the Sudetenland.

Strangest of all, Trump somehow managed to get into a fight with one of our staunchest allies, Australia. Australia! How do you manage to piss off Australia? For God’s sake, their national motto is “No Worries.” Trump was upset that President Obama had agreed to take 1,200 refugees that Australia had been detaining. Trump called it the “worst deal ever!” The worst deal ever? I don’t think it really approaches the level of worst deal ever, not even on a personal level. I once paid 60 bucks for an eighth of mediocre weed, and that was in the 1990s! I couldn’t even enjoy it because I paid so much. And because it was shitty weed. The Brown Frown.

Worst deal ever? How about when we bought Manhattan from the Indians for 24 bucks? That’s a pretty bad deal. Is it still okay to say Indians? Probably not, unless you’re talking about motorcycles or Cleveland’s baseball team, so, Native Americans it is. Although, for my own education I looked into this, and some people prefer to be called American Indian over Native American. One Lakota man from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation said recently, "If some Indians want to be called Native Americans or Natives, let them be called that, but I was born an Indian and I shall die an Indian.” That sounds so cool the way he says it. I bet it sounds less impressive when you describe comics that way. “If some Comics want to be called Stand-up Comics or Comedians, let them be called that, but I was born a Hack, and I shall die a Hack.” No, I was wrong, it still sounds pretty cool.

Trump should consider himself very lucky that bad deal went down. Just imagine, if they hadn’t made that bad deal, the Native Americans would have been the real estate developers in Manhattan instead of Donald Trump’s dad. And he never would have gotten rich, and never would have become President. Whoa. It’s a revenge curse! President Trump is our payback for ripping off those Indians! I haven’t seen a revenge curse this bad since Craig T. Nelson built his house on a sacred burial ground in ‘Poltergeist’! Of course, the real difference between Native American real estate developers and Donald Trump is that the Native American casinos don’t go bankrupt.

Hey, here’s a really bad deal, how about all the people who paid to enroll in Trump University? Now that might be the “worst deal ever.” So bad that Trump agreed to pay a 25 million dollar settlement to avoid a trial and charges of fraud. Although, in all fairness to Trump, by paying out that 25 million, he actually did make those students wealthy like he promised, all it took was a class action lawsuit against him. Clever move, Mr. Trump. Bravo.

And that is the week that was.

[newagesispage]

                                                          DECEMBER        2017

*****The Astros win the World series.

*****Jill Kimmel is doing stand up.** Her brother Jimmy’s childhood drawings were turned into flesh super heroes The terrific Ten.** Jimmy is in a twitter war with Roy Moore. After being called out by Moore, Jimmy is heading to Alabama to either fight or talk since he is unsure of what Moore is taunting him to do. He wants to dress like a girl scout since he feels that Moore only notices little girls. Kimmel would really like to talk Christianity because as a Christian he does not understand him.

*****So.. Scary clown has delayed his decision on elephant trophy’s which has angered hunting groups.** It is said that Rex Tillerson is about to be out and Mike Pompeo in. Business as usual!

**** The tax bill is atrocious. It adds a trillion to the deficit and the middle class tax cuts would expire.  They are trying to sneak in a caveat in the part about college savings plan. It would not actually change anything for savings now but it a backdoor way to have their way on abortion. It would introduce ‘fetal personhood’ into law which of course would be a short leap to taking away choice.

*****Scary clown 45 is ranting about the jury in the case of Kate Steinley who the jury says was accidently shot by an immigrant named Jose Inez Garcia Zarate.  Trump has been ranting about this case for a while now but the San Francisco trial just ended.** And we are really seeing what Trump and his fake news are doing to the world. His yelling about CNN put doubt into other countries about a REAL story they did on modern day slave auctions in Libya. These are real humans that need help and he has others doubting the very story. ** He also put out fake stories about terrorism which were debunked but Huckabee Sanders said it does not matter if the stories are real, the threat is real. The fake news also gave much free publicity to hate group Britain First.

*****The original Conklin’s barn was torn down on November 7. Fingers crossed that the donations will keep coming in so they can reopen by December 2018 as Barn 3. Time for some Days cast members to donate some fundraising time??

*****Patton Oswalt kicked ass in his new Netflix special Annihilation and also just got married to Meredith Salenger.

*****Boo Boo Stewart and Mark Derwin star in Lowlifes out in 2018. Lowlifes is the story of a second chance boot camp who stumble onto a terrorist group.

*****Meghan McCain seems so angry and it seems she wants to tear Joy Behar’s head off sometimes. She is supportive of some liberal agendas but automatically turns off some ideas simply because of who is proposing them. This is the very thing she rails against. I did love her take on sleezy Matt Lauer though, I too never had any respect for him after the Anne Curry thing. And c’mon ET all the Lauer clips you showed seemed to have him in front of Rolling Stones advertising.** Lauer has been accused of many things including exposing himself. Why do these men always think we want to see their dicks? They all think they have something special, they are not that fucking different. Keep it in your pants, most would be embarrassed if they were held up to other men. And I don not believe for a minute that Jeff Zucker did not know about it. I never trusted him either.

*****China says that Trump is proof that democracy does not work. They are benefitting from our misery and zeroing in on being number 1. Besides spreading propaganda, they are making lots of jobs with clean energy that they can sell to the world.

*****Steve Green of Hobby Lobby has finally opened the 500 million dollar Bible museum. The idea of making all guests sign a promise to become evangelicals when they leave was nixed.

*****$15 mil in taxpayer money has been spent on the sexual harassment complaints of congress.

*****James Jagger and Matilda Lutz are the face of Giorgio Armani’s fragrances Because it’s you for her and Stronger with you for him.

