Trump’s Worst Day

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, January 26th, 2019 - 141 comments
Categories: accountability, capitalism, class war, corruption, Dirty Politics, Donald Trump, International, us politics - Tags: , , ,

Pear shaped President Donald Trump has had a pear shaped day.

Before dawn, armed FBI agents took Trump advisor Roger Stone off to court, where he arrived in handcuffs to face multiple charges of lying to the Mueller enquiry.

Later in the morning, Trump caved in to Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, ending, at least temporarily, the lockout of 800,000 Federal employees.

The agreement provides no additional funding for Trump’s wall.

Trump has been thoroughly exposed as a hopeless negotiator, completely unable to cut a deal with people who aren’t powerless. This is the fundamental difference to his bragging in his book the Art of the Deal; this time he’s not dealing with contractors and business people who need him more than he needs them.

This is a defeat of historic proportions. It may be the day that Donald Trump realises that one term is all he’s getting.

The right aren’t best pleased, with Ann Coulter tweeting that Trump has overtaken the late George HW Bush as the wimpiest President ever.

However bad the political optics, it’s the arrest of his best bud Roger Stone that will be causing Trump the most worry.

The Stone charge sheet includes what is possibly the most pointed line in the Mueller enquiry so far:

“ … a senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton campaign”.

This order was given to the senior Trump campaign official after 22 July 2016, a month after it was reported that it was Russian government hackers who had broken into the Democratic National Committee’s computer systems.

This clearly contradicts Trump’s claims that his team had nothing to do with the leaks, Wikileaks or the Russians. If not outright collusion, it is at least a coordinated effort to attempt collusion.

So who was the senior campaign official? Who gave the order? Does that person have the surname Kushner or Trump?

Stone says he ain’t saying. But that may be of no significance anyway, as it looks very much like Mueller is in possession of the facts anyway.

My favourite sidebar to today’s events is that among the FBI agents who raided Roger Stone’s house this morning were volunteers who have not been paid for a month because of the Trump shutdown.

They say in the States that ‘you can’t fight City Hall’. In this case, Trump has taken on the entire apparatus of Government and lost very bigly indeed.

A great day for democracy, a lousy day for the President.

And I’m so looking forward to Trump’s next book: The Art of the Plea Deal.

141 comments on “Trump’s Worst Day ”

  1. Adrian Thornton 1

    Could the wall be closing in….

    • NZJester 1.1

      unfortunately for Trump, he has no competent R2D2 helping to shut down those walls from closing in and open the escape hatch for him. His lawyer Rudy Giuliani has in interviews on numerous occasions admitted to a lot of things he should not have. Trump will get squished by the walls unless he can find a competent R2D2 to put in as a temporary president as he resigns that will Pardon him and his family.
      Trumps, Daughter, Sons, and son-in-law are all heavily implicated. Only his wife so far seems to be possibly looking in the clear. All they have dug up on her is she apparently did a nude lesbian porn photoshoot in the past, but that is not illegal.

      • Andre 1.1.1

        I didn’t pay much attention when the topic was in the news a lot, but isn’t it still a bit unclear exactly how legal her immigration and early work in the US actually was?

    • mauī 1.2

      lol Adrian. You’ve got it.

  2. Andre 2

    Then there’s the challenge coins the Secret Service makes for special occasions. Guess what symbol they chose for the coin commemorating working without pay for this shutdown?

    https://theguardiansofdemocracy.com/secret-service-agents-sharing-challenge-coins-mocking-trump-shutdown-with-image-of-baby-pacifier/

  3. rata 3

    Not sure that there are any winners in this kind of issue.
    A lot of hot air emissions but what changed?
    Is illegal immigration resolved?
    I think the Dem’s are missing a trick here.
    Better to let Trump build the wall.
    If it fails the the Dem’s can say I told you so.
    if it succeeds they can say we did right by supporting it.
    Trump in power guarantees the Dem’s endless point scoring opportunities.
    Why get him out and let a tougher opponent in?

    • ropata 3.1

      Agreed, Dems cannot pretend to be entirely blameless. But the shutdown really exposes Trump and the Republicans as irresponsible idiots who care nothing for ordinary workers.

    • mpledger 3.2

      At some point you’ve got to stop political point scoring when the cost is to high. And I think the cost of the wall at anywhere between $8 billion and $150 billion is a cost too high. And even worse it’s money that would be spent on something that very few people think would work.

      There is a ton of American infrastructure that needs replacing – especially along their water ways – think New Orleans and Houston. There’s many better ways the money could be spent.

  4. Rangimarie 4

    I’d rather he spent military money on the wall than on military things.

    • woodart 4.1

      Id rather he spent military money on a proper healthcare scheme for americans.

    • One Two 4.2

      POTUS is not in control of the war machine, nor the corporate war machine production lines…

      That funding tap can’t and won’t be turned off…

      It supports the position of those who actually pull the levers…

      • marty mars 4.2.1

        lots of lever pullers – which ones resonate with you one two – who’s the baddy in your story.

        • One Two 4.2.1.1

          We’ve had this discussion before, marty….and if I’ve read your comments as you intended, we are essentially on the same page…

          Specifically, and with regards to the obsession some authors and a clutch of commentators have with Trump and the alleged ‘Russian Connection’….

