User-Supported News Commentary Hosted by Craig Crawford
Depends On What The Meaning Of Not Is
BART: Dad, are you licking toads?
HOMER: I’m not ‘not’ licking toads.
Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
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52 thoughts on “Depends On What The Meaning Of Not Is”
must read today
George will in wapo:
This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man
[…]
Like the purloined letter in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story with that title, collusion with Russia is hiding in plain sight. We shall learn from Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation whether in 2016 there was collusion with Russia by members of the Trump campaign. The world, however, saw in Helsinki something more grave — ongoing collusion between Trump, now in power, and Russia. The collusion is in what Trump says (refusing to back the United States’ intelligence agencies) and in what evidently went unsaid (such as: You ought to stop disrupting Ukraine, downing civilian airliners, attempting to assassinate people abroad using poisons, and so on, and on).
Americans elected a president who — this is a safe surmise — knew that he had more to fear from making his tax returns public than from keeping them secret. The most innocent inference is that for decades he has depended on an American weakness, susceptibility to the tacky charisma of wealth, which would evaporate when his tax returns revealed that he has always lied about his wealth, too. A more ominous explanation might be that his redundantly demonstrated incompetence as a businessman tumbled him into unsavory financial dependencies on Russians. A still more sinister explanation might be that the Russians have something else, something worse, to keep him compliant.
[…continues….]
Putin handing Trumpsky that soccer ball was symbolic. Putin still has Trump’s in a vice.
What I don’t get is why he would make negative comments about Germany getting natural gas from Russia. That’s Russia’s livelihood, you know, apart from owning folks like Trump.
Yesterday’s NRA/red sparrow should help take down Congrussians.
Mueller is about to throw a bucket of water on Trumpsky & his spawn. That’s how you melt witches.
double negatives (plural noun)
a negative statement containing two negative elements (for example he didn’t say nothing).
a positive statement in which two negative elements are used to produce the positive force, usually for some particular rhetorical effect, for example there is not nothing to worry about!
if one employed the above definition to the twit’s “clarification” of his self-described misspoke, then wouldn’t one conclude that he really didn’t take back what he originally said? in fact he doubled down on it.
he even pointed out his use of a double negative when he [as someone described this morning “like a hostage reading” what his captors told him to] spoke about his misspoke… perhaps signaling the real meaning.
Colbert’s take on the double negative
Donald Trump made an addendum to his Helsinki statements, changing the meaning of his widely condemned remarks into the exact opposite of the what he originally said. No biggie!
That soccer ball must be reclaimed by our government. Its rightful place will be in its own shrine just off the Mall where future generations of students can go and reflect on how an obviously dysfunctional individual traded the security of his country for the ball on display here.
btw, according to cnn:
Russian intelligence agencies are planning to ramp up operations targeting Western countries, according to sources familiar with intelligence collected by the United Kingdom, the US and other allies. CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reports.
so how is he going to clarify this one? it’ll take a little more than a “not” to correct this one.
the guardian: Trump keeps saying his father was born in Germany – he wasn’t
[…]
“I was there many, many years ago,” he said. “Meaning, my parents were born in the European Union. I love these countries; Germany, Scotland, they are still in there right?”
Last week, as Trump has careened across Europe, he repeated his touching tale. In an interview recorded in Scotland, he said: “Don’t forget both of my parents were born in EU sectors – my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany.”
[…]
Trump’s mother, Mary MacLeod, was indeed born in Scotland, on the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. But his father, Fred Trump, was born in New York City, in the United States of America. Not Germany.
Fred Trump took over the family real estate business as a teenager and made vast sums before passing the reins to his son.
Fred Trump’s father, Friedrich Trump, was born in Germany, in the sleepy village of Kallstadt. He left for America at 16 and worked as a barber in Manhattan before heading west.
He lived in Washington state for a while and in the Yukon, in Canada, he sold horse meat and other “services” to goldminers.
Friedrich returned to Germany but was kicked out for skipping military service. His son barely left New York. Until the 1980s, though, he pretended he was of Swedish ancestry, which he felt would be more palatable to many of his Jewish tenants.
