Monday Open Thread | Trump’s Muslim Ban Conflict of Interest

Posted on January 30, 2017 by SouthernGirl2

The Telegraph

trump-middle-east

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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131 Responses to Monday Open Thread | Trump’s Muslim Ban Conflict of Interest

  2. eliihass says:
    January 31, 2017 at 1:04 am

    “…Malignant Narcissists will go to great lengths to achieve their aim. They can be intelligent, high functioning (hold an important job for example), soft-spoken, charming, tearful/seemingly emotional, gracious, well mannered, kind and have the ability to form relationships. They may lie, falsely accuse, dramatize, smear, cheat, steal, manipulate, accuse, blame or twist to get what they want and feel justified in doing so. Because they are entitled, egocentric and desperate, they do not experience wrongdoing as wrong. They are determined to gratify their wishes and furious if thwarted. Their desire can be so consuming that there is little comprehension of, respect for or ability to empathize with the other. Their desire can be so consuming that there is little comprehension of, respect for or ability to empathize with the other. They lack guilt or remorse and tend to feel or pronounce that it is they who have been mistreated…”

    Reply
  4. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:16 am

    Breaking: obscure law requires Sen confirmation for WH aide like Bannon to serve on NSC. 50 U.S. Code § 3021 https://t.co/1sRQEnP3CY— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) January 31, 2017

    Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:13 am

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    IMPORTANT. Donald Trump filed with @FEC for 2020 reelection on January 20th, 2017. This is major for several reasons. /1

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    First and foremost, it is NOT NORMAL. Obama filed for 2012 reelection in April 2011. Incumbent declaring before midterms is unheard of. /2

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    Several MAJOR implications. If officially a candidate, can use candidate status to curry favor with PACs, businesses, other organizations /3

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    Because he’s acting as Trump the candidate, not Trump the president. Different rules apply. /4

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    Even more importantly – completely changes how non profits can handle him. 501c3’s cannot “campaign” or risk losing nonprofit status. /5

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    It means they can’t speak negatively about him. Imagine @PPact having to convey risk to #PlannedParenthood w/ limits on how to address. /6

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    This throws nonprofits’ strategy for next few years into chaos. They must figure out how to work against Trump w/o “campaigning.” /7

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    And further muddies the already swampy ethical waters of financial gain, #conflictsofinterest & business transactions. /8

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    Filed 5PM #InaugurationDay2017. 5 HOURS after swearing in. This is what #TheResistance is up against. /9

    The Resisterhood
    ‏@resisterhood

    Diabolical maneuvering to skirt all conventional forms of #resistance. Norms don’t matter; it’s all about finding new ways to silence us /10

    Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:10 am

    African American fashionista launches luxury leather travel set

    January 30, 201

    AMPA (BlackNews.com) — Fashionista and award-winning blogger, Natasha Bernard of the increasingly popular fashion and lifestyle blog fashionablyfab.com announces the release of her first luxury product, the Luxury Leather Travelista Travel Set. The Travel Set features a passport cover and luggage tag constructed of 100% genuine fine leather with a unique one-of-a-kind design. Created for jet-setting fashionistas and travel enthusiasts, this product is all about luxury and style.

    With a contemporary and sleek design, the passport holder offers a passport pocket and slots for IDs and credit cards. The luggage tag features a traveler ID card insert for the traveler’s contact information. Each travel set is elegantly packaged inside a deluxe white gift box with ribbon.

    http://northdallasgazette.com/2017/01/30/african-american-fashionista-launches-luxury-leather-travel-set/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:08 am

    Ron Hogan @RonHogan

    The Nazis murdered Sen. Schumer’s great-grandmother, and most of her children.

    Trump’s father was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally.

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:04 am

    David Yankovich Verified account
    ‏@DavidYankovich

    Okay, this is important.

    Republicans in Congress are shutting their phones off, hanging up on people, and hiding.

    Why isn’t media on it?

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    January 31, 2017 at 12:03 am

    David Yankovich Verified account
    ‏@DavidYankovich

    I hope everyone is putting the pieces together.

    Russia wanted Brexit to destabilize EU.
    Russia wants US out of UN/NATO

    He’s preparing war.

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 11:54 pm

    Democratic effort to overturn Trump travel ban blocked in Senate
    Mon Jan 30, 2017 | 6:21pm EST

    Democratic U.S. senators tried to force a vote on a bill to rescind President Donald Trump’s order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations on Monday, but were blocked by a Republican lawmaker.

    Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said she had 27 co-sponsors of a bill to rescind the order Trump signed on Friday, but under Senate rules it takes only one member to prevent a vote.

    Republican Senator Tom Cotton blocked consideration of the measure.

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 11:52 pm

    Price Got ‘Privileged’ Offer for Stock in Company
    January 30, 2017

    HHS nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) “got a privileged offer to buy a biomedical stock at a discount, the company’s officials said, contrary to his congressional testimony this month,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

    “The shares were discounted 12% off the traded price in mid-June only for investors who participated in a private placement arranged to raise money to complete a clinical trial. The company’s shares have tripled since the offering.”

    Reply
  18. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 11:46 pm

    Wajahat Ali ‏@WajahatAli

    As a Muslim asked to condemn Muslim extremists for 16 years, I call on moderate Republicans to condemn Alt-Right and Steve #Bannon. Step up.

