Trump 12: Nevertheless, She Persisted (Let's do the same!)

[Cartmann99]

7 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Just in case we weren't pissed off enough:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/899/text

I'm not surprised. Republicans have been bitching about the Department of Education ever since President Carter signed it into law. 

[Cartmann99]

35 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

When I was about seven to the time I was eleven my dad worked at a large university.  Sometimes I'd accompany him to work.  Once or twice I sat in on his lectures and of course I was board silly. Other times I'd run around on campus, buy a snack from the student union and feel all grown up. 

What subject did he teach?

33 minutes ago, Howl said:

Yeah, the Jesus Shot was priceless.  He also went off to Mississippi using a state credit card and campaign money to participate in a rodeo. He won $880.  From the Houston Chronicle: 

He ended up paying everything back and somehow managed to evade ethics charges. 

I had forgotten about that stupid rodeo!

[RoseWilder]

Russia has been accused of trying to meddle in another election. But, unlike the United States, they're going to count the votes by hand to ensure they can't hack the election: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/20/1635855/-Russia-Accused-Of-Cyberattacks-In-Another-Election-The-Dutch-are-going-to-tally-the-votes-by-hand

Quote

Dutch elections are coming up in March, and officials say hackers linked to the Kremlin have tried repeatedly to break into government websites. Votes are going to be tallied by hand to avoid possible voting-machine tampering, according to the Times. Now the Germans are also worried about what Russia might try in their upcoming elections.

I still don't think Trump legitimately won. I think the machines were hacked. This article raised some interesting questions about the possibility: 

Quote

“In late June an "unknown actor scanned a state's Board of Election website for vulnerabilities" and, after identifying a security gap, exploited the vulnerability to conduct a "data exfiltration," or unauthorized data transfer, the FBI said in a recent bulletin.”

Then in August, hackers used the same vulnerability in an "attempted intrusion activities into another state's Board of Election system," the FBI said.

Hackers working on behalf of the Russian government are suspected in the onslaught against more than 20 state election systems, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.  Only 18 states requested assistance from DHS. 

That amount of targeting and actual infiltration into state election-related systems is significantly larger than the U.S. government has been willing to acknowledge.

 

[RoseWilder]

I just read a lot of articles on Russia (it's a trainwreck that I can't seem to look away from) - so I'm going to do another Russian Round-up: 

1. Trump's Attorney was caught giving conflicting statements: 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/busted-trump-attorney-michael-cohen-caught-giving-conflicting-statements-about-secret-ukraine-deal/

Quote

Michael Cohen, special counsel to the president and a longtime employee of the Trump Organization, admitted to the New York Times that he had delivered sealed plans for settling Russia’s conflict with Ukraine to then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

But then later: 

Quote

The pair reportedly met with Ukrainian politician Andrii Artemenko, which Coren acknowledged in a separate interview with the Washington Post, just days before Flynn’s resignation — but he denied taking the sealed envelope to the White House and leaving it with the national security adviser.

2. Kremlin paid Michael Flynn $40,000 just before he joined the Trump campaign: 

http://www.palmerreport.com/news/kremlin-40-michael-flynn-donald-trump/1616/

Quote

Here’s the sequence of confirmed events as we now know them. In April of 2014, Michael Flynn was forced out of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency for erratic behavior, ending his career in the United States military and government. In June of 2015, Donald Trump entered the presidential race. In December of 2015, the Kremlin paid Michael Flynn the sum of $40,000 to travel to Moscow and sit at the same dinner table as Vladimir Putin during a Russia Today event. In February of 2016, Michael Flynn became a campaign adviser for Donald Trump, during which time he routinely colluded with Russian agents.

 

 

[JMarie]

59 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

Russia has been accused of trying to meddle in another election. But, unlike the United States, they're going to count the votes by hand to ensure they can't hack the election: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/20/1635855/-Russia-Accused-Of-Cyberattacks-In-Another-Election-The-Dutch-are-going-to-tally-the-votes-by-hand

I still don't think Trump legitimately won. I think the machines were hacked. This article raised some interesting questions about the possibility: 

 

And there's this:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_MONTENEGRO_FOILED_COUP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-02-21-13-38-21

Quote

Montenegro's former prime minister has accused Russia of "destructive" politics in the Balkans following what the country says was a thwarted attempt to overthrow its pro-Western government.