*****Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross declared the divestment of his holdings but he’s still part owner in a company. This Russian company has ties to Putin’s son in law.

*****Please Please Conan.. More Butterscotch the clown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****The UK is having its own political and sexual misconduct scandals including a secretary of state Damian Green.

*****The Mark Twain prize for Letterman was filled with my favorites and was very emotional. Al Franken edited out? Maher is right: The liberals are pussies.

*****The Paradise papers about offshore finances were leaked.  The secret financial activities of the superrich show a lot of Russian dealings. There are also questions about Queen Elizabeth’s private estate and other business leaders.

*****The list of those accused of sexual misconduct grows, from Dustin Hoffman to Brett Ratner to Russell Simmons and more to come. Simmons is accused of raping Lena Horne’s granddaughter. We need a special kind of thank you for Ronan Farrow who is working tirelessly to blow the lid off of the Weinstein bullshit. I Can’t wait for his new book. He has exposed many things which have helped feel safe enough to come forward. So many helped in the Weinstein mess , including Dylan Howard, chief content officer of American Media Inc. which publishes The Enquirer. Howard was apparently a helper in the disgusting network of suppression. Sime sticks together like Levin sticks with Trump.** We need a real truth teller, an honest Cronkite type and I see it in Ronan. **Jane Seymour had her own story of sexual harassment with a powerful producer at the start of her career.** Charlie Rose is fired after his allegations. That one hurts.** I am so glad the women are coming forward. The bravery of citizens like in The Keepers is opening up a world of (hopefully) more truth, more justice. ** Are political operatives helping to dig any of this up?** A good portion of people I know are natural flirts. Are there some who don’t even realize that they are offending? Out and out rape and authority figures who try to stop an employee’s rise when they do not get their sexual way is obviously wrong.  We are human though and sometimes that line may be crossed unintentionally. I think each story has to be looked at for what it is. We must discern between real and cruel sexual situations and tasteless jokes and bad manners. All is wrong but there are different ways to deal with the accused. Listen fully to the stories from the victim’s mouth. Follow the evidence and force yes or no answers. This political speak of “let me tell you” or “I will say this” is nonsense. People out and out believe that celebs of journalists did the bad deed but politicians receive more skepticism. People take the side of their left or right hero without really listening. If you can’t see the difference I wonder about your ability to reason, about your moral compass. An Al Franken or Garrison Keillor seem to be a bit different from a Weinstein. ** Uma Thurman had a great tweet: Happy Thanksgiving everyone (except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators. I’m glad it’s going slowly-you don’t deserve a bullet)** Pelosi could be a little more eloquent and quit getting in her own way defending the left. Just before I put this page out, Pelosi says Conyers should resign.. WOW! complete turn around.** A woman came forward to the Washington Post trying to push some fake news about Roy Moore. She claimed that she was impregnated by him and then it was found that she was meeting with Project Veritas whose purpose it is to set up stings on the mainstream media. Of course there are REAL reporters at the Post so the story was not published.  Hmm imagine looking up facts and not getting your news from the 700 Club or online scuttlebutt. ** Isn’t all the money and power enough for these men at the top? Law and order SVU must have enough script ideas for another 20 years.** Is all the women standing up and not taking it anymore what we get for losing Hillary? It is like she had to sacrifice herself and gain liberation for the rest of us. So many can’t believe what got into the White house and real truths need to be out there. WAKE

*****Prince Harry and former Deal or no Deal employee, Meghan Markle are engaged .

*****The governor’s award honored Donald Sutherland

***** Fashion Police on E is over.

*****I watched Ozark on Netflix and wasn’t too sure after the first episode but tried the second and then I was in. There were times when I could not quite suspend my disbelief but then there were so many characters that I seemed to recognize from my real life. Bateman and many deserve some love for this project and I will miss Russ in season 2.

*****Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr story sounds like a great doc.

*****The Grammy noms are out and leading the way was Jay-Z with 8. That was followed up with Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, SZA, Childish Gambino and Khalid. Also on the list of nominations are Lorde, Lady Gaga, Imagine Dragons, Bob Dylan, Kraftwerk, Leonard Cohen, Jason Isbell, Gregg Allman, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Bruce Springsteen, Bernie Sanders, Carrie Fisher, Dave Chappelle, Queens of the stone age, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart and The Rolling Stones.

*****So glad Search Party on TBS is back!!

*****The Crowns Plaza hotel has a projection on the outside of the building that declares FUCK TRUMP.

*****Don’t take your eyes off this administration and the judges he is putting in place, the rules that he and his cohorts are changing and the rights he is taking away from all of us. We have a lot to deal with now but don’t let his tweets or his slick talkers distract you. Yes we need justice from the Russian probe but somebody is handling that,. I wish the news would let that play out and update us more on what they are taking from us.** If you can’t see what is wtong with a Trump or a Roy Moore, I have to wonder about your moral character.

*****Hooray for Washington Week for 50 years and Meet the Press for 70. Thanks Washington Week for your touching tribute to Gwen Ifill.

*****Dan Rather has a new book, What unites us.

*****Nathan Fillion is back on ABC with The Rookie. The program is inspired by a true story of the oldest rookie in the LAPD from the executive producer of Criminal Minds, Mark Gordon.

*****For the fifth year in a row Michael Jackson has been the top dead celebrity earner.

*****Laurence Fishburne is divorcing Gina Torres.

*****Papa John’s has apologized for blaming the knee taking football players for low pizza sales. C’mon who eats that pizza anyway?.. get a good product!** The alt right has named them their official pizza.

