“EXCLUSIVE: Cabal Of Wealthy Donors Financing $50 Million Trump-Russia Investigation
“A group of wealthy donors from New York and California have forked out $50 million to fund a Russia investigation being conducted by Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS and a former Senate staffer for Dianne Feinstein.
That bombshell revelation is made in a footnote to the House Intelligence Committee’s newly released report on Russian interference in the presidential campaign.
Fusion GPS hired Steele, a former MI6 agent, to investigate Trump’s activities in Russia. He would go on to produce a 35-page report alleging collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
The Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee funded the project. A law firm representing the organizations hired Fusion GPS in April 2016.”
——————
Let’s just say Trump’s skills as an international negotiator have been a pleasant surprise, even to me, and that early reports to the contrary may have been premature. 🙂
“Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Friday that President Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize if North and South Korea formally agree to denuclearize and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.
“It wouldn’t have happened without Trump,” Graham said on Fox News.
“What happened? Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change,” he said. “We’re not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House this week hoping to convince Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and to back off his protectionist trade policies. But by the time they left, both leaders had largely given up trying to convince Trump he was wrong and instead focused on how to work around their differences.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had been keeping Trump at arm’s length in recent months, defied the threat of mass protests this week to finally invite him to visit what is often called America’s closest ally.
And the Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo, a Trump political ally and former tea party congressman, to be secretary of state, giving the president a foreign policy team more in line with the international policies he promoted during the campaign.”
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“Merkel’s cordial afternoon visit Friday was brief by comparison with the three days of frills accorded Macron earlier in the week.
Merkel came to make a final argument to Trump that he should not break the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, ahead of a May 12 deadline. Macron had already suggested that his own diplomacy had failed to sway Trump away from his opposition to what the president calls a “bad deal.”
Merkel was also making a practical argument for exempting Europe from new tariffs on steel and aluminum that would take effect on May 1. Trump’s reasons for the tariffs are, like his views on the Iran deal, rooted in his populist worldview – the “America First” campaign slogan put in action no matter the horrified complaints of allies and some in Trump’s own party.
That traditional allies had to come to him, asking for a change of heart on issues where the United States and Europe once walked in step, shows the ways in which Trump has rewritten the rules.
“The president will decide. That is very clear,” Merkel said. “We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs of the negotiations, and the respective assessments on where we stand on this. And the decision lies with the president.”
Merkel leads Europe’s most populous country, and is the longest-serving leader among the major European powers – a mainstay of the kind of cautious consensus politics Trump instinctively rejects.
But more than a year after their awkward first White House meeting, dominated by Trump’s pet peeve about German contributions to NATO that he considers paltry, Merkel seemed to have the hang of navigating policy disagreements with an American leader she must nonetheless court.”
“South Korea’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said President Donald Trump “clearly” gets the “credit” for bringing North Korea to the table for a historic peace meeting on Friday.
“Clearly, credit goes to President Trump,” Kang told CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour. “He’s been determined to come to grips with this from day one.”
On Friday, North Korean despot Kim Jong Un crossed the the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea for peace talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The duo established a goal of peace with no nuclear arms, reports The New York Times. President Trump is set to meet Kim this summer.
“I think we’re all surprised. Obviously pleasantly surprised,” Kang said hours before the historic meeting.”
“Alfie Evans, the sick British toddler whose parents won support from Pope Francis during a protracted legal battle over his treatment, died early Saturday. He was 23 months old.
Kate James and Tom Evans made the announcement on social media, saying they were “heartbroken.” The death of Alfie, who had a rare degenerative brain condition that left him in a “semi-vegetative state” with almost no brain function, came five days after doctors removed life support.
Doctors overseeing Alfie’s care in the city of Liverpool said further treatment was futile and not in his best interests, and that he should be allowed to die. But his parents fought for months to try to convince judges to allow them to take him to the Vatican’s children’s hospital so he could be kept on life support. The parents’ campaign was backed by the pope and Christian groups, which helped draw international attention to the case.
The hospital withdrew Alfie’s life support Monday after a series of court rulings sided with the doctors and blocked further medical treatment.
“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30,” Evans, 21, said in Facebook post decorated with a broken heart and crying emojis.”
An other issue is the collapse of the North Korean testing infrastructure. Its been reported that the mountain which contains the testing site has collapsed. The North Koeans have to rebuild the infrastructure needed for the nuclear program.
This leads to the next problen for Kim. China is very reluctant to let North Korea collapse and destabiize the border. Hence they continue to suppprt the regime. Its quite likely they told Kim the support was to maintain civil order (ie social welfare) and not to rebuild the nuclear program.
Re: first post. No surprise there; both parties are equally corrupted by corporate and plutocratic money. I’m sure some of the donors to the Democratic effort also donated to Republican canidates who initially requested the dossier. But hey money is free speech and all.
I can speak from personal experience that end of life decisions for children are difficult for parents and there is no right answer. Each parent has theirown response. I would argue to know when to quit and to a firm DNR plan ahead of time. I also would encourage parents to think of the child’s needs ahead of their emotional needs and natural instinct to preserve their child’s life no matter what.
In most countries the courts are often asked to decide when a doctor’s opinion conflicts with parents. It appears that judges sided with the doctors and decide no extraordinary efforts should be made. And the courts were probably right.
It would be a very hard situation for parents. I can understand court involvement when parents or guardians disagree among themselves regarding treatment. But Alfie’s parents were in agreement and had found qualified doctors who were willing to treat, and I believe they had raised money for the treatment. In this case, as in the Charlie Guard case, the court involvement seems to usurp the parents proper role. I confess that is the one thing that gives me pause in single payer health care. It’s not as though the courts cannot be involved here now, but it seems that when the government is picking up the tab, it may over-estimate its own authority in the case.
My son had a serious operation as an infant, but I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for parents to make end of life decisions for a young child.
Debra, It seems that Trump and Republican leaders are having our debate and Trump is taking your side. I wonder if chocolate and barbecue is at stake.
“The report released Friday by the House Intelligence Committee regarding its investigation into alleged Russian collusion by the president’s election campaign appears to contain a stunning truth bomb about CNN host Jake Tapper: He may have participated in political espionage, according to one high-profile attorney.
In early 2017 he allowed then-National Intelligence Director James Clapper to leak information to him about the infamous Trump dossier and about a high-level government meeting held between then-President-elect Donald Trump and then-FBI Director James Comey.
“Clapper’s discussion with Tapper took place in early January 2017, around the time IC [intelligence community] leaders briefed President Obama and President-elect Trump, on” the dossier, the report specifically reads.
Afterward Tapper and three of his colleagues published a story containing the information Clapper had provided him, including info about the highly classified dossier.
All this matters because Clapper later lied to Congress about the dossier’s leak and then wound up becoming a contributor at CNN.
“When initially asked about leaks related to the ICA in July 2017, former ONI Clapper flatly denied ‘discussing[ing] the dossier [compiled by Steele] or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists,’” the report notes.
One month later, Clapper officially joined CNN as a contributor.
When combined, these various facts form the basis for a political espionage charge, according to Vegas attorney and political commentator Robert Barnes.
And since Tapper contributed to Clapper’s espionage by accepting his classified information and then sharing it with the masses, he’s equally guilty, according to Barnes.
“[J]ournalists are not exempt from criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act,” Barnes tweeted Friday. “Indeed, it appears what @jaketapper did is worse than what his CIA allies said Assange should go to prison for.””
