Further confirmation: Corruption runs in Trump family

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 NEWS BYTES

Donald Trump's sister now the target of corruption...  

Maryanne Trump-Barry and her mentor

Like brother, like sister, and in the Trump family that includes T-rump's two sons and daughter, plus outsider Jared Kushner. It apparently is in the DNA because Trump's father was also corrupt. So it just comes natural, what you do in life is to prey on other folks to build your fortune. Donald Trump's older sister, Maryanne Trump-Barry apparently joined the family of thieves at least by the 1990s when she “benefited financially” from her family’s “tax schemes.”

Now 82, Trump-Barry then “was also in a position [ as a federal judge]  to influence the actions taken by her family.” Now, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has made Trump-Barry a target of her anti-corruption campaign, according to the Daily Beast. It is the first shot any Democratic candidate has taken that has serious implications for the accused. This is all a part of Warren's investigations into "ethics policy" concentrating on federal judges, lobbyists and members of Congress.

Maryanne Trump-Barry corruption charges a year ago...

The DB's Gideon Resnick says that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has made Trump-Barry a target of her anti-corruption campaign also proposing...

"banning lobbyists “from making political contributions” or “from bundling donations or hosting fundraisers for political candidates. Warren also proposes banning members of Congress from serving on for-profit boards."

Here's another example of Fred Trump's corruption...

"The most overt fraud was All County Building Supply & Maintenance, a company formed by the Trump family in 1992. All County’s ostensible purpose was to be the purchasing agent for Fred Trump’s buildings, buying everything from boilers to cleaning supplies. It did no such thing, records and interviews show. Instead All County siphoned millions of dollars from Fred Trump’s empire by simply marking up purchases already made by his employees. Those millions, effectively untaxed gifts, then flowed to All County’s owners — Donald Trump, his siblings and a cousin. Fred Trump then used the padded All County receipts to justify bigger rent increases for thousands of tenants."

Elizabeth Warren on Donald Trump corruption...

You would assume in the above, "Donald Trump, his siblings," that Judge Maryanne Trump-Barry is included. Matt Levine of Bloomberg says he is kind of impressed with the Trump family clever shenanigans...

"It is two scams at once: By transforming the gift into a business expense, you both avoid gift taxes and justify raising rents for rent-stabilized tenants. It really uses every part of the sham purchasing company. On the other hand, it’s not that clever. There is a bit of an unregulated-emerging-markets feel to it; interposing wealthy friends and family as middlemen, giving them large cuts of the business as unjustified markups, and then passing the costs on to the much less wealthy general public, is all out of a fairly standard playbook of corruption."

 If Elizabeth Warren plans to make Maryanne Trump-Barry the focus of her anti-corruption campaign, that is just one more avenue in which law enforcement can navigate to get at the fraudulent activities encompassed by the Trump brand. It is obvious why Donald Trump craves a second term, now even a third, because he knows that once he is out of office, he is fair game for a host of prosecutors. The 2020 election can't come soon enough for most of us, but particularly the law.

You the taxpayer rescued Trump Scotland Turnberry resort hotel

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2019: SPECIAL REPORT

Trump Turnberry resort corruption accelerates  

Where the latest Trump correction is

Here's the scenario. Donald Trump has a resort hotel, Turnberry, about 50 miles outside Glasgow, Scotland. It's in trouble financially, like just about everything else this moocher owns; the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.” Also, VP Pence stayed at Trump's resort during his recent trip to Ireland in his usual suck-up way. That, alone, brought along the investigations into impropriety still progressing.

And it seems Turnberry has a money-losing airport they cannot afford to give up due to its convenience for travelers flying in to stay there. So, not only do you own this property, but you're also the U.S. president who can do what you want to when manipulating the government to support the Trump brand. And the Oval Office lunatic did just that. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC reported the following Politico headline...

"Air Force crew made an odd stop on a routine trip: Trump’s Scottish resort”

Here are the details...

“In early spring of this year, an Air National Guard crew made a routine trip from the U.S. to Kuwait to deliver supplies. What wasn’t routine was where the crew stopped along the way: President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort."

Not only did they refuel at significantly higher priced gas than they could have gotten on a military base, but the crew stayed at the ultra-expensive Trump hotel. What is even worse is, the Air Force said this "wasn't unusual." Not in a Donald Trump administration it isn't. This is compounded by the fact that T-rump also has another money-losing resort in Florida, Mar a Lago, that he has been trying to steer the next G-7 to, since returning from the Summit. Maddow continued...

“But now, miraculously, now that Donald Trump is president, American military cargo planes have started refueling at that airport, at a significant price mark up. Right. It’s much cheaper for them to get their fuel at military bases. That’s part of the reason they always stop at military bases. Also, they’re the military. They’re no longer stopping at military bases.”

Rachel Maddow exposes Trump Turnberry fiasco...

Don't know how many said this when Trump was elected--it was several--that he really didn't want to be president, but now that he was, he would make the best of it by using the office to promote his Trump brand. Maddow says the Turnberry incident is, "uncharted waters, obviously, in terms of presidential corruption," and it implicates Donald Trump himself and everyone else who participated in it. These partners in the exploitation are not cooperating.

House Democrats have obviously picked up on this with investigations, added to those already started on the Mike pence Ireland visit. A senior Democratic aide on the oversight panel told Politico...

“The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation. The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days.”

Mike Pence pathetically defends Ireland Trump resort stay...

So far this committee has not been effective. Vox comments on the Politico report, "The US military may have spent millions to help prop up a Trump resort." There's more...

"The military has spent $11 million on fuel alone at the Prestwick Airport near Trump’s Turnberry resort since fall of 2017. the airport has provided discounted rooms and complimentary rounds of golf at the Trump resort for some US military members. The expenditures are unusual given buying fuel from Prestwick Airport costs the government (and, ultimately, taxpayers) more than refueling at military bases, such as the nearby Lakenheath Air Base in England."