*****Voting has begun for the rock and roll hall of fame. This year we have Bon Jovi, the Moody Blues, Dire Straits, The Cars. Judas Priest, The Eurythmics, The Zombies, J. Geils Band( please finally!!!!!), Depeche Mode and Nina Simone.

*****U.S. court judge Colleen Kollar- Kotelly barred Trump from continuing with plans to exclude transgender people from military service and thinks those who have sued have a good case.

*****So.. What the fuck is the hinky biz going on at Guantanamo?  The place has its own rules and nobody can seem to agree on said rules. Brigadier General Baker found good cause for Nashiri, a suspect in the USS Cole bombing, to lose his lawyers. After the lawyers were allowed to quit, a judge ordered Baker to rescind that order but he refused.  The judge put the General in jail. The General , a U.S. citizen and  the 2nd highest ranking officer in the military claims the judge has no jurisdiction over him. We will have to see how this plays out.

*****James Comey is releasing his story in May with the book A Higher Loyalty.

*****Michael Lewis tells us about all the prep the Obama administration went thru to bring the Trump administration up to snuff in his new nook The Undoing project.

*****Brit Vandegraft married John Witt on October 14 and honeymooned thru Dallas and on to the West.

*****According to the pentagon, America has spent $250 mil a day on war every single day for sixteen years.

*****Donna Brazile’s book Hacks claims the Dem campaigns were offered a chance to bail out the DNC and get much support. The Bernie campaign declined but the Hillary campaign supplied the money. Brazile seemed a bit surprised and rattled about the reaction to her book in the beginning.  After a couple of weeks she settled into it and the defensiveness sort of faded.  She tells us that she has been in politics for fifty years and if we don’t like it ,we don’t have to buy it. She claims she enjoyed Hillary’s book and backed her all the way.  Brazile writes that she got to the bottom of everything when she took over the DNC and was threatened over and over again.

*****Days alert: WTF Adrienne?? Poor Lucas never gets to keep the girl! **Peggy McCay celebrated her 90th.** Keep Hope and Raif together. Damn!

*****So glad to see Katherine Erbe on How to get away with murder.

*****Spot on writing and acting on another level with Jane and Lily and Sam and Martin on Grace and Frankie. What treasures!!  Thrilled to see the appearance of Mary kay Place . Craig Welzbacher who played Myron on Days was on there too.

*****Dinklage, Harrelson and McDormand in Three Billboards… can’t wait.

*****This winter, Trump requested 70 foreign workers with special permission from the U.S. labor department for Mar –A- Lago. He also would like some for various golf clubs thru the H-2B visa program. There are currently 5,136 qualified persons in the area ready to work. America first?

*****The second part of Stranger Things just as good as the first.

*****Scary Clown 45 is being sued because he blocked twitter followers.  He now knows that since he uses his tweets as an ‘instrument of governance’ blocking is not allowed.

*****Fifty years brings Rolling Stone magazine an HBO doc, a rock and roll hall of fame exhibit and the whole thing up for sale.

*****Rand Paul was attacked by his neighbor as he mowed his lawn.

*****Ok.. I realize that shows like The View have to shift.. well I guess they do.. But I don’t get how they can talk about a shooting and then hey ”view your deal’.  C’mon, it just seems so inappropriate to suddenly talk about spending $ on silly things. I always tune out when this shit happens.. can’t this shit be at the end of the show. No offense to those companies but I do not watch for that. .. But good for Sonny Hostin for going to Puerto Rico to tell their story.

*****Sad to see Dale Earnhardt Jr run his last race. Is Chase Elliott the next Mr. popular ?

*****An American woman, Shalane Flanagan won the New York marathon.

*****Manafort had 3 passports and we won’t get to the trial for he and Gates until May.

*****Charles Manson is dead. Writer Phil Luciano still has some letters from him that he does not know what to do with. They are now headed into the Lincoln library in Springfield, Il.** How did Charlie wrangle such good publicity from American Horror story? The timing as usual is impeccable. Charles (Manson) in charge?** The History channel seems to have some unheard recordings from Charlie that will air on December 3 as Manson Speaks.

*****Prince Salmon Mohamed is purging in Saudi Arabia. His crackdown has included about 500 other Princes who have been rounded up. He is consolidating power and getting rid of enemies. Just days before Jared Kushner went for a visit.  It seems like so many ego driven men in the world today are grabbing all the power they can.

*****Check out Jeff Ross roasts the border.

*****The recent elections went pretty well for the left including Bill DeBlasio. Congrats to all the newly elected including the first openly trans woman and an African American mayor in Montana. Nobody should get too cocky.

*****The VA says they won’t help the dishonorably discharged per the Trump team.  Hmm no help from VA, no universal health care.. I guess soldiers should suffer in silence, beat their families or become addicts.

*****Wow Darrell Hammond was awesome on a Criminal Minds that Aisha Tyler directed.** BTW Did ya see the episode where Mantagna utters the line, “I don’t like a the snakes.’? OMG

*****HBO is making a limited series about the Jonestown tragedy with Vince Gilligan and Octavia Spencer.

***** Watch for Peter Fonda in The Ballad of Lefty Brown coming out December 15.

***** So.. Tiny kitchens are a thing?

***** Pumpkin spice has reached its peak. Pumpkin out: Maple in.

*****Check out Sean Astin as Paul Manafort in Houseguest (on Colbert).

*****I thought my head was gonna explode when Bill Maher had Michael Moore, Donna Brazile, Chris Matthews and Sarah Silverman on the same episode.

*****So the People mag sexiest man is stupid anyway but Idris isn’t the man this year? WTF??

*****Jim and Andy: The story inside the story inside the story of Carrey playing Kaufman. This is a great piece of work.  Is it wrong to say how hot it is that Jim gets this look in his eye about Andy? Even though he is no longer inhabited by Kaufman, something seems to bubble inside him when he talks about the man.