It is always helpful to read the documents in the case, and Alfie Evans’ case is no exception. This is Justice Hayden’s decision: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/alder-hey-v-evans.pdf. It is clear, from the statements – quoted in Justice Hayden’s decision, that:
a) The Italian hospital had no cure, only continued care on the ventilator using a permanent tracheostomy (hole made in the neck through the tracheal cartilage to attach a ventilator to), and were concerned that air transport of Alfie might cause further brain damage – from their statement quoted by the justice:
It is therefore possible that a prolonged ventilator support, with surgical tracheostomy should be performed…
During clinical evaluation there were epileptic seizures induced by propreoseptiv stimuli and associated with neurovegetative symptoms as cardiac rhythm and blood pressure disfunctions. This finding might affect a possible commute. A hypothetical transfer might be done from the patients bed to ambulance, to airport and subsequent ambulance or helicopter to the final destination. It is possible that during the travel Alfie may present continuous seizures due to stimulations related to the transportation and flight; those seizures might induce further damage to brain, being the whole procedure of transportation at risk.
b) Alder Hey hospital, where Alfie was, called in several outside experts, both on their own volition and at the parents’ request, to give opinions on the case and that the experts were unanimous in saying that the case was incurable and irreversible -furthermore, the anatomical descriptions of the brain damage in the Justice’s report make it clear that there was nothing to be done:
The scan of 2 February 2018 confirmed the progressive destruction of the white matter of the brain which Dr R interpreted as now appearing almost identical to water and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In addition, new areas of signal abnormality were demonstrated in the deep grey matter of the basal ganglia. The thalami, which I have been told fire the pathways within the white matter which generate sensory perception is, Dr R points out, effectively invisible in the scan. In simple terms the thalami, basal ganglia, the vast majority of the white matter of the brain and a significant degree of the cortex have been wiped out by this remorseless degenerative condition.
c) Alfie Evans was well cared for at Alder Hey hospital and was not starved as some sites falsely reported – this is evident, once again, from the Italian hospital’s report, in which they note that:
Feeding and hydration are artificially provided through a nasogastric tube since several months, a clear indication for a gastrostomy is evident. Renal and liver functions seemed normal. Alfie appeared to be very well cared and despite eight months of ICU admission he did not present skin lesions due to posture
N.B. A gastronomy is a permanent hole of entry directly into the stomach, while a nasogastric tube is inserted through the nose into the stomach – both are used for feeding and hydration. The Italian hospital is saying that the nasogastric feeding tube has been in place for several months and they would simply insert a feeding tube directly through the skin of the upper abdomen into the stomach.
Finally, the Justice quotes the Vatican’s own position when it comes to extraordinary measures, i.e. life support:
The growing therapeutic capabilities of medical science have made it possible to eliminate many diseases, to improve health and to prolong people’s life span. While these developments have proved quite positive, it has also become possible nowadays to extend life by means that were inconceivable in the past. Surgery and other medical interventions have become ever more effective, but they are not always beneficial: they can sustain, or even replace, failing vital functions, but that is not the same as promoting health. Greater wisdom is called for today, because of the temptation to insist on treatments that have powerful effects on the body, yet at times do not serve the integral good of the person.
Some sixty years ago, Pope Pius XII, in a memorable address to anaesthesiologists and intensive care specialists, stated that there is no obligation to have recourse in all circumstances to every possible remedy and that, in some specific cases, it is permissible to refrain from their use (cf. AAS XLIX [1957], 1027-1033). Consequently, it is morally licit to decide not to adopt therapeutic measures, or to discontinue them, when their use does not meet that ethical and humanistic standard that would later be called “due proportion in the use of remedies” (cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration on Euthanasia, 5 May 1980, IV: AAS LXXII [1980], 542-552).
The specific element of this criterion is that it considers “the result that can be expected, taking into account the state of the sick person and his or her physical and moral resources” (ibid.). It thus makes possible a decision that is morally qualified as withdrawal of “overzealous treatment. Such a decision responsibly acknowledges the limitations of our mortality, once it becomes clear that opposition to it is futile. “Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2278). This difference of perspective restores humanity to the accompaniment of the dying, while not attempting to justify the suppression of the living. It is clear that not adopting, or else suspending, disproportionate measures, means avoiding overzealous treatment; from an ethical standpoint, it is completely different from euthanasia, which is always wrong, in that the intent of euthanasia is to end life and cause death.
Without the modern day treatment of Alder Hey hospital, Alfie Evans would have died long before today. The ventilator is a measure that is not even a hundred years old. What killed him was a rare neurodegenerative disease, not the withdrawal of what the Vatican calls disproportionate measures.
Like several of you, having now been through the death of an infant, albeit a child in utero, this is very difficult.
Some doctors were hurtfully blunt, but for the most part, everyone was excessively kind.
I think they needed to tag team as they did– we always knew it was a miracle or nothing. They let us wait until the answer became clear, but we were not using up scarce medical dollars on the wait.
The British hospital system is nearly broke. The system probably thought it had to choose between money and compassion. The sense is the Italian hospital would have leaned on compassion.
That’s my take. Those parents are so young. I pray they get wise spiritual counsel that helps them grieve well and completely.
After a week in and out of Catholic Churches, I pray they find a sensitive priest concerned about their hearts and souls.
“Comedian” Michelle Wolf was very cruel in her “jokes” aimed at Sarah Sanders at the Correspondents Dinner last night. Liberals are ridiculously defending her by saying that is how Trump acts. The following is true.
Maggie Haberman posted this Tweet in support of Sanders.
That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive.
@ 6:45 As a Trump supporter, I don’t like lies. I really don’t like lies told to the American people by Presidents, particularly when it costs lives and millions or billions of dollars. But the press and other antagonists of the current President don’t seem capable of distinguishing between lies of the magnitude of Iran-Contra or lies that send US troops snipe hunting in Iraq for WMDs, and lies about crowd size. Suddenly they are all like God: a lie is a lie is a lie. Meanwhile, page after page of news script is printed, sold, tweeted and retweeted with little regard to its accuracy when it suits the publishers’ agendas. I do think many have become desensitized to what might be considered the small lies. That desensitization took place over many decades of being subjected to the grand and costly lies. Trump is reaping the benefits in the form of a free pass. The press is just angry that it no longer gets the same deal from many people. And to add insult to injury, all of Trump’s huffing and puffing may just end up getting him nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. ;–)
@6:56 these are hard times. They are times of correction, and that is always painful. But if we are able to follow through the political correction, and further, to obtain the grace for spiritual correction, it will have been worth the discomfort.
Debra @ 7:58. The times are going to get much, much worse.
1. The Democrats are going to take over in 2018 and 2020. Young people and educated women are lost to Republicans for a long time.
2. Trump has removed all “norms”, requirements for honesty and respect for the rule of law. When the Democrats take power again, they are going to be ruthless in their promotion of socialism, tree hugging, perversion and abortion. The “Christian Right” has proved to be completely hypocritical (and is a bad joke to the vast majority of Americans) and will be powerless to stop them.
Ricky @8:02 I assure you the NYT editorial board has been made aware of my opinions, and they cared not a fig. I know, shocking isn’t it.
@8:09 It’s too soon to be Chicken Littles in regard to the political future of the country. After all, it was only a few short months ago that we were all in a tizzy over the possibility of Trump starting WWIII with his ‘rocket man’ tweet. Now we see the heads of NKo and SKo holding hands, smiling and traipsing over each other’s DMZ barriers while praising Trump and declaring the intent to denuclearize. The only thing I will grant you at this point is that it is sometimes hard to predict which party is imploding faster. For my part, I give that dubious credit all to the Democrats at this point. But I would never underestimate the ability of Republicans to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, so I don’t count them out just yet: they could, with some effort on their part, still lose. The more interesting element is the spiritual. I do not see this as inconsequential in our political outcomes. While I do not see God as a partisan participant, still He is active in our affairs. To me, He is the real wildcard and the real hope, much more so than Trump. Things could turn out well yet.