His son repeated the Swedish claim in his bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, then flirted with a run for the White House in 2000. His political ambitions were really fueled years later, though, by his leadership of the “birther” movement, which insisted Barack Obama was born in Kenya and thus could not be president.
That wasn’t true. Neither is it true that Trump’s own dad was born abroad.
the hill:
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Tuesday called for the American translator present during President Trump‘s one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to tell Congress what was said.
“I believe the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold a hearing with the American translator who was present during President Trump and President Putin’s private meeting to determine what was specifically discussed and agreed to on the United States’s behalf,” Shaheen, a member of the committee, said.
Trump and Putin had a private one-on-one meeting that reportedly lasted more than two hours on Monday before a shocking joint press conference.
[…]
Though Putin speaks English, both Trump and Putin had translators with them at the meeting due to protocol.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week told the news organization Russia Today that Trump wanted to hold the meeting without other officials, but Putin preferred a translator to ensure he was communicating his thoughts clearly, according to Newsweek.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) echoed Shaheen in a tweet, saying “@realDonaldTrump’s translator should come before Congress and testify as to what was said privately immediately. If Republicans are as outraged as they claim, then issue the subpoena today.”
[…continues…]
he he he…
Did anyone else catch Jill Wine-Banks on Lawrence O’Donnell last night… she was wearing a brooch that said trump in red with a hammer and sickle instead of the “u”.
Love that lady!
Today in Traitor News
We find out from Russian sources security agreements were made in secret meeting.
Trump questions US commitment to NATO defense of Russian satellite countries.
The Russian Defense Ministry is ready for the practical implementation of agreements in the area of global security reached in Helsinki between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the ministry’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, told reporters on Tuesday.
The spokesman specified that the Russian military was “ready to intensify contacts with American colleagues at the level of the General Staffs and through other available channels of communication to discuss the extension of the START treaty, the interaction in Syria, and other topical issues of military security.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The two parties discussed the current state of bilateral relations along with pressing issues on the international agenda.
“Would” shoulda been “wouldn’t”? Excuse my French, but whaddabunchabullshit. Bottom line is that he mistakenly told the truth. Maya would warn us – When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
putin’s yellow toy poodle never makes mistakes, Mr Pogo.
he just had a little accident on the living room carpet after the guests had settled down.
Bink
I know of no one who equated a vote for any of the recognized republican candidates as being a vote for Putin. I’ll go further, I don’t think the possibility even entered republican voters’ minds. It certainly didn’t enter my democratic mind.
I would have been content if their chosen candidate had been Kasich.
And anybody who can work in a quote from “the dude” is a winner
The scary part for both us and those who rely on our defensive umbrella is below:
The more fundamental point is, as former Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski noted on Twitter, that “now, as a U.S. ally, we are supposed to believe that if President Putin launches a hybrid war, or even a nuclear strike against Poland, President [Trump] will threaten to nuke him back.”
After Helsinki, who can believe that? Do you? The faith that America will support its allies against Russia is simply gone. Armies are only as good as a willingness to use them, and alliances only endure for as long as their members believe in each other. And without a sense of American solidarity and leadership, the U.S. presence in Europe (and everywhere else) means nothing, regardless of the disproportionate burden it bears.
IMO, such news is just click bait designed to drive ratings and distract us from the serious problems with this presidency. Why make a big deal over that lie any more than the dozen or so he that he has uttered just this morning.
Yes our president lies and he lies about everything but if you worry about every lie you get lost in the weeds and miss the real and present danger of his actions.
Jack
Jack,
He’s preaching to the choir. The republican males in the congress must grow the balls to fulfill their constitutional role. I have no doubt that the women members will do the right thing after examining the facts and the alternatives. The longer they delay the greater the damage; after another week, it will be virtually irreparable.
Before Cabinet meeting today:
Is Russia still targeting the US?
Trump says, “No.”
For the walk-back: ‘I meant to say NOT no’
Flatus , true but what I found with the article was that it layed out the danger to our country in a way I had not seen before and pulled together several threads that had been troubling me but I didn’t quite understand why.
Too much of this debate is like Craigs posts today, while fun, they tend to distract from the real serious damage being done. Until I read this article it hadn’t occurred to me, Trump has removed MADD from the table. MADD is one of the main reasons Europe has had a prosperous and peaceful 70 years. But if nobody believes you will push the button…………..
