Since some people don’t comprehend what they’re reading, and seem to have missed the numerous articles on the subject, and then they assume the worst about Trump, this has to be spelled out for them.
While I disagree completely with Trump’s decision, his reasons for doing so are sound. Maybe the rest of the world should shut up and step up, for a change.
“Western governments are generally reluctant to facilitate the repatriation of Islamic State militants. After the departure of more than 5,000 European citizens, European countries don’t wan’t to deal with the returnees file. “Except Germany, no other European country is interested in the return of their citizens accused of being Daesh members,” claimed Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi researcher who briefs officials on jihadi group dynamics. “Western countries don’t have a policy for jihadi returnees, they are not ready for their arrival. … And if they get a death penalty in Iraq, they will be thankful,” he says.
It’s a political matter more than anything; lawmakers won’t dare to defy public opinion. In France, 89 percent of respondents are against the return of adult jihadisIt’s a political matter more than anything; lawmakers won’t dare to defy public opinion. In France, 89 percent of respondents are against the return of adult jihadis; and 67 percent oppose the repatriation of children, according to a survey by Odoxa.”
—————-
And yeah HRW, your country is part of the problem.
“Canada’s failure to repatriate former ISIS fighters and families leading to “inevitable” crisis: experts”
“Canada and other Western countries that have failed to repatriate citizens who fought for the Islamic State and now are detained in northern Syria, may soon face an even deeper conundrum about what to do about them, experts warned Monday.
The Trump administration has signalled it is prepared to stand aside in the event of a Turkish invasion of the region, which would be aimed at dislodging the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a U.S. ally in the war against ISIS.
Stark criticism from Republicans in Congress forced U.S. President Donald Trump to temper earlier tweets by saying he would stop Turkey from going too far with an incursion, but the gyrations have created turmoil among policymakers and allies.
Since the fall of ISIS, the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the YPG, have been holding approximately 11,000 ISIS detainees, including 2,000 foreign fighters, in more than two dozen camps.
There are as many as 32 Canadians (six men, nine women and 17 children) in two camps in northeastern Syria, according to research by Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor at Queen’s University’s school of religion, which was published in Policy Options magazine last summer.
In the face of a Turkish military offensive, they could soon be free.”
——————
Now the EU and Canada want to make this a Trump issue, it’s a problem of their own making. We aren’t going to foot the bill and house their enemy combatants.
And Trump has been sounding the alarm on this for a year, and that alarm has been ignored. He wasn’t making an idle threat apparently. This didn’t come out of nowhere, so stop acting like it has.
“Trump threatens to release ISIS fighters if EU doesn’t take them
US president’s tweet draws confusion and some outrage from European officials.”
“U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to release 800 ISIS fighters captured in Syria unless European allies agree to accept them and put them on trial.
“The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial,” Trump wrote.
“The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them.”
Trump’s threat, characteristically in a tweet, drew confusion and some outrage from European officials and security experts gathered Sunday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.”
The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them……..
“BoJo To Trump: Return Diplomat’s Spouse To Face Vehicular Homicide Charge”
“This has the potential to get very awkward for both leaders who are depending on each other a little more than usual recently. The US whisked a State Department official’s spouse out of the United Kingdom after an accident that killed a motorcyclist, claiming she had diplomatic immunity. Responding to the outrage at home, Boris Johnson is now demanding her return to face charges, and plans to challenge his key ally Donald Trump — who has problems of his own on international relations at the moment:
“I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose,” Johnson told the BBC.
“I hope that Anne Sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country. That’s a point that we’ve raised — or are raising today — with the American ambassador here in the UK, and I hope it will be resolved very shortly.”
Dunn died when his motorcycle collided with a car near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on Aug. 27.
Mother of three Sacoolas — whose husband, Jonathan Sacoolas, was based there — initially “engaged fully” with police and said “she had no plans to leave the country in the near future,” a police spokeswoman told The Guardian.
The Northamptonshire police chief constable, Nick Adderley, said they had appealed in “the strongest terms” to apply a waiver to her immunity and “allow the justice process to take place.”
How exactly does Sacoolas have diplomatic immunity in the first place? That’s another awkward point. According to The Telegraph, she had only been in the UK for three weeks before the accident. Sacoolas had stopped after the collision and admitted fault, having driven on the wrong side of the road. The husband is reportedly assigned to the military base, raising questions about what kind of “diplomacy” might be involved. Normally, diplomatic immunity only applies to dependents of officials assigned to London, although there are (cough cough) exceptions, and Sacoolas seems to be one of those:”
“Second Circuit Court of Appeals Puts Subpoena on Trump’s Tax Returns on Hold”
“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a subpoena issued by a federal that demanded President Donald Trump turn over his tax returns.”
“Earlier on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York gave the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to subpoena the returns from Mazars USA, an accounting firm.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said Trump and the team “are very pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a stay of the subpoena issued by New York County District Attorney Cy Vance.””
I can never understand how US companies like Google, Facebook, and the NBA, all leaders in the social justice movement, can so easily cast all that aside to kiss the authoritarian Chinese butt and make a dollar off of censorship and restricting freedom.
It’s almost like money is their only real concern.
“Yes, Boycott The Garbage NBA Over Its China A**-Kissing; Update: South Park “Apologizes” To China”
“Yeah, I’m aware that a mass boycott of one of the four major sports isn’t going to happen, especially with Zion Williamson debuting this season and lots of intriguing off-season roster shuffles. And if a mass boycott ever did happen, it wouldn’t be triggered by a dispute in a foreign country on the other side of the world.
This isn’t a “we’ll make this happen!” rallying cry. This is an argument that it should happen. If the only moral language these venal scumbags understand is money, then the obvious thing to do is send them a message in that language.
Scout’s honor: I was going to buy a league pass to watch the games this year because of Zion and Ja Morant and to follow the new-look Lakers and Clippers. After this, not one dime. Philip Klein gets to the heart of my disgust. It’s not just the kowtowing to China that’s repulsive, it’s the cumulative hypocrisy of one “woke” American industry after another congratulating themselves for their progressive activism here at home while lapping up Chinese blood money. Mass internment of Chinese Muslims, organ harvesting, religious oppression, an ever more intrusive surveillance state, and no one says a word — until finally Hong Kongers stand up for their rights and the NBA’s moral degenerates rush to take sides with the oppressor.”
—–
“When I say “one and all,” I mean one and all. We’re a day into this and not one person associated with the NBA has expressed any shame or reluctance. Even Rockets GM Daryl Morey, whose “Fight for Freedom” tweet about Hong Kong ignited the dispute, had to issue a hostage statement to appease his boss, the league, and their Chinese communist masters. The single sleaziest statement thus far has come from new Nets owner Joe Tsai, who seized on the occasion to lecture Americans about not interfering with a totalitarian regime when it’s trying to tamp down an insurrection in the name of human rights. Mind you, Hong Kong protesters are known to carry the American flag to signal the values their movement stands for. This filth sums up what the American-born and bred NBA thinks of them:”
——
It gets worse for @nba. Per @FinancialTimes they provided statements that were translated differently in Chinese and English. Talk about duplicitous. Just pathetic. pic.twitter.com/H242uecC5H
I don't know this is a particularly serious scandal for Warren—maybe it's something that just requirers a clear explanation from her campaign—but it's interesting that it's circulating on both conservative Twitter and Bernie Twitter but getting almost no mainstream pickup. https://t.co/z7cNzwA8KX
BREAKING: We just heard the terrible news that all 12 of our clients escorted by @JulianCastro were sent back to Mexico. This is of course a mockery of due process. Here is our statement on the matter:#LetThemIn
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) October 7, 2019
“ICIG Atkinson Refuses to Tell Congress Why Whistleblower Rule Changes Were Backdated”
“Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general (ICIG), reportedly refused to answer a key question during testimony before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) on Friday.
