Now, the right is saying that we need to be civil to each other and stop this. Well, I think that is a bit amusing. I am not even going to go into it, but I have a list of photos below for your review.
A woman wearing a Muslim headscarf walks past people holding U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump signs before the annual Muslim Day Parade in the Manhattan borough of New York City, September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo
Protesters hold a banner reading ‘No more mosque’ during a demonstration by the UK branch of the German group ‘Pegida’ in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northern England on February 28, 2015.The German-based PEGIDA movement, which opposes what it calls the “Islamisation” of Europe, was staging its first demonstration on British soil on Saturday. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF / AFP / OLI SCARFF
ATTENTION EDITORS – PICTURE CONTAINS OBSCENE GESTURE A supporter gestures at the media as Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses supporters during a campaign rally for Republican Presidential Donald Trump in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston TEMPLATE OUT
Great Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/will-donald-trump-destroy-the-presidency/537921/
]]>The second issue he decided to turn in to a crisis that was just fine was DACA. In an effort to score political points with his base and try to squeeze congress into passing funding for his stupid wall he ended DACA. He had that big meeting with members from both partys and both houses and sounded so positive. He wanted a “bill of love”. He thought this made it look like he was fixing the problem that he had created. Then he took advice of the hardliners in his administration and tanked the whole thing.
Then there is North Korea. From day one, Obama told him that this issue was the most dangerous there was and it needed to be handled delicately. What did Trump do? He ratcheted up the rhetoric. He threatened his own attack, which was North Korea’s fear all along and the reason they are developing Nukes. He kept it up for a year, then announced he was doing what no one else had done, he was meeting with Kim Jong Un. The meeting happened after he threatened and then did call it off. As soon as the meeting was over we found out there was nothing binding that came out of it. This would have been fine though. It was an initial meeting. That in itself could have been a success with the promise of more meetings. NOPE! Not Trump, in typical Trump (and Ironically George W Bush) fashion, he declared “American’s can sleep well”, we are safe now. WTF? He hammered prior admins for trusting NoKo and giving concessions without getting anything and then he does the same thing, but he is claiming he fixed it all.
Then he starts a new immigration problem. He has his little Keebler Elf (Atty Gen Jefferson Beauregard Sessions) who might be a bigger racist than he is, announce a new zero tolerance policy on immigration. Previous administrations had handled illegal immigration through a civil process. This process allowed immigrants to get their status determined and appear in court within a year. Usually, unless they were wanted or committed a crime in the US while they were here they were allowed to be out in the community with their families. Under this new policy, EVERYONE who crossed the Mexican border is arrested. They claim that is not true, but we are hear those who claim asylum and enter through ports of entry are being arrested to. Illegal entry is a misdemeanor, any “American” who commits a misdemeanor is nearly always released with a summons to appear in court. The Trump admin wants to send a message though. They lock up the parents, take away the children and lock them up most times in another state. Many times, they lie to the parents on what is happening, they have said they are taking them for a bath and then the child never returns. Well after a couple of weeks of outrage by 2/3 of the country including many Republicans (other than those on Fox News who support everything Trump does) we have the announcement that Trump is going to sign something today to end this family separation policy. He has again created a problem and now he gets to be the one to fix it. The Trumptards out there will think he is the greatest guy ever to fix another problem caused by the Democrats. The rest of us who can use our own brain know he is 100% at fault and is just cleaning up is own mess!
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No matter how you feel about immigration, the administration’s new policy of breaking up families is absolutely abhorrent! This is not the law. It may be permissible by law, but there is no law ANYWHERE which states that if you immigrate her, legally or illegally the government has to take your children. What’s more is there have been statements by administration officials which point to this being a tactic to win the immigration debate and get funding for the wall. Trump keeps saying it is a law and it is because of the democrats. These are both FLAT OUT LIES!!! And of course, there is the mural.- Trump has started a trade war. What is the craziest thing of all is it is pretty much every country in the world that he is targeting. This is one of the most anti republican ideas out there. Remember, he used to be a democrat. Democrat or Republican though, it is going to hurt our economy soon. It will decrease the purchase of American products abroad. Farmers will be hit hard; domestic prices of certain things will sky rocket.
- Trump exited the Iran Nuclear Deal. While there are many who don’t support the deal because they don’t feel it was tough enough, and there are some very legitimate criticisms, this is really cutting your nose of to spite your face. By exiting the deal, we have given Iran an excuse to exit the deal as it is really no longer valid (although we hope that others will uphold the deal). This means that Iran can restart its nuclear program and kick out inspectors. Like it or not we at least had inspectors in Iran and an agreement that they were stopping their nuclear program. This was one of Trump’s typical “Obama did it so I need to undo it” routines.