Jack
jack, you’re right that there’s no end of distractions that waste bandwidth. most scary is the specter of war. … like the hint in the twit’s early morning tweet which sent a chill
…. “Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia,” he tweeted a few hours later. “They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome!”
Trump, in general, does not like to concede to his critics, and it’s not surprising that he’s bristling a bit at the pushback (and bad reviews) from his Russia trip, even from his close allies and Fox News. But his hyperbolic defense — war, or work with Putin — is questionable.
White House denies Trump said Russia no longer targeting U.S.
The White House denied that U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russia was no longer targeting the United States, saying his answer “no” was about taking further questions not about potential interference in U.S. elections.
Asked by reporters before a Cabinet meeting earlier on Wednesday whether Moscow was still targeting the United States, Trump shook his head and said, “No.”
“The president … was saying ‘No’ to answering questions,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said at a news briefing later. “The president and his administration are working very hard to make sure that Russia is unable to meddle in our elections as they have done in the past.” (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Tim Ahmann)
Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had ties to Russian intelligence agency, prosecutors say
The Russian woman arrested this week on charges of being a foreign agent had ties to Russian intelligence operatives and was in contact with them while in the United States, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Maria Butina, 29, also was also engaged in “personal relationship” with an American Republican consultant only for business purposes and had offered sex to at least one other person “in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.”
In a new court filing, prosecutors also called Butina a flight risk, saying she has connections with wealthy business executives linked to the Putin administration and appeared to be planning to leave Washington and possibly the United States. They said that when she was arrested, her apartment was full of moving boxes and she had transferred money to Russia in recent days. [Read the court filing]
The new allegations laid out Wednesday explicitly link Butina to Russia’s intelligence services for the first time, painting the portrait of a covert agent backed by powerful patrons who went to lengths to create a pretext for her presence in the U.S.
The details about her alleged activities injected even more drama into the case of the Russian gun rights activist, who in recent years cozied up to top U.S. conservatives, including the leadership of the National Rifle Assn.
In a document that could have been ripped from the television show “The Americans,” prosecutors decribed her manipulating a South Dakota political operative as part of her scheme and meeting for a private lunch in March with a Russian diplomat suspected of being a Russian intelligence officer — all while FBI agents watched.
Butina, who came to the U.S. on a student visa in August 2016 to study at American University, was arrested this week and charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. Prosecutors say she worked to infiltrate American conservative groups to advance the Kremlin’s interests.
In advance of a scheduled detention hearing Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors argued strongly against her release, noting “her history of deceptive conduct.”
[….continues…]
abc news:
[…]
Trump’s response to a question from ABC News’ Cecilia Vega came as reporters were gathered just ahead of a session at the White House with Cabinet members.
“Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr. President,” Vega asked.
“Thank you very much, no,” he said.
Vega pressed: “No?! You don’t believe that to be the case?”
He responded: “No.”
[…continues… see their video…]
So I hear that SHuckleberry is explaining that in trumpworld no means yes today. (Claiming he was saying “no” to taking questions, then proceeded to take questions as I understand it).
“I know of no one who equated a vote for any of the recognized republican candidates as being a vote for Putin” -Flatus
Sure, you do- a bunch of us, here, could see what was going on, if not appreciating the depth and breadth of the treason and the size of the cabal. The Steele Dossier broke news early in 2016- by July, it was clear Trump&Co were traitors.
I’m beating this drum until midterms, sorry. I’ll lose what hope i have left if the Republican traitors retain control of everything, if it’s grown tedious.
Pogo
What would you have her do? Tell the truth? that as a nation right now we are defenseless against one of our enemies?
True she is Bagdad Bob but right now what is her choice?
Jack
…speaking of Mutually Assured Destruction, the peloton was blown wide apart, today, despite a furious but futile French resistance, by a relentless assault of British chemical weaponry, sponsored by the Menace of Melbourne, himself, Rupurt Murdoch! Does this waltzing wallaby’s wicked clutch extend beyond the media and politics to even the most ridiculous of sport? Find out, tomorrow, on the Alpe D’Huez!