Atkinson met with members of the committee in a closed meeting to to answer questions related to the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
When asked to explain why his office made changes to its whistleblower forms in September and backdated those changes to August when the anti-Trump “whistleblower” complaint was filed, Atkinson had no answer, Sean Davis reported at the Federalist on Monday. He also reportedly admitted to lawmakers that the anti-Trump complainant had improperly concealed his previous secret interactions with House Democratic staff prior to submitting the complaint.
The Federalist first reported late last month that the ICIG secretly changed its whistleblower forms and internal rules in September to do away with a requirement that complainants provide first-hand evidence to support their allegations of wrongdoing.
The IC watchdog disclosed in a press release last week that the rule change was in response to an anti-Trump complaint filed on August 12. The whistleblower complaint was based on second-hand information, much of which was shown to be false after President Trump ordered the declassification and release of his telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During Friday’s HPSCI committee oversight hearing, Atkinson admitted that the whistleblower forms and rules changes were made in September, even though the new forms and guidance state that they were changed in August, sources told the Federalist.”
I see 2 choices, stay and run the risk of conflict with a NATO “ally”, or leave and let the cards fall where they may. The world made this problem, let them fix it.
“The pro-war globalist coalition is literally on FIRE because President Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of Syria, leaving it available for Turkey to move in and annex the northern part of the country. The unfortunate part of that move is that the U.S.’s Kurdish allies will be in danger. If Turkey plans to invade northern Syria, what can we do? Turkey is a member of garbage organization NATO and we are obligated to side with NATO members. The Kurds are not part of that treaty, it’s a bad situation all around.
So my question to all these blood thirsty war lovers who are melting down: how many Americans should die in a battle with Turkey? It’s not even clear the U.S. can fight against Turkey for the Kurds because of our NATO alliance. Will you sign up your children and family members to head on over to get blown to pieces or shot up? Of course not. The war coalition’s kids work for Google, Facebook or the N.B.A, they don’t go into the military. Now I am not a foreign policy expert but I can judge by the people opposing the president’s decision that he is probably right to @#$% of that hot mess.”
Mark Bowden wrote Blackhawk Down and a book about Hue and has extensive contacts within the US military. Most military officers are reasonably intelligent, so this article is not surprising.
“In 20 years of writing about the military, I have never heard officers in high positions express such alarm about a president. Trump’s pronouncements and orders have already risked catastrophic and unnecessary wars in the Middle East and Asia, ….” https://t.co/EHwxPJFKN5
George Conway wrote this article on Trump’s mental condition a few days ago, and Trump has been proving Conway to be correct on a daily basis ever since.
As the world's largest economy, no nation benefits more than the US from stability & being a reliable ally. Putin & other dictatorships want a purely transactional model, based not on shared values but on quid pro quo, to coin a phrase.
Trump's Syria move is another inexplicable gift to Putin and will have real human costs, not just destroying American credibility as an ally and provoking issues within NATO (Putin's real dream.)
Some people can learn economics by reading books and studying history. Others may learn by making mistakes or watching others make mistakes. Others will never learn.
"And so the world found out what happens when the most powerful country in the world takes 100 years of economic knowledge and flushes it down the toilet. Experiment, on."https://t.co/JXd00fVk0o
— Honest Abe/Pro Democracy (@elhombrelibre1) October 6, 2019
But we were all so looking forward to his testimony about the world’s most perfect presidential phone call. Gosh, why would anyone not want that to come out? https://t.co/4j1OCOWrgr
“In 20 years of writing about the military, I have never heard officers in high positions express such alarm about a president. Trump’s pronouncements and orders have already risked catastrophic and unnecessary wars in the Middle East and Asia, ….”
Officers in high position are politicians who want war to justify their existence, nothing more.
“Poll: Trump gains among independents against Biden, Warren”
“President Trump is gaining among independent voters in head-to-head matchups with the Democratic presidential front-runners, according to a new IBD-TIPP poll.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads Trump by just 1 point among independents, which is down from Biden’s 18-point lead among the voting group in September.
In a head-to-head matchup with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 49 percent of independents backed Trump, while 43 percent threw their support behind the senator in the poll, which was released on Monday.
A 4-point gap separated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Trump, with the president receiving 48 percent support among independents and Sanders garnering 44 percent.
Warren led Trump with independents by 2 points in the September poll, while Sanders led the president by 9 points. ”
—————-
Please Ricky, can you and your new BFFs on the far left just keep doing what you’re doing?
“A few days ago, Romney accused Trump of “appalling” behavior in his call for China and Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Trump robustly responded in a series of Tweets that described Romney as a “pompous ass.” He also suggested that the people of Utah impeach their recently elected representative.
In the wake of Trump’s announcement of the withdrawal of troops from Syria, Romney tweeted that the move means the president handed a victory to Assad, Russia, Iran, and ISIS and he abandoned the Kurds. Meanwhile, Trump reminded everyone that he will wage an economic war against Turkey if they do something “off limits.”
These exchanges have led some analysts to speculate that Romney may be testing the waters to challenge Trump during the 2020 primary season.
For example, pollsters are pressing the news that Romney wins a “hypothetical” primary challenge against Trump…as long as said voters were strictly Utah Republican.
In one of the first 2020 polls pitting President Trump against critic Mitt Romney, the new Utah senator crushes the 45th president.
It helps that the poll was of Utah Republicans.
The “hypothetical primary matchup” from OHPI had Trump losing to Romney 55 percent to 37 percent in Utah.
“Republican base voters around the country back President Trump,” said Mike Noble, chief of research of Phoenix-based research company OH Predictive Insights.
“But Beehive State voters buck that trend, giving the state’s junior senator a wide margin of victory in a matchup,” he added.
However, according to one of those infamous “unnamed sources,” what Romney really wants to do is to lead the Senate into removing Trump after the House impeaches him.
According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. In recent days, Romney has been reaching out privately to key players in the Republican resistance, according to a person briefed on the conversations.
In terms of Impeachment Inquiry Theater, it appears that more and more politicians have connections to Ukraine, including Romney. One of the Utah politician’s top advisors worked on the same Ukrainian energy board as Hunter Biden.
According to web archives, top Mitt Romney adviser Joseph Cofer Black, who publicly goes by “Cofer Black,” joined Burisma’s board of directors while Hunter Biden was also serving on the board.
According to The New Yorker, Hunter joined Burisma’s board in April of 2014 and remained on it until he declined to renew his position this past May. Meanwhile, according to Burisma’s website, Black was appointed in February of 2017 and continues to serve on its board. The timelines would indicate that Black and Biden worked together at Burisma, and indeed, web archives from late 2017 show Black and Biden listed simultaneously on the board.
…It’s looking increasingly probable that Burisma, the subject of a series of corruption allegations in the past, has been smartly buying Western complacency by slapping a few famous names on its board.
