Category: Domestic Affairs,

Nunes throws tantrum over partisan “investigation” threatens to hold AG, FBI chief in contempt

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Nunes lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week in a letter where he threatened Sessions with a public grilling if he doesn’t produce documents about the Russia dossier to the House intelligence committee.

Nunes, who despite stepping aside from directing the House Russia investigation has been leading his own separate investigation, accused Sessions and the FBI of stonewalling him repeatedly in a September 1 letter obtained by CNN. In the letter, he threatened to drag Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray before the committee for a public grilling and hold them in contempt of Congress — a jailable offense — if they don’t hand over the documents.

…Asked to comment, Nunes told a CNN reporter Tuesday evening: “I’m not talking to you guys.”

Nunes vents anger at Sessions over subpoena, threatens to hold AG, FBI chief in contempt – CNNPolitics

<big ass eye roll>

Sanders single-payer bill poses dilemma for 2020 Dem hopefuls 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

A spokeswoman for Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), another possible candidate, referred to Booker’s interview with Vox in April. He said then that “I believe, ultimately, in ideas like single payer or Medicare for all,” while adding that “I don’t know how we get it done in this environment.” 

Sanders single-payer bill poses dilemma for 2020 Dem hopefuls | TheHill

Exactly, Cory. Exactly.

Russian politician says ‘let’s hit Trump with our Kompromat’ on state TV 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

A Russian politician has threatened to “hit Donald Trump with our Kompromat” on state TV. 

Speaking on Russia-24, Nikita Isaev, leader of the far-right New Russia Movement, said the compromising material should be released in retaliation over the closure of several Russian diplomatic compounds across the US. 

When asked whether Russia has such material, Mr Isaev, who is also director of the Russian Institute of Contemporary Economics, replied: “Of course we have it!”

Russian politician says ‘let’s hit Trump with our Kompromat’ on state TV | The Independent

hmmmm

Trump’s Nominee To Be USDA’s Chief Scientist Is Not A Scientist : NPR

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The chief scientist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is typically a low-profile job in any presidential administration. But President Trump’s nomination of his former Iowa campaign manager for the post is raising concern in the scientific community and beyond about the politicization of science policy in the Trump administration.

Among the concerns: Clovis isn’t a scientist. He holds a doctorate, but it’s in public administration and not a scientific discipline.

…As a Senate candidate in 2014, Clovis told Iowa Public Radio that he was skeptical that human activity is driving climate change.

…There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence showing that humans are causing the climate to warm by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a view supported by data collected by government agencies such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Trump’s Nominee To Be USDA’s Chief Scientist Is Not A Scientist : NPR

sigh…

Michigan’s Iraqi Chaldean community is choking on the taste of snake oil

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Race,, Religion,Leave a comment

Estimated at 121,000-strong, Michigan’s Chaldean community is the largest in the world outside of Iraq, from where these Aramaic-speaking Mesopotamians claim their ancient roots. It’s a result of multiple waves of immigration, mostly starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when many came to the United States as refugees fleeing anti-Assyrian killings and the chaos of the Iran–Iraq War. Since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, sectarian violence, civil war, and the rise of ISIS have killed or displaced more than two-thirds of Iraq’s Christians.

The Chaldeans of Michigan have a conservative history, consistently supporting the Republican Party with votes and donations, and they voted heavily for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, helping him win Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence inspired many Chaldeans to show up at voting booths with unprecedented enthusiasm by promising to protect persecuted Christians in the Middle East. A Chaldean priest publicly blessed Trump while he was on the campaign trail, and conservative Christians praised Trump’s commitment to Christian minorities on Facebook. Few in the community expected that Trump’s immigration crackdown—touted in part as a means to protect the country from radical Islamists—would come to target them.

Michigan’s Iraqi Chaldean community is fighting to protect dozens of people from deportation.

Tragic? Yes. Surprising? No.

Taking a statement (like, say, “oh, we’ll just deport Muslims”) as gospel just because it sounds good or the listener really wants it to be true seems so naive. Is it really such a radical idea to evaluate the veracity of something with more of a skeptical eye? Sigh….

Will Hurricane Irma Hit Haiti? The Storm Looks Like It’s Headed For The Island Nation

On By peanutgallerynhIn Caribbean,, Gulf Coast Region,Leave a comment

According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma will arrive in Haiti at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 7, but it may be an indirect hit. According to this chart by the NHC, Haiti will be spared the worst of the hurricane — wind speeds will top out around 30 to 40 miles per hour, unlike the 100+ mile per hour winds that battered the Texas Gulf coast when Harvey hit last week. For now, however, only Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, and Saint Barthelemy have hurricane warnings posted.

Will Hurricane Irma Hit Haiti? The Storm Looks Like It’s Headed For The Island Nation

Crossing my fingers for Haiti’s safety. (Enough’s enough!)

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Implicated in Murder, Weapons Smuggling, Attempted Genocide

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Middle East,Leave a comment

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company’s owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,” and that Prince’s companies “encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.”

