So Trump wants a military parade. Some think it’s a bad idea, that only dictators have them, or countries perceived as weak. I really have no opinion on this. I remember growing up going to the Veterans Day parades in Tucson. Since there was an Air Force base there, as well as an Army base 90 miles away, the city had a parade featuring all the military equipment you could imagine (no naval ships, obviously), including a flyover of fighter planes at 11:11, when the parade stopped for a moment of silence. All the high schools and the University had their bands there, and one of the trumpets from each band played taps at that time.
So let the Donald have his parade, as long as he realizes that the military might protects all Americans, and it doesn’t serve his agenda only.
“But we all understand the moral and political context. If you’re pro-life, and most of you reading this are, you know that Down’s babies are treated by most would-be parents as undesirables. They’re aborted at astronomical rates. In some European countries virtually 100 percent are killed in the womb; in the United States, a more religious nation, the rate is “only” two-thirds or so. The odds were against Lucas even being born. Now here’s Gerber’s making him the face of its product, an obvious statement about the value of Down’s children’s lives. He’s desirable after all.”
I can understand how a woman can talk for eight hours.
I can understand how a woman can stand for eight hours.
I can understand how a woman can go without eating for eight hours.
But she didn’t go to the bathroom for eight hours?
“House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has weighed whether it would be possible to bring Chief Justice John Roberts to “testify” before Congress as part of his investigation into political malfeasance at the Department of Justice.
In an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday, Nunes said GOP investigators had “grappled” with how to approach the courts about their
conclusion that the FBI misled a clandestine surveillance court. Roberts appoints the judges to that court.
“This is something that we have, like I said, we have thought a lot about this. And the answer is we don’t know the correct way to proceed because of the separation of powers issue,” Nunes said when asked if he would welcome a committee appearance by Roberts.
“I’m not aware of any time where a judge has, for lack of a better term, testified before the Congress,” Nunes said.
The “next step,” Nunes said, is to send a letter to courts to make them aware of his findings. But he and his staff are still debating whether to approach the Supreme Court or the surveillance court.
“If, somehow, this case ends up at the Supreme Court, somehow, some way, by sending a letter to Roberts, do you conflict the Court?” Nunes said, characterizing the internal debate.”
“While concerns over Russian penetration into the political system in the 2015-16 election cycle continue to percolate, allegations of other such penetrations continue to gain steam. The Hill’s John Solomon reports that an FBI informant has testified to three congressional committees that Moscow had taken special aim at political figures in its attempt to corner the global market on nuclear fuel. That penetration involved the Clinton Foundation, William Douglas Campbell insists, and the Obama administration knew it:
An FBI informant connected to the Uranium One controversy told three congressional committees in a written statement that Moscow routed millions of dollars to America with the expectation it would be used to benefit Bill Clinton’s charitable efforts while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quarterbacked a “reset” in US-Russian relations.
The informant, Douglas Campbell, said in the statement obtained by The Hill that he was told by Russian nuclear executives that Moscow had hired the American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide specifically because it was in position to influence the Obama administration, and more specifically Hillary Clinton. …
Campbell said Russian nuclear officials “told me at various times that they expected APCO to apply a portion of the $3 million annual lobbying fee it was receiving from the Russians to provide in-kind support for the Clinton’s Global Initiative,” he added in the testimony.
“The contract called for four payments of $750,000 over twelve months. APCO was expected to give assistance free of charge to the Clinton Global Initiative as part of their effort to create a favorable environment to ensure the Obama administration made affirmative decisions on everything from Uranium One to the U.S.-Russia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation agreement.“
As Solomon reported in October, the FBI discovered a Russian bribery and kickback operation in 2009. Campbell became an informant for the FBI, pushing bribes with their knowledge, often with his own money, in order to help illuminate the trail. His efforts helped get lower-level indictments, but then a funny thing happened, Campbell told Solomon. Rather than shutting down the efforts to grab control of US uranium producers, the Obama administration instead approved the deals — despite what Campbell had helped the FBI uncover:”
A 2nd source has now confirmed to me that, in a meeting on January 10, Deputy A-G Rosenstein used the power of his office to threaten to subpoena the calls & texts of the Intel Committee to get it to stop it’s investigation of DOJ and FBI. Likely an Abuse of Power & Obstruction.
“Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally reached a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) four months after her conservative bloc failed to win a majority in German elections. The deal forced Merkel to hand over key ministries and make painful concessions to her left-wing coalition partner. The details of the final agreement triggered criticism from both the media and the conservative bloc — made up of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
“Chancellor at any price,” wrote German tabloid Bild in its cover story. “Merkel hands over the government to the SPD.”
The price is enormous. The winner is primarily the SPD, which grabbed several top ministries. Fearing a new election, Chancellor gave up control over import positions within the government. CDU-chief Merkel becomes Chancellor at any price. [Translation by Author; Bild Zeitung, February 7, 2018]
Merkel’s handing over key ministries, such as finance, foreign and labor portfolios, to the SPD, was seen as a sign of weakness by many of her conservative supporters. German newspaper Die Welt reported the public mood:
An overwhelming majority of Germans see Chancellor Angela Merkel as weakened following the negotiations to form the new grand coalition. This impression is shared by the voters of [Merkel’s] conservative bloc as well. (…)
At 63 percent, almost a third of the population believes that Merkel has come out weaker from the coalition talks, a third of them consider her position to be ‘clearly weakened’. Only 16 percent see Chancellor in a position of strength, five percent of which see her coming out of this clearly strengthened. [Translation by Author; Die Welt, February 8, 2018]
Unlike Merkel’s conservative base, the pact was cheered by the EU top brass. “Fully in line with this new sense of a breakthrough moment for Europe,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said while commenting on the deal.”
“FBI Missed Clinton Emails Openly MARKED Classified, Wanted To Conclude Probe Before IG Caught Mistake
The FBI didn’t notice that some emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email server were marked classified with a “(C)” when they were sent — something that seemingly would have been one of the first and most obvious checks in an investigation, and one that FBI agents instantly recognized put the facts at odds with Clinton’s public statements.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General spotted it after the FBI missed it, texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, reveal. “Holy cow,” Strzok wrote, “if the FBI missed this, what else was missed?”
“Remind me to tell you to flag for Andy [redacted] emails we (actually ICIG) found that have portion marks (C) on a couple of paras. DoJ was Very Concerned about this,” he wrote.
“Found on the 30k [emails] provided to State originally. No one noticed. It cuts against ‘I never sent or received anything marked classified,’” he wrote, referring to statements by Clinton downplaying the danger of her email practices.
Much of the more in-depth investigation considered whether Clinton and her aides emailed materials that were classified but were not marked as such, a harder determination to make.
The exchange occurred on June 12, 2016. FBI Director Jim Comey disclosed the findings of marked-classified emails to the House on July 7.
On May 10, 2016, Strzok had suggested that in his mind, the investigation was closer to being finished than to just getting started — suggesting that if it weren’t for the inspector general, it might have closed down and cleared her despite missing the most obvious first step.
“I cannot overstate to you the sense of urgency about wanting to logically and effectively conclude this investigation,” he said.
The ommission allowed Clinton to repeatedly and prominently state that she had “never received nor sent any material that was marked classified” on her private email server while secretary of state.
She even said so at major debates, and because the FBI hadn’t caught the letter (C), and therefore never stated its findings, PolitiFact rated the claim “Half True.”
When the FBI belatedly noticed and relayed the truth, the fact-checking site said “Now we know it’s just plain wrong.””
To my friends among House conservatives: what is the purpose of remaining in office if we don't launch some sort of counter offensive at a time like this? You will never get a better opportunity than now, yet on every policy we are doing worse than in 2016.
“We now know that U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., got a copy of the anti-Trump dossier directly from the political opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
At least, that’s according to The Washington Post.
In an article titled, “Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation,” the newspaper detailed how McCain came to have a copy of the unverified dossier that he then forwarded to the FBI.
The article erases any doubt that McCain may not have known the origins of the dossier. It’s not clear if the Republican lawmaker knew that the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign provided funding for the research.
Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador to Moscow and friend of Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy behind the dossier, reached out to David Kramer to get the research on Trump into the hands of the Republicans, The Post reported.
Kramer, a former State Department official and close associate of McCain, would arrange for Wood to meet the senator in Canada in December 2016.”
———————–
“Released texts between Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who ran the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server, and his lover, FBI attorney Lisa Page, reveal the strong possibility that Strzok used his cell phone in a SCIF — a strict violation of protecting classified information.
Such a breach would compromise Strzok’s ability to probe Clinton for mishandling classified info and show a lack of awareness about security breaches, which is what he was tasked to investigate. The text messages that the Senate released Wednesday show that Strzok texted his mistress on Aug. 11, 2016, “We’re in Jims SCIF.”
SCIF stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and it is where the most sensitive classified material is kept and story. SCIFs strictly bar all electronic equipment and require all people place their phones in lockers before entering.
The lead up to Strzok’s visit to “Jims SCIF” took place around meetings at the Department of Justice. Strzok said he had meetings at “DoJ at 4 then Baker 430.”
Hours later, Page responds, “Can you and [redacted woman] come up and see me when you are done? Is [redacted woman] with you? Can you please come up here?”
“Walking to see JB. She is still in 4017,” Strzok texted in response at 4:31 p.m.
“We’re in Jims SCIF,” Strzok texted five minutes later. JB/Jim may refer to Jim Baker, then the FBI’s general counsel and a close ally of then-FBI Director Jim Comey.
James Waurishuk, a retired Air Force colonel, senior career strategic intelligence officer and National Security Council staffer, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that cell phones are stictly prohibited in the SCIF.
“You just don’t do it. And most places they will make sure they don’t have one with you. To not only bring it in but actually use it, I can’t fathom that,” he said. “And then to be texting your girlfriend — you’re not allowed to use it even for official government use.”
Strzok was investigating Clinton to determine whether her use of a private email server put classified information outside of secure channels. Strzok later expressed concern after he discovered the FBI had failed to detect emails that were openly labeled classified.
“That he’s investigating this while at the same time being guilty of similar violations — apparently texting in a SCIF — the irony is crippling, Waurishuk noted. “He can’t say she [Clinton] can’t do it when he’s doing it himself in the very performance of the investigation into her. Then there’s the issue that if it didn’t occur to him not do to this, is it going to jump out to him if Clinton does similar?””
“The government stumbled into a midnight shutdown Thursday as a rogue Senate Republican blocked a speedy vote on a massive, bipartisan, budget-busting spending deal, protesting the return of trillion-dollar deficits on the watch of Republicans controlling Washington.
A shutdown — technically a lapse in agency appropriations — became inevitable as GOP Sen. Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, which is married to a six-week government-wide spending measure. The Senate recessed around 11 p.m. with plans to reconvene just after midnight.
Paul was seeking a vote on reversing spending increases and refused to speed things up when he was denied.
“I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama’s trillion-dollar deficits,” the Kentucky senator said. “Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can’t in all honesty look the other way.”
While the government’s authority to spend some money would expire at midnight, there weren’t likely to be many clear immediate effects. Essential personnel would remain on the job regardless, and it appeared possible — if not likely — that the measure could pass both the Senate and House before most federal employees were due to report for work.
If the measure passes in the wee hours of the morning, the government would open in the morning on schedule, said John Czwartacki, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, the agency responsible for coordinating any shutdown.”
Wandering Views 
Bret Stephens writes about capitalism and environmentalism and tells about an interesting book.
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What is going on between the Pope and China:
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So Trump wants a military parade. Some think it’s a bad idea, that only dictators have them, or countries perceived as weak. I really have no opinion on this. I remember growing up going to the Veterans Day parades in Tucson. Since there was an Air Force base there, as well as an Army base 90 miles away, the city had a parade featuring all the military equipment you could imagine (no naval ships, obviously), including a flyover of fighter planes at 11:11, when the parade stopped for a moment of silence. All the high schools and the University had their bands there, and one of the trumpets from each band played taps at that time.
So let the Donald have his parade, as long as he realizes that the military might protects all Americans, and it doesn’t serve his agenda only.
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Here’s a cool link.