One of the serious issues that SFB may have agreed to is to allow KGB come to the US and interrogate US citizens. Although ex-Ambassadors are mentioned there are many people who the KGB has on its lists who are not “names”. They are the anonymous people who worked in the black world, sometimes they are called spies or undercover agents or other names. But, they may have become known to the KGB after the 2014 Office of Personnel data breaches. The KGB (puttie/FSB/SVR/GRU) would like to find them and accuse them of crimes and take them back to Russia (puttie’s soviet union) for “justice”.
SFB is playing a game in a world he does not know or understand. Trading the US to make KGB get his rocks off is beyond anything comprehensible.
When you write use something like MS word or something, and copy to Trailmix. Another excellent post lost to the bit bucket.
At this moment it seems a lot of trump/Russian lovers are wondering about eating in 2019. Seems they can’t sell their harvest and do not know what to plant, if anything, next year. I suggested they plant enough so they and their animals can survive another year, and nothing more.
For any who think SFB has a brain – phhhhhhrt
The idiot has few thoughts. He repeats the last thing he hears.
Ms Bronc,
What makes you think that trump doesn’t understand ?
Kittel and Cavendish fail to make the cutoff time. Sagan still in green, but 57 in GC, but with lots of points in the green.
Jack,
I’d say she might STFU rather than just flat out lie about it.
BB, any changes in the GC?
Whoa. Just watched a 5 minute summary of the stage. Whoa.
I wonder who the red sparrow comprised with sexual favors?
cbs news:
the exchange between Mr. Trump and Glor:
GLOR: “You say you agree with U.S. intelligence that Russia meddled in the election in 2016.” TRUMP: “Yeah and I’ve said that before, Jeff. I have said that numerous times before, and I would say that is true, yeah.” GLOR: “But you haven’t condemned Putin, specifically. Do you hold him personally responsible?” TRUMP: “Well, I would, because he’s in charge of the country. Just like I consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. So certainly as the leader of a country you would have to hold him responsible, yes.” GLOR: “What did you say to him?” TRUMP: “Very strong on the fact that we can’t have meddling, we can’t have any of that – now look. We’re also living in a grown-up world. Will a strong statement — you know — President Obama supposedly made a strong statement – nobody heard it. What they did hear is a statement he made to Putin’s very close friend. And that statement was not acceptable. Didn’t get very much play relatively speaking. But that statement was not acceptable. But I let him know we can’t have this, we’re not going to have it, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”
If Butina was packing boxes & sending money back to Russia (making her a flight risk), how did she know the jig was up?
Is Trumpsky gonna let her of the hook & trade her to Putie for one of our folks?
Was Butina’s arrest a message (even though not part of the Mueller investigation…so she’s not, technically, a witch). to let others know they should co-operate & make it easier on themselves?
Repetez: Sagan can’t, won’t, and never will win a grand tour GC- he is a sprinter. He rides for stage wins and Points Classification only.
He may be the best climbing sprinter, ever, though.
Froome/Thomas/Dumoulin in Paris.
BB. That’s a distinct podium possibility. Tomorrow will be absolutely huge. Col de la Madeleine, the Lacets de Montvernier, the col de la Croix-de-Fer and the L’Alpe d’Huez. My god what a day. I can’t wait.
A Modest Proposal to republicans to Eliminate the Immodest Guy and Save Big Money
repubs could save taxpayer money and shrink BIG GUV to nothing by shutting it down, and sending everyone home, from the janitors to trump. The ripoffs could just have putin run the US from his Kremlin palace. At least it would cut out that obnoxious middle man.
Ms Wino, yours of 9:33 pm is wonderful. Thank you.
Ms Wino’s 9:33pm post got me thinking some more.
I know that as they are lopped off the heads of the Russian/repub hydra will eventually regrow, but if we can purge, jail, and confiscate (proscribe) the human assets & financial resources of the federalists, the nra, the murdochs/saudis, the prayer breakfast, the freedom caucus, the mercers, bratbite, zerohedge, wnd, the adelsons, proxy, fox, sinclair, the kochs, gateway, heritage foundation, etc., we just might gain a generation of respite from the repub/russian menace. We might have to build more supermax prisons – unless we keep the death penalty and make liberal use of it.