And while Romney touts himself as a “man of character,” Fox News pundit and talk show host Tammy Bruce recalls how he treated our now highly successful Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell. Romney chose Grenell as his 2012 campaign’s national security spokesman.
Grenell resigned after being pushed into the background during key events because he is gay.”
He was so invested in destroying Trump that he believed anything that supported his bias. He is a political hack, not a very good look for the head of the CIA! Says a lot about Obama, too.
— Sharon 'DR Deplorable Chump' Lee (@reagan80mom1) October 8, 2019
Hopefully he’s rethinking that Michelle. It’s the right thing to do. Trump shouldn’t make them suffer because the rest of the world won’t do the right thing.
“Adam Silver Issues Statement Meant To Appease Everybody; China Doesn’t Buy It”
“NBA commissioner Adam Silver has released a second public statement regarding the controversy over Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and the Chinese government’s punitive response to the tweet.
The league office’s first attempt at an official response, issued over the weekend as the full scope of the Chinese government’s reactionary tantrum was still taking shape, amounted to Hey, don’t ask us about that Morey individual, we at the NBA are friends of the People’s Republic of China. As you might imagine, this went over very badly with critics from basically all sectors of American politics, who rightly saw it as an American sports league rolling over for a repressive totalitarian regime for the sake of preserving its ability to sell things to that regime’s subjects. In the new statement, which acknowledges the failure of the first, Silver is at pains to clarify that actually, the NBA is good, strongly supports everybody thinking it is good, and has values.”
—
“It almost goes without saying that the objective here is not to take any kind of actual courageous or even legibly moral stance with respect to free expression or pro-democracy protests, but rather to give distractible pundits and media types here on the home front a plausible pretext for moving on to whatever the next thing will be. Then the NBA could return to its business of making deals with the totalitarian government of China, secure in the knowledge that nobody is paying much attention. In that latter respect, the statement already has failed, and spectacularly: China’s state television network, CCTV, announced overnight that, in response to Silver’s anodyne expression of liking it when everybody regards the NBA as cool and good, it will be suspending its broadcast of NBA games in China.”
Here’s CCTV’s statement, as translated by CNBC:
We have noticed that Adam Silver, the Commissioner of the NBA, who is participating in an event in Japan, has responded to Houston Rockets general manager Morey’s post of inappropriate Hong Kong-related remarks. We are strongly dissatisfied and we oppose Silver’s claim to support Morey’s right of free expression. We believe that any speech that challenges national sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech.
To this end, CCTV Sports Channel of the Central Radio and Television Administration has decided to immediately suspend the current broadcast arrangements of the NBA pre-season (China Games) and immediately investigate all cooperation and exchanges involving the NBA.
Huh. Why, it’s almost as though the league’s stated commitment to pluralist values clashes directly and irreconcilably with its business partnerships inside a repressive totalitarian society, and it is being forced to choose between those values and the money it stands to make off its access to the Chinese economy. For all that Daryl Morey and Xi Jinping may have in common as human beings, this is about what the NBA and the government of China have in common as vast inhuman machines, and what they’re willing to ignore for the sake of it.”
“Hey, Congress: Take Back Your War Powers, Or Shut Up About Syria
Congress abdicated its foreign policy responsibilities long before Donald Trump became president”
“If you want to stop Donald Trump from making unilateral decisions regarding war and peace, then stop letting all presidents make unilateral decisions about war and peace. It’s really quite simple. Trump can abruptly pull back U.S. troops from northern Syria because Congress, having abdicated its foreign policy responsibilities long ago, has no leverage to stop him.
When Congress passed the War Powers Resolution as the Vietnam War was winding down, it gave presidents the power to send troops abroad for 60 days in response to any “national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.” If the president failed to gain congressional support for the deployment, he would have another 30 days to pull back troops.
Congress is the institution vested with the power to declare wars, to debate where we send troops, and decide which conflicts are funded. Presidents have been ignoring this arrangement, abuse authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs), and imbue themselves with the power to engage in conflicts wherever they like, without any coherent endgame, and without any buy-in from Congress.
Congress, in turn, has shown no interest in genuinely challenging executive power, because its members are far more concerned with political self-preservation. Ignoring abuse shields them from tough choices and ensuing criticism—even as they use war as a partisan cudgel.
Even if you don’t believe all these conflicts rise to an Article I declaration, and I don’t, the more accountability there is in foreign entanglements the better. Right now we have little genuine debate or consensus building—in a nation that already exhibits exceptionally little interest in foreign policy—regarding the deployment of our troops, almost always in perpetuity, around the world.”
—————-
Like I said, it’s put up or shut up time. If they disagree, and they should, then do something about it instead of whining and hand wringing.
“Turkish jets struck a Kurdish base near the Iraq-Syria border late Monday night, the first grim fruits of President Trump’s decision to order US forces out of the way — a decision we fear Trump will come to regret.
We’ll grant that the president is delivering on a campaign promise here: Like most Americans, he doesn’t want this nation serving as the world’s policeman; other countries should share more of the burden when it comes to both troops and money.
Or, as he tweeted Monday, “it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars.”
He has a point, big-picture — but he’s making a big mistake here. Leaving Syria puts multiple US interests at risk. He’s not putting an end to “endless wars,” he’s planting the seeds for future ones.
For starters, Trump made the abrupt call to abandon US-allied Kurdish fighters and give Turkey the responsibility for captured ISIS fighters after a weekend call with Turkish tyrant Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s about as unreliable an “ally” as it gets.
Trump says he’ll use US economic power to hold Erdogan responsible for not letting thousands of now-captive ISIS killers escape, but that’s far from a guarantee that Turkish forces can prevent it. This invasion thus risks the revival of one of the most savage terrorist groups the world has ever known.
Renewed war — and the prospect of a long-term Turkish occupation of Syrian territory — is also likely to further destabilize the region.
But most importantly, we have betrayed the Kurds.”
“So we greet with humility and gratitude the news that the U.S. jobless rate now has fallen to 3.5% ― the lowest in the half-century since 1969. What’s most heartening is that this jobs boom is helping the less-educated, low-skill Americans who’ve missed out on other, weaker jobs recoveries.
Mark this moment: Millions of American job seekers have prayed for it. The U.S. economic expansion now in its 11th year — having dodged that recession near-miss in 2015 — is bringing jobs to the long-jobless. The unemployment rates for workers without high school diplomas and for Hispanic Americans and African Americans are the lowest ever recorded. The rate for workers too discouraged to look for work — even in a jobs boom, they exist — and for underemployed Americans, typically part-timers seeking full-time jobs, is the lowest in two decades and near a record bottom. And wages nationwide, up 2.9% from a year ago, continue to outpace inflation.
All of which reminds us that while federal initiatives to reduce inequality produced slow economic growth for many years after the Great Recession, federal tax reform and deregulation have, by contrast, driven robust hiring. So many people are coming off the sidelines that U.S. employers haven’t yet run out of workers to hire. Cue the bromide that the best anti-poverty program is a job.
After Friday’s federal jobs report, The Wall Street Journal noted that, a decade ago, many economists thought a 5% jobless rate amounted to full employment, with the economy in balance and inflation neither rising nor falling. How long can 3.5% unemployment, with the economy still growing, continue? Beats us. The global economy is slowing, as is U.S. manufacturing.