*****On November 14th Bob Corker held hearings on executive authority to use nuke’s .

*****The Louis CK film I was looking forward to ‘I love you Daddy’ looks like a wash.

*****They say the Pres has no control over fuel prices but Trump in.. prices soaring.

*****Rwanda has offered to host African migrants stranded in Libya.

*****Why do people always say they did not think it would happen to them or their communities when shootings happen? How long does it take to sink in to Americans that mental illness and this obsession with weapons is everywhere?  I will agree with a couple of things that the NRA says like we need to enforce the rules in place better a that mental health is a big part of the problem. If mental health is the real issue then where is the universal health care we need to take care of this problem?

*****GQ has named Colin Kaepernick citizen of the year.

*****Just as I am posting this the Mike Flynn charges were announced. They broke into the news with this news. A real reporter must never get any sleep in these Trump times. Apparently he is pleading guilty and cooperating in the Russian investigation. Go Go GO DOJ!

*****Why is the last sketch on Saturday Night Live usually the best?

*****R.I.P. Dennis Banks, Liz Smith, Lil Peep, Malcolm Young, George Young, Brad Bufanda, victims of the Texas church shooting, Gloria Fallon, Roy Halladay, Robert Knight, Chuck Mosley, John Hillerman, Paul Buckmaster, Mel Tillis, Della Reese, David Cassidy, Earle Hyman, Joseph L. White, Jim Nabors and Rance Howard.

��

[anthonycharlestabone]

Having trouble viewing? View in Browser Monday, October 16, 2017 TOP OF THE MORNING It's Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. Welcome to Fox News First, your first stop for today's news. To get your early morning news fix emailed directly to your inbox, click here. Here's your Fox News First 5 - the first five things you need to know today: Report: The Clinton Foundation will not return Harvey Weinstein donations The Weinstein sex scandal continues to grow President Trump, Senate Majority Leader McConnell to have closely-watched agenda-setting meeting Amb. Nikki Haley: Trump administration hopes to remain in the Iran nuclear deal Colin Kaepernick files grievance accusing NFL owners of collusion Let's take a closer look at these stories ...    THE LEAD STORY: The Clinton Foundation reportedly will not return as much as $250,000 in donations from disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein following multiple accusations of sexual harassment and rape ... The foundation said donations, ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, have already been spent on projects, The Daily Mail reported. The move to keep the money was expected following tweets from the foundation's spokesman Craig Minassian. "Suggesting @ClintonFdn return funds from our 330,000+ donors ignores the fact that donations have been used to help people across the world,” Minassian tweeted.  The calls to return Weinstein's money were prompted after multiple actresses accused the Hollywood executive of sexual assault and rape, forcing numerous politicians and organization to grapple with the dilemma. When asked about Weinstein's donations last week, Hillary Clinton said "there's no one to give it back to" and that she would give any Weinstein contributions to charity. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton avoided answering questions about Weinstein's donations outside a Clinton Global Initiative University event at Northeastern University over the weekend. Hillary Clinton calls Trump 'sexual assaulter' in BBC interview, says Bill's behavior 'in the past' French president Macron moves to revoke Weinstein's Legion of Honor Al Michaels apologizes for comparing Giants to Harvey Weinstein James Corden apologizes for jokes about Weinstein WEINSTEIN SCANDAL ESCALATES: The sex scandal surrounding disgraced Hollywood mogul continues to grow as several more women have come forward with new allegations ... The new accusations made public over the weekend involved the following: British actress Lysette Anthony says Weinstein raped her in the hallway of her London home in the late 1980s while another unnamed accuser says she was raped by the mogul in 1992, according to Britain’s The Sunday Times and The BBC; in addition, British police are investigating three allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein, all made by the same woman, who says she was assaulted in London in 2010, 2011 and 2015; and the NYPD is investigating a woman’s claim that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him inside his Tribeca office in 2004, The New York Post reported. The Weinstein sex scandal: Everything you need to know about the allegations Fox News Opinion: Weinstein scandal - Bravery (and introspection) is what Hollywood needs now TRUCE BETWEEN TRUMP AND MCCONNELL? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to sit down with President Donald Trump in a White House meeting that could help patch their relationship, which fractured over the summer when the two leaders took shots at each other over health care reform and the effectiveness of Congress ... Back in August, Trump said he was "very disappointed in Mitch," after McConnell said Trump had "excessive expectations" about the legislative process. The meeting comes as conservative groups demand McConnell step down from his leadership role.   Emboldened Steve Bannon enlists evangelicals to take on McConnell, entire GOP establishment Sean Hannity to McConnell: Resign if you can't get tax reform done in 2017 THE U.S. HOPES TO STAY IN IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on said the Trump administration hopes to remain in the nuclear deal with Iran but strengthen it so the "American people feel safer" ... "I think right now you are going to see us stay in the deal,” Amb. Nikki Haley said on NBC's "Meet The Press." "What we hope is that we can improve the situation," she continued. "And that's the goal. … It’s not that we’re getting out of the deal. We’re just trying to make the situation better so that the American people feel safer." Haley's comments come days after President Trump announced he will decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. She was one of the voices inside the administration pushing Trump not to certify the 2015 deal brokered by former President Obama and other nations – including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – so that it could weigh a "proportionate" response to Tehran and to send a clear message to North Korea over its nuclear ambitions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also said the administration will stay put but wants the pact to reflect US goals in the region. Newt Gingrich: 'Death to America' -- Why Trump's Iran policy is right The conservative case to keep the Iran deal A HAIL MARY PASS FROM KAEPERNICK: Unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked backlash by starting the trend of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, has filed a grievance accusing NFL owners of colluding against him under the latest collective bargaining agreement, according to a report ...  Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman said in a series of tweets that the controversial athlete has hired attorney Mark Geragos "who has represented numerous high profile clients." Geragos said in a statement that he filed the grievance "only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives." Kaepernick threw for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions for the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season. However, since becoming a free agent, Kaepernick has had difficulty finding a job over the league-wide demonstrations during the national anthem that protest social injustice. Hillary Clinton defends kneeling NFL players Dinesh D'Souza: Colin Kaepernick's big lie Fox News Opinion: Time to end the tax breaks for the NFL   THE WEEKEND THAT WAS GREAT EXPECTATIONS IN 2018: "There is violence in political discourse in America, especially in the last year. But you know who owns that violence? ... It's the left. ... 2018 is going to be a pleasure to watch." – Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to the president, on "Fox & Friends Weekend," predicting GOP congressional victories in 2018. WATCH "HEALTH CARE ARSON": "He's really setting the entire health care system on fire because the president is upset that the United States Congress won’t pass a repeal bill that is supported by 17 percent of the American public." – Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, on "Fox News Sunday," discussing President Trump's move cut off federal payments to insurers in key blow to ObamaCare. WATCH   MINDING YOUR BUSINESS Sunday Morning Futures: Mnuchin: Tax reform is Trump's 'top priority.' Sunday Morning Futures: Netanyahu commends Trump's Iran deal. Fed's Rosengren sees three to four rate hikes next year. Food services firm Aramark to buy Avendra, AmeriPride in $2.35 billion deal.   NEW IN FOX NEWS OPINION New book 'One Nation After Trump' lacks message powerful enough to lure Obama-Trump voters back to Democrats. Trump is not threatening the First Amendment, ignorant Americans are. Banning 'To Kill a Mockingbird' teaches students the wrong lesson - to fear mere words. Todd Starnes: Shame! Iowa marching band walks off field during national anthem.   HOLLYWOOD SQUARED Macklemore leads crowd chanting 'F--k Donald Trump' at Arizona concert. Blade Runner falls below box office expectations to horror flick Death Day. Mayim Bialik targeted for victim blaming, responds to backlash on Twitter. Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas announce their engagement.   DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS? Party City's 'Wall' costume outrages Twitter users. This 'no bra day' Breast Cancer Awareness campaign made people very angry. Florida man arrested after police mistook Krispy Kreme glaze for meth awarded $37,500 settlement. 4,000-year-old bow, arrow and lunch box found in Swiss Alps.   STAY TUNED On Fox News: Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Afghan war veteran and author Michael Waltz dissects Bowe Bergdahl's expected guilty plea in his desertion case; Larry Sabato gives early 2018 midterm election predictions; New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin explains why Trump doesn't owe Obama anything. Tucker Carlson Tonight, 8 p.m. ET: Tucker will have the very latest on authorities' efforts to build a criminal case against Harvey Weinstein.   On Fox Business: Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: ICYMI: Maria's interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe on the economics of his company, the state of Netflix, Redbox and the streaming wars; former Reagan economic adviser Art Laffer on selling Trump's tax reform plan; and Rep. Marsha Blackburn takes on Trump's actions on ObamaCare, Iran and more. Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Country music legend Dolly Parton gives the inside story on her first children's album; Rep. Lee Zeldin sizes up Trump's decertification of the Iran nuclear deal.   #OnThisDay 1995: The "Million Man March" takes place in Washington, DC. 1964: China detonates its first atomic bomb, becoming the world's fifth nuclear power. 1962: President John F. Kennedy is informed that there are missile bases in Cuba, beginning the Cuban missile crisis. 1955: Mrs. Jules Lederer replaces Ruth Crowley in newspapers, using the name Ann Landers.   Thank you for joining us on Fox News First! Enjoy your day, and we'll see you in your inbox first thing Tuesday morning. Unsubscribe ©2017 Fox News Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036. Privacy Policy.