    Reply
  20. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:05 pm

    Say it ain’t so? This is a continuing nightmare.

    https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/826253283002040320

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 31, 2017 at 12:54 am

      A rare brave and unselfish person and moment in the midst of so much greed…so much self-serving, so much cowardice…so much political ambition over country and doing what’s right…

      Reply
  22. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    OMG! They’re going to have to impeach this bish

    https://twitter.com/HaroldItz/status/826275162471460864

    Reply
  23. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    The new sworn in AG will refuse to defend the order as well because it’s ILLEGAL!

    Reply
  26. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-trailguide-updates-justice-department-will-not-defend-1485820835-htmlstory.html

    “President Trump fired Acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates Monday, just hours after she announced that the department would not defend his controversial executive order banning refugees and travelers from certain countries.”

    Reply
  27. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Breaking news:

    Trump has fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates.

    Reply
  29. Ametia says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:07 pm
    Reply
  30. Ametia says:
    January 30, 2017 at 7:27 pm
    Reply
  31. Ametia says:
    January 30, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    UH HUH

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      January 30, 2017 at 7:44 pm

      There you go, Chris Hayes. Now take your bike-riding ass to Quebec and cover this hateful, xenophobic mass murderer, and stay out of Chi-town.

      114544_0000

      Reply
  45. Liza says:
    January 30, 2017 at 4:50 pm

    So here’s the Canadian version of Dylann Roof:

    Here is Alexandre Bissonnette, French-Canadian alt-right/white supremacist terrorist who murdered six Muslim worshippers. #QuebecShooting pic.twitter.com/l1S4Al8fFW— #J20 (@Delo_Taylor) January 30, 2017

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Reply
  47. Liza says:
    January 30, 2017 at 4:33 pm

    Saw this comment today on Blog for Arizona.

    For Sure Not Tom | January 30, 2017 at 11:19 am | Reply

    Steve Bannon’s speeches, lectures, and his “documentaries” are free on youtube. Anyone can learn all about his plan for America from the horses mouth.

    He’ll say he’s a Nationalist, but not a White Nationalist, then go on to say very carefully worded versions of White Supremacist dogma.

    Bannon says we’re in the 4th great change to America, the first being the Declaration of Independence through signing the Constitution, next was the Civil War, third the Great Depression/WW2.

    All violent periods. This 4th period of change, the one we’re in now, the one he believes he’s leading us into, is going to bring America “back” to Judeo/Christian values.

    We all know what that means.

    I used to joke “forget baby Hitler, if you have a time machine go back and kill Baby Dick Cheney”.

    I think Bannon is going to make Cheney look like Ghandi. Putting him in charge of national security is madness.

    The war on the press is phase one, the war on brown people is phase two, this will bring about phase three, when our economy fails because even many small businesses can’t function if our immigration and trade policies aren’t stable.

    Bannon says the US government and economy must be destroyed, because his best ever White Christian’s only America will rise from the ashes, that it’s going to take 15 years or more and there will be very, very dark periods.

    Bannon was hoping that drunken-fist-fighting-walking-talking-word-jumble Sarah Palin would be his figurehead. She imploded and now he’s got Trump.

    There are similar movements in Russia and the EU. Aleksandr Dugin of all people endorsed Trump, that’s should have been a big bright red flag.

    I hope the GOP comes to its senses soon, but I’m not sure we can count on them. The banks and billionaires who own the Congress and Senate may be just fine with Bannon’s plans.

    The airport protests and the Women’s March are encouraging signs of an America waking up and remembering her values.

    Resist will be the Word of the Year for 2017.

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      January 30, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      This was an earlier comment from the same guy, For Sure Not Tom:

      For Sure Not Tom | January 30, 2017 at 8:33 am | Reply
      I keep telling people Steve Bannon is the real danger, Trump is just a puppet.

      Bannon has plans to join white nationalists in the US with similar movements in the EU and Russia.

      He’s studied why fascist movements have failed in the past and thinks he can avoid similar mistakes.

      The GOP is really dancing with the devil, and they don’t seem to care.

      Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      January 30, 2017 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks for this info. Will spread

      Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    SG2,

    Will you tweet @AIPAC and ask them why they haven’t commented on the White House
    ” All Lives Mattering” the Holocaust?

    Reply
  53. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Foreign Service Officers Join the Dissent
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    January 30, 2017 11:41 AM

    Over the weekend thousands of people took to the streets (again) and international airports to protest against the current occupant of the White House. This time the focus of their dissent was on the executive order Trump signed banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

    According to the folks at Lawfare, opposition to that order has now been joined by hundreds of foreign service officers and diplomats at the State Department. They’re using the State Department’s Dissent Channel, which was created in 1971 in response to concerns within the Department over the government’s handling of the Vietnam War.

    Employees have drafted a dissent memo (which you can read at the Lawfare link above) stating their opposition to the president’s executive order, saying that “the ban” will not achieve its ends, is likely to be counterproductive, and it even offers a more pragmatic way forward. It ends with this:

    We do not need to place a blanket ban that keeps 220 million people – men, women and children – from entering the United States to protect our homeland. We do not need to alienate entire societies to stay safe. And we do not need to sacrifice our reputation as a nation which is open and welcoming to protect our families. It is well within our reach to create a visa process which is more secure, which affects our American values, and which would make the Department proud.

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    SCOTUS Fight Will Change Everything
    by Martin Longman
    January 30, 2017 2:42 PM

    There was no filibuster of Robert Bork’s 1987 confirmation for the Supreme Court. He was given a vote on the floor of the Senate and defeated 42-58. There was no filibuster of Clarence Thomas even though one could have been theoretically sustained considering that he only received 52 votes to be confirmed as a Justice to the Supreme Court. In both cases, the Democrats granted their unanimous consent to a motion to proceed to a full confirmation vote. However, there is no possibility that there will be unanimous consent to proceed to a similar vote on the nominee President Trump announces tomorrow night at 8pm. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, for one, will exercise his right to object.

