Wednesday, 5 April (Early Edition):

Lot's going on. Let's cut to the chase.

In Breaking News, head of the House Intelligence Commitee Devin Nunes is stepping aside- temporarily- as ethics charges have been filed against him. This sounds far worse than it is. This is the SAME committee the GOP tried to get rid of as first order of affairs after the victory.

It is a redundancy that was set up so outside groups could file charges against a member of congress, and was widely regarded as a politicized waste of time. This is exactly what has occurred; left wing activists have filed a charge of releasing classified information.

One thing to note is this is a streamlined committee; it does it's investigatory work quickly and Nunes will only be out of this loop for a short time. In the meantime he will be replaced by Mike Conaway (R, Tx) who is no pushover.

This is just another hissy fit, which is what the opposition is now reduced to.

Anything to cause a stir and mollify the base for a few hours. So, take this event with the huge grain of salt it needs.

Then there's the Steve Bannon affair.

You must remember that Bannon is a key target of the progressives; they consider him public enemy #1, as he is all about 'deconstructing the regulatory state', which is kind of exactly opposite what they believe.

The NY Times and Politico articles on him were hit jobs. They quoted anonymous sources that contradict each other yet run with the ones that fit their agenda. No real surprise there. The truth is he is going NOWHERE.

He and Trump are on the same plane ideologically and that isn't going to change. Leave it up to the Limeys to get it right:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4386682/Bannon-says-report-quitting-total-lie.html

By now smart readers -like the ones who visit this site- know that this battle is now for 24-48 hour control of events. If Trump has a good day a 'leak' mysteriously appears.

Or a charge is filed.

This is how it is, and will be, until the insane notion that an America First President who just threatened Russia with a possible conflict is SOMEHOW a Russian agent. This seeming contradiction was not lost on Tucker Carlson last night.

Listen to this closely at the 5 minute mark. You will hear the former DoJ spokesperson actually say going to war with Russia  is 'one little thing' in the Russiagate story. This is so illustrative of the collective, clinical insanity infecting these people, fed by the neocons.

Who are some happy campers right now. John McCain couldn't wait to hit the talk shows calling for no fly zones and knocking out Assad's air force. Which just so happens to be Russian in origin...

http://video.foxnews.com/v/5386962489001/?playlist_id=5198073478001#sp=show-clips

 

Wednesday, 5 April (Evening Wrap):

Sure does seem that some want a war, and as soon as possible.

One the one side you have been seeing the daily Russiagate spy novel unwind in such a turgid manner that if you had paid to see the movie you would have walked out long ago. On the other you have the neocon choir, Nikki Haley the latest to sing second soprano.

The Assad government, along with Russian help almost has Syria nailed down and that upsets the neocon applecart big time. John McCain has been heavily invested in the overthrow of Syria, just as his pal Hillary Clinton did with Libya.

He was just there a few weeks ago, and then all of a sudden boots were on the ground. Now, there are competing factions within State and DoD as well; Mattis, no fan of the neocon, is in charge and some help for the Kurds in the north was due.

This hacked off Erdogan and the Turks, of course. But the Peshmerga are our greatest allies in the region and the only ones we can trust. This makes the incursion no real threat to Assad, nor Russia.

As a matter of fact it protects them from the north. This is not to bore the dear reader with policy minutiae; it is to provide some context. Because there is a lot of chatter about a 'new' policy on Syria.

The Deep State/neocon movement is almost giddy with anticipation. if they could only get Trump on board and have him sell this to his base they would throw Susan Rice and the whole lot of them overboard in a New York second.

Trump did offer a stirring indictment against the gas attack, which really, anyone should do. But what else did he say?

He said he was against 'ANYBODY' who does these things. Think that one through. He couched his words carefully. Tillerson said the other day a diplomatic solution was the only one and replacing Assad was no longer a priority.

That still remains. There is still a lot of wiggle room with Russia here, and the US isn't putting the 101st Airborne in Raqqa anytime soon. In fact, the path to diplomacy might be quicker.

It isn't Russia and Assad that are the problems there. It's the neocon proxy forces there who's only reason to exist was to topple the regime, NOT 'free the people'.

Syrians were relatively free and affluent. Their lifestyle took a BIG left turn with all this, so keep that in mind when you hear about Assad attacking 'his' people. Like Qadafy, he isn't anywhere near as bad as what happened afterwards.

Then there's the Steve Bannon story.

He wasn't 'removed'; he stepped down after the NSC was cleaned up by his handpicked successor, Gen McMaster. Yep, Bannon picked him.

He still has his full security clearance and the President's ear, too...

Tuesday, 4 April (Early Edition):

The Susan Rice explosion has settled down a little bit; enough so the bomb crater can be looked at for clues. Even though this is information that has been around for some time, like the old Monica Lewinsky tale that CNN and Newsweek sat on, it was always going to get out.

By passing on Lewinsky, they created their own worst nightmare by 'making' Matt Drudge who did break the story and is now more widely read -and regarded- than either of they are.

So, this story is going to be as much about 'fake news' as anything else, and it's a topic this site has wanted to discuss for some time. With so much breaking news every day, and the the two sides vying for 24-48 hour control of the news cycle, the luxury of giving the readers a treatise on how the media has been 'faking news' for 50 years hasn't been possible.

With this event, and the fact that Rice is 'thisclose' to the Previous Occupant, there is a harmonic confluence of events. A little background is required.

The father of modern journalism was a fellow named Walter Lippmann. Making this as brief as possible, he was famous for preaching that 'truth is subjective'. Most would think that proper reportage would be objective.

You would be incorrect in this assertion. He taught his adherents to pledge to a 'higher truth', which for him was socialist policies of oppression, greed, and other facets of the worker's struggle.

Keep in mind that EVERY person who gets a degree in journalism studies Lippmann. His tenets are almost universally accepted. This gave people like the NY Times' Walter Duranty the cover to sit in the luxury of his Moscow hotel and write glowing tributes to Josef Stalin's reforms while millions were dying of starvation.

The desire for Stalinism to work overrode the honesty of the moment; the 'higher truth' of a desired outcome the message. This continued throughout the years, Edward R Murrow took on Hitler's fascism on his own and became a legend.

Walter Cronkite was as responsible for the collapse of the South Vietnamese government as any other single factor. He declared the war 'lost' after the Tet offensive in 1968, and any military expert will tell you it was a disaster, NOT for the US, but for General Giap and the NVA.

They thought the south would rise and aid them. It didn't happen, and his forces were destroyed by the US and South Vietnamese military, so much so the NVA ceased to exist. They had to shift back to a guerilla insurgency using the Viet Cong.

And then over the next few years they were eliminated by the Phoenix program.

The US won the war militarily but lost it politically, and Cronkite can take the lion's share of the credit with an assist from Ted Kennedy, who cut off aid to S Vietnam. The result was massacres and re-education camps.

All due to 'fake news'.

This tale could go on, but for brevity's sake the point has been made. When the empty suit CNN host Don Lemon tells you they won't cover the Susan Rice story because it doesn't fit their Narrative of Russian spies and Trump running around with each other the path forward is now clear.

News gathering, which has always been political, has now made no bones about it. Like the United Kingdom you'll have right wing news, left wing news, and middle of the road namby pamby news.

The search for the truth, like 'X Files' creator Chris Carter says, 'is out there', goes on. It is what this site does; search for the truth. The support for Trump only comes out of this; his administration has been so transparent -and honest- so far that there is a glimmer of hope.

But you won't get it from CNN. Or MSNBC. Be careful with FOX, which mixes up cheerleaders like Hannity with disinformation specialists like Shep Smith.

Above all, do your OWN homework...

Tuesday, 4 April (Early Edition):

The Susan Rice explosion has settled down a little bit; enough so the bomb crater can be looked at for clues. Even though this is information that has been around for some time, like the old Monica Lewinsky tale that CNN and Newsweek sat on, it was always going to get out.

By passing on Lewinsky, they created their own worst nightmare by 'making' Matt Drudge who did break the story and is now more widely read -and regarded- than either of they are.

So, this story is going to be as much about 'fake news' as anything else, and it's a topic this site has wanted to discuss for some time. With so much breaking news every day, and the the two sides vying for 24-48 hour control of the news cycle, the luxury of giving the readers a treatise on how the media has been 'faking news' for 50 years hasn't been possible.

With this event, and the fact that Rice is 'thisclose' to the Previous Occupant, there is a harmonic confluence of events. A little background is required.

The father of modern journalism was a fellow named Walter Lippmann. Making this as brief as possible, he was famous for preaching that 'truth is subjective'. Most would think that proper reportage would be objective.

You would be incorrect in this assertion. He taught his adherents to pledge to a 'higher truth', which for him was socialist policies of oppression, greed, and other facets of the worker's struggle.

Keep in mind that EVERY person who gets a degree in journalism studies Lippmann. His tenets are almost universally accepted. This gave people like the NY Times' Walter Duranty the cover to sit in the luxury of his Moscow hotel and write glowing tributes to Josef Stalin's reforms while millions were dying of starvation.

The desire for Stalinism to work overrode the honesty of the moment; the 'higher truth' of a desired outcome the message. This continued throughout the years, Edward R Murrow took on Hitler's fascism on his own and became a legend.

Walter Cronkite was as responsible for the collapse of the South Vietnamese government as any other single factor. He declared the war 'lost' after the Tet offensive in 1968, and any military expert will tell you it was a disaster, NOT for the US, but for General Giap and the NVA.

They thought the south would rise and aid them. It didn't happen, and his forces were destroyed by the US and South Vietnamese military, so much so the NVA ceased to exist. They had to shift back to a guerilla insurgency using the Viet Cong.

And then over the next few years they were eliminated by the Phoenix program.

The US won the war militarily but lost it politically, and Cronkite can take the lion's share of the credit with an assist from Ted Kennedy, who cut off aid to S Vietnam. The result was massacres and re-education camps.

All due to 'fake news'.

This tale could go on, but for brevity's sake the point has been made. When the empty suit CNN host Don Lemon tells you they won't cover the Susan Rice story because it doesn't fit their Narrative of Russian spies and Trump running around with each other the path forward is now clear.

News gathering, which has always been political, has now made no bones about it. Like the United Kingdom you'll have right wing news, left wing news, and middle of the road namby pamby news.

The search for the truth, like 'X Files' creator Chris Carter says, 'is out there', goes on. It is what this site does; search for the truth. The support for Trump only comes out of this; his administration has been so transparent -and honest- so far that there is a glimmer of hope.

But you won't get it from CNN. Or MSNBC. Be careful with FOX, which mixes up cheerleaders like Hannity with disinformation specialists like Shep Smith.

Above all, do your OWN homework...

Monday, 3 April (Evening Wrap)

Breaking News: (22:00 CDT)

CNN, in predictable fashion, has trotted out the first spin on Susan Rice.

And if you guessed that the 'this is no big deal' excuse would come forth you win. This issue is getting very close to the Previous Occupant, and if anyone thinks his legion of sychophants have lessened in their fervor for him, well think again.

Even on FOX earlier, analyst AB Stoddard- a true establishment insider- was boiling over this; having to admit that Rice lied about it-and has lied consistently over her career- made her drag both Trump and Nunes into the 'lie game', and doubled up on the wall around the former president.

And Rachel Maddow is going on and on about Russian spies, the FBI and some Trump adviser. It's like an old radio show with someone narrating a breathless tale that just keeps going down dark alleys.

No wonder her ratings are up. This is pablum for the clinically insane.

The net result? After taking a 24 hour pounding over this, they are retrenching and will double down yet one more time. The defense of her offered by Jim Sciutto at CNN was really weak; more wishful thinking than hard hitting.

He said 'top officials who worked for the last two administrations have called this routine'. Perhaps unmasking people in routine intercepts is. That may be true.

But the 'widely disseminated' and 'leak' parts are not answered anywhere near as easily, and all of this will continue to come out. What was noticeable today was all of a sudden the MediaBloc was talking about anything else other than Russiagate.

The border wall, ICE meanies outside courtrooms, and such. Actual news for a change.

Perhaps that'll start happening more, and soon. The country deserves no less...

 

Editor's note: Due to breaking news on this rapidly developing event, we may bring more than the usual twice a day posts. You will be notified by tweet if you subscribe.

Seems like former Security Advisor Susan Rice isn't the only one to do some unmasking. In a true turnabout being fair play, she has been unmasked as the inner circle participant of the previous administration's surveillance campaign.

Meaning the designated hit person. She is, of course, famous for her Benghazi press report, where to an incredulous audience she asserted that the mortar and rocket attack on the Embassy was just a off the cuff reaction to a video on Youtube.

That anyone believed it for one second is still sort of breathtaking. It mightn't have helped, but this was a planned attack with a variety of subplots. Watch the film '13 Hours': Secret Soldiers of Benghazi for a fairly accurate account.

Rice was the 'bullshit bullhorn', if you will.

Then there was the assertion that Turkey was going to help NATO fight ISIS, which the Turks quickly demied. And of course the classic 'Bo Bergdahl served his country with honor and distinction' statement to an incredulous audience.

He is being held at Ft Bragg awaiting Courts Martial for Desertion, and every man and woman who gave their lives for this country was instantly disrespected for it, irrespective of the outcome of the trial.

She isn't stupid. But she was given a load of crap to sell, and did it with stonefaced vigor. The $64 question is she the end of the story or the beginning?

If you know anything about the progressive movement, original thought and action is rare, and usually looked down upon. They are all soldiers in their movement, and take their orders.

She was acting at the behest of others, you can guarantee it. This can only lead to bigger fish in the pond, and there aren't that many left. There will obviously be more of this as situations develop, but it is notable that so far there has been no official reaction to this by her, or any Democratic spokepersons.

She also denied knowing anything about Devin Nunes' findings last week. Ooops... 

Monday, 3 April (Early Edition):

As the Senate prepares to go to war over Neil Gorsuch, and the President tries to stay out of war with Russia while threatening war with N Korea, the newest development in Russiagate:

https://medium.com/@Cernovich/susan-rice-requested-unmasking-of-incoming-trump-administration-officials-30085b5cff16

This revelation is of no real surprise; cooked up by the top lieutenants including Valerie Jarrett, and the real criminal activity might come out sooner rather than later. The progressive left might really regret the Russia ploy, which has always been an elaborate fiction built on a desire to make it a reality.

In their circles it's always been 'the seriousness of the charge'; not the truth behind it.

Therefore this attempt to deligitmize a legally elected president might just have been the biggest mistake their movement ever made.

If you saw how crestfallen Adam Schiff was the other day after he saw the documents Devin Nunes had you'd know where the issue really is. Their last, desperate move is to try to use Nunes' actions to bring in a special prosecutor.

That would be an elaborate fishing operation that would go on for years.

The GOP may be dumb (they are) but they aren't bone crushing stupid. That's a big 'no go'.

Trump's approval ratings are in the tank. Rasmussen has him at 42%, which sounds about right. But this is not unusual territory for any president; indeed the Previous Occupant spent many months in the low 40's.

This is yet another big week in a Presidency that has been quite consequential so far. He meets with Chinese leader Xi, and the big bad Russian boogeyman Putin wants a summit with Trump as soon as possible.

He'd like to stay out of war, too.

What the Deep State's response will be isn't quite know yet, but their spokesman John McCain will deliver it soon...

Sunday, 2 April (Weekend Wrap):

Yes, it isn't your imagination. There was no post yesterday.

Not because there wasn't material; no, there's plenty of that. It's just that as April Fool's day a regular article could have been taken as a spoof.

The progressive/left desire to drive Trump out of office before Neil Gorsuch is signed, for instance. This sounds fantastic on it's own, and it is a real stretch.

But the efforts of the opposition to achieve this are Herculean. The constant drumbeat of the Media Bloc, the near 100% unification of even so-called 'moderate Democrats' in Red States, and the seeming self destruction of them over Gorsuch and the filibuster.

It makes zero sense to filibuster Gorsuch, a solid originalist with no real political agenda other than the letter of the law. But the left is playing for all the chips right now, in a obvious 'use it or lose it' campaign that has gone sideways on them a bit.

Having the previous administration surveille the incoming one for politcal purposes is a huge story, but one The Narrative finds inconvenient. No, they have already reached a conclusion.

Donald J Trump is not fit to be President of THEIR country; he is a populist apostate who would turn back decades of progressive incrementalism in one fell swoop. This simply cannot be tolerated, and thus explains the near hysteria of their actions.

Look at Mike Flynn. What's being reported on him? 

He's a shifty character in bed with Putin and the Russians and was instrumental in the leaks that hurt their candidate. The fact he is a decorated veteran who was former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency is never mentioned.

Nor is his so-called 'plea agreement'. He wants immunity to avoid a perjury trap, and is more than willing to tell a story. It is NOT one the other side wants to hear.

So, don't expect any testimony any time soon. Trump, for his part, is hanging in there by issuing tweets that are TRUE. The LA Times and the rest of thhe media pushes the 'liar' meme endlessly.

But think about it. What actually has he 'lied' about?

The 3 million votes? Don't be so sure he isn't right about that. The sensitivity, the immediate declaration that this isn't true showed a britlleness to their argument. They don't want ANYBODY thinking this.

The wiretaps? Today nobody puts a hard wire on a phone. But the merit of his statement was, and is valid. The media doesn't like it much, but Evelyn Farkas pretty much proved it true.

He does use hyperbole and salesmanship; it's who he is. He isn't a politician.

But so far he has doggedly tried to do what he was elected to do, Fix things. His problem is his opposition doesn't WANT it fixed.

No sovereign state message. No defensible borders. Attack Christians and protect Muslims. Try to import the situation in Europe here. And most of all, go to war with Russia.

Anyone who cannot see this is either so blinded by their partisan take that the cannot see, or they're just a bit 'thick'.

How this turns out is not good. He will survive, but the acrimony will be so bad, the endless criticisms and legal challenges will continue, and people will lose faith on their elected officials.

