April 7th - 8th 2017
Day 148-149 since the Nov 8th election and days 78-79 since the Jan 20th inauguration of no45.
Still a shit show with a shit sandwich.
Rich Boy Jared Wore A Blazer To A War Zone And Twitter Can’t Stop Laughing At Him
You’ve probably seen the pictures by now of Jared Kushner in Iraq, acting as an “envoy” on behalf of his Fake Tan Father-in-Law. Dressed up in a flak jacket over his blazer and khakis, Kushner was the picture of privilege as he was given a tour of the desert by the soldiers on the ground there.
Louise Mensch
Here's the photo from #RSchooley 102st Fighting Ivies" please @ me w yr caption and #KushnerAtWar
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For some reason, Kushner appears to be traveling with three other yuppie-looking assholes dressed exactly like him. It’s hard to imagine how well top-siders keep the dust off the bottom of your chinos, but at least the four tourists wouldn’t look dirty unless they spilled champagne on their matching navy single-breasted jackets.
The tweeter above, @LouiseMensch, thought the pictures that made their way across the internet of the Kush Gang rolling with the 18th Airborne were funny enough to start a hashtag, and Twitter did not disappoint. Mensch herself had plenty of good suggestions for #KushnerAtWar, a hashtag playing on movie titles:
Louise Mensch
#KushnerAtWar
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Louise Mensch
#KushnerAtWar
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Louise Mensch
#KushnerAtWar
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Plenty of other tweeters got in on the fun, as well:
Kaivan Shroff @KaivanShroff
Wonder Boy and The Botched Photo-Op, Sponsored by Pepsi #KushnerAtWar
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GAUTAM TANDON @TheGautamTandon
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Rob Bell @robdbell3
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Meadow Sunshine @meadow_sunshine
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Cindy @readercindyj
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Kushner’s sunny adventures in the Middle East reminded others of another faux-soldier…
Red T Raccoon @RedTRaccoon
#KushnerAtWar
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…And even spawned a parody account of “Buster Kushner” playing on the same joke:
Buster Kushner @kushnerbuster
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Buster Kushner @kushnerbuster
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Buster Kushner @kushnerbuster
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size=0 width="100%" noshade style='color:black' align=center>
The hashtag party is still going, and besides, we’ll never get tired of laughing at rich people pretending to understand what war or sacrifice is about. If you think of any more to add, make sure you use the hashtag #KushnerAtWar, and @ us alongside the creator — we’re @LeftWingNation.
Tech reporter at ThinkProgress. Get at me: lwilliams@thinkprogress.org.
Apr 9
Sorry, the rich asshole. Rubio says ‘Mexico’s not going to pay for the wall’
Despite the rich asshole’s campaign promises, there was “no conversation” on a border wall in recent state meetings with Mexico.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had “no conversation” with Mexican officials about whether the country would pay for President some rich asshole’s promised southern border wall, despite the rich asshole’s campaign promises.
In Sunday’s interview on ABC’s “This Week,” anchor George Stephanopoulous asked Tillerson whether the wall came up during his meeting at the State Department with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray last week.
“We had no conversation about that issue,” Tillerson said. “We have had, I think, very productive talks around actions that can be taken to slow and stem and discourage transmigration of people coming from Central America through Mexico and entering the United States.”
When pressed on the matter, Tillerson flatly stated that the wall isn’t a topic of conversation for him and Vidergaray. “It’s just not part of our discussions between the foreign minister and myself,” he said.
But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said the topic wasn’t off limits for him. During a separate interview on ABC Sunday, Rubio said that in his meetings, the wall did come up — and that Mexico refuses to pay for it but the United States should.
“Let me just say, Mexico’s not going to pay for the wall. And, by the way, America should, if we believe that’s in our national interests to do so,” the Florida senator told Stephanopoulous.
“I think they have a real interest in their border security, in their southern border,” Rubio continued, naming El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as sources of migration. “Mexico’s as much a transit point now as it is a source of origin for people coming into the United States.”