[oldguardaudio]

  FoxNews First -> The Clinton Foundation will not return Harvey Weinstein donations + Colin Kaepernick files grievance accusing NFL owners of collusion

FoxNews First Morning Headlines at HoaxAndChange.com

Foul Mouth Crooked Hillary @ HoaxAndChange.com

Tim Tebow – vs – Colin Kaepernick-NFL at HoaxAndChange.com

Monday, October 16, 2017

TOP OF THE MORNING

It’s Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. Welcome to Fox News First, your first stop for today’s news. To get your early morning news fix emailed directly to your inbox, click here.

Here’s your Fox News First 5 – the first five things you need to know today:

Report: The Clinton Foundation will not return Harvey Weinstein donations

The Weinstein sex scandal continues to grow

President Trump, Senate Majority Leader McConnell to have closely-watched agenda-setting meeting

Amb. Nikki Haley: Trump administration hopes to remain in the Iran nuclear deal

Colin Kaepernick files grievance accusing NFL owners of collusion

Let’s take a closer look at these stories …

  THE LEAD STORY: The Clinton Foundation reportedly will not return as much as $250,000 in donations from disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein following multiple accusations of sexual harassment and rape … The foundation said donations, ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, have already been spent on projects, The Daily Mail reported. The move to keep the money was expected following tweets from the foundation’s spokesman Craig Minassian. “Suggesting @ClintonFdn return funds from our 330,000+ donors ignores the fact that donations have been used to help people across the world,” Minassian tweeted.