Again.

Either way, the next two weeks should tell the tale; the veil of wrongdoing has to be solved at some point or else the country could follow the third world to ruin...

Friday, 31 March (Evening Wrap):

The week winds up with Trump slightly ahead going into the far turn.

The Other Side was neck and neck but is fading slightly as they enter the stretch. Too close to call the race yet, but Donald J. Trump and rider Steve Bannon have to be considered favorites to win.

The Mike Flynn affair is portrayed for whatever propaganda value it can be had; he is painted as a sinister figure by the what will from now on be referred to as the 'Media Bloc' which is the usual suspects of ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN.

And their affiliates, of course. They are all darkly suggesting that he has something to hide and could criminally implicate President Trump, which is somewhere between highly unlikely and impossible.

You have to accept the what will proven to be a fact that there is no underlying crime here. The missing 'there', as in there's no 'there', there.

Mike Flynn was part of the early inner circle of key Trump advisers. He does have a strategic vision, and espoused it brillantly in his book 'The Field of Fight':

http://us.macmillan.com/thefieldoffight/lieutenantgeneralretmichaeltflynn/9781250106223/

His world view is sympatico with Steve Bannon and Donald Trump. The threat of Islamic caliphates as a cancer on the world body politic. The need to have stable regimes in the Middle East, and bringing Russia aboard marginalizes Iran's influence.

They want to prevent war. The policy is sound.

However, it is not in the best interests of the Deep State, permanent military/industrial complex desires for endless conflict in behest of the big banks. They are behind the 24/7 pushback on the new administration.

The end goal was ideally to drive him out in 100 days. Their court jesters like Michael Moore shouted it from the treetops, and it's coming to a head with less than a full month left. In lieu of that a weakened presidency would be a parlor prize.

Whatever. This is no 'new' news to those who read this. Just simply pointing out if the opposition think Mike Flynn is their savior on this they'd better think again. These men have a vision of a United States restored as a functioning Constituional Republic.

The other side is dead set against it. They've spent almost a century 'progressing' past it. These differences are core, and fundamental. They have fought their way to the top and have no inclination to walk away.

On the other hand, the Previous Occupant and his people are being outed for what is essentially trying to trap and/or embroil the Trump team in some sort of political witch hunt that if gets complex enough a perjury conviction or two can be had.

This was done on purpose, with malice aforethought.

If you understand just WHO they are it only makes sense. Progressives never willingly give up power as they do not really believe in a 'private sector'. Everything is seen through a political lens, and the lives they have carved out for them should be both A) comfortable, and B) supplied by the state.

So, if you have that philosphy in power, one that has a war cry of 'any means to an end' and one who thinks current US law outdated and even irrelelvant, then the thought of them using the advantage of police state authorities to quell political foes not only makes sense but fits their game plan to a 'T'.

Therefore, when President Trump said 'The One' had wiretapped his phone, he ignited a firestorm he wanted. Because one month later his blunt assessment is being bourn out albeit in a sneakier, more sophisticated way.

Nope, as Sean Spicer said earlier today. Mike Flynn will not utter a word against his former boss. For you see they, too believe every word uttered above.

The question has never been whether these efforts would be unfurled against the 45th president; this site and others predicted the 'resistance' would arise and although small in number are well funded and loud.

It was always a matter of how dogged the pursuit, and successful the results. And you have to give them credit so far, the constant din of Trump and Russia and collusion has been 100% universal and has affected the polls.

They ,too, aren't as bad as they would have you think. He's in the low to mid 40's, territory his predecessor was at for extended periods. That's kind of telling, too.

Because when the dust does setlle, Trump will still be sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, much to the chagrin of a determined, but still small, minority... 

BTW

FOX did an excellent piece on Steve Bannon yesterday; his Navy experience made the man.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/30/fox-news-exclusive-making-steve-bannon-from-young-navy-man-to-white-house-power-player.html

 

Friday, 31 March (Early Edition):

The plot thickens.

Just like a cracking spy thriller, the twists and turns of the battle over Russiagate just keep coming. Now, understand that the basic plot is ridiculous and doesn't pass the logic sniff test.

That said, it is the story. So, when the news came out that General Michael Flynn agreed to testify to the various committees in return for immunity from prosecution many progressives started celebrating.

Their initial reaction was naturally, 'gotcha'. He was going to flip on Trump to stay out of jail. This of course, is ridiculous. But when somebody WANTS to believe something; when it fits a preconceived notion, they'll look past the obvious.

The 'obvious' being that Flynn volunteered to testify with the caveat he would be the victim of UNFAIR (his term) prosecution. This means the opposition putting him in a perjury trap like Scooter Libby over the Valerie Plame incident.

That was about 'unmasking', too. BTW.

That anybody would think that Flynn, who is not some bureaucrat but a decorated veteran who is a true believer and respects and admires the President, would turn on him just doesn't know who he is.

He has a 'tale to tell'. No doubt about that. But it isn't what the opposition wants to hear, and if given immunity he can toss some serious hand grenades out there. You want to know about underhanded dealings and even treachery?

How about the toppling of Libya? Would everyone like to know just HOW criminal that was? This was all the Previous Occupant, his Secretary of State and their minions. If the real truth of this gets out, people will forget Russia in a hurry.

After all, how many people have died at Russia's hands? It wasn't they, nor Haffez Assad, who started the war in Syria. It was John McCain and Hillary Clinton, using proxies that in turn donated plenty of money right back to these politicians.

Iraq. Libya. Syria. Russia next. To hell with the American people with their rotting bridges and crumbling roads. Who cares about the destruction of the Rust Belt.

They have wars to fight and riches to plunder.

This is the real story. This is why Trump was elected, and why he has 90% support from the military. They know the truth, too.

Breaking the neocon/progressive alliance is the number one goal for the Trump administration, and right now they are helping him with this goal... 

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=56508

 

Thursday, 30 March (Early Edition):

So, today is all about the OTHER investigation.

Not the Nunes-Schiff sweepstakes in the house, nor Comey's Cheshire Cat countenance and non sequitirs. This is the Senate version.

Or, as one wag weighed in 'they swoop down from Mt Olympus to settle the affairs of the mere mortals'. Indeed, the admonitions of the two nominal heads showed just that.

Sen Mark Warner (D, Va) and Richard Burr (R, NC) both assured that they would 'get to the bottom of this' in a 'bipartisan manner'. Now, don't you all feel a lot better now?

Let's get a few things straight. First of all, the never Trump crowd, which is sizable, hopes to corner, and remove the President in the next week or so. If that doesn't happen (it won't) then the disassembly of his government will take place.

The 'Russiagate' issue will loom forever; the opposition will keep it alive, and unless the IC comes out with serious exculpatory evidence- and it's hard to prove somebody DIDN'T do something- they will use this, and every other aspect of the administration they don't like against him.

Indeed, that might even be their best outcome.

In their fury to remove him, they miss the obvious, which is just lay in the weeds and await a major screwup. They have planted enough negatives that he would have to have a series of major successes to change the way he's viewed.

Therein lie the rub. Time should be their friend, but it's not. For with every day he and Steve Bannon 'deconstruct the regulatory state', still the best explanation of his mission, their precious gains over the last half century are fading.

That's why the ridiculous battle of Neil Gorsuch exists; they cannot block him, won't make nice to prevent a rule change that could change the court for generations, all because they're playing for the MOMENT.

If Gorsuch is sworn in, the Open Borders arguments of Hawaii and Washington state will be tossed out on their ear, might even be a 6-3 decision as a reluctant Kagan joins what is an obvious decision.

Immigration cannot be left to the courts. It is an executive decision subject to oversight, but not regulation. The decisions crafted here are awful by any legal standard.

They don't even address the letter of the argument; so far none of them have. Instead, they go into the campaign rhetoric of a populist candidate to rule against prejudice as a motivator. This is just blatantly unconstitutional.

They know it, too. It doesn't matter. They don't like the constitution. That's why they're 'progressives' it's about progressing past a document they consider outdated, irrelevant, even their favorite term, 'racist'.

However, Gorsuch will be sworn in. Next week, too. The wishful thinking that some GOP types think so much about the comity and institutional rules that they will block the cloture move is a pipe dream.

McConnell may have his flaws, but unlike Ryan he will reel in everybody on this, including the obviously unhinged John McCain. So, why the desire to blow up the rules and allow the GOP to put in, say, Ted Cruz next?

On 51 votes?

Because they, the rabid base (where all the money, and Soros, is) will then have a Supreme Court they don't respect, and the desire to tear down a society they see as unjust will just further.

This could only lead them to more confrontations, and so far they haven't worked too well for them. Ergo, the fantasy of Russiagate is SO appealing they'll never give it up. Unless they absolutely have to.

We shall see where the Senate goes on this, but a good guess is nowhere. Because the left side is ONLY looking at intel that fits their views and ignores the rest -this way they can claim they have 'seen nothing' that contradicts them.

It's by choice.

Meanwhile, the GOP faction will see just some shady characters at the perpihery; opportunists like Carter Page, or Paul Manafort who wasn't selective who he took money from. Not boy scouts, but not exactly Alger Hiss or Kim Philby.

Who, ironically, these same foes of Trump's Russia idolized back in their 'red diaper' days... 

Wednesday, 29 March (Evening Wrap):

In this episode of '24', the ball shifted back to the Trump administration after a few fairly rough days. The first of which was compliments the Director of the FBI.

The media took that ball and ran it for a couple of first downs. But a penalty call against them gave possession back to the Trumpies. Devin Nunes doing the blocking back action as the ball is now back midfield.

More or less. 

By the way, there is still no score in this game. The Russiagate narrative, still being shouted from the rooftops, is now being caught up with by the most likely illegal activity that spawned it.

Now you have former Asst. Defense Sec for Russia Evelyn Farkas in a recording from several weeks ago admitting that the Trump adminstration was in a surveillance web, had been unmasked, and was widely disseminated so it wouldn't 'go away' when the new people came in.

Her breathless plea to ther fellow bureacrats to make sure as much dirt on Trump's team could be saved and sent around was only equalled by the sheer stupidity of her admission.

Even a non lawyer knows a whole scad of wrongdoing, including complicity, when you hear it.

It will be interesting to see how the mainstream folk handle these 'inconvenient truths' to paraphrase one of their own.

The whole spider web of Russiagate is unravelling faster than they can patch it up, all they've been able to do is make a joke out of all the investigations, as if one isn't enough.

There's THREE. And Nunes is the only GOP type to assist the Commander In Chief about the spying he had complained about. They want him gone so he won't lay in a trap with the people who would see him 'rot in jail'.

The opposition is playing for keeps. Ms Farkas, obviously a political hire and why they can bite you in the ass, just gave Trump his get out of jail free card.

The only question is will the other side continue to play Monopoly or just knock the table over... 

 

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/29/understanding-the-nunes-paradox/

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/29/who-is-obama-administration-official-who-spilled-beans.html

 

Wednesday, 29 March (Early Edition):

One of the more amazing issues of this young presidency is the fervor of the opposition.

Analysts can go back decades, and no matter what one cannot find a similar reception of such hostility. The Bush 43 administration is close.

After the Supreme Court moved in and certified an election that Democrats wanted to keep in more or less constant litigation, Bush the younger was roasted as a candidate who was 'selected, not elected'.

There is little doubt he wasn't liked, and that really never changed. Bush remained a divisive force for his two terms, as did the following Presidency of Barack Obama.

He, too, was never really accepted by the body politic, with 30% of the public convinced he was a closet Muslim. His cavalier attitude towards those who didn't agree with his views didn't help much, either.

If you go all the way back to Harry Truman, who had approval ratings in the basement, his 22% approval in 1951 a historic low. The combative Missourian inherited some very difficult times, and in spite of his lack of popularity is considered a president of consequence.

His handling of WWII, the MacArthur issue, and the resulting Truman Doctrine all considered major pluses. His blunt style did not ingratiate him, either.

All of this pales in comparison to what Donald Trump has run into in his first 100 days, which will be on 29 April. As luck would have it, that also coincides with a possible government shutdown.

Talk about perfect timing.

The opposition has decided it will try to drive him out of office, or in lieu of that damage his administration so badly as to limit his efficacy going forward.

What has been missing from the whole equation is exactly WHAT the Democrat end game is. On FOX this morning, Democrat analyst Jessica Tarlov admitted that the desired outcome is confusing.

Having Trump step down will not satisy the Democrat Party. A Mike Pence presidency would please the Neocon Deep State faction, as he will prosecute whatever war they see as appropriate for that moment.

However, his Christian fundamentalist views contrast against the far more socially liberal New York billionaire. She went on to postulate that installing Hillary Clinton isn't a desired result, either.

A new election? Well, that wouldn't gurantee a result. Trump's supporters could very well pull off another victory, particularly if he is forced out of office unfairly. See 'Scott Walker recall' for details there.

There does seem to be some coalition behind Norman Ornstein's ideas from the 'Continuity of Government' project. This would put the replacement in the halls of Congress.

Now, keep in mind that while Ornstein is among those who loathe Trump, this was meant to be about a massive Al Qaeda type attack on the US, and that the old system of succession was dated.

But he did go on to say that if the Trump inner circle is evidently in cahoots with Russia and they conspired to derail the election promise the rules of succession can be thrown out and congress can decide.

Considering the GOP holds both houses it isn't very clear why they think this satisfactory, but the 'making it up as we go along' apporach they're using would still carry the day.

In other words, there is NO clear cut escape route for them.

But at least some discussion on the 'end game' has been offered, and this is an issue that should at least be of rational discussion. But from this observer's viewpoint, none of them are practicable.

Any attempt to remove Trump from office -without incriminating evidence FAR above what has been even hinted at- would be met with stiff resistance. Media disinformation aside, the man is far more popular than is admitted.

What is seen, however, is just using the death of 10,000 cuts approach. When the Russiagate affair dies down, which seems inevitable, it will be whatever Jared and Ivanka are doing, or Don Jr briefing dad on the business every quarter.

They will also litigate his adminsitration to death. There will be more lawsuits filed against Trump than any other President, that you can count on.

But the 'real' end game?

Trump will remain President of the United States. Unless he decides to pack it in, and hand the reins to Pence, which is really far more of a nightmare for progressives, he just ain't going nowhere.

No matter how much huffing and puffing go on... 

Tuesday, 28 March (Evening Wrap):

That's the current state of the Presidency of the Greatest Nation on Earth.

That the duly elected office holder has to look at his term in 24 hour cycles. The administration has managed to peel the media obsession with Russia and collusion away a bit. Nothing like a couple of executive orders to get it done.

That, and AG Jeff Sessions reminding the big cities that the US is still a sovereign, with borders that WILL be enforced. The predictable petulance of the big city mayors and their PC surroundings easy pickings for some lighter moments.

They don't want to cooperate with ICE but damn, don't take those matching funds away. The self righteous frevor they cloak themseves in is amusing as well. Seattle's mayor claimed that he would 'turn down every penny' of federal money to keep his immigrant community 'safe'.

Perhaps Mr Sessions should take him up on his offer; making them first. Bureaucrats only know how to spend, not responsibly budget. This conundrum would be fun to watch evolve.

Then there's the EPA.

This organization was turned from an environmental watchdog to an implement of destruction to western capitalism. It's duty was to slow economic growth, so as to reduce consumption, a key goal of the last administration.

By claiming the puddle in your back yard 'navigable waters' they made their intentions known. So, the Bannon led 'deconstruction of the state' was implemented, to the howls of the hard left.

Van Jones called it a 'death sentence for the world'. No hyperbole there.

The President had a bunch of coal miners in his office. It was a sad, and touching moment. You could see Trump means well and these guys would love to be put back to work but many of these mines are shuttered forever.

Still, by showing he cares about them, and by turning a moribund economy around, they still may fare OK. That's all one can ask.

Meanwhile, the opposition rails on about their new antichrist, Devin Nunes. His apostasy -warning his president that possible illegal surveillance happened- is a major felony. He was supposed to trust Adam Schiff, instead.

As if.

No, he did what his heart and head told him. The media take on Trump as illegitimate is not widely shared, and Nunes is not a fan. He is willing to see if the man did something wrong with Russia.

But not to lay traps for him. That's a bridge too far for most.

Anyway, it was a good day. As for the opposition?

There's always tomorrow...

 

Tuesday, 28 March (Early Edition):

As predicted here long ago -well, at least weeks, anyway- the high drama of the Russiagate issue is underlined by a hysteria level not seen in many a moon.

The 'hysteria' is the combination of anger of losing an election thought to be a fairly easy victory, watching a policy agenda enacted that is in diametric opposition to the one long desired, and having it implemented by a barbarian on the loose.

The antithesis of the 'Joe Cool' persona of the Previous Occupant.

It's like losing your girlfriend on the eve of your engagement and she ended up with the guy who kicked sand in your face right in front of her.

Times 100, too.

This gives some insight to the phenomenon of a party who thinks they can rewrite a history they hate by turning back the clock like it never happened. All through trying to criminalize a foreign policy dispute.

No matter how much the neocons like McCain -and now Dick Cheney- rail about acts of war, all they do is give succor to the progressive movement, clearly running off the rails into delusion territory.

No matter what the 'real' story is here it is certainly not either criminal, nor treasonous.

Simply put, Trump ran on better relations with Russia, and won. This is no secret. Part of this would mean trying to stay on the same page with an adversary that the previous administration had set up as a straw man just before they left.

The sanctions done by them in the 11th hour are not exactly the Truman Doctrine. They were an obvious roadblock meant to hurt the incoming crowd's plans. Which, when you analyze it, don't sound much different than these did:

'Make sure you tell (Putin) that I'll have a lot more flexibility after the election'. That classic murmured to second banana Dmitri Medvedev by the last President.

Or there's the famous red reset button between Clinton and the foreign minister.

