To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
Rouhani warned Trump Sunday to stop “playing with the lion’s tail” and threatening Iran, “or else you will regret it.”
Five Years Ago
Remember what I previously said–Obama will someday attack Iran in order to show how tough he is.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2013
un-?
that presumes he was ever hinged in the first place
the drums of war heard through out the land
wapo:
[….]
everal members of the Trump administration and Trump’s circle have been outspoken hawks on Iran. Before joining the White House, national security adviser John R. Bolton called for the overthrow of the Iranian government. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, has given paid speeches to the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), a controversial dissident group that the State Department listed as a terrorist group until 2012. On Sunday, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, retweeted a three-day-old posting from the official account of the MEK.
Pompeo’s remarks Sunday reprised his criticism of the Iranian government, but on a deeply personal level that is likely to be repeated in the U.S. government broadcasts into Iran.
He lit into what he called Iran’s “hypocritical holy men,” saying the ruling elites have enriched themselves through corruption, and called out officials by name who he said had plundered government coffers through embezzlement or by winning lucrative contracts.
[….]
Some analysts said the administration’s stance is putting the United States on the road to a direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic, which it has not had relations with since the 1979 revolution.
“Mike Pompeo removed all doubt today that the aim of the Trump administration is confrontation with Iran — not a better nuclear deal or new negotiations,” Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian American Council, said in a statement.
[….continues….]
“Call me crazy,” Pompeo said, “but I’m a little skeptical that a thieving thug under international sanctions is the right man to be Iran’s highest-ranking judicial official.”
[…]
“The bitter irony of the economic situation in Iran is that the regime uses its time to line its own pockets while its people cry out for jobs, reform and opportunity,” Pompeo said. “The Iranian economy is going great — but only if you’re a politically connected member of the elite.”
[…from same wapo story….]
heck, pomp old man, if that’s good enough for us it’s good enough for them
Great catch Poobah. Kind of one of his all too frequent “I know you are but so am I” moments. He’s a human PushMePullYou. ?
Shut the F up, Cadet BS! Start a war to deflect from the Russia investigation? Then Donny Jr, Eric & Jared must serve on the front lines.
I think he’s serious this time. Twit left his caps lock on for the entire tweet.
Is Twit violating Twitter’s terms of use by sending threats? Suspend the idiot’s account!
Maybe he’ll call the attack on Iran Shock and Awe and claim it was his idea.
The directive (telling Trumpsky that we will engage with Iran) probably came from the Kremlin.
The next time Twit tweets at another country, I would love for the leader of that country to issue a response through normal channels, stating that social media is for cat videos & that they will ignore him unless he behaves like an adult.
BiD, you may be on to something about Russia and poking iran. think oil. there was the insinuation of cutting off supply.
CNBC: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed a suggestion by President Hassan Rouhani that Iran could block Gulf oil shipments if its exports were stopped.
would not Russia and some of the twit’s buddies benefit by the rise of prices for oil?
and remember this from 2012…
IBT: Obama Will Launch War on Iran to Get Re-Elected: Trump
[…]
Speaking on Jay Severin’s radio talk show in Boston, The Donald said: “I’m a man that said that Obama will have a war with Iran because I think it’s politically a positive for him.”
Trump added: “I think that [Obama] will have a war. I think he’ll probably tie it around the election… And I think he’ll be hard to beat. That’s actually going to be something that will be much harder for Mitt [Romney] or anybody else for that matter to beat if he does that. I think he’s going to do it. I think he would do it in order to get elected.”
The TV reality show star pointed out that launching a war on Iraq temporarily boosted the popularity of Obama’s predecessor in the White House, George W. Bush.
“Bush was so popular after the attack [on Iraq],” Trump noted. “I mean, he had like a 95 percent approval rating. Nobody ever saw anything like it. And by the way, shortly thereafter he went down the tubes. But I happen to think [Obama] will have a war.”
[….continues…]
Yep……..quickly approaching “Drooling Marius” stage.
tail-wagging news yesterday on today:
While a field brimming with hundreds of golden retrievers sounds more fantasy than reality, that’s exactly what came to pass last week at Guisachan Estate in Tomich, Scotland.
