Shutdowns, military pullouts, and resignations: it’s Christmas and Trump thread 89

[TheClaws]

It’s chaos in Trump’s world, more so than usual, with #TrumpResign trending in Twitter after a number of key debacles: the pull-out of US troops from Syria, the resignation of General Jim Mattis, and the shutdown of the government over Christmas due to bipartisan disagreement over wall funding. (Those are just 3 issues.) The next few weeks will be rocky.

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3442038-But-When-the-president-does-it-that-means-it-is-not-illegal-Trump-thread-LXXXVIII

Sleip that is gobsmacking to read.

Here it is in Thread Reader format which makes it even more chilling.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1084498964114821120.html

yes I am very much noticing the similarities between the us and the UK
feel like both countries are being brought to the brink of chaos

And unlike on TV shows, it can't be mere coincidence.

Is that his lunch?

Clast reception to professional sportsmen.

I can only imagine how the cleaning staff reacts. Those carpets!

Thanks for the link to the NY times article @lionheart, very interesting

'on his appointment as chancellor, Hitler immediately created a new Ministry of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels, who remained one of his closest political advisers.

In Trump’s presidency, those functions have effectively been privatized in the form of Fox News and Sean Hannity. Fox faithfully trumpets the “alternative facts” of the Trump version of events, and in turn Trump frequently finds inspiration for his tweets and fantasy-filled statements from his daily monitoring of Fox commentators and his late-night phone calls with Hannity. The result is the creation of a “Trump bubble” for his base to inhabit that is unrecognizable to viewers of PBS, CNN, and MSNBC and readers of The Washington Post and The New York Times. The highly critical free media not only provide no effective check on Trump’s ability to be a serial liar without political penalty; on the contrary, they provide yet another enemy around which to mobilize the grievances and resentments of his base. A free press does not have to be repressed when it can be rendered irrelevant and even exploited for political gain'

Is that his lunch?

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Probably! And when it was time to eat it was probably "One for you, one for you, one for you, and the rest for meeeee!!!!"

This is such good news. Wishing him all the very best.

Skripal Novichok poisoning police sergeant back at work
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-46874361

BREAKING: We won! Federal Court blocks Trump Administration from adding citizenship question to the Census. Details to come.
twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/1085184117182996480?s=21

Trump to Clemson before burger feast:

“I had a choice. Do we have no food for you, because we have a shutdown?”

“Or do we give you some little quick salads that the first lady will make, along with, along with the second lady. They’ll make some salads.“
twitter.com/jonlemire/status/1085185016043368448?s=21

Olivia Gazis
@Olivia_Gazis
NEW: Schiff assembles a “purpose-built” team of 7 staffers who will be dedicated full-time to the committee's investigation of alleged connections between Trump, his campaign associates, and Russian officials – others will assist on a "surge" basis

www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-schiff-makes-specialty-hires-for-reopened-russia-probe/

It’s not just fox that has issues with impartiality

John Kasich signs with CNN as senior political commentator

edition.cnn.com/2019/01/15/media/john-kasich-cnn-contributor/index.html

Matthew Gertz
@MattGertz
There is no ethical way for a network to have someone considering a run for president on staff. This is nuts.

But hey, there was also no ethical way for a network to have a bunch of Trump supporters who signed non-disparagement agreements on staff, and CNN did that too.

There was certainly no ethical way to have Corey Lewandowski on staff, and, well...

Interesting and believable hypothesis.

Reupping this piece by me, @alexzfinley, and @johnsipher in @justsecurity about how 2016 worked out better for Putin than he ever imagined, and for Trump...not so much. A good hindsight in light of recent events
twitter.com/asharangappa_/status/1085185267953221632?s=21

Putin Had a Win-Win Strategy for Life Post-2016; Trump, Not So Much
www.justsecurity.org/60814/putin-win-win-strategy-life-post-2016-trump/

Bill barr’s confirmation hearing has begun

www.cbsnews.com/live-news/william-barr-senate-confirmation-hearing-attorney-general-watch-live-stream-today-2019-01-15/

Meanwhile, the WP publishes a reminder of why the wall is bonkers.

As Trump pushes for a wall, authorities keep finding drug tunnels under the U.S.-Mexico border

You have to wonder why Democrats don't push this message (along with traffic by plane, via sea, Canada, etc). Not only drugs but immigrants too. Unless they are pushing and we've missed it.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/01/14/trump-pushes-wall-authorities-keep-finding-drug-tunnels-under-us-mexico-border

Aaron Blake
‏*@AaronBlake*
GRAHAM: "Don't you think President Trump is a one-pager kind of a guy."

BARR: "I suspect he is."

GRAHAM: "Just remember that."

Yeah, I'm not sure what I think of politicians having media gigs, from regular guest through to editor (Gideon, I'm looking at you).

But staff media editors or presenters who have signed non-disparagement agreements with someone they might be likely to cover? Nuh-uh. Clearly not OK.

IIRC There was, rightly, a fuss about a UK political presenter who took out a superinjunction about his affair – because it made him vulnerable to blackmail (subtle or not) from people who knew of the affair, including politicians he was interviewing.

Spencer Hsu
@hsu_spencer
NEW Top Manafort and Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates still cooperating in 'several ongoing investigations', Mueller probe says, no sentencing date requested.

Marshall Cohen (CNN)
‏
Verified account

@MarshallCohen
8m8 minutes ago

BREAKING: Mueller is not ready to move onto sentencing for Rick Gates, who is perhaps the most valuable cooperator in the investigation. They jointly asked the judge for another two-month delay because Gates “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations"

Coincidence?

Mueller used the same law in an indictment that the US used to fight Nazi propaganda in the 1940s

www.businessinsider.com/mueller-using-law-to-fight-nazi-influence-in-russia-probe-2019-1

Byron York
@ByronYork
News: Former FBI general counsel James Baker is subject of a criminal leak investigation. News contained in letter from Jim Jordan to US Attorney in Connecticut. (link: ow.ly/7sRe30nk6U2 )

William Barr's confirmation hearing. What he thinks they want to hear?

"Attorney General nominee on Tuesday went against President Donald Trump in significant ways early on in his confirmation hearing."

read.bi/2VT0r1k

Manu Raju
@mkraju
Susan Collins, who is not on Judiciary, non-committal so far on Bill Barr, says she has not been watching the hearing today but will get caught up later. Needless to say, only way Barr goes down is if more than three Republicans vote against him. If Collins is a yes, he gets job

NBC News Tells Staffers Not To Directly Call Steve King’s Racist Remarks Racist
“It is ok to attribute to others as in ‘what many are calling racist,’" an email from the standards department reads in part.

m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/nbc-news-steve-king-racist_us_5c3e0b48e4b0e0baf541869c

Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈
@Amy_Siskind
Not getting enough attention for its impact during Barr and what's next: Grassley quietly stepped down as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Trump extreme loyalist Lindsey Graham, who many believe is compromised, stepped in.

newrepublic.com/article/146910/who-counts-rig-census-threatens-american-democracy