Then there's the transfer of one fifth of the country's uranium supply to Russia right after a nice donation made to the Clinton Foundation and a hefty speech fee for Bill.

Any, and all, of these far surplant any overture made to Russia by the Trump campaign. As for collusion, not to be a broken record, but on exactly what?

Coordination of the wiki leaks information with a campaign stop? Really? Taking money? That hasn't even been alleged, and the Clinton's (and the last president) both took large amounts of foreign cash bundled by Democrat operatives.

The Trump people aren't even close to that league, the real corruption that is typical in government circles. Sidney Blumenthal wondering where his 'taste' was of the debacle in Libya engineered by Clinton's state department.

Overthrow a dictator, create a vacuum and then fill it with your own people who get nice fat contracts which of course, kick back to you.

This is the real foreign policy. This is the neocon world, one of the military/industrial complex and the need for endless conflicts. Russia fits that bill nicely.

So, this is where the country is. The secular progressive movement, never the most mentally and emotionally balanced lot, has been fed a fraud by the neocons of treachery to help the hated Russians.

The same ones these people sought to do EXACTLY the same thing Trump is. The real irony.

But the neocon whisper is very alluring. They hint that Trump can be disposed of; their progenitors like Norman Ornstein coming up with fantasies like a new govenment created from scratch.

Tossing out the constitution. No need to hand the country over to Mike Pence, who by dint of the 'rigged' election is no more entiled to the Presidency than Trump was. It's fantastic stuff, right out of a bad spy novel.

The emotionally unbalanced are now unhinged. Try to watch more than 20 minutes of CNN.

The level of vitriol, the beyond the pale statements and sheer fantasy projected here -all they're missing is a graphic of Trump on a rail with tar and feathers- is simply amazing. They aren't on a quest for the truth.

They are on a full blown witch hunt, greenlit by the Deep State who's swamp doesn't want to be drained. Indeed, they want to continue. The new and latest hope for them is the former asst AG Sally Yates, who they are positioning as the newest savior.

We'll see just how that works for them. There's still Syria and Russia to knock over yet...

Monday, 27 March (Evening Wrap):

This 24 hour cycle pretty much ended a tie.

Much like the Korean War (or, police action, as it was referreed to), the hot action of the first 8 weeks is now grinding down to a slow slog in the mud.

Instead of lightning blitzkrieg strikes on the Body Politic the Trump administration has had to retrench themselves. They now are in full protection mode as the relentless, if really empty, assaults on he and his associates take on lives of their own.

With the full, willing accomplises in the media supporting without question.

The fact that the simple there's nothing 'there', there, the sheer fervor of those who want it to be something out of a John LeCarre thriller propels this meme.

And as they say, 'where it goes nobody knows'.

Right now, this Presidency is in the spotlight. The opponents are relentless, and the GOP for the most part seems to want to keep it's distance; outside of poor Devin Nunes who is trying to do the right thing the rest sit on their hands.

Trump has few allies, and lot's of enemies. He is without doubt, in trouble.

The Democrats are playing this as a day by day affair. Every day they can slow Trump down serves the short term interest. They are seemingly undisturbed by the 2018 elections and the amount of Trump people who will show at the polls.

They are not getting back the rust belt anytime soon. No, this is all about today, tomorrow and next week. If they can keep Neil Gorsuch one more week away from confirmation it's one more week to try to get rid of Trump.

This is where the Zeitgeist lie right now. Next week? Who knows...

Monday, 27 March (Early Edition):

The RussiaGate affair is now on hyperdrive.

The confluence of events, with Adam Schiff and company aware that the clock is ticking ready to make their 'collusion' case, and Devin Nunes apparently ready to do the same are now here.

What's the difference between, say now and six months ago? The hatred of Trump among his opposition hasn't changed, true. What has occurred is that this narrative of Trump being illegitimate because of Putin's interference has reached critical mass.

The opposition is SO invested in this as to making it now an absolute, metaphysical certitude that just needs some solid facts to back it up.

There is little doubt that the Trump campaign had a sympathetic ally in Russia, as much as anyone ever gets from them. Convinced Clinton was going to win, they tried to do to her what she did to them back in 2011.

Make life miserable for her. Expose and embarrass.

Nobody really doubts any of this. What is in question is how effective it was in throwing the election. No one knows that, either. But logic dictates that the rust belt states that turned to Trump did so because of real policy differences, NOT dirt on her and John Podesta.

The Clintons have been a known quantity for some time. Her negatives were high coming into the campaign, so it's a real stretch to see any adverse effect. Trump won a convincing electoral victory over issues, not personal traits.

Ultimately the Democrat argument rings hollow. It is the cries of a movement that thought they had a permanent grip on power and lost it, all of their own accord.

Trump didn't really win, that's true. Clinton and her campaign LOST, and did so in spectacular, almost breathtaking fashion. The followers refuse to accept this fact.

Ergo, in the immortal words of Homer J Simpson, it's 'everybody else's fault but mine!'

The top lieutenants of the Trump team caught up in this, Paul Manfort, Roger Stone and Carter Page have all volunteered to testify. And speculation that Mike Flynn turned informant on Trump for the FBI is just ridiculous.

Trump turned to Flynn for advice, not the other way. He was never given any orders, just following the campaign plank of trying to create a better relation with Russia.

To accept the CNN rumor you would have to accept Trump telling his subordinates to actively conspire with a foreign power to overthrow an election that he only barely understands the machinations of in the first place.

It is such an accusation of blatant evildoing that it could only come from the 'wish fulfillment' wng of the progressive movement, and so it did.

The perpetrator of this myth has been walking it back for days now. Just because Gen. Flynn has been silent -which is his way, anyway- since the firing does NOT mean he turned on Trump.

This is the product of a fevered imagination, as is this whole story, and it is now hurting the country. The 'community' is now a showdown between the NSA and the FBI, and if they come down on opposite sides a true constitutional crisis is upon the country.

The progressives are all in lockstep. They need the weaker GOP 'never Trump' crowd to seek refuge and along with their leader John McCain join the impeachment crowd.It does seem that Feinstein and Schumer believe this to be at least a possibility.

They have gone so far off the road on this it's difficult to see how they turn back from the abyss. So hold onto your hat.

This week might be quite a ride... 

Thursday, 9 March (Evening Wrap up)

The whirlwind of the Trump administration, 50 or so days into it, shows little signs of weakening. 

The endless speculation on Russia's involvement in the electoral process hasn't subsided, even if it's efficacy diminishes a little every day. The Wikileaks revelation that the CIA has the ability to hack other entities and leave a footprint that can falsely blame others.

One of the more consistent facts about the hacking of the Clinton/Podesta e-mails was the presence of a Russian based system. But this proves nothing, and that's why only a 'consensus' opinion prevails today.

That consensus being that the Russians are 'bad dudes' who do this stuff all the time.

There is little doubt of that, just like there is little doubt the US intelligence services to exactly the same to them. It's what they do.

That doesn't mean the Russians, who really thought Clinton would win- as did everyone else, seemingly-conspired with Trump. If there was any discussions with the incoming administration it would be about relations going forward, which is certainly not illegal.

Just something the Deep State doesn't want. These dots are pretty easy to connect.

So, another day, more protests from Democrats bitter at their loss of power and more insinuations from their media cohorts that Trump and his associates are guilty of something, if not quite sure what.

It's just an obvious display of a combination of hatred of policies wrapped in personal dislike. The most amazing aspect is how transparent it is; blatantly obvious to all who can see.

The plan of his foes is to stop him in 100 days.

He's about halfway through, and so far he's bruised a little but relatively unscathed. Let's take a look at the scorecard so far:

The economy has shown a tremendous anticipation of what Trump promised, even if there has been little progress on that front. The markets love the tax cuts, healthcare reform and other stable factors they can plan on.

Consumer confidence is high. People are optimistic about their financial future. He has reduced a lot of regulations, which are having positive effects already. This is the 'hidden hand'; the 'deconstruction of the regulatory state' that his adviser Steve Bannon said.

If there is any meat on the Trump bone so far that is it. Do not underestimate how powerful capitalism is when restraints are removed, and many of those established under the Previous Occupant were intended to slow growth and consumption.

So, to that extent, Mr Trump had a series of easy victories just waiting for him.

On the other hand, the foreign policy, or what passes for it, is a miasma of conflicting issues. Military adventurism is rampant, as the Deep State forces are intent on dragging the west into at least a regional conflict, and perhaps worldwide conflagration.

US Marines are in Syria. THAAD anti air defense off to S Korea. Threatening the Red Chinese over the Spratlys. N Korea launching Rodong type missiles into the Sea of Japan like bottle rockets on the 4th of July.

Russia warning of nuclear responses to US buildups.

Now, this may be music to the ears of John McCain and the banks looking to foreclose on the properties of others, but not so much to the US citizenry. The single most disturbing aspect of the Trump presidency so far is all of the external pressures on his skeleton cabinet to start shooting at somebody.

It is that, not 'Russiagate' that is his biggest nemesis going forward; we all must wish him luck with this...

 

Thursday, 9 March (Early Edition)

The media might be getting a clue.

Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, who loathes President Trump and the movement behind him as much as any of the progressive media, just posted an article warning the rest of his media cohorts about the 'wishful thinking' aspect of the Russia/Trump story.

The fact that they, the 'mainstream media' bought a story from the spooks that just may be empty at it's core. Now, Taibbi is a smart fellow but he is first and foremost a true believer and a propagandist for his cause.

But the upcoming disaster the Democrats and their media cohorts face are obviously shaking up some of the core, and if it's Taibbi this week perhaps it's Jake Tapper, who isn't quite as bright, next week.

Simply put, they have been lemmings chasing a story they WANT to believe over the cliff, and the blowback could be huge. Those on the other side have known this since it's inception; the stark reality that even if their charges of collusion were true are still not illegal now becoming a potential reality.

Here's the story from a clearly worried progressive:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/taibbi-russia-story-is-a-minefield-for-democrats-and-the-media-w471074

Wednesday, 8 March (Evening Update)

The internet is abuzz with dire warnings of Donald Trump's presidency in danger.

The main reason being the rogue elements in the IC, namely the CIA. This was a highly politicized agency under the previous director, a very shadowy type who may or may not even be a Muslim.

That's just how 'shadowy' he was. Finding real information on him is difficult, and so is the extent of Muslim Brotherhood members in the previous administration.

No matter how pervasive this was, it did exist, they were quite Islam friendly and had a very compliant CIA. They did not expect a Donald Trump era being foisted upon them, and it is quite apparent they don't like it much.

Officials swearing the 45th President 'will die in jail' seem to indicate this.

There does seem to be an apogee to the attempts to end his presidency. This is the coalition of 'slow walking' all of his appointments so he is surrounded by hostile holdovers, the constant drum of the Russia connections, and the disapproval of the man's temperament.

These disparate force need to coalesce at some point in order to create the tidal wave they would need to force out a legitimately elected president. With the assistance of the 'never Trump' crowd of RINO's and neocons.

They would ostensibly need the cover of a treacherous union with Putin's Russia to allow them to break ranks from the rest of the GOP.

Now, it's hard to overestimate just how difficult this would be to pull off. They would need a series of false narratives to survive, keep the focus off the illegal leaks, and have their moles continue to sabotage by both leaking and laying traps.

Some of this has succeeded. Flynn walked into a trap, as did Jeff Sessions. 

But some of it hasn't; the Russia medley has been played in every key and it's still flat and dissonant; nary a harmonic chord anywhere. The media has been baited into the cartoon buffoonery that you see every day.

The self righteous indignation, the self absorption, and the utter lack of self awareness present in HD color for all to see. They have become their OWN enemy; they don't even need Trump any more.

Now, the Trump people have made some key errors. One is not having a proper response to the constant attacks; the most effective was KellyAnne Conway and she was demonized early on, and the equally effective Monica Crowley was destroyed straight away.

This left it up to Sean Spicer, and he just isn't enough. Therefore, the Tweets had to come.

Trump has always been his best spokesman, and even when the tweets are, well, questionable, they always kept the opposition on it's heels. They are terrified of the investigation into the leaks, and the surveillance.

So, they want to focus on the absolutism of his text; meaning he accused the Previous Occupant of a felony and if he doesn't have proof of THAT (this narrow interpretation) he isn't fit to be in office.

This is where the nation is currently at.

Now, the politics are getting weird. Lindsey Graham, now the most relevant he has ever been, sent a request to the Justice Department along with Sheldon Whitehouse (D, R.I) asking for any evidence of this wiretap.

But the very same Graham just had dinner with Trump. So, the grand bargain is on. The neocons will toss their progressive band mates under the bus IF Trump allows the endless war/Deep State apparatus to continue, if he backs off the Russia entreaties, and doubles down on the defense spending.

Meaning they will allow his presidency to continue as long as he goes along like the other guys did. This seems pretty obvious. Graham's pal McCain went to Syria on a mysterious trip and voila'!

We have Marine boots on the ground just outside of Raqqa. Here's a brief on it:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-syria-us-marines-20170308-story.html

Mr Trump was pretty clear he didn't want any more troops in the ME. Score one for the neocons, it seems.

Or does it? There is enough intrigue in the first 7 weeks as any dozen administrations have in their entirety. Trump could very well be playing rope a dope, too. The sabers are rattling quite a bit, and he and what passes for his cabinet will have their hands full with the world while the oppostion party continues to plan his demise. Fortunately the man has the people and the military behind him.

To think he actually wanted this job...

 

Afternoon Update:

There is a lot of teeth gnashing and breast beating about the nature of President Trump's claim that he was both 1) wiretapped, and 2) it was at the behest of his predecessor.

The media claims that 'he' (Trump) can 'unilaterally declassify' any and all information on this and doesn't need a congressional inquiry. That is either naive, or deceptive.

Let's look at the facts  as known. There is zero doubt that he, and his associates were the subject of surveillance before they took office. The Mike Flynn affair is proof of that.

Flynn's departure was caused by an intercept in the White House itself, so that is proof of yet another instance, so he was surveilled at least twice. The phone calls to Australia and Mexico that were leaked were also 'inside jobs'.

The Previous Occupant changed the rules on how (raw) intelligence was to be shared just weeks before he left. This is more evidence of at least attempts at subversion.

There is no doubt at all that the last bunch is doing everything in their power to upset the applecart of the new guys. How anyone can deny that is questionable; once again you're either naive or, well, not honest.

Can the President declassify and release any and all exculpatory evidence?

Sure he could. But would that be smart? He is surrounded by what could conceivably be called at least HIS 'enemies' if not actual enemies of the country. This includes State, NSA, CIA and other agencies populated with careerists who have a globalist worldview or political hires of the last administration.

There was no secret that they were 'packing the joint' before they left, and if Trump tries to unilaterally move on classified information these people could pass on 'disinfo' or even fictions meant to embarrass or even incriminate.

Meaning that right now the 45th President can basically trust very few people. He won't have 'his' people in office until August. Therefore, he cannot plumb an organization peopled with those sworn to his ultimate defeat.

Considering the statements of some in the 'community' who have said they want to see the President 'die in jail' it's not hard to understand both the frustration and lack of faith in his surroundings.

Most analysts consider Trump's tweets about 'wiretapping' a mistake; yet another unforced error. Not here.

While it might have been done a little more delicately, he did succeed in throwing it all against the wall, and this accusation, while perhaps not technically correct without doubt has some truth to it.

Although the previous occupant was famous for reading prepared scripts and hiding behind the skirt of his Senior Advisor so as not to ever receive any real scrutiny, to think that he was not aware of spying on someone their movement considers a mortal threat is not only naive but stupid.

First order of Sun Tzu:

'Know your enemy'. And Mr Trump wasn't exactly subtle in what he wanted to achieve. So, connect the dots yourself, and you'll see that the President is on pretty solid ground here... 

 

Finally, a breather of sorts.

The day had plenty of moving parts, what with the confirmation of assistant AG Rod Rosenstein in front of a Democratic senate really out of sorts, and the Wiki dump on the CIA sure didn't lift their spirits.

They were riding high on moral outrage that Trump dare accuse the Perfect One of bad table manners much less tapping his phones. How dare he, the charlatan.

But the weight of the narrative; the hollow core of the Trump/Russia thing is now collapsing in on them. The President is either guilty of some sort of treacherous behavior that no one can define or else there is an effort to subvert his administration by illegal surveillance and leaks.

It is kind of one or the other, and if he is proven innocent- which even the most hard core antagonist suspects just might occur- then now there's the blowback to the investigation in the first place.

Something they really didn't consider, and now it looms large in their legacy.

The evidence, for what exists, is all against them, NOT the President. There have been all forms of leaks, he is surrounded by appointees of the previous occupant who absolutely hate him and what he stands for, and the media carries their water.

They have some allegations, a sketchy story about bedwetting and really little else. And as said, even if Putin and Trump were high fiving each other over Clinton's loss, and had been in constant contact with them just isn't illegal activity.

Unsavory, perhaps. But no worse than typical politics. So this was always hollow; always an attempt to create a self fulfilling prophecy. The stuff of the Control Freak, aka 'a progressive'.

It was so tidy, and with the help of the neocons and the Deep State, how could they lose?

The narrative was already crumbling from hysterical overplay, and then Wiki does it's dump that tells everyone that they can cause trouble and have someone else take the pipe for it; they have it down.

Nice. Just what they all needed, when citizens started questioning this intelligence apparatus that seems not to be in synch with the rest of the country as it moves on. They LOOK 'rogue'.

And now they are going to be investigated by someone they tried to sabotage. This is not going to be a good time for them, and a house cleaning is coming. Bet on it...

 

Tuesday, 7 March (Afternoon Update)

Those of you that have been watching the high wire act President Trump is doing with the Previous Occupant over the surveillance issue probably have seen William Binney, a former NSA official on a few programs.

He knows all the ins and outs of this world, and as Chuck Schumer warned the community can 'get you six ways from Sunday' if they choose. This article spells out the resources Presidents have, and can misuse...