Corruption will be one of Donald Trump's major legacies. 

Latest News Digest/Page 3

Capitol riots enablers Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, already the target of congress for helping to incite the Capitol riot, have...

"frantically searched for a political sweet spot: They’ve tried to condemn the violence without retracting or apologizing for their active role in sustaining the big lie that incited it."

But the horror is actually seen in the video that accompanies this piece. Scroll down for the video and, folks, it is a MUST WATCH! Here's the article: Appalling new video of the rioters is a big problem for Trump’s GOP enablers

Trump is headed for debtors prison when he leaves office. In the same period of time he spent hallucinating in the Oval Office, loans in the hundreds of millions of dollars will come due, and there may be nowhere to go for more. The Hill says debt holders have...

"backed away from business arrangements with the Trump Organization, sapping future income from the debt-laden president. Three banks have announced they’re cutting ties with him — including Deutsche Bank, his biggest creditor — limiting his ability to refinance debt."

There's more...

"Trump owes creditors at least $315 million, mainly through mortgages for Trump Organization hotels, resorts and golf courses, according to his 2020 financial disclosure. A Forbes analysis of Trump’s finances, however, found that Trump likely owes at least $1 billion to creditors, some of which he has personally guaranteed."

The financial industry is calling him,  'Toxic Trump. Read more:  Debt cloud hangs over Trump post-presidency

 

Donald Trump met with his elite advisory duo, Ivanka and Jared, to discuss some 100 pardons he has planned including...

"white-collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others. It will likely include some pardons aimed at advocating for criminal justice reform, as well as controversial pardons for political allies."

Reportedly, there are those who have paid for pardons. Business as usual. Read more: Trump preparing another 100 pardons, commutations beforeleaving office: reports

Billy Graham was a religious icon that most anyone could admire, even atheists. His son, Franklin Graham, on the other hand, has a twisted mind that has led his followers down the trail of Donald Trump idolatry. Although Graham said after seemingly criticizing Capitol rioters, "I don't think it was the president's finest moment." Then, the article exclaims...

"But Graham said he doesn't expect the tumult at the Capitol to deter evangelical Christians from supporting Trump."

There's more...

"I don’t think he had any understanding in that moment of what was going to take place," he said. "None of us did."

Franklin Graham, like so many of his pathetic religious followers, have helped make Donald Trump the maniac he is today. And this is why so many Americans have left the church. Read more: Evangelicals and other faith leaders still support Trump after deadly US Capitol attack

Time for a quick compendium on Donald Trump's lies racked up in his four years in the White House. AlterNet leads with this...

"For the last four years, fact-checkers have had their hands full keeping up with President Donald Trump's unprecedented level of dishonesty. While The Washington Post reported that Trump had delivered more than 22,000 false or misleading claims..."

The article calls Trump's dalliance with untruths a "disgraced president's" tweeting claims that likely had something to do with the outcome of the 2020 election. We're thankful for that and there's much more. Read the article: Here are the most dangerous and notable lies Trump spewed during his presidency

Arizona Republican representative Andy Biggs is the scumbag of this state's lowlife GOP. Biggs, along with twin scumbag Paul Gosar actually wrote a letter to Donald Trump in 2019. "reinforcing their support for the president’s desire to spend billions of tax dollars on a border wall." Today, Biggs has been accused of being part of the recent Capitol riots. The rep. denies but...

"Ali Alexander, who led rallies nationwide to try to overturn the results of the presidential election, called Biggs a hero of the movement during the rally at the Arizona Capitol and led a chant in his name."

Another GOP jerk to dump in 2022. Read more: New videos emerge tying Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs to 'Stop the Steal' movement

The time has finally arrived where it is likely that this country will find out whether Bernie Sanders' Progressive agenda is feasible. The Ps know it is and some moderates think there are possibilities. My gut tells me that President-elect Joe Biden, deep down, believes in Bernie as his Chairman Senate Budget Committee, and is convinced his issues can help this country. God knows it needs help after Donald Trump. Yet Republicans see a nightmare...

"that a champion of working-class people and the common good—one who has dedicated his political career to curbing poverty and injustice while denouncing corporate greed, endless war, and the cruelty of a for-profit health system that leaves millions upon millions uninsured or without affordable access to care—would assume the powerful position of chairing the Senate Budget Committee is about to become reality."

Go get 'em Bernie. Read more: GOP nightmare of Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders is about to come true

Republican fears just might come true. Donald Trump could well be the defining factor that the GOP is so misguided and corrupt that it no longer deserves the right to exist. At least as it is. It started with Karl Rove in the Geo. W. Bush administration where lying and deceit became staples for the Party. The progression of fabrication of the truth compounded by the GOP's corruption provided T-rump the perfect 'welcome wagon' he needed. But...

"The last four years under President Donald Trump's leadership have been tumultuous for politics but the end of Trump's reign has dealt a hefty blow to the Republican Party."

And now after the Capitol riots, incited by Donald Trump, we are going into a modicum of quietude under our new president, Joe Biden. With Kamala Harris at his side, the hopes for this country are once again optimistic. And if the Republicans implode, well, it couldn't happen to a better gang. Read more: Some in the GOP worry the party will not survive after 4 years of Trump

 

Latest News Digest/Page 2

 

Remember the early days of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign when no one thought he could win, even top politicians short-changed him: Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) confidently explained how Trump was "not going to change the platform of the Republican Party, the views of the Republican Party… we're much more likely to change him." Uh huh. Moscow Mitch turned out to be his biggest cheerleader. Read more: Republicans knew they were making a deal with the devil — now they're paying for it

Donald Trump can add to his list of deplorable acts in his lifetime the fact that he is the "only American leader in a century with more than 400,000 deaths from one event on his watch." From the very first denying day, Killer D led the U.S. down the path of decimation from COVID-19. And now after his 2nd impeachment Donald Trump still believes he did the right thing. Pathetic! Read more: 'Blood on his hands': As US nears 400,000 COVID-19 deaths