          At the upper echelons…where the levers are being pulled…whoever the big players are…they are not paraded in the public eye day in day out…

          At the upper echelons , it is far more likely,in my opinion, that there is a collaboration of sorts…

          It’s about levels, marty…that’s all…levels with interests in keeping the levels ‘below’ them in a constant discombobulated state, where they are left to duke it out using scraps of data they are fed…used at the whim of others…

          ‘Forced’ to eat, drink, breath, wear and exist in a toxic world designed by others…barely fit for human existence…but like the rest of the natural world we are dying along with it…where the manufactured statistics are argued over to decipher to what degree the shameless bullshit that people are fed, is being absorbed and propagated outwards…as if it matters…

          Works well on this site…

          PS – Congrats to TRP on another century….

          • marty mars 4.2.1.1.1

            Who or what is at the top.

            The illuminati get orders.
            The aliens get orders.
            The shapeshifters get orders.
            The politicans get orders

            who is giving the orders in your opinion.

            • Macro 4.2.1.1.1.1

              forty two

            • One Two 4.2.1.1.1.2

              I’ve given you my opinion, marty…

              Industry and corporations who manage and exert the level of control which permeates all aspects of existence, are there for all to see…

              Designed to exert influence into every single interaction of human life…hardly controversial, is it…

              So who or what locked in the design, likely depends on which version of so called human history resonates most with you…perhaps it’s all in the vatican vault eh…

              But hey…who really knows , marty…it could all just be an illusion…there is no reality test, is there…

              So why get hung up on the labels talking points and actors the corporate media industry direct the narratives towards…

              That is my position…but you already know that…because I’ve explained it to you multiple times…

              • marty mars

                Thanks – so the corporations, business and industry owners/leaders are the ones pulling the strings – I assume to make more money, accumulate more things.

                It’s funny. They all die too, just like us. In 3-4 generations they won’t even be remembered, just like us.

                That is why I give zero fucks about the “owners” “controllers” of us or their motives – IT IS ALL ILLUSION.

            • francesca 4.2.1.1.1.3

              This from Bryan Bruce is not a bad answer Marty, pretty similar to One Two

              https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/28/guest-blog-bryan-bruce-the-delusion-of-davos/

          • te reo putake 4.2.1.1.2

            Thanks for the mention, One Two. If only my batting was as good as my writing; I was out for a two ball duck last innings! Just for the record, MS gets far more readers than I do, which is a better marker of influence I reckon.

  5. Adrian Thornton 5

    At this point there is still only one case of election rigging in the 2016 US elections that is undeniable and that is The Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign..so why never ever any discussions around that?
    Why is it that all these people who actually got caught cheating are still working in or around the Democratic Party?
    That is where progressives need to look first, clean house, reevaluate…and then take down Trump on his terrible policies, and inept leadership, not this convoluted bullshit Russian conspiracy theory peddled by the fucking FBI (the sworn enemy of the Left) of all people! …Russiagate is going nowhere and will never go anywhere..that is a fact.

    The FBI Is Not Your Friend
    “There’s nothing to celebrate about the FBI — it isn’t, nor has it ever been, a guardian of democracy.”
    https://jacobinmag.com/2017/05/james-comey-firing-donald-trump-fbi-history

    “Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, abruptly said she was resigning after a trove of leaked emails showed party officials conspiring to sabotage the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.”
    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/us/politics/debbie-wasserman-schultz-dnc-wikileaks-emails.html

    Donna Brazile Admits Cheating, But Clinton Campaign Has Yet to Apologize
    https://observer.com/2017/03/donna-brazile-admits-primaries-rigged-for-hillary-clinton/

    Elizabeth Warren agrees Democratic race ‘rigged’ for Clinton
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41850798

    How Hillary Clinton Rigged The Democratic Primary — And May Have Broken The Law
    https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/how-hillary-clinton-rigged-the-democratic-primary-and-may-have-broken-the-law/

    • Andre 5.1

      Don’t worry, Lindsey Graham will cover that for you. Just as soon as he’s finished with his new investigation of her e-mails.

      https://www.salon.com/2019/01/23/lindsey-graham-renews-probe-into-hillarys-emails-democrats-burst-out-laughing/

    • McFlock 5.2

      lol

      Longest govt shutdown in US history, numerous arrests and convictions of campaign staff, whitehouse staff, and employees or associates of the President, but whatabout Hillaaarreeeee….,

      • Andre 5.2.1

        Gotta admit, that’s some truly awesome Hillary-hate going on there. Coupla levels up from ordinary MAGA-grade.

        Maybe we should all sing him that song from Frozen.

        • woodart 5.2.1.1

          you’ve got to laugh at right wing males. on one hand they hate and are scared of strong determined women (hillary clinton, helen clark jacinda etc). on the other hand(maybe both hands) they lust over nasty bullying women(.thatcher , judith collins, pauline hanson etc). why dont they just visit their local dominatrix for the spanking they obviously desire???? says a lot about what goes on in the minds of a right wing male, deeply conflicted, miss their mothers, need to be told what to do and think. hate themselves, pretend to be self reliant, but riddled with self doubt…….

      • Adrian Thornton 5.2.2

        Yeah what about Clinton..exactly, rigged the primaries with the DNC losses and then just walks away, her co conspirators all still work in the Democratic Party..and people wonder why politicians are so mistrusted and hated, and half the population don’t vote…it beggars belief that you don’t see that coalition..you know the one that is actually undermining democracy in the US….not the Russians.

        • McFlock 5.2.2.1

          lol

          • The Al1en 5.2.2.1.1

            No point Russia paying for on-line agents in dingy moscow apartments to skew debate in NZ and fluff for Trump when we already have home grown putinbots who’ll do it all for free. 🙄

            • Andre 5.2.2.1.1.1

              You sure they’re doin it fer free?