Milo Djukanovic, who stepped down after the alleged pro-Russian plot in October to prevent the small Balkan country from joining NATO, said that Moscow "harnessed a lot of destructive material toward Montenegro."

 

[RoseWilder]

@JMarie: This Russia stuff is terrifying. Every day it gets more complicated and more horrifying. 

More Russia articles: 

1. 7 Russian Operatives have mysteriously died since December: 

http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/meet-seven-russian-operatives-dropped-dead-since-donald-trump-russia-dossier/1613/

Quote

Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, dropped dead today in New York of an apparent heart attack. That may not stand out as suspicious on its own, until one considers that he’s the second Russian diplomat to drop dead in New York in the past few months – and the last one, Sergei Krivov, was also said to have died of a heart attack despite his skull having been bashed in. Even more bizarrely, since Russia’s rigging the election for Donald Trump exploded in scandal, a whopping seven Russian diplomats and operatives have mysteriously dropped dead.

Back in January, a thirty-page dossier was leaked to the public which detailed all the supposed ways in which Russia was blackmailing Trump. Two weeks later Oleg Erovinkin, a former KGB General who had helped a former MI6 agent to assemble the dossier, turned up dead in the back of a car in Russia. While it hasn’t been proven, many have suspected that Vladimir Putin had Erovinkin taken out in revenge for Erovinkin’s complicity in exposing Putin’s blackmail scheme. But even more Russian bodies have been dropping.

2. The FBI is now believed to be investigating Trump's lawyer: 

http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/fbi-now-investigating-donald-trumps-attorney-michael-cohen-in-trump-russia-scandal/1618/

Quote

We’ve reached the point in the exploding Donald Trump Russia scandal where even Trump’s lawyer is now a suspect. Amid the revelation this week that Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen was involved in delivering a policy proposal from the Kremlin to Michael Flynn just before Flynn resigned, nearly lost in the clamor was the part about Cohen himself now being investigated by the FBI.

It’s still far less than clear why Michael Cohen was the one who delivered the policy proposal, which involved Trump using Russian blackmail material to oust the president of the Ukraine, so that his replacement could hand over Crimea to Russia. Nor is it clear what Cohen’s relationship is with Felix Sater, the criminally violent and Russian mafia-connected businessman who was also involved in delivering the policy proposal. But here’s a key passage in the New York Times article which exposed the conspiracy:

“Mr. Cohen is one of several Trump associates under scrutiny in an FBI counterintelligence examination of links with Russia, according to law enforcement officials; he has denied any illicit connections.” This confirms, for the first time, that the FBI is in fact investigating Michael Cohen. And the key word in that passage is “counterintelligence” – because it dovetails with a Reuters report which came out the same day and confirmed for the first time an FBI “counterintelligence inquiry” into front companies and middlemen being used as financial go-betweens between Russia and Trump and his (unnamed) associates.

3. Two Russian officials have admitted to colluding with Trump's campaign: 

https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/two-russian-officials-admitted-colluding-donald-trump-campaign/1621/

Quote

Even as Donald Trump continues to insist that he’s had no dealings with Russia, and that he’s not aware of anyone on his campaign staff having colluded with the Russian government, his own National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has resigned after having been exposed for colluding with the Russian Ambassador. Even worse, the Russian Ambassador himself has admitted that his conversations with Flynn took place. And he’s not the only Russian official to admit to colluding with Trump’s people.

And yet, the Republicans in the House and Senate continue to try to brush off our demands for an investigation: 

 

[fraurosena]

3 hours ago, JMarie said:

Russia has been accused of trying to meddle in another election. But, unlike the United States, they're going to count the votes by hand to ensure they can't hack the election: 

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/20/1635855/-Russia-Accused-Of-Cyberattacks-In-Another-Election-The-Dutch-are-going-to-tally-the-votes-by-hand

@JMarie, it's not entirely true. Votes won't be counted by hand here, but by offline computers. Quick and efficient, but without the possibility of hacking. 

[sawasdee]

I loved this!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/2/19/1635581/--I-can-t-believe-I-m-saying-this-Susan-Keller

How by the law of unintended consequences tRump IS Making America Great Again!