Remember that commercial, "Where's the beef?" Today the cry is 'Where's the vaccine?' Donald Trump made promise after promise to get Americans vaccinated now to slow down the surge of coronavirus. That's after bungling the pandemic from the beginning. Here's a quote from the Oregon Gov., "I am demanding answers from the Trump Administration. I am shocked and appalled that they have set an expectation on which they could not deliver, with such grave consequences," This says it all. Read more: 'Deception!': Oregon governor slams Trump --revealing 'there is no federal reserve' of vaccines

Donald Trump has been impeached twice and stands at the threshold of being convicted by the Senate. Trump is in the throes of "political, financial, and legal setbacks that cumulatively spell utter ruin." It is unreal just how many people wait in utter hopeful anticipation for that day. Read more: Trump Is on the Verge of Losing Everything

To begin with the Constitution's case of checks and balances has not worked for Donald Trump. "On January 6, 2021, the head of the executive branch, Donald Trump, incited a mob to attack the legislative branch and then did nothing to stop it." And the likelihood of the Senate convicting Trump after his second impeachment seems limited. And this is only the latest of the Oval Office lunatic's string of corruption over the last four years. Read more: The case against Donald Trump – simplified

Donald Trump comes in gangbusters with the GOP with top ratings even after the Capitol riots. Analysis: 87% of Republicans are morons, idiots, imbeciles...there are more descriptions but don't have the time to spend on this trivia. A new poll "found that 43 percent of voters nationwide gave Trump a positive job approval rating." Is there any hope for this country? Read more: Trump approval remains stable in new NBC poll...

Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

 

THAT'S TODAY...Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trump's statements so far have been based only on what he has seen in the media with no direct contact with Bragg's office. The BBC says...

"This case focuses on alleged hush money paid on Mr Trump's behalf by his lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election."

Trump has urged his supporters to launch mass demonstrations in his support like he did prior to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol where he shouted in his speech at the Capitol, "We will never give up, we will never concede," and ended with the words: "We fight. We fight like hell and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue." The riot erupted resulting in injuries and deaths of Capitol police.

Here's the scenario according to Time...

"As part of Bragg’s investigation, Trump could face charges for falsifying business records when he allegedly reimbursed his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen for paying off Daniels. The hush-money deal, allegedly crafted weeks before his presidential win, could also put Trump in jeopardy of violating campaign finance laws."

You have to understand that Donald Trump is up against at least five investigations, covering everything from his possession of classified documents to his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Some have said in the past that the charges brought against him by the Atlanta Atty. Gen. for interference in the 2020 election could have the most impact and provide the best venue for prosecution. Back in Jan., charges were said to be imminent.

Will Donald Trump be indicted on Tuesday?...

Barricades are being erected outside the Manhattan criminal court in anticipation of potential charges against Trump. This is because he called for protests when learning of the indictment, which resulted in the assumptions that it could start another riot like Jan. 6, 2021. But PBS News Hour said, "Trump’s calls for protests fail to gain traction ahead of anticipated indictment"...

"Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap."

Now Stormy Daniels is entering the fray which Yahoo/News describes as "snarky

tweets about Donald Trump ahead of his possible indictment in New York." Here's an example...

"He probably watches my movies on repeat which may be why he has so many typos. (Slippery fingers from lube and KFC/fast food)."

Here's more...

Trump has denied that he had an affair with Daniels. He has also denied paying her $130,000 to keep quiet about the relationship before the 2016 election; he maintains that the payments — funneled through his former fixer turned nemesis, Michael Cohen — were fees for Cohen's legal services.

This reminds me of Al Capone who said, “They can't collect legal taxes from illegal money.” The feds did and put him in prison for tax evasion when Capone was clearly guilty of other major crimes like murder. And in the charges by Bragg, Trump can be tried for falsification of business records in the Stormy Daniels money transfer. But, like Capone, this is only the tip of the iceberg when he should also be tried for his efforts in launching the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

It is also clear that Donald Trump's delay in the Covid pandemic accounted for the deaths of hundreds, even thousands of Americans. These are only some of the reasons Trump should be prosecuted, and put in prison. There are more and can be found in my collection of posts on Donald Trump corruption.

 

Trump thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace prize-Cue the laughter

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 NEWS BYTES

'Be a clown...Be a clown...' Donald Trump takes this literally...

Clowns weren't meant to be corrupt

It happens daily, sometimes hourly. Donald Trump makes a fool out of himself and, because of where he sits in the White House, he makes a fool of America. It has been going on starting with his 2016 campaign and has been on a non-stop rampage since then. Senate leader Republicans and Mitch McConnell have chosen to do nothing, in fact have joined with T-rump in his corruption. The Democrats are in such disarray so is there hope there? And, the Oval Office clown continues to do his thing.

In the most recent stupid gesture, Trump finally admitted talking to the Ukraine President by phone to enlist his help in finding dirt on Joe Biden, namely on his son, Hunter. So proud of what he had done, he reinforces the move with another boastful announcement admitting guilt. It should be noted here that T-rump withheld $250 million in military aid to fight Russia from Ukraine. The whole thing screams impeachment. Read more...

Donald Trump admits corruption...

But can you believe, this idiot wonders why he has not received the Nobel Prize? While at the UN, "President Donald Trump asserted on Monday that the Nobel Peace Prize process is unfair because he should get one 'for a lot of things.'” Would that be for Stormy Daniels, or Jeffrey Epstein or his interview with Billy Bush? Now this statement on the Nobel Prize is clear indication that this man has lost complete touch with reality and is mentally unbalanced.
Read more...

Still at the UN, Trump veers away from the business at hand and heaps praises on the religious bigot, evangelical, Franklin Graham. Graham has made it clear how he feels about Muslims and the LGBTQ community. Graham regularly defends trump as if they are soul buddies, and maybe they are. His father, Billy Graham, must have kicked the dirt off his grave by now.
Read more...

