What goes through my my mind when I read the news with my morning coffee. …Or for the Simon's Rockers in the group, this is my response journal.
In addition to representing the family of the late Sergei Magnitsky, Gorokhov reportedly served as a witness for ex-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s separate case probing allegedly corrupt Russian businessmen and officials.
Magnitsky Family Lawyer ‘Thrown From Building’ – The Daily Beast
Defenestration even. Whoa….
Trump administration rolls back protections for people in default on student loans
Ack!!!!!!!!!1
Schoolchildren in Boston have started using a new world map, one that shrinks the United States and Europe and makes South America and Africa appear bigger.
School kids using map that shrinks US, makes Africa and South America look bigger – Story | WFLD
hmmmm
The uncensured remarks of congressman Steve King underscore the racism in the Republican Party.
The GOP has become the party of white nationalism – The Boston Globe
Sigh…
The FBI director inflicted a double blow on President Trump early on in the hearing.
He first confirmed that the bureau is investigating links between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government.
…The media focus will next turn to whether the bureau will uncover evidence of outright collusion between Team Trump and Moscow.
On the accusation of wiretapping, Comey did not even provide a fig leaf for the White House. In addition to asserting that the FBI has no evidence to support the wiretapping charges, Comey noted, “The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components. The department has no information that supports those tweets.”
THE MEMO: Five takeaways from Comey’s big day | TheHill
hmmm
Though Ivanka Trump lacks a formal White House job, the president’s older daughter is moving into her own West Wing office,
…Ivanka Trump will not be on the government payroll or officially bound by its ethics rules.
…The law blocks the president from filling executive roles with relatives. President Trump has already tested this rule by hiring his son-in-law Kushner as a senior adviser.
Ivanka still owns her companies, …she has stepped down from her leadership positions and from her former executive role at the Trump Organization, her father’s company.
…ethics experts have raised concerns over an array of conflicts of interest between the Trumps and their sprawling businesses
hmmm
Travellers from eight countries will not be allowed to carry on laptops and tablets but phones exempt.
US to ban laptops and tablets on flights from eight countries – BBC News
hmmm
FBI Director James Comey said for the first time Monday that the bureau is investigating whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow while Russia was interfering in the presidential election.
hmmm
Judging by his proposed budget, I don’t think Trump particularly cares about the United States’ intellectual, innovative and artistic contributions to the world. But do you know where conferences are held? Hotels. Now that’s an industry I know the Cheeto-in-Chief doesn’t want to see decline–so maybe he should quit it with the racist, erratic visa policies, hm?
A US-Africa Trade Conference With No Africans | The Mary Sue
Sigh…..
FBI Director James Comey Monday offered the most definitive repudiation yet that the Obama administration wiretapped President Trump’s New York offices in advance of the 2016 elections.
“The FBI and the Justice Department have no information to support’’ Trump’s wiretap assertions, Comey said.
Comey, appearing before the House Intelligence Committee along with National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, also confirmed for the first time publicly that the FBI was investigating Russian interference , including communications between Trump associates and Russian officials.
…Comey did acknowledge, however, that the Russians appeared to use a third party–a “cutout”–in its communications with WikiLeaks, which published internal communications in the hack of the Democratic National Committee.
FBI’s Comey says Obama did not order wiretapping of Trump’s New York office
hmmm
Kellyanne Conway’s husband, veteran lawyer George Conway, is expected to be nominated to lead the civil division of the Justice Department, according to Reuters.
Kellyanne Conway’s husband expects to land top DOJ job | New York Post
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
White House press secretary Sean Spicer flatly denied Friday that the White House apologized to the British government after citing an uncorroborated Fox News report to allege that a UK intelligence agency spied on President Donald Trump at the behest of former President Barack Obama.
White House: No apology to British government over spying claims – CNNPolitics.com
This WH is a pack of ignorant, irresponsible toddlers. Losers!
The Wolverines took a team vote on whether to get on a plane again for the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan players band together after plane accident left them with a choice | MLive.com
wild.
“President Trump’s new Executive Order is antithetical to Hawaii’s State identity and spirit,” lawyers for the state wrote. “For many in Hawaii, including State officials, the Executive Order conjures up the memory of the Chinese Exclusion Acts and the imposition of martial law and Japanese internment after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”
…In its lawsuit, Hawaii argues that foreign residents and travelers contribute substantially to the functioning of the state, and blocking even the issuance of new visas would have a major impact. State lawyers wrote that Hawaii is home to 12,000 foreign students, and at least 27 graduate students are from the seven countries affected by the original ban.
In 2016, lawyers for the state wrote, Hawaii’s foreign students contributed more than $400 million to Hawaii’s economy with tuition and fees, living expenses and other activities. The lawyers also said that tourism was a driver of Hawaii’s economy, and that 8.7 million visitors accounted for $15 billion in spending in 2015.
…Hawaii is still pointing to campaign trail comments by Trump indicating that he wanted to impose a blanket ban on Muslims as evidence that the order violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. U.S. officials have disputed that characterization.
