Trump supporters don't want Iran war. Why does he?

Trump-Pompeo-Bolton- The 3 perpetrators

Trump_Pompeo_BoltonDonald Trump supporters loved it when he castigated "Washington’s regime-change wars and nation-building crusades." Republicans didn't like it, but he went on to slam Bush for the Iraq War and Afghanistan. Everyone in this country was sick of wars--except John Bolton, of course--with a peaceful outlook in the future. But not to be when T-rump starts sword rattling against Iran. Vox has 9 reasons, with John Bolton, even Mike Pompeo, expressing hate for Iran.

The Daily Beast reports...

"Three U.S. government officials familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that officials in multiple U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran’s new, threatening activity–which the administration points to in justifying its military presence in the Persian Gulf–is in response to the administration’s aggressive steps over the last two months."

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers say...

"that Tehran’s aggressive moves—reportedly planning attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq and loading missiles on fishing boats in the Gulf—appear to be in response to Washington’s moves to press the Islamic Republic and its leadership. The Trump administration’s decisions to tighten oil sanctions and to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group, particularly provocative"

In my recollection, the nuclear treaty negotiated by former President Barack
Obama, while certainly not perfect, was at least progressing. Here's what National Security Adviser John Bolton previously said...

"the administration’s aggressive efforts aim to squeeze Iran 'until its leaders decide to change their destructive behavior, respect the rights of the Iranian people, and return to the negotiating table.' But the policy doesn’t appear to have put leaders there in a mood to make concessions."

The World Report gives a good documentation of human rights in Iran, and that is part of what the Trump administration is pissed off about. That and nuclear proliferation. The question is the correlation in Iran's aggressiveness and that of the United States. A British general said of Iran, “there’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces” in the region. Expounding further...

“We monitor them along with a whole range of others because that’s the environment we’re in,” said Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, speaking via video from Baghdad. “If the threat level seems to go up then we’ll raise our force protection measures accordingly.”

 The U.S. Central Command issued a statement just hours later disputing Ghika’s comments repeating...

"John Bolton’s unsubstantiated claim that American intelligence has 'identified credible threats' from 'Iranian-backed forces' in Iraq and Syria."

Folks, I call your attention to the key word in the above, "unsubstantiated."

LATE BREAKING: Trump walks out on Pelosi/Schumer meeting

Trump walks out of Pelosi/Schumer meeting

Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it "very, very, very strange," adding, "sad" referring to a meeting at the White House with Donald Trump, which included Sen.Chuck Schumer. Pelosi described Trump's walking out of the meeting as "an orchestrated — almost to a 'poor baby' point of view" situation."

Here is Trump's tweet retort...

"So sad that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will never be able to see or understand the great promise of our Country."

 In another, he warns, "You can’t investigate and legislate simultaneously - it just doesn’t work that way."

Later trump heard Pelosi accused him of "engaging in a cover up," and apparently he went postal. One of his minions said...

"Bottom line: if Nancy Pelosi had not come out this morning and said what she said about "cover up," they would still be in there right now meeting on infrastructure." 

According to CNN, What Pelosi said: Pelosi on Monday night said the committees were on course to be successful and Democrats' message must be "No one is above the law," and that they are witnessing "the cover-up." The California Democrat also said they all agreed they needed to get to the truth, but that the public believes kitchen table issues must also be dealt with.

What's going on in left field

LIBERALS ARE BEAUTIFUL

You can deprogram Trump supporters? Let's do it now...Mike Pence bombs at commencement speech...What is rape if not rape?...Trump tells McGhan to be tardy for House...Ex-congressman calls Trump "dishonest tyrant," blasts "pathetic"Republicans...How long do they let Facebook getaway with this?...

Will Deutsche Bank be Trump's nemesis?

The culprit

It is pathetic that a bank would have an "anti-money laundering" department but in my naive moment there is the realization that these are the times and all we can do is cope with it. Deutsche Bank employees in that section reportedly...

"recommended turning over information about transactions by entities owned by President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to a government watchdog in 2016 and 2017, but the bank's executives apparently declined to do so."

It had to do with transactions connected to the now-dissolved Trump Foundation, discovered by the bank's computer system, designed to reveal illegal activity. Five current and former employees were involved, which led to a later report they thought should be sent to the Treasury Department for investigation. It wasn't. The transactions weren't spelled out...

"some of them involved money going between the entities and foreign companies or individuals."

The NYT says it ain't necessarily true because "sometimes complete large cash transactions that can cause a review to be triggered without any actual wrongdoing." Thus, the reason for no report. Apparently Deutsche Bank treads lightly on this kind of issue according to Tammy McFadden, a former Deutsche Bank employee who looked into some of the transactions. She continued, “It’s the D.B. way. They are prone to discounting everything.”

The Hill reported...

"McFadden told the Times that she was fired after she questioned the bank's practices and has since filed complaints to regulators about what she sees as its lack of enforcement."

Well now, that doesn't seem kosher, and is it just another example of the shady deals of the Trump family? The Hill also says...

"Deutsche Bank has loaned billions of dollars to the Trump and Kushner companies. Federal and state authorities are currently reviewing the bank's relationship with President Trump."

The NYT also revealed the...

"staff of Deutsche Bank were hired especially for their expertise of money-laundering."

Now doesn't that beat all. Trump biographer David Cay Johnston said...