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-03-07/nsa-whistleblower-bill-binney-says-trump-is-absolutely-right-about-wiretap-claims

Tuesday, 7 March (Early Edition)

This report by FOX's Catherine Herridge on Tucker Carlson's show last night is quite illustrative. The Trump team has their opponents in a classic conundrum. Either there is something 'there', or there is an illegal witch hunt going on using the IC as a political weapon.

So far every security official has said there is 'no evidence at all' in the supposed Trump/Russia alliance, which once again still wouldn't be illegal. Unsavory perhaps.

But not illegal, nor an impeachable offense. This has always been a straw man irrespective of what activity happened, and now the Previous Occupant and the media enablers have questions to answer.

Watching them all of a sudden back off of the accusations of wrongdoing because of the potential legal blowback has been, well, amazing. The tables seem to have been turned...

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWURKDn744

 

Monday, 6 March Breaking News (Update):

More ruminations on the whole 'spygate' affair; this article has some fascinating aspects, one of which is that the President decided to basically 'toss a grenade' in the middle of this endless stream of allegations.

Death by innuendo. By accusing the previous occupant of authorizing 'wiretaps', which he would never be stupid enough to do, highlights the whole WTF? aspect of these continuous leaks. The NY Times can't have it both ways; if there is something about the Trump associates that they suspect then there is also criminal leaking going on about it.

Or is this simply leaking what just may be fictions? The trouble with the world of intelligence is it's central tenet is deceit.

The article:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/05/trump-ends-innuendo-game-dealing/

This information is both informative and significant.

The 'old guard' GOP has been keeping it's powder dry on the new kids in Washington; at turns grateful for their insurgent campaign success and wary of their audacious world view.

To say they have been hanging them out to dry is to be unkind. If you're not part of the Tea Party Movement which along with the 'alt right'media (and be thankful for them) but just a mainstream conservative they are a challenging, intimidating lot.

The victory over a much larger and more well financed operation mute testimony to this.

However, it looks like all bets are off right now. The government now stands at the precipice of a constitutional crisis, something the previous administration was comfortable with but maybe not so much any more.

Their problem, the 'boy/cried wolf' approach; the 24/7 resistance and the descent of the media into a purely political utensil have made their bellowings mere background noise. Mika Brzezynski's emotional meltdown now a reflection of their complete despair.

To wit:

https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=qfDd9vxsebthpgjy&u=/watch%3Fv%3Deke0N4QoL0I%26feature%3Dem-share_video_user

The old rule books no longer applies, and that includes the musings of Saul Alinsky.

So, here you have Charles Grassley, who has stayed out of all this weighing in with some heavy artillery, and the malfeasance is not going to be with Trump.

The 'spying' was most likely a FISA approved monitor of a server at Trump tower that handled financial information. The suspicion (or excuse) is that money was going from the FSB (Russians) to some of Trump's associates to be applied towards the campaign.

Now, keep in mind the Clinton's and their Asian bundler, and all the dough they got from China.

This isn't treason, although it should be. It's 'politics', and has been going on for some time. The goal here was to criminalize Trump for activites they've been doing for decades. Supposedly the FBI has informed the Trump people that there is 'nothing there'.

Just routine contacts between people who wanted Clinton defeated; routine, really.

These machinations are now backfiring; Comey wanted to absolve Trump from the collusion but couldn't, and now has to defend the FBI against an Obama approved 'wiretap' which the agency would have had to have been in the middle of.

That would be 'criminal', not an 'intelligence' operation. Comey is caught now. Trump's tweets just might have opened the floodgates, and the rest of the world is watching... 

Monday, 6 March (Midday Edition)

More information on 'Spygate', first a timeline analysis by Mark Levin:

https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=PiovVdhNr8FS_QBu&u=/watch%3Fv%3Dq2eu-B5ZNPs%26feature%3Dem-share_video_user

Then there's this from Zerohedge:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-06/top-nsa-whistleblower-intelligence-agencies-did-spy-trump

Wrapup later...

Monday, 6 March (Early Edition)

More fallout on the wiretspping charge; which you may have already seen to be denied using lawyerlike weasel language. Just because YOU didn't order it doesn't mean it wasn't 'ordered'.

Both Clapper and Comey's denials are limited; Clapper saying he 'didn't know about it' and Comey saying the FBI didn't order it, which would have been a criminal act. What NO ONE has said is what the Department of Justice has done.

Same with the NSA and State. The loosening of the rules JUST before Trump took office, along with the dissemination of the raw intel throughout the government is already troubling; the spying just the icing on the cake.

Of course the Previous Occupant is in the middle of all this, even though he doesn't make the decisions. That's up to Jarrett after she consults with her Apollo Alliance bosses.

Their 'shadow government', which the Deep State tolerates for now. Here's a list of some of the people spied on by the previous crowd...

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/03/draft-heres-the-complete-list-of-victims-from-obamas-many-wiretaps/

 

Monday, 6 March 0.00 hours

This article from US Defense Watch about Trump's meeting with Admiral Mike Rogers is quite the read...

http://usdefensewatch.com/2017/03/did-nsa-director-admiral-mike-rogers-warn-trump-about-eavesdropping/

Sunday, 5 March: (Late Afternoon Update)

It seems the 45th President is not having a good weekend.

First of all he was incensed about AG Session's recusal; he felt his staff didn't defend the man with enough fervor. Then the story about the surveillance came out and he hit the ceiling.

Welcome to Foggy Bottom, Mr President.

There is little doubt the reception he's getting from his opposition is as bad as anything this country has seen in a very long time. His 'America First' agenda would undo everything the Bush/Clinton/Obama cabal had spent the last 16 years doing.

Endless wars meant to destabilize whole regions so they can be 'repeopled' by someone more receptive to global rule, the crawl to a police state by advocating open borders and the concentration of wealth to the ruling elite.

This was well into the finishing stages until Hillary Clinton seized defeat from the jaws of victory (or so the press would have you believe) and their Worst Nightmare occurred. Anyone who knows the progressive movement knows that they believe power their birthright and will never give it up willingly.

To this point the Trump administration should have expected at least SOME of this. The current media reports and the very careful parsing of words the politicians and IC community are very careful NOT to deny the surveillance completely.

The weasel words are out in force; they may not have 'ordered it' but someone else might have. The raw fact that there is illegal leaking going on 24/7 seems not problematic for these forces, so it's hard to take their assertions seriously. James Comey is back in the middle of this.

He wants to take the FBI/Justice Dept out of the loop as the accused parties. The NY Times is trying to get him on the record. But the same paper and media types did NOT want Comey making a statement that there is NO EVIDENCE of any wrongdoing by the Trump administration.

So there you have it. This article from Trump associate Chris Ruddy:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-05/newsmax-ceo-i-spoke-trump-about-wiretap-story-i-havent-seen-him-pissed-long-time

This piece by NRO's Andrew McCarthy is worth a read; the comments that follow show that academia has organized to protest (for the Previous Occupant, of course) and are dismissing the article out of hand using the most specious of logic.

In their 'opinions' Trump must be lying because his predecessor is 'too honest and moral' to have done anything as bad as using the FISA court against a successor unless he was, of course, guilty as hell.

There is little doubt that the Trump administration has been illegally wiretapped and leaked. This is pretty public knowledge. The actual charges against him are either very thin, non existent or wild exaggerations.

'Treason' is a very high bar to prove, one of the most difficult of all charges. And having the Russians eager to see Hillary Clinton defeated and telling the Trump people such things are far more the dirty side of politics than anything else.

Putin has a bone to pick with the Clinton state department for interfering in his 2011 election process, with CIA stirring up mob protests. There is a lot of evidence out there of US interference in elections.

Like Trump told Bill O'Reilly, 'you think our hands are clean?'

The article:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/445504/obama-camp-disingenuous-denials-fisa-surveillance-trump

More later...

 

Saturday, 4 March (Update) 

17:49 CDT:

The 'hits just keep coming'. This from our friend 'Tyler Durden' at Zerohedge...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-04/obama-advisor-rhodes-wrong-president-can-order-wiretap-and-why-trump-may-have-last-l

 

17:35 CDT:

This brief and timeline correpsonds with what this analyst has found. To wit:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/03/the-shadow-government-timeline/

16:20 CDT:

this analysis from a left wing perspective...

https://www.opednews.com/articles/Column-No-4A--The-Russia-by-Steven-Jonas-Russia-And-Us-Conflict_Russian-Influence_Sanctions-170303-791.html

Had every intention of doing an analysis of what really constitutes 'fake news' and how it has become the preferred means of communications with the public. Figuring a weekend would be nice and quiet.

Not any more. The opponents of the administration want to focus on Russia, thinking they have Trump on the ropes. That's beyond wishful thinking; it's a fantasy.

It's tenuous grip on reality was dependent on the neocon/warhawk crowd staying in the loose alliance they have. That is starting to fragment.

Ever since the Mike Flynn incident, the Trump administration has brought in people all part of the Deep State; McMaster, Bolton, and so on. All CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) members.

That's as 'deep' as the state gets. Lindsey Graham has all of a sudden been saying nice things:

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/322354-graham-booed-at-town-hall-after-saying-he-mostly-agrees-with-trump

And the curmudgeon navy pilot famous for losing three planes and being captured has so far been silent. 

There is little doubt that the warhawks liked the bump in the defense budget, which after years of sequester cuts and overdeployment does need to be addressed. They loved it when he said 'maybe even more' should be spent.

This fissure is becoming obvious. If it continues the progressive dream of ridding themselves by the Russia connection is finished, kaput.

Now you have Trump tweeting about the tapping of his phones at Trump Tower before the election. This was broken by Mark Levin the other night, and Trump tweeted up a storm this morning.

A spokesman for the Previous Occupant immediately denied it. Then a little later another one of their operatives said 'be careful with denials of wiretaps', that all they're saying is the the former president didn't order it.

But someone went to the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court and somehow got an order to tap Trump's phones, which so far has shown nothing out of the ordinary. 

If not the former president then who? A rogue intelligence agency director?

Someone with the last name of 'Brennan', perhaps?

This is a stunning development. If the Trump administration can lay out a timeline of the previous administration deliberately trying to subvert a legitimately elected president the proverbial shit will hit the fan.

There can be no backing down from this. It will be surrender or conflict. If the Trump inner circle is running with no proof they will wound their chances going forward. So far the different media takes run from the the progressive disinfo sites going full insane on this, the major media handling it like it was radioactive dog droppings, and the internet buzz mostly pro Trump.

Mark Levin, a previous 'never Trumper' is now pushing this. The evidence of the neocon/Israel first types 'coming home' seems more real than ever. At what cost to the administration's policies yet to be determined...

 BTW

This post by Paul Craig Roberts is worth the read:

https://www.opednews.com/articles/So-What-Is-To-Be-Done-by-Paul-Craig-Roberts-CIA_Lenin_Politics_Presstitutes-170303-801.html

 

Weekend Bonus Friday edition:

This is a classic rant by Paul Joseph Watson, completely spot on and eminently worth the listen...

http://www.prisonplanet.com/video-the-deep-state-war-on-trump.html

 

Friday, 3 March (Evening Update)

So, sick of the Trump/Russia story, are you?

To tell the truth, so is just about everybody. The main purveyor of this story, which is the NY Times/Washington Post and CNN, have explored just about every crevice of this, from every angle, and with every doubtful source utilized.

At some point even they will have to get some fresh grist for the mill.

First of all, a couple things. One is there will NEVER be a special prosecutor named. The FBI will complete it's investigation, brief both the Senate and House Select and Oversight committees, and they will then brief the members of congress.

Just because you WANT a special prosecutor named doesn't mean you'll get one. The neocon wing of the GOP, a little more pleased with Trump with his defense buildup talk and insertion of reliable neocons in his immediate vicinity will back off their links with the progressives.

This is the very apparent Trump strategy. His philosophy hasn't changed, nor will it. But allowing the saber rattlers to do just that is like a pacifier to a baby.

Like the neocon pundit Ralph Peters said on FOX earlier today, if Trump basically calls Putin a war criminal and forgets about any sort of alliance then they won't be so concerned about investigating him.

It was a pretty telling moment. Peace with a nuclear power is forbidden, verboten, kaput.

The Deep State demands money; the bloated F-35 program cost overruns feeds their black projects and such, and a more or less permanent war footing is their preferred state of being.

Teaming up with Putin to defeat ISIS, which is a CIA creation anyway, is not in their best interests. They want these countries toppled, and want to put their people in charge. The refugee crisis is COMPLETELY their fault.

Syrians would have stayed in Syria had not the last administration been so intent on overthrowing it. This satisfied their 'open borders' desires as well.

Trump wants to reverse all this. That makes him the absolute enemy of the Shadow Government, and explains the illegal leaks that no one can trace. That and their assistant, the Previous Occupant who's claim to stay in Washington for his children's education a whopper of a lie.

He's a few blocks from the White House with headmistress Jarrett living in quarters there, intent on both protecting the progressive legacies they obtained over 8 years and actively sabotaging the duly elected President from pursuing the agenda he was voted in for.

Never thought you'd see the United States turn into a second world type corrupt governmental system, did you?

Don't feel too bad. No one else did, either. But here it is...

 

Friday 3 March:

The feeding frenzy as the Session recusal chummed the waters is in full fury.

But has it worked? It did put the administration on it's heels for a bit; Trump's speech on the USS Gerald R Ford, a magnificent ship if you haven't seen it, was buried under the avalanche of media types who thought -for a few hours anyway- that they just might be able to get a Sessions resignation or better yet, the main target Donald Trump.

The whole incident felt staged; Sessions walked into Al Franken's trap and both offered too much and not enough information at the same time; he was blindsided by the CNN 'rumor' which is still as usual, unsubstantiated.

But he didn't mention his routine visit with the ambassador in his job as Senator. To call a routine meeting in front of aides a 'lie' when it's patently obvious nothing untoward was discussed is really a stretch.

This is a mistake. Once again, the opposition is trying to trap people in misstatements and then spin them into lies. AG Sessions did nothing wrong.

The worm just might be turning.

Internal polls show this a loser for them. The obvious overreach here has moderate pundits now siding with the President, who has wisely stayed above the fray; nary a tweet.

Unless they and their media cohorts come up with something concrete, not another 'sources say' routine, the public will continue to turn on them. And if this comes up as hollow as it seems, the President will be innoculated against any other attempts to derail him.

The progressives want him gone. The neocons want him to engage Russia militarily, and would be just fine with a Trump presidency IF he 'toes the line' and does 'what he's told'.

That seems just as unlikely. So, the proof is going to have to be in the pudding, which has yet to be served. This article sort of sums up the phony nature of all this:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/02/russian-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-appeared-as-obama-white-house-visitor-at-least-22-times/

More on all this later...

Thursday, 2 March (Eveing Edition)

Another action packed day in the fantasyland that is the District of Columbia. 

As the dust settles on the latest conflagration, the (attempted) roasting of AG Jeff Sessions over open coals has ended in a truce. Both sides can see something to like.

He recused himself from any oversight of activities pertaining to the Trump/Russia nexus. Seeing he was an advocate for the President during the campaign, that is only right. But for the opposition, they get another scalp.

Or at least half of one. They got Mike Flynn, who was one of the inner three (including Steve Bannon and of course Trump himself) that they wanted the most. Sessions offers them another possible advantage.

That is, getting a prosecutor to look into this. The current assistant AG is an Obama holdover; he won't get a chance to get involved, though. Session's assistant will be confirmed next week. The decision will be in his hands.

But this is where it gets dicey. If this is indeed a planned coup d 'etat, as Dick Morris firmly believes then here's a scenario:

http://www.dickmorris.com/dems-laying-basis-coup-detat-hitting-sessions/?utm_source=dmreports&utm_medium=dmreports&utm_campaign=dmreports

There is at least some evidence that the Previous Occupant has planned this coup, and the refusal of the old guard Democrats to move towards governance and embrace anarchy would seem to indicate they are all in this.

Schumer did onimously warn that it 'wasn't smart to infuriate the IC', because 'they have ways of getting back at you'.

Which is exactly what has been occurring.

Now, this particular conspiracy theory just may be true; indeed it seems more likely by the day. That does not, however, mean it will be successful.

Their biggest problem is that other than the frothing progressive base, the Michael Moores and Rosie O'Donnells and such, this is alienating their other voters. This could be just a movement on the rocks desperate to hold onto their fragmenting coalition.

In other words, this might be an ad hoc attempt at a coup. More wishful thinking than 'Manchurian Candidate' type ruthless efficiency.

They didn't think they were going to lose. And all they had was 10 weeks to concoct and execute this scheme. What they do have going for them is deep moles leaking what seem pre planned nuggets to the NY Times and Washington Post.

These are then rationed out at key intervals to keep the Russia narrative, all they have, alive. Trump put the whole thing to bed on Tuesday with his speech. The reactions of the opposition told all.

They were beyond unhappy. This could not be allowed to steamroll, so voila! another little mini bomblet is unleashed on the public in 'can you believe it' breathlessness by these media outlets.

When one brushes off all the dust, the Big Nothing still stares out at you, resolute in it's utter, empty core. Even if everything Trump and the Russians were accused of were true, it wouldn't be illegal.

It would be called 'politics', though.

So Russia was happy with Trump's election. So what? England was glad when Woodrow Wilson was elected. Obama was very unhappy when Netanyahu was elected.

Politics. Pure, and simple. That said, what they hope to get is an appearance of impropriety that causes the RINO caucus in congress to lose their courage, and then they can move forward with impeachment.

The fact that this is built on a foundation of pixie dust means nothing. Then there was the spectacle of some of the more unhinged in congress like this one:

 http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/322002-dem-senator-we-should-determine-if-russian-election-hacking-was-act-of

An act of war?