Starz is showing Idiocracy every few weeks. I think they are doing niche marketing to Never Trumpers.
It is fun to watch the movie every few months to see new parts of the movie that have now actually happened. The Trump Cult’s treatment of James Comey has been eerily similar to the way the residents of Idiocracy treated the one person of normal intelligence. The Fox News segments of the movie and real life are the best.
Terrible things happened over the next years in Cambodia and Vietnam, so this isn't of course a simply happy story. But: Less than six years later Ronald Reagan was president. Less than fifteen years later the Berlin Wall fell. We've come back before. We'll come back again.
Ricky @9:22 This is true, but it can still turn out well. I have heard people compare Trump to King David, but I see a likeness to King Nebuchadnezzar—whether he is pre- or post or currently ruminating in the fields spiritually with hair like feathers and nails like claws, I cannot say. What I do know is that we are pilgrims in this world and have no abiding city or country, so we make do with what He gives us until the perfect comes. ;–)
Debra, I also see the comparison with Nebuchadnezzar. There are similarities in their personalities. I guess that makes Pence the Daniel character.
From a national standpoint, the comparison has to be Chapter 4. We are essentially leaderless as allies worry and adversaries plot how to take advantage and all wonder if and when the US will ever return to “normal”.
The UK like most European countries has a dual track healthcare system; that is a private option is available if there is money. However no British physician stepped forward. Professional courtsey prevented extraordinary measure not govt health care. Physicians are loath to overrule each other esp in end of life care. Hence the Italian option. Another country with a very similar system but with physicians with no prfessional obligations to British doctors.
With the pessimism and predictions of doom I read here and elsewhere, its important to realize this case illustrates how far we’ve come. Our attention to it indicates we view it as anomaly and a tragedy, but less than 100 years ago an infant death was fairly normal. My mother, in depression era Netherlands, was one of seven siblings but only three survived to adulthood.
In the 1920s, 10% of all infants in the US before their second birthday. Now its .5%. And thats considered high for a a developed country. Besides the general increase in wealth, the advancements in public healrh (clean water), vaccines, and universal health care have lowered the rate. When those are neglected, eg Flint drinking water and false news on vaccines, progress is halted.
Scandinavian countries have an infant mortality rate between 2 and 2.5 per 1000 births whereas Canada is at 4.6, Cuba at 4.9 and the US at 5.3. If Cuba can bring it down to 4.9 than the US and Canada need to rethink their priorities. Yes Alfie’s death is a tragedy and for some an afront to their pro life values, but every year 2 per 1000 children die unnecesarily in the UK, the US and Canada just because resources are allocated differently than in Scandinavia.
I watched Wolf’s speech. It wasn’t funny and fairly low brow. I didn’t think her remarks on Sanders were any worse than rest. The Aunt Lydia of Handmaidens Tale analogy was apt considering how she treats the press and how both Aunt Lydia and she protect misogyny. I did think the smokey eye bit was a bit off. However her whole delivery was off and rushed and nervous. I did like her reminder that Flint still doesnt have drinking water.
One also needs to remember Sanders was there to represent Trump. Trump refused to face the roasting and instead scarificed a young woman……you can draw out the implications and conclusions from there.
America had a chance for political/spiritual correction but they didnt reelect Carter. Perhaps Sanders could be the answer; he is after all a Jewish carpenter. But Trump isnt a correction he’s an embrace of the swamp. After Trump nothing will be off the table no matter how crass.
The collapse of morality, ethics, honesty and respect for the rule of law among Republicans is disturbing.
The collapse of intelligence among Republicans is stunning, but hilarious.
Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, Francis Schaeffer and Jeanne Kirkpatrick articulated the philosophical basis of Reaganism. Diamond and Silk articulate the philosophical basis of Trumpism.
Ricky, You keep mentioning the lack of respect for the rule of law among Republicans, but I have not noticed a lack of respect in the party for the rule of law. On the contrary, it seems to me that in some areas the respect for law is increasing. Where do you see the rule of law falling apart?
Comey was the Republican FBI Director trying to do his job to enforce the law. Rosenstein is the (Trump-appointed) Assistant Attorney General trying to do his job to enforce the law. Cox is the (Trump-appointed) FBI Director trying to do his job to enforce the law. Republican Mueller is investigating how Russia interfered in the last election. Those men and others have been the subject of relentless attacks from the lying Trump, his cult and his halfwit stooges such as Nunes. Neither Nixon during Watergate nor Clinton during Lewinski made such attacks on law enforcement personnel. Idiotically following the lead of Trump, the House Intelligence Committee (led by Ag Major Nunes) became a pathetic kangaroo court that was a national embarrassment. Cowed by Trump, many Republicans have been silent as Trump and his lieutenants (in the media and elsewhere) slander law enforcement and brainwash his gullible cultists.
Debra, This article explains a little more. One of the most troubling things I have seen is Trump pressuring the Justice Dept. to prosecute his political enemies. He tries to act like the head of a banana republic. To this point, most of the safeguards have held. However, we see here every day that Trump cultists will support any crackpot idea he may have to persecute or prosecute his enemies.
Oh. I thought you meant there was a reduction in enforcement of actual laws passed by Congress—you know, illegally buying and selling drugs, illegally entering the country, abuse of civil forfeiture…that sort of thing. You meant political appointees are being bashed over their poor job performance…or for leaking classified information or being otherwise untrustworthy. And by ‘cult’ you mean the many voters who are no longer allowing those things to pass as ‘law enforcement’. I understand now. :–)
And I always thought you were an ideological Trumpkin rather than a Trump cultist. The brainwashing has been amazingly effective. How anyone would take the word of a pathological liar and lifelong con artist over the word of respected public servants is amazing. However, in Idiocracy all of the people did take the word of their flamboyant con-artist President over the word of the two people left on earth with IQs of 100.
Neither Nixon during Watergate nor Clinton during Lewinski made such attacks on law enforcement personnel.
Nixon had his Saturday Night Massacre; Clinton (via staff cronies) demonized Ken Starr.
It’s possible to believe Donald Trump is right about some things, and tells the truth about some things, without being a brainwashed “cultist.” It’s possible to have these discussions without talking like 12 year olds.
SolarP, Archibald Cox was a special prosecutor as was Kenneth Starr. Neither Nixon nor Clinton attacked the FBI Director, FBI agents, the Attorney General, any Assistant Attorney General or other regular Justice Department officials. If Trump and one or more career law enforcement officials are in a he said/he said battle over facts, only brainwashed cultists will believe Trump. When has Trump ever told the truth in such a he said/he said dispute? If Trump is in a he said/he said battle with a poorly trained 3 year old, rational people could choose to believe Trump.
Wolf did an excellent job of showing the true colors of the American progressive.
An R/X rated spectacle that started poorly and ended up in the bottom of the canyon. Another victory for @realDonaldTrump for not attending and proving his point once again. The room was uncomfortable. Trump lovers and even a large number of Trump haters were pretty miserable.
A perfect example is the recent dispute between Trump and Comey over the pee tape. In contemporaneous notes Comey recorded that Trump told him the story couldn’t be true because Trump hadn’t spent the night in Russia. Air logs recently revealed Trump did spend all of a Friday night in Russia. Trump now claims he didn’t tell Comey he didn’t spend the night in Russia. So who do you believe? It is extremely unlikely Comey had seen the logs at the time he wrote the memo. Most educated people believe there is a pee tape just like they believe most of the things in the “dossier” are true. Why? Because it is the type of thing Trump would do and Trump lied about a critical fact to try to create an alibi. Trump lies. It is his profession.
And you’ve really lost the room when CNN calls you out.