That said, we’re amused by the doom-and-gloom economists and politicians who, in recent years, have confidently predicted five of the last zero U.S. recessions.
But we once again declare, with 100% accuracy guaranteed to Tribune subscribers, that America’s next serious recession truly is approaching! The only question is when it arrives. Maybe sooner, maybe later. Again, beats us.
For now, though, we’ll celebrate the fact that a record high 158,269,000 Americans have jobs. May we never return to the corrosive Midwestern joblessness that helped give the Rust Belt — a term now in welcome decline — its nickname.”
Good! We have been waiting for this new voice for Cult-free conservatism. Hopefully, National Review will remain low-Cult.
I have news. Very shortly I will be leaving NR and joining my friends @JonahDispatch and @stephenfhayes at The Dispatch. I’m thrilled to be a part of this new venture, but I’m also incredibly grateful to National Review. It’s an indispensable institution. https://t.co/zhG6qxhgAR
12:02 Did John Brennan accurately and repeatedly predict that Trump was moronically framing himself? No, nor did Comey. That was me, and I seem to remember HRW generally going along with that prediction. When confronted by something that could be malice but might be idiocy, never underestimate idiocy. Trump makes it slightly more challenging by daily exhibiting idiotic malice or as Mona Charen calls it: “Malice tempered by incompetence”.
Reporting is now saying Sondland talked with the WH before trying to clean up the record: "Mr. Sondland called Mr. Trump before texting back less than five hours later, according to the person familiar with his activities." https://t.co/ZM8Os6vY4Hhttps://t.co/a2jT6gbpcS
Hopefully, the impeachment investigation and trial will keep Dear Leader fully occupied until he is out of office, so that he will not have time to abandon any more of our allies.
The high price of economic illiteracy. Hopefully, everyone outside of The Cult is taking notes, and if a President Warren tries to impose tariffs of her own, she will be opposed by most as an Economic Trumpkin.
And why are the numbers on the other stuff only for Seattle and the Northwest?
Oh that’s right, because otherwise the numbers wouldn’t say what you and Liz want them to say. I’d bet it has more to do with overbearing local regs and environmental charges they add to common household purchases than Trump tariffs, but why be honest when you already have a boogieman to blame, amiright?
Stuff like this. Of course they pay more there in Seattle, they do for everything already anyway.
“Renegade RV, one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of high-end recreational vehicles.”
“Many RVs cost far more. Renegade, for instance, sells models that cost as much as $750,000 and can come with multiple bathrooms, heated tile floors and cedar closets.
Some industry leaders say the business will stabilize once dealers reduce excess stocks.”
–
Who buys them? People with a lot of money, who can afford a few dollars more.
—
And while they blame Trump…..
“The RV industry may have contributed to its own problems by building too many factories during a sales boom in recent years, leading to an oversupply now. But tariffs were the pivotal factor in the industry’s decline, said managers at RV manufacturers and suppliers.”
Of course that’s what they say. They aren’t gonna take the blame for their poor business decisions like building plants they don’t need.
—-
And for crying out loud Ricky, even the owner admits the tariffs are a necessary thing.
“Sitting in an office near the front of the Adnik factory, Bond and Ronald Dick, the company’s brand manager, spent an hour griping about the speed and scope of their materials costs increases. And yet, like many in this region that strongly supported Trump’s election, they often added the caveat that they support the larger goal of the tariffs to protect U.S. factories from unfair foreign competition.
“It’s good for our country in the long haul,” said Dick, “but it’s going to hurt.”
——
And it’s actually benefiting American companies too.
“Tim Sullivan, CEO of REV Group, Renegade’s parent company, said U.S. suppliers have raised prices alongside their foreign counterparts because tariffs have sparked a rush of demand for U.S. parts.
“It’s been a total feeding frenzy,” he said.”
——-
I could go on, but I’m bored now and only half way thru it.
BREAKING: White House declares that President Trump "cannot permit his Administration to participate in" Democrats' impeachment inquiry. https://t.co/RrXC4xk6KY
White House just sent eight-page scorching letter to Pelosi and Democrats saying they will not be cooperating with impeachment inquiry, attacking Schiff & calling inquiry a bid to overturn 2016 election, per copy seen by Post. Signed by chief White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
Idiocy? President Trump is defeating these clowns at every turn. He’s far too smart for these losers, which was revealed again when he released the transcript of his conversation with the Ukrainian President (you know, the one who said that he wasn’t pressured at all by President Trump), thus spoiling their devious schemes.
Impeachment ‘investigation’? You’ve got to be kidding…they have nothing of substance, and Schiff has already been exposed for engaging in a partisan hit job. There’s so much more that’s going to come out about shady Schiff, starting with the fact that one of his staffers traveled to the Ukraine (signed off by Schiff) between Aug 24-31 after the ‘whistleblower’ complaint was filed. The trip was paid for by… you guessed it… the Atlantic Council group (full of anti-Trumpers) connected with Burisma, who had been paying Hunter Biden $83,000/month (and for what)! It’s pretty clear who the idiots are here…
Impeachment? It was all a set-up! Put it to a vote! But of course they won’t, and pretty much everyone knows why they won’t…
This is Hoax 2.0, and these frauds are now panicking…
~ Indeed, the full interview illustrated how the media are increasingly obsessed with performative demonstrations of their political views, and less concerned with simply being informative. …
… The Todd-Johnson interview is a classic example of how the media no longer seem to understand their proper role. Instead of being a conduit to relay information between government and citizens, so that voters can ultimately decide what direction the country should head in, the incentives are now skewed. The media see their role as “speaking truth to power” at best, and partisan advocacy at worst. ~
Tim Russert set the standard: courteous and respectful but penetrating questioning. He was trusted on all sides. Now look at what has happened to it. https://t.co/6Yc2gy08cg
A bad situation in Northeast Syria is about to get much worse. Sources tell me that US officials have just informed the Syrian Kurds that Turkey is likely to attack on air and ground in next 24 hours. The US will do nothing. Targets are Tal Abyad and Ras al Ayn….
…I'm also told that Turkish attack appears coordinated with the Russians. Russian-backed forces are mobilizing to invade the Kurdish area from the south — towards Tabqa and other spots. Meanwhile, ISIS is mobilizing sleeper cells in Raqqa and attacks have taken place tonight.
…And finally there is the scary issue of the thousands of ISIS detainees and families, who may be breaking out of camps and prisons after Turkish attack–with NO American back-up plan. This is a major disaster coming at us because of Trump's decisions. Hours left to stop it…
3:25 & 10:06 Yes, Trump is most likely simply a moron rather than being an actual Russian operative. However, Comey, Brennan and McCabe must be excused for fearing the worst as sometimes idiocy does look a lot like treachery.
And you continue to cover up for Comey and Brennan’s crimes because you believed them. And they lied to you. But like a dog that’s owner keeps kicking it, you return for more again and again, thinking this time will be different.
Wandering Views 
Since some people don’t comprehend what they’re reading, and seem to have missed the numerous articles on the subject, and then they assume the worst about Trump, this has to be spelled out for them.
While I disagree completely with Trump’s decision, his reasons for doing so are sound. Maybe the rest of the world should shut up and step up, for a change.
Here are some examples.