NYT Opinion Columnist David Leonhardt says it is “Donald Trump vs. the United States of America,” documenting the Oval Office lunatic's "lawlessness, self-dealing, un-American behavior." Here are just a few...

“He launched his political career by falsely claiming that the first black president was not really American.”

“He publicly undermined American intelligence agents while standing next to a hostile foreign autocrat.”

“He is the president of the United States, and he is a threat to virtually everything that the United States should stand for.”

Read more... 

And what if this mentally disturbed despot refuses to leave the White house when he loses the 2020 election? Georgetown Law professor Josh Geltzer, who served as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council and, prior to that, as deputy legal adviser to the NSC and counsel to the assistant attorney general for national security, thinks Donald Trump has thumbed his nose at the U.S. Constitution enough to be worried about him in 2020. Read more...

Congress may talk to Stormy Daniels...

Stormy Daniels offers to speak to Congress and The Daily Beast says, ‘Sh*t is about to hit the fan again.’ The adult film actress apparently needs the go ahead from congressional investigators who say they may not call the actress to speak. It was actually Daniels that said, “Things are in a lull, but shit is about to hit the fan again.” DB says this is fodder for Democrats after the Mueller investigation fizzled, but could be more harassment for Daniels and 8-year-old daughter.
Rad more...

Former Sec. of State Rex Tillerson said that "Netanyahu and the Israelis 'played' Trump." Trump and Netanyahu were good buddies, just like Trump and Putin and Kim Jong -un. It is associations like this that the U.S. intelligence community has always been worried about due to T-rump's big mouth and willingness to give away U.S. confidential information. Netanyahu may be gone now and it remains to be seen if his opponent, Benny Gantz, can get along with Trump.
Read more...

The Atlantic says the U.S. has now arrived in "the Hot Zone for Impeachment." What did it? "The fresh details about Trump’s apparent effort to strong-arm Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden may have irreversibly pushed the president into the impeachment hot zone." Speaker Pelosi is finally rethinking her position on the move leaving many wondering what the hell took so long. But Trump can't shock us anymore? Don't count on it.
Read more...

And finally to cap off a laughing stock's warped mindset, the ego-laden maniac says he "is immune from all criminal investigations in a new federal lawsuit seeking to block New York prosecutors from obtaining his tax returns." Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Thursday asked for eight years of T-rump’s personal and corporate tax returns. Based on the high level of corruption we have experienced so far, the tax returns should be a circus.

Read more...

The epitome of the disgusting is Donald Trump

Remember Donald Trump's often touted book, "The Art of the Deal," something he hasn't been able to accomplish since being in the White House? Well there's another twist from the book's co-author, Tony Schwartz, who revealed a shocking observation...

“To know Trump is to hate Trump,” said Schwartz. “Meaning everybody who knows him, deep down, hates him completely.”

Not really shocking is it? Actuall,y that isn't the real shocker; This is even closer to home, that his oldest daughter, Ivanka, "despises him," can't stand him anymore. Of course it's hard to tell with all of the "sweetness" we see between her, Jared Kushner and Daddy Warbucks. Schwartz's reasoning...

“When you’re around a person who devalues you, humiliates you, ignores you, shames you, what possible other reaction could you have other than to despise him?”

Trump was in Orlando last week to kick off his 2020 presidential campaign--many say that he's never stopped campaigning since 2016--but is it significant that Orlando is a city completely enclosed by swampland? This is certainly appropriate considering the Oval Office lunatic's promise entering office was to drain the Washington swamp. He didn't and what we ended up with was an even bigger quagmire of corruption led by none other than the professed liberator.

Joe Biden on Donald Trump

But it is even more laughable that just hours before Trump's campaign kickoff in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel announced that it would endorse anyone but Donald Trump. The newspaper commented...

"After 2½ years we’ve seen enough. Enough of the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies. So many lies — from white lies to whoppers — told out of ignorance, laziness, recklessness, expediency or opportunity."

Wow! That's a statement that perfectly clarifies the maniac that had been inhabiting the White House now for around two-and-one-half-years, posing as a head of state for the most powerful nation in the world. Or at least it was until T-rump took office. But the Democrats don't get an official nod out of this from a paper that has a history of endorsing Republicans, rather, it's more a mandate that Donald Trump must go.

And finally, Trump has lost the support of one of his largest 2016 supporters, the wealthy Mercer family. Here's the loss...

"The Mercers supported Trump aggressively in 2016, donating at least $15.5 million to pro-Trump organizations..."

According to sources, the Mercers have become disillusioned with Trump for a variety of reasons. One, they favored Steve Bannon; Trump fired him. There were others but supporting Steve Bannon tells you enough about this family to place them in a category of the radical right of the Republican Party. Donald Trump can't afford to lose too many of this brand since it is the thrust of the GOP in all elections. One can only hope that the entire Trump campaign fails...soon.

Political Satire: What is Trump still hiding about Russia?

He's not heavy, he's my puppet 

Whatever it is, it is bad enough that Donald Trump has enlisted the help of Congress, the intelligence community. And now the FBI has refused to cooperate with the White House by downplaying the news stories about Donald John's close ties with Russia. It involves Trump associates’ ties to Russia and the fact that pressure is being applied to cover this up. Greg Miller of the Washington Post said...

"Acting at the behest of the White House, the officials made calls to news organizations last week in attempts to challenge stories about alleged contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives."

Here's some background on the story. According to Politifact...

"The Washington Post reported Dec. 9 that the CIA concluded Russia meddled in the election with the intent to help Trump, rather than to disrupt the election generally. The New York Times produced a similar report. However, the Washington Post also reported that the FBI isn't as confident in this conclusion. These stories are all based on anonymous sources and cannot be independently verified."

 But just last week, the FBI indicated that it would not downplay these same news reports after a request to do so from the White House. Business Insider Politics said...

"Trump administration officials wanted the FBI to disavow the reports and say there was no contact between people associated with Trump and Russia."