Couldn’t agree more. So much important and amazing journalism this year — that should be the focus, when truth matters and is needed more than ever. It was an embarrassment in the room and surely to the audience at home. https://t.co/vhbnG6tn55
Again, a smart move by Trump to avoid this fiasco.
Every caricature thrust upon the national press—that we are culturally elitist, professionally incestuous, socioeconomically detached and ideologically biased—is confirmed by this trainwreck of an event.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has pushed back the estimated completion date of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents pertaining to its communications with the security firm that examined the Democratic National Committee’s hacked servers to October.
The Washington Free Beacon submitted the FOIA request in July 2017 with the FBI seeking all communication between the bureau and CrowdStrike, Inc., the California-based cyber security firm that examined the DNC’s servers following the infiltration that led to the release of John Podesta’s emails. The FBI said in December the documents should be available by March.
The FBI, which was never granted access to the DNC’s servers for inspection, instead relied on the third-party firm that was brought in by the DNC for information regarding the compromised network who concluded that Russia was behind the hack.”
——————-
“As part of the initial FOIA request, the Free Beacon also sought an expedited delivery of the documents noting its “widespread and exceptional media interest,” but was denied.
The DNC previously claimed that the FBI had never asked for access to its servers. However, former FBI Director James Comey testified that the bureau had sought access to the servers numerous times.
“Ultimately, what was agreed to is the private company would share with us what they saw,” Comey said last year in reference to CrowdStrike.
CrowdStrike was first paid by the DNC on May 5, 2016 and was given more than $400,000 up to the end of the year, filings show. In early 2017, the firm was paid an additional $121,000 for its services.”
Last week, The Trump Cult told us to “educate ourselves” by reading what Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton said about Comey. This week, The Trump Cult is calling Ronald Reagan a liar.
The Trump Cult has very little to do with conservatism. It is a strange collection of misinformed sycophants who will say anything, believe anything or anyone and attack anyone if they think it will help defend or excuse the ridiculous actions of their leader, a pathological liar, sexual predator, narcissist and largely illiterate imbecile who was until recently a lifelong Democrat.
Where is this ‘pee tape’? Who has it and why on earth has it not been leaked?! What’s wrong with our officials and press? We know it’s not classified, for if it were, we’d have all the gory details sprawled across the front pages in living color. 🙄
Ha. What ‘explains it all’ is the fact that you’re getting so much of your news from SNL. At least get an Alec Baldwin/Matt Damon movie to fill in the blanks on current events. I recommend ‘Green Zone’ . It explains how and why we were all duped about WMDs in Iraq. Or if you’re willing to stretch your credulity to the breaking point (and your faith in a ‘pee tape’ indicates you are) go for a Jason Bourne movie…any one of them will give you a SNL-worthy explanation of American intervention in world events, CIA activities, and any number of compelling reasons we should just scrap all the alphabet agencies and start over with good guys. Maybe some nice Trump supporters. Like me or AJ. :–)
I figure we will have to wait for decades on the pee tape like we had to wait for decades for confirmation from Russia that Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs were spies. However, at some point in the future when there is a regime change in Russia, something will probably leak out.
The WHCD isnt broken. Political discourse and decency is broken and Ms Wolf did not break it. Yes she was low brow but nothing to deserve such an uproar. For Republicans to complain about her is rather amusing. They have a huge orange log in their eye they should worry about before pointing out the sawdust in Wolf’s eye. She didn’t mock the disabled, asked people to beat up dissenters, nor brag about sexual assault. She merely ridiculed those in power.
Roscuro, the medical case in 12:23 is helpful. I lean toward saying parents should have a right to decide, and if the parents were willing and the financing was available (both of which were true, I believe), then you don’t make parents virtual prisoners even if the case seems hopeless.
However, by the time you are getting medical transport, it does change the situation a bit. You can’t ask other people to take unreasonable risks for a child who won’t survive. It’s more nuanced, it looks like, than has been reported.
When my father was in the hospital, he “coded” repeatedly. Eventually Mom decided that she would not allow further “extreme measures,” though he was on dialysis (in its early days–1984) and was expected to stay on it. My mom decided nothing more could really be done for him in the hospital, and it didn’t make sense to continue to make the 100-mile-one-way trip a couple of times a week (living in one area, with him in the hospital 100 miles away) if the hospital wasn’t doing him any good. She thought he might do better at home, or he might not. She insisted on his being released. (He died the next day.) I believe they had her sign a form acknowledging she was releasing him “against medical advice.” She never had any regrets about that; he had been in the hospital two months, and was not getting better. And he never knew he was hospitalized in Las Vegas and would not have wanted to die there–he drove the long way around on trips to avoid driving through Las Vegas.
When I was on Facebook, a friend of a friend had a child who was dying of cancer. He was maybe 14 initially, but he was still undergoing treatment when he came of age and had the right to make his own medical decisions. At some point he decided “enough already.” He had had enough chemo and enough surgeries, and he said no more. One treatment had a remote chance of extending his life a bit. Let’s say it took him from a 3% chance of survival longer than two months to a 5% chance. I don’t remember the numbers. I just remember that the boy said no more, it’s not worth it, and it’s not worth this particular treatment, and the numbers bore that out. The mother was somewhat discreet about what the treatment entailed, but not so discreet that this non-medical non-parent (at the time) virgin couldn’t figure out what she was saying the treatment entailed. But some mother wrote something like “Do you mean they are doing brain surgery?” and then she spelled it out, no, they would be removing both testicles. And the young man said no, enough is enough. But the mother was asking people to pray that she could get him to change his mind. (As I recall, even though I didn’t know her and it was none of my business, I messaged her and said he is of age, it is his choice, isn’t it better to respect him enough to let him make the call on this one? Maybe I only thought about doing it, but I think I did so.) He finally got worn down, did it for his mother’s sake, and lived maybe another week or two. That one still makes me sad when I think about it. Death is an enemy–but it is also the gate to eternity. As much as we don’t like to say goodbye, for the loved one who is a believer at some point we transition from “fighting” to saying goodbye and singing of heaven to the person preparing to go there, and send them off into His arms. But that mother fought against her son’s clear wishes, to the point of unnecessary (and useless) indignity and pain for him. And though I wasn’t a mother at the time and knew I had no idea what she was experiencing, it seemed that she had completely lost sight of what was best for her son.
My mother gave me her medical power of attorney and said she didn’t want extreme measures. I mentioned it to my sister, and she said, “Oh, I could never make a decision like that!” I said, “Maybe that’s why Mom gave me the power of attorney, then.” Not because I’m heartless, but because it wasn’t my decision to make, and I could (if necessary) respect her decision and support it.
Cheryl, an indirect quote of the Italian hospital’s assessment in the document I shared alerted me to the possibility that the Italians saw the case as an opportunity to learn more about the rare disease the Evans’ child suffered from. The specialist from Munich also seemed to consider caring for the child as an opportunity to learn more about the condition. I acquit the Italian and German physicians of callously seeking to make the child a guinea pig, but I can also see that the British physicians, having cared for the child, would balk at continuing ventilation simply to see what the degenerative disease did next. It is understandable that the grieving parents could not see the situation as clearly, and were desperate to buy some more time with their son.
Physicians can fall into the trap of prolonging treatment out of medical curiosity, rather than doing good for the patient. My father’s recovery from a frequently fatal complication of broken bones, fat embolism, was made into something of a guinea pig by specialists after his recovery, who seemed to want to examine him. My mother finally caught on to the fact that the specialists couldn’t do anything further – my father has permanent blind spots in his vision as a result of his experience – and were just curious. She pointed out to them that it was difficult and expensive for my father to keep traveling into Toronto for appointments, and the examinations ceased.