              • The Al1en

                Now isn’t that a question?

                • Adrian Thornton

                  @Andre@ The Al1en@McFlock,
                  You guys really are a bunch of morons aren’t you, so fucking caught up in your FBI induced fantasy conspiracy about Russia/Trump that you can’t see how sad and pathetic you sound….”fluff for Trump”…”putinbots” …holy shit, what an idiot.

                  • woodart

                    you mean that you are a locally grown troll? acting like a dickhead for nothing??? if so, that would mean you are truly stupid, as the putinbots would at least be getting paid. I can understand someone acting like a dickhead for $$, but to do it for nothing makes you look foolish. …..nothing personal…..

                    • McFlock

                      I believe that Adrian is expressing a genuinely-held opinion. I also (from other comments he’s made) believe he is genuinely left wing, and has some well-considered opinions. I don’t always agree with him, or to the extent to which he thinks should be done, but I think he’s honest and straightforward.

                      I suspect his whataboutism is a coping reflex for Bernie losing the primary. Maybe it was that beyond mere bad wishes there were DNC shananigans regarding the primaries (although nobody has adequately explained to me what those shananigans were other than “DWC said mean things in a leaked email).

                      On the plus side, it looks like some genuine Democrat democratic socialists will be running in 2020, so the pearl-clutching will probably wither away in a few months.

                  • One Two

                    Adrian, why do you waste your time and energy caring what dudes think or write who don’t know anything more than yourself…

                    Everyone here is speculation…using the crumbs of available data…

                    The Alien, if it’s the same operator…has not commentated here for a while now…but take a look at the archives…they are equally as ‘thick’ as the recent return…probably the same operator…

                    People have limitations..some seek to overcome them…some seek to manage them…and many more are not even aware they have limitations..let alone what they might actually consist of…

            • Ike 5.2.2.1.1.2

              Unbelievable ignorance on display here. Russia is not involved in any of this shit. You must be the most gullible idiot on the planet if you believe that. The whole “Russian Collusion” thing has been democratic party fabrication from start to finish. Two years Mueller has been trying to find evidence to stitch up Trump and all he has is couple of spurious alleged crimes manufactured by his own deceitful methods of interrogation.
              Lets see if in twenty one days Te Reo Putake is still crowing. He who laughs last laughs longest.

  6. Dennis Frank 6

    A tactical retreat. The war resumes after three weeks of paper-shuffling. Obviously it was silly of him to assume the Democrats would act in good faith.

    The important thing is that both sides continue to wage war against the people, in the guise of warring against each other. Pelosi is doing that quite well so far, by copying Trump’s tactics. Tit for tat always works…

    • Kevin 6.1

      More like the big mouth orange turd’s ineptness, and that’s being generous, has been exposed yet again. He couldn’t sell a glass of water to someone dying of thirst in the desert

    • One Two 6.2

      That is right, Dennis…

      Many still believe the ‘red v blue’ paradigm…

      Not recognising the entrenched systematic rigging of all systems…to function as protection of the very few…from the very many…

      But yeah…Trump…

  7. A 7

    They’ve [Clinton Arkancide Squad] been after Roger Stone for years and attempts have been made on his life.
    Unfortunately this is just one of many times. Hope he lives through imprisonment.

  8. Andre 8

    This Politico piece is the best read about the Stone indictment I’ve come across so far.

    “This indictment is significant because it alleges coordination between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks,” said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who called the language in the paragraph “particularly alarming” because it used the passive voice when describing the campaign officials.

    “This language is very different from other language we have seen Mueller use,” she told POLITICO. “He usually is careful to use some identifying language so that the person can be referenced easily. One reasonable inference is that the person who directed the senior campaign official is someone who cannot be indicted: the president himself.”

    https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/25/roger-stone-charges-mueller-1127624

  9. joe90 9

    Never tRumper puts the slipper in.

    Another good barometer of how scared Trump’s media allies feel on any given day is how much they try to litigate the composition of Mueller’s staff or legal tactics as opposed to the underlying facts. The arrest at Stone’s love shack has become today’s hissy-fit shit-show screaming point by Trump and Stone fanboys like Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, who ran a headline that captures the Trump-right drama-queen take on the arrest perfectly: “FBI Raid Would Make Gestapo Proud.” Did your eyes just roll? Because my eyes just rolled. The door-knock and the FBI’s handling of Stone was hardly a kinetic entry for a violent felon.

    Stone acolyte Jacob Engels, Pizzagate hoaxer Jack Posobiec, greased-ham cosplayer Dan Bongino, Bongino’s handmaiden John Cardillo, and the usual cast of thousands raced to their fainting couches, declaring that the Deep State Gestapo was upon us. Trump Twitter ragebots always ready to scream “Lock her up” have suddenly discovered compassion and a love of due process and delicate treatment for those in the legal system. Several thousand kids in cages down on the border are muttering, “”¿Qué pinga?”

    […]

    The irony of today is that the weird, bullshit arc of Stone’s long investment in Trump is over today. What must truly sting for Stone is the inevitable process of Trump-world’s denials and distancing; after investing 40 years of his life in Trump, Stone was screwed out of the massive financial payday he expected from the campaign, then frozen out of the massive lobbying windfall that lesser lights like Corey Lewandowski have enjoyed. If he holds the line, he’s of no use to Trump and will be forgotten and dismissed. If (and more likely when) he breaks, he’ll be a traitor, a coffee boy, a ghost in the Trump machine.