Democrats are still pissed over the fact that FBI Director James B. Comey released critical information about Hillary Clinton's email probe just prior to the 2016 election, yet kept quiet on the fact that Trump's campaign team had been in regular contact with Russia. Hillary Clinton accused Donald John of a direct tie between him and Vladimir Putin in one of the election debates, accusing her opponent of joining with the Russian leader to get rid of NATO. And then early in February, Trump voices his support for NATO admonishing member countries for better support.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said that...

 if the White House “contrived to have intelligence officials contradict unfavorable news reports, this represents a new and even more grave threat to the independence of the intelligence community.”

Former CIA director Michael Hayden expressed his concern that intelligence sources were being strong-armed into providing information that was later being interpreted into political speak and then put into the wording that best fit their message. What's new. But considering the Trump administration's  continued praise of Putin and all the action so far to get it out of the media, does that mean there is a smoking gun? And to cap it all off, Donald John has repeatedly criticized the intelligence organizations recently for leaking misinformation.

The leading example of Russian involvement in the 2016 election was the DNC hack where the embarrassing emails from Debbie Wasserman Schultz were uncovered, resulting in her being removed as chair. In this case the federal intelligence community, cybersecurity analysts, the Homeland Security Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a statement saying...

"...they believed people at the top levels of Russian government directed the attack in an attempt to interfere in the election."

Donald Trump took the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013, and he is known to have other

It might even look like this

business interests in Russia; specifically a desire to build a luxury Trump hotel in Moscow. But since he won't release his taxes, there is no way to know exactly what is going on. There is one thing we know for sure, Donald Trump is about business. He has been criticized time and again over the lack of complete separation between the presidency and his business-related interests. One son recently cost the federal govt. thousands of protection dollars to protect him in work abroad for the hotels.

Business insider Politics reported...

"Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse this week said he was sure the Russia-related cloud hanging over President Donald Trump's administration would not be clearing up anytime soon."

 The Rhode Island Democrat says Lindsey Graham's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will look at the issue from three perspectives. 1) Trump's relationship with Russia pertaining to his business enterprises; 2) What did these actually do to affect the 2016 election?; 3) How exactly was the Trump staff involved in, if any, shenanigans in trying to swing the election toward Donald John? It is a fact that more Republicans have evidenced their concern over the possibility that Russia might have some part in getting Trump elected.

It is important to note that three important Donald Trump advisers have left the White House staff due to their Russian ties. First, Paul Manafort, former campaign manager and consultant for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, left early, in August of 2016. Resignation has not been explained. Carter Page, former foreign policy adviser, left in September 2016, with ties to a business consultancy work for state-owned Russian oil giant Gazprom. Page is currently subject to U.S. investigations over his Russian connections. Michael Flynn left recently Feb. 13, for lying to V.P. Pence about speaking with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016.

Politifact concluded...

"Based on the evidence, it seems highly unlikely that actions by the Russian government contributed in any decisive way to Trump’s win over Clinton."

Senior research scientist at CNA Analysis & Solutions, Dmitry Gorenburg, lamented over all the ruckus over what might have happened. What the U.S. should be concerned about is the fact that Russia even made the attempt. As an observer to all that has been written, that would indicate to me that the hackers felt they had the means to accomplish their goals and it is accepted knowledge that Putin's minions are known to be excellent cyber thieves. They were able to hack into and steal million from U.S. banks back in 2015.

However, former President George W. Bush said, "...that the American people deserve answers on the alleged connection between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia." This from Donald John's own party plus someone who sat in the Oval Office in the same place where he is sitting now just over eight years ago. And then just this past Friday...

"Republican Rep. Darrell Issa called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to hire an independent prosecutor to investigate the connection between the Trump campaign and Russia. Issa joins a number of Democrats in calling for an independent prosecutor."

I would expect that kind of rhetoric coming from a career building blowhard like Issa, but GWB is way beyond having to make a name for himself. Apparently the decision of a prosecutor is Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This was Trump's, of course, Tweet response...

“Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!” 

And finally, Wilbur Ross, who probably will be confirmed Secretary of Finance tonight, is the latest with Donald John's conglomeration of Russian connections. Esquire reports that Ross has an ownership stake in a Cyprus bank in consultation with Russian President Vladimir Putin who was the first to prop up the institution. The magazine also notes that, "Cyprus banks have a long and painful history of laundering dirty money from Russians involved with corruption and criminality."

Well, it just doesn't get any better.

Donald Trump spawns corruption

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where liberals Walk

Robert Reich talks about Donald Trump's "deep state," (ie. Steve Bannon) but concludes the Oval Office has now progressed to Trump’s Corrupt State. He adds...

"Not since Warren G. Harding’s sordid administration have as many grifters, crooks and cronies occupied high positions in Washington."

 Just look at the resignations of do many top people in the administration; Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Tom Price, and Michael Flynn. It was recently reported that "a real estate company partly owned by Trump son-in-law and foreign policy advisor, Jared Kushner, has raked in $90 million from foreign investors since Kushner entered the White House." Thus signifying the fact that Donald Trump bought the presidency for the purpose of establishing a money machine.

The corruption is compounded by the conclusions by the media, private sector, and some in government that, "this is a White House out of control, with a Commander-in-Chief not in charge." Here's a shocking example from CNN’s Alexander Marquardt, a Senior National Correspondent focusing on National Security...

"He makes clear Trump’s not the one calling the shots, and is only making decisions to fend off internal bickering and power plays in his administration."

Bob Cesca of Salon says...

"Worse yet, there are millions of Americans who will do anything to circulate Trumpism until it becomes fact and therefore the basis for governing the country from now on. In the face of all this, too many news outlets refuse to act in accordance with the challenges of this existential crisis."

He points to a recent interview by Chuck Todd of NBC's “Meet the Press” with Donald Trump Cesca termed, "another example of the perpetually nauseating confluence of Trump’s gratuitous lies and a TV news reporter too timid to treat him like the despot he is." Cesca comments that Trump voters simply believe "Trump’s worthless word" and "repeated as truth the following whopper lies told to Todd the other day."