“We know for a fact that Donald Trump has been involved in money laundering in the past, fined for it. We know that Deutsche Bank is fined over $600 million just for laundering money for Russian oligarchs and are nondenial denials. The Trump Organization said we never heard of this. Why would you? It was locked up in the bank. The bank said we didn’t stop anyone. The story makes it clear.”

Finally, from the Times...

“So, in addition, The Times has a pregnant line in it. It says that is there are other, ‘politically connected people’ who also were swept up,” Johnston said. 'It’s clear that David Enrich, a very good reporter at The New York Times has seen these documents and other people whose money laundering suspicion of money laundering activities were also apparently quashed by the people at the private banking unit of Deutsche Bank in New York. This is for Donald Trump a really serious problem.'”

We can only hope that David Cay Johnston's assessment is correct.

In private, Republicans want Trump impeached

Impeachment is in the air all around Washington with Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that Donald Trump is just "goading" the House to impeach him. I did a recent blog post, "American public should be itching for Donald Trump impeachment?" that had high viewer appeal and has been typical of this issue all along. Now this...

"Appearing on CNN's "New Day," Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) confided to host Alisyn Camerota that multiple Republican senators agree with Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) that Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses, but are afraid to go public at the moment."

This has been classic GOP reaction to pretty much everything Trump has done, working not for the American people, but only for the Republican Party protecting this idiot. AlterNet reported Coons saying...

“Those who have read the Mueller report cannot avoid the conclusion that the president and some of his advisers engaged in profoundly disappointing, reprehensible conduct that would rise to the level of obstruction of justice.“

As this same conclusion reverberates around Washington, Congress sits on its fat asses doing nothing. In another post, "Two valid reasons for Donald Trump's impeachment," the most crucial was the letter that 450 ex-prosecutors had signed to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice. That number has now surpassed 800. But none of this seems to sway the Oval Office lunatic since he has recently blocked around 20 requests from the Democratic House for information.

Camerota asked, “You don’t think Republicans are thinking that privately, do you?” The conversation continued...

“Yes,” the Democratic senator replied without hesitation.“
What makes you say that?” the CNN host asked.
“Conversations,” the now hesitant Coons replied.

“So it’s not so private,” Camerota continued, before adding, “You have spoken to Republicans who think it is impeachable?”

“There is a difference between thinking the Mueller report reveals conduct that is deeply disappointing, inappropriate, borderline or actually illegal and saying they would vote to remove the president,” Coons admitted. “Many revealed concerns privately about the Mueller report in part because of the gap between what Attorney General [Bill] Barr characterized as being in the report and what was actually in the Mueller report for those who have taken the time to read through it.”

Okay, there is general consensus that Donald Trump obstructed justice. It apparently exists across both aisles, non-partisan, so what are the ramifications of this charge. First, obstruction of justice is a felony. Second, it is punishable by up to five years in prison.  Third, there is no statute of limitations. I'm good with all three but let's not wait, the maniac is constantly at work.

Washington Merry-go-Round political wrap-up

POLITICAL MAYHEM TAKES A LEFT TURN

This idiot likes robocalls...Bernie Sanders and AOC want lower interest on loans...Nobody wants to work at Facebook...Is Trump believable on Iran?...Trump staffers ignore boss on outrageous demands,until he forgets them...SCOTUS pick Kavanaugh confirmed with dark money...GOP 
Rep. Justin Amash says Donald Trump "has engaged in impeachable conduct"

Biden depends on unity to beat Trump's "divider in chief"

Joe Biden-Unity in 2020

It's not enough that Democrats are angry with Donald Trump's election and the direction he has taken the country in. There also has to be an influx of Republicans who have made a left turn and feel the same way. In a former blog I quoted a reliable source that said 20% of Trump's 2016 voters have soured on him. I closed the post saying, 'Hold that thought.' Joe Biden avoids the anger for Trump approach with an appeal for unity in America. Will it win in 2020?

Joe Biden doesn't believe anger will win in 2020, even when T-rump used " it to win over the Republican base in 2016, saying he gladly carries the 'mantle of anger.'" He's been mad ever since and just look at what shape he has put the country in. A good economy does not excuse the Oval Office lunatic's white nationalism, bigotry, blatant racism and women's abuse, to name only a few. I did a post yesterday that explains it: "Less than half of Trump supporters like him."

Rebecca Traister, author of the book "Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger," retorted, "Biden is 'deeply wrong' that 'Anger at injustice has catalyzed transformative change; 'unity' has not.'" Another voice...this a writer from Rolling Stone, Jamil Smith added, "Women, people of color, and other Democratic constituencies aren't angry like Trump and his followers. They've been pissed off in a whole different way. "She doesn't explain how.

Biden also mentions reaching across the aisle as an approach to unifying Congress, something that many Democrats have criticized. With people like Senate head, Mitch McConnell, sitting on the other side of the aisle, I can understand the reluctance of the Dems. And then there's Barack Obama, to back or not to back. To begin with, the former president hasn't offered and second is whether this would help or hurt Biden.

Lee Drutman of Vox speaks of the Joe Biden “epiphany” theory "that Republicans will have an epiphany about the power of bipartisanship once Trump is gone and start working with Democrats again." Drutman says no way, and I wholeheartedly agree, at least as long as the ogre of the Senate is still around. Drutman argues...

"The problem with Biden’s theory is that Republicans’ hostility to Democrats did not begin with Donald Trump (see, the Obama administration). 