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting “illegal” or “unlawful” weapons into the country on Prince’s private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Implicated in Murder | The Nation

Tragically, this is not surprising at all.

Trump complained he’s reading fewer articles from right-wing sites

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

White House chief of staff John Kelly has severely cut down on the number of news articles President Trump receives from conservative-leaning and right-wing news organizations, according to a new report.

The New York Times reported Friday that Kelly has restricted what information ends up in Trump’s daily digest of articles. Because Trump does not have an Internet browser on his phone and doesn’t use a computer, he relies on hard copies of news articles.

…Soon after Kelly took the chief of staff job, reports indicated that he was vetting everything Trump sees before it gets to him, as well as restricting visits with Trump in the Oval Office.

Trump complained he’s reading fewer articles from right-wing sites: report | TheHill

hmmm

Special Counsel Mueller has Trump’s draft letter on reasons for firing FBI Director James Comey

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Mueller’s team has a draft letter by Trump and an aide, laying out reasons for firing Comey, according to a person familiar with the probe.

…During a May weekend at the president’s New Jersey golf club, Trump asked White House aide Stephen Miller to draft a letter outlining a case for Comey’s firing, according to two people familiar with the situation. But the letter, which contained a rationale for the dismissal, was not sent after White House counsel Don McGahn objected, thinking some of its contents were problematic, according to one of the people familiar with the letter.

Special Counsel Mueller has Trump’s draft letter on reasons for firing FBI Director James Comey: Source

hmmmm

Longtime Trump aide Keith Schiller tells people he intends to leave – CNNPolitics

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

President Donald Trump’s longtime aide and current director of Oval Office operations Keith Schiller has told people he intends to leave the White House, three sources familiar with the decision told CNN.

…Now, Schiller’s potential departure will leave Trump without one of his most loyal and trusted aides at his side at a time of tumultuous change at the White House. Schiller has been a constant presence at Trump’s side for nearly two decades and was among a handful of aides from Trump’s previous life as a businessman to follow Trump onto the campaign trail and into the White House.

Longtime Trump aide Keith Schiller tells people he intends to leave – CNNPolitics

hmmmm

Trump acknowledged Russia role in U.S. election hacking: aide

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

(Jan 2017) – Trump accepts the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential election and may take action in response, his incoming chief of staff said on Sunday.

Reince Priebus said Trump believed Russia was behind the intrusions into the Democratic Party organizations, although Priebus did not clarify whether the president-elect agreed that the hacks were directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He accepts the fact that this particular case was entities in Russia, so that’s not the issue,” Priebus said on “Fox News Sunday.”

It was the first acknowledgment from a senior member of the Republican president-elect’s team that Trump had accepted that Russia directed the hacking and subsequent disclosure of Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump acknowledges Russia role in U.S. election hacking: aide

hmmm

AP EXCLUSIVE: Toxic waste sites flooded in Houston area, EPA not on the scene 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,Leave a comment

Long a center of the nation’s petrochemical industry, the Houston metro area has more than a dozen Superfund sites, designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as being among America’s most intensely contaminated places. Many are now flooded, with the risk that waters were stirring dangerous sediment.

…The Associated Press surveyed seven Superfund sites in and around Houston during the flooding. All had been inundated with water, in some cases many feet deep.

…AP journalists used a boat to document the condition of one flooded Houston-area Superfund site, but accessed others with a vehicle or on foot. The EPA did not immediately respond to questions about why its personnel had not yet been able to do so.

AP EXCLUSIVE: Toxic waste sites flooded in Houston area – San Antonio Express-News

sighh….

F’ing toothless EPA

Justice Department: Zero Evidence Trump Tower Was Wiretapped 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

The Justice Department said in a court filing Friday evening that it has no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s assertion in March that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped the phones in Trump Tower before last year’s election.

…“Both FBI and NSD confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets,” the department’s motion reads. NSD refers to the department’s national security division.

…Then-FBI Director James Comey told Congress in March there was no evidence to support the contention that Trump Tower had been wiretapped. “We have no information to support those tweets,” he said at a House intelligence committee hearing.

American Oversight said in a statement following the Justice Department’s motion: “The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with former Director Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted the former President Obama ‘wiretapped’ him at Trump Tower.”

Justice Department: No evidence Trump Tower was wiretapped – CNNPolitics

Cheetos’ pants on fire

Mnuchin’s Trip to Kentucky Is Being Reviewed by Treasury’s Watchdog 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog has begun reviewing the circumstances of Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s trip to Kentucky with his wife last month, where he discussed tax plans at a public event and toured Fort Knox.

…“at times” Mnuchin used government aircraft to “facilitate his travel schedule” and to ensure he has access to secure communications, the spokesperson said.

…Past Treasury secretaries typically flew commercial airlines when they were available on domestic trips for official business, but occasionally used government aircraft when flying internationally.

Source: Mnuchin’s Trip to Kentucky Is Being Reviewed by Treasury’s Watchdog – Bloomberg

hmmm