The calls to return Weinstein’s money were prompted after multiple actresses accused the Hollywood executive of sexual assault and rape, forcing numerous politicians and organization to grapple with the dilemma. When asked about Weinstein’s donations last week, Hillary Clinton said “there’s no one to give it back to” and that she would give any Weinstein contributions to charity. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton avoided answering questions about Weinstein’s donations outside a Clinton Global Initiative University event at Northeastern University over the weekend.

Hillary Clinton calls Trump ‘sexual assaulter’ in BBC interview, says Bill’s behavior ‘in the past’

French president Macron moves to revoke Weinstein’s Legion of Honor

Al Michaels apologizes for comparing Giants to Harvey Weinstein

James Corden apologizes for jokes about Weinstein

WEINSTEIN SCANDAL ESCALATES: The sex scandal surrounding disgraced Hollywood mogul continues to grow as several more women have come forward with new allegations … The new accusations made public over the weekend involved the following: British actress Lysette Anthony says Weinstein raped her in the hallway of her London home in the late 1980s while another unnamed accuser says she was raped by the mogul in 1992, according to Britain’s The Sunday Times and The BBC; in addition, British police are investigating three allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein, all made by the same woman, who says she was assaulted in London in 2010, 2011 and 2015; and the NYPD is investigating a woman’s claim that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him inside his Tribeca office in 2004, The New York Post reported.

The Weinstein sex scandal: Everything you need to know about the allegations

Fox News Opinion: Weinstein scandal – Bravery (and introspection) is what Hollywood needs now

TRUCE BETWEEN TRUMP AND MCCONNELL? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to sit down with President Donald Trump in a White House meeting that could help patch their relationship, which fractured over the summer when the two leaders took shots at each other over health care reform and the effectiveness of Congress … Back in August, Trump said he was “very disappointed in Mitch,” after McConnell said Trump had “excessive expectations” about the legislative process. The meeting comes as conservative groups demand McConnell step down from his leadership role.

  Emboldened Steve Bannon enlists evangelicals to take on McConnell, entire GOP establishment

Sean Hannity to McConnell: Resign if you can’t get tax reform done in 2017

THE U.S. HOPES TO STAY IN IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on said the Trump administration hopes to remain in the nuclear deal with Iran but strengthen it so the “American people feel safer” … “I think right now you are going to see us stay in the deal,” Amb. Nikki Haley said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “What we hope is that we can improve the situation,” she continued. “And that’s the goal. … It’s not that we’re getting out of the deal. We’re just trying to make the situation better so that the American people feel safer.” Haley’s comments come days after President Trump announced he will decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. She was one of the voices inside the administration pushing Trump not to certify the 2015 deal brokered by former President Obama and other nations – including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – so that it could weigh a “proportionate” response to Tehran and to send a clear message to North Korea over its nuclear ambitions. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also said the administration will stay put but wants the pact to reflect US goals in the region.

Newt Gingrich: ‘Death to America’ — Why Trump’s Iran policy is right

The conservative case to keep the Iran deal

A HAIL MARY PASS FROM KAEPERNICK: Unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked backlash by starting the trend of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, has filed a grievance accusing NFL owners of colluding against him under the latest collective bargaining agreement, according to a report …  Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman said in a series of tweets that the controversial athlete has hired attorney Mark Geragos “who has represented numerous high profile clients.” Geragos said in a statement that he filed the grievance “only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.” Kaepernick threw for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions for the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season. However, since becoming a free agent, Kaepernick has had difficulty finding a job over the league-wide demonstrations during the national anthem that protest social injustice.

Hillary Clinton defends kneeling NFL players

Dinesh D’Souza: Colin Kaepernick’s big lie

Fox News Opinion: Time to end the tax breaks for the NFL

  THE WEEKEND THAT WAS

GREAT EXPECTATIONS IN 2018: “There is violence in political discourse in America, especially in the last year. But you know who owns that violence? … It’s the left. … 2018 is going to be a pleasure to watch.” – Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to the president, on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” predicting GOP congressional victories in 2018. WATCH

“HEALTH CARE ARSON”: “He’s really setting the entire health care system on fire because the president is upset that the United States Congress won’t pass a repeal bill that is supported by 17 percent of the American public.” – Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, on “Fox News Sunday,” discussing President Trump’s move cut off federal payments to insurers in key blow to ObamaCare. WATCH

  MINDING YOUR BUSINESS

Sunday Morning Futures: Mnuchin: Tax reform is Trump’s ‘top priority.’

Sunday Morning Futures: Netanyahu commends Trump’s Iran deal.

Fed’s Rosengren sees three to four rate hikes next year.

Food services firm Aramark to buy Avendra, AmeriPride in $2.35 billion deal.

  NEW IN FOX NEWS OPINION

New book ‘One Nation After Trump’ lacks message powerful enough to lure Obama-Trump voters back to Democrats.

Trump is not threatening the First Amendment, ignorant Americans are.

Banning ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ teaches students the wrong lesson – to fear mere words.

Todd Starnes: Shame! Iowa marching band walks off field during national anthem.

  HOLLYWOOD SQUARED

Macklemore leads crowd chanting ‘F–k Donald Trump’ at Arizona concert.

Blade Runner falls below box office expectations to horror flick Death Day.

Mayim Bialik targeted for victim blaming, responds to backlash on Twitter.

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas announce their engagement.

  DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

Party City’s ‘Wall’ costume outrages Twitter users.

This ‘no bra day’ Breast Cancer Awareness campaign made people very angry.

Florida man arrested after police mistook Krispy Kreme glaze for meth awarded $37,500 settlement.

4,000-year-old bow, arrow and lunch box found in Swiss Alps.

  STAY TUNED

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Afghan war veteran and author Michael Waltz dissects Bowe Bergdahl’s expected guilty plea in his desertion case; Larry Sabato gives early 2018 midterm election predictions; New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin explains why Trump doesn’t owe Obama anything.