While Rubio and Tillerson positively described their meetings with Mexican officials, Rubio’s statement that the United States should pay for a reinforced U.S.-Mexico border wall signals that the rich asshole could be headed for a major concession on one of his chief campaign promises.
the rich asshole has already run into roadblocks on the wall front. In February, the rich asshole had to face the fact that his “big, beautiful wall” would cost more than he expected — about $21.6 billion . the rich asshole originally estimated the wall would cost $12 billion and insisted on lowering the estimated cost.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified during a congressional hearing last week that the wall’s physical reach would be limited.
“It’s unlikely that we will build a wall or physical barrier from sea to shining sea,” Kelly said. “But … I’m committed to putting it where the men and women [in immigration and border enforcement] say we should put it.”
SNL Mocked the rich asshole Supporters And They Are Boycotting The Show, Y’all!
SNL’s cold open last night treated us to another performance of Alec Baldwin mocking the stupidity of some rich asshole. Only this time, the show openly mocked Trumpers, too. It was a sight to be seen and one that has certainly wadded the underpants of a few of the rich asshole’s most ardent supporters.
Oh, they are angry guys and they are going to do what people do when they are angry. . . BOYCOTT!
Yeah, that’s right. Just like they are giving up shopping at Nordstrom, which btw, has ZERO stores in West Virginia, they are going to stop watching Saturday Night Live – a show they likely never watched to begin with.
First, we have to talk about this guy, though. While yes, he is calling for a boycott of SNL, his tweet was all about Lawrence O’Donnell. He does realize Lawrence O’Donnell is an actual journalist on a cable news station and Saturday Night Live is a comedy show, right? He knows that, right? And, knows the difference?
Mystery_Tramp @Mystery_Tramp
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OMG, I don’t think he does.
Now, on with the rest. . .
Michael Johnson @golf247golf
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#CrushtheRebellion @rockhound106
How the hell is #snl #snlblows
“I don’t know how SNL is still on the air but I can rage-tweet the moment they air something. Boycott!!”
🇺🇸 Katie Kash🇺🇸 @KashDeplorable
All of you are so bias! You need to quit bashing our President! Just proves you are asking permission for your libtard skits! #Boycott #SNL
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Umm, what?
J.H. @fast782
@realDonaldTrump show 4 making jokes about Obama. Boycott Lying NBC & SNL,4 there Continuing Satire of our President Trump
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LOL I have no words and he can’t spell them. See, if you look hard enough you can find common ground with anyone – even a Trumper.
‘This can’t be good for America’:GOP lawmakers are taking the lead in stopping the rich asshole’s border wall
Some rich asshole’s plan to build a wall along the U.S. and Mexico border is running into a wall of its own as GOP lawmakers are taking a lead in opposing the expenditure as well as the taking of land from angry constituents.
According to The Hill is over and the reality of the expensive boondoggle is staring them in the face.
Republicans in the border states of Arizona and Texas are coming out against the wall, saying the expense may not be worth it, that it will affect trade with Mexico, and they’re looking out for the taxpayer.
Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) represent districts that span almost 900 miles of the border where the rich asshole’s wall would be built, and now question the expense despite the jobs it would create for their constituents.
“We recognize the need for robust border security and infrastructure to ensure public safety and increase cross border commerce,” the Republicans stated in a letter to the White House. “We also have an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
At a recent Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Arizona Senator John McCain (R) also expressed concern on the how the border fence would affect relations with a major U.S. trading partner to the south.
“There is a lot of anti-American sentiment in Mexico. If the election were tomorrow in Mexico, you’d probably have a left-wing, anti-American president in Mexico. That can’t be good for America,” McCain told Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who agreed it would be bad for both countries.
In a recent CNN report examining the impact that the wall would have along the southern border, the rich asshole supporters expressed dismay that construction of the wall could have a major impact inn their lives, with one woman stating she would get a lawyer after discovering her home could end up on the Mexico side
No 45 just attacked Syria over a gas attack that Syria committed.