“Western governments are generally reluctant to facilitate the repatriation of Islamic State militants. After the departure of more than 5,000 European citizens, European countries don’t wan’t to deal with the returnees file. “Except Germany, no other European country is interested in the return of their citizens accused of being Daesh members,” claimed Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi researcher who briefs officials on jihadi group dynamics. “Western countries don’t have a policy for jihadi returnees, they are not ready for their arrival. … And if they get a death penalty in Iraq, they will be thankful,” he says.
It’s a political matter more than anything; lawmakers won’t dare to defy public opinion. In France, 89 percent of respondents are against the return of adult jihadisIt’s a political matter more than anything; lawmakers won’t dare to defy public opinion. In France, 89 percent of respondents are against the return of adult jihadis; and 67 percent oppose the repatriation of children, according to a survey by Odoxa.”
—————-
And yeah HRW, your country is part of the problem.
Own it.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-withdrawal-syria-canada-1.5312618
“Canada’s failure to repatriate former ISIS fighters and families leading to “inevitable” crisis: experts”
“Canada and other Western countries that have failed to repatriate citizens who fought for the Islamic State and now are detained in northern Syria, may soon face an even deeper conundrum about what to do about them, experts warned Monday.
The Trump administration has signalled it is prepared to stand aside in the event of a Turkish invasion of the region, which would be aimed at dislodging the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a U.S. ally in the war against ISIS.
Stark criticism from Republicans in Congress forced U.S. President Donald Trump to temper earlier tweets by saying he would stop Turkey from going too far with an incursion, but the gyrations have created turmoil among policymakers and allies.
Since the fall of ISIS, the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the YPG, have been holding approximately 11,000 ISIS detainees, including 2,000 foreign fighters, in more than two dozen camps.
There are as many as 32 Canadians (six men, nine women and 17 children) in two camps in northeastern Syria, according to research by Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor at Queen’s University’s school of religion, which was published in Policy Options magazine last summer.
In the face of a Turkish military offensive, they could soon be free.”
——————
Now the EU and Canada want to make this a Trump issue, it’s a problem of their own making. We aren’t going to foot the bill and house their enemy combatants.
So step up, or shut up.
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And Trump has been sounding the alarm on this for a year, and that alarm has been ignored. He wasn’t making an idle threat apparently. This didn’t come out of nowhere, so stop acting like it has.
From February.
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-syria-isis-threatens-to-release-isis-fighters-if-eu-doesnt-take-them/
“Trump threatens to release ISIS fighters if EU doesn’t take them
US president’s tweet draws confusion and some outrage from European officials.”
“U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to release 800 ISIS fighters captured in Syria unless European allies agree to accept them and put them on trial.
“The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial,” Trump wrote.
“The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them.”
Trump’s threat, characteristically in a tweet, drew confusion and some outrage from European officials and security experts gathered Sunday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.”
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Another sticky wicket.
https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/10/07/bojo-trump-return-diplomats-spouse-face-vehicular-homicide-charge/
“BoJo To Trump: Return Diplomat’s Spouse To Face Vehicular Homicide Charge”
“This has the potential to get very awkward for both leaders who are depending on each other a little more than usual recently. The US whisked a State Department official’s spouse out of the United Kingdom after an accident that killed a motorcyclist, claiming she had diplomatic immunity. Responding to the outrage at home, Boris Johnson is now demanding her return to face charges, and plans to challenge his key ally Donald Trump — who has problems of his own on international relations at the moment:
“I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose,” Johnson told the BBC.
“I hope that Anne Sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country. That’s a point that we’ve raised — or are raising today — with the American ambassador here in the UK, and I hope it will be resolved very shortly.”
Dunn died when his motorcycle collided with a car near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on Aug. 27.
Mother of three Sacoolas — whose husband, Jonathan Sacoolas, was based there — initially “engaged fully” with police and said “she had no plans to leave the country in the near future,” a police spokeswoman told The Guardian.
The Northamptonshire police chief constable, Nick Adderley, said they had appealed in “the strongest terms” to apply a waiver to her immunity and “allow the justice process to take place.”
How exactly does Sacoolas have diplomatic immunity in the first place? That’s another awkward point. According to The Telegraph, she had only been in the UK for three weeks before the accident. Sacoolas had stopped after the collision and admitted fault, having driven on the wrong side of the road. The husband is reportedly assigned to the military base, raising questions about what kind of “diplomacy” might be involved. Normally, diplomatic immunity only applies to dependents of officials assigned to London, although there are (cough cough) exceptions, and Sacoolas seems to be one of those:”
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Trump wins again. Hack activist judge loses.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/10/second-circuit-court-of-appeals-puts-subpoena-on-trumps-tax-returns-on-hold/
“Second Circuit Court of Appeals Puts Subpoena on Trump’s Tax Returns on Hold”
“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold a subpoena issued by a federal that demanded President Donald Trump turn over his tax returns.”
“Earlier on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York gave the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to subpoena the returns from Mazars USA, an accounting firm.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said Trump and the team “are very pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a stay of the subpoena issued by New York County District Attorney Cy Vance.””
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I can never understand how US companies like Google, Facebook, and the NBA, all leaders in the social justice movement, can so easily cast all that aside to kiss the authoritarian Chinese butt and make a dollar off of censorship and restricting freedom.
It’s almost like money is their only real concern.
https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2019/10/07/yes-boycott-garbage-nba-china-ass-kissing/
“Yes, Boycott The Garbage NBA Over Its China A**-Kissing; Update: South Park “Apologizes” To China”
“Yeah, I’m aware that a mass boycott of one of the four major sports isn’t going to happen, especially with Zion Williamson debuting this season and lots of intriguing off-season roster shuffles. And if a mass boycott ever did happen, it wouldn’t be triggered by a dispute in a foreign country on the other side of the world.
This isn’t a “we’ll make this happen!” rallying cry. This is an argument that it should happen. If the only moral language these venal scumbags understand is money, then the obvious thing to do is send them a message in that language.
Scout’s honor: I was going to buy a league pass to watch the games this year because of Zion and Ja Morant and to follow the new-look Lakers and Clippers. After this, not one dime. Philip Klein gets to the heart of my disgust. It’s not just the kowtowing to China that’s repulsive, it’s the cumulative hypocrisy of one “woke” American industry after another congratulating themselves for their progressive activism here at home while lapping up Chinese blood money. Mass internment of Chinese Muslims, organ harvesting, religious oppression, an ever more intrusive surveillance state, and no one says a word — until finally Hong Kongers stand up for their rights and the NBA’s moral degenerates rush to take sides with the oppressor.”
—–
“When I say “one and all,” I mean one and all. We’re a day into this and not one person associated with the NBA has expressed any shame or reluctance. Even Rockets GM Daryl Morey, whose “Fight for Freedom” tweet about Hong Kong ignited the dispute, had to issue a hostage statement to appease his boss, the league, and their Chinese communist masters. The single sleaziest statement thus far has come from new Nets owner Joe Tsai, who seized on the occasion to lecture Americans about not interfering with a totalitarian regime when it’s trying to tamp down an insurrection in the name of human rights. Mind you, Hong Kong protesters are known to carry the American flag to signal the values their movement stands for. This filth sums up what the American-born and bred NBA thinks of them:”
——
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Really Nate? Can’t figure it out?
It’s no mystery, it’s bias, plain and simple.