Want a laugh? Watch Chuck Todd, Donald Trump interview...

Typical of Trump's lies in perpetuity, still using former President Barack Obama as his customary whipping post, Trump tells Todd...

"'Congress never approved Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the “Iran Deal.' Since it wasn’t a treaty, Congress didn’t have to approve. But Congress passed legislation, signed by Obama, allowing legislators to evaluate the terms of the deal. To his credit, Todd caught that lie."

 What is so pathetic, and also fearful, is that Chuck Todd treated Donald Trump in such a way to legitimize the Oval Office lunatic who is far from earning it. Cesca says...

"Let’s put it this way: When Trump starts to act like a president, then maybe he’ll earn the right to be treated like one."

I think most of us will agree that will never happen.

A vengeful Donald Trump will spiral out of control before November

How do I know this? I don't, but if this maniac continues his attack on those who were against him in the Senate impeachment trial, he will have no time to campaign for re-election. However, there is a 'yeah, but,' which is the question of whether his fight against his adversaries will satisfy his mentally challenged followers to the extent that they will be even more solidly behind him. There are more than enough voters left to beat him in November.

Vox reports, "Bernie Sanders leads Donald Trump in polls, even when you remind people he’s a socialist." I have also heard that, yes, people are comfortable with The Bern's Socialism now, but if Trump should choose to use this as a campaign issue, say, calling Sanders a dirty Socialist, or even get nastier and call him a Communist, how would that affect their attitude? We know how the T-rump cult would react, since that is already one of their favorite charges.

Here's a headline for you, "Trump’s acquittal has unleashed the most ‘corrupt, unfit, demented and malevolent president’ ever," from Tom Boggioni of AlterNet. Here's the scenario...

"In a scorching column for the Daily Beast, David Rothkopf accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Attorney General Bill Barr of standing by while President Donald Trump purges anyone who crossed him with their testimony during his impeachment trial, with the columnist saving most of his vitriol for Republicans who are letting the president continue to break the law."

Each of these two Donald Trump minions have been standing by, Moscow Mitch since the beginning of this administration, and Bill Barr since he has selected as Attorney General. The sadness of all this is that at least McConnell is supposed to be one of the checks on the Executive Branch. These two, plus others, have provided the platform from which the Oval Office lunatic is able to spew his perpetual hate and corruption. And there is no sign of this ebbing.

David Rothkopf in the Daily Beast provides two examples of T-rump's "Friday Night Massacre," just two days after he was acquitted of abuse of power charges...

“'Donald Trump unleashed a Friday night massacre at the end of the week the Senate acquitted him, one that reveals yet again not only who Trump is but how he intends to act thanks to the carte blanche to abuse his powers handed him by the Senate and his attorney general,' Rothkopf writes while noting the firings of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, his brother and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland."

Travis Gettys headline in RawStory, "‘The gloves are off’: Trump hell-bent on revenge for impeachment — and ‘everything is out in the open’" really says it all but he adds...

"President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani are hatching revenge plots with help from Attorney General William Barr."

And he continues by saying that Trump has...

privately asked Giuliani to keep investigating Joe Biden and his son’s activities in Ukraine, and Barr acknowledged that the Department of Justice would evaluate the information Trump’s personal attorney turned up, reported The Daily Beast."

The problem with this is that Joe Biden is fading in the polls miserably with Bernie Sanders surging to a double-digit lead over all the candidates, and it is highly unlikely the White House maniac will be able to dig up much dirt on the Bern. If he does, it will certainly be fake news. Daily Beast reports a senior administration official said...

“I think he feels like the chains are off now. It’s like things have taken a turn. The gloves are off, and everything that used to be hush hush is now just … out in the open.”

So, my premise that Donald Trump will involve himself in the impeachment vindication so heavily he will literally forget November, probably also so cocky now he feels there is no way he could lose an election, is perhaps a credible concept. And, if so, provides the perfect podium for Bernie Sanders to launch his election bid. It should be very interesting.

White house burns during Donald Trump fury

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2019 NEWS BYTES

The White House may burn...again   

White House after Donald Trump implosion

The White House has been set on fire twice before: once when James Madison was president, second during Herbert Hoover's administration. The third burning is due soon but it won't necessarily be intentional like the other two. As Donald Trump begins to implode, which will include an excessive amount of friction with his staff, aides and the Cabinet, a fiery explosion from within is sure to happen. It's only a matter of time and here are the many reasons why...

As Brad Reed in RawStory puts it, "The dam starts to crack," referring to the Republicans who have been loyal to Donald Trump, but are now turning on him. In particular...

"Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has now told CNN’s Jim Sciutto that he believes Congress ought to investigate the White House’s use of a codeword-protected server to store President Donald Trump’s phone records."

The act of using these private servers to hide Trump material, in one instance, a NSC computer, have been deemed more impeachable than the information concealed. And remember what T-rump once said, he believes the Constitution lets him do “whatever I want as President.” Here's what Ralph Nader said in Common Dreams, published in AlterNet...

"In over two and a half years, Trump has been a serial violator of the Constitution, unmatched by any president in American history. Just about every day he is a constitutional outlaw."

There's more...

"Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein has documented twelve categories of major constitutional transgressions. Some are also statutory crimes. Many of these involve Trump overpowering the critical separation of powers that our founders rigorously established to assure that the president does not become a monarch like King George III."

Trump: The Constitution allows me to do anything I want to...

Among his other costitutional foibles, the Oval office lunatic "totally defies Congressional subpoenas for documents and witnesses. That grave overthrow of constitutional government is alone enough for eviction from office." And he lies, lies even more and then he lies again. If you can't believe anything the "supposed" president of the country you live in says, that alone should be grounds for impeachment.