Does this blithering idiot understand what she's saying? The insanity of losing power has affected the brains off these people and pure emotion is playing out. Calling what the Russians did an act of war, when this is what the US does routinely to others is not only stupid but crazy as well.

Russia has enough theater nuclear weapons to ruin Europe, and enough strategic ones to make the East Coast uninhabitable for a few centuries.

Be careful with declaring 'war' against people who's guns are as big as yours. Now, Shaheen is an idiot, as is McCaskill. But the forces behind them are most assuredly NOT.

The Trump administration is in peril. Do not discount this.

Those who oppose are dead set against giving up their gains. At the very least they will have their moles pour sand in the gears of change. They will have their packed courts sue over everything.

They will have their protesters out every day. These are givens.

But if you don't think for ONE MINUTE they don't want the Big Kahuna, and in another month or so, you're in self delusion. Because they are giving it 100% of their efforts.

They will sink or swim on this story. A real good guess is they sink.

But it isn't a guarantee, and the next couple weeks are going to be critical...

 

Breaking News:

In the bum's rush to pile on AG Jeff Sessions Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill may have just tossed Sessions a lifeline. She made a declarative statement on how she 'never met with the Russian ambassador at any time in my career'.

Except for the fact that she HAS.

Looks like she 'forgot'.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/claire-mccaskill-met-russia-envoy-twitter-235607

Oops...

 

Thursday, 2 March:

Well, the Deep State and their pals in the media wasn't going to let the President have any extended honeymoon after his speech to congress.

His opponents were so unhappy with the success of it, the connection with the voters and the abject humiliation of the Democrats, who's behavior was noted by an unapproving public, that they had to go back to Plan A.

Russia, of course.

Now, they have AG Jeff Sessions in the crosshairs. More leaks, of course and some really dubious activities of the previous administration have set up a series of traps that so far have cost the President his most trusted adviser in Mike Flynn.

Now, it's Sessions. During his confirmation hearings he said he had no contact with the Russians regarding the campaign. But leaks show 2 conversations, although once again no content is revealed.

To this point, not one word of what has been said to the Russians by any of the Trump team has been released. Just the notion that there was 'contact', which of course is not only legal but routine.

Sessions did have at least one meeting with the Russian ambassador in a group setting.

All of this resembles the Watergate trap. Watergate itself was no big deal; a raid of the DNC offices to get dirt on the prostitute ring run by John Dean's consort. But President Nixon was determined to cover it up, and it cost him his presidency.

This is EXACTLY the template Trump's opposition is following. They all obviously know there is nothing there; if there was the damaging info it would have been leaked. This is the attempt to get people caught in a perjury trap.

The call for Session's head has already begun, and this very carefully timed leak is meant to keep this Narrative alive. The opposition is counting on turning some Republicans against the administration.

Some are hinting a special prosecutor be appointed. This would be a grave error.

Special prosecutors have unlimited subpoena power. They can cast a net for one thing, but if something else is caught it can be prosecuted. It could be a parking ticket.

It could be a domestic dispute. This would give Trump's opponents the inside track to derail his presidency, and the progressives and their Deep State cohorts could conceivably achieve their goals.

This is, of course, elimination of a duly elected President over an issue that was not a crime, had nothing to do with the outcome of the election, and indeed was most likely the daily occurence of business as usual.

Senator Schumer just gave his stern lecture calling for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation, which he has already agreed to. He also wants a special prosecutor.

Five open investigations are not enough. This is a political witch hunt of the first order, and seeing that the 'Russia Narrative' is really all they have, they will follow this to it's end. 

The Trump administration responded. They said he had contact in his official duties -keep in mind that every campaign assumes they at least MIGHT win, and have to prepare for that eventuality- and that this was but another 'sad attempt' to change the subject from the success of the speech.

There is FAR more truth in the response than in the charge. But in progressive circles, the saying 'it isn't the crime but the seriousness of the charge' is a mantra. This is their 'inner Communist' speaking; 'show trials' are a favorite for them.

This gives the Democrats a tiny step ladder to climb out of the sub basement which they willingly inhabited Tuesday evening. Once again, it has the appearance of something, but when you scrape the surface the same 'nothing' shows.

In other words, this was to be expected, and every utterance made by any of Trump's associates will be held under a microscope for the duration of his presidency. Now, some of you want to know what the take here is.

Is President Trump in REAL trouble over this?

The answer is a resounding 'no'. A mistaken recollection is not a lie, and meeting foreign ambassadors are part of their JOB. This is McCarthyism without the facts; Joe McCarthy was right about Communist infiltration in the government.

He was just a little sloppy with his details. There are no 'details' here...

 

Wednesday, 1 March (Late Edition)

Seeing that the President has a little breathing room, and this isn't currently another '24' Episode done real, some additional analysis is offered. For your entertainment value, if you will.

The 'Alt Right' has been discussed here before, but let's get the philosophical template complete so one can handicap the Derby ride that this administration is giving the country. No, make that the WORLD.

Let's start with what it isn't. It isn't 'racist'.

Race, or racialism, has only a tangential effect. To the extent that this is a country founded by white Christian males of European descent, it's history is part of what it is. That includes the early slave society.

Slavery is nothing new; it is not unique to black people of African heritage brought to the United States. To be Christian is to know slavery.

Rome arguably treated it's Christian slaves a bit more harshly than the ones who helped build, and now have a stake in, this nation. Keep in mind that beheading was only offered the upper tier Christian slaves.

The rest? They were fed to all sorts of wild beasts in the Coliseum. After the locals got to warm up with a good stoning or such. Today, slavery still exists.

With white sexual slavery being the sin qua non. The 'high end' of the trade if you will; largely to Middle East royalty. There is slavery -or indentured servitude- of Indonesians by many of those same sorts.

They'll hire someone, fly them 2,000 miles and then pay them pennies a week. This happens more than you think. 

So, slavery, onerous as it is, is not the sole possession of the progressive left just because they claimed it. Shutting everyone up by dint of PC (cultural Marxism) speech is their only asset.

One has to be able to discuss this without emotional hysteria invoked. Emotions do not 'trump' (if you'll forgive the pun) logic. The alt right is intellectually honest and this makes them a threat to some.

These philosphical underpinnings are difficult to rebut.

The alt right movement doesn't really care about race, nor sex, religion or gender. They are but sidebars that can have cause/effect but don't drive the dialectic. It is libertarian without diving into the nitwit bin.

Libertarians, are, as Michael Medved correctly calls them, more appropriately referred to a 'losertarians' which is what they are really best at. Losing.

One can be so principled as to cut your own throat. This is where the common sense of the conservative comes in, to save the libertarian from sliding into anarchy. Populism, like what this adminstration is offering, is just enough common sense conservatism, meaning some government interference but only in a helpful way.

The EPA making sure business doesn't pollute, not stop them from being created. The alt right is seizing 'conservatism' from the neocons. They don't like this much at all. 

Too much conservative and you have the Neo Con. This is on the left wing side of conservative, and it's when statism is sort of appealing to everyone.

For the progressive like the Previous Occupant, globalist/statist/elite rule is the plan. For someone like the Senator from Arizona who will not fade away like a good soldier would, it's more like central government on a permanent war footing.

They are both still totalitarian in construct. Just for different reasons. This explains the nexus against the current administration. The enemy of my enemy thing.

Donald Trump is not 'alt right'. He's a businessman who loves his country. This is a fact. Steve Bannon would be the progenitor of that.

The movement BEHIND him is the alt right, and they are a collection of blue collar Democrats, libertarians, recovering Bush conservatives, and people who have no ideology at all. People in their 60's that never voted in their lives.

The progressive people, during the campaign, said it 'wasn't Trump, but the MOVEMENT behind him that 'needed to be destroyed'. Not defeated mind you.

Destroyed. This is how they view the threat. 

That makes Trump the 'tip of the spear'. He is that, and so far the shield as well...

NEXT: FAKE NEWS.

 

For the first time since Donald Trump was elected the 45th President he has 'afterglow'.

His address was so overwhelming, such a success that his adminstration can take a little while off of the stranglehold on the day's events. They were going to roll out the new travel ban.

No need today. The media has to let the monumental nature of the event have it's patina setlle over the landscape naturally. It is the first, and perhaps only 'honeymoon' Trump will ever get, and they know it.

So, why mess with success? The media's talking point is accurate. Why 'walk all over his message', they point out? 

Exactly. Right now, he's criticism proof. LIke the Previous Occupant was, only it lasted him 8 years, while Mr Trump may just get the rest of this week. But that's OK by him.

He didn't run to be popular. He already had that.

But for what is now a magic moment, he has the country, and perhaps the world behind him as they correctly see a very smart, and determined leader of the Free World; which is in direct opposition to the cartoon character offered up by his opponents.

Leave it up to our friends across the pond to have the best summary of the evening; this piece in The Daily Mail has it all...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4269814/Trump-strikes-presidential-tone-addresses-Congress.html

 

 

 

Tuesday, 28 February (Post Speech Analysis)

'Veni, vidi, vici' - 'I came, I saw, I conquered'

-Julius Ceasar to the Senate after the victory over Pharnace; 47 BC

President Donald Trump delivered what was not only the best speech of his career but what some analysts like Chris Wallace are claiming to be 'the best they've ever heard' delivered in the well of the House.

Even his foes were caught off guard, and the Democrat reply by a former governor was flat as a board. This was a very good night indeed, for Mr Trump. Policy wise it didn't take quite the risks this correpsondent expected.

But it was given with such grace, an almost operatic reading, that when he used the emotional moments of the evening they were, well, almost breathtaking. The tribute to Carryn Owens, the wife of the slain SEAL caused tears to flow all over the nation.

She received a standing ovation that was epic in scale, and her reaction to the tribute will be a part of history. It wasn't just 'a' moment. It was THE moment.

Van Jones on CNN, hardly a fan but someone who has a scintilla of intellectual honesty, made the amazing claim that at that moment 'he became the President of the United States'.

Indeed he did.

Up until then he was someone who won a closely contested election. He is now, without a doubt, the President. The 'never Trump' movement died an ignoble death, and his fierce opponents now have to start thinking about where they can break bread with him.

Because you can be assured one thing for certain. This man is the Leader of the Free World, he isn't going away any time soon and has a vision that many will find appealing.

So, to compare him with Julius Caesar isn't a stretch. Caesar had no military experience either, and conquered all he saw.

A good night? You bet...

 

Tuesday, 28 February (Pre Speech Edition):

In just under 2 hours President Trump makes his first appearance before a joint session of congress. More important, he will be speaking not just to his voter base but to the rest of the country; indeed the rest of the world.

Right now he is the most significant figure anywhere. Every other leader -with perhaps the fearless Le Pen in France- sits in quiet anticipation with what avenue this businessman/president might travel.

The ratings for an otherwise routine event will be stratospheric. C-SPAN may even get a ratings share. The question is, will Mr Trump surprise?

This is a silly question. 

The master showman, the PT Barnum in him will not let this moment pass. The deal maker, the one who has been beating the world up with 5 weeks of my way or the highway absolutism is ready to make one.

Prediction?

He'll make a BIG one, and it could be breathtaking in it's scope.

A complete evaluation will follow the speech right here...

 

Tuesday, 28 February: 

The calm before (yet another) storm.

As the President prepares for his first address to a joint session of congress, what would ordinarily be a fairly routine affair is shaping up to be anything but.

As the Democrats, still in a full knickers tied in a knot fury exhaust every avenue in the Trump/Russia sweepstakes rage on, the GOP is at each other's throats in what the ACA replacement will be.

Conservative ideologues in congress and Republican governors at opposite sides.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump prepares his address. He has a remarkable opportunity. With polls on his side (despite what you hear; he has a 50/50 split in approval) and the clear majority of the public unhappy with the Democrats sand in the gears obstruction he can split the parties.

This poll is important:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/february_2017/most_say_democrats_hurt_themselves_with_anti_trump_strategy

When you start parsing the numbers the hard core progressive movement is exposed at the 29% mark, which is about right. The people want the government to do their business, which is unerstandable.

But progressive ideologues control the party right now. Living with the fast disappearing notion of the 45th President somehow just vanishing into thin air, instead of smelling the coffee have tripled down.

They now run the risk of permanent irrelevance. One wonders if they are even aware of this. 

They should be getting the notion that the false Russia narrative has just about run out of gas. As this correspondent has been asserting for weeks now there is NO crime there. Unless you count the leaks.

One may hate Trump, Putin and the idea of some sort of alliance. But it is foreign policy, not treason. And fevered notions of Paul Manafort conspiring with the FSB and Julian Assange to release info that somehow sidelined Hillary Clinton's deserved spot as President is, and always has been, a fantasy.

At some point they will have to let go of this. Keith Elllison pushing the notion that Trump is in violation of the Emolument clause because his hotel may have foreign dignItaries there is patently absurd.

The President will alter foreign policy over booking a $500 hotel suite. Sure he will.

And to rub salt into the woulds he just signed an executive order reversing the insane 'clean water rule' which allowed the EPA to regulate the puddle in your back yard. It was THAT intrusive.

It seems just about every day will be a big one for this President. Tonight's address should be something as he offers things to both parties. Let's see how THAT plays out...

 

Monday, 27 February (Late Edition)

The daily drone of Russia this, or Russia that permeates.

The 'resistance' movement, for what it is, has settled into a form of 21st Century trench warfare. A lot of noisy gunfire, smoke and flame, but at the end of the day no real gains by either side.

The leadership for the Democrats have decided that playing to their hard left base will somehow help them regain their faded glory. Yet during the hunt for the new chairperson of the DNC all they spoke about was getting their 'message right' to regain those they lost to Trump.

It's as if they will switch on a dime. Perhaps they are unaware that many, if not most of these people changed party affiliations for more than one reason. The abject cluelessness of the Democrat party is in full display.

It is the sole possession of the progressive movement, who had their apogee last year when the Previous Occupant made his little sojourn to Cuba as a culmination of leftist ideals going back to 1968.

For many others, including most of the rust belt folk they lost, this was a low point for the United States as a country. That's why the shot of our former Comrade posing in front of the iconic 'comrade' of all time is so significant.

His home town, Chicago just named a street after Oscar Lopez Rivera, founder of FALN, a Puerto Rican separatist group that used terror tactics in it's politcal gains. Rivera, a Marxist radical, had little interest in Puerto Rico but plenty in Cuba, and it's revolution.

He was directly involved in a bombing that ended the life of a policeman, Joseph Connor.

But on the way out, the former tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue pardoned Rivera, who never repented for his crimes. This was lauded by fellow comrades Luis Gutierrez, and Bill DeBlasio.

And finally codified by having a street named after him in Chicago. Now, keep in mind that the same city stripped the name 'Donald J Trump' off of a street due to his being anti illegal immigrant.

That's right. A convicted Marxist terrorist deserves a street, not the sitting President.

Nice going, City Hall. And a roadmap to where this country is going; one that will come to some sort of a head sooner or later...

 

Monday, 27 February (Early Edition):

A big week for the 45th President awaits.

The Oscar telecast, which was the predictable parade of left wing grievances against Trump, ran into the Karmic smackdown of it's storied 88 year history.

Instead of being noted as the moral exemplar of the huddled masses oppressed by the Blonde Meanie at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue they became the laughing stock of awards shows everywhere.

They even took Steve Harvey and his Miss Universe flub off the radar. Great Liberal Icon Warren Beatty strode up to the podium with 'Bonnie and Clyde' co star Faye Dunaway and promptly declared the WRONG winner for Best Picture.

No minor technical award here. The big moment of the night. Total FUBAR, as military types like to say. You can look up that acronym if you'd like.

Price-Waterhouse fell on their collective swords but the damage was done. The Academy denied a trophy to '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi' for a little enforced rule against lobbying for the prize.

It couldn't have been motivated by the fact Hollywood hated the film and thinks it added to Clinton's defeat. No, that would never happen. 

As if.

It was a fitting end to the bloated display of liberal hypocrisy, and once more proof that there IS a God.

So, the brave new world this week is the Health Care replacement to be rolled out, which Politico has already leaked a copy of. Of course. Plus the speech to the Joint Session of Congress, which the Democrats have already said they will sabotage.

Of course.

This is just what's on the docket, too. One never knows from moment to moment what will transpire in this most interesting of Presidencies. Mr Trump already told the media that the 'nerd prom' -the White House Correspondent's Dinner- will not be attended by him.

So there. Which means the media outlets that wanted to make a statement by boycotting will no longer have a reason to do so. It is childish, true.

But the 'opposition party' has decided to make this a third grade playground affair; all about personal insults and posturing. So be it, then.

A couple of intersting bits. This piece gives an excellent analysis of the US/Russia affair:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-26/trump-and-russia-just-pointing-out-obvious

And the proof that these town hall meetings aren't quite the organic happenings the media is claiming:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/27/leaked-audio-reveals-anti-trump-forces-manufacturing-hostile-town-hall/

So, a big week lies ahead. Get some strong coffee and get ready!...

 

 

Sunday, 26 February (Late Edition)

It's either the protest, or the investigation, of the day now.

The protests are omnipresent; the media is desperately trying to push this as a purely organic movement, while the Trump administration is pushing back by hinting deeply that this is all organized by activists.

The truth, of course, is somewhere in the middle. The poison pill of the ACA was, like all federal entitlements, the reality that many people have benefited from what is essentially a redistribution of income.

That was what the bill was supposed to do; take from those who have to distribute among the less fortunate therfore building a permanent political dependency class. It also has the advantage of having a treasure trove of progressive ideals hidden inside, like state control over life and death, rationing of care and such.

The death panels which were hysterically denied exist. The author of this piece had direct experience with a bureaucrat doctor inserted out of nowhere in a crucial moment over the care of an aged family member.

A simple operation was required. Her doctors wanted to do it. Then just hours before this doctor, who was not local, called and tried to press a 'quality of life' issue, and that this was terribly invasive and 'he wouldn't want to do it to his mother'.