Eerie infrared photos of modern day Chernobyl.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5361647/Chernobyl-youve-never-seen-before.html
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🙂
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/02/07/meet-new-gerbers-baby-first-ever-downs-syndrome/
“But we all understand the moral and political context. If you’re pro-life, and most of you reading this are, you know that Down’s babies are treated by most would-be parents as undesirables. They’re aborted at astronomical rates. In some European countries virtually 100 percent are killed in the womb; in the United States, a more religious nation, the rate is “only” two-thirds or so. The odds were against Lucas even being born. Now here’s Gerber’s making him the face of its product, an obvious statement about the value of Down’s children’s lives. He’s desirable after all.”
“Other Down’s parents are understandably elated:”
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Dreher tells the sad story of what is happening at Baylor:
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/
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I can understand how a woman can talk for eight hours.
I can understand how a woman can stand for eight hours.
I can understand how a woman can go without eating for eight hours.
But she didn’t go to the bathroom for eight hours?
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I thought the same thing.
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Yet another one jumping ship… for personal reasons (wink, wink).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-official-who-helped-oversee-clinton-russia-probes-steps-down/2018/02/07/ab19f24e-0b69-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html?utm_term=.2f028e1cb774
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Depends……
What?
She’s 77, it’s not unheard of for a woman or man of her age…
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Oh my. This would certainly escalate things.
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/372833-nunes-weve-grappled-with-approaching-chief-justice-roberts
“House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has weighed whether it would be possible to bring Chief Justice John Roberts to “testify” before Congress as part of his investigation into political malfeasance at the Department of Justice.
In an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday, Nunes said GOP investigators had “grappled” with how to approach the courts about their
conclusion that the FBI misled a clandestine surveillance court. Roberts appoints the judges to that court.
“This is something that we have, like I said, we have thought a lot about this. And the answer is we don’t know the correct way to proceed because of the separation of powers issue,” Nunes said when asked if he would welcome a committee appearance by Roberts.
“I’m not aware of any time where a judge has, for lack of a better term, testified before the Congress,” Nunes said.
The “next step,” Nunes said, is to send a letter to courts to make them aware of his findings. But he and his staff are still debating whether to approach the Supreme Court or the surveillance court.
“If, somehow, this case ends up at the Supreme Court, somehow, some way, by sending a letter to Roberts, do you conflict the Court?” Nunes said, characterizing the internal debate.”
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In news we already knew…..
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/02/08/fbi-informant-russians-routed-big-bucks-clinton-foundation-grease-skids-uranium-monopoly/
“While concerns over Russian penetration into the political system in the 2015-16 election cycle continue to percolate, allegations of other such penetrations continue to gain steam. The Hill’s John Solomon reports that an FBI informant has testified to three congressional committees that Moscow had taken special aim at political figures in its attempt to corner the global market on nuclear fuel. That penetration involved the Clinton Foundation, William Douglas Campbell insists, and the Obama administration knew it:
An FBI informant connected to the Uranium One controversy told three congressional committees in a written statement that Moscow routed millions of dollars to America with the expectation it would be used to benefit Bill Clinton’s charitable efforts while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quarterbacked a “reset” in US-Russian relations.
The informant, Douglas Campbell, said in the statement obtained by The Hill that he was told by Russian nuclear executives that Moscow had hired the American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide specifically because it was in position to influence the Obama administration, and more specifically Hillary Clinton. …
Campbell said Russian nuclear officials “told me at various times that they expected APCO to apply a portion of the $3 million annual lobbying fee it was receiving from the Russians to provide in-kind support for the Clinton’s Global Initiative,” he added in the testimony.
