Day: February 15, 2017

Down Range Recon

Marines fire M45A1 pistols during marksmanship training and qualification at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb.16, 2017. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl.

As crisis swirls, Trump faces mounting pressure in party

Donald Trump and his White House have come in for intense criticism in the president’s dizzying first weeks in office, and the rising sound of discord is not just coming from opposition Democrats. Republicans on Capitol Hill and outside the Washington Beltway are increasingly venting their frustration and worry — sometimes publicly but more often among themselves — about the new administration’s missteps, speedy policy rollouts, abrasive tone and often tenuous relation to facts.

The Latest: Trump denounces ‘Russian connection non-sense’

White House Press secretary Sean Spicer points as he answers questions from members of the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. less White House Press secretary Sean Spicer points as he answers questions from members of the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, … more In this Feb. 12, 2017, photo, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., as he return to Washington with President Donald Trump.

House Democrats escalate effort to obtain Trump tax returns

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday tried but failed to pressure Republicans into seeking President Donald Trump’s tax returns, saying the scandal over Michael Flynn made it imperative to find out whether the president has business ties to Russia. A day after the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee dismissed the idea, the panel’s Democrats proposed an amendment demanding that the committee ask the Treasury Department for copies of Trump’s returns by March 1. “Unless this amendment is adopted, we will never see the president’s tax returns while he’s in office,” Representative Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, told committee Chairman Kevin Brady at a public hearing.

US Senators from both parties pledge to continue Mel Brooks-style remake of McCarthy era

“Top Republican and Democratic senators pledged Tuesday to deepen their [security theater over alleged, so far with little if any evidence,] Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election in the wake of Michael Flynn’s resignation as President Trump’s national security adviser, opening a new and potentially uncomfortable chapter in the uneasy relationship between Trump and Capitol Hill.

Flynn Resignation Stirs Larger Concerns on the Hill

Michael Flynn’s resignation as President Trump’s national security adviser might have closed the retired general’s brief, tumultuous chapter at the White House – but it raised new questions and concerns Tuesday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers of both parties called for congressional inquiry into Flynn’s role. More significantly, it raised alarms that the country’s essential national security apparatus is in disarray.

For GOP, a dimmed zeal for investigations in Trump era

It would be a welcome change for conservative Christians who say their concerns were marginalized under the Obama administration in favor of First Amendment and LGBT issues. It would be a welcome change for conservative Christians who say their concerns were marginalized under the Obama administration in favor of First Amendment and LGBT issues.

WHO declares end to yellow fever outbreak in Congo, Angola

Kate Upton is once again Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit queen, gracing the magazine’s special issue with not one, but three different covers. As some cities reaffirm support for sanctuary policies that protect immigrants, Phoenix, with the 10th-largest population of immigrants living in the country illegally, is subjected to a 2010 state law that bars… As some cities reaffirm support for sanctuary policies that protect immigrants, Phoenix, with the 10th-largest population of immigrants living in the country illegally, is subjected to a 2010 state law that bars any Arizona city from becoming a sanctuary.

5 things for Wednesday, February 15, 2017: Trump and Russia, Kim Jong Un, Netanyahu

High-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN. President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, according to US officials familiar with the matter.

Yobs go on wrecking spree at Stafford allotments

YOBS went on a wrecking rampage at four allotment sites in Stafford stealing tools, smashing a disabled toilet, breaking windows and trashing sheds. Cotonfields, St George’s Road, Holmcroft and Rising Brook were all targeted by thugs over night on Saturday, with drawers turned out, CCTV destroyed and even coffee grinds tipped all over the place.

The Trump administration has a spelling problem. But how bad is it really? We investigate.

President Trump attends a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 13. The latest cringe-worthy gaffe, courtesy of the Education Department, was a double whammy: In a tweet Friday, the agency misspelled the name of the late scholar-activist and NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Du Bois. Then it followed up with a correction, with its own glaring error: “Our deepest apologizes for the earlier typo.”

The Anti-Flynn “Deep State” Coup

Okay, my sense is that a large number of commentators are misunderstanding the nature of what is going on. So, this time, rather than writing an analysis, I will spell it out, ‘talking points’ – style and, hopefully, do a better job about making my point.

Trump handling of security information at Mar-a-Lago queried by House panel

President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S. security information at his Florida resort came under congressional scrutiny on Tuesday as a watchdog panel asked the White House to explain reports that Trump dealt with a sensitive foreign policy issue in view of club guests. Representative Jason Chaffetz, head of the House of Representatives oversight committee, sent a letter asking the White House for details on how Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to a North Korean ballistic missile test while visiting the Mar-a-Lago golf resort over the weekend.