    The best precedent for this happened when John Kerry objected to proceeding to a vote on Samuel Alito, but his effort went down to defeat and Alito was confirmed with 58 votes, which was less than the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. If those Democrats who refused to confirm Alito had refused to allow a vote at all, he would likely not be on the Supreme Court today.

    I say “likely,” because it’s possible that the Republicans would have responded by invoking the so-called Nuclear Option and taking away the minority party’s right to stop a vote on Supreme Court nominees. It’s hard to say if that would have happened back in 2005, but it seems more certain that it will happen this time around.

    ………………………….

    In this case, no real effort has been made to prevent a filibuster, which is the same as inviting one. That can only mean that the administration’s expectation is that the Senate will invoke the nuclear option and do away with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.

    This will, of course, cause a massive uproar and it will drown out all the things people are talking about today, from the Muslim immigration ban to putting Steve Bannon on the National Security Council to the Russian question to the wall on the Mexican border to the threat of war over Taiwan with China to Trump’s inability to discern the difference between reality and fantasy.

    Maybe that’s half the point, especially because conservatives are so motivated over this Supreme Court appointment that they’ll set aside everything else to fight for it.

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    This Situation Is More Dire Than I Want to Admit
    by Martin Longman
    January 30, 2017 12:36 PM

    Anyone who writes daily for a living is going to occasionally have periods when writing doesn’t come easily. Every once in a while, you won’t feel like writing. Maybe you just want to veg out or do something normal. Maybe you can’t find anything truly inspiring to discuss. Maybe your creative juices get depleted and need to be recharged.

    I have a different problem. I want to write and have plenty to write about. I just don’t want to say what I feel I have to say.

    Call it a heavy heart or something too close to despondency. Call it an uneasiness with stating plainly what is growing painfully obvious. I’m naturally inclined toward calm and suspicious of hyperbole. If I find my political heat boiling too quickly, I tend not to trust myself and to doubt the value or utility of what I have to say.

    I have to toss those reservations aside to make commentary on the state of our nation. This is a five-alarm fire, and anything I might say about it can hardly match what even some Republicans are already saying. For example, Eliot Cohen has taken a tone that is so dire and vituperative that it would be very difficult for a liberal like myself to surpass.

    Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. It will probably end in calamity—substantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment. The sooner Americans get used to these likelihoods, the better.

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 1:43 pm

    McKay Coppins has a piece at The Atlantic that especially non-New Yorkers should read.

    It’s a dynamic that I’ve not seen elsewhere in the nation, something about Manhattans hard geographic boundaries that create a hard cultural border between it and the outer boroughs. And he’s exactly correct, possibly even a little generous to Trump, that Trump was never accepted in Manhattan. See, Trump thinks that money can buy you status – which is why he gold plates every fucking thing. And in some places that may be true, but it’s not true in Manhattan. It’s something of a prerequisite, don’t get me wrong, but it’s only a piece of it. Trump may have money but he doesn’t have class, and that leaves him out of the culture. KFC on your private jet is what low-rent people do that have won the lottery. The culture he wants to be part of eat with style, even if they don’t have a lot of money to throw around. He does it exactly wrong. And NYC being what it is, that has always been pointed out to Trump, so he knows he’s on the outside looking in. He hosts Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, and yeah, he’s got suck-ups like Billy Bush, but Hollywood rejects him as well, probably because Gary Busey gets it better than Trump does. But his whole persona is wrapped up on being accepted as an elite, so it pains him terribly when he isn’t.

    Becoming President was part of his plan to finally break through. Popular support + money must surely be the ticket, no? Apparently not. DC doesn’t accept him. Sure, early on here they are polite and collegial, but that’s collapsing quickly. The media that used to sort of fawn over him as a playboy have all turned pretty viciously against him. The media is easy on people that don’t have material impact on the world around them, and are quite a bit more serious and critical with those that do. It was all fun and games talking about a ‘piece of ass’ with Howard Stern, but Chuck Todd is more interested in playing down his inauguration turnout numbers.

    So here’s a guy with money and now political power that is still on the outside and it pisses him off something fierce. I’m sure a lot of voters identify with that (smug coastal liberals, anyone?), but it’s a seriously big part of his psyche that will never, ever, ever fade. He will not get over this and he will not stop fighting for that spot, and the more he fights, the less likely he will get it. There was another piece at Vox about Bannon that is similar. Bannon is reacting to immigrants rising in social standing faster than he, a white native-born American has, in spite of being well educated and generally successful. He likely sees that as unfair, not understanding that it’s because he’s a horrible human being and that matters. Much of the racism in the south was really tied up in the social insecurity of whites starting to find themselves at lower social standing than blacks. That’s why they cried ‘sociallism’ in the 50s and 60s – they were less focused on the socialism policy of redistribution of wealth and more on the redistribution of social status. They were actually fine being poor, but they couldn’t abide by being a lower social class. That’s Bannon and that’s Trump. That Americans will fawn over some Syrian orphan and call Trump a short-fingered vulgarian and Bannon a Nazi is the very essence of unfairness to them. Bannon’s party that he wants to preserve at the expense of the state (which is also likely Trumps goal), is to put white Christian males back in the top social class, regardless of education or income or achievement. That’s the only thing that matters. That’s enduring to Bannon. So long as that’s happening, it can run under communism or fascism or democracy – it doesn’t matter. The state comes and goes, but the party of white Christian males must endure. Trump fits that mold as well. Putin does too. That coastal liberals are outraged – well, they’re good with that. Knocking us down a few pegs is the goal, after all.