——-
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The left, if they’re one thing, are hypocrites.
Or bi-polar.
https://twitter.com/OrdyPackard/status/1181281349409206272
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So when will Julian “Coyote” Castro be charged, because what he did is a crime?
Old and busted…..
————-
New and hot…..
Too bad.
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Huh. I wonder why that is?
Said no one.
This is a hoax, that’s why.
“ICIG Atkinson Refuses to Tell Congress Why Whistleblower Rule Changes Were Backdated”
“Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general (ICIG), reportedly refused to answer a key question during testimony before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) on Friday.
Atkinson met with members of the committee in a closed meeting to to answer questions related to the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
When asked to explain why his office made changes to its whistleblower forms in September and backdated those changes to August when the anti-Trump “whistleblower” complaint was filed, Atkinson had no answer, Sean Davis reported at the Federalist on Monday. He also reportedly admitted to lawmakers that the anti-Trump complainant had improperly concealed his previous secret interactions with House Democratic staff prior to submitting the complaint.
The Federalist first reported late last month that the ICIG secretly changed its whistleblower forms and internal rules in September to do away with a requirement that complainants provide first-hand evidence to support their allegations of wrongdoing.
The IC watchdog disclosed in a press release last week that the rule change was in response to an anti-Trump complaint filed on August 12. The whistleblower complaint was based on second-hand information, much of which was shown to be false after President Trump ordered the declassification and release of his telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During Friday’s HPSCI committee oversight hearing, Atkinson admitted that the whistleblower forms and rules changes were made in September, even though the new forms and guidance state that they were changed in August, sources told the Federalist.”
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Some questions for Ricky and HRW…..
I see 2 choices, stay and run the risk of conflict with a NATO “ally”, or leave and let the cards fall where they may. The world made this problem, let them fix it.
What’s your alternative?
“The pro-war globalist coalition is literally on FIRE because President Trump announced the U.S. was pulling out of Syria, leaving it available for Turkey to move in and annex the northern part of the country. The unfortunate part of that move is that the U.S.’s Kurdish allies will be in danger. If Turkey plans to invade northern Syria, what can we do? Turkey is a member of garbage organization NATO and we are obligated to side with NATO members. The Kurds are not part of that treaty, it’s a bad situation all around.
So my question to all these blood thirsty war lovers who are melting down: how many Americans should die in a battle with Turkey? It’s not even clear the U.S. can fight against Turkey for the Kurds because of our NATO alliance. Will you sign up your children and family members to head on over to get blown to pieces or shot up? Of course not. The war coalition’s kids work for Google, Facebook or the N.B.A, they don’t go into the military. Now I am not a foreign policy expert but I can judge by the people opposing the president’s decision that he is probably right to @#$% of that hot mess.”
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Oh….
Almost forgot…..
Yankees win!
—————
Sweeeeeeeep!
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Mark Bowden wrote Blackhawk Down and a book about Hue and has extensive contacts within the US military. Most military officers are reasonably intelligent, so this article is not surprising.
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George Conway wrote this article on Trump’s mental condition a few days ago, and Trump has been proving Conway to be correct on a daily basis ever since.
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For Tychicus:
Garry Kasparov knows Putin and understands Trump:
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The beginning of the thread:
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Some people can learn economics by reading books and studying history. Others may learn by making mistakes or watching others make mistakes. Others will never learn.
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Or he consulted with Rick Perry.
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“In 20 years of writing about the military, I have never heard officers in high positions express such alarm about a president. Trump’s pronouncements and orders have already risked catastrophic and unnecessary wars in the Middle East and Asia, ….”
Officers in high position are politicians who want war to justify their existence, nothing more.
Some apparently are pearl clutching NTers too.
Yawn.
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Oh Putin again…..
How original…… 🙄
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George Conway?
Seriously?
He has even less credibility than his wife. 🤣🤣🤣
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Poor Ricky, he had to find another “gotcha” because his last one failed so miserably…..
Again.
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And you better find something quick, because Trump is doing that winning thing he does, yet again. 🙂
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/464646-poll-trump-gains-among-independents-against-biden-warren
“Poll: Trump gains among independents against Biden, Warren”
“President Trump is gaining among independent voters in head-to-head matchups with the Democratic presidential front-runners, according to a new IBD-TIPP poll.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads Trump by just 1 point among independents, which is down from Biden’s 18-point lead among the voting group in September.
In a head-to-head matchup with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 49 percent of independents backed Trump, while 43 percent threw their support behind the senator in the poll, which was released on Monday.
A 4-point gap separated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Trump, with the president receiving 48 percent support among independents and Sanders garnering 44 percent.
Warren led Trump with independents by 2 points in the September poll, while Sanders led the president by 9 points. ”
—————-
Please Ricky, can you and your new BFFs on the far left just keep doing what you’re doing?
It’s working perfectly. 🤣😂🤣
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Don’t worry Ricky, maybe Mittens will save you……
I hear he’s really big with the actual cultists, especially in Utah.
Bwahahahaha…. 😂🤣🤣
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/10/will-mitt-romney-become-a-2020-primary-challenger-to-trump/
“A few days ago, Romney accused Trump of “appalling” behavior in his call for China and Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Trump robustly responded in a series of Tweets that described Romney as a “pompous ass.” He also suggested that the people of Utah impeach their recently elected representative.
In the wake of Trump’s announcement of the withdrawal of troops from Syria, Romney tweeted that the move means the president handed a victory to Assad, Russia, Iran, and ISIS and he abandoned the Kurds. Meanwhile, Trump reminded everyone that he will wage an economic war against Turkey if they do something “off limits.”
These exchanges have led some analysts to speculate that Romney may be testing the waters to challenge Trump during the 2020 primary season.
For example, pollsters are pressing the news that Romney wins a “hypothetical” primary challenge against Trump…as long as said voters were strictly Utah Republican.
In one of the first 2020 polls pitting President Trump against critic Mitt Romney, the new Utah senator crushes the 45th president.
It helps that the poll was of Utah Republicans.
The “hypothetical primary matchup” from OHPI had Trump losing to Romney 55 percent to 37 percent in Utah.
“Republican base voters around the country back President Trump,” said Mike Noble, chief of research of Phoenix-based research company OH Predictive Insights.
“But Beehive State voters buck that trend, giving the state’s junior senator a wide margin of victory in a matchup,” he added.
However, according to one of those infamous “unnamed sources,” what Romney really wants to do is to lead the Senate into removing Trump after the House impeaches him.
According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. In recent days, Romney has been reaching out privately to key players in the Republican resistance, according to a person briefed on the conversations.
In terms of Impeachment Inquiry Theater, it appears that more and more politicians have connections to Ukraine, including Romney. One of the Utah politician’s top advisors worked on the same Ukrainian energy board as Hunter Biden.
According to web archives, top Mitt Romney adviser Joseph Cofer Black, who publicly goes by “Cofer Black,” joined Burisma’s board of directors while Hunter Biden was also serving on the board.
According to The New Yorker, Hunter joined Burisma’s board in April of 2014 and remained on it until he declined to renew his position this past May. Meanwhile, according to Burisma’s website, Black was appointed in February of 2017 and continues to serve on its board. The timelines would indicate that Black and Biden worked together at Burisma, and indeed, web archives from late 2017 show Black and Biden listed simultaneously on the board.