    Stone was an architect of Trump’s world view, his politics, and his ideological positions, such as they are. Roger was there at Trump’s side when Orange Bull Connor declared Central Park Five were guilty and deserved to be executed. He was at Trump’s side as one of the architects of Birtherism. His toxic brand of dumb ratfuckery for the sake of ratfuckery is the Trump Administration writ large.

    Roger survived for decades on his wits, blustering one campaign, interest group, scam PAC, or donor after another on his “I elected Nixon, Reagan, and Bush” line of white-hot horseshit. As I wrote in my book Everything Trump Touches Dies, Stone’s outsize image and reputation were his primary product, not elections or campaign work. As the famous (and sometimes infamous) Ray Harding, then chairman of New York’s Liberal Party, once told me in the late 1990s, “The only two people who believe Roger Stone’s bullshit are Roger Stone and that fucking moron Trump.”

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/roger-stone-welcome-to-the-barrel-cosplaying-supervillain-meets-robert-muellers-real-life-feds

    • Dennis Frank 9.1

      Roger Stone the trickster: “In the first grade, Stone claims, he broke into politics to further John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign: “I remember going through the cafeteria line and telling every kid that Nixon was in favor of school on Saturdays … It was my first political trick.”” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone

      Anyone who calls deliberate lying to defeat a political opponent a trick has no moral compass. Rather ironic that he was doing it as a leftist!

      • I don’t see how it would work, anyway. The kids can’t vote, and if they told their parents Nixon wanted them out of the house on Saturdays, I would have thought there’d have been votes in it for Tricky Dicky.

        • Dennis Frank 9.1.1.1

          You’re probably right. Shows what a devious nature the kid had though, and no surprise he switched to working for Nixon a few years later. Amoral.

    • Ad 9.2

      Fun writing there.

      Just loving how long the list if indictments is now.

      • Ike 9.3.1

        You believe Wikipedia? The so called font of truth that listed Juan Guaido as the President of Venezuela within minutes of Washington announcing they no longer recognized Maduro as President. Its ironic really. “Democracy is now having your President elected by Washington

        • te reo putake 9.3.1.1

          Your claim regarding Wikipedia is incorrect, Ike. The site records him, accurately, as the President of the National Assembly.

          And some mistake in your last sentence, too? The irony du jour isn’t having a President elected by Washington, it’s having a President selected by Moscow.

          • Ike 9.3.1.1.1

            You ‘re correct regarding the initial text of Wikipedia re Juan Guaido but on the right hand side under his photograph it says
            “Interim President of Venezuela
            Incumbent
            Assumed office
            23 January 2019”

            If you have followed the Russiagate saga and still believe that the Russian Government was involved there is little hope of changing your mind. Next thing you will jump the shark and tell me they poisoned the Skripals.

            • te reo putake 9.3.1.1.1.1

              Well, I’m a fact based kinda fella, Ike, so yeah, on what we know so far, I do think its most likely Russia influenced both the US election and Brexit.

              And even Blind Freddy can see the Russians poisoned the Skripals, unintentionally killing Dawn Burgess in the process.

              • francesca

                What !
                Dawn Burgess?
                A new victim ?
                I can see you’re keeping an attentive eye on things
                I wonder if Charlie’s roof is being replaced, as it seems the major amount of novichock was spilled there.
                How on earth did the novichock get in to the Skripal’s rafters?
                I’m sure you have a smooth answer, being such a fact based kind of guy

                [Fransesca. Yes, the person the Russians killed was named Sturgess, not Burgess. Big whoop.

                The whole of the Skripal’s house was searched in the days after the Russian attack. There is a possibility that some Novichok was unwittingly spread by the searchers, so the entire house is being decontaminated and parts of it are being removed as a precaution. No further Novichok has been found and your claim that a “major amount” was found is a straightforward lie.

                If you waste my time like this in future, or deliberately lie again, you’re gone. Only warning. TRP]

                • francesca

                  Now come on TRP , thats really not fair of you
                  It was said that Novichok was spilt all over Charlie’s hands , and then sprayed on Dawn’s wrists
                  A spillage sounds a lot more to me than a spray on the door handle, later transferred somehow by both Skripals all over town and emergency vehicles
                  A spillage definitely sounds like way more than what the Skripals were exposed to from a bloody door knob, but there’s no mention of Charlie’s house being dismantled

                  How the Novichok was spread to the roof framework is a mystery
                  And you have deliberately misrepresented my words
                  THE major amount, not A major amount means more than what was sprayed on the doorknob
                  Spray versus a spillage if we are to believe Charlie’s and the media’s reportage

              • Rangimarie

                Really? a facts kind of guy? Just depends where you get your so called ‘facts’ from I guess.

                “so yeah, on what we know so far, I do think it’s most likely Russia influenced both the US election and Brexit.”

                LOL. Good one.

  10. Adrian Thornton 10

    Mueller report PSA: Prepare for disappointment
    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/19/mueller-investigation-findings-914754

    “The public, they say, shouldn’t expect a comprehensive and presidency-wrecking account of Kremlin meddling and alleged obstruction of justice by Trump — not to mention an explanation of the myriad subplots that have bedeviled lawmakers, journalists and amateur Mueller sleuths.”
    Perhaps most unsatisfying: Mueller’s findings may never even see the light of day.

    ..I wonder why that is?

    Here is a piece from a guy who has actually done his home work..
    The Manafort Revelation Is Not a Smoking Gun
    Proponents of the Trump-Russia collusion theory wildly overstate their case, again.

    https://www.thenation.com/article/manafort-no-smoking-gun-collusion/

    • DJ Ward 10.1

      Yep Its going to be a great day when people finally wake up to the fact they have nothing. Today’s arrest was supposed to be the key player and in detail it exposes that there was no involvement between Trump and Wikileaks or anybody else in the US.