Wandering Views 
For anyone still doubting who really controls the Democrat agenda and fuels the phony Russia narrative, this should clear things up.
Your govt., bought and paid for.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/27/donors-50-million-steele-fusion-gps/
“EXCLUSIVE: Cabal Of Wealthy Donors Financing $50 Million Trump-Russia Investigation
“A group of wealthy donors from New York and California have forked out $50 million to fund a Russia investigation being conducted by Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS and a former Senate staffer for Dianne Feinstein.
That bombshell revelation is made in a footnote to the House Intelligence Committee’s newly released report on Russian interference in the presidential campaign.
Fusion GPS hired Steele, a former MI6 agent, to investigate Trump’s activities in Russia. He would go on to produce a 35-page report alleging collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
The Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee funded the project. A law firm representing the organizations hired Fusion GPS in April 2016.”
——————
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This one? 🙂
Let’s just say Trump’s skills as an international negotiator have been a pleasant surprise, even to me, and that early reports to the contrary may have been premature. 🙂
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-deserves-the-nobel-peace-prize-for-north-korea-lindsey-graham
“Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Friday that President Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize if North and South Korea formally agree to denuclearize and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.
“It wouldn’t have happened without Trump,” Graham said on Fox News.
“What happened? Donald Trump convinced North Korea and China he was serious about bringing about change,” he said. “We’re not there yet, but if this happens, President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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http://news.trust.org/item/20180428012958-cjxm9
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Like I said…..
Premature.
Meet the new boss, a little different, but still the old boss.
https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Trump-rebrands-diplomatic-norms-as-global-events-12870640.php
“The world is adjusting.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House this week hoping to convince Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and to back off his protectionist trade policies. But by the time they left, both leaders had largely given up trying to convince Trump he was wrong and instead focused on how to work around their differences.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had been keeping Trump at arm’s length in recent months, defied the threat of mass protests this week to finally invite him to visit what is often called America’s closest ally.
And the Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo, a Trump political ally and former tea party congressman, to be secretary of state, giving the president a foreign policy team more in line with the international policies he promoted during the campaign.”
———————
“Merkel’s cordial afternoon visit Friday was brief by comparison with the three days of frills accorded Macron earlier in the week.
Merkel came to make a final argument to Trump that he should not break the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, ahead of a May 12 deadline. Macron had already suggested that his own diplomacy had failed to sway Trump away from his opposition to what the president calls a “bad deal.”
Merkel was also making a practical argument for exempting Europe from new tariffs on steel and aluminum that would take effect on May 1. Trump’s reasons for the tariffs are, like his views on the Iran deal, rooted in his populist worldview – the “America First” campaign slogan put in action no matter the horrified complaints of allies and some in Trump’s own party.
That traditional allies had to come to him, asking for a change of heart on issues where the United States and Europe once walked in step, shows the ways in which Trump has rewritten the rules.
“The president will decide. That is very clear,” Merkel said. “We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs of the negotiations, and the respective assessments on where we stand on this. And the decision lies with the president.”
Merkel leads Europe’s most populous country, and is the longest-serving leader among the major European powers – a mainstay of the kind of cautious consensus politics Trump instinctively rejects.
But more than a year after their awkward first White House meeting, dominated by Trump’s pet peeve about German contributions to NATO that he considers paltry, Merkel seemed to have the hang of navigating policy disagreements with an American leader she must nonetheless court.”
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One more on the subject……
https://www.dailywire.com/news/29972/yuge-south-korea-clearly-credit-goes-president-amanda-prestigiacomo
“South Korea’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said President Donald Trump “clearly” gets the “credit” for bringing North Korea to the table for a historic peace meeting on Friday.
“Clearly, credit goes to President Trump,” Kang told CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour. “He’s been determined to come to grips with this from day one.”
On Friday, North Korean despot Kim Jong Un crossed the the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea for peace talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The duo established a goal of peace with no nuclear arms, reports The New York Times. President Trump is set to meet Kim this summer.
“I think we’re all surprised. Obviously pleasantly surprised,” Kang said hours before the historic meeting.”
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And the bad news…… 😦
https://nypost.com/2018/04/28/terminally-ill-child-alfie-evans-dies-in-after-doctors-remove-life-support/
“Alfie Evans, the sick British toddler whose parents won support from Pope Francis during a protracted legal battle over his treatment, died early Saturday. He was 23 months old.
Kate James and Tom Evans made the announcement on social media, saying they were “heartbroken.” The death of Alfie, who had a rare degenerative brain condition that left him in a “semi-vegetative state” with almost no brain function, came five days after doctors removed life support.
Doctors overseeing Alfie’s care in the city of Liverpool said further treatment was futile and not in his best interests, and that he should be allowed to die. But his parents fought for months to try to convince judges to allow them to take him to the Vatican’s children’s hospital so he could be kept on life support. The parents’ campaign was backed by the pope and Christian groups, which helped draw international attention to the case.
The hospital withdrew Alfie’s life support Monday after a series of court rulings sided with the doctors and blocked further medical treatment.
“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30,” Evans, 21, said in Facebook post decorated with a broken heart and crying emojis.”
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I still do not understand why Alfie’s parents were prohibited from seeking medical treatment elsewhere…. :–/
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I agree with Bill Maher that Kim and Trump are made for each
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other. Two trust fund babies/con man. Perhap Trump is the right person to negotiate with Kim.
However a colomunist in the Globe and Mail credits the South Korean president. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-behind-korean-progress-on-peace-youll-find-the-careful-strategies-of/?click=sf_globefb
An other issue is the collapse of the North Korean testing infrastructure. Its been reported that the mountain which contains the testing site has collapsed. The North Koeans have to rebuild the infrastructure needed for the nuclear program.
This leads to the next problen for Kim. China is very reluctant to let North Korea collapse and destabiize the border. Hence they continue to suppprt the regime. Its quite likely they told Kim the support was to maintain civil order (ie social welfare) and not to rebuild the nuclear program.
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Re: first post. No surprise there; both parties are equally corrupted by corporate and plutocratic money. I’m sure some of the donors to the Democratic effort also donated to Republican canidates who initially requested the dossier. But hey money is free speech and all.
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I can speak from personal experience that end of life decisions for children are difficult for parents and there is no right answer. Each parent has theirown response. I would argue to know when to quit and to a firm DNR plan ahead of time. I also would encourage parents to think of the child’s needs ahead of their emotional needs and natural instinct to preserve their child’s life no matter what.
In most countries the courts are often asked to decide when a doctor’s opinion conflicts with parents. It appears that judges sided with the doctors and decide no extraordinary efforts should be made. And the courts were probably right.
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It would be a very hard situation for parents. I can understand court involvement when parents or guardians disagree among themselves regarding treatment. But Alfie’s parents were in agreement and had found qualified doctors who were willing to treat, and I believe they had raised money for the treatment. In this case, as in the Charlie Guard case, the court involvement seems to usurp the parents proper role. I confess that is the one thing that gives me pause in single payer health care. It’s not as though the courts cannot be involved here now, but it seems that when the government is picking up the tab, it may over-estimate its own authority in the case.
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My son had a serious operation as an infant, but I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for parents to make end of life decisions for a young child.
Debra, It seems that Trump and Republican leaders are having our debate and Trump is taking your side. I wonder if chocolate and barbecue is at stake.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/28/us/politics/trump-midterm-elections.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
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George Will wrote this nice tribute to Trey Gowdy:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trey-gowdys-work-here-is-done/2018/04/27/a5f4cf0e-4977-11e8-9072-f6d4bc32f223_story.html?utm_term=.6a6e9802c7a8
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Oh my….. 😨
More of the plot to undermine Trump is being exposed.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/04/28/jake-tapper-may-want-to-lawyer-up-house-report-exposes-cnn-reporter-as-potential-participant-in-political-espionage-628986
“The report released Friday by the House Intelligence Committee regarding its investigation into alleged Russian collusion by the president’s election campaign appears to contain a stunning truth bomb about CNN host Jake Tapper: He may have participated in political espionage, according to one high-profile attorney.