…It’s looking increasingly probable that Burisma, the subject of a series of corruption allegations in the past, has been smartly buying Western complacency by slapping a few famous names on its board.
And while Romney touts himself as a “man of character,” Fox News pundit and talk show host Tammy Bruce recalls how he treated our now highly successful Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell. Romney chose Grenell as his 2012 campaign’s national security spokesman.
Grenell resigned after being pushed into the background during key events because he is gay.”
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John Brennan admitted he was wrong Ricky, so why can’t you?
https://twitter.com/SharylAttkisson/status/1181589374762409990
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He sounds like someone I know…….
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The collapse of the Comey hoax continues….
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1181403145710292992
————-
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#Concerned about the Kurds. 😦
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Hopefully he’s rethinking that Michelle. It’s the right thing to do. Trump shouldn’t make them suffer because the rest of the world won’t do the right thing.
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All that butt kissing, and for what?
Nothing, because China is not our friend, or anyone else’s. And they’ve now dropped the NBA from their broadcast schedule anyway.
https://deadspin.com/adam-silver-issues-statement-meant-to-appease-everybody-1838874673
“Adam Silver Issues Statement Meant To Appease Everybody; China Doesn’t Buy It”
“NBA commissioner Adam Silver has released a second public statement regarding the controversy over Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and the Chinese government’s punitive response to the tweet.
The league office’s first attempt at an official response, issued over the weekend as the full scope of the Chinese government’s reactionary tantrum was still taking shape, amounted to Hey, don’t ask us about that Morey individual, we at the NBA are friends of the People’s Republic of China. As you might imagine, this went over very badly with critics from basically all sectors of American politics, who rightly saw it as an American sports league rolling over for a repressive totalitarian regime for the sake of preserving its ability to sell things to that regime’s subjects. In the new statement, which acknowledges the failure of the first, Silver is at pains to clarify that actually, the NBA is good, strongly supports everybody thinking it is good, and has values.”
—
“It almost goes without saying that the objective here is not to take any kind of actual courageous or even legibly moral stance with respect to free expression or pro-democracy protests, but rather to give distractible pundits and media types here on the home front a plausible pretext for moving on to whatever the next thing will be. Then the NBA could return to its business of making deals with the totalitarian government of China, secure in the knowledge that nobody is paying much attention. In that latter respect, the statement already has failed, and spectacularly: China’s state television network, CCTV, announced overnight that, in response to Silver’s anodyne expression of liking it when everybody regards the NBA as cool and good, it will be suspending its broadcast of NBA games in China.”
Here’s CCTV’s statement, as translated by CNBC:
We have noticed that Adam Silver, the Commissioner of the NBA, who is participating in an event in Japan, has responded to Houston Rockets general manager Morey’s post of inappropriate Hong Kong-related remarks. We are strongly dissatisfied and we oppose Silver’s claim to support Morey’s right of free expression. We believe that any speech that challenges national sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech.
To this end, CCTV Sports Channel of the Central Radio and Television Administration has decided to immediately suspend the current broadcast arrangements of the NBA pre-season (China Games) and immediately investigate all cooperation and exchanges involving the NBA.
Huh. Why, it’s almost as though the league’s stated commitment to pluralist values clashes directly and irreconcilably with its business partnerships inside a repressive totalitarian society, and it is being forced to choose between those values and the money it stands to make off its access to the Chinese economy. For all that Daryl Morey and Xi Jinping may have in common as human beings, this is about what the NBA and the government of China have in common as vast inhuman machines, and what they’re willing to ignore for the sake of it.”
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If they don’t like it, they can do something about it.
Like, I don’t know…. do their jobs, for a change….
https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/08/hey-congress-take-back-your-war-powers-or-shut-up-about-syria/
“Hey, Congress: Take Back Your War Powers, Or Shut Up About Syria
Congress abdicated its foreign policy responsibilities long before Donald Trump became president”
“If you want to stop Donald Trump from making unilateral decisions regarding war and peace, then stop letting all presidents make unilateral decisions about war and peace. It’s really quite simple. Trump can abruptly pull back U.S. troops from northern Syria because Congress, having abdicated its foreign policy responsibilities long ago, has no leverage to stop him.
When Congress passed the War Powers Resolution as the Vietnam War was winding down, it gave presidents the power to send troops abroad for 60 days in response to any “national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.” If the president failed to gain congressional support for the deployment, he would have another 30 days to pull back troops.
Congress is the institution vested with the power to declare wars, to debate where we send troops, and decide which conflicts are funded. Presidents have been ignoring this arrangement, abuse authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs), and imbue themselves with the power to engage in conflicts wherever they like, without any coherent endgame, and without any buy-in from Congress.
Congress, in turn, has shown no interest in genuinely challenging executive power, because its members are far more concerned with political self-preservation. Ignoring abuse shields them from tough choices and ensuing criticism—even as they use war as a partisan cudgel.
Even if you don’t believe all these conflicts rise to an Article I declaration, and I don’t, the more accountability there is in foreign entanglements the better. Right now we have little genuine debate or consensus building—in a nation that already exhibits exceptionally little interest in foreign policy—regarding the deployment of our troops, almost always in perpetuity, around the world.”
—————-
Like I said, it’s put up or shut up time. If they disagree, and they should, then do something about it instead of whining and hand wringing.
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Do the right thing Mr. President, because you aren’t right now.
https://nypost.com/2019/10/07/trumps-making-a-big-mistake-in-betraying-the-kurds/
“Turkish jets struck a Kurdish base near the Iraq-Syria border late Monday night, the first grim fruits of President Trump’s decision to order US forces out of the way — a decision we fear Trump will come to regret.
We’ll grant that the president is delivering on a campaign promise here: Like most Americans, he doesn’t want this nation serving as the world’s policeman; other countries should share more of the burden when it comes to both troops and money.
Or, as he tweeted Monday, “it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars.”
He has a point, big-picture — but he’s making a big mistake here. Leaving Syria puts multiple US interests at risk. He’s not putting an end to “endless wars,” he’s planting the seeds for future ones.
For starters, Trump made the abrupt call to abandon US-allied Kurdish fighters and give Turkey the responsibility for captured ISIS fighters after a weekend call with Turkish tyrant Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s about as unreliable an “ally” as it gets.
Trump says he’ll use US economic power to hold Erdogan responsible for not letting thousands of now-captive ISIS killers escape, but that’s far from a guarantee that Turkish forces can prevent it. This invasion thus risks the revival of one of the most savage terrorist groups the world has ever known.
Renewed war — and the prospect of a long-term Turkish occupation of Syrian territory — is also likely to further destabilize the region.
But most importantly, we have betrayed the Kurds.”
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And some people at Business Insider don’t know what they’re talking about. They are the clueless rubes they mistake their readers for.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-unemployment-rate-jobs-midwest-chicago-recession-bls-20191007-2byvnnliubeedf7qyknsa2zqzq-story.html
“So we greet with humility and gratitude the news that the U.S. jobless rate now has fallen to 3.5% ― the lowest in the half-century since 1969. What’s most heartening is that this jobs boom is helping the less-educated, low-skill Americans who’ve missed out on other, weaker jobs recoveries.