Tucker Carlson Tonight, 8 p.m. ET: Tucker will have the very latest on authorities’ efforts to build a criminal case against Harvey Weinstein.

  On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: ICYMI: Maria’s interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe on the economics of his company, the state of Netflix, Redbox and the streaming wars; former Reagan economic adviser Art Laffer on selling Trump’s tax reform plan; and Rep. Marsha Blackburn takes on Trump’s actions on ObamaCare, Iran and more.

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Country music legend Dolly Parton gives the inside story on her first children’s album; Rep. Lee Zeldin sizes up Trump’s decertification of the Iran nuclear deal.

  #OnThisDay

1995: The “Million Man March” takes place in Washington, DC.

1964: China detonates its first atomic bomb, becoming the world’s fifth nuclear power.

1962: President John F. Kennedy is informed that there are missile bases in Cuba, beginning the Cuban missile crisis.

1955: Mrs. Jules Lederer replaces Ruth Crowley in newspapers, using the name Ann Landers.

  Thank you for joining us on Fox News First! Enjoy your day, and we’ll see you in your inbox first thing Tuesday morning.

FoxNews First -> The Clinton Foundation will not return Harvey Weinstein donations + Colin Kaepernick files grievance accusing NFL owners of collusion FoxNews First -> The Clinton Foundation will not return Harvey Weinstein donations + Colin Kaepernick files grievance accusing NFL owners of collusion…

[kansascityhappenings]

LIVE: Long unhappy with Iran nuclear deal, Pres. Trump announces new strategy

http://cdn.tribtv.com/namp/player/embed.html?station=wdaf&feed=1&auto=yes

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will announce a combative new strategy toward Iran on Friday, publicly rejecting the United States’ adherence to his predecessor’s nuclear deal but stopping short, for now, of scrapping the agreement entirely.

Pres. Trump plans to make his announcement in a news conference scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Friday. Watch in the player above or click here.

The move to “decertify” Iran’s compliance in the nuclear pact doesn’t amount to ripping up the accord, as he promised to do as a candidate.

Instead, Trump will foist the agreement upon Congress, which now has 60 days to determine a path forward. Republicans and Democrats alike — who also face upcoming battles over taxes, immigration and health care — have shown few signs they’re willing to take up another divisive issue.

If lawmakers decide to impose new punitive economic sanctions on Iran, the deal will likely fall apart. Instead, the Trump administration wants members of Congress to adopt new measures that would keep the deal intact, while spelling out parameters by which the US would impose new sanctions should Iran violate its agreements.

In a midday speech, Trump will also detail a more combative approach to Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for terrorist networks, including the possibility of new economic sanctions on individuals and entities associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which provides support for a number of militant groups, including Hezbollah.

The President hopes to de-emphasize the nuclear agreement in US dealings with Iran, instead laying out a plan that “focuses on neutralizing the government of Iran’s destabilizing influence and constraining its aggression, particularly its support for terrorism and militants,” according to a summary of his approach distributed by the White House. Iran’s destabilizing efforts in the region extend from Yemen to Syria to Saudi Arabia.

Trump has been weighing his Iran decision for weeks, and has faced intense pressure from European allies to maintain the US commitment to the accord. His national security advisers have encouraged him to avoid completely withdrawing from the agreement, which was signed by the US along with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran in 2015.

A complete removal of the United States from the nuclear deal would isolate the United States and provide an opening for Iran to rethink its own commitments on reducing nuclear stockpiles, some of Trump’s advisers and foreign counterparts warned.

Fulfills top campaign pledge

Trump has resisted, insisting that he fulfill a core campaign promise to remove the United States from agreements he deems poorly negotiated and harmful. He has twice “certified” the deal, but angrily told his top advisers that he would do so no longer, fearing it appeared he was backing out of his pledge.

Trump made known in “forceful, not uncertain” terms that he was disappointed by the options his team had been presenting him and wanted a different approach, according to a person familiar with the discussions, who described Trump’s reaction as an “extended outburst.” The confrontation came around July 17, when he last certified Iran’s compliance in the deal.

Trump was upset and — in the face of other unfulfilled campaign promises — angry that his team appeared to be steering him away from one of his chief pledges to voters.

According to the source, Trump complained that his national security team, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, didn’t feel as much urgency in completing something he had promised to do on the campaign trail.

He certified the deal over the summer, but continued to resent his top aides for pressuring him to do it, the source said. He later stated publicly in an interview that he would rather have decertified the agreement.

Since then, Trump’s team devised the middle-of-the-road plan that he’ll unveil Friday, which allows the President to proclaim to supporters that he’s rejected the deal while still remaining a party to it. All of his national security team, at this point, is behind the decision, according to senior administration officials.

“The President, on many occasions, talked about either tearing the deal up or fixing the deal, and he said many times, we got to fix this deal,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters on Thursday evening. “What we are laying out here, this is the pathway, we think, that provides us with the best platform to attempt to fix this deal.”

“We may be unsuccessful, we may not be able to fix it and if we are not, then we may end up out of the deal,” Tillerson went on. “But I think what the President is saying, before I do that and just walk, look, we will try. We will try. We will go try to fix it. I think you are going to hear he is not particular optimistic.”

Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a friendly interview this week it was “one of the most incompetently drawn deals I’ve ever seen.”

Trump has long railed against the agreement as unfairly benefiting Iran while damaging US security interests in the region. He’s questioned why the agreement ends after a decade, leaving open the possibility that Iran could resume its push to develop a nuclear weapon. And administration officials say a more stringent inspections program is required to more fully determine whether Iran has halted its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes only.