In early 2017 he allowed then-National Intelligence Director James Clapper to leak information to him about the infamous Trump dossier and about a high-level government meeting held between then-President-elect Donald Trump and then-FBI Director James Comey.
“Clapper’s discussion with Tapper took place in early January 2017, around the time IC [intelligence community] leaders briefed President Obama and President-elect Trump, on” the dossier, the report specifically reads.
Afterward Tapper and three of his colleagues published a story containing the information Clapper had provided him, including info about the highly classified dossier.
All this matters because Clapper later lied to Congress about the dossier’s leak and then wound up becoming a contributor at CNN.
“When initially asked about leaks related to the ICA in July 2017, former ONI Clapper flatly denied ‘discussing[ing] the dossier [compiled by Steele] or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists,’” the report notes.
One month later, Clapper officially joined CNN as a contributor.
When combined, these various facts form the basis for a political espionage charge, according to Vegas attorney and political commentator Robert Barnes.
And since Tapper contributed to Clapper’s espionage by accepting his classified information and then sharing it with the masses, he’s equally guilty, according to Barnes.
“[J]ournalists are not exempt from criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act,” Barnes tweeted Friday. “Indeed, it appears what @jaketapper did is worse than what his CIA allies said Assange should go to prison for.””
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It is always helpful to read the documents in the case, and Alfie Evans’ case is no exception. This is Justice Hayden’s decision: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/alder-hey-v-evans.pdf. It is clear, from the statements – quoted in Justice Hayden’s decision, that:
a) The Italian hospital had no cure, only continued care on the ventilator using a permanent tracheostomy (hole made in the neck through the tracheal cartilage to attach a ventilator to), and were concerned that air transport of Alfie might cause further brain damage – from their statement quoted by the justice:
b) Alder Hey hospital, where Alfie was, called in several outside experts, both on their own volition and at the parents’ request, to give opinions on the case and that the experts were unanimous in saying that the case was incurable and irreversible -furthermore, the anatomical descriptions of the brain damage in the Justice’s report make it clear that there was nothing to be done:
c) Alfie Evans was well cared for at Alder Hey hospital and was not starved as some sites falsely reported – this is evident, once again, from the Italian hospital’s report, in which they note that:
N.B. A gastronomy is a permanent hole of entry directly into the stomach, while a nasogastric tube is inserted through the nose into the stomach – both are used for feeding and hydration. The Italian hospital is saying that the nasogastric feeding tube has been in place for several months and they would simply insert a feeding tube directly through the skin of the upper abdomen into the stomach.
Finally, the Justice quotes the Vatican’s own position when it comes to extraordinary measures, i.e. life support:
Without the modern day treatment of Alder Hey hospital, Alfie Evans would have died long before today. The ventilator is a measure that is not even a hundred years old. What killed him was a rare neurodegenerative disease, not the withdrawal of what the Vatican calls disproportionate measures.
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Like several of you, having now been through the death of an infant, albeit a child in utero, this is very difficult.
Some doctors were hurtfully blunt, but for the most part, everyone was excessively kind.
I think they needed to tag team as they did– we always knew it was a miracle or nothing. They let us wait until the answer became clear, but we were not using up scarce medical dollars on the wait.
The British hospital system is nearly broke. The system probably thought it had to choose between money and compassion. The sense is the Italian hospital would have leaned on compassion.
That’s my take. Those parents are so young. I pray they get wise spiritual counsel that helps them grieve well and completely.
After a week in and out of Catholic Churches, I pray they find a sensitive priest concerned about their hearts and souls.
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This article helps explain a phenomenon that was vexing to many educated observers.
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“Comedian” Michelle Wolf was very cruel in her “jokes” aimed at Sarah Sanders at the Correspondents Dinner last night. Liberals are ridiculously defending her by saying that is how Trump acts. The following is true.
https://twitter.com/peabodypress/status/990444869918347264
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Maggie Haberman posted this Tweet in support of Sanders.
You can read the comments where many liberals attacked Haberman, accusing her of defending Trumpism and saying Sanders deserved what she got.
These are bad times.
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@ 6:45 As a Trump supporter, I don’t like lies. I really don’t like lies told to the American people by Presidents, particularly when it costs lives and millions or billions of dollars. But the press and other antagonists of the current President don’t seem capable of distinguishing between lies of the magnitude of Iran-Contra or lies that send US troops snipe hunting in Iraq for WMDs, and lies about crowd size. Suddenly they are all like God: a lie is a lie is a lie. Meanwhile, page after page of news script is printed, sold, tweeted and retweeted with little regard to its accuracy when it suits the publishers’ agendas. I do think many have become desensitized to what might be considered the small lies. That desensitization took place over many decades of being subjected to the grand and costly lies. Trump is reaping the benefits in the form of a free pass. The press is just angry that it no longer gets the same deal from many people. And to add insult to injury, all of Trump’s huffing and puffing may just end up getting him nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. ;–)
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@6:56 these are hard times. They are times of correction, and that is always painful. But if we are able to follow through the political correction, and further, to obtain the grace for spiritual correction, it will have been worth the discomfort.
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Debra, You should submit that post to The New York Times as Chapter Two: Other Reasons Why Trump Supporters Don’t Mind His Lies.
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Debra @ 7:58. The times are going to get much, much worse.
1. The Democrats are going to take over in 2018 and 2020. Young people and educated women are lost to Republicans for a long time.
2. Trump has removed all “norms”, requirements for honesty and respect for the rule of law. When the Democrats take power again, they are going to be ruthless in their promotion of socialism, tree hugging, perversion and abortion. The “Christian Right” has proved to be completely hypocritical (and is a bad joke to the vast majority of Americans) and will be powerless to stop them.
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Ricky @8:02 I assure you the NYT editorial board has been made aware of my opinions, and they cared not a fig. I know, shocking isn’t it.
@8:09 It’s too soon to be Chicken Littles in regard to the political future of the country. After all, it was only a few short months ago that we were all in a tizzy over the possibility of Trump starting WWIII with his ‘rocket man’ tweet. Now we see the heads of NKo and SKo holding hands, smiling and traipsing over each other’s DMZ barriers while praising Trump and declaring the intent to denuclearize. The only thing I will grant you at this point is that it is sometimes hard to predict which party is imploding faster. For my part, I give that dubious credit all to the Democrats at this point. But I would never underestimate the ability of Republicans to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, so I don’t count them out just yet: they could, with some effort on their part, still lose. The more interesting element is the spiritual. I do not see this as inconsequential in our political outcomes. While I do not see God as a partisan participant, still He is active in our affairs. To me, He is the real wildcard and the real hope, much more so than Trump. Things could turn out well yet.
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“Remembering a President who could read, write, speak coherently and even edit.”
And yet when put under oath to answer for his crimes, he couldn’t recall. Add liar to your list.
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He is the wildcard, and when He wants to humble, punish or destroy a nation, He often gives that nation an idiotic and/or evil leader.
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Starz is showing Idiocracy every few weeks. I think they are doing niche marketing to Never Trumpers.
It is fun to watch the movie every few months to see new parts of the movie that have now actually happened. The Trump Cult’s treatment of James Comey has been eerily similar to the way the residents of Idiocracy treated the one person of normal intelligence. The Fox News segments of the movie and real life are the best.
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Bill Kristol doesn’t share my pessimism.