- Keeping Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. EVERYONE but the corporations want him out. There is a legitimate argument that he never belonged in this job because he hates the EPA and is quickly dismantling it as well as destroying environmental protections in favor of big business, but that has taken a back seat. This guy is a crook. He has literally broken the law as EPA chief. Here is a link to most of the investigations but we are getting more by the day! And this is a month old. There have been several more since then. https://medium.com/@CAPAction/a-guide-to-the-sixteen-federal-investigations-faced-by-epa-administrator-scott-pruitt-1e42c3ddbd34
- He has failed to condemn the alt-right. His “many sides” response to Charlottesville, Virginia, was shameful. There a lot of things about the presidency that are hard, but condemning neo-Nazis isn’t one of them.
- Trump has attacked the FBI and DOJ. He and his buddies at Fox News are peddling this “deep state” conspiracy theory which is not only false, but it’s doing harm to the institutions themselves. There has been no evidence of any of the claims and he is effectively turning the American People against the agencies which are there to protect them for his own gain.
- TRUMP LIES. All presidents throughout history have misled the public on occasion, usually as a matter of national security, but occasionally even for self-preservation. All politicians stretch the truth and dance around questions as to not answer. Donald J. Trump has taken this to a new level. He lies sometimes for no reason at all. He just makes things up. He can’t take any type of criticism and he really drops to new lows all the time with his lies and harsh rhetoric.
- He stood by Roy Moore. His endorsement of an alleged sex predator was morally indefensible and sent a message to women everywhere that Republicans do not believe that credible allegations of a grown man molesting teenage girls are disqualifying. And that message has been received
- Trump constantly is saying great things about horrible dictators and demeaning our allies.
- “I got along with him great. He is great. We have a great chemistry together. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.” -About Kim Jong Un (North Korean Leader who murders his own people & family, claims to be a god, and wants to Nuke us)
- “I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump told Rodrigo Duterte during an April 2017 phone call. (Philippines president who kills citizens for crimes they haven’t been tried or convicted for, especially drug crimes)
- “He’s running a very difficult part of the world. He’s involved very, very strongly and, frankly, he’s getting very high marks.”-About Tayyip Erdogan (Turkish President who passed a law which gives him the green light to create a muscular presidency, with powers to personally appoint or dismiss ministers, select judges and rule by decree if he deems it necessary)
- “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great”…“And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.” -About Xi Jinping (Chinese President who took power for life – This communist government makes anyone who opposes it disappear)
- Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin on winning a sham election which SHOCKED most of the world including those in his own White House. This is shocking for any American President to do. Putin allegedly stuffed ballots and silenced opposition. On top of that, Russia and Putin are who meddled in our election to favor Trump. Not to mention we have been at odds with them for 70 years or so. He has refused to enact sanctions, he has refused to acknowledge they meddled, he refuses to admit that they are working against us.
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PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
- Trump’s recent tariffs hurt our allies worst of all, and they will retaliate.
- Trump doesn’t understand NATO and criticizes it all the time. He thinks others aren’t paying the amount they are “billed” but it doesn’t work that way.
Trump is going down in flames. History is the only one who will be able to judge him though because half of this damn country believes everything Fox News says. I don’t like Hitler comparisons when it comes to anyone, but this country is falling for his crap just like socialist Germany fell for Hitler. Look how that turned out.
]]>Here is the text of the appointment letter:
ORDER NO. 3915-2017
APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL
TO INVESTIGATE RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE WITH THE
2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND RELATED MATTERS
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Acting Attorney General, including 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510, and 515, in order to discharge my responsibility to provide supervision and management of the Department of Justice, and to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, I hereby order as follows:
(a) Robert S. Mueller III is appointed to serve as Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice.
(b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:
(i) any links and/or coordination bet ween the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
(c) If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters.
(d) Sections 600.4 through 600.10 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations are applicable to the Special Counsel.
Dated: 5/17/17
Signed: Rod J. Rosenstein, Acting Attorney General
THE FACTS OF THIS LETTER:
- Rosenstein was the acting attorney general in this matter because Jeff Sessions the actual Attorney General recused himself from all matters which involved the Trump Campaign or Administration.
- Former (before Comey) FBI director Robert S. Mueller III is appointed to serve as Special Counsel.
- An investigation into Russia meddling into the 2016 presidential election had been started by fired FBI director James Comey. This investigation had a focus on the meddling, but also involved investigating the Trump Campaign for possible coordination with the Russians. This investigation had been revealed by the fired FBI director to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
- The Special Counsel is authorized to investigate coordination between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign as well as any matters that come about as a product of that investigation.
- Any federal crimes that the special counsel uncovers, he may prosecute.