Contact with the rest of the medical staff contradicted him, he was overruled, and threw a hissy fit that was very un doctor-like. It was obvious that the operation, a simple feeding tube, was something they didn't want to pay for.

It was done, the patient recovered fully and four months later is doing just fine. Don't let anybody kid you. Death panels EXIST.

This is why it has to be repealed, not just tweaked. The overreach into who determines care is the issue, and it is, along with it's redistributive (and political) features why it exists in the first place.

Communists have been trying to do this for more than a half century.  To wit:

 http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/03/vladimir-lenin-socialized-medicine-is-the-keystone-to-the-arch-of-the-socialist-state/

The GOP could have let this fall apart. But Trump, who actually wants to help people inserted himself into the debate. They have to get this right.

As far as the investigations go, now Daryl Issa wants a special prosecutor to look at Russia ties, and the father of the slain SEAL wants the Yemen raid investigated. This will be the Trump era for some time, it seems...

 

 

Sunday, 26 February:

The patriot movement is the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room.

When Steve Bannon laid out the philosophical framework for his position even David Gregory had to admit it was a straight forward statement of policy. You may not agree (the perpetual adjoiner) but there it is.

Bannon was accorded his due respect if you listened closely. No matter what your philosophical bent he is intellectuallly honest.

This is Mr Trump's twin. They see each other as equals. Do NOT underestimate this. 

So, when you see Tillerson, or McMaster giving a 'cleaner take' on whatever Trump has admonished understand that they are ALL on the same wavelength.

If you work for Trump, you WORK for him. McMasters, Mattis, Kelly (who is the most obvious you bet devoted) are in with the program.

The media says 'chaos'. Do you think for ONE SECOND they really believe this?  Got some swamp land real estate for you if you'd like. C'mon. As Sun Tzu said, 'know you're enemy'.

They are a bunch of All American Type A's with the reins of power in their hands. To those who are of like mind, it's exhilarating. To those who aren't?

Tough times, indeed... 

BTW

'Invasion USA' was a societal metaphor twice; first as a threat of Communist attack, and it is amazing cinema if you watch it. The second is a Chuck Norris 'third world hordes' attack, not as compelling but worth the watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg8a9UMqSzY

Then there's the Norris version...

Saturday, 25 February:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x278zoi_invasion-u-s-a-1985_shortfilms

 

The week ends on a pretty positive note for President Trump.

Once again, James Comey's FBI takes place front and center, with the fact that his assistant director Andrew McCabe is the one who sought out the White House to share the obvious, which is that the NY Times story on Russian intelligence and Trump's advisers is 'total B.S.'

The media outlets making a living out of this story had to do the two step.

The now notorious Jake Tapper had to admit that there is 'no proof' to the allegations, and that McCabe did, indeed share this information with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

Of course, the addendum that 'this continues to be investigated' was offered up as some sort of excuse. But the facts of the matter seem to prove conclusively that this is a political witch hunt in search of a desired conclusion.

The biggest problem for them is investing all of their energy in creating a straw man. In past eras they could destroy a politician by such acts.

Not this one. If necessary, he will fight this on the floor of the House. Think about it.

Who would impeach over conduct that EVERY political campaign has done? Trump ran on a platform of improved relations with Russia, was elected President and even the most partisan analyst cannot point to one vote changed by outside influences.

This would be laughed out of congress if it weren't for the cabal united in getting rid of a President who THEY don't like; voters be damned. That's where the chronic anti-Americanism lies.

The tip of that spear is John McCain, who's status as a POW has given him a cloak of sainthood he simply does not deserve. No matter how terrible his treatment, and this was administered to hundreds of fliers captured, it does not make him the sin qua non of US policy.

He was a poor student, a rotten flier and a terrible Representative of the House. He was neck deep in the Keating scandal, and only his reputation as, well, a dummy saved him.

His service as a Senator is utterly undistinguished. He is not a nice person, either. Petty and small, he irks easily and should have been put out to pasture LONG ago. But his bitterness at not being President clouds all of his dealings now.

He is, without a doubt, the biggest single enemy of the Trump administration. He desires war with a nuclear power that is just trying to look out for it's own interests. When asked he cannot answer 'why'.

There are those who were in Hanoi Hilton with McCain that were not fond of him. Now, there is little doubt that this place was a hellhole, and nobody can resist torture forever. But there were true heroes like James Stockdale, who won the Medal of Honor, that were legendary for their resistance.

Not McCain. He actually earned the sobriquet 'Songbird'. This article sheds some light:

https://www.oathkeepers.org/breaking-news-john-mccains-1969-tokyo-rose-propaganda-recording-released/

No veteran likes to bring this up.

This was a dark time in a confused era. The country's moral compass became off kilter in the Vietnam era; what was a basically noble intention became an excuse for slaughter. In the end, little was gained other than exhausting the Communists.

That said, if McCain is going to continue down a path that flirts with sedition he needs to be called out on it. He has even joked about being the 'Queen of Hearts'.

This reference to the John Frankenheimer film 'The Manchurian Candidate' is no laughing matter.

A little taste of just WHY this isn't funny:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCjBOZ4r9Ck

This is not brought up to create controversy. It's being presented to you because the search for truth can be, sometimes, most unpleasant...

 

Friday, 24 February (Late Edition)

It seems like every day is a maelstrom for the young Trump administration.

Considering that the major media is openly hostile towards him, and at least one of them seems determined to get him removed from office, well, this gives any day an edge.

But it was a fairly quiet day. Trump gave his speech at CPAC, and then later press secretary Sean Spicer held an off camera 'gaggle', in his office which is fairly small. He had the pool reporters, that's 13 of the assorted network staffs who take turns in the pool.

He also allowed the Big Three, FOX, and a couple of conservative outlets. However, CNN, NY Times, LA Times and Politico were not.

Ordinarily this wouldn't be that big of a deal; it's happened before. The briefing is on the record, and the other networks get both a transcript and can question those present.

But the groups omitted is a who's who of Trump haters. This fact was not lost on anybody, and not allowing their people get face time while Breitbart or some others do, was taken as an insult. 

They're right. It was. It was NOT, however, abrogation of the First Amendment by the President. The news was available to everybody, and the press secretary can invite in his office whom he wants.

But these groups are hostile to Trump, to the point where they do create news to fit their narrative. Continuously flogging the Russian story is a case in point. They are trying to create a story where none exists.

This fits the needs of the angry progressive movement and the neocon 'bomb Russia now' faction of the GOP. So, this story fits their narrative, and whether it's true or not means nothing.

Steve Bannon said this would be a war, that they will not give back the country without a fight.

So, this was just a shot in the chops to these media outlets, letting them now just how little he thinks of them. And unless something happens that unites the nation this antipathetic relationship will continue.

CNN, for one, has pretty much decided that 'dumping Trump' is a business model going forward. 

Today's actions were minor. This was all symbolic. But symbols do mean something, and the media is reaping what it sowed. By taking sides, first for Clinton, and second to try to delegitimize a duly elected President, they have painted themselves in a corner.

And Trump has the brush... 

Friday, 24 February:

The President just concluded a stem winder of a speech at the CPAC convention.

It was a familiar tome; he touched on the themes that got him where he is, to an adoring audience. Such was not the case last year when he didn't even attend because of the hostility of the 'neverTrump' neocon wing.

But, as the sage Charles Krauthammer likes to say, 'winning solves everything', which is true. The conservative movement is morphing from a cold, bloodless free trade and accept the consequences while we wage endless war party to a labor friendly populist movement.

It was destined to die; that was one of the projects from the previous administration. They thought they could put the GOP on the rocks, largely through their own supercilious beliefs and feckless behavior.

It was to be an 'assisted suicide', if you will.

But like the overhaul of congress over the last 6 years, Trump spearheaded a movement which much to the dismay of the George Wills and John McCains of the world amounted to a hostile takeover of the GOP.

By doing that, he saved it from becoming the modern equivalent of the Whigs.

So, his return to CPAC as the standard bearer had to be very sweet, indeed. He also took on the media once again, tossing CNN under the bus yet again as the 'Clinton News Network' an old fave, and pointing out the obvious.

They are, for all intents and purposes, the 'opposition party' he claims them to be.

The latest 'scandal' CNN went with, the 'mulitiple sources' that said the FBI resisted pressure from the Trump inner circle to deny (yet another unsourced rumor) that many in his campaign had contacted, or been in contact with Russian intelligence.

The truth, as it is now coming out, is that any contact was incidental; most Russian diplomats are members of the security apparatus. This is no secret.

James Comey and his assistant both assured Reince Priebus that the CNN story was a massive overstatement; a scintilla of truth blown up into a nothingburger balloon.

One more time. Even if it was true it wouldn't mean anything. Diplomacy takes many forms, we are not at a state of war and Russia is an adversary, NOT an enemy. So, CNN takes yet another shot in the chops.

As long as they are determined to chase a narrative they know to be flawed, hoping for some sort of smoking gun to tie the whole silly story together, they will be 'chasing the dragon', just without the opiates... 

 

Thursday, 23 February (Late Edition)

Another day, another half dozen or so events out there; some major some minor, and the never ending 'scandal of the day' from CNN.

Besides the unleashing of Steve Bannon on the political scene; hugely significant in it's own regard, there was quite the panoply of issues. Sessions at AG is making himself known straight away.

The transgendered bathroom issue is going to the Supreme Court next month so they asked for guidelines from the AG's office. 

They got them. The Obama edict that all schools must follow was turned into a suggestion they CAN follow if that state wants to. The Federalism issue raises it's head again, and it's quite the sight seeing progressive pundits twist themselves in ideological pretzels over which law they want to be controlled by the state and which must be a federal mandate.

You want help deporting a criminal alien? Sorry. State's rights says the government cannot force localities to perform functions that are part of the federal apparatus. They're right.

But somehow every state has to have TG bathrooms under Title 9? Forget the notion that biology has been reduced to how one feels that day. Overlook the fact that this is an infinitesimally small number of individuals.

This is somehow a civil right? A human right? This is Orwellian statism disguised as feel good policy. Allowing the state to determine gender by self identification is such a contradiction in terms -can a man go to a female college now if he wears pantyhose?- that is defies all known logic.

It is, by it's very definition, illogic.

Then there is the CNN rumor of the day that has the nasty Russians and Trump overthrowing heroic Hillary; Chapter 17. This day's cliffhanger has 'undisclosed sources' insisting that the Trump crowd tried to get the FBI to admit there was no contact between them and the Rooskies during the campaign. The FBI, suddenly heroic for a moment, declined.

Once again, even if they did, even if sanctions were discussed, and even if both wanted Trump to win none of this is illegal, or criminal in the slightest. Every campaign has had contact with foreign powers.

Obama sent an aide to Russia BEFORE he was elected. Hillary Clinton met with the Red Chinese during her run. You don't hear much about that, do you? 

No, of course not. It not only isn't illegal it's what they SHOULD be doing. You have a very short time to get up to speed in this business; it's zero to 120 on Day One.

This whole thing is a dark fantasy cooked up by the progressives, beyond upset over losing, and the neocon warhawks who desperately want war, with Russia is best but any old war will do.

They created a narrative of Russia hacking, Putin and Trump as buddies, none of which is true, and ran with it. Of course Russia fooled around in our election. We did it to them; Clinton fooled around in Putin's election.

This article from 2015:

http://time.com/4422723/putin-russia-hillary-clinton/

Obama had his campaign people go to Israel to help unseat Netanyahu:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/12/obama-admin-sent-taxpayer-money-oust-netanyahu/

So this is, as the slang would have it, a bunch of crap. It's meaningless, and trying to force Trump into a war or impeach him on treason charges are not only weak but seditious by their own design...

 

 

BREAKING NEWS:

Thursday, 23 February, 13:20 (CDT)

The much awaited interview with Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon just concluded at CPAC. 

It was worth both the watch, and the wait. With the genial Matt Schlapp gently prodding, Chief of Staff Priebus gave the predictable boiler plate fare; how hard they work, the dedication and attention to detail.

Bannon, on the other hand, gave the intellectually honest basis for the 'Alt Right', which in full disclosure the writer of this piece was in on the beginning, back in 2009 at Breitbart. This philosophy; a hybrid of Jeffersonian democracy, Theodore Roosevelt populism and Reagan cold war realpolitik girds the loins of the movement.

It's basis is on the core of the Nation State. Either the United States is a sovereign with defensible borders, a free citizenry that is protected from enemies both foreign and domestic, and has a self serving economy or it isn't.

If it isn't, then what is it? This is the deliberate confusion the globalist movement spreads. Their counter argument to Mr Bannon, sort of goes like this:

There are no borders in this place, all are welcome and goods and services we deem necessary are free to find their own markets. Our own people will be required to obey this; to do with less and yet serve more. Their wealth will have to be redistributed and their freedoms curbed.

They will be given a base sustenance wage of $15 an hour.

The whole notion being one of both 'civil and human rights'. Keep in mind those are originally Marxist approbations whitewashed through the United Nations. This allows a small minority to oppress a majority over what is perceived 'rights violations'

Animal rights groups want to advance rights to animals that could give them the ability to sue those who raise them. This is an insanity, no sentient creature no matter how loving to animals would believe them equal in a courtroom.

These are all clever (alright, maybe not so much as they think) ruses to strip power from the American citizenry. The current news on the transgendered bathrooms is a case in point. As the sage Charles Krauthammer, recently only occasionally right, said 'it was a solution in search of a cause'.

A cure for an unknown sickness. There are very few transgendered people in the country; and advancing the notion that some 14 year old wants to be a girl -or boy- for a day is specious logic at best.

To somehow frame it as a basic human right, which the Trump administration correctly refused, is just ridiculous on it's face. Like wanting to ban fossil fule consumption.

How is your inner city Starbucks going to bring you your latte'? By electric UPS trucks? By solar powered aircraft?

No. Diesel, jet, and gas engine. This is fifth grade stuff.

The progressive movement relies on emotions to advance their agenda, because depriving one's self and family is counterintuitive.

Steve Bannon very simply laid out the intellectual underpinnings. There is a reason why the opposition wants him gone, and why they know how dangerous he is to their visions.

Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHSlhKc_X8Y

 

Thursday, 23 February (AM Edition):

This back and forth between some of the experts on our editorial board was just too important to not publish. First will be the Zerohedge article on Trump vs the Deep State,which raises many interesting points.

Then the response of our senior editor...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-22/conflictual-relationship-between-donald-trump-and-us-deep-state-part-2

Interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 22 February (PM Edition)

The balmy weather out there has done little to temper the efforts of some who are not at all happy with the current political scene. The fact that a certain segment of society can be at full fury 24/7 without a second of self reflection is a sight to behold.

Buoyed by a media that has been the slavish purveyor of progressive ideals for 50 years or more, those disaffected by the recent election seem, at least for now, to have no desire to take a break.

The 45th President was elected for a 4 year term. If he accomplishes half of what he promised he'll win re-election. So, only five weeks into a possible 96 month term it would seem saving one's energy for a more opportune moment just might be an idea.

That does not seem to be the case.

The major networks, cable and print media is throwing raw kerosene on the fire. They feed the protest, which is a mixture of paid protesters and some actual outrage, with one breathless headline after another.

They run the gamut from the EU and Mexico not being happy with a foreign policy that no longer has the US as the sucker in the deal. The EU is testy about being disbanded, and should be.

They made their own bed by letting a bunch of bureacrats in Brussels think they can dictate life to the regular folk. Donald Trump wasn't even on the radar when they started falling apart. Same with NATO, who has nations hiding under the US nuclear shield, paying little or nothing, and taking shots at the US from some sort of lofty plateau of moral superiority.

Mexico doesn't like being held accountable for the criminal way they run their country. It cannot be described any other way. They starve their own people while allowing mega wealthy to pay almost no taxes, turn their backs on the border to border pilgrimage from Central America to the US border, and have ceded whole sections of the country to drug cartels like the Zetas.

Then there's the public outcry, which is largely orchestrated by progressive PAC's.

The impeachment cry is a little more muted, or is it less hysterical? Can't tell. The 25th amendment a nice pipe dream to make the medicine go down a little better. But the overarching theme?

"We lost, we don't accept losing, it isn't our fault and we want our power back'.

As the man says, 'good luck with that'... 

 

Wednesday, 22 February (AM Edition):

The calm before the storm. Or, shall we say the 'newest storm'. That is the expected tweak of the travel ban/extreme vetting that the open borders crowd fears will derail their express train to success.

For them it is a simple equation. Get as many illegal, and poor people in the country as possible, get them on welfare and the voter rolls, and outvote the land owning middle class, which stands in the way of their utopian notions.

This is the 'millions of illegal votes' that the Trump administration refers to. He was, and is right on this. Think about it.

You have millions of illegals in 'sanctuary cities'. They are almost all on some sort of public assistance. California and other states are offering them driver's licenses. Then they have 'motor voter' laws, which allows people to register to vote as they get their license.

Many illegals think that the right to vote comes with the driver's license. Others know better but vote nonetheless. The reason the media is SO adamant that this doesn't happen is because they know damn well it does.

It's part of the Soros funded open borders crowd, it exists, and it's just a matter of how bad it is.

Flat denials are not to be trusted.

So, while immigration simmers -and with it the voting franchise- the other shoe will drop on the travel restrictions. They will offer a new, cleaner executive order while keeping the other lawsuit open.

They want to have that case heard on the merits and to overturn the 9th Circuit. Seeing how egregiously bad the ruling was, that is no surprise. It isn't up to a federal court to be able to ascertain motive in foreign affairs designated solely to the executive.

They never mentioned the law that was appealed in their brief. Their logic was tortured, and overtly political. So, it makes sense to smack down a ruling that is unconstitutional on it's face.

Letting it stand would have repercussions down the road.