However, Kristol hasn’t figured out that God is working to humble, punish or destroy the US.
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Ricky @9:22 This is true, but it can still turn out well. I have heard people compare Trump to King David, but I see a likeness to King Nebuchadnezzar—whether he is pre- or post or currently ruminating in the fields spiritually with hair like feathers and nails like claws, I cannot say. What I do know is that we are pilgrims in this world and have no abiding city or country, so we make do with what He gives us until the perfect comes. ;–)
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Debra, I also see the comparison with Nebuchadnezzar. There are similarities in their personalities. I guess that makes Pence the Daniel character.
From a national standpoint, the comparison has to be Chapter 4. We are essentially leaderless as allies worry and adversaries plot how to take advantage and all wonder if and when the US will ever return to “normal”.
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Unfortunately, Trump closely resembles one other person in the Book of Daniel. Read Chapter 5 and you will quickly spot him.
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The UK like most European countries has a dual track healthcare system; that is a private option is available if there is money. However no British physician stepped forward. Professional courtsey prevented extraordinary measure not govt health care. Physicians are loath to overrule each other esp in end of life care. Hence the Italian option. Another country with a very similar system but with physicians with no prfessional obligations to British doctors.
With the pessimism and predictions of doom I read here and elsewhere, its important to realize this case illustrates how far we’ve come. Our attention to it indicates we view it as anomaly and a tragedy, but less than 100 years ago an infant death was fairly normal. My mother, in depression era Netherlands, was one of seven siblings but only three survived to adulthood.
In the 1920s, 10% of all infants in the US before their second birthday. Now its .5%. And thats considered high for a a developed country. Besides the general increase in wealth, the advancements in public healrh (clean water), vaccines, and universal health care have lowered the rate. When those are neglected, eg Flint drinking water and false news on vaccines, progress is halted.
Scandinavian countries have an infant mortality rate between 2 and 2.5 per 1000 births whereas Canada is at 4.6, Cuba at 4.9 and the US at 5.3. If Cuba can bring it down to 4.9 than the US and Canada need to rethink their priorities. Yes Alfie’s death is a tragedy and for some an afront to their pro life values, but every year 2 per 1000 children die unnecesarily in the UK, the US and Canada just because resources are allocated differently than in Scandinavia.
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I watched Wolf’s speech. It wasn’t funny and fairly low brow. I didn’t think her remarks on Sanders were any worse than rest. The Aunt Lydia of Handmaidens Tale analogy was apt considering how she treats the press and how both Aunt Lydia and she protect misogyny. I did think the smokey eye bit was a bit off. However her whole delivery was off and rushed and nervous. I did like her reminder that Flint still doesnt have drinking water.
One also needs to remember Sanders was there to represent Trump. Trump refused to face the roasting and instead scarificed a young woman……you can draw out the implications and conclusions from there.
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America had a chance for political/spiritual correction but they didnt reelect Carter. Perhaps Sanders could be the answer; he is after all a Jewish carpenter. But Trump isnt a correction he’s an embrace of the swamp. After Trump nothing will be off the table no matter how crass.
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The collapse of morality, ethics, honesty and respect for the rule of law among Republicans is disturbing.
The collapse of intelligence among Republicans is stunning, but hilarious.
Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, Francis Schaeffer and Jeanne Kirkpatrick articulated the philosophical basis of Reaganism. Diamond and Silk articulate the philosophical basis of Trumpism.
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Ricky, You keep mentioning the lack of respect for the rule of law among Republicans, but I have not noticed a lack of respect in the party for the rule of law. On the contrary, it seems to me that in some areas the respect for law is increasing. Where do you see the rule of law falling apart?
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Comey was the Republican FBI Director trying to do his job to enforce the law. Rosenstein is the (Trump-appointed) Assistant Attorney General trying to do his job to enforce the law. Cox is the (Trump-appointed) FBI Director trying to do his job to enforce the law. Republican Mueller is investigating how Russia interfered in the last election. Those men and others have been the subject of relentless attacks from the lying Trump, his cult and his halfwit stooges such as Nunes. Neither Nixon during Watergate nor Clinton during Lewinski made such attacks on law enforcement personnel. Idiotically following the lead of Trump, the House Intelligence Committee (led by Ag Major Nunes) became a pathetic kangaroo court that was a national embarrassment. Cowed by Trump, many Republicans have been silent as Trump and his lieutenants (in the media and elsewhere) slander law enforcement and brainwash his gullible cultists.
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Debra, This article explains a little more. One of the most troubling things I have seen is Trump pressuring the Justice Dept. to prosecute his political enemies. He tries to act like the head of a banana republic. To this point, most of the safeguards have held. However, we see here every day that Trump cultists will support any crackpot idea he may have to persecute or prosecute his enemies.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/trumps-assault-on-rule-of-law/557600/
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Oh. I thought you meant there was a reduction in enforcement of actual laws passed by Congress—you know, illegally buying and selling drugs, illegally entering the country, abuse of civil forfeiture…that sort of thing. You meant political appointees are being bashed over their poor job performance…or for leaking classified information or being otherwise untrustworthy. And by ‘cult’ you mean the many voters who are no longer allowing those things to pass as ‘law enforcement’. I understand now. :–)
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And I always thought you were an ideological Trumpkin rather than a Trump cultist. The brainwashing has been amazingly effective. How anyone would take the word of a pathological liar and lifelong con artist over the word of respected public servants is amazing. However, in Idiocracy all of the people did take the word of their flamboyant con-artist President over the word of the two people left on earth with IQs of 100.
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We took a commitment to truth and intelligence for granted. Can it now be restored?
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I think the word the tweeter in Ricky’s 6:50am (today) post meant is “catty” not “caddy”. 🙂
Unless it was some strange reference to golfing?
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Neither Nixon during Watergate nor Clinton during Lewinski made such attacks on law enforcement personnel.
Nixon had his Saturday Night Massacre; Clinton (via staff cronies) demonized Ken Starr.
It’s possible to believe Donald Trump is right about some things, and tells the truth about some things, without being a brainwashed “cultist.” It’s possible to have these discussions without talking like 12 year olds.
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SolarP, Archibald Cox was a special prosecutor as was Kenneth Starr. Neither Nixon nor Clinton attacked the FBI Director, FBI agents, the Attorney General, any Assistant Attorney General or other regular Justice Department officials. If Trump and one or more career law enforcement officials are in a he said/he said battle over facts, only brainwashed cultists will believe Trump. When has Trump ever told the truth in such a he said/he said dispute? If Trump is in a he said/he said battle with a poorly trained 3 year old, rational people could choose to believe Trump.
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Let’s see…..
Reagan, Comey, Rosenstein, Mueller…. all liars, criminal leakers, or both.
And you want to talk about the rule of law?
Why when it obviously means so little to you and the men you admire?
And you still think Trump is the problem………………. 🙄
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Wolf did an excellent job of showing the true colors of the American progressive.
And unlike Wolf, Sanders showed class.
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A perfect example is the recent dispute between Trump and Comey over the pee tape. In contemporaneous notes Comey recorded that Trump told him the story couldn’t be true because Trump hadn’t spent the night in Russia. Air logs recently revealed Trump did spend all of a Friday night in Russia. Trump now claims he didn’t tell Comey he didn’t spend the night in Russia. So who do you believe? It is extremely unlikely Comey had seen the logs at the time he wrote the memo. Most educated people believe there is a pee tape just like they believe most of the things in the “dossier” are true. Why? Because it is the type of thing Trump would do and Trump lied about a critical fact to try to create an alibi. Trump lies. It is his profession.
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And you’ve really lost the room when CNN calls you out.
Again, a smart move by Trump to avoid this fiasco.
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Someone’s lying here. Either Debiie Wasserman-Shultz, or Comey and the FBI.