Today, as in 2012, the partisan hostility is highly transferable. It is based neither in opposition to one president nor loyalty to another. It is based in the underlying zero-sum electoral logic that defines the American two-party system and the winner-take-all elections that make the two-party system possible."

Not said, but certainly not forgotten, is racist Mitch McConnell's hatred of President Barack Obama, with his vow that he would make Obama a one-term president if it was the last thing he ever did. He didn't, which shows what a lowlife this jerk is, and the fact that he may not be as powerful as he thinks he is, perhaps just a fat blowhard. Biden talks about Trump's divisiveness while we regularly see the maniac's favorability improve, still holding on to his loyalists.

In one case in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden jumps back and forth between his unity issue and the put-down of Donald Trump. This state is important to Biden in 2020, where Trump barely won in 2016; part of the "blue wall" of Democratic industrial states. The former V.P. is headquartered in Philadelphia and in rallies continued to call Trump the 'divider in chief.' Biden spent time on the issues, including climate change and health care, making comparisons with Obama.

If there is anything this country needs it is unity, something we haven't seen for years, back through many presidents. We need it on the local level, between states, and most of all in Washington. The U.S. Congress is in a complete state of diversity, inconsistency, division, discord, strife, disarray, hostility, almost all-out warfare. There aren't enough antonyms of unity to show the disunion of that body of outright incompetent morons. Maybe Joe has the right idea.
 

Wrap-up from weekend left field politics

POLITICS ON THE RUN

GOP says Jared Kushner clueless...Nobody wants to work for Trump...4 ways Trump really screwing rural voters...Trump wants "patriotic" sacrifices from farmers in trade war...Trump says unwed LGBT couples' kids aren't citizens...James Carroll of The Atlantic says, "abolish the Priesthood"...Former Regulatory Nuclear Commission member says nuclear power industry should be banned

How old is too old for U.S. president?

The question is, does age matter?

Art Cullen in the Guardian says that age-70 may be too old for being President of the United States, referring to Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the latter turning seventy before inauguration. Considering who will be running in 2020, Trump will be 72, Biden 76, Sanders 78 and Warren 69. He cites Ronald Reagan in his 70s while in the White House, and Nancy Reagan and Al Haig actually running things as the Gipper passed into neverland.

Here's how Cullen describes the situation...

"Trump is batty and losing it more each day. Bernie impresses as a grumpy and impatient Trotskyite, Biden as a familiar Irish pol who wants to hug you up and keep you warm, hearkening to days when unions had teeth and Scranton had steel. They confront a candidate written by Rod Serling for the Twilight Zone."

 "Warren seems a pup in their presence. Young of mind, she is a fan of Game of Thrones. She is full of vim and vigor and maybe is no more likely to die of a stroke than Pete Buttigieg, 37. She could beat me in a foot race any day of any distance. But if she wins she will be 75 at the end of her first term – slightly older than Reagan at the end."

You'll note here that he spends twice as much space on Warren as any of the other three. After this Cullen draws comparisons between Einstein, Mark Twain, Eisenhower and the Kennedys, alluding to their accomplishments at various ages. He says, "War would be rarer if women ran the world." then adds, "But we are talking, in the main, about three old white men. At least the national cable media are. Biden nearly has the nomination cinched, to hear it told."

That doesn't bode well for Democrats with the rest of the field relatively weak, except, perhaps, for Kamala Harris. Sorry, but I still have a warm spot for the Bern, and as a Democratic Socialist myself, believe that most of his issues could fly. My concern is Medicare for All-Single payer plan, and just how feasible that is. Here's a definition...

"Single-payer is a more general term used to describe a government system, typically backed by taxes, in which everyone gets health care from one insurer, run by the government. Think of Medicare for all as a brand-name single-payer plan. Some advocates also like the term 'national health insurance.'”

Consider the possibility of not doing away with insurance companies, which would be an almost impossible sell. Have the government use insurance companies, allocating coverage out to the lowest bidder, with obvious restrictions on the quality of coverage. I solidly believe Bernie deserves a shot at the presidency with his honesty and integrity.  And I have no problem with his age...I am 86.

John Bolton,war monger, is in Trump's head

John Bolton the warmonger

Here's how AlterNet put it: "The most dangerous man in the world is at Trump’s right hand." That's heavy since we have so many opportunities for conflict with Trump in the White House, Iran and No. Korea to name a couple. Just recently Bolton warned the Tehran government that...

“any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

Trump followed with talk about negotiations commenting... “I’m sure that Iran will want to talk soon.” This sort of rhetoric makes both of these dufuses sound like the idiots they are, but one is the leader of the most powerful country in the world and that is purely pathetic. In the Venezuelan situation, Trump said "his national security adviser was trying to pull him “into a war.” This is when...

John Bolton demanded military plans to oust the government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Trump said no.

Bolton demanded “regime change” in Iran and the Pentagon produced a plan to put 120,000 troops into the region, Trump said no. Sounds like John Bolton just can't catch any luck with his warped ideas, and rightfully so. The Guardian said...

"Donald Trump’s national security adviser [John Bolton] is stoking tensions with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, in line with decades of taking the most hawkish position on any given issuer"

The Guardian puts John Bolton in the "driving seat" on all three of the uprisings, No. Korea, Iran and Venezuela, also described by the publication as "one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House." The hawk who sits right next to the Oval Office. Bolton would like to go to war with...well, just about anyone. It seems that climbing to the pinnacle of warmongering is John Bolton's goal.