Justice Department lawyers have asserted that a short-term freeze is especially unnecessary, because the new ban only applies to the issuance of new visas, a process that can take months.
Why Hawaii says Trump’s new travel ban is still unconstitutional – The Washington Post
A little out of date but the reasoning behind Hawaii’s actions was interesting.
The law requiring people to use toilets corresponding to their birth gender must now go to state Senate.
Texas ‘bathroom bill’ passes key vote – BBC News
If we really want to protect our children where is the law about not using the same bathrooms as people who are an actual statistically more likely to assault them? Like the one against little boys using the same bathroom as Catholic priests? Or any children with family members?
(F’ing morons!)
Some foreign policy experts took issue with Trump’s assertions about contributions to NATO. Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, took to Twitter to argue that Trump didn’t seem to understand how the alliance works.
“US does provide large military commitment to NATO. But this is not a favor to Europe. It is vital for our own security,” Daalder tweeted. “All NATO countries, including Germany, have committed to spend 2% of GDP on defense by 2024.”
Daalder said America’s contribution to NATO is not to help pay for Germany’s defense or that of other European allies. “It is part of our treaty commitment,” he noted.
Trump doesn’t understand how NATO works, former ambassador says
Yup.
Linda Preast has used a wheelchair since she had a stroke two years ago and now relies on Meals on Wheels, a service that provides food to millions of people with disabilities and the elderly. The 56-year-old Georgia resident never envisioned when she voted for President Donald Trump that he’d propose slashing funding for the programs.
Trump Voter Shocked To Find That Her Meals On Wheels Could Be Cut | The Huffington Post
Stupid is, as stupid does. In what delusional universe does an idiot have to live in to believe someone like Donald Trump gives a shit about anyone getting their Meals on Wheels? Buy the snake oil and and you’ll choke on it, ignorant sheeple.
A retired police chief says he was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport and held for 90 minutes earlier this month because of his name.
Homeland security/border & customs are starting to sound as ignorant and incompetent as Trump.
“I would like to visit again and to talk to other scientists, but I fear that I may not be welcome,” Hawking said Monday in an interview on U.K. TV show Good Morning Britain.
….“His priority will be to satisfy his electorate, who are neither liberal nor that well informed.”
Stephen Hawking: I don’t feel welcome in Trump’s America
“…neither liberal nor that well informed.” Amen, brother, amen to that.
Julian Assange announced the massive WikiLeaks CIA document dump will be the first of a series of leaks concerning the intelligence agency.
WikiLeaks’ CIA Document Dump: What You Need to Know – Rolling Stone
hmmm
Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara was investigating a key member of President Trump’s cabinet, a new report Friday revealed. Bharara was looking into allegations that Tom Price, he health and human services secretary and the administration’s point man on efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare, improperly traded health care stocks while he was a member of the House of Representatives, ProPublica reported.
Bharara was investigating Trump cabinet member before he was sacked | New York Post
hmmm
Dozens died at mosque; U.S. admits staging strike in area, killing dozens of terrorists but denies targeting mosque
Conflicting claims on a U.S. role in airstrike at mosque in Syria that killed dozens – CBS News
hmmm
If you want to know where President Donald Trump came from, if you want to trace the long winding road (or escalator) that brought him to the Oval Office, don’t look to reality TV or Twitter or even the rise of the alt-right. Look someplace far more improbable: Iraq.
If You Want to Know Where Donald Trump Came From, Look to Iraq | The Nation
hmmm
TO APPRECIATE how shocking President Donald Trump is to modern German sensibilities, consider the “America First!” slogan that so cheers his supporters. Then ponder how Germans—and indeed voters across Europe—would react if an avowed law-and-order nationalist were to seek the office of Bundeskanzler with the slogan: “Germany First!”
At an often awkward press conference in the East Room, the two leaders politely disagreed on everything from immigration to free trade and the value of seeking multinational agreements. …Mrs Merkel was every inch the cool, reserved physicist-by-training, at moments giving her American host the icy stare of a Mother Superior told a dirty joke. Mr Trump was dyspeptic, defensive and visibly irritated by press questions about his latest controversial tweets.
…Her core message to Mr Trump was that real political leadership involves seeking a co-operative solution that leaves everyone ahead, and that international relations do not have to be zero-sum.
(Like Trump has the comprehension skills for that concept)
…[Trump] has appalled the German government with his open admiration for the iron-fisted nationalism of Mr Putin, his hints that he might lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and his suggestions that NATO is obsolete.
…At their press conference Mrs Merkel managed to persuade Mr Trump to state his “strong support” for NATO. She also heard the American leader praise Germany’s schemes for job training and retraining, and apprenticeships in industry.
… Turning to his guest, he said: “At least we have something in common, perhaps.” The look that the chancellor shot back blended incredulity with horror. For Washington-based observers, increasingly used to the idea of an American president who makes baseless claims and attacks other leaders without shame, her dismay was a useful reminder. This is not normal.
Normal? No, it is not. So next time, vote for the clearly lesser of the two major party evils, snake oil buyers and liberal-ship-sinkers.
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