What Did the President Know and When Did He Know It ?
According to NYT, evening 7/18/18, trump knew the russians had interfered in the ’16 election on Jan 6, 2017, a full two weeks before the inauguration [at which russian oligarchs funded parties !]. Several Intel people were present as John Brennan laid out the details of the russian attacks on our election for trump, including the names and emails of the russian officers and the approval of v. putin.
For 1 1/2 years, trump has been an accessory after the fact of the crimes, covering up the interference, attempting to end the investigation, and obstructing testimony, and delaying the collection of direct evidence.
must read today
George will in wapo:
This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man
[…]
Like the purloined letter in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story with that title, collusion with Russia is hiding in plain sight. We shall learn from Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation whether in 2016 there was collusion with Russia by members of the Trump campaign. The world, however, saw in Helsinki something more grave — ongoing collusion between Trump, now in power, and Russia. The collusion is in what Trump says (refusing to back the United States’ intelligence agencies) and in what evidently went unsaid (such as: You ought to stop disrupting Ukraine, downing civilian airliners, attempting to assassinate people abroad using poisons, and so on, and on).
Americans elected a president who — this is a safe surmise — knew that he had more to fear from making his tax returns public than from keeping them secret. The most innocent inference is that for decades he has depended on an American weakness, susceptibility to the tacky charisma of wealth, which would evaporate when his tax returns revealed that he has always lied about his wealth, too. A more ominous explanation might be that his redundantly demonstrated incompetence as a businessman tumbled him into unsavory financial dependencies on Russians. A still more sinister explanation might be that the Russians have something else, something worse, to keep him compliant.
[…continues….]
Putin handing Trumpsky that soccer ball was symbolic. Putin still has Trump’s in a vice.
What I don’t get is why he would make negative comments about Germany getting natural gas from Russia. That’s Russia’s livelihood, you know, apart from owning folks like Trump.
Yesterday’s NRA/red sparrow should help take down Congrussians.
Mueller is about to throw a bucket of water on Trumpsky & his spawn. That’s how you melt witches.
double negatives (plural noun)
a negative statement containing two negative elements (for example he didn’t say nothing).
a positive statement in which two negative elements are used to produce the positive force, usually for some particular rhetorical effect, for example there is not nothing to worry about!
if one employed the above definition to the twit’s “clarification” of his self-described misspoke, then wouldn’t one conclude that he really didn’t take back what he originally said? in fact he doubled down on it.
he even pointed out his use of a double negative when he [as someone described this morning “like a hostage reading” what his captors told him to] spoke about his misspoke… perhaps signaling the real meaning.
Colbert’s take on the double negative
Donald Trump made an addendum to his Helsinki statements, changing the meaning of his widely condemned remarks into the exact opposite of the what he originally said. No biggie!
That soccer ball must be reclaimed by our government. Its rightful place will be in its own shrine just off the Mall where future generations of students can go and reflect on how an obviously dysfunctional individual traded the security of his country for the ball on display here.
btw, according to cnn:
Russian intelligence agencies are planning to ramp up operations targeting Western countries, according to sources familiar with intelligence collected by the United Kingdom, the US and other allies. CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz reports.
so how is he going to clarify this one? it’ll take a little more than a “not” to correct this one.
the guardian: Trump keeps saying his father was born in Germany – he wasn’t
[…]
“I was there many, many years ago,” he said. “Meaning, my parents were born in the European Union. I love these countries; Germany, Scotland, they are still in there right?”
Last week, as Trump has careened across Europe, he repeated his touching tale. In an interview recorded in Scotland, he said: “Don’t forget both of my parents were born in EU sectors – my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany.”
[…]
Trump’s mother, Mary MacLeod, was indeed born in Scotland, on the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. But his father, Fred Trump, was born in New York City, in the United States of America. Not Germany.
Fred Trump took over the family real estate business as a teenager and made vast sums before passing the reins to his son.
Fred Trump’s father, Friedrich Trump, was born in Germany, in the sleepy village of Kallstadt. He left for America at 16 and worked as a barber in Manhattan before heading west.