And I then read this, which is terrifying - the 14 defining signs of a fascist regime.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4113.htm

This was written not recently, but in 2003.

And in the comments on the latter article, this quote:

"When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the American Flag and carrying a Cross" Sinclair Lewis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

;

[Howl]

7 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

@JMarie

And yet, the Republicans in the House and Senate continue to try to brush off our demands for an investigation: 

I find it quite interesting to note the number of gray-haired people in that audience.  Older Americans (I'm one) are getting engaged, at least partly because of threats to MediCare and Social Security. But we're getting seriously pissed off when our intelligence is insulted.  The mounting issues with Russia and Trump's total lack of ability to be president can't be ignored. 

As I noted upthread, Republicans are attempting to delegitimize legitimate concerns -- "You guys just want to investigate everybody."  This will seriously backfire, but I'm not seeing yet that Democrats in the House and Senate have any unified strategy to fight back. 

[Flossie]

14 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Interesting: "How Trump spent his first month in office, by the numbers". There are charts and an explanation for the calculation for each chunk of time. Thirteen hours spent Tweeting and only six hours on intelligence briefings. Pretty much what we'd all expect from the tangerine toddler.

I've used up my free viewings for the Washington Post, so I'm unable to read the article or view the charts.  If you find reproduced online somewhere (legally, of course) please post the link.  I'd love to read it.

[Flossie]

20 hours ago, fraurosena said:

I hate statistics. They tell you absolutely nothing, because it's just scratching on a tiny little corner of the surface of a thing. Statistics are only useful to those who want to manipulate information, nothing more, nothing less. That's why I hate them with a passion. Ugh!

I remember talking to this guy once.  He mentioned his Statistics class at college.  After the whole course was completed and the last test taken, the professor admitted that statistics could be invaluable when used properly, but a lot of the time statistics are used merely to tell make number tell the story the statistician wants them to tell.  It was something the class already knew, but until that day the professor had refused to discuss it.

[JMarie]

Today Ivanka met with the Supreme Court, and she brought her daughter along.   Because a five year old is interested in nursing home residents.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/ivanka-trump-arabella-supreme-court-anthony-kennedy/index.html

Quote

Ivanka Trump is listening to oral arguments at the Supreme Court Wednesday, a court spokesperson confirmed.

Quote

Trump is listening to a technical case examining the question: "Do Arbitration Agreements between Nursing Homes and Patients Violate Public Policy or are they enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act."

Her daughter, Arabella Kushner, accompanied her mother. The 5-year-old was also at her mother's side at a Lunar New Year party at the Chinese embassy earlier this month.

 

[RoseWilder]

14 minutes ago, JMarie said:

Today Ivanka met with the Supreme Court, and she brought her daughter along.   Because a five year old is interested in nursing home residents.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/ivanka-trump-arabella-supreme-court-anthony-kennedy/index.html

 

She's actually probably excited to get to spend more than the allotted one hour a day she usually gets with her mother. 

Ivanka once bragged about how she spends a whole hour a day with her kids. And she probably actually is impressed with herself for that because I'm guessing her Dad spent even less time than that with her. Trump probably spends about one hour a month with Barron. 

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, RoseWilder said:

Trump probably spends about one hour a month with Barron. 

And a good thing that is too!

[IrishCarrie]

How on earth is Ivanka able to insert herself into all these occasions?  I've heard of 'Bring Your Kid To Work' day, but isn't this getting a bit ridiculous? I suppose it doesn't matter so much when it's a photo op and/or a learning opportunity, but it really bugs me to see her sitting in meetings.

[Cartmann99]

5 hours ago, Howl said:

I find it quite interesting to note the number of gray-haired people in that audience.  Older Americans (I'm one) are getting engaged, at least partly because of threats to MediCare and Social Security. But we're getting seriously pissed off when our intelligence is insulted.  The mounting issues with Russia and Trump's total lack of ability to be president can't be ignored. 

As noted numerous times before, seniors are a very reliable voting block. It's extremely unwise for politicians to ignore or belittle the concerns of America's seniors, and then expect to gain their votes. 