The deep state continues to try to push the administration into a conflict with Russia, and perhaps Iran as well. A decent take on it is here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-21/conflictual-relationship-between-donald-trump-and-us-deep-state-part-1

Disagree with the take on the raid, though.

It was not a trap left by the previous administration; just something they didn't want to risk in the final days for political reasons. OpSec was tight, and the Ospreys were spotted on their way in. They flew into hostile fire and had to light the place up.

They did capture reams of raw intel that sources say are 'epic' in quality. But it had collateral damage and that is the source of criticism. It was a risky Op in every regard...

 

Tuesday, 21 February (PM Edition):

Another day, another flurry of activity.

Of all the misleading, and outright dishonest evaluations of the Trump administration's first five weeks is that of 'not getting anything done'.

If you define 'done' by congrssional action, the answer is no. They still do not have the full cabinet in position yet have so far been quite productive, indeed.

Dozens of executive orders have been issued. All of which just codify standing law. This turned loose forces bottled up for 8 years under the previous administration. Border enforcement has turned serious; not in number; they used to do something called 'catch and release' like in a bass fishing contest.

Exactly like that. Catch 'em, weigh 'em, and toss 'em back.

This allowed phony numbers of deportations. The early return here hasn't been large. It's been cold, and that is what has the open borders crowd in panic. The emotional argument of the 'families ripped apart' ameliorated by the tacit embrace of the DACA program.

By using the innocent children of illegals as a fig leaf for supposed 'lack of compassion', the INS and it's various branches can go and get the people that are on their docket. They know where a lot of these people are.

The Chicago Police know exactly where all the gang leaders live. They could haul them in in a couple of well executed raids. It's all in the will to do it.

So, the agencies now are free to conduct their business free of political interference. They've been liberated. Other orders and deregulations have been occurring, and it's now completely obvious that his inner circle had a battle plan from moment #1.

Congessional action will come after the short recess. Healthcare by mid March. They've been plenty busy. It's just not the 'busy' the opposition likes. Ergo, the protests.

The impeachment squawk is still present, although a little less strident. They are starting to get the fact that the Russia business goes nowhere, so that has morphed into blowing off the dust of the 25th amendment.

Adopted back in 1967, it basically deals with succession in case of disability, such as a medical emergency. Few know that Woodrow Wilson was completely incapacitated and his newly minted wife was the de facto President for over a year.

That ain't good. So, eventually this amendment was passed. The vice president would take over, and it requires congress to get two thirds ratification from both houses in 21 days to take effect.

The anti Trump media, and that would mean CNN, MSNBC, the Big Three, and of course the Times and the Post have all of a sudden sort of fallen in love with this idea.

One pundit weighed in this evening on this, with a loving sigh that was really telling. Look, if anyone thinks that the GOP would destroy itself and turn the country over to people they just beat because progressives really, really hate Donald Trump think again.

It has absolutely zero chance of happening. The Logan Act was useless on Mike Flynn, Russia is a tempest in a teapot with no political downside for Trump, and the emoluments clause (accepting bribes or gifts from foreign governments) will NEVER apply to his businesses.

These are all pipe dreams.

His opposition better get serious about a real response, because the  not-too-subtle threat of violence coming from the more unhinged fragments of their coalition will not be received well.

They just don't have either the numbers, nor the people, behind them. Violence will backfire badly. No, they need to get smart.

So far, they are showing no signs of that occurring.

Meanwhile, Trump seizes the initiatives, he has the week booked with immigration reform and the new travel restrictions. This is the shiny toy in the right hand.

The media will follow it like moths to the flame. Meanwhile, Scott Pruitt was quietly confirmed. 

In any other year he is THE fight of the century. Now he's just background chatter. So, it sure seems like someone is getting something done, don't you think?

The other side needs to extract their heads from their rear ends, and soon. They are running headlong into irrelevance right now...

 

Tuesday, 21 February (AM Edition):

As the world awaits the latest move by the Trump administration- this time a reboot of the immigration restrictions- there is a lot of speculation on Trump adviser Steve Bannon. His presence in the inner circle has the progressive movement in apoplexy.

But why? There is a lot of rumor, innuendo and outright character assassination occurring. So, lets start at the beginning. In 2007 Andrew Breitbart, former assistant to Arianna Huffington, started his own website.

Originally a 'Drudge lite', it turned into 'Big Hollywood', which was a libertarian leaning site where the 'staff', as it were was those who tuned in.

The site would have the 'thread of the day', which was essentially an idea or topic, and the readers would be the story. Comments were moderated and evaluated by an outside firm (Intense Debate) and the more 'thumbs up' one received made the reader take them more seriously.

It was now the dark days of the first Obama term. Dispirited conservatives, angry at what Bush 43 left behind, and libertarians desperate for a forum flocked to the site.

It was 3 dimensional; not just politics but pop culture was discussed. Hollywood celebrities like Jon Voight, Michael Moriarty, Dwight Schultz and Gary Graham turned away from liberal orthodoxy to weigh in.

It was a great release. Your humble correspondent was among the early contributors.

Steve Bannon was Breitbart's right hand. He had already led a full life; blue collar roots but self made man. Joined the navy and became a surface warfare officer on the destroyer USS Foster.

He went on to achieve two Master's Degrees. He also dabbled in Hollywood, and in a very fortuitous turn of events got a piece of a then minor success of a TV series. It was called 'Seinfeld', and his share will take care of him forever.

He also was an investment banker, and yes it was Goldman Sachs. But that life was not fulfilling for him. Moving into media was a natural thing, and after he met Breitbart and the two bonded Andrew referred to him as the 'Leni Riefenstahl of Breitbart' after the infamous German filmmaker.

He is generally, along with Breitbart, credited with the creation of the 'Alt Right'. Seeing that the author of this piece is caught up in this 'movement' an explanation of exactly what it means is required.

Simply put, the mainstream conservative movement, the one that followed the Reagan Revolution, had been appropriated by the 'neo conservatives' of William Kristol. This took the protection of Israel, a core conservative belief, and advanced it to the point where US foreign policy became a tool of Zionist expansion.

The destabilization of the Middle East was about dispatching Israel's historic adversaries allowing her to become the regional hegemon.

This became a problem, fully realized by the Bush 43 terms. Endless war, $6 trillion spent and nothing but chaos and terror to show for it. The Obama administration took an opposite course; they backed Iran as the giant in the region.

The 'alt right' is a coalition of libertarians, conservatives and supporters of Israel who stop short of laying waste to a whole region to advance their interests.

It is, along with the Sanders socialist coalition, the only really honest political movement out there. The alt right doesn't believe in the traditional left-right divide, an artificial construct meant to keep people at each other's throats.

The core beliefs are free speech, border and economic security, a far more circumpsect foreign policy, and the rule of law. It favors a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Steve Bannon is one of the architects of this. But not the ONLY one. His voice in the Trump inner circle is important; he is a strategic 'out of the box' thinker. But he isn't a 'Svengali' as hinted by his foes.

The progressive movement has had a solid foothold in US politics since Woodrow Wilson was elelcted. Many in the alt right felt that the 'deal' was about to be closed; that 'progressing past the constitution', long their dream, was almost at hand.

But this coalition, which includes the remains of the tea party, did their due diligence and took back Congress first, then took the GOP in a hostile takeover, and now holds the reins of power.

The opponents feel a need to demonize their foes, and Bannon is the focus of their ire.

But the rest of Trump's cabinet are all on the same page. They reject global rule.

Focusing on Steve, who actually basks in it, is a fool's errand. Just as driving out Mike Flynn. It isn't like they're the only ones who believe this. So do most Americans.

The selection of McMaster as national security adviser is being sold as a 'counterbalance' to Bannon. It isn't.

It's a complement, and this movement is coalescing fast... 

 

Monday. 20 February (Evening Update):

The spin on the McMaster choice has been illustrative so far.

The CNN 'expert' stumbled sideways into the truth; the 'concerns' the 'establishment' (deep state) has that he has to deal with Mephistopheles at Trump's right hand.

The Horned One is Steve Bannon, of course.

A disclosure: The author of this piece was an early Breitbart contributor, knows who Bannon really is, and has had interactions with him. So, the evaluation reflects inside knowedge.

Steve Bannon will be addressed in a stand alone article soon. He deserves an in depth piece.

For now, all that needs to be known is this:

McMaster, a genuine war hero (unlike some who claim that) who not only won the Silver Star but had his exploits chronicled in the excellent series 'Greatest Tank Battles'.

The Battle of 73 Easting during Desert Storm is one of the most amazing armored conflicts in history. Here it is, enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruyXYkh9-mM

He is on the same ideological wavelength as Trump, who retains Kellogg as his 2nd in command.Kellogg and Flynn are close. John Bolton, although a neocon, is damn glad to have the job and be relevant again.

He'll do what he's told. But he does know where all the bodies are buried and can help McMasters navigate the bureaucracy. 

Evaluation:

The foreign policy that Bannon, Flynn and Trump had isn't going away, contrary to neocon desires. Trump will moderate near term geopolitical goals while getting cabinets up to speed.

Mike Flynn isn't disappearing. His counsel will be present. This decision does put the deep state types on their heels a little, because, as the CNN person said, 'he (McMaster) isn't considered ideological' like Bannon would be, of course.

The mistake THEY make is that Trump's designs are much more in line with the military's desires than the progressives or the neocons, who have overdeployed and underfunded them.

So, while McMaster may not be 'political' he is most definitely an America First patriot, as are all of Trump's generals.

All of them. Do not underestimate this...

 

Monday, 20 February (Breaking News):

President Trump settled on a replacement for the embattled MIke Flynn.

Lt. General Herbert Raymond ('HR') McMasters has accepted the position after being one of a small bevy of candidates interviewed by the President at Mar-A-Lago.

He also knows where all the bodies are buried. His sentiments coincide with both the President and his inner circle. Former ambassador John Bolton will be involved in some fashion. This is breaking news and we will have more on this by our evening update...

Monday, 20 February (Early Edition):

Vice President Mike Pence has the unenviable task of addressing NATO and, by default the EU as well in Brussels today.  Fortunately the subject of 'paying your fair share' dominated, and being a bunch of, well, mooches stifles most of the discontent they have.

There is little doubt that they are most unhappy with a Trump presidency.

He represents Brexit, Marine Le Pen and the nascent threat on their titular leader Angela Merkel. Trump also exposes what seems to be Europe's death wish; the rush to admit Islamic hordes who have zero intent of assimilating.

This dovetails the emerging story about Sweden, which Trump pointed out as being in serious trouble the other night. He was mocked for portraying it as an 'incident' that occurred Thursday night.

What is was was a piece on Tucker Carlson's show -guest hosted by Ed Henry- with an acitivist who returned from Sweden with evidence of a failing state replete with rapes and no go zones.

The mocking of Trump subsided quickly, as it turns out he was, once again, right. 

This on Drudge this morning:

http://heatst.com/politics/looks-like-donald-trump-was-right-about-sweden-after-all/

The media is quick to jump on the man for the smallest misstatement. But once again, he's right about the issue. 

John McCain, who is the one looming at the edge of 'unhinged'; not the President, now has to explain what he meant by his statements on the 'free press'.

He hinted darkly that Trump might be a dictator in waiting, just the kind of soundbite the opposition wants from him, and is the ONLY reason they like the guy. He shoots his mouth off, doesn't think, and forgets that he is only a Senator from Arizona.

Criticizing the Commander In Chief, and on foreign soil, too, puts the supposed patriot on very thin ice, indeed. Particularly when he's incorrect.

His criticisms are meant to undermine and he knows it. He is also naked in his desire to see the duly elected president replaced. He doesn't try to hide it.

Mitch McConnell needs to wrangle he, and the other recalcitrant neocons (Rubio, Graham, Sasse) into order or else the party's agenda is doomed. Do they want a successful administration or war with Russia more?

You'll see soon enough...

 

Sunday, 19 February (Weekend Review):

First of all, this piece by veteran SF operator under his nom de plume 'Jeremiah Johnson'. That and the response of our senior editor follows.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-left-right-deep-state-is-one-in-the-same-the-goal-is-the-enslavement-and-complete-control-of-all-of-mankind_02172017

The Reply:

'Jeremiah Johnson' (one of my favorite films, too) is right here for one exception:

Trump's only prayer is to defund them, out them, fire them, and arrest and prosecute as many as he can. Meanwhile he has to deliver all of these domestic promises. He can only do that by dividing the parties.

 

Saturday, 18 February:

Trump is back on a roll.

The Mike Flynn saga, or at least the surface story, is deflating like a blimp in a pine forest.

The backstory is yet to be decided; this will have definite repercussions. But the FBI has already cleared him -they'd better; if any crime was committed it's either they or the NSA did it, not the General-  and the Wall Street Journal story has been pretty much discredited as well.

The now legendary presser from Thursday has had the desired effect; he was so dead on yet absolutley merciless that the whole 4th estate was in shock for at least a day.

Calling out lightweight Don Lemon by not naming him and pointing out his sophomoric facial expressions was classic. His rating may go up but the exposure isn't all good.

People are getting up to speed. Trump has them tuned in.

His campaign stop in Melbourne, Florida was a return to form. Pulling up to an oversize hangar jammed with over 3,000 supporters in Air Force One gave the oversize spectacle it needed.

There were lines a mile long. Crowd size estimates varied from 9 to 20,000. Several thousand organized protesters showed and were asked to leave before he arrived.

It was peaceful, it was enthusiastic, and it was substantive. Lost in some of the campaign style rhetoric was the statement that safe zones in the ME will not only be established but PAID FOR by the arab states.

That was significant. He will also roll out the new immigration policy. The man's mastery of the genre, playing the role of his life ala Reagan, is a sight to see. Whether you like him or not it is difficult not to just admire the sheer bravado of it all.

His detractors see bombast and jingoism. What they miss is that they're right about that but missing the essential point. It's the PT Barnum in him, and it's a natural talent.

Yet despite all the theatricality he does, like the late John McLaughlin used to say, 'stumble headlong into the truth' much more often than not.  But the style is unmistakable New York ward boss ringleader.

He was herding lions just like Barnum and Bailey in their glory days in that press conference.

Underestimate that at your peril...

 

Friday, 17 February (Late Edition):

The week of turbulence settled on a quieter note.

There is little doubt that Trump's press conference changed the tone, if not the subject, of Trump's first month in office. Not even, only 27 days so far.

The media whined loudly as expected, but there does seem to be a scintilla of soul searching and perhaps realization by some that perhaps the man had a point or two.

CNN's Jake Tapper, who has tried to carve a name for himself as a defender of the truth from the Trump assault, like Joe Scarborough and others were forced to face the facts.

They never uttered a word about the Clinton's getting Russia 20% of the US uranium sources.

They didn't care what was in the wiki files on her, just who leaked it to hurt her.

They didn't care about Donna Brazile leaking debate questions.

They didn't care about incidents of collusion with Clinton officials.

They never questioned the pro Islamic tilt of Bennan's CIA.

They never asked to see the details of the Iran deal.

One could go on. But these are facts; you cannot hold one party's feet to the fire and give the other a pass and call yourselves 'journalists'.

It was an unqualified success for the President, who went to Boeing HQ and was treated like a rock star by the employees, the same type of people who gave the Previous Occupant polite applause at best.

This is not lost on them, and today they were much more restrained. Now it's just an administration in 'chaos'. CNN still throws in the evil Rooskies every now and then and of course John MCCain is in Europe treading on sedition.

But what eles is new?...

 

Friday, 17 February (Early edition):

As the dust settles from the epic press conference a couple of observations become obvious.

One, is the sheer mastery of media as theater and how far behind the media really is. The barrage of criticism from them is superficial and self serving. They were taken to the cleaners, didn't like it and react in predictable fashion.

Which is really dumb if you think about it. Trump's base is still THE biggest coalition out there, and it is expanding. Insulting Trump insults them.

They take these attacks personally, and this further reduces the efficacy of the press.

Instead of trying to compromise Trump, which would be the smart long range vision, they double down on the tired Alinsky playbook. Attack, ridicule, marginalize.

Only problem is it is backfiring. It is they who seem small; their feeling bruised by having their agenda exposed. When you have pushed propaganda for 50 years nobody is going to all of a sudden take you seriously after this conduct has been so thoroughly exposed.

Remember, even Democrat voters indicated Trump's coverage was unfair when polled.

The real reason behind all this is they know his populist message can, and will stick if given the chance. Therefore the 24/7 hysteria about every action; the shadow government of the Previous Occupant and his organized PAC, and the media lapdogs in lockstep.

Add the war advocates and you have the entire opposition. Which is busy discrediting itself. The hit job on Flynn engineered by Ben Rhodes, John Brennan and Sally Yates will be fully exposed at some point.

So, too will the fingerprints of the last administration, all the way to the top.

Just a matter of time, which is in Trump's favor, not theirs...

 

Thursday, 19 February (Late Edition update)

So, the chess board changes again.

Seems like Admiral Harward wanted to bring in his 'own' staff, which of course would be career NSC staffers, like the ones trying to undermine the administration currently. This would be a non starter.

It is going to be Trump's foreign policy, not that of establishment regulars, all of which are now, nakedly, angling for war with Russia. Harward himself wasn't the issue. This is pressure put on him by the 'never Trumpers' in the GOP.

Add the Wall Street Journal to this list; they, too, are devoted to the Trump-Russia connection, that even if true is not a reason to rattle sabers. Anything he does going forward vis a vis Russia will be looked at under an electron microscope.

But if war with a nuclear power can be avoided, then you certainly must try it. Trump's best point of the day, one CNN will never bring up is the Clinton uranium deal. You see, nothing really matters to those allied against him.

They will spin whatever they need to to get their desired result. Clinton's malfeasance was, and is, legend. But Trump gets the electoral college victory wrong and he is 'unhinged' and must be replaced asap.

It is laughable. But so eminently predictable.