He lived in Washington state for a while and in the Yukon, in Canada, he sold horse meat and other “services” to goldminers.
Friedrich returned to Germany but was kicked out for skipping military service. His son barely left New York. Until the 1980s, though, he pretended he was of Swedish ancestry, which he felt would be more palatable to many of his Jewish tenants.
His son repeated the Swedish claim in his bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, then flirted with a run for the White House in 2000. His political ambitions were really fueled years later, though, by his leadership of the “birther” movement, which insisted Barack Obama was born in Kenya and thus could not be president.
That wasn’t true. Neither is it true that Trump’s own dad was born abroad.
Now the IRS has ruled that politically active groups such as the Koch Brothers and the NRA no longer have to disclose their individual donors. Guess the NRA objected to all their rubles being on display.
the hill:
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Tuesday called for the American translator present during President Trump‘s one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to tell Congress what was said.
“I believe the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold a hearing with the American translator who was present during President Trump and President Putin’s private meeting to determine what was specifically discussed and agreed to on the United States’s behalf,” Shaheen, a member of the committee, said.
Trump and Putin had a private one-on-one meeting that reportedly lasted more than two hours on Monday before a shocking joint press conference.
[…]
Though Putin speaks English, both Trump and Putin had translators with them at the meeting due to protocol.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week told the news organization Russia Today that Trump wanted to hold the meeting without other officials, but Putin preferred a translator to ensure he was communicating his thoughts clearly, according to Newsweek.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) echoed Shaheen in a tweet, saying “@realDonaldTrump’s translator should come before Congress and testify as to what was said privately immediately. If Republicans are as outraged as they claim, then issue the subpoena today.”
[…continues…]
he he he…
Did anyone else catch Jill Wine-Banks on Lawrence O’Donnell last night… she was wearing a brooch that said trump in red with a hammer and sickle instead of the “u”.
Love that lady!
Today in Traitor News
We find out from Russian sources security agreements were made in secret meeting.
Trump questions US commitment to NATO defense of Russian satellite countries.
Vote Republican = Vote Putin
oops
“Vote Republican = Vote Putin“
…wish you posted that two years, ago 🙁
daily kos:
Did You Know Trump Putin ‘Reached Agreements In The Area Of Global Security’? Russian Embassy Does
[….]
“Would” shoulda been “wouldn’t”? Excuse my French, but whaddabunchabullshit. Bottom line is that he mistakenly told the truth. Maya would warn us – When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
putin’s yellow toy poodle never makes mistakes, Mr Pogo.
he just had a little accident on the living room carpet after the guests had settled down.
Bink
I know of no one who equated a vote for any of the recognized republican candidates as being a vote for Putin. I’ll go further, I don’t think the possibility even entered republican voters’ minds. It certainly didn’t enter my democratic mind.
I would have been content if their chosen candidate had been Kasich.
Throw the bums out.
Read this article, it is a very well reasoned article.
And anybody who can work in a quote from “the dude” is a winner
The scary part for both us and those who rely on our defensive umbrella is below:
Jack
Pat
IMO, such news is just click bait designed to drive ratings and distract us from the serious problems with this presidency. Why make a big deal over that lie any more than the dozen or so he that he has uttered just this morning.
Yes our president lies and he lies about everything but if you worry about every lie you get lost in the weeds and miss the real and present danger of his actions.
Jack
Jack,
He’s preaching to the choir. The republican males in the congress must grow the balls to fulfill their constitutional role. I have no doubt that the women members will do the right thing after examining the facts and the alternatives. The longer they delay the greater the damage; after another week, it will be virtually irreparable.
Before Cabinet meeting today:
For the walk-back: ‘I meant to say NOT no’
Flatus , true but what I found with the article was that it layed out the danger to our country in a way I had not seen before and pulled together several threads that had been troubling me but I didn’t quite understand why.
Too much of this debate is like Craigs posts today, while fun, they tend to distract from the real serious damage being done. Until I read this article it hadn’t occurred to me, Trump has removed MADD from the table. MADD is one of the main reasons Europe has had a prosperous and peaceful 70 years. But if nobody believes you will push the button…………..