Syria has an ally in Russia.
Did we not learn from Iraq?
some rich asshole 'considering sacking Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus' as simmering West Wing feud engulfs White House
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8 APRIL 2017 • 2:20AM
D onald the rich asshole is considering a major shake-up of his top team, with both Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus reportedly facing "reassignment", amid intense in-fighting inside the White House.
The relationship between the far-Right former media executive and the president's son-in-law, has deteriorated to the point of "breakdown", several sources said.
The two clashed over the decision of whether or not to launch Friday's early morning air strikes against the Syrian regime, with Mr Bannon firmly stating intervention did not advance Mr the rich asshole's " America First" doctrine, sources said.
The fact the air strikes went ahead was seen as evidence of the waning influence of Mr Bannon, who, at the culmination of the election campaign and early days of the presidency, had seemed untouchable.
Mr Bannon, who was removed from the National Security Committee on Wednesday, reportedly "growled" at Mr Kushner earlier this week: “Here’s the reason there’s no middle ground. You’re a Democrat.”
Less than 100 days into his tumultuous presidency, Mr the rich asshole is also said to be unimpressed with Mr Priebus's performance as chief of staff.
The sackings of Mr Priebus and Mr Bannon are a matter of “when” not “whether”, Axios
If Mr the rich asshole were to sack both his chief of staff and chief strategist, it would be a huge upheaval for the nascent administration, still reeling after Michael Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser over his ties to Moscow and the lingering question of Russia's alleged meddling in last November's presidential election.
A White House spokesman said the reports of the shake-up were "completely false", while a separate source reportedly said it remained "very unclear the president's willing to pull that trigger”.
However, there seems little doubt that there is a schism among the president's senior advisers. "The tension, the exhaustion, the raw nerves have gotten much harder to disguise," an unnamed White House insider said.
The president himself must take some responsibility for the infighting if reports are true that he encourages competition among his staff and even asked friends to rate the performance of his top aides following the failure of his healthcare reform last month.
On one side of the divide is "the nationalists" - the anti-Establishment Bannon faction, intent on reinforcing America's borders and strengthening the police. On the other, stand "the Democrats", led by the Kushners, who are more moderate and are credited, among other things, with persuading Mr the rich asshole not to target Barack Obama's LGBT rights reforms.
It is an “open secret” that Mr Bannon and Mr Kushner despise each other, reports said, and that the pair often clash “face-to-face”.
It is a far cry from the campaign trail. “During the campaign and transition, they had an almost uncle-nephew thing going,” a source close to Bannon told New York Magazine
Mr Bannon apparently called Mr Kushner a "cuck" this week - an offensive term adopted by white supremacy to suggest weakness with racist connotations of a man having his white wife cheating on him with a black man.
The former head of Brietbart, the far-Right news organisation, also apparently refers to Mr Kushner, the 36-year-old New York real estate developer and his wife as “the Democrats,” “the New Yorkers” or “Goldman”.
There have even been suggestions that Mr Kushner and Ms the rich asshole's orthodox Jewish faith has been exploited within the White House. Some of the president's more extreme pronouncements, such as his anti-Muslim “travel ban”, have been announced on a Friday evening - after the couple had left work to observe Shabbat.
Mr Kushner, who has been nicknamed the "the rich asshole whisperer" for his apparent ability to soothe the president, believes that Mr Bannon is contributing to Mr the rich asshole's historically low approval ratings.
He is in regular contact with Joe Scarborough the MSNBC host, Roger Stone, a former adviser to Mr the rich asshole claimed. Scarborough, on his show Morning Joe, is a prominent critic of Mr Bannon.
The chief strategist's removal from the NSC and reports about him facing "reassignment" contrast strikingly with Mr Kushner enjoying an expanded brief, going on foreign trips, such as to Iraq earlier this week, and taking his place at a state banquet on Thursday evening next to Peng Liyuan, the Chinese first lady.