And linking to the past through NBC News...

"Former national security adviser Michael Flynn told investigators that people linked to the Trump administration and Congress reached out to him in an effort to interfere in the Russia probe, according to newly unredacted court papers filed Thursday."

Bolton's predecessor has just rocked Donald Trump's boat again with this new revelation...

"The court filing from special counsel Robert Mueller is believed to mark the first public acknowledgement that a person connected to Capitol Hill was suspected of engaging in an attempt to impede the investigation into Russian election interference."

After checking Twitter, nothing from Donald Trump at this writing, but you can bet there will be.

Please give me your comments

Under 50% of Trump supporters like him

I really am loyal but I don't like the jerk. Those are my words, but it is actually a fact that less "than half of Trump supporters ascribed any positive traits to their chosen candidate, according to a June-July 2016 Pew survey." The survey also found...

"Very few consider him well-informed or admirable. Only a minority expected that he would be willing to work with those he disagrees with, that he could unite the country, and that he is honest."

And there's more...

"They did, however, feel that he has deeply held beliefs and that he is extreme."

Wow! I knew that Donald Trump supporters were double-digit maniacs, but this kind of information leads me to believe that they are complete morons. There are more interesting demographics...

Trump draws more men than women; And the voters are older, 40+,the 18 to 29-year-ages don't care for him; his followers are uneducated; they are in a lower income group; his flock is mostly white, only 7% black, around 25% Hispanic; and he attracts evangelicals, which is a huge surprise based on his blatant immorality; Finally there is a racial diversity with his anti-Muslim and immigrant policies.

The study by Pew Research, one of the highest rated and respected in the field, illustrates just what the typical Trump supporter looks like...

"They are primarily white, older men with low levels of education and income. They believe that immigrants and free trade deals have harmed their earning power (and they're right about the free trade deals), and they prefer an America in which white people are the majority. Trump's worldview and platform ​seem to resonate with them."

But, looking toward the future, Pew also claims that 20% of Trump's voters have soured on him. Please hold that thought until 2020.

Please let me have your comments.

Did Trump predict his war with Iran?

CURRENT WRAP-UP ON TRUMP'S IRAN WAR

Trump and man who would start ANY war-John Bolton

In 2011, Trump warned "a desperate president" would attack Iran to win re-election...Trump plans air strikes and ground invasions against Iran...No de-escalation plan for Iran threat...Bernie Sanders says, war with Iran would be "many times worse than the Iraq War"...John Bolton most likely responsible for Iran aggressiveness...Heavily armed US carrier strike group headed for Iran

Is Trump's White House another version of "The Godfather?"

Just call me Donald Corleone

Just yesterday there were new discoveries about Michael Flynn that shows he was approached by individuals allied with Trump who wanted to influence his dealings with Mueller and perhaps buy his silence.” Does that sound like Marlon Brando telling one of his made-guys to take care of a situation? This is brand new from the Mueller Report and "confirms the feeling a lot of folks have had, that we might just be living in the midst of a mob movie, "according to CNBC.

Here's more from MSNBC...

"Rachel Maddow had a similar reaction, calling the news a 'mafia-esque' move' from the president’s goon squad.”

As we know, Flynn lasted only 24 days on the job, and T-rump had been warned repeatedly not to hire him. There's more...

"He pleaded guilty back in December of ‘17, lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian Ambassador, and he’s been cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation ever since.”

And here's something even more startling and disturbing...

"A newly unredacted court filing made public late today says Flynn told Mueller’s team that people connected to Congress as well as individuals tied to the Trump Administration tried to influence his cooperation with the Russia investigation."

Both Congressional staff and people from the Trump administration tried to influence Michael Flynn. At this point, how could there be any doubt over Donald Trump's obstruction of justice?

More reading on Donald Trump's obstruction:

"Trump would be in jail if he wasn't president?"

"Trump even worse than Nixon says John Dean"
Please give me your comments on this issue 

A plethora of must see news from the left

MAKE A LEFT TURN FOR THE NEWS

Locking up guns can save kids' lives...Duh!...No one wants to rent in Trump's Tower...People think identity theft can't happen to them...NRA is imploding after head gun nut Wayne LaPierre shops in Beverly Hills...Why Donald Trump worried about Michael Flynn...In 2011 Trump warned "a president" would attack Iran to get re-elected...

Joe Biden's left turn could pick up Bernie followers

Time to fish or cut bait

The headline says that Joe Biden is breaking with some of Obama's policies, even when he craves the former president's endorsement. Biden thinks it's “'an obligation' to provide health insurance for undocumented immigrants," according to The Hill. Joe wants a$15.00 minimum wage; Obama wanted $10.10. Biden has endorsed a public option on health care, creating a government insurer to compete with private firms . Obama said no to this.

What we have to consider is that Obama may have changed his mind on several of his policies when in office and updated his thinking to 2019. Biden is running on his own but still wants to be remembered as Barack Obama's Vice President. Amie Parnes of the Hill says...

"Biden also needs to move to the left, though not too far, and in all three cases the breaks with Obama-era policies allowed Biden to shift to a more liberal position."

"This is important for a candidate who is battling a number of rivals who have embraced more progressive policies."

Okay, I am a Progressive that strongly backed Bernie Sanders in 2016. I have not yet made a decision for 2020, but with Joe Biden holding such a huge lead, with the likelihood today that he will be the nominee, I still want to see more lean to the left, like a stronger stance on Gun Control. We could also use more emphasis on the racial problems that continue to plague this country. Biden thinks so, and there seems to be a consensus of opinion, he is best Democrat to beat Trump.