The short list for national security director is now shorter. Gen Kellogg is still in the mix; the Deep State wants KT MacFarland, and we shall see just who Trump -and Steve Bannon- finds palatable...

 

Thursday, 16 February (Mid day update):

The 45th President of the United States just gave what by any standards was an amazing press conference. Hastily announced, and no doubt his idea, he went into what was a den of lions and for 1 hour and 15 minutes took on everybody and everything.

It was testament and verse to why he won. Critics need to realize this; that instead of living in the bubble and regurgitating progressive talking points you need to address the substance of the man's words.

He is, in every sense of the word, a substantive force. He is hard wired to accomplish things.

A quick perusal of the news outlets and various reactions gets much of the expected response; his base was wildly enthusiastic and the haters -and that's all they can really be called- are just appalled by what occurred.

The rest of the country is still sorting this out. But just from the most basic of observations would indicate that the so-called 'average voter' would have a lot to like here.

The media IS dishonest. It has been for over 50 years. They may not like to hear it, but it's demonstrably true. From when Walter Cronkite declared the Vietnam was 'lost' during the Tet offensive it was contradicted by the biggest military defeat of the war.

After Tet, the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) was a non functioning entity. They were, essentially, wiped out. As was the VC (Viet Cong) later by the Phoenix program. But it was to no avail, because the great Cronkite had spoken.

Since then, the media has been able to frame the argument they wanted. That dynamic has changed. Trump took on all comers, there was palpable hostility, much of it from the Jewish Left who are not happy with the affection Israel and Netanyahu has for Trump and his policies.

They want to paint this picture of Trump supporters as 'anti-Semitic' so he, too can be tarred and feathered. But instead he pointed out that much of this conduct is committed by THEM.

The JDL (Jewish Defense League) was infamous for praying swastikas on cemetery headstones so as to create a story for them to exploit. These are standard tactics of those people.

Thinking Trump, who is a successful Manhattan socialite is 'ant-Semitic' is ridiculous on it's face, and he is surrounded by Jewish people whom he admires. Including his son in law. So this is 'fake news' being shown for what it is.

He wrestled with CNN reporters after calling out there programs as 'hate fests'. They are; it's hard to watch one and not walk away with that conclusion. They are appealing to a certain market, sure.

But it is what it is, and they were exposed for it. This press conference will only help Trump with the people. The media, the Democrats, and the neocon Never Trump crowd won't.

In other words, a net win for him...

 

There is a relative quiet out there.

The media, led by the NY Times and CNN, have been pushing the envelope hard, and the roadblock of illegally leaked intel has gummed up their works. They they show up in the West Wing and expect some love.

They didn't get any. Steve Bannon, who is the next target of the Deep State, saw them out side his office and quipped 'there they are all lined up. The opposition party'.

They were insulted. It must be so because the banner on the cable news was 'Bannon insults reporters'. Poor babies.

One of the networks complained loudly that Trump and his people won't take questions from them, instead 'favoring conservative outlets'.

Which would seem an admission that they are anything but that. The most transparent story in the political universe is the animus the east coast media has for this administration and how invested they are in the nulllification, and then defeat of it.

But they have their feelings bruised by Steve Bannon correctly identifying them for what they are. And the public is getting the uneasy feeling that this Russia bashing just might be counterproductive.

When polled, a large majority say they want better relations with Russia, NOT with the seven failed states that the opposition wants unlimited migration from.

These are polls CNN doesn't show. Not do they show the Reuters or Rasmussen polls that have Trump 50% or over. They like the ones that have him at 36%.

How can they be so disparate, you ask? Easy. It's called 'push polling', which is shaping the questions to achieve a predetermined outcome. Like the exit polls on the Previous Occupant.

They say he left at a 'historic high'. But his aggregate over 8 years was 47.9%, which is not particularly very good. It's behind Bush 43, for example.

The Big Lie is how popular the last guy was. He wasn't, and isn't.

So, Trump will go back to the rally circuit and address an overflow crowd Saturday. He will be riotously well received, which will of course be played down.

But it will give him the bully pulpit to rail on the undemocratic forces allied against him trying to nullify a legitimate election. Trump will not be cowed by them.

He's a New Yorker. They just don't back down, and this fever isn't going to subside anytime soon... 

 

Wednesday, 15 February (Late Update):

There is little doubt that the Trump administration had a tough 48 hours or so.

But the express still continues in spite of it. While the oppostion glories itself in the story it created; the one where Trump and Putin collaborated on defeating a righteous Hillary, the rest of the world's business still goes on.

Trump met with Netanyahu and it was a major success, for both of them. They will have some differences; they are both fervent nationalists. But one could seem some sort of grand bargain taking place.

The ugly backside of the Russia affair, the criminal conduct of the previous administration and it's surrogates is being revealed and the progressive pundits are having to do the qualified approach now.

You cannot avoid the fact that this information was both obtained, and leaked, illegally.

And the rumors of this being a operation headed by Ben Rhodes, former DCI Brennan, and Sally Yates is no longer a rumor. The only question is was the Previous Occupant behind all this? he has been a busy lad since leaving.

Other Presidents retire their PAC's when they move on. Not this fellow. He changed the acronym AND the mission. OFA, or 'Organizing For America; is now Organizing For ACTION.

take a deep breath.  Here's the site; you be the judge.

https://www.ofa.us/

Now, the protests that are supposedly the 'new tea party'? Well, maybe they're not quite so organic after all. Seems the above mentioned organization has 30,000 'members' to dipatch nationwide at a moment's notice.

This is all coming out now. Where it goes is anybody's guess, but it will come to a head at some point. 

Mike Flynn, meanwhile, has been replaced by Vice Admiral Robert Harward, who is not only a former SEAL but he was one of the guys the trainers held up as the best example of how to be one of the very few.

Harward was raised in the Shah's Iran, which is interesting. He remembers a far different country. Speaks Farsi fluently and how he differs from Flynn on Islamic radicalism is yet to be seen.

One thing for certain.

This is one studly cabinet. Not very often can the senior cabinet officials out PT their staff which are easily half their age. Mattis, Kelly and Harward are an impressive lot.

He hasn't agreed to take the job yet. But insiders say he will.

The choice for Labor Secretary, Andy Puzder. withdrew his name today. A little too much baggage, and the slot too low on the feeding chain to fight over.

Tomorrow's another day...

 

In what is a pretty groundshaking admission, the NY Times, one of the Trump administration's harshest critics (and that's being kind) quotes intelligence officials that after all these investigations 'no evidence of collusion with Russia' was found.

Of course not. This was always a fiction floated by the progressives bitter over loss of power, and neocons who want perpetual conflict with Russia until they no longer exist.

All Trump ever wanted to do was make entreaties with them that were in the US national interest. The President is not interested in the current foreign policy which has spent $6 trillion and all it's done is create a vacuum for chaos to reign.

Not to mention the migrant crisis. This policy is indefensible, and all you will get is either silence or lame excuses when you confront a McCain or Graham on it.

The insanity of not just trying to overthrow Assad in Syria to add to the regional instability, but to declare 'no fly zones' in a Russian ally. This was bound to cause an international incident between nuclear powers.

Keep in mind that Russia has only two warm water ports to feed it's nation; one is in Crimea (Sevastapol) and the other in Syria (Tartus).

Depriving the country of either will cause it's collapse. Does the US have the right to do this to a country, or countries with leaders that were fairly popular?

Assad, for all his flaws, had a reasonably stable regime that allowed freedom of religion. Now, Christians are being massacred. That's thanks to the US, and more specifically the previous administration.

This whole issue flies in the face of reality; what you are seeing is the death throes of a establishment that has been wrong for decades and is now being exposed for the crime it is.

If this is all investigated honestly, these truths will come to light...

 

Tuesday, 14 February: (Late Update)

While this was undoubtedly a tough day for the Trump administration it is succeeding in making his adversaries show their hand, and it really isn't very strong.

They did drive out Mike Flynn, and no doubt cocktail glassses are being clinked in tony joints in the Beltway in celebration. The Dubliner is no doubt rocking like it was 2013 and the last fellow was still in charge.

But this victory is coming unwound quickly.

First of all, the sheer bravado of the illegality used to destroy this man is breathtaking. You have multiple felonies being committed by the FBI, the IC, and holdover employees. Many have stated they are using encrypted phones to plan their 'resistance' to the Elected President of the United States.

Not to mention the FBI leaking a call that was illegal to record without the knowledge of the US citizen who MUST be informed and consent to it's release. 

This is not only unconstitutional behavior but it borders on sedition. Then there's the fingerprints of the Previous Occupant all over this organized resistance.

Add to it that Flynn did nothing wrong. Obama had dispatched an aide to Russia BEFORE he was even elected. Legal scholars have said the Logan Act, which has never been prosecuted in the 217 years of it's existence was not violated.

He was doing the duty of an incoming national security adviser, He spoke to dozens of ambassadors all over the world. Discussing an area of importance, like aggressive actions by an outgoing administration is not off limits.

This is a ginned up affair, as Eli Lake says in his excellent piece in Bloomberg called 'The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn'. This was conjured up by Ben Rhodes and others in power back in December.

Flynn was going to expose the Iran deal for the sweetheart to Tehran it was. But Rhodes, the Islamist former DCI Brennan, and James Clapper apparently fed Sally Yates (the fired former asst AG) the incriminating phone call to which she was all ready to take credit for.

Then the backlash started. The FBI, who knew back then did not brief Mike Pence, hung him out to dry which exposed him as being outside of the inner circle. This was an affont to him and Flynn had to take the pipe to save Pence's mojo on Capitol Hill.

In other words, shit got out of hand, as they say. Poor Flynn, as dedicated as any ten men, was humiliated by not only a terrible act but apparently a deeply criminal one, as well.

All of this is going to come out, and the Trump administration can, and will, start calling these perpetrators on to the carpet, and the wailing of 'witch hunt' will be heard loud and clear.

But the real 'witch hunt' is right now, and the real news is coming out. FOX is already all over the criminality issue, and soon the rest of the 'fake news' crowd will be in their solo echo chamber yet again... 

 

The foes of the Trump administration are enjoying their morning coffee for the first time in ages.

After two years of stunning defeats they drew their first blood with the resignation of Mike Flynn. Driving him out of office is more appropriate, and that gives them even more satisfaction.

His policy initiatives ran counter to established US policy of open borders, denying the malevolent intent of Islam, and keeping Russia as a foe to justify expensive military hardware that is of dubious value like the F-35.

The concern now is will this force the President to change course and toe the establishment line? He didn't run to 'be President'; he doesn't care about the trappings of office. He ran to change things, and that means substantially.

The leaks that are undermining his staff so far are criminal, and need to be investigated, But with a serious portion of the GOP 'mainstream' aligned against his policy goals, he isn't going to get much help there.

Trump will have to go over their heads once again, and go to the people. Mike Flynn did nothing wrong other than try to keep his back channel negotitations secret. He did not hurt the American public like Lois Lerner or Eric Holder did.

The sheer level of criminality tolerated by the media from the last administration was mind boggling. With Trump they are like meter maids looking for the smallest violations.

Welcome to Foggy Bottom, Mr President. It's only going to get tougher...

 

The adversaries surrounding the Trump administration got their first real victory today. General Michael Flynn, under severe pressure, handed in his resignation late Monday night.

He, along with adviser Steve Bannon, was a prime target of both the establishment (read: the Deep State)  and progressive groups. His knowledge of the Middle East follies of the last two administrations was complete, and he knew how to run modern ELINT, or electronic intelligence, very well.

Ironically, it was such intel that did him in; (illegal) FBI wiretaps that were (illegally) leaked to the papers owned by those sworn to Trump's defeat. Instead of owning up to them; they were NOT illegal -he did not violate the Logan Act no matter what you hear- he denied them and that proved his undoing.

Make no doubt about it.

He was considered an existential threat by the open borders/endless war crowd; the unholy alliance between progressives and neocons. He wanted to team with Russia to eliminate Islamic terror which is something the Deep State created to cover their destabilization of the region.

It started under Bush 41 and continued through Obama. Hillary Clinton had a big hand in toppling Khaddafi in Libya. Syria was their next target. Russia being the final prize.

Trump wants to stop this. Stop the war, kill the terrorists and stop the mass migration. This runs counter to the desires of the establishment; that's why all you hear is 'you can't build the wall', you 'can't stop Islamic migration' and you 'cannot be friends with Putin and Russia'.

It's a constant 24/7 drone. Those opposing Trump have a short term drive him out of office goal. It isn't much, but it's all they've got. But they now smell blood and will double down yet again.

Just who replaces Flynn will be key. If John McCain likes it, watch out... 

Monday, 13 February: 

The fourth week begins with new challenges as the administration plows ahead.

And make no mistake about it; moving forward constantly is their modus operandi. You don't get stuck that way. The major agenda items are 1) meeting with Trudeau and starting the NAFTA talks, 2) getting the rest of the cabinet secured, and 3) tamping down the Apache-like raids on Mike Flynn's scalp.

Trudeau, who has shown himself to be both clueless and tone deaf (he took an expensive vacation from a donor within weeks of his swearing in) is in for a rude awakening as the niceties of political speech will be dicarded for hard negotiations with a serious Trump administration.

The big stumbling block will be the contrasting immigration policies. They couldn't be farther apart on this issue. So there will be some items of contention. The world will see just how smart Trudeau is -or isn't.

The cabinet is in more or less good shape; the only one who may have difficulty is Andrew Puzder at Labor. He has some financial concerns and the former nanny/illegal alien thing that plagues these people.

He was a little reluctant to take the position in the first place, and could just pack it in if this gets too deeply personal. It's unlikely, though. Figure him at about 75% in the fold.

Mike Flynn?

No matter what you hear from the media, and FOX has joined the neocon screams for his head as well, he was at Mar A Lago with the President and Japanese Prime Ministe Abe and was seated at the table with them.

Trump will only dispense with his services if this turns into a complete political liability for him, and considering his opponents are throwing the kitchen sink at him Flynn just might very well survive this.

Listening to Bernie Sanders and Al Franken call Mr Trump 'mentally ill' and a 'pathological liar' is rich; they must not have any mirrors in their homes. And as far as mental illness goes, running at the mouth endlessly, being foul and emotional, and being in a state of endless rant doesn't speak well for anybody's mental health...

Happy Sunday!

The Trump administration is in it's first fully developed crisis mode. It isn't as serious as the media would like one to think, but there is a confluence of events.

First of all, Iran and N Korea are letting them know that they are both 1) still there, and 2) want attention. These were always predictable as Trump is moved closer to Israel by his son in law Jared Kushner, and the Red Chinese, unhappy with the lack of a clear 'one China policy' and the buddy show with Japan's Abe get their proxy in Pyonyang to launch a missile.

Second, the desire for his foes to 'get a scalp' is in the obsessive stage.

They really want Steve Bannon, would love to get Mike Flynn but will settle for either Kelly Anne Conway or Sean Spicer. They want a victory, badly. No matter how they spin the 9th Circuit it is NO victory.

It's provably bad law, and they now own any attack. Not to mention it solidified Trump's appeal to that segment of his base, which was restless about the DACA soft soaping.

An unnamed judge on the 9th wants to have an 'en banc' decision which would include 11 judges. No stated reason was given but it seems that they know their credibility, which with an 80% rate of rejection by the Supreme Court, is dubious anyway.

The three jurists did not exactly acquit themselves; indeed it was a subpar presentation by the B team at DoJ that helped them make their really questionable decision. You don't look for reasons of motivation to intrude on the duty of the executive.

They face a humiliation in the Supreme Court in spite of what you hear about the 4-4 tie. This is just a political decision made by jurists who favor open borders and unlimited immigration.

This week will have some interesting twists on all this...

 

11 February:

The Week in Review

The media, and their allies drew a little blood from the Trump elephant this week. Not much, nothing fatal, but a few minor wounds were inflicted.

The major blow was to General Michael Flynn, who next to Steve Bannon is the top target for Trump's adversaries. He is an ardent foe of Islamic radicals, which threatens the open borders crowd, and sees Russia as a potential ally.

That hacks off the neocon alliance which wants -badly- war with Russia. So, he has enemies. The IC is tapping the phone at the Oval Office and leaking transcripts to the NY Times and Washington Post, both owned by sworn opponents of the Trump administration.

Flynn is Trump's foreign policy expert. His expertise is highly valued.

The supposed crime he committed, violating the Logan Act is laughable. As Alan Dershowitz pointed out, if that was the case, Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson should have had adjoining prison cells.

Flynn spoke to the Russian ambassador just as Obama was busy making things as difficult on the incoming crowd as he could. The last minute sanctions were, quite frankly, gratutitous.

So, the incoming national security adviser speaks to the Russian ambassador, which is basically doing his job. He is no civilian, and the Logan Act doesn't apply. But the coalition that wants war with Russia ran with this, and Flynn apparently wasn't transparent about a call he thought was secure.

They want to drive him out with this. That isn't going to happen.

The Nordstrom thing is a big, fat zero. KellyAnne Conway, another scalp they would love to have, will survive as well. Sean Spicer isn't going away either. These are all rumors meant to show an administration in disarray.

That's the media narrative right now, and isn't going to change any time soon...

The 9th Circuit Decision

This legal decision, which was expected but still sort of breathtaking in it's lack of judicial prudence, plays right into the hands of the President.

The public has been read the law, which is very clear. They have seen the ruling, which is specious in both law and logic. It exposes the open borders agenda, rallies Trump's base on immigration, and just begs to be overturned.

The 9th Circuit is overturned EIGHTY PERCENT of the time. That would seem to indicate a lot more judicial activism and a whole lot less reading of the Constitution.

It's always kind of a hoot to hear the progressive movement, which holds the constitution in contempt, all of a sudden start claiming it as a sacred document, just like their newfound love of Federalism and the 10th amendment.

Better late than never, one supposes.

But this is a classic case of winning by losing, and once again Trump is in good stead...