The Golden Retriever Club of Scotland organized the gathering to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the breed. It was held at Lord Tweedmouth’s former estate, where the golden retriever was first bred in 1868, and well over 300 golden retrievers (and their owners) showed up to commemorate the special event.
what will really unhinge him? show the tax returns.
the hill:
[…]
Under federal law, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation can request tax returns from the Treasury Department and then view the documents in a closed session.
[….]
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), a leader of congressional efforts to get Trump’s tax returns, brought up the topic Wednesday during a Ways and Means Committee markup of Social Security legislation.
“This committee could act right now to hold this president to account,” he said. “We must know if Mr. Putin has compromised our commander in chief.”
The next day, Warner and other Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee addressed the matter when the panel was debating the nomination of Trump’s pick to lead the IRS, Charles Rettig.
Every Democrat on the committee voted against Rettig’s nomination, despite saying he’s qualified, because of concerns about new IRS guidance ending a requirement that certain tax-exempt groups disclose information about donor identities. Democrats are worried the guidance will make it easier for foreign governments to influence U.S. politics — a concern exacerbated by Trump’s recent behavior.
“The president’s refusal to adhere to a 40-year plus, bipartisan, pro-transparency tradition of releasing tax returns, after what happened this Monday, can go on no longer,” said Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
[….]
In addition to Democrats, GOP Rep. Mark Sanford (S.C.) recently reiterated his desire for the administration to make the returns public.
Sanford, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, told The Hill that it would be in the administration’s best interest to release the returns because “transparency on that front answers a lot of questions.”
“If not, people are left to wonder,” he added.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) — two lawmakers with the authority to request Trump’s returns from Treasury — continue to oppose efforts to obtain the documents.
[…continues…]
In the midst of all the latest governing by chaos, this got very little air time: The evacuation of the White Helmets from Syria
You could burn up your brain trying to figure out which side the US is supporting.
The title of this thread is “right on”. I’ve been watching the narcissists tweet storm this morning – and unhinged is what this is. As soon as any type of news story breaks, his hateful, one-sided crazy tweet appears within a couple of minutes.
Yet there the narcissist sits, in the oval office, tweeting like a teenage girl in a “bitch-slap” contest with another teenager.
Who’s doing the business of the country? And, this is the republicans mess – when the hell are they going to clean it up?
Yup… and the added benefit… this is a distraction from collusion with Russia.
Although I have to say considering that John Bolton is now whispering in SFB’s ear, he just might be crazy enough to start a total war with the Middle East. And do it just before the mid-terms.
RR, noting would surprise me. A little war against Iran – sure, why not? Of course Iran has almost 1,000,000 military personnel and is ranked 13th in the world by Global Firepower in its index, ahead of Israel, North Korea and Pakistan, so although the US could undoubtedly disable Iran’s military in a few weeks this wouldn’t be a cake walk.
pogo, and they would use target practice on Israel just to warm up. there goes the neighborhood.
The governor has declined to endorse O’Connor’s opponent, state Sen. Troy Balderson, who says he agrees with Trump on everything but the president’s tweeting habit. Trump tweeted his “Full & Total Endorsement” of Balderson on Saturday.
In an area traumatized by the opioid epidemic, O’Connor’s pitch to preserve government healthcare programs has particular appeal.
“You talk to doctors, especially rural doctors, and ask what getting rid of the Medicaid expansion would do to fighting back against opioid addiction, and they will tell you it is the single most devastating thing you can do,” O’Connor said. “You have to be such an extremist to oppose having that in place.”
In fact, O’Connor said, one of the first things he’ll do if he wins will be to call Republican Kasich and suggest they join forces in the fight.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-democrats-ohio-20180723-story.html
If Trumpsky starts a war, Repugz lose the mid-terms BIG TIME! His base may not have the stomach for a war with Iran.
It’s their kids/grandkids who will be put in harm’s way, not those of the elite in Congress or those who paid to put them there.
If the GOOPERZ don’t come to their senses about Putie OWNING Trumpsky, there won’t be anything left of this country to clean up.
I wish the ghost of Ted Kennedy would whisper in the ear of his friend, Orrin Hatch. We need to see those tax returns. Surely, some should realize they will only be remembered as being on the wrong side of history.