    This is not an ideological fight that we recognize. This really is a straight up white supremacy fight, but in terms that we don’t recognize and don’t fully understand how to respond to. The GOP is just a convenient instrument to get where they want to go. They can burn in the end for all Trump and Bannon care.

    This is why the ‘fuck working class whites’ message is so dangerous. That’s what they want us to say, That’s the wedge being driven in.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 6:03 pm

      “…So here’s a guy with money and now political power that is still on the outside and it pisses him off something fierce. … He will not get over this and he will not stop fighting for that spot, and the more he fights, the less likely he will get..”

      “…This is not an ideological fight that we recognize. This really is a straight up white supremacy fight, but in terms that we don’t recognize and don’t fully understand how to respond to. The GOP is just a convenient instrument to get where they want to go. They can burn in the end for all Trump and Bannon care…”

      Spot on..

      Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 1:41 pm

    Jennifer Rubin.

    JENNIFER RUBIN

    -Rubs gets it – the Right is split, and our democracy is up for grabs

    The two halves of the party differ on priorities, sensibilities, tone and values. The Trumpkins have put aside rationality and democratic norms; the other side of the GOP resists. The divide also separates those who already serve in the administration and those who refuse to. Among the latter are Trump critic, former State Department official and scholar Eliot A. Cohen, who wrote:

    We were right. And friends who urged us to tone it down, to make our peace with him, to stop saying as loudly as we could “this is abnormal,” to accommodate him, to show loyalty to the Republican Party, to think that he and his advisers could be tamed, were wrong. …

    To friends still thinking of serving as political appointees in this administration, beware: When you sell your soul to the Devil, he prefers to collect his purchase on the installment plan. Trump’s disregard for either Secretary of Defense Mattis or Secretary-designate Tillerson in his disastrous policy salvos this week, in favor of his White House advisers, tells you all you need to know about who is really in charge. To be associated with these people is going to be, for all but the strongest characters, an exercise in moral self-destruction.

    In short, #NeverTrump Republicans were right to take him literally and to understand the threat he poses to our democracy.

    Reply
  59. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 1:19 pm

    GOP congressman Darrell Issa shrugs off detainment of Iraqi war heroes: ‘This happens’ to ‘people of this color’ https://t.co/n1MEeeldcS

    — Seahawk Sneak (@word_34) January 30, 2017

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 6:07 pm

      Hopefully, it will be a sustained action…and not just some 2 second mealy-mouthed weak grandstand before they quickly fold and get in line behind the buffoon..

      Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 5:52 pm

      Joe Scarborough and his selective faux moral indignation ..

      Can’t stand the green behind the ear White Supremacist Stephen Miller, but glosses over the old wizard himself, Steve Bannon..

      For Scarborough, it boils down to which white supremacist most reaffirms Scarborough’s own relevance…which fellow white supremacist most appreciates and relies on his ‘savvy’ and routinely runs stuff by him…which white supremacist frequently confers with and gives him a heads up on stuff..

      Reply
  71. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:47 am

    Passport taken, told he’d get it in the mail in two weeks.

    Disgusting.

    2/2@mikestanek pic.twitter.com/4hYoEPl4Nc

    — T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) January 30, 2017

    Reply
  72. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:46 am

    Trump supporters are the vice, not the voice, of America
    A few days ago I predicted that “within a year, perhaps deferred to 18 or even 24 months, Trump should be settling into George W. Bush’s final approval rating of 22 percent.” It seems I overshot probable reality by 12, 18 or 24 months.

    Reply
  73. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:42 am

    Trial Balloon for a Coup?
    Analyzing the news of the past 24 hours

    The theme of this morning’s news updates from Washington is additional clarity emerging, rather than meaningful changes in the field. But this clarity is enough to give us a sense of what we just saw happen, and why it happened the way it did.
    I’ll separate what’s below into the raw news reports and analysis; you may also find these two pieces from yesterday (heavily referenced below) to be useful.

    https://medium.com/@yonatanzunger/trial-balloon-for-a-coup-e024990891d5#.wffzzt1cw

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      January 30, 2017 at 4:29 pm

      Excellent article.

      Everyone MUST READ. Study the author’s conclusion.

      Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 6:19 pm

      “…Finally, I want to highlight a story that many people haven’t noticed. On Wednesday, Reuters reported (in great detail) how 19.5% of Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company, has been sold to parties unknown. This was done through a dizzying array of shell companies, so that the most that can be said with certainty now is that the money “paying” for it was originally loaned out to the shell layers by VTB (the government’s official bank), even though it’s highly unclear who, if anyone, would be paying that loan back; and the recipients have been traced as far as some Cayman Islands shell companies.
      Why is this interesting? Because the much-maligned Steele Dossier (the one with the golden showers in it) included the statement that Putin had offered Trump 19% of Rosneft if he became president and removed sanctions. The reason this is so interesting is that the dossier said this in July, and the sale didn’t happen until early December. And 19.5% sounds an awful lot like “19% plus a brokerage commission.”