“The contract called for four payments of $750,000 over twelve months. APCO was expected to give assistance free of charge to the Clinton Global Initiative as part of their effort to create a favorable environment to ensure the Obama administration made affirmative decisions on everything from Uranium One to the U.S.-Russia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation agreement.“
As Solomon reported in October, the FBI discovered a Russian bribery and kickback operation in 2009. Campbell became an informant for the FBI, pushing bribes with their knowledge, often with his own money, in order to help illuminate the trail. His efforts helped get lower-level indictments, but then a funny thing happened, Campbell told Solomon. Rather than shutting down the efforts to grab control of US uranium producers, the Obama administration instead approved the deals — despite what Campbell had helped the FBI uncover:”
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A first…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/08/bermuda-repeal-same-sex-marriage
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I guess she had to sell out.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/02/merkel-reaches-costly-deal-to-form-coalition-government/
“Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally reached a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) four months after her conservative bloc failed to win a majority in German elections. The deal forced Merkel to hand over key ministries and make painful concessions to her left-wing coalition partner. The details of the final agreement triggered criticism from both the media and the conservative bloc — made up of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
“Chancellor at any price,” wrote German tabloid Bild in its cover story. “Merkel hands over the government to the SPD.”
The price is enormous. The winner is primarily the SPD, which grabbed several top ministries. Fearing a new election, Chancellor gave up control over import positions within the government. CDU-chief Merkel becomes Chancellor at any price. [Translation by Author; Bild Zeitung, February 7, 2018]
Merkel’s handing over key ministries, such as finance, foreign and labor portfolios, to the SPD, was seen as a sign of weakness by many of her conservative supporters. German newspaper Die Welt reported the public mood:
An overwhelming majority of Germans see Chancellor Angela Merkel as weakened following the negotiations to form the new grand coalition. This impression is shared by the voters of [Merkel’s] conservative bloc as well. (…)
At 63 percent, almost a third of the population believes that Merkel has come out weaker from the coalition talks, a third of them consider her position to be ‘clearly weakened’. Only 16 percent see Chancellor in a position of strength, five percent of which see her coming out of this clearly strengthened. [Translation by Author; Die Welt, February 8, 2018]
Unlike Merkel’s conservative base, the pact was cheered by the EU top brass. “Fully in line with this new sense of a breakthrough moment for Europe,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said while commenting on the deal.”
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Nope. Nothin’ to see here…..
Move along….
http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/07/fbi-clinton-emails-marked-classified/
“FBI Missed Clinton Emails Openly MARKED Classified, Wanted To Conclude Probe Before IG Caught Mistake
The FBI didn’t notice that some emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email server were marked classified with a “(C)” when they were sent — something that seemingly would have been one of the first and most obvious checks in an investigation, and one that FBI agents instantly recognized put the facts at odds with Clinton’s public statements.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General spotted it after the FBI missed it, texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, reveal. “Holy cow,” Strzok wrote, “if the FBI missed this, what else was missed?”
“Remind me to tell you to flag for Andy [redacted] emails we (actually ICIG) found that have portion marks (C) on a couple of paras. DoJ was Very Concerned about this,” he wrote.
“Found on the 30k [emails] provided to State originally. No one noticed. It cuts against ‘I never sent or received anything marked classified,’” he wrote, referring to statements by Clinton downplaying the danger of her email practices.
Much of the more in-depth investigation considered whether Clinton and her aides emailed materials that were classified but were not marked as such, a harder determination to make.
The exchange occurred on June 12, 2016. FBI Director Jim Comey disclosed the findings of marked-classified emails to the House on July 7.
On May 10, 2016, Strzok had suggested that in his mind, the investigation was closer to being finished than to just getting started — suggesting that if it weren’t for the inspector general, it might have closed down and cleared her despite missing the most obvious first step.
“I cannot overstate to you the sense of urgency about wanting to logically and effectively conclude this investigation,” he said.
The ommission allowed Clinton to repeatedly and prominently state that she had “never received nor sent any material that was marked classified” on her private email server while secretary of state.
She even said so at major debates, and because the FBI hadn’t caught the letter (C), and therefore never stated its findings, PolitiFact rated the claim “Half True.”
When the FBI belatedly noticed and relayed the truth, the fact-checking site said “Now we know it’s just plain wrong.””
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$1.7 TRILLION. Cannot believe we keep voting for these guys.
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Ha!
No wonder McCain keeps siding with the Dems. He was in on it too.
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/02/08/now-know-john-mccain-got-copy-anti-trump-dossier-directly-fusion-gps-599870
“We now know that U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., got a copy of the anti-Trump dossier directly from the political opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
At least, that’s according to The Washington Post.