- Lastly there is a section of US Code which governs the Special Counsel.
So, all that boringness just says that we have this investigator that is to investigate Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election and whatever else may come of it. Anyone who states otherwise isn’t telling the truth.
Russia meddled in the 2016 election. That is a fact not only backed up by evidence but agreed on by nearly everyone in government especially our intelligence community. Notably the only real opposition to this opinion is the President. The same president who has the most to lose by this being public information and the same president who doesn’t even read his “Presidential Daily Briefing” from the intelligence agencies.
Some more facts:
- Special Counsel Robert Mueller is a life long Republican who was originally appointed to be FBI Director by George W. Bush. He was a US Marine Corps Captain serving from 1966 to 1980. From 1973 until he retired from the FBI in 2013 he was a prosecutor of some type for the federal government. He was the second longest serving FBI director, right after Hoover. His original nomination passed by a unanimous 98-0 vote. Special legislation was created to extend his service from 10 years to 12 and passed in the senate 100-0.
- On August 3, 2017, Mueller empaneled a grand jury in Washington, DC, as part of his investigation. The grand jury has the power to subpoena documents, require witnesses to testify under oath, and issue indictments for targets of criminal charges if probable cause is found.
- Three members of Trump’s campaign — national security adviser Mike Flynn, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, and campaign deputy Rick Gates — have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and are cooperating with the Mueller probe.
- Campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been charged with a variety of financial crimes by Mueller. As of today’s date (6/15/2018) Manafort has been remanded to jail to await trail due to tampering with witnesses. Manafort had been out under house arrest with two ankle bracelets. He has now also been indicted with obstruction of Justice.
- Richard Pinedo, of Santa Paula, CA ran an online service called Auction Essistance, through which he bought and sold bank account numbers that would help users circumvent security measures of digital payment companies. Pinedo transferred, possessed and used the identities of other people in connection with unlawful activity, according to a statement of the offense. He pleaded guilty on February 12, according to court documents. Pinedo faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the plea agreement. It said he has no criminal history and that he agrees to cooperate with Mueller’s office.
- In February 2018, Alex Van der Zwaan was charged with lying to the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators about his interactions with political consultant and lobbyist Rick Gates and an unidentified Ukrainian-based long-term associate of Paul Manafort. On February 20, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to investigators. On April 3, 2018, he was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000. The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice was his firm’s client and central to the indictment. In 2017, Skadden Arps refunded $567,000 billed by the firm to the Government of Ukraine. After serving a 30-day prison sentence at FCI Allenwood, in Pennsylvania, Van der Zwaan was deported to the Netherlands.
- An additional 17 Russian Nationals & Companies have been indicted in the investigation but are outside US Jurisdiction.
On to the controversy:
Most recent, the FBI IG report which was released today: This report had NOTHING to do with the investigation, yet the president and Fox News are reporting that it shows that there is bias in the FBI against Trump. This report specifically stated that it found no bias in the investigation. What is more important is the investigation it was looking into was the Hillary Clinton email investigation handled by Comey. This investigation revealed that Comey broke from FBI norms, but showed no bias and violated no laws. Trump has tried to say that Comey broke laws and is also stating this report exonerates him in the Special Counsel Investigation which is false. It has nothing to do with the Special Counsel Investigation.
FBI planted a spy in the Trump Campaign: The president has attempted to create yet another conspiracy theory out of something totally legit. He has dubbed this one “Spygate”. What actually happened is the FBI had information that contacted them. They then asked him to meet for additional information. This is standard procedure in any law enforcement action. Even members of Trump’s own party including his supporters like Trey Gowdy have confirmed there is no conspiracy here. This was used, however as a ploy to get investigative materials out of the Special Counsel’s Office.
House wants to Impeach Rosenstein: So for months there have been fights between the GOP and the Justice Department for the DOJ to release documents to the House Intelligence Committee from the Russia Investigation. This is a huge issue for a couple of reason. The first is, with any law enforcement investigation, all materials are kept secret until the actual charges are filed. You never want to tip off your defendant until you are ready to charge and required to by law. The next issue, it that the committee’s chairman Devin Nunes recused himself because of dishonest behavior involving himself and the White House and evidence. He has since started having a role in the Congressional Investigation again which taint’s everything. FOR this reason alone, the evidence shouldn’t be handed over because he will likely give anything and everything to the White House. This fight has caused the GOP to threaten to “impeach” Rosenstein. It is worth mentioning that Rosenstein is a republican appointed by Donald Trump!