Rory Cooper says in the Daily Beast, "We’ll Deserve What We Get if Republicans Can’t Say Trump’s Wrong." Some have come across now like Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who wants Congress to investigate Trump's use of a secret database to cover up his corruption. More will no doubt come forward when it becomes even more obvious that T-rump is going down. Here's Cooper's take...

"At best, President Trump used his office to seek personal and political gain and engage in 2016 conspiracy peddling with a strategic ally engaged in a war with Russia. At worse, Trump held back military aid to Ukraine in order to extract this personal and political gain. It’s a difference without a distinction when it comes to his fitness to serve."

And now there's a second whistleblower "who claims to have evidence of misconduct regarding the Internal revenue Service’s auditing of President Trump. According to this federal employee there were “inappropriate efforts to influence” the audit process. Trump has resisted releasing any tax returns since being elected and New York state investigators appear closest to breaking that wall of defense. What does he have to hide and just how bad is it?

David Cay Johnston on Trump perpetual tax corruption...

Here's the status...

"On August 8, Neal [House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA)] sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asking for communications between the IRS and Treasury employees who were involved in the agency’s audit of Trump and asked him to reply by August 13. It’s still not known if Mnuchin replied or not."

 And finally, the whistleblower's lawyers are saying that Trump has endangered their client as the president publicly threatens "big consequences." It is a call to action by this moron of his double-digit troops who follow his lead, no matter what he tells them to do. Pure and simple it is more inciting of violence like he has done so many times in the past, like Charlottesville. One death and several injuries.

It may well come down to 'burn, baby, burn.'

YOUR DIGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Five of the world's biggest environmental problems...

With the facts from the article below, would you think anyone could deny the potential disaster to the planet that is expected? Yes, and I have experienced many of these ostrich types who blame it on greed by the scientific community to obtain research grants...

"Air pollution and climate change: Problem: Overloading of the atmosphere and of ocean waters with carbon. Atmospheric CO2 absorbs and re-emits infrared-wavelength radiation, leading to warmer. air, soils, and ocean surface waters - which is good: The planet would be frozen solid without this."   READ MORE...

Trump supporters believe these 10 utterly fake ‘facts’ about impeachment...

Pathetic Trump supporter

It is true that Donald Trump's supporters are under-educated and suffer from a number of psychotic problems but after the recent revelations in the Ukrainegate controversy, where T-rum actually admitted to pressuring Pres. Zelensky to dig up dirt against his 2020 opponent Joe Biden in return for over $400 million in aid to Ukraine. Here are some more of the fake "facts"...

• That Trump was concerned over corruption in Ukraine.
• That the $450+ million was given to Ukraine on time, not held by Trump.
• Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election.

There's more and you can read it all here.

Congressional deal could fund gun violence research for first time since 1990s...

It has been twenty years since the NRA was able to pressure Congress to pass the Dickey Amendment rule striking $2.6 million from the Centers for Disease (CDC) control budget, in effect eliminating their ability to collect and analyze gun violence statistics. Since then we have had an explosion in gun violence, much of which can be attributed to Wayne LaPierre and his NRA minions. 

Why would the NRA want to stop documenting gun violence if they didn't prove that guns are responsible for the increased bloodshed by innocent citizens? Here is a comment from Mark Rosenberg who was heading the CDC’s research on firearm violence in the 1990s when Congress abruptly cut off funding for the work...

“This is a deal of historic proportions. It ends the horrendous position we’re in, where we don’t even know what works.”

Here's another fact...

"While gun violence is one of the country’s leading causes of death, it receives little research funding. As many people die because of gun violence, for example, as of sepsis infection, yet funding for gun research is less than 1 percent of that for sepsis."   READ MORE...

Here's a concept from former President, Barack Obama: Women are better leaders than men...

I can hear all the bubbas out there, mostly Donald Trump supporters, who would disagree with this, if not only just because they a bubba, but also because to support T-rump, you must consider women simply a commodity for men's pleasure. Well, they aren't and here's Obama's reasoning...

"I'm absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything... living standards and outcomes."

I agree and would add, a definite improvement in the demeanor of the world. But I'm not sure just yet who that woman might be. It might even be a Republican and that is really blasphemous for me to say. If I had to take a shot at the current Democratic candidates, it would be Amy Klobuchar, primarily for her level headedness. In another comment, is the ex-President taking a shot at Congress?...

"If you look at the world and look at the problems it's usually old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way."   READ MORE...

There are 91 companies that paid no federal taxes in 2018...

They're supposed to be the finest but nearly 100 companies in the Fortune 500 the first year following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Donald Trump, which was signed into law in December 2017. "The new tax law lowered the statutory corporate tax rate to 21%, but the companies in the report paid an average rate of 11.3%."
had an effective federal tax rate of 0% or less in 2018, according to a new report. This is a study covering

This resulted in federal government bringing in about $74 billion less in corporate taxes than if all the companies had paid the statutory rate. Amazon made this statement...

“Amazon pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the U.S. and every country where we operate, including paying $2.6 billion in corporate tax and reporting $3.4 billion in tax expense over the last three years.”

Here are some of the biggest companies no taxes: IBM; CenturyLink; DowDuPont; Eli Lilly; Goodyear Tire & Rubber; FedEx; Delta Airlines; General Motors; Starbucks; McKesson and a host of others.   READ MORE...

The Atlantic has "The Remedy for Mitch McConnell"...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said to the "No News" network...

“Everything I do during this, [the impeachment Senate trial] I’m coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.”

There's more of this crap...

“We have no choice but to take [the impeachment trial] up, but we will be working through this process, hopefully in a fairly short period of time, in total coordination with the White House counsel’s office and the people who are representing the president in the well of the Senate.”

Then we have the looney Lindsey Graham saying...

“This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly,” he said. “I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.”

The Atlantic says...

The two senators appear to need a brief remedial course on their constitutional obligations. Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution declares that 'the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.' And when the Senate is sitting 'for that Purpose, [senators] shall be on Oath or Affirmation.'”