      “…I am reminded of Trump’s continued operation of a private personal security force, and his deep rift with the intelligence community. Last Sunday, Kellyanne Conway (likely another member of the inner circle) said that “It’s really time for [Trump] to put in his own security and intelligence community,” and this seems likely to be the case…”

      Yup..

      Reply
  75. Ametia says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:31 am

    Good Morning, Everyone.

    Reply
  76. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 10:12 am

    Secretary Mattis finds himself in an unenviable position
    01/30/17 10:00 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a decorated military veteran, was asked yesterday what he’d say to retired Gen. James Mattis, Donald Trump’s new Defense Secretary, about the White House’s Muslim ban. The congressman didn’t hesitate in his response.

    “I worked for General Mattis,” Moulton explained. “I know him. There is no way in hell that he is supportive of this. He relied on translators for his life, just like I did. He understands what it means to put your life in the hands of an Iraqi or an Afghan. And he also knows that implicit in that is that they put their lives in our hands, as well – and now we’re abandoning them.”

    Moulton added, “[W]hat’s frightening about this situation is it shows that people like General Mattis … clearly don’t have a voice in the Trump administration.”

    That assessment is bolstered by revelations about how the president’s controversial executive order came to be. The New York Times reported overnight:

    Jim Mattis, the new secretary of defense, did not see a final version of the order until Friday morning, only hours before Mr. Trump arrived to sign it at the Pentagon.

    Mr. Mattis, according to administration officials familiar with the deliberations, was not consulted by the White House during the preparation of the order and was not given an opportunity to provide input while the order was being drafted.

    Mattis was, however, used as a prop when Trump hosted an event to unveil his executive order.

    It’s enough to make one wonder whether the Defense Secretary, chosen in part because the president thinks Mattis has a cool name, is going to be satisfied serving in this administration.

    Let’s not forget that it was Mattis, just six months ago, who said in reference to Trump’s proposed Muslim ban, “This kind of thing is causing us great damage right now, and it’s sending shock waves through the international system.”

    Now the White House is implementing that policy, without consulting with their Defense Secretary, and while using Mattis to lend his credibility to the initiative.

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 6:34 pm

      I’m so over this bogus narrative of Mattis as a person of integrity and honor…

      Sorry, but anyone who not only indulges the buffoon, but is flattered by his attention and shallow praise …and proudly goes along with much of his mindset ..save a few…

      No matter their supposed professional record of ‘achievement’ and as far as I’m concerned, selective and fleeting ‘integrity’… anyone who provides cover for this devastating sham …anyone who’s cowed or ‘honored’ to work under this buffoon…especially after being quick to attack the historic President for the slightest policy disagreement …slightest perceived misstep…

      Anyone who’s even marginally spinning, justifying or co-signing the buffoon and this madness …especially after years of disingenuously disrespecting and endlessly criticizing the historic President at every turn… is a hollow, greedy, opportunistic, cowardly, self-aggrandizing racist prick…

      Reply
      • Ametia says:
        January 30, 2017 at 6:49 pm

        Speak! A piece of Shit that said he could stand on 5th avenue and shoot someone, and still get votes.

        How does one vote for an UGLY, racist turd like this, go along with, support, etc., and claim for one minute that they voted for him because of XYZ, other than the fact that he is a stunted, immature, megalomaniac, racist, bigoted, Self-aggrandizing, power-hungry, attention-seeking, pussy-grabbling MORON

        Reply
    • eliihass says:
      January 30, 2017 at 6:59 pm

      It will be devastation when the buffooon and the white supremacist ultimately fall out…
      it will happen …it’s only a matter of time…2 sociopaths of varying madness and egotistic style and levels …

      And then enters the stealth, cold-blooded, calculating, slick wild card, Jared Kushner…the Orthodox Jew with a long memory, a long game, and a no matter how who long it takes to exact vengeance attitude…feigns understanding and a convenient chummy closeness with the Nazi-loving, Jew-hating white supremacist Bannon…

      In the end, the final deadly stab in the heart of Nazi-loving Bannon, will be driven by Jared.. but only for his own dubious self-serving agenda…and only after much damage has been done to our union, democracy and its various institutions …and after Bannon who’s also gathering – and funneling to a trusted source for safe-keeping…as much damning info as he can gather…for blackmail and the ultimate revenge if he’s ever scorned…

      Nothing more messy and deadlier than an ‘alliance’ formed between dubious but mostly agenda-disparate folks…bonded mostly by a shared racism, greed, power lust and the mutual hate of a particular man…

      Reply
  86. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:08 am

    please retweet

    Let this sink in: Bannon / a self-destructive anti-Semitic nihilistic pro-Russian anarchist / is effectively running our country.

    — Mark Frost (@mfrost11) January 29, 2017

    Reply
  87. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:07 am

    LAST CHANCE TO ENROLL FOR HEALTHCARE!!! DO IT TODAY!!!!

    DEADLINE: January 31
    Getting covered for 2017 starts right here, but time’s running out.

    Enroll by January 31 for coverage starting March 1, 2017.

    https://www.healthcare.gov/

    Reply
  88. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:07 am

    HEADS UP ON SCOTUS:

    This is a stolen seat. It is not Trump’s to fill. https://t.co/S8KTZvgbwX

    — Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) January 30, 2017

    If you are fortunate enough to have senators, call their offices and remind them that this is a stolen SCOTUS seat and should remain empty.

    — Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) January 30, 2017

    GOP said the seat would remain empty if Hillary won. They even had their chance to fill it with someone THEY recommended and still refused.

    — Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) January 30, 2017

    Eight justices comprise the Supreme Court now. That’s the rule the GOP senators invented last year. Don’t let them change it back for Trump.

    — Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) January 30, 2017

    @KailiJoy Merrick Garland still available, and I believe he is the peoples choice by 3 million or so.

    — EvenSteven (@grillguy54) January 30, 2017

    Reply
  89. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:06 am

    Now that most ppl in US are having well-being violated in manner black ppl have for yrs upon yrs, will there be real change? #civilrights pic.twitter.com/ocZ3XfpVXw

    — Jamie A. Triplin (@JamieTriplin) January 30, 2017

    Reply
  90. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 9:04 am

    Please remember:

    Most Americans who voted in 2016 DID NOT vote for this. And, I don’t give a shyt if a majority of HIS voters are OK with the horrificness of the past 8 days, I and millions more are not. My parents lived in a Police State known as the Jim Crow South. I have no intentions of doing the same.

    Reply
  91. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:51 am

    Found at Balloon Juice:

    Hello:

    What we are experiencing right now is a GOP blitzkrieg, concocted by the Heritage Foundation and Paul Ryan and fronted by Trump. That all the cuts and executive orders are coming fast, intense and extreme is not a surprise. It is smart strategy on the GOP’s part.

    It seems impossible to counter all this stuff, while trying to tank Trump’s nominations as well as engaging in perhaps-not-so-wise-right-now-as-it-can-wait campaigns like investigating Trump’s taxes and foolhardy-pie-in-the-sky things like impeachment. You aren’t imagining anything: It is impossible to stop all of it. This sucks but you must accept it. There are going to be losses, we knew that. Now they are coming. Hang in there. Step back and look at what they are going after.

    Cutting the budgets of the NEA and NEH, muzzling the EPA, USDA, and Park Service, etc. are all relatively minor attacks. They might sting and that is exactly the point. Who supports the NEA and NEH? Liberals and people on the Left. Most Americans don’t care or even know that these agencies exist. These attacks are aimed at our hearts. Trump and GOP don’t care about these agencies. They want to demoralize us. They want us to feel defeat after defeat as soon as possible. They want us to get fatigued and give up.

    If you care about this country, if you are in for the long haul, you absolutely must let these defeats go. Yes, you can care. Yes, you can get angry. But don’t rest on the anger. Try to use it for energy, for motivation, but that is all. Make a note of it – we will rebuild – and let it go. There are much bigger things on the GOP’s agenda – getting rid of Medicare, Social Security, stripping down government to everything but defense and police functions, and selling off whatever is public. They also want to put as much in the way between us and our rights, including voting rights, as possible. These are the things to watch and fight. While we were fretting about cabinet appointments before inauguration, Congress devalued public lands. That is the first step to selling them off and allowing mining in National Parks. Selling off what is public to corporations and the mega-wealthy is what really matters to them.

    Please note that I am not saying that the NEA and NEH or muzzling public agencies does not matter. It does and we must make noise about it, but we also must look at what the GOP’s fundamental goals are, realize the motives behind what they are doing, act on what we have the power to change, and be mindful of how we act and react. These people are not acting willy-nilly. As flaky and screwed-up as Trump is/seems, the people behind him are not. They are rational. They are professionals. They are tacticians. They know exactly what they are doing and exactly how to kill our spirit. This is basic strategy: Use the enemy to destroy the enemy (Sun Tzu). They are trying to destroy our resistance by creating frustration and despair, and letting that do the job. Know that. Drill that into your brain. Come back to this when you are feeling defeated. This insight in one of the most important things to know.

    Scott Soriano, 1/26/17

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      January 30, 2017 at 11:11 am

      No doubt the GOP is 100% behind this fuckery. They’ve been plotting and scheming since January 2009, to take that power back for the wealthy white men

      Reply
  92. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:49 am

    California Secession is a Terrible Idea
    by David Atkins
    January 29, 2017 8:00 AM

    As a Californian, the idea of seceding from the union can be tempting. We’re the world’s sixth largest economy, home to the country’s largest agriculture sector, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and a thriving economy, diverse in its people and its production. We also voted for Clinton over Trump by 30 points, with a couple more to Jill Stein for good measure. Our state has supermajority Democratic control at all levels of government, with no statewide Republican officials in office and a decimated GOP bench. And we are ground zero for the legal resistance to Trump on immigration, healthcare, drug policy and much else. Most importantly, Californians only get back 79 cents for every dollar we send to the federal government, only to see red states who take the most from the federal government using our money elect Republicans who hate California and see themselves as ill-used John Galts.

    It’s hard to blame many Californians for wanting to cut the chain and free ourselves from the yoke of those who despise us while taking advantage of us. That’s why a movement has grown to gather signatures to place California secession on the state ballot. But it’s a terrible idea.

    First, the question of secession was settled militarily at Appomattox. Second, legal secession would be incredibly destructive both to California’s economy and to that of the rest of the United States. Third, the other western states along the Colorado River would doubtless use water rights to squeeze California even drier than it already is in revenge.

    But most importantly, California is the moral vanguard of the nation. We are the guarantor of the nation’s future, its primary innovator and its demographic harbinger. Our shining example provides hope to the rest of the country that a better, more tolerant, more progressive future is possible–that America can not only survive but thrive in a society that is socially libertine, environmentally friendly, economically progressive and racially diverse.