The Republicans are claiming that the Investigation is unfair because there are alleged democrats on the team: This is the most desperate claim. Firstly, since Nixon it has been tradition that any Special Counsel is from the opposing party being investigated. This was done with Nixon and Clinton. Well, in this case Trump got a republican, Robert Mueller! Either way, Mueller’s integrity is unimpeachable and when he was appointed both Democrats and Republicans were fully in favor because everyone knew he would be fair and follow the facts. This has since changed on the Republican side as they look for ways to attack everything including their own party. There are allegedly democrats on the team. These people aren’t politicians they are career prosecutors. Their political affiliation is irrelevant. Federal regulations prohibit Mueller from considering political affiliation in hiring decisions. If being investigated by the opposing party makes it illegitimate, then nearly every congressional investigation involving a politician is invalid. This is simply a tactic and is very petty with no basis in reality.
The Deep State: This cracks me up. For years this was a theory of the left about the right. The thing everyone forgets, especially the Republicans, is that Trump used to be a democrat. Trump, anytime he is in hot water, tries to point to some conspiracy against him. He is like a 12-year-old. When he gets caught, it’s always well what about so and so. When that doesn’t work he attacks whomever is bringing the charge against him. Law Enforcement is predominantly republican. That is just a fact. The Republican party have always been champions of the DOJ and FBI as well as most Law Enforcement. NOT NOW, Trump starts peddling his conspiracy theories and Fox runs with them, suddenly half the country hates the FBI and DOJ. The truth is Lisa Page and Peter Strzok were having an affair. Republicans will not miss a chance to point that part out. They are the party of family values after all. (let’s forget the elected someone accused of sexual assaults and paying off porn stars for affairs) These two were anti Trump. We can all agree on that; their texts are totally public, and they used FBI phones. These two were so foolish. The Republicans want you to think that Strzok being involved in the investigation makes the whole thing invalid. BUT Mueller removed him from the investigation as soon as he learned of the texts that was a year ago. During the time he was on the team, only 2 or 3 months nothing happened. All the arrests, interviews and everything else has happened since his removal, so I doubt he had any influence on anything.
I don’t like Trump. That’s no secret, but I could impartially investigate him. I have seen no evidence that he is guilty. I have seen a lot of circumstantial stuff that makes me glad there is an investigation, but I don’t want him locked up unless we prove he is guilty. People on both sides need to be reasonable. Fox News and Donald Trump are peddling in conspiracy theories and lies.
]]>Either way, yesterday Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un. This is unprecedented no matter what your opinion of it is. I want to address my positive thoughts first.
You wont often hear me say this, but I support Trump in this endeavor. There are a lot of ant-Trump folks who criticized him for his hateful rhetoric about North Korea and now are criticizing him for talking to them. I criticized him for his ratcheting up the rhetoric and getting us closer to war. I believed that was the wrong approach. I believe the correct approach is always diplomacy and I think a genuine dialogue is the way to do that. A face to face meeting is a great idea. I also don’t think preconditions are a necessity. I wouldn’t have even criticized him for coming out of the meeting without gaining anything. I don’t think it is a failure. I think the prospect of a second meeting is a success.
HOWEVER, what did happen was that an “agreement” was signed that was completely vague and unenforceable. Additionally, without anything being given up from Kim, Trump announced we would be stopping our joint military exercises in South Korea. This was something he has wanted as well as his father and grandfather for years. This wasn’t part of the signed agreement. This was ultimate appeasement without anything in return. I would completely support it because I agree it’s a waste of money, but only if we get concessions from North Korea. This is like giving Israel the embassy in Jerusalem. This man who is supposed to be the master deal maker gives everything away without getting anything in return.
So, the conservative pundits are already calling for Trump to get a Nobel Peace prize for this. Frankly, I think that is a bit premature. Trump himself is boasting he has done what no other President has ever been able to do and brought us back from the brink of Nuclear War. The biggest problem with this is he is taking credit for fixing a problem that he created. No, he didn’t get us in this mess with North Korea, but he certainly escalated it.
So perhaps he will be successful in the long run with this endeavor. I genuinely hope he is. You would be a fool to not want him to succeed. I don’t care what you think of Trump, this is a step toward world peace if it is success. Realistically, I don’t believe he will succeed. I don’t think he has the proper skillset or mentality to make it work. We are seeing serious double standards with so many things regarding this matter, including the Iran deal, which he ripped up.
Additionally, he has made so many statements praising Kim Jong Un already. When pressed on the matter, he stated that if he is wrong in 6 months, he will likely make up an excuse rather than admitting he was wrong.
So the jury is still out on how successful this will all end up, but at this point it very much is not.
What really makes me angry about this whole fiasco though is the hypocrisy on the right. See video below.
]]>Everything wrong with Fox News in one video pic.twitter.com/Ja6mualzju
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 16, 2018