Jack
jack, you’re right that there’s no end of distractions that waste bandwidth. most scary is the specter of war. … like the hint in the twit’s early morning tweet which sent a chill
vox:
…. “Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia,” he tweeted a few hours later. “They would rather go to war than see this. It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome!”
Trump, in general, does not like to concede to his critics, and it’s not surprising that he’s bristling a bit at the pushback (and bad reviews) from his Russia trip, even from his close allies and Fox News. But his hyperbolic defense — war, or work with Putin — is questionable.
White House denies Trump said Russia no longer targeting U.S.
The White House denied that U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russia was no longer targeting the United States, saying his answer “no” was about taking further questions not about potential interference in U.S. elections.
Asked by reporters before a Cabinet meeting earlier on Wednesday whether Moscow was still targeting the United States, Trump shook his head and said, “No.”
“The president … was saying ‘No’ to answering questions,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said at a news briefing later. “The president and his administration are working very hard to make sure that Russia is unable to meddle in our elections as they have done in the past.” (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Tim Ahmann)
wapo:
Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had ties to Russian intelligence agency, prosecutors say
The Russian woman arrested this week on charges of being a foreign agent had ties to Russian intelligence operatives and was in contact with them while in the United States, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Maria Butina, 29, also was also engaged in “personal relationship” with an American Republican consultant only for business purposes and had offered sex to at least one other person “in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.”
In a new court filing, prosecutors also called Butina a flight risk, saying she has connections with wealthy business executives linked to the Putin administration and appeared to be planning to leave Washington and possibly the United States. They said that when she was arrested, her apartment was full of moving boxes and she had transferred money to Russia in recent days.
[Read the court filing]
The new allegations laid out Wednesday explicitly link Butina to Russia’s intelligence services for the first time, painting the portrait of a covert agent backed by powerful patrons who went to lengths to create a pretext for her presence in the U.S.
The details about her alleged activities injected even more drama into the case of the Russian gun rights activist, who in recent years cozied up to top U.S. conservatives, including the leadership of the National Rifle Assn.
In a document that could have been ripped from the television show “The Americans,” prosecutors decribed her manipulating a South Dakota political operative as part of her scheme and meeting for a private lunch in March with a Russian diplomat suspected of being a Russian intelligence officer — all while FBI agents watched.
Butina, who came to the U.S. on a student visa in August 2016 to study at American University, was arrested this week and charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. Prosecutors say she worked to infiltrate American conservative groups to advance the Kremlin’s interests.
In advance of a scheduled detention hearing Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors argued strongly against her release, noting “her history of deceptive conduct.”
[….continues…]
abc news:
[…]
Trump’s response to a question from ABC News’ Cecilia Vega came as reporters were gathered just ahead of a session at the White House with Cabinet members.
“Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr. President,” Vega asked.
“Thank you very much, no,” he said.
Vega pressed: “No?! You don’t believe that to be the case?”
He responded: “No.”
[…continues… see their video…]
So I hear that SHuckleberry is explaining that in trumpworld no means yes today. (Claiming he was saying “no” to taking questions, then proceeded to take questions as I understand it).
“I know of no one who equated a vote for any of the recognized republican candidates as being a vote for Putin” -Flatus
Sure, you do- a bunch of us, here, could see what was going on, if not appreciating the depth and breadth of the treason and the size of the cabal. The Steele Dossier broke news early in 2016- by July, it was clear Trump&Co were traitors.
I’m beating this drum until midterms, sorry. I’ll lose what hope i have left if the Republican traitors retain control of everything, if it’s grown tedious.
Pogo
What would you have her do? Tell the truth? that as a nation right now we are defenseless against one of our enemies?
True she is Bagdad Bob but right now what is her choice?
Jack
…speaking of Mutually Assured Destruction, the peloton was blown wide apart, today, despite a furious but futile French resistance, by a relentless assault of British chemical weaponry, sponsored by the Menace of Melbourne, himself, Rupurt Murdoch! Does this waltzing wallaby’s wicked clutch extend beyond the media and politics to even the most ridiculous of sport? Find out, tomorrow, on the Alpe D’Huez!