In an article titled, “Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation,” the newspaper detailed how McCain came to have a copy of the unverified dossier that he then forwarded to the FBI.
The article erases any doubt that McCain may not have known the origins of the dossier. It’s not clear if the Republican lawmaker knew that the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign provided funding for the research.
Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador to Moscow and friend of Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy behind the dossier, reached out to David Kramer to get the research on Trump into the hands of the Republicans, The Post reported.
Kramer, a former State Department official and close associate of McCain, would arrange for Wood to meet the senator in Canada in December 2016.”
———————–
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It just gets better.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/08/strzok-cell-phone-scif/
“Released texts between Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who ran the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server, and his lover, FBI attorney Lisa Page, reveal the strong possibility that Strzok used his cell phone in a SCIF — a strict violation of protecting classified information.
Such a breach would compromise Strzok’s ability to probe Clinton for mishandling classified info and show a lack of awareness about security breaches, which is what he was tasked to investigate. The text messages that the Senate released Wednesday show that Strzok texted his mistress on Aug. 11, 2016, “We’re in Jims SCIF.”
SCIF stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and it is where the most sensitive classified material is kept and story. SCIFs strictly bar all electronic equipment and require all people place their phones in lockers before entering.
The lead up to Strzok’s visit to “Jims SCIF” took place around meetings at the Department of Justice. Strzok said he had meetings at “DoJ at 4 then Baker 430.”
Hours later, Page responds, “Can you and [redacted woman] come up and see me when you are done? Is [redacted woman] with you? Can you please come up here?”
“Walking to see JB. She is still in 4017,” Strzok texted in response at 4:31 p.m.
“We’re in Jims SCIF,” Strzok texted five minutes later. JB/Jim may refer to Jim Baker, then the FBI’s general counsel and a close ally of then-FBI Director Jim Comey.
James Waurishuk, a retired Air Force colonel, senior career strategic intelligence officer and National Security Council staffer, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that cell phones are stictly prohibited in the SCIF.
“You just don’t do it. And most places they will make sure they don’t have one with you. To not only bring it in but actually use it, I can’t fathom that,” he said. “And then to be texting your girlfriend — you’re not allowed to use it even for official government use.”
Strzok was investigating Clinton to determine whether her use of a private email server put classified information outside of secure channels. Strzok later expressed concern after he discovered the FBI had failed to detect emails that were openly labeled classified.
“That he’s investigating this while at the same time being guilty of similar violations — apparently texting in a SCIF — the irony is crippling, Waurishuk noted. “He can’t say she [Clinton] can’t do it when he’s doing it himself in the very performance of the investigation into her. Then there’s the issue that if it didn’t occur to him not do to this, is it going to jump out to him if Clinton does similar?””
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Tax cuts = bigger deficits, especially in the short term when you are investing in infrastructure.
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Rand Paul is voicing his opposition.
Live streamed here.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?440920-1/budget-deal-stalls-senate-spending-caps&live
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The govt. is officially shut down, at least for now, thanks to Rand Paul.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-leaders-budget-deal-faces-053327878.html
“The government stumbled into a midnight shutdown Thursday as a rogue Senate Republican blocked a speedy vote on a massive, bipartisan, budget-busting spending deal, protesting the return of trillion-dollar deficits on the watch of Republicans controlling Washington.
A shutdown — technically a lapse in agency appropriations — became inevitable as GOP Sen. Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, which is married to a six-week government-wide spending measure. The Senate recessed around 11 p.m. with plans to reconvene just after midnight.
Paul was seeking a vote on reversing spending increases and refused to speed things up when he was denied.
“I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama’s trillion-dollar deficits,” the Kentucky senator said. “Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can’t in all honesty look the other way.”
While the government’s authority to spend some money would expire at midnight, there weren’t likely to be many clear immediate effects. Essential personnel would remain on the job regardless, and it appeared possible — if not likely — that the measure could pass both the Senate and House before most federal employees were due to report for work.
If the measure passes in the wee hours of the morning, the government would open in the morning on schedule, said John Czwartacki, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, the agency responsible for coordinating any shutdown.”
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