    Reply
  93. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:45 am

    Bannon’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A Global War With Islam
    by Nancy LeTourneau
    January 30, 2017 9:20 AM

    It is now obvious that in the battle for power in the Trump White House, Steve Bannon is winning. In just 10 days we’ve seen that he:

    wrote Trump’s belligerent inaugural address,
    is the author of Trump’s executive orders (with no legal, departmental or congressional review),
    has been given a seat at the table of the National Security Council’s Principals’ Committee – something that has never happened with a White House political operative before.

    What most of us know about Bannon is that he is the former director of Breitbart News and has strong anti-globalist, pro-nationalist views with ties to white supremacists and anti-semites. In light of Bannon’s authorship of Trump’s recent executive order banning refugees and immigrants from some Middle Eastern Muslim countries, it is also important to note that he is (like many in Trump’s inner circle) an Islamophobe. Take a look at some excerpts from a speech he gave to a conference inside the Vatican in 2014 where he talks about the secularization of the West.

    ………………….

    Bannon is doing the same thing fascists have done throughout history – use fear as a tool to mobilize nationalism. While it is true that ISIS must be defeated, to assume that they represent the beginning stages of a global war is absurd.

    So how does Bannon inspire the kind of fear that would spark the kind of nationalist movements in the white (predominantly Christian) countries of the Norther Hemisphere that dominated the globe for centuries amidst a rising tide of economic expansion in the world of black/brown people? You begin by creating a fear of immigrants across our Southern borders via a confrontation with Mexico and extend that to a fear of Muslim terrorists. That fear drives policies that lay the battle lines for the kind of global war Bannon is predicting, and it becomes a self-fulling prophecy.

    ………………..

    If anything is designed to ignite WWIII, it is the actions of this administration. As Josh Marshall points out:

    For all the talk about ‘populism’, what really imbues this White House is nationalism. But not just nationalism in a general sense which can have positive, communitarian aspects. It is a hateful and aggressive nationalism based on zero-sum relationships and a thirst for domination and violence. These are dangerous people.

    At the heart of what is dangerous about these people stands Steve Bannon – who seems to be calling the shots right now and is eager to promote a global war with Islam as a rallying cry for white nationalism.

    Reply
  94. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:41 am

    Is Steve Bannon Trying to Instigate a Constitutional Crisis?
    by David Atkins
    January 29, 2017 8:42 PM

    In 1832, Justice John Marshall ruled that the state of Georgia could not grant licenses for non-Native Americans to settle on federally created Native American land. President Andrew Jackson, a populist white supremacist who despised and murdered Native Americans in the thousands, is reported to have said in response, “”John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”

    Donald Trump’s closest adviser Steve Bannon has reportedly been the lead actor responsible for many of Trump’s recent executive orders, including the illegal ban on immigration from large parts of the Muslim world. Bannon is a white nationalist, the ideological architect of Trump’s xenophobic populism, and a big fan of Andrew Jackson. Bannon sees in Trump another Jackson, and even hung a portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office. Some historians are pushing back on the comparison, but clearly the current White House is trying to create a 21st century version of what they perceive to be Jacksonian populism.

    Andrew Jackson’s confrontational attitude toward the courts, particularly on matters of race, war, and human decency, bears particular scrutiny. Jackson hated the courts, making every attempt to limit their power and even instigate clashes with the judiciary. Jackson felt that judges had no authority to place any limits on majoritarian rule. Both states and the federal government attempted to nullify or simply refuse to enforce judicial rulings, and various crises were only resolved when majorities who favored court decisions protecting minority interests once again won elected office and created a government culture in which the judiciary was better respected.

    Fast forward to the recent Muslim ban. Bannon had to know that the courts would immediately step in to halt the deportations on multiple legal grounds. But not only did Bannon seek that confrontation, he did so in the most provocative way possible: it was Bannon’s idea to overrule the Department of Homeland Security and include green card holders in the immigration ban.

    And, in fact, a Constitutional crisis has already arisen: some border patrol have been defying court orders by detaining legal residents without access to attorneys, in spite of direct personal pressure from United States senators and armies of lawyers.

    It’s possible that this chaos is simply a result of overzealousness and incompetence on the part of the Administration. But Bannon is known to be a cunning a strategist who doesn’t show his hand and doesn’t like to openly talk about his tactics. His actions are seldom random and always deliberate.

    We do know that Bannon implemented a highly controversial, high-profile order that he knew to be illegal and particularly cruel, but of great importance to his white nationalist base. We know that on the same day he placed himself on the national security council, removing the joint chiefs from the room. We know that Bannon idolizes Andrew Jackson and sees himself as above the courts.

    We don’t yet know the Trump Administration’s response to the court rulings. But it’s worth considering the possibility that Trump’s closest adviser is actively seeking a Constitutional crisis that tests the power of the judiciary to stop any potential actions by the Executive Branch.

    This is a very dangerous time for the country.

    Update: Donald Trump’s team has removed The Judicial Branch from the White House website. This is not a joke.

    Reply
  95. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Trump’s Cruel Muslim Ban Highlights Need for SCOTUS Blockade
    by David Atkins
    January 29, 2017 9:00 AM

    Yesterday’s news was as dramatic as it was fast. Trump issued an executive order banning immigration from certain Muslim countries–but not from ones where he has business connections. The result was chaos, confusion and catastrophe. Hundreds of legal residents and immigrants from doctors and scholars to vetted refugees sat in limbo both here in the United States and around the world. As airports acorss the country turned into a real-time political morality play, civil liberties groups began to issue legal challenges even as spontaneous protests grew in size.