In his remarks on Friday, Trump will make clear that those issues must be addressed. Administration officials say it’s unlikely the current agreement can be reopened, given resistance from European partners and Iran’s government. Instead, the United States believes a new agreement must be forged that would accompany the existing deal.

But expectations are low, even within the administration, that such a strategy would be successful, given Iran’s public resistance to returning to the accord after years of intensive negotiations under the Obama administration.

‘Possibility’ Iran could withdraw

European allies have also ruled out reopening the agreement since international monitoring agencies are in agreement that Iran is in compliance with its agreements. Even Trump’s administration has conceded that Iran is currently technically complying with the accord.

Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said Friday that Iran may withdraw from the nuclear agreement if the Unites States does, Russian state-run TASS reported Friday.

Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg, Larijani acknowledged that quitting the deal was “a possibility” and said that if the US does not implement the agreements reached when the nuclear deal was signed, nothing will remain of the accord.

“If they act like it, then there will be hardly anything left from this agreement. So a new issue will arise on the international arena,” Larijani said, according to Russia’s state-owned outlet Sputnik.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that it was “obvious” that any action by the US to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal will have “very, very negative consequences.”

“Such actions will definitely harm the atmosphere of predictability, security, stability and non-proliferation throughout the world, which can seriously aggravate the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear dossier,” Peskov said during a regular call with reporters.

“We already know Tehran’s response, Tehran will also leave this agreement. Therefore, Russia will consistently continue the line, which was repeatedly formulated by President Putin, aimed at providing the conditions for solving this problem, conditions for resolving the Iranian nuclear dossier, and conditions which will allow us to prevent the spreading of nuclear weapons,” he said.

In telephone conversations with French President Emanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May this week, Trump heard sharp resistance to any move that would weaken the Iran nuclear deal. Both leaders affirmed their countries’ commitments to remaining part of the accord.

Even some of Trump’s own aides have worried the President is more interested in deploying bellicose threats against Tehran than taking productive steps toward stabilizing the region. It’s a fear that’s shared by Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who must now determine a feasible path for either salvaging the nuclear deal or taking steps to dismantle it.

The top senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker of Tennessee, is embroiled in a bitter feud with Trump, warning his language could start “World War III.” Because of his committee post, Corker will oversee much of the proceedings on the Iran deal.

On Thursday, Tillerson cast skepticism on the prospect of lawmakers coming along with the administration’s point of view.

“I don’t want to suggest to you this is a slam dunk up there on the Hill. We know it is not,” he said. “People have very strong feelings about this nuclear arrangement with Iran.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2017/10/13/live-long-unhappy-with-iran-nuclear-deal-pres-trump-announces-new-strategy/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2017/10/13/live-long-unhappy-with-iran-nuclear-deal-pres-trump-announces-new-strategy/

[tortuga-aak]

Trump's NBC tweet that everyone's freaking out about is an even more empty threat than usual

Getty Images/Pool

President Donald Trump, angry about "fake news" again, wants to know when it will be appropriate to talk about revoking NBC's broadcast license.

He's upset because NBC News reported the reason Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may have been prompted to call Trump a "moron" in a private meeting in July: Trump had told his top officials he wanted a tenfold increase in the US nuclear arsenal.*

"With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" Trump tweeted.

Look. It's bad for the public discourse that the president so frequently attacks the media, especially for reporting accurately on him and his administration. But there is a certain amount of hair-pulling about this tweet that isn't warranted, because it's one of the emptiest threats the president has made.

One of the key themes of Trump's administration is his failure to assert full control over the executive branch apparatus. The federal government is big and complicated, and it's staffed by a lot of career officials and even some political appointees who are hostile to various aspects of the president's agenda. They also have to follow laws and regulations that can be inconvenient for his desire to consolidate power.

Then some functions, including the licensing of broadcast television stations, are handled by independent commissions the president can't directly order around. He does get to make appointments to these commissions, but as Matt Yglesias notes, his nominees to commissions like the Federal Communications Commission have been standard Republicans interested in a typical deregulatory agenda, not in punishing outlets whose content Trump dislikes.

That is to say: FCC Chair Ajit Pai did not come to Washington to carry out Trump's little vendettas.

If Trump wanted to use these commissions for autocratic ends, he'd have to be stocking the government with officials who share his desire to do that and who are competent. Fortunately, he hasn't managed to do that, in part because he has so few true loyalists available to appoint.

Democratic institutions and the rule of law have held up surprisingly well during the Trump presidency, partly because the president is too inept to effectively break them.

There are also other issues that CNN's Oliver Darcy and Brian Stelter address, like the fact that licenses for broadcast television stations only come up for renewal every eight years, that objections to renewal have to be raised by local residents, and that renewals are nearly always granted. Networks themselves aren't licensed at all.

Louis Nelson and Margaret Harding Hill explained for Politico how the FCC's hands are tied on renewals:

"Local residents or competitors can file a challenge to a station’s license renewal, but the basis for such a challenge is extremely limited — it must be a case where the station systematically violated the FCC's rules or lacked the requisite 'character' to hold the license. That is usually defined as a felony conviction, said Andrew Schwartzman, a communications lawyer with the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center."

There is also the matter of the First Amendment litigation would surely ensue if Trump directed the FCC to deny a license for political reasons.

But it's not going to get there, because Trump's "war on the media" is a communications strategy, not a policy. Trump thinks defining himself in opposition to the media is an effective strategy for generating enthusiasm among his base, and he's right.

That's all the tweet is about.

*I am a paid contributor to MSNBC and NBC News.

NOW WATCH: Why you won't find a garbage can near the 9/11 memorial

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2yEZO32

#Feedburner