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http://freebeacon.com/issues/fbi-delays-release-communications-firm-examined-dnc-servers/
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has pushed back the estimated completion date of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents pertaining to its communications with the security firm that examined the Democratic National Committee’s hacked servers to October.
The Washington Free Beacon submitted the FOIA request in July 2017 with the FBI seeking all communication between the bureau and CrowdStrike, Inc., the California-based cyber security firm that examined the DNC’s servers following the infiltration that led to the release of John Podesta’s emails. The FBI said in December the documents should be available by March.
The FBI, which was never granted access to the DNC’s servers for inspection, instead relied on the third-party firm that was brought in by the DNC for information regarding the compromised network who concluded that Russia was behind the hack.”
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“As part of the initial FOIA request, the Free Beacon also sought an expedited delivery of the documents noting its “widespread and exceptional media interest,” but was denied.
The DNC previously claimed that the FBI had never asked for access to its servers. However, former FBI Director James Comey testified that the bureau had sought access to the servers numerous times.
“Ultimately, what was agreed to is the private company would share with us what they saw,” Comey said last year in reference to CrowdStrike.
CrowdStrike was first paid by the DNC on May 5, 2016 and was given more than $400,000 up to the end of the year, filings show. In early 2017, the firm was paid an additional $121,000 for its services.”
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Last week, The Trump Cult told us to “educate ourselves” by reading what Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton said about Comey. This week, The Trump Cult is calling Ronald Reagan a liar.
The Trump Cult has very little to do with conservatism. It is a strange collection of misinformed sycophants who will say anything, believe anything or anyone and attack anyone if they think it will help defend or excuse the ridiculous actions of their leader, a pathological liar, sexual predator, narcissist and largely illiterate imbecile who was until recently a lifelong Democrat.
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Where is this ‘pee tape’? Who has it and why on earth has it not been leaked?! What’s wrong with our officials and press? We know it’s not classified, for if it were, we’d have all the gory details sprawled across the front pages in living color. 🙄
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Debra, Here is a recent story of which there have been several:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/flight-records-disprove-trumps-main-alibi-for-the-pee-tape.html
I think we can all guess who has the tape. That guess explains much of the unusual behavior we have seen from you know who.
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The last minute of the skit explains it all.
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Ha. What ‘explains it all’ is the fact that you’re getting so much of your news from SNL. At least get an Alec Baldwin/Matt Damon movie to fill in the blanks on current events. I recommend ‘Green Zone’ . It explains how and why we were all duped about WMDs in Iraq. Or if you’re willing to stretch your credulity to the breaking point (and your faith in a ‘pee tape’ indicates you are) go for a Jason Bourne movie…any one of them will give you a SNL-worthy explanation of American intervention in world events, CIA activities, and any number of compelling reasons we should just scrap all the alphabet agencies and start over with good guys. Maybe some nice Trump supporters. Like me or AJ. :–)
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I figure we will have to wait for decades on the pee tape like we had to wait for decades for confirmation from Russia that Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs were spies. However, at some point in the future when there is a regime change in Russia, something will probably leak out.
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The WHCD isnt broken. Political discourse and decency is broken and Ms Wolf did not break it. Yes she was low brow but nothing to deserve such an uproar. For Republicans to complain about her is rather amusing. They have a huge orange log in their eye they should worry about before pointing out the sawdust in Wolf’s eye. She didn’t mock the disabled, asked people to beat up dissenters, nor brag about sexual assault. She merely ridiculed those in power.
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Roscuro, the medical case in 12:23 is helpful. I lean toward saying parents should have a right to decide, and if the parents were willing and the financing was available (both of which were true, I believe), then you don’t make parents virtual prisoners even if the case seems hopeless.
However, by the time you are getting medical transport, it does change the situation a bit. You can’t ask other people to take unreasonable risks for a child who won’t survive. It’s more nuanced, it looks like, than has been reported.
When my father was in the hospital, he “coded” repeatedly. Eventually Mom decided that she would not allow further “extreme measures,” though he was on dialysis (in its early days–1984) and was expected to stay on it. My mom decided nothing more could really be done for him in the hospital, and it didn’t make sense to continue to make the 100-mile-one-way trip a couple of times a week (living in one area, with him in the hospital 100 miles away) if the hospital wasn’t doing him any good. She thought he might do better at home, or he might not. She insisted on his being released. (He died the next day.) I believe they had her sign a form acknowledging she was releasing him “against medical advice.” She never had any regrets about that; he had been in the hospital two months, and was not getting better. And he never knew he was hospitalized in Las Vegas and would not have wanted to die there–he drove the long way around on trips to avoid driving through Las Vegas.
When I was on Facebook, a friend of a friend had a child who was dying of cancer. He was maybe 14 initially, but he was still undergoing treatment when he came of age and had the right to make his own medical decisions. At some point he decided “enough already.” He had had enough chemo and enough surgeries, and he said no more. One treatment had a remote chance of extending his life a bit. Let’s say it took him from a 3% chance of survival longer than two months to a 5% chance. I don’t remember the numbers. I just remember that the boy said no more, it’s not worth it, and it’s not worth this particular treatment, and the numbers bore that out. The mother was somewhat discreet about what the treatment entailed, but not so discreet that this non-medical non-parent (at the time) virgin couldn’t figure out what she was saying the treatment entailed. But some mother wrote something like “Do you mean they are doing brain surgery?” and then she spelled it out, no, they would be removing both testicles. And the young man said no, enough is enough. But the mother was asking people to pray that she could get him to change his mind. (As I recall, even though I didn’t know her and it was none of my business, I messaged her and said he is of age, it is his choice, isn’t it better to respect him enough to let him make the call on this one? Maybe I only thought about doing it, but I think I did so.) He finally got worn down, did it for his mother’s sake, and lived maybe another week or two. That one still makes me sad when I think about it. Death is an enemy–but it is also the gate to eternity. As much as we don’t like to say goodbye, for the loved one who is a believer at some point we transition from “fighting” to saying goodbye and singing of heaven to the person preparing to go there, and send them off into His arms. But that mother fought against her son’s clear wishes, to the point of unnecessary (and useless) indignity and pain for him. And though I wasn’t a mother at the time and knew I had no idea what she was experiencing, it seemed that she had completely lost sight of what was best for her son.
My mother gave me her medical power of attorney and said she didn’t want extreme measures. I mentioned it to my sister, and she said, “Oh, I could never make a decision like that!” I said, “Maybe that’s why Mom gave me the power of attorney, then.” Not because I’m heartless, but because it wasn’t my decision to make, and I could (if necessary) respect her decision and support it.
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Cheryl, an indirect quote of the Italian hospital’s assessment in the document I shared alerted me to the possibility that the Italians saw the case as an opportunity to learn more about the rare disease the Evans’ child suffered from. The specialist from Munich also seemed to consider caring for the child as an opportunity to learn more about the condition. I acquit the Italian and German physicians of callously seeking to make the child a guinea pig, but I can also see that the British physicians, having cared for the child, would balk at continuing ventilation simply to see what the degenerative disease did next. It is understandable that the grieving parents could not see the situation as clearly, and were desperate to buy some more time with their son.
Physicians can fall into the trap of prolonging treatment out of medical curiosity, rather than doing good for the patient. My father’s recovery from a frequently fatal complication of broken bones, fat embolism, was made into something of a guinea pig by specialists after his recovery, who seemed to want to examine him. My mother finally caught on to the fact that the specialists couldn’t do anything further – my father has permanent blind spots in his vision as a result of his experience – and were just curious. She pointed out to them that it was difficult and expensive for my father to keep traveling into Toronto for appointments, and the examinations ceased.
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