For now, the unseemly tug-of-war within the West Wing is looking one-sided.
Syrian Military Knew Ahead Of Time About U.S. Strike
According to an eye-witness, Syria anticipated the U.S. strike on the Shayrat air base. They evacuated the site and moved equipment before the missiles hit.
On Thursday night, some rich asshole launched an attack on Syria firing more than 50 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat air base near Homs. The attack was mostly a symbolic gesture in response to Assad using chemical weapons on his own people, killing 86, including dozens of children earlier this week.
The U.S. strike damaged runways, towers and traffic control buildings. A Syrian Army spokesman announced on State TV Friday that several people were hurt in the attack and six people were killed.
Both of the base’s runways were hit along with several fortified bunkers. Some out-of-service planes were also damaged.
But what was the rich asshole’s real motive for this strike? Based on everything we’ve seen and heard from the rich asshole so far it’s hard to imagine that this was about morality.
“Syrian military officials appeared to anticipate Thursday night’s raid on Syria’s Shayrat air base, evacuating personnel and moving equipment ahead of the strike, according to an eyewitness.”
So this begs the question, who tipped off Syria? And why?
the rich asshole warned Russia ahead of the attack. Did Russia then warn Assad? Did we warn Assad?
Former National Security Adviser Richard Clarke said,
“This attack on one air base seems more symbolic. I think Secretary of Defense [General] James Mattis gave the president a list of options, this being the smallest. It was a targeted attack not designed to overwhelm the Syrian military … I think the president was trying to differentiate himself from his predecessor.”
Here’s the thing. Assad gassing children is not ok. the rich asshole’s strike last night might have been the right thing to do. If Obama had done it, I likely would’ve supported it. But there’s a big difference. For one, Obama went to Congress to get authority to strike. the rich asshole acted unilaterally.
But more importantly, I trusted Obama. Whether the rich asshole did the right thing this time or not, I don’t trust him. I don’t trust anything he does. I don’t trust his competence or his motives. And I really don’t trust that he’s not going to get innocent people killed.
This just doesn’t feel right. It’s sketchy that both Russia and Assad were warned ahead of time. Was this a stunt to improve the rich asshole’s terrible poll numbers? Was it a move to change the subject from the rich asshole’s collusion with Russia?
Maybe I’m being too cynical. I hope I’m wrong. But this just really feels like a wag the dog moment. And that scares the hell out of me.
These Pictures of Syrian Airstrip After the rich asshole Attack will Piss You the F**k Off
Did The Rich Asshole Really Destroy Anything?
some rich asshole bombed a Syrian airbase, Thursday, after innocent civilians were killed by nerve gas 59 Tomahawk
The first images emerging from people who are there show–well–a different kind of story. The Washington Post years, and has documented life among Russian troops in places like Aleppo.
Let’s start with the runway. Taking out a runway is a cost effective military objective. It renders an entire airbase useless for as long as it takes the forces stationed there to rebuild the runway. What did the rich asshole’s attack do to Syria’s runway?
Wow! The Syrian army might need to use a broom to make that runway operational again. Cruise missiles really don’t miss their target. This means that at least this visible stretch of runway was not targeted.
What about the fighter aircraft? Surely the rich asshole decimated those. He must have made sure that the jets bombing innocent people could never take flight again.
That’s an aircraft, totally unscathed, in its hangar, after the rich asshole bombed the airbase.
The Instagram feed does show one destroyed hangar and airplane. So it’s not as if there was no damage at all.
But there was so little damage to this airbase that, as Foreign Policy Stratfor
the rich asshole ordered a military attack against Syria that did not accomplish any tangible military objective. As the results demonstrate, this attack was merely for show.