If there’s a true patriot out there with access to those returns…leak, baby, leak.
trump : “Whaddya mean, I’m unhinged ? I’ll have you know, I have more hings, better quality hings, and bigly bigger hings than Hillary ever will. Believe me.”
Sounds similar to the ‘fire and fury’ remark to kim during the nuclear dust-up with n. korea. trump is following the same denuclearization game plan with iran (after killing the deal in place) as with n. korea. That has worked-out so well.
In helsinki, trump said he and putie discussed israel. Today bibi rejects putie’s plan to keep iranian forces in syria so close to oil laden golan heights.
In Monday’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Netanyahu turned down a Russian offer to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border, according to an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said that Netanyahu told Lavrov: “We will not allow the Iranians to establish themselves even 100 kilometers from the border.”
Netanyahu held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 11 amid Israeli concern that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an old adversary, might defy a 1974 demilitarization deal on the Golan or allow his Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah allies to deploy there.
More proof of unhinged —
White House says Trump wants to revoke security clearances for former officials critical of him over Russia
It started with congrussian rand paul making the suggestion about brennan.
abc news:
A federal judge on Monday approved Paul Manafort’s request to delay his trial start date, giving attorneys for both Manafort and the special counsel Robert Mueller until July 31 to prepare. The trial had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Judge T.S. Ellis also approved special counsel Robert Mueller’s request to offer immunity to five witnesses expected to testify at the trial of Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump.
At a hearing in the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., on Monday morning, Judge Ellis granted Mueller’s request and ordered that the names of those five prospective witnesses be made public. Within hours of Ellis’ ruling, the names of those witnesses were unsealed: Dennis Raico, Cindy Laporta, Conor O’Brien, Donna Duggan, and James Brennan.
Prosecutors working for Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, asked the court last week to offer immunity to five potential witnesses in return for testimony.
It was not immediately clear what relationship those five witnesses have or had with Manafort.
At Monday’s hearing in Virginia, Judge Ellis also ordered the special counsel to provide defense attorneys for Manafort with the names of 30 prospective witnesses for trial, which is now scheduled to begin next week.
In two criminal cases brought by the special counsel, Manafort has been charged with money laundering and tax evasion, among other things. Manafort pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Manafort is also scheduled to go to trial in the special counsel’s case against him in Washington, DC, in September.
BW, some responses to the twit’s most recent snit re clearances from cbs news:
[…]
Some of those Sanders named on Monday were quick to respond to the White House proposition. Gen. Hayden told CBS News’ Olivia Gazis in an email that he doesn’t “go back for classified briefings. Won’t have any effect on what I say or write.”
A spokesperson for McCabe, meanwhile, said that his clearance had already been deactivated when he was fired from his position with the FBI.
“You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps…,” the spokesperson added.
Clapper told CNN that removing his clearance would have “no bearing on my regard, or lack thereof, for President Trump.” He added that the move is a “very, very petting thing to do.”
Security clearances are good for 5 years. Officials can maintain their highest level clearance, but that is not always the case.
CBS News’ Jeff Pegues notes that Brennan, Clapper and Comey aren’t currently being briefed on the Russia investigation. They were briefed on all of the intelligence beginning in July 2016 at least through February 2017, the most consequential months of the investigation when the FBI was leading the probe. Their statements to date have been informed by those briefings.
Sanders was later asked if the clearances for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden would also be removed, she told reporters “I’m not aware of any plans for that at this point.”
in that same above cbs news story sarah said the twit doesn’t like for certain folks to “monetize their public service”
guess he just wants that goody for himself and his family
He complaining about Spicy?
Something lost in SFB brain, and universe where the sky is always dog turd brown, is that if you have or have had a clearance you are required by law to not release any information you know that is classified or information that you may not know is classified yet you have knowledge of how it was acquired, or understood.
He can take away the clearances, which will hamper the next president as those principles will not be allowed to provide classified information (you do not want to know why) to their peers who are leading the intelligence agencies.
The classified information I know is not transferable, until I am given the correct code words (that is civilian talk for the correct way someone will let me know I can talk to them). Even then if I do not have to exchange information if I do not trust the person(s).
One side piece is that when wiki-leaks, the Russian intelligence agencies outlet of classified and other information, released classified, even if only Confidential, messages that Chelsea copied out, the warning went out for anyone with a clearance had to avoid reading the material. If you have a clearance you are restricted to the classified documents you are allowed access to. And for most non-military, the Chelsea leak was not permitted access.