[GreyhoundFan]

2 hours ago, JMarie said:

Today Ivanka met with the Supreme Court, and she brought her daughter along.   Because a five year old is interested in nursing home residents.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/ivanka-trump-arabella-supreme-court-anthony-kennedy/index.html

 

Geez, I was in school when I was five. Why isn't Ivanka's daughter in school? Oh, maybe she is going to a Betsy DeVos-approved "school", which doesn't require attendance. And, even though I was always interested in learning, I think sitting in the Supreme Court, listening to a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo would have bored me to tears as a child.

[CTRLZero]

On 2/21/2017 at 10:02 AM, RoseWilder said:

And then the American people need to launch a coordinated "what are you trying to hide?" campaign. We need to make sure the Republicans who are trying to block this never know a moments peace. We need to tweet, email, fax, call and leave messages on their Facebook pages day and night asking them "what are you trying to hide?" We need to write letters to our newspaper editors asking "what are they trying to hide?"

You inspired me to fire off missives to my Congressional reps, and I plan to keep spreading the word about the Russian ties and corruption in general.  Who knew a society could take a nosedive so quickly? 

Thank you, @RoseWilder, I find your posts informative and take them to heart.  And thanks to all FJers who are helping me cope during these unsettling times.  Oh, and thanks to John Oliver.  (I'll stop now.)

[Zola]

3 hours ago, Flossie said:

I've used up my free viewings for the Washington Post, so I'm unable to read the article or view the charts.  If you find reproduced online somewhere (legally, of course) please post the link.  I'd love to read it.

I also burn through my 5 allotted free viewings quickly, usually in about 2-3 days, but I have discovered that if you keep trying, especially if you click a link from here at FJ, you can sometimes get through. I've even been able to click on links for more articles listed at the bottom of the one that somehow got past the block. It might catch up with then, but it's worth a try. 

Yay for random reinforcement!

[RoseWilder]

24 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

You inspired me to fire off missives to my Congressional reps, and I plan to keep spreading the word about the Russian ties and corruption in general.  Who knew a society could take a nosedive so quickly? 

Thank you, @RoseWilder, I find your posts informative and take them to heart.  And thanks to all FJers who are helping me cope during these unsettling times.  Oh, and thanks to John Oliver.  (I'll stop now.)

I'm so glad you enjoyed my posts. Thanks. 

I think another important step we can all take is to watch the news programs that are reporting on the Trump-Russia (Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell are a few) and to subscribe to the newspapers/magazines that are working on the investigation (Newsweek, Mother Jones, The New York Times and The Washington Post.) 

We can also call the Senators/Reps who have spoken out in favor of an investigation and thank them for having the courage to speak up. 

[CTRLZero]

14 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

to subscribe to the newspapers/magazines that are working on the investigation (Newsweek, Mother Jones, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

I did subscribe to The Washington Post not too long ago and am glad I did.  It is very helpful to read the various opinions, and it was not very expensive online.

That's a good idea to thank people who are doing the right thing.  Everybody needs support and kudos to keep going.

[Howl]

53 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

I think another important step we can all take is to watch the news programs that are reporting on the Trump-Russia (Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell are a few) and to subscribe to the newspapers/magazines that are working on the investigation (Newsweek, Mother Jones, The New York Times and The Washington Post.) 

We can also call the Senators/Reps who have spoken out in favor of an investigation and thank them for having the courage to speak up. 

Might want to add Time Magazine to that list...

[fraurosena]

The Tangerine Toddler Tantrum Tweeted this:

To which Justin Amash (Republican Rep for Michigan) replied:

 

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, Zola said:

I also burn through my 5 allotted free viewings quickly, usually in about 2-3 days, but I have discovered that if you keep trying, especially if you click a link from here at FJ, you can sometimes get through. I've even been able to click on links for more articles listed at the bottom of the one that somehow got past the block. It might catch up with then, but it's worth a try. 

Yay for random reinforcement!

Check to see if your browser has an option for an incognito or private browsing option and paste the link in there. You'll still hit the limit, but between using the regular browser and the incognito one, you should get double the number of free views.

[Zola]

17 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Check to see if your browser has an option for an incognito or private browsing option and paste the link in there. You'll still hit the limit, but between using the regular browser and the incognito one, you should get double the number of free views.

Excellent to know! I do have the incognito browser option and will be making more use of it. Thanks so much.