      I can imagine it now. Years of hate Trump Fake News. The Mueller stuff will be released. Trump will be exonerated, which today’s event exposes. Fake news will majicaly forget in embarrassment any of this happened in a day or two and move on to something else to lie about.

      The new narrative will be Trump got away with it. He obstructed the investigation. Mueller is a Trump stooge. Aliens were involved.

      LOL.

      • Ad 10.1.1

        Number of indictments so far?

        Number of guilty pleas?

        Number, scale, and depth of security institution alerts about Russia so far?

        These things are not hard to find DJ.

        • DJ Ward 10.1.1.1

          None. Not one for collusion with Russia.

          But guess what, they raided Cowen, they raided this guy. Taking everything.
          Taking everything to get information on Trump. Every comment, every text, every email. All they have exposed is a few dodgy financials and the obscene use of a technical trap.

          2 years ago on day X, month Y, did Joe Bloggs communicate with you.
          A: No says the 66 year old man.

          Well actually he did. You lied to us. Your obstructing, your lying to the FBI.

          Just and evil witch hunt.

          So how many here even remember a post they did last week let alone more than a year earlier.
          Thank your lucky stars your not under this scrutiny. All of us would be doing time.

          Forget the fact they are supposed to be investigating collusion. Strange that not one charge is about collusion. Yep just a profoundly corrupt witch hunt.

          Started by Hillary and the DNC funding a foreign agent to create a Fake Doseir to interfere in the election. And Hillary destroyed the evidence with a hammer. Then used to get a FISA warrant by a corrupt hate Trump group in the FBI. Appointed by the Dems.

          Actual corruption. Real collusion. Real money. Real acts. Real obstruction. Real lying.

          As for Mueller. The person who testified before congress. Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, Mueller. Yep that’s right, a strait up deep state honest stooge.
          LOL.

          • North 10.1.1.1.1

            LOL Donald J. Ward ! How I love your heroic effort @ piss-take @ 10.1 above.
            Lovely relief from your usual earnest protestations that Donald J. Trump is an excellent role model for children….

    • McFlock 10.2

      Manafort? Oh, I remember that guy. So many arrests ago… glad to hear there’s no evidence of any wrongdoing by the oompah-loopah’s campaign, lol

      • Adrian Thornton 10.2.1

        Have I ever implied that Trump wasn’t the terrible corrupt person that he is?

        Do you really think he will ever be impeached or even for the slightest moment be hindered by your FBI fueled witch hunt? it will never happen. and now instead of the US ‘liberal’ media attacking Trump from the Left, now that they are acting like puppets of the FBI and the military industrial complex, they (and by association you) are much of the time and on many issues, actually attacking him from the Right!

        Democrats attack Trump – from the right
        https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/democrats-attack-trump-%E2%80%93-right

        And remember your ‘progressive’ Pelosi just voted for Trumps biggest military budget in history…
        House And Senate Democrats Vote Overwhelmingly For $716 Billion Military Budget
        https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2018/06/20/house-and-senate-democrats-vote-68-percent-and-85-percent-for-massive-military-spending/#6eca20be5101

        Yep,,that is the heart of your resistance.

        And that is exactly what happens when corporate democrats get away with stealing elections from real progressives..so in the mean time I will keep “pearl-clutching” while you can go on supporting the ‘resistance’…what a joke.

        • McFlock 10.2.1.1

          Your comment on a post about the latest issues facing a corrupt president was to distract with a whinge about the Clintons again.

          So yeah, in your own way you are defending dolt45.

          As for what I hope will happen to that fool? I suspect the best reasonable outcome is that the ongoing federal investigations actually reveal enough evidence to interest state-level prosecutors with things like tax evasion. I doubt he’ll face any federal repercussions.

          In the meantime, the dems are looking good for 2020. And some of the new wave from last year look like they’ll genuinely rock the boat from the inside, so that looks promising. They’ll never be left wing enough for you, but they can do a shitload better than the current prez.

          • Adrian Thornton 10.2.1.1.1

            No you are quite wrong again.

            I was commenting about Hillary/DNC corruption because TRP brought the Clinton tapes and the Russia gate conspiracy into a story about the US govt shutdown, hardly a distraction.. so how about you get your facts right n future before you start a whinge at me.

            And believe me I am NOT defending Trump, but am very concerned that good people are being so easily distracted by this pointless Russiagate rubbish…I mean where is the story and support for the teachers strike in the US…that is real life resistance in real time…now!

            L.A. Teachers Showed Us How It’s Done
            http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2019/01/la-teachers-showed-us-how-its-done

            • McFlock 10.2.1.1.1.1

              The story was not just about the dealmaker caving over the shutdown and getting absolutely nothing. It was about dolt45’s bad day, which started with yet another of his associates being indicted. It would be a bit difficult to mention the indictment and why it was bad for the oompah-loompah without actually mentioning what the indictment was about.

              But please, continue your railing against the people who lost the election two and a half years ago, people who never acted as agents for foreign governments while doing whatever you believe they did, and whatever other BS you want to use to distract from the current president of the USA and his staff. Because calling Bernie names in emails is totally more important than whether the president of the USA is actually a pawn of another country. /sarc

  11. joe90 12

    Pelosi saying it out loud.