If Joe Biden does support a “middle of the road” strategy on climate control as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expounded at a Howard University event with Bernie Sanders, he'll not only lose my vote but also a number of votes from other Progressives that value the ecology of this country and the world. Democratic strategist Basil Smikle comments...

"Biden has the potential to win over younger voters, who according to polls have not particularly gravitated to his campaign, and older Democrats — who the polls show are embracing him."

A recent poll shows that younger voters are deserting Bernie Sanders, and his average donation has dropped under $27.00. I truly hate to see this but it could be caused by the fact that Bernie has not expanded his platform enough, particularly regarding gun control and the racial situation. But Biden is weak in both areas as far as I am concerned. It's only May of 2019 and anything could happen between now and the Democratic Primaries.

Please let me have your comments.

The ceaselessness of Donald Trump obstruction

The FBI recently "opened a public corruption investigation into whether Florida massage parlor owner and Republican donor Li “Cindy” Yang illegally funneled money from China to President Donald Trump’s re-election effort," according to Salon. Seems Yang funneled $5,400 through one of her employees and the FBI wants to know more. Here is the scenario...

"Yang, a naturalized U.S. citizen and a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, is accused of selling access to Trump and his family to Chinese businessmen. The FBI is investigating whether foreign money was then used to buy tickets to political events, which would constitute illegal foreign donations. It is also illegal to reimburse someone for a political contribution without disclosing the original source of the money."

It seems "that nine of Yang’s family members, including Peranio, all made maximum $5,400 donations to Trump’s re-election committee prior to her photo with the president." You might remember Yang's massage parlor as the one where New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft was arrested for soliciting prostitution. The question...is there some kind of influence from China in the recent trade negotiations the Trump administration has been conducting?

Philip Hackney, tax professor and former attorney at the Internal Revenue Service, says, "the IRS must turn over Trump’s returns to the House Ways and Means Committee. "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin retorts...

"a resounding no – at least when it comes to the request submitted by Democratic Congressman Richard Neal on April 3. Mnuchin said it 'lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.'”

We've listened to Donald Trump and his minions long enough to know you cannot believe anything they say. The use of the words "not anything," meaning how much you can believe in describing one's truthfulness, is pretty pathetic when you are talking about the President of the United states and his Cabinet and staff. But then Hackney alludes to the fact that on the one side you have the law, and then there is political reality. They'll never get the records, he quips.

The Congress is not a law enforcement body and "does not have a legitimate purpose to investigate the questions it is pursuing." This is the statement of White House counsel Pat Cipollone to Chairman, House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). The Trump administration doesn't want anymore poking around the Mueller Report, which...

"constitutes a sweeping rejection — not just of Nadler’s request for White House records but of Congress’s standing to investigate Trump for possible obstruction of justice."

And the beat goes on. There's more from Cipollone...

“Congressional investigations are intended to obtain information to aid in evaluating potential legislation, not to harass political opponents or to pursue an unauthorized ‘do-over’ of exhaustive law enforcement investigations conducted by the Department of Justice,”

Nadler called this preposterous, actually just another ludicrous Donald Trump tactic to con the American public.

Please give me your comments.

Conservatives are a fraud? We knew that

Max Boot, formerly of the Republican Party, comes down hard on the conservative movement. Here's the gist of what he had to say...

"The whole ideology has become a 'racket,' he argues in a new op-ed for the Washington Post, a development he dates to 1996 when Fox News was launched. The latest revelations about the NRA, from the vice president Wayne LaPierre’s profligate spending to the various self-dealing projects spearheaded by the organization’s top executives, only hammer the point home."

I like the part where he brings in the NRA and its head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. It would have been even more interesting if Boot had expounded on the cowards in Congress who suck up to the NRA for regular handouts. The ex-conservative continues...

"Of course, the most obvious sign of the hollowness of conservatism is its figurehead, President Donald Trump. His supposed business success has been exposed as a sham, a sham on which he built a presidential campaign that had no other justification. His supposed religiosity is an obvious hoax. And his policies, supposedly designed to help the 'forgotten man,' have only helped the rich get richer. He has no problem letting countless supporters “fall victim to his trade wars,” as Boot puts it, for the sake of nationalist crusade."

There is no doubt in my mind that Mitch McConnell runs a close second as the lowlife of conservatives. And Boot feels...

"Trump couldn’t survive as the con artist that he is without the unshaken devotion of Fox News, which feeds his supporters a steady diet of propaganda necessary to keep presidential approval above a 36 percent floor." 

He adds that Fox is, of course, the "quintessential con." You have to love this kind of insight into the Oval Office lunatic, especially coming from an ex-conservative. Boot counts multiple irregularities at Fox with sexual harassment, right from the top, Sean Hannity's elitism compared to his $36 million annual salary, and Tucker Carlson's self-described "man of the people," in itself a con. All in all, the conservative movement and its cronies is a "total scam."

Finally, Boot concludes...

"How did this all happen? It’s a complicated story, but the simple version is this: American conservative leaders knew their policy preferences would never be popular on the merits, so they figured out that they needed to trick voters into supporting them. And they’ve been wildly successful."

Isn't it pathetic that the Grand Old Party, the GOP, has to rely on trickery in order to further its agenda?