Mark this moment: Millions of American job seekers have prayed for it. The U.S. economic expansion now in its 11th year — having dodged that recession near-miss in 2015 — is bringing jobs to the long-jobless. The unemployment rates for workers without high school diplomas and for Hispanic Americans and African Americans are the lowest ever recorded. The rate for workers too discouraged to look for work — even in a jobs boom, they exist — and for underemployed Americans, typically part-timers seeking full-time jobs, is the lowest in two decades and near a record bottom. And wages nationwide, up 2.9% from a year ago, continue to outpace inflation.
All of which reminds us that while federal initiatives to reduce inequality produced slow economic growth for many years after the Great Recession, federal tax reform and deregulation have, by contrast, driven robust hiring. So many people are coming off the sidelines that U.S. employers haven’t yet run out of workers to hire. Cue the bromide that the best anti-poverty program is a job.
After Friday’s federal jobs report, The Wall Street Journal noted that, a decade ago, many economists thought a 5% jobless rate amounted to full employment, with the economy in balance and inflation neither rising nor falling. How long can 3.5% unemployment, with the economy still growing, continue? Beats us. The global economy is slowing, as is U.S. manufacturing.
That said, we’re amused by the doom-and-gloom economists and politicians who, in recent years, have confidently predicted five of the last zero U.S. recessions.
But we once again declare, with 100% accuracy guaranteed to Tribune subscribers, that America’s next serious recession truly is approaching! The only question is when it arrives. Maybe sooner, maybe later. Again, beats us.
For now, though, we’ll celebrate the fact that a record high 158,269,000 Americans have jobs. May we never return to the corrosive Midwestern joblessness that helped give the Rust Belt — a term now in welcome decline — its nickname.”
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Good! We have been waiting for this new voice for Cult-free conservatism. Hopefully, National Review will remain low-Cult.
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12:02 Did John Brennan accurately and repeatedly predict that Trump was moronically framing himself? No, nor did Comey. That was me, and I seem to remember HRW generally going along with that prediction. When confronted by something that could be malice but might be idiocy, never underestimate idiocy. Trump makes it slightly more challenging by daily exhibiting idiotic malice or as Mona Charen calls it: “Malice tempered by incompetence”.
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Speaking of idiotic malice:
Hopefully, the impeachment investigation and trial will keep Dear Leader fully occupied until he is out of office, so that he will not have time to abandon any more of our allies.
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The high price of economic illiteracy. Hopefully, everyone outside of The Cult is taking notes, and if a President Warren tries to impose tariffs of her own, she will be opposed by most as an Economic Trumpkin.
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Wow. I’d care, if I were buying an RV.
Sorry to hear about that increased cost of a few bucks for the 10,000 people who might be affected.
Yawn. What else ya’ got. That one is…. lacking.
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And why are the numbers on the other stuff only for Seattle and the Northwest?
Oh that’s right, because otherwise the numbers wouldn’t say what you and Liz want them to say. I’d bet it has more to do with overbearing local regs and environmental charges they add to common household purchases than Trump tariffs, but why be honest when you already have a boogieman to blame, amiright?
Stuff like this. Of course they pay more there in Seattle, they do for everything already anyway.
http://www.opportunityinstitute.org/research/post/who-really-pays-an-analysis-of-the-tax-structures-in-15-cities-throughout-washington-state/
————-
Lacking.
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And I love what you find when you dig a little deeper into Lincicome’s Reuters’ link.
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1UD18L?__twitter_impression=true
The stuff that shows how few people this affects.
Stuff like……
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“Renegade RV, one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of high-end recreational vehicles.”
“Many RVs cost far more. Renegade, for instance, sells models that cost as much as $750,000 and can come with multiple bathrooms, heated tile floors and cedar closets.
Some industry leaders say the business will stabilize once dealers reduce excess stocks.”
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Who buys them? People with a lot of money, who can afford a few dollars more.
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And while they blame Trump…..
“The RV industry may have contributed to its own problems by building too many factories during a sales boom in recent years, leading to an oversupply now. But tariffs were the pivotal factor in the industry’s decline, said managers at RV manufacturers and suppliers.”
Of course that’s what they say. They aren’t gonna take the blame for their poor business decisions like building plants they don’t need.
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And for crying out loud Ricky, even the owner admits the tariffs are a necessary thing.
“Sitting in an office near the front of the Adnik factory, Bond and Ronald Dick, the company’s brand manager, spent an hour griping about the speed and scope of their materials costs increases. And yet, like many in this region that strongly supported Trump’s election, they often added the caveat that they support the larger goal of the tariffs to protect U.S. factories from unfair foreign competition.
“It’s good for our country in the long haul,” said Dick, “but it’s going to hurt.”
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And it’s actually benefiting American companies too.
“Tim Sullivan, CEO of REV Group, Renegade’s parent company, said U.S. suppliers have raised prices alongside their foreign counterparts because tariffs have sparked a rush of demand for U.S. parts.
“It’s been a total feeding frenzy,” he said.”
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I could go on, but I’m bored now and only half way thru it.
So why all the whining?
Oh, that’s right……
Orange man bad.
You’re becoming a total hack.
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The Show Trial is no trial.
———–
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Just saying kiss off would have been shorter. 🙂
————
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The mask slips again. 🙂
https://twitter.com/RepStevenSmith/status/1181384759672545280
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https://twitter.com/AdamBaldwin/status/1181594990130192385
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Idiocy? President Trump is defeating these clowns at every turn. He’s far too smart for these losers, which was revealed again when he released the transcript of his conversation with the Ukrainian President (you know, the one who said that he wasn’t pressured at all by President Trump), thus spoiling their devious schemes.
Impeachment ‘investigation’? You’ve got to be kidding…they have nothing of substance, and Schiff has already been exposed for engaging in a partisan hit job. There’s so much more that’s going to come out about shady Schiff, starting with the fact that one of his staffers traveled to the Ukraine (signed off by Schiff) between Aug 24-31 after the ‘whistleblower’ complaint was filed. The trip was paid for by… you guessed it… the Atlantic Council group (full of anti-Trumpers) connected with Burisma, who had been paying Hunter Biden $83,000/month (and for what)! It’s pretty clear who the idiots are here…
Impeachment? It was all a set-up! Put it to a vote! But of course they won’t, and pretty much everyone knows why they won’t…
This is Hoax 2.0, and these frauds are now panicking…
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Just. So. Sad.
~ Indeed, the full interview illustrated how the media are increasingly obsessed with performative demonstrations of their political views, and less concerned with simply being informative. …
… The Todd-Johnson interview is a classic example of how the media no longer seem to understand their proper role. Instead of being a conduit to relay information between government and citizens, so that voters can ultimately decide what direction the country should head in, the incentives are now skewed. The media see their role as “speaking truth to power” at best, and partisan advocacy at worst. ~
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3:25 & 10:06 Yes, Trump is most likely simply a moron rather than being an actual Russian operative. However, Comey, Brennan and McCabe must be excused for fearing the worst as sometimes idiocy does look a lot like treachery.
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All anonymous sources again, eh Ricky.
You’re a total hack. If you had any decency, you’d be ashamed of yourself.
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And what, no comment on the dismantling I did of your BS from Lincicome above?
Of course not! You’re a hack.
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And you continue to cover up for Comey and Brennan’s crimes because you believed them. And they lied to you. But like a dog that’s owner keeps kicking it, you return for more again and again, thinking this time will be different.
But it’s not.
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