One of the serious issues that SFB may have agreed to is to allow KGB come to the US and interrogate US citizens. Although ex-Ambassadors are mentioned there are many people who the KGB has on its lists who are not “names”. They are the anonymous people who worked in the black world, sometimes they are called spies or undercover agents or other names. But, they may have become known to the KGB after the 2014 Office of Personnel data breaches. The KGB (puttie/FSB/SVR/GRU) would like to find them and accuse them of crimes and take them back to Russia (puttie’s soviet union) for “justice”.
SFB is playing a game in a world he does not know or understand. Trading the US to make KGB get his rocks off is beyond anything comprehensible.
When you write use something like MS word or something, and copy to Trailmix. Another excellent post lost to the bit bucket.
At this moment it seems a lot of trump/Russian lovers are wondering about eating in 2019. Seems they can’t sell their harvest and do not know what to plant, if anything, next year. I suggested they plant enough so they and their animals can survive another year, and nothing more.
For any who think SFB has a brain – phhhhhhrt
The idiot has few thoughts. He repeats the last thing he hears.
Ms Bronc,
What makes you think that trump doesn’t understand ?
Diversity in the Offices of the Senate Dems
https://www.democrats.senate.gov/about-senate-dems/diversity-initiative/democratic-staff-survey-results
Kittel and Cavendish fail to make the cutoff time. Sagan still in green, but 57 in GC, but with lots of points in the green.
Jack,
I’d say she might STFU rather than just flat out lie about it.
BB, any changes in the GC?
Whoa. Just watched a 5 minute summary of the stage. Whoa.
I wonder who the red sparrow comprised with sexual favors?
cbs news:
the exchange between Mr. Trump and Glor:
If Butina was packing boxes & sending money back to Russia (making her a flight risk), how did she know the jig was up?
Is Trumpsky gonna let her of the hook & trade her to Putie for one of our folks?
Was Butina’s arrest a message (even though not part of the Mueller investigation…so she’s not, technically, a witch). to let others know they should co-operate & make it easier on themselves?
Poor little russian girl’s attorney robert n driscoll
How does butina afford him?
The last item on driscoll’s resume —
Professional Affiliations
Federalist Society
Repetez: Sagan can’t, won’t, and never will win a grand tour GC- he is a sprinter. He rides for stage wins and Points Classification only.
He may be the best climbing sprinter, ever, though.
Froome/Thomas/Dumoulin in Paris.
BB. That’s a distinct podium possibility. Tomorrow will be absolutely huge. Col de la Madeleine, the Lacets de Montvernier, the col de la Croix-de-Fer and the L’Alpe d’Huez. My god what a day. I can’t wait.
A Modest Proposal to republicans to Eliminate the Immodest Guy and Save Big Money
repubs could save taxpayer money and shrink BIG GUV to nothing by shutting it down, and sending everyone home, from the janitors to trump. The ripoffs could just have putin run the US from his Kremlin palace. At least it would cut out that obnoxious middle man.
Ms Wino, yours of 9:33 pm is wonderful. Thank you.
Ms Wino’s 9:33pm post got me thinking some more.
I know that as they are lopped off the heads of the Russian/repub hydra will eventually regrow, but if we can purge, jail, and confiscate (proscribe) the human assets & financial resources of the federalists, the nra, the murdochs/saudis, the prayer breakfast, the freedom caucus, the mercers, bratbite, zerohedge, wnd, the adelsons, proxy, fox, sinclair, the kochs, gateway, heritage foundation, etc., we just might gain a generation of respite from the repub/russian menace. We might have to build more supermax prisons – unless we keep the death penalty and make liberal use of it.
What Did the President Know and When Did He Know It ?
According to NYT, evening 7/18/18, trump knew the russians had interfered in the ’16 election on Jan 6, 2017, a full two weeks before the inauguration [at which russian oligarchs funded parties !]. Several Intel people were present as John Brennan laid out the details of the russian attacks on our election for trump, including the names and emails of the russian officers and the approval of v. putin.
For 1 1/2 years, trump has been an accessory after the fact of the crimes, covering up the interference, attempting to end the investigation, and obstructing testimony, and delaying the collection of direct evidence.
What did pence know and when did he know it ?