The huge conspiracy in pharmaceutical co. drug sales

Pharma preparing to screw the American consumer

"Attorneys general of 44 states accused some of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers of conspiring to inflate prices, in some cases by over 1,000 percent." This is the conclusion of AalterNet, substantiated by the Connecticut AG, William Tong...

“We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion dollar fraud on the American people.”

Tong continued, “Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.” 20 major drug manufacturers are named: Pfizer, Teva, Novartis, and Mylan. More than a dozen senior executives are accused of deleting evidence. The whole thing is so horrific with an industrywide scheme affecting the prices of more than 100 generic drugs.

Here are some of the drugs that were included: "lamivudine-zidovudine, which treats H.I.V.; budesonide, an asthma medication; fenofibrate, which treats high cholesterol; amphetamine-dextroamphetamine for ADHD.; oral antibiotics; blood thinners; cancer drugs; contraceptives; and antidepressants.” Here's a startling fact...

"Americans pay far more for prescription drugs than the people of any other industrialized nation. "Way back in January of 2012, I warned my Blogger audience that, "Drug companies want to convince you that you are sick," emphasizing a new business model that focuses on profitability. They used disease mongering, a term that’s been around 20 years referring to how drug cos. promote their blockbuster drugs to those who are sick. And most alarming...

"some docs would recommend a drug just because the salesman is pushing it because the company wants to promote it at all costs."

Not just alarming but frightening. Then Donald Trump entered the arena in 2018, and does a bait and switch on reducing drug costs, with the American consumer as the loser. Instead of going direct to the source of ridiculously high U.S. drug prices, the greed of pharmaceutical companies, he appeals to foreign markets to adjust their prices, one of the stupidest moves Donald Trump had made since entering office. Of course his stupid moves now outnumber his days in office.

  

Trump followers are gullible and cynical

Gullible and cynical Trump supporters

AlterNet says, "Trump’s lies can be understood as expressing his view of the world — how he would like things to be, for whatever purposes he may have, some quite enduring (as seen in his “bottomless Pinocchios”), others perhaps spur-of-the-moment." My post of May 1, "Fact Checker: Trump continues lies at "unbelievable pace," pretty much tells the story of a maniac in the Oval Office who spouts off lies by the hour, which the whole world makes fun of.

Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of rhetoric, whose book, “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” [table of contents here] will be published next year, in AlterNet says...

"the Mueller report can be read as further confirmation of Trump’s authoritarian orientation in word and deed, in sharp contrast to the “total exoneration” he falsely claims it to be. This is entirely typical. Demagogues and tyrants have always used lies this way. But they cannot and do not act in a vacuum."

Mercieca thinks Trump doesn't act alone but has an "expert" propaganda team. His propaganda "seeks to shape understanding by subverting rational thinking." His objective is to make everyone accomplices in his lies making himself out as a truth-teller. She says, “Trump’s lies are popular with his base,” suggesting this passage from Hannah Arendt’s “Origins of Totalitarianism”...

"A mixture of gullibility and cynicism had been an outstanding characteristic of mob mentality before it became an everyday phenomenon of the masses. In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true … Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow."

“I think gullibility and cynicism are a good explanation for Trump voters,” Mercieca said. “They think everything is a lie anyway, so why not cheer for their guy who lies better than the rest of them?” So pathetic especially since we are talking about the most powerful man in the world.

Charley Manson's "Helter Skelter" is back

Young Charles Manson

The Manson family got its start in 1967, just north of where we lived in Canoga Park, Calif. We rode up there one day looking for Spahn Ranch where the Manson cult collected and did their evil business. We were almost immediately turned around by signs saying"No Admittance" accompanied by a heavy wire fence. Appropriately called the Spahn Movie Ranch, it was owned by George Spahn who willingly allowed Manson and his followers to live there.

The ranch had been the home for TV episodes of "Bonanza," "The Lone Ranger," and "Zorro." Although George Spahn wasn't involved in any of Manson's crime, his ranch was where the 'family' lived while committing the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. A wildfire destroyed all of the Spahn Movie Ranch film set and buildings on September 26, 1970. The owner, George Spahn died on September 22, 1974. My thanks to Wikipedia.

With this background, you might remember the book, "Helter Skelter," written by Charles Manson's prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. It was Charley's term for the race war he intended to start between blacks and whites, expecting near annihilation after which he would lead his followers to take over the country. The words, from a Beatles' song, were written on the LaBianca's refrigerator door to instigate the race war. And that's a long way around to get to this...

"The Russians who interfered in the 2016 US presidential election are still at it — and this time, they’re trying to ignite racial violence in America and a partial collapse of the United States."

Looks like Charley Manson got in Vladimir Putin's head, assuming there is room next to Donald Trump. Here's the scenario from Vox...

"According to secret documents obtained by a Russian opposition group, hackers have discussed plans to stir up racial resentment in the United States in hopes of tearing American society apart. The operatives are apparently associates of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man who set up a troll farm and was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for his role in 2016 meddling."

Someone has been reading "Helter Skelter." There's more...

"Prigozhin and his team of Russian trolls tried to inflame racial tensions during the 2016 cycle by operating several social media accounts that tried to discourage African Americans from voting, mainly by repeating messages of police violence and voter fraud."

But the "apparent new plot" originating as early as 2018, in preparation for the 2020 election, digs much deeper. The following is unbelievable...