    Indictment and Arrest of Trump Campaign Advisor Roger Stone
    January 26, 2019

    Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after Special Counsel Mueller released a seven-count indictment of top Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone, for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction:

    “The indictment of Roger Stone makes clear that there was a deliberate, coordinated attempt by top Trump campaign officials to influence the 2016 election and subvert the will of the American people. It is staggering that the President has chosen to surround himself with people who violated the integrity of our democracy and lied to the FBI and Congress about it.

    “In the face of 37 indictments, the President’s continued actions to undermine the Special Counsel investigation raise the questions: what does Putin have on the President, politically, personally or financially? Why has the Trump Administration continued to discuss pulling the U.S. out of NATO, which would be a massive victory for Putin?

    “Lying to Congress and witness tampering constitute grave crimes. All who commit these illegal acts should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We cannot allow any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from appearing before Congress.

    “The Special Counsel investigation is working, and the House will continue to exercise our constitutional oversight responsibility and ensure that the Special Counsel investigation can continue free from interference from the White House.”

    https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/12519-4/

    • DJ Ward 12.1

      How many times has she lied in the house. Hypocrite.
      How many times has she mentioned Russian collusion. Lies.

      Send her to prison.

      • McFlock 12.1.1

        You’re getting a little bit shrill, there, DJ. I’m sure, as you say, everything was above board. lol.

      • North 12.1.2

        Yay……Lock Her Up Lock Her Up !……sure worked for Michael Flynn. Oh my, what a Kool Aid Kock you are Donald J. Ward. Fact is the Grandma from SF screwed your punk. Everyone (including you)……knows it. Bloody hilarious to watch !

    • Siobhan 12.2

      Guess you’re looking forward to nothing ever changing under Pelosi #paygo.

      • joe90 12.2.1

        Of course, I forgot. As a pure and pristine progressive, you’re exempt from voicing support for the only person that’s been able to get anywhere near to exercising some control over this vile human.

        • One Two 12.2.1.1

          Oh Joe…

          That’s what you think happened…Pelosi exerting a degree of control the ‘Russian Plant’, Trump…

          Explains why you like the picture enough to post it…

          It was the russians what did it…

          Support Pelosi…support merica…

          You’re being played…you and the rest of the dopes here…

          • Macro 12.2.1.1.1

            “Freedom belongs to the progressive expansion of love”

          • joe90 12.2.1.1.2

            It is time to take empathy to the next level.

            If you have never experienced this uprising through non-local interactions, it can be difficult to self-actualize. Although you may not realize it, you are mythic. How should you navigate this intergalactic world?

            http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/

      • Macro 12.2.2

        Do you really seriously believe that the current chaos that is the present state of unaffairs in the US would still exist under the presidency of someone who is sane? Would Hillary, for instance, have removed the US from the Paris Climate agreement – an agreement (whilst only a baby step) is the very first step a united world has made towards combating a serious threat to humanity. It might also be noted in this regard, that it was precisely the intransigence of the US republicans that held up govts coming to such an agreement in over decades of talk. (24 years to be precise).
        And if that is not enough how about this appalling fact.

        EPA civil penalties for polluters under the Trump administration have fallen to the lowest average level since 1994. Civil fines have averaged more than $500 million a year, when adjusted for inflation, over the past two decades. Last year’s total was 85% below that amount – or about $72 million.

        You can’t tell me that Hillary would have allowed this sort of environmental vandalism under her watch. Trump, with the appointment of vandals to head the EPA, has simply encouraged it.
        The new school of Democrat legislators include 81 women – the largest representation of women ever in US politics. They have policies that include super taxes on the wealthy, Health services available for all, improvement in social justice, voting rights, worker rights, improvements in infrastructure (if you have ever driven down a US main road in recent years you would know what that meant), and a raft of other policies that any left leaning person would support.
        So yes! I am looking forward to a new Democratic President in 2020 and I’m sure the majority (at least 55% at last count) of Americans are looking forward too. Even in Florida the majority think Trump should be replaced.
        https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000168-7cef-de11-af7d-feff7b080001

        • One Two 12.2.2.1

          Macro, why are you still hypothesizing on unknowns…things that didn’t happen…

          I’ve called your folly on such methods more than once…

          Yet still, you keep on trying to suggest what might or might not have transpired…

          You know…as consequence of events which didn’t …you know …transpire…

          • Macro 12.2.2.1.1

            🙄

            • joe90 12.2.2.1.1.1

              I suspect the dude/ette’s actually a Deepak Chopra quote machine that wanders around dropping arcane absurdities all over the shop.

              Information relies on the light of brightness _

              http://wisdomofchopra.com/

              • He’s deep, deeeeeeeep… understanding is just illusion built upon delusion – you won’t get what won’t be got.

                • Andre

                  The word is deepity. It’s related to truthiness.

                  “Deepity is the quality found in a statement whose author takes a failed stab at profundity. It seems deep at first glance, but it’s actually squishy and meaningless when you examine it.”

              • Andre

                Bit harsh there. I would have said ‘indistinguishable from a rudimentary chatbot with a database of vaguely patronising putdowns’. That’s a (small) step up from just a random phrase generator. But when you hit them with one of the wisdomofchopra quotes the algorithm doesn’t seem to know what to do with it and shuts down.

              • Macro

                🙂 Yeah they certainly have that “quality” about them.
                I read their comments sometimes and think – wtf are you on about? – and ffs leave the poor beggar alone. A bit of a troll I suspect – and not a particularly pleasant one. Has been warned once or twice about dragging up personal matters previously given in comments in a snide way. Not nice.