What the hell do Republicans, especially these two lowlife Senators, care about the Constitution, or any laws they are governed by? Nothing!   READ MORE...

Trump writes deranged 6-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

Trump's unhinged letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi is full of his usual lies that have proven false repeatedly. Trump says whistleblower made false report completely contrary to phone call with Zelensky...

Whistleblower's report "has been proven highly accurate. In fact, the rough transcript released by Trump himself showed that the whistleblower's three primary allegations about the call were correct or very close to correct."

Other false claims by the Oval Office lunatic...

• No evidence the whistleblower has disappeared
• That there was no quid-pro-quo confirmed by Ambassador Sondland
• Trump's comment to Zelensky about doing "us" a favor could only be interpreted by this narcissist as referring to himself
• Trump statement "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials," is, well, hilarious.   READ MORE...

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as corrupt as hubby Moscow Mitch...

Keep it in the family is a term Elaine Chou has adhered to repeatedly since being appointed Transportation Secretary by Donald Trump. It seems that she has decided that Kentucky, Moscow Mitch's home territory as Senator, is where she wants to spend the Transportation Department's budget. The latest her part in delivering a "$67 million federal contract to her husband Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky."

"Kyle Herrig, president of the anti-corruption group Accountable.US, said the contract—the largest of its kind delivered to Kentucky during the three years President Donald Trump has been in office—is just the latest example of Chao’s behavior that warrants a serious look."

Herrig has more...

“The unending stream of stories that detail the depth of Secretary Elaine Chao’s improper use of taxpayer dollars to boost her husband Mitch McConnell’s political career is alarming. This type of political corruption is a threat to our democracy and destroys Americans’ faith in government.”

Moscow Mitch has tough competition coming up in 2020 against opponent Amy McGrath, and many are wondering " if Chao is funneling federal projects to Kentucky to help her husband. Kentucky Democrats deputy executive director Marisa McNee told Politico that "in northern Kentucky is a willingness to walk away from that Republican label that we haven’t seen in a long time.” We can only hope that plays out to a defeat of Moscow Mitch in 2020.

Fox News Napolitano buries Donald Trump...again...

Fox's Napolitano roasts Trump

In a recent Washington times editorial, legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, from the normally no-news Fox network chides Donald Trump, “no person is beneath the laws’ protections. No person is above the laws’ requirements. And the laws apply equally to all people.” Napolitano continues...

"Attorney General Bill Barr used these claims as justification to “brush aside” the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller, 'who found enough evidence to charge President Donald Trump with obstruction of justice after Mr. Trump repeatedly attempted to interfere with Mr. Mueller’s investigation by ordering subordinates to lie to FBI investigators or to falsify government documents that investigators sought.'”

One might assume here that AG Barr should also be impeached and thrown in jail for his obstruction of justice. Can't help quoting because Napolitano's comments are so damning...

“High crimes and misdemeanors is a basis for impeachment, the constitutional remedy for presidential behavior that subverts our democratic institutions. In Mr. Trump’s case, we have undisputed evidence that he abused his power by inviting a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 presidential election and then compounded this by directing subordinates to refrain from giving congressionally commanded evidence of his behavior.”

Looks like the sane people at Fox News, Trump's former bastion of support, also including Chris Wallace, are getting smart

Moscow Mitch's Senate legislative graveyard reveals latest "stack" of ignored House bills...

Moscow Mitch

Senate leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to stonewall anything that is proposed by the Democratic House. In another area, Moscow Mitch is pushing through conservative federal judges faster than they can be seated. This is blatant cronyism at its worst and just another partisan act he will have answer for in 2020. Here's the latest on the "stack"...

"The stack, a symbolic replication of legislation McConnell refuses to bring to a vote, was reportedly the brainchild of Senator Debbie Stabenow. According to her office, it includes more than 300 bills about voter registration, background checks for firearm sales, domestic violence, climate change, minimum wage increases and other issues."

Here's McConnell's comment...

"Back in September, McConnell promised to be a "grim reaper" to any and all progressive legislation. But, as multiple Senators pointed out Wednesday, more than 275 of these "dead" bills cleared the House with bipartisan support."

You did get that these bills the lowlife is sitting on passed the House with bipartisan support? If I were given the opportunity to dream up the retribution that is deserved by Moscow Mitch--and his wife as well for her corruption feeding McConnell's district monied projects--I would gladly take on the project while reacquainting myself with all the recent torture tools available. Mongrel Mitch has proven that he cares nothing for this country, only himself. 
READ MORE...

Nancy Pelosi won't commit to sending articles of impeachment to Senate...

Moscow Mitch is fuming because Speaker Pelosi is giving back the kind of strategy McConnell has continually used against Democrats: Stonewalling. She is holding on to the Articles of Impeachment which were passed on Wednesday, not passing them on to the Senate for a vote, apparently to force the Senate head to agree to a fair trial. You wonder if anything "fair" is possible where Republicans are in involved but you have to agree, it's definitely appropriate.

Moscow Mitch needs it shoved in his face with the kind of class Democrats practice compared to the crude and abusive way the Republicans have approached impeachment. Here's Pelosi's Thursday morning comment...

"I don't think they [the Founding Fathers] suspected that we could have a rogue president and a rogue leader in the Senate at the same time."

Some conservatives say they see no reason to hold up the Articles, but in the same breath "argue there is no benefit in delaying something they don't want to spend time on anyway." This illustrates the mentality of a GOP that are in complete denial of their Constitutional responsibility, backing Donald Trump no matter what, and focusing solely on maintaining power. And then the poor soul Lindsey Graham has the audacity to say this...

"We cannot have a system where the House impeaches the president, tells the Senate how to conduct the trial, holds the articles of impeachment over the president's head at a time of their choosing to unleash them."

 Apparently, the South Carolina Senator just forgot about the Republican buffoons of the House impeachment inquiry, guys like Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz. Maybe Graham is getting too old to serve in Congress.