SFB has no concept of all this. In fact I doubt he has any concept of any reality anymore. I hope he does not play with his outputs in front of his handlers.
Assuming he flips and doesn’t want to do jail time, wait’ll Cohen figures out how much he can earn from a few disclosures that the court has already decided is not covered under attorney client privilege. Blockbuster. SFB will be wishing he’d kept up that joint defense arrangement.
Haha……He actually envisions himself to be A Real Tweetsman., in the classical sense…….
guess who does not tweet, nor does he spin.
Dat’s right…….for what it’s worth…….the soldier.
Have had a vague yearning for many years now, kinda like being homesick, to make a stand like this. It’s become like an itch.
While all of you (and me) stare in befuddlement at your screens over how the powers-that-be would allow our incompetent President to remain in office, Republicans are achieving all of their domestic policy goals and have no incentive to change course. So, enjoy the shit-show, and maybe stock up on canned goods?
Machinations……….my brudder and I undertook to make this little fold up table for these old folks once to go next to the stove and be the right height to drag things out of the oven onto it…….it was kind of like one of those TV tables, except much more exquisite in its fabrication……well, we had to change things from a regular tv table height to the needed height and it had to fold right so we kind of just guessed at the mathematics of the legs…….it folded up and one-snap unfolded nicely……we used to make alot of cutting boards for sale at the vegetable stand so we took one of them and used it for the little table tops, it was perfect……..except when you unfolded it…….it was prone to tip one way…..quite a drag for something supposed to receive hot stuff from the oven…..What to do? So we, as we don’t wish to re-invent the wheel ( ie make the table over and guess better at the mathematics) ……as the legs were 2″ x 7/8″, bored a hole about 8″ deep by 3/4″ diameter into the bottom of each offending leg…..melted lead……poured it in there. Drilled for and drove a quarter-inch dowel thru it to keep the lead from coming out of the hole with chances in humidity.
it was beautiful, and we in the trade refer to it as going around your ass to get to your elbow.
it had become a logistical problem and starting over was not an option.
It sounds like Mandalay Bay in Vegas (and any other financial endeavors) needs to be boycotted. What a scummy company to do that to victims.
I’m not befuddled by the machinations of this orange draft-dodging money-grubbing obsequious fool…….he does what assholes always do……no surprises……..I stare at my screen in keen anticipation of seeing John Wayne and Ike swoop down out of the clouds in a fiery deus-ex-machina to stomp a mud-hole into this turd-man’s ass……
Sturg, with minimal modifications, that beautiful podium/lectern will be very functional in self-important boardrooms and law-firm briefing rooms. Add a discrete lighting feature and push-buttons for darkened rooms and visual aids–you get the idea. Make it very expensive requiring board approval to purchase.
Clearances–when the need arises, the green-door will suddenly open and relationships will be established/reestablished. People who have gathered, used and shared information classified at the highest levels are generally genuine patriots that are capable of recognizing pretenders to that title; the pretenders shall burn in Hell.
Yeah, what Flatus said more than what I said, but still……..
the sh*t will hit the fan when the twit tries to revoke clearances from the congress critters on the intel committees who have declared the emperor naked.
senators McCain and Corker come to mind as well as all the dems who have clearance
I presently see the Dems making a net gain of 2 in the Senate. That is not enough, because it will make manchin horrifically wealthy, which I don’t want.
But all this other crap is just more diversion from the wimp’s russian crisis. ‘Loyal’ rippers aren’t supposed to notice their Big Brother’s russian crisis. They’re all supposed to run after the bunny instead.
Diversion is strong evidence of collusion, y’know.
Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion Collusion
Bloomberg:
President Donald Trump would agree to an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators if it’s limited to questions on whether his presidential campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Monday night.
Trump is demanding in return that he isn’t asked questions about obstruction of justice in the probe into election interference, under a proposal the president’s legal team submitted to Mueller, Giuliani said.
The president’s legal team is concerned that Mueller and his staff might believe witnesses who contradicted Trump’s account, such as former FBI Director James Comey, Giuliani said. That could leave the president vulnerable to a perjury charge, he added.
[…continues…]