    Finally, several judges issued stays on the blanket deportations as it became obvious that the policy was not only cruel and unAmerican but flatly illegal. Unfortunately, the judicial rulings don’t actually allow these unfortunate souls to leave the airport, so they remain stuck at airports until the legal system can work out what is to be done.

    And now, even as some Republicans slowly begin to criticize the Trump Administration’s needless outlawry and cruelty and bigger civil protests are planned, it becomes obvious how important it will be for Democrats to do all they can to stop Trump’s Supreme Court nominee for as long as humanly possible.

    It is very likely that the preponderance of federal judges will side against Trump on the ban. Trump’s excuse that he can supposedly restrict whatever immigration he likes if he feels there’s a vague terrorist threat is a flimsy pretext to get around a very clear 1965 law preventing discrimination based on national origin. But the Supreme Court might be another matter if Trump is allowed to seat another justice on it, depending on how justices Roberts and Kennedy decide to rule in the era of Trump. Split 4-4 decisions affirm the rulings of lower courts, which will be a stopgap against aggressive white nationalist barbarism of Trump and especially of Steve Bannon, who apparently has full run of the White House. Assuming, that is, that Trump doesn’t style himself after Andrew Jackson and simply refuse to obey the judicial branch’s orders, precipitating a Constitutional crisis in only his second week.

    Republicans in Congress already stole a Supreme Court nomination from former President Obama by denying Merrick Garland a hearing for the better part of a year. Senate Democrats must show President Trump the same level of discourtesy and disrespect. The safety and security of the Republic, as well as the fates of thousands of innocent souls, depends on it.

    Reply
  96. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:38 am

    Americans Think Trump Will Be an Awful President
    by Peregrine Frissell
    January 28, 2017 5:00 PM

    Progressives are still hungover after the surreal election that catapulted Donald J. Trump to the presidency, but here’s some limited solace: Americans aren’t confident in the capabilities of our new commander-in-chief.

    Public Policy Polling released a report on Thursday showing how low the expectations are for the new president—Americans suspect nearly every president over the last half-century will go down as more popular than President Trump. He’s only expected to outperform Richard Nixon, the man who made Watergate possible and ran the country armed with a lexicon of his own racial epithets.

    Of those polled, 46 percent had a negative opinion of Trump, “historically awful numbers for a newly elected President,” notes the report.

    The low expectations for Trump’s presidency stem from both the general unpopularity of his agenda, as well as the continued divisiveness and unpredictability of a leader who has a bad penchant for sending out cryptic tweets laced with fringe conspiracy theories. Public Policy Polling found that:

    Reply
  97. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:31 am

    HEADS UP

    The senate is three votes short of blocking Betsy DeVos. If you live in ME, TN, AK, GA, UT, NC, WY, LA, KS, SC, or KY, call your senators.

    — Thomas Pluck (@thomaspluck) January 29, 2017

    Reply
  98. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:31 am

    Trump’s newest national security moves labeled ‘stone cold crazy’
    01/30/17 09:20 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, reviewed Donald Trump’s new directive on the White House’s National Security Council, and felt compelled to issue a candid assessment. “This is a ‘Holy Crap’ moment,” the congressman said.

    Under the circumstances, it’s hard to argue with Larsen’s conclusion. The New York Times reported:

    [T]he defining moment for [Chief White House Strategist Stephen] Bannon came Saturday night in the form of an executive order giving the rumpled right-wing agitator a full seat on the “principals committee” of the National Security Council – while downgrading the roles of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence, who will now attend only when the council is considering issues in their direct areas of responsibilities.

    It is a startling elevation of a political adviser, to a status alongside the secretaries of state and defense, and over the president’s top military and intelligence advisers.

    Sure, Trump’s national security team was already something of a mess. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn clearly has no business holding his current post; his deputy is even less qualified; and the person the president tapped to oversee NSC communications was forced to resign.

    But this takes the problems to a whole new level. Susan Rice, who served as one of President Obama’s National Security Advisors, described Trump’s move as “stone cold crazy,” which also seems more than fair.

    Putting the former head of a right-wing website on the White House’s National Security Council is bonkers. Putting him on the National Security Council while removing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence is so plainly crazy that no one has been able to present a coherent defense.

    Reply
  99. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:27 am

    Good Morning, Everyone:)

    Reply
  100. rikyrah says:
    January 30, 2017 at 8:26 am

    White House has no regrets following incomplete Holocaust statement
    01/30/17 08:46 AM—UPDATED 01/30/17 08:47 AM
    By Steve Benen

    I’d assumed it was a careless mistake. Donald Trump’s White House issued an official statement honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but it made no reference to the Holocaust’s Jewish victims.

    The White House is not yet fully staffed, and many of those on Donald Trump’s team are, like the president himself, amateurs. And with that in mind, it was easy to assume that this was an oversight that Team Trump will have to avoid next year.

    Except, it turns out the Trump White House deliberately omitted references to Jews from their Holocaust Remembrance Day statement. One presidential spokesperson said the White House “took into account all of those who suffered” in order to be “inclusive.”

    Yesterday, as the Washington Post noted, Team Trump kept pushing this line.
    Facing growing criticism for failing to mention Jews in a statement marking the Holocaust, the Trump administration on Sunday doubled down on the controversial decision. […]

    “I don’t regret the words,” said White House chief of staff Reince Priebus when asked to defend the statement on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
    In the same interview, Priebus added that the White House considers “everyone’s suffering in the Holocaust … to be extraordinarily sad.”

    Wait, is the Trump White House all-lives-mattering the Nazi Holocaust?

    Reply

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