Report: Friedman will apologize for using a kapoa to describe liberal Jews

President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is expected to apologize during his Senate confirmation hearing for derogatory statements he has made against liberal Jews. Representatives of the nominee told Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., who is the senior Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee that will hold the confirmation hearing, that Friedman will apologize for use of the term “kapo” to attack J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Perth teenager Kandi Hewitt still missing after six months

Explosive phone records and intercepted calls show ‘Trump aides and campaign staff were in constant communication with Russian intelligence officers before the election’… and Donald WAS briefed Is there a conspiracy inside Washington to destroy Trump’s inner circle? Top Republican claims Flynn was the appetizer – Kellyanne will be next and Trump is ‘the entree’ ‘This is a colossal scandal’: Clinton campaign officials slam alleged Trump ties to Russia after ‘records show his staff contacted intelligence officers prior to election’ Rantings of the brilliant general who lost the plot: How Mike Flynn went from one of US’s most respected intelligence officers to the country’s ‘angriest general’ Pictured: Female assassin sent by Kim Jong-un to murder his playboy half brother at a Malaysia airport as taxi driver who helped poison hit squad escape is arrested Inside the drug ring run by … (more)

Mika Brzezinski puts mansion on sale for $2million

Mika’s moving on: Morning Joe co-host puts her New York mansion on sale for $2million after divorcing her husband The MSNBC presenter’s three-storey home, on a third of an acre of land, has six bedrooms and four bathrooms Morning news anchor Mika Brzezinski has put the New York mansion she bought with her ex husband on the market. The 102 year old Tudor-style home in Bronxville is on sale for a cool $2.09 million, $200,000 more than she and former spouse James Hoffer paid for it in 2012.

From Russia With The Opposite of Love

And then Hillary warned every one, repeatedly that Trump was compromised by Russia and everyone was like, “That’s nice, BUT HER EMAILS.” And then Russia actually did interfere to influence our election, just like Trump asked them to.

A Republican Carbon-Tax Proposal: Pros and Cons

The Feb. 8 New York Times op-ed “A Conservative Case for Climate Action” has provided the sole even slightly hopeful piece of news I’ve seen this year from Republicans -here statesmen rather than politicians. This proposal is spelled out at greater length here.

Why Arab Autocrats Haven’t Confronted Trump

You’d think, given the harsh anti-Muslim Trump administration in Washington, that the Arab kings and dictators would be lining up to condemn the ruthless sectarian laws being drawn up by an American President who approves of torture. All that claptrap about “bad dudes” and “Islamic terror”.

It’s Getting Late Early: the Left and the Working Class

The accidental genius of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, particularly with a programmed establishment type like Hillary Clinton to run against, is how in its own way it covered the both right and left flanks. With all Trump’s babbling about carnage and ‘inner cities’ he hit on the traditional rightwing terror of being overwhelmed and slaughtered by the expanding colored hordes.

Why Trump’s Iran Policy Will Be Much Like Obama’s

The first public pronouncements by President Donald Trump’s administration on Iran have created the widespread impression that the US will adopt a much more aggressive posture towards the Islamic Republic than under Barack Obama’s presidency. But despite the rather crude warnings to Tehran by now ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn and by Trump himself, the Iran policy that has begun to take shape in the administration’s first weeks looks quite similar to Obama’s.

A Chat with Joshua Frank on Trump, Russia and US Intel: “The Goal of Impeachment”

Andrew Smolski: What do you make of the recent New York Times story that Trump aides have had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence? Is it because of the insults toward US intel agencies? Or are they genuinely that motivated for a war with Russia? Is this just incompetence on the part of Trump and Co.? Joshua Frank: Honestly, I think it has less to do with Russia and more to do with their dislike for Trump. Russia is the excuse, not the cause.

How a Russian Steel Oligarch and Putin Ally Is Profiting from Keystone XL

Believe it or not, there’s a key connection to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, in the fight over North America’s controversial Keystone One of President Donald Trump’s first actions in office was to sign an executive order on January 24 expediting the approval of the Keystone . Owned by TransCanada, this tar sands oil pipeline was halted by former President Barack Obama in November 2015.

Flynn, Russia and the World of Conspiracy Thinking

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has a well deserved reputation for conspiracy thinking. Presumably he will assume that the U.S. intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the former director of National Intelligence, conducted a campaign to force his removal from the Trump administration.

For GOP, a dimmed zeal for investigations in Trump era

In this Feb. 14, 2017, photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan Wis., responds to reporters about the ouster of Michael Flynn, President Trump’s national security adviser, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republicans’ ardor for investigations and oversight, on display throughout the Obama administration, has cooled off considerably with Donald Trump in the White House.

Residents say 1st atom bomb test caused cancer cases

Residents say the world’s first atomic bomb test caused generations of southern New Mexico families to suffer from cancer and economic hardship, according to surveys gathered by an advocacy group seeking compensation for descendants. The surveys released Friday detailed residents’ stories from areas around the 1945 Trinity Test and argue that many Hispanic families later struggled to keep up with cancer-related illnesses.