                • One Two

                  That you believe I am not ‘pleasant’ Macro, is simply because you do not like being a called out on the elementary level mistakes you make, while simultaneously sharing your work history, and academic records….

                  That you don’t understand or can’t comprehend my comments, is an indicator of how unaware you are of the flaws in your thought patterns which materialize through written word…

                  Example: One which you have used on numerous occasions

                  You can’t tell me that Hillary would have allowed this sort of environmental vandalism under her watch.

                  You see, Macro…it didn’t happen…can’t happen…not ever…not by Hillary…because it has already been done…even if Hillary one day was in a position to reverse it…would not legitimize your flawed thinking…

                  If you’re looking for unpleasant, then go no further than Andre, J90 and marty mars who are regularly called out , not only for lacking in fundamental observational capacities, but for repeated use of slurs and abusive remarks…

          • Macro 12.2.2.1.2

            why are you still hypothesizing on unknowns…things that didn’t happen…

            hypothesis /hʌɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/
            noun
            – a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
            – a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth.

            You really should stop using big words you don’t understand.

            • One Two 12.2.2.1.2.1

              How long did that take you, macro…

              And , once again…after all that time…you’ve managed to ape psycho milts self immolation tactics…

              Post a break down of the comment you made, and which definitions you believe best fit the erroneous statements you continue to repeat…

              I’ll get you moving along….once again….

              Do you really seriously believe that the current chaos that is the present state of unaffairs in the US would still exist under the presidency of someone who is sane? Would Hillary, for instance, have removed the US from the Paris Climate agreement

              Chop Chop

              • Macro

                LOL! Do you think I have nothing better to do, than to answer your supercilious comments? You sanctimonious prick!

    • joe90 12.3

      Meanwhile, as the real progressive left refuse to acknowledge the part Pelosi’s political chops played in outwitting tRump..

      https://twitter.com/jacobinmag/status/1088910632059949056

      ..AOC gives credit where credit is due.

      https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1089003717087690754

  12. DJ Ward 13

    Patience people.
    Stone unlike the others is pleading not guilty.

    According to Stone the only thing they have him on was them asking about some obscure email or text that he forgot he had. Hardly the crime of the century. It wasn’t even incriminating in any way.

    Maybe Schumer should go to prison for lying to congress when he talked about the wall not working, or Trump not negotiating.

    Far worse. A real criminal.

    Anybody here understand how pathetic this stuff is yet.

  13. Sabine 14

    i think the closure of La Guardia Airport in New York has had something to do with it, also the cut down on check in lanes etc in other airports. Superbowl is coming up, Atlanta is what the busiest airport *,and all hell would break loose if that Airport shut down because staff are calling in sick so as to drive an Uber to pay rent or insulin.

    * i only used Atlanta once and that was during the three day black out on the east coast in 2003 and we were all diverted to there, nightmare is an understatement, it was the 10th Hell of Dante, stuck in an Airport in US of A when people think another terrorist attack had happened, are understaffed and hundreds of flights supposed to land in KFC, LaGuardia,Newark etc are queuing up to land.

    IRS workers which were furloughed as non essential staff had been called back last week, and it appears that some 15.000 of 45.000 called back to work choose to call in sick. It is tax season, the banks already complained two weeks ago that they could not lend etc because they need the assurance that the tax refunds for businesses would be processed :), and it also appears that these guys actually have a decent Union contract so are not to worried about being fire summarily.

    Its fire prevention season and contractors did not receive the government contracts to start controlled burns. The window is small and this is for federal land. So yeah,
    the next 4 weeks, money will be dished out, wages will be paid back, and hopefully some parks will be cleaned up of the vandalism and rubbish. the damage is done and it will last for a long time.

    People i know long time from an american blog (since 2003) are not planning on a celebratory dinner tonight, they plan on eating in and they plan to do so in the future. They do not believe that this will not happen again.

    He had no other choice, either declare a emergency or start negotiating. And declaring an Emergency for the ‘humanitarian crisis at the southern border” while at the same time ‘sending’ back Asylum seekers to Mexico, while expelling “protected people’ from the Vietnam War and the illegal bombing of Cambodia, translators etc from Afghanistan and Iraq made that a bit non believable.

    It will be an interesting 4 weeks.

  14. phil99 15

    I believe Trump will use emergency powers after continuing to refuse to negotiate during this reopening period

  15. joe90 17

    I reckon we’re just warming up.

    1/15

    https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1088883676425998337

    (Reuters) – The House Intelligence Committee will release all transcripts of interviews in its probe of Russian election interference to the special counsel’s office, its Democratic chairman said on Friday after Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, was charged with lying to Congress.

    https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1PJ23X?

  16. Macro 18

    hmmm Nunes’ has skin in Russia – even if it is only wine skins..

    But some anti-Trump Republicans increasingly believe there’s more to it than extreme party loyalty – and they’re increasingly being vocal about it. They worry that some GOP congressional members defend Trump while also believing he’s a danger to both U.S. economic interests and national security.

    These Trump critics believe, in short, that at least a handful of prominent congressional Republicans are compromised by Russia, just like Trump.

    Devin Nunes

    Write Painter and Watt: “There is no logical reason for Nunes to go so far in trying to obstruct the Russian investigation unless he has something personal at stake.”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/01/57b774c5098316/congressional-republicans-also-caught-by-russia-so-protect-trump-exgop-white-house-lawyer.html

    • Andre 18.1

      The alternative explanation for the craven capitulation is simple cowardice. Fear that if they don’t suck up to Darth Drumpf he’ll unleash the Drumpfkins and primary them at their next election. There may also be an influence connection through the NRA and Butina and Torshin layered on top of the primary fear.