"The documents reportedly contain shocking proposals such as sending black Americans to Africa “'for combat prep and training in sabotage,' as well as targeting people who have previously been incarcerated and people 'who have experience in organized crime groups ... for participation in civil disobedience actions.'”

Manson could take lessons from this guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Vox says...

"there is no indication of how seriously the documents — titled “Development Strategy of a Pan-African State on US Territory” — and the plan overall have been received in Russia. It’s possible the set of proposals went absolutely nowhere and were viewed as too extreme (or ridiculous) even for Moscow."

We can only hope with Donald Trump in the White House. 

George Orwell wants Donald Trump impeached

The dope with the genius

Well, that's not exactly what the famous writer said, but as a serious Orwell fan, I agree with the author of 1984's quotes, “ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable,” and  “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” The first quote applies specifically to T-rump, the second to his followers. AlterNet mentions Hitler's intentions of the 1930s as a wake-up call that went unanswered, somewhat comparable to the Trump administration today.

Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Trump is on the verge of invading Iran today. AlterNet's take on the Russian interference in the 2016 election that led to the Mueller Report...

"Everyone able and willing to distinguish facts from lies has witnessed Trump’s brazen cover-up of Russia’s attack. He has never named or denounced the aggressor, while depicting the investigators as traitors who used a hoax to attempt a coup."

 Here's another scenario in which the...

"author casts himself as defender of the nation against the 'globalist elite' and their 'deep state' henchmen. In Act I, he miraculously outwits their attempt to rig the 2016 election; in Act II he thwarts their attempted coup. Act III completes the plot, as the Democrats manage to fake a 2020 victory, only to face a resolute President who—having forewarned of a final deep state conspiracy to regain power—announces a state of emergency."

God forbid another four years of this maniac, as Democrats, even now work feverishly in deciding whether to impeach Trump. However, what we will get is a mealy-mouthed goody-two-shoes who, in my opinion, would be worse than the Oval Office lunatic. And with John Bolton behind the escalation of war with Iran, anything could happen. All of this results from...

"Tehran's decision to stop fully complying with the 2015 nuclear pact after several weeks of intensifying US sanctions and restrictions against Iran, as well as warnings from Washington about an increased Iranian threat to US personnel in the region."

It's the same tit for tat crap that Trump is using against xi jinpin in the China Tariff war and none of this bodes well for the American people.

Donald Trump's misguided administration

How often can this man be wrong? Millions?

One of Donald Trump's biggest opponents is focusing on states to make sure there is no funny business going on in voting. Their plan is...

"to dig up the actual motivations, communications, and moneyed interests behind restrictive voter laws—and to potentially tie them back to national figures like former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky, or Trump administration officials themselves."

You remember Kansas' Kris Kobach? He's the guy who teamed up with Arizona's Russell Pearce to pass the state's immigration law SB-1070 that was eventually repealed. He roams around the country making trouble for people he doesn't like, often teaming up with ALEC. This was also Sheriff Joe Arpaio's state, who ardently enforced SB-1070, and was fully supported by Donald Trump. Arpaio was finally voted out of office.

“Voter suppression is the corruption of democracy itself, and most of that corruption isn't happening in Washington, DC, but in the state and local governments that set the rules for voting,” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight in the Daily Beast. After two years working on the federal government, the organization is now turning its attention to the states using the same model to fight corruption there.

And the American farmer is "running out of patience with President Donald Trump's trade war with China," according to CNN. Already facing a 25% tariff imposed by China last year, the farm folk were willing to tag along for talks between xi jinping and T-rump, but the patience is now thinning as commodity prices are plummeting. At the same time, Arkansas' favorite idiot, Sen. Tom Cotton, just schluffed off the farmers' dilemma. 

And finally, Trump has "gleefully" compared himself to an authoritarian strongman, as reported by AlterNet. Here's the scenario...

"Hungary’s democratic institutions are under attack from its own Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but you wouldn’t know it from President Donald Trump treatment of the authoritarian leader on Monday in the Oval Office."

It seems that Trump refused to meet with Orban after the authoritarian president "shut down Hungary’s opposition media, eliminated independent courts, drove a prestigious U.S. university out of Budapest and spewed hateful rhetoric toward Muslims and, in more subtle terms, Jews." Even with disdain from Europe, Trump saw fit to praise Orban from the White House. It's just something between two authoritarians.

NRA head gun nut Wayne LaPierre on way out?

Oh hell I screwed up, now I'm out

Here's the Daily Beast headline: "NRA Board Member Allen West Calls for Wayne LaPierre’s Ouster." Former Florida Rep. Allen West, an NRA board member, called for the ouster of head gun nut, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. He tweeted it on Tuesday morning. At the same, time he accused NRA President CAdam Westarolyn Meadows of lying to news outlets when she claimed the board didn't know that LaPierre used NRA money to buy designer clothes.

He also said, "a statement defending LaPierre from Charles Cotton, the head of the NRA’s audit committee, was also a lie." Do you get the feeling that the whole organization is corrupt? West continued...

“These statements have maliciously, recklessly and purposefully put me, and uninformed Board members, in legal jeopardy. I do not support Wayne LaPierre continuing as the EVP/CEO of the NRA."

Okay, how soon can we get rid of him? This comes at a time when we are experiencing increased mass shootings violence. I blogged on this: "World asking why so many U.S. mass shootings?" The facts are...

"Worldwide, a country’s rate of gun ownership correlated with the odds it would experience a mass shooting. This relationship held even when he excluded the United States, indicating that it could not be explained by some other factor particular to his home country."