      Seems to me that’s a totally sufficient explanation for most of them. Although the suddenness of Graham’s surrender coupled with what is known about his emails makes it more plausible there’s yet another layer there.

  17. tc 20

    Worse day so far.

    Mueller v Trump, similar well off north eastern families. Bob goes into serving his country v the Donald chooses to serve himself.

    Muellers very good at this, has a crack team and there’s so much more to come. Most of it already in filed court records by his team as they forge on leaving that material for other jurisdictions to pick up.

    Cohens far from through with the repercussions of his deception as one example.

  18. Tiger Mountain 21

    Pelosi-1-(one)

    Trump-0-(zero)

    • Dennis Frank 21.1

      Looks like you’re right in the court of public opinion: “An ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that only 37% of Americans approve of the job President Donald Trump is doing. A significantly higher 58% disapprove. This makes for a net approval rating of -21 points. The previous ABC/Washington Post poll put Trump’s net approval rating at -13 points, so his net approval rating fell by 8 points.” https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/26/politics/poll-of-the-week-trump-pelosi-shutdown/index.html

      “It’s also a reminder that although polls show Trump is more popular with his base than Pelosi is with her own, Pelosi’s enormous legislative acumen — sharpened by years of arm-twisting and friendly cajoling — dwarfs the political infighting skills displayed by the ex-real-estate mogul who’s long touted himself as the one of the toughest negotiators in the world.” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/25/pelosi-latest-government-shutdown-1128577

      • North 21.1.1

        It’s the Kool Aid don’t ya know…….take enough of it you’ll believe and say any damned thing. Like Donald J. Ward…….”Mr Trump is an excellent role model for children”.

  19. Cinny 22

    Get Me Roger Stone

    Dang what a doco, helping me to get my head around it all.

    I think it’s on the netflix, it’s a 2017 piece.

    Highly recommended viewing

    Makes sense re the fuss surrounding the FBI raid on his home the other day.

    Roger stone is a tremendous influence in trumps life. Puppet master by stealth I suspect.

    Would not be one least bit surprised if he was guilty, however roger stone is one switched on intelligent man, will be fascinating watching the suspected russia link all unfold. The man thrives on money, manipulation and personal exposure.

    Link for the preview….

    • francesca 23.1

      Tried the links?
      They all go back to one previous NYT “analysis”
      My goodness, one of the dots says that Trump was introduced to the Russian ambassador! Unheard of !
      Another that Flynn got in touch with the Russian ambassador over an upcoming UN vote….pressing him to vote in Israel’s interests
      Another says Sessions SPOKE to the Russian ambassador!
      Pathetic
      We’ve been had before by the same people, but you’re a true believer , salivating like Pavlov’s dogs.

      • DJ Ward 23.1.1

        Yes I listened to the timeline for Stone the other day. No wonder he hasn’t been charged with collusion of any kind. Collusion for Joe90 would include a person phoning Stone after Wikileaks, leaked and that person asking Stone what he thought of it. How dare he do such a thing. With publicly available information.

        I think they are upset that the DNC got exposed doing the dirty on Sanders and Clinton got exposed cheating in the debates. Holly crap they conspired against themselves. I put this down to using password, as a password.

      • Macro 23.1.2

        Well the analysis was based on NY Times investigative work reporting and coverage – where else did you expect it to link – to RT?

        • francesca 23.1.2.1

          Hmm, a bit like me saying the earth is flat then for proof linking to a previous article by me saying the same

    • marty mars 23.2

      Wow – look at all those red pills – “you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

      • DJ Ward 23.2.1

        If you take out legitimate contacts. Non collusion contacts. Legitimate Buisiness contacts. Trump talking to his Miss Universe freind how many do you have left.

        None?

  20. DonQuixote 24

    Any news of the Elisabeth Warren wealth tax ?

    • DJ Ward 24.1

      A 2% tax on assets above $50 million. The tax is not constitutional so is not going to happen. Under the constitution the government can tax income. It would affect 75,000 people.

      Also 75% of nations that have tried such a tax have abandoned the tax. This is due to the difficulties in administering the tax. A person may have a painting. What’s it worth. A person may have shares and be over the threshold on one day but below the next. The rich exit there assets from the nation.

    • Andre 24.2

      It may be unconstitutional.

      https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/01/heres-a-longer-look-at-wealth-taxes-and-the-constitution/

      Seems to me that with its compliance with the constitution in reasonable doubt, the Supreme Court would immediately kill it and it doesn’t have a chance of ever actually happening. Let alone the politics of getting 50% in the House and 60% in the Senate to vote for it. Warren probably knows this, and her proposal is probably more of an attempt to shift the Overton window and excite a base of primary voters.

      If she doesn’t know it and it’s a serious policy proposal, then she’s somehow recently lost her marbles. Her legislative record so far has been pretty well-grounded with solid achievements that can stand up to judicial challenge.

      I gotta admit, the juxtaposition of your handle and your interest in a proposal that ain’t ever gonna fly brings me a smile.

    • Ad 24.3

      Warren should stop trying to be the darling of the Bernie crowd – anyone can figure that she’ll get that vote.

      Warren also needs to do a lot more than just being the battlers’ friend.

      She needs policies that show people how immediately better off the great majority of Americans will be. Unless Trump’s taxes are revealed, and those taxes show a mafia-scale fraud, envy-taxes don’t sound like that recipe.

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