"countries with high suicide rates tended to have low rates of mass shootings — the opposite of what you would expect if mental health problems correlated with mass shootings."

Another sure reason for LaPierre's ouster is the following...

"Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy in Albany dismissed the NRA’s claim that the Department of Financial Services selectively enforced state law when it issued millions of dollars in fines against two companies that helped the group sell products to its members that critics dubbed 'murder insurance.'”

When you consider that in connection with the fact that banks are now refusing to work with the NRA, you can understand the financial tension, and who else should be responsible but the head gun nut of the NRA. But dumping LaPierre from the NRA should quell gun violence in that his continuing crusade has been to put more guns on the street. As a result, The NRA and gun violence are inseparable, my feelings, of course.

Latest on anti-vaxxers and the measles outbreak

Doctors being attacked by anti vaxxers

As the anti-vaxxers continue to do their thing, the country is reeling over new measles cases with 75 more this week. "This year's total marks the most U.S. cases since 1994 – and since measles was declared eliminated in the USA in 2000," reports USA Today. The paper added...

"Most of the new cases were in New York City and its suburbs, where hundreds of cases have been reported this year. The area is home to Orthodox Jewish communities where many parents refuse to allow vaccinations for their children. Authorities mandated vaccinations in some ZIP codes."

"Outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring, the CDC said. The travelers spread the disease to unvaccinated people in the USA, the agency said."

The CDC is begging parents to get vaccinations and, "in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Friday ending personal or philosophical measles vaccine exemptions for most parents whose kids will attend day care centers or schools. Dozens of parents protested outside the signing." Total reported cases now are 839, but the uninformed anti-vaxxers surge on doing their damage by resisting vaccinations and sending their kids out to mingle with the unexpecting public.

And it's not bad enough that the anti-vaxxers make it impossible for others, especially those who cannot get vaccinations due to valid medical reasons, now doctors are being attacked online for recommending vaccines to patients, according to the Boston Globe. Here's the story...

"Dr. Monique Tello found that she had been peppered with 100 negative reviews and derogatory comments on a number of physician ratings sites for speaking out in favor of vaccines. None of the people who posted reviews were her patients, and only after she threatened a lawsuit did the websites take down the reviews."

 I keep saying this and I will continue to keep saying it...Round up all of the anti-vaxxers, find a remote location, perhaps in the middle of the Sonoran desert, build a compound they can't escape from, and let them infect each other as much as their warped heart's desire.

Although this is the largest measles outbreak since 1900, "The outbreak from 1989 through 1991 was much larger than today's, with more than 27,000 cases in 1990 alone. But the conditions that lead to that outbreak, where children were dying, and what it took to end it are dramatically different from the ones the U.S. is seeing today." Here's why...

"As of Monday, New York City alone reports 498 cases, with 34 people hospitalized. New York state, public health authorities attribute the outbreak to anti-vaccination sentiments among a small subgroup of religious Orthodox Jewish residents among whom the virus has spread."

"The outbreak in the early 1990s hit poor black and Latino communities the hardest, in Central Brooklyn, upper Manhattan and the South Bronx."

The big difference is once the public health officials got involved in the 1900s, and the parents were cooperating, not working against the system by resisting vaccinations. So, the big question today is how many children will die this time around before anti-vaxxers realize that science is right.

And finally, here's a study that illustrates measles outbreaks where you live and ranks places in the U.S. where the risk is highest. This is worth a read to see how your area stacks up.

Please give me your comments on this issue.

Electoral map changes favor Democrats

Me worry about 2020, Naaaaaaaa

Donald Trump barely made it in 2016 with "thin margins" in the swing states. Racing ahead two years, "the shifting trends in the electoral map since his inauguration should make no one confident in his re-election chances" according to Salon. Examining voter preference changes between 2016 and 2019, a study found considerable differences in voters who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and then Trump in 2016. 

While most of the finds were favorable to Trump, one stands out as negative...

"Americans say that it is more important for the next president to have particular policy positions than particular demographic characteristics. For example, Americans say it’s more important that the next president advocate for racial and ethnic minorities (69 percent) than that they are a person of color (19 percent)."

All of this positive stuff was in 2016 and this is 2019. Compared to an 85% voter approval in 2016, today it is just 66 percent of these voters that still approve of Trump, a 19-point drop. Robert Griffin of the Voter Study Group said...

“Even small movement among these voters — who represented 9 percent of voters in 2016 — may prove significant heading into the 2020 presidential election. Obama-Trump voters are also disproportionately white, non-college educated and, as a result, are likely to be well distributed geographically for the purpose of electoral impact."

What is interesting is that both Obama and Trump won victories in the Electoral College, with voters switching from Democrat to Republican in the latter. The inference is that with all the changes in the polls which are significantly more negative for Trump, the switch will go back to the Democrats. In key states where Trump won in 2016, the net positive approval ratings were...

Wisconsin +6, Michigan +7, and Pennsylvania +10. By April 2019, these results change to Wisconsin -13, Michigan -10, and Pennsylvania -7.

Meanwhile, there are other states where Trump is also weak: Ohio -4, Arizona -7, Florida -2, North Carolina -2; Iowa -8. This bodes well for Democrats and since Iowa, with a minus 8 is one of the first indications of where the 2020 election is going with its Caucuses on February 3, 2020, we should have an early compass of where this election is going.