Is The Syria Airstrike And Russian Response All Just A Distraction? (Video)
the rich asshole has always gushed about Russia met their goal another story emerges
“If there was a way for him to kill the narrative that he’s in bed with Putin, it would be this. Take on Putin’s warm freshwater port [in Tartus], take on his satellite, his loyal ally Assad. And that would be a way of saying I was never in bed with this guy, I never planned any kind of coalition in Moscow.”
What could support such a statement? And why would he ask that?
Russia would have us believe that relations with this White House have suddenly pivoted to incredibly cold. the rich asshole went behind Congress’s back on the verge of a military clash
Why does this feel so very manufactured, and designed purely to distract? Medvedev said the missile strike is “really sad for our now completely ruined relations” with the U.S. and “good news for terrorists.”
Really? Completely ruined relations in one day after Russia spent a year (at least) hacking our elections to place the rich asshole where he is now? It doesn’t come across as authentic, especially given the fact that we know Russia concocts fake news stories
“This military action is a clear indication of the US President’s extreme dependency on the opinion of the Washington establishment, the one that the new president strongly criticized in his inauguration speech.”
And here we seem to have the exact same talking point about the establishment that Donald’s white supremacy buddies are mirroring today. Mike Cernovich and Alex Jones and the conspiracy-theory sites they frequent seem to be turning on the rich asshole in the exact same way as the Russian Prime Minister. See the tweet from the Washington Post below:
"I’m officially off the the rich asshole Train": the rich asshole’s online base is furious about the Syria strikes https://t.co/CqXgdYXtzk
Overnight, the hashtag of #SyriaHoax trended. To the conspiracy theory lovers, the conflict in Syria today was a fabricated “false flag” event. They blame the U.S. deep state
Yet their blame placed on the deep state, that is, those in a sort of “shadow government” of Obama holdovers, seems especially misguided, considering that the event in Syria seems to actually be perfectly crafted to redirect attention away from other news. Who benefits? The Washington establishment or the rich asshole?
Are we to really believe that tensions with Russia are authentically escalated now, or is this all more propaganda? After all, Russian forces were given 90 minutes notice
All the "civilized nations" he didn't tell in advance. But he did brief the Russians. And if he didn't tell State Dept who's this "us?" https://t.co/rcjfwNYTea
As reporter Seth Abramson reported on Twitter:
“the rich asshole and Putin can now look like they’re at odds—helpful for Russiagate—when in fact the rich asshole’s ineffective strike didn’t harm Putin.”
(BONUS) the rich asshole and Putin can now look like they're at odds—helpful for Russiagate—when in fact the rich asshole's ineffective strike didn't harm Putin. pic.twitter.com/MSgrpdza7q
Abramson unleashed another tweetstorm today, making the argument that the event last night in Syria was ineffectual and merely an “empty political gesture.”
(THREAD) The evidence that the rich asshole's completely ineffectual military strike on Syria was just an empty political gesture is now overwhelming. pic.twitter.com/hI6sBgIQX1
All of this smacks of another panicked attempt
For those who point to the rich asshole’s attack as a noble gesture to strike a man who poisoned his own citizens, won’t take Syrian refugees,
Both Russia and Syria can claim this move emboldens terrorists,
How much more instability can we take before we find out the truth about collusion with Russia? No matter what the rich asshole does next, we must stay focused. #resist
(8) The strikes successfully pushed Russiagate coverage off the front page. We were talking about Nunes and Kushner scandals, now we're not. pic.twitter.com/4dBbAGFoEu
U.S. opens new military front in Syria, launching cruise missiles against Assad's forces
The Pentagon launched more than 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base late Thursday in retaliation for a gruesome poison gas attack this week that U.S. officials said was carried out by President Bashar Assad’s forces.
the rich asshole authorized the attack after he was briefed by Defense Secretary James N. Mattis in Palm Beach, Fla., where the president is hosting visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Two Navy destroyers patrolling in the eastern Mediterranean Sea fired lethal salvos of Tomahawk cruise missiles into eastern Syria from hundreds of miles offshore, well out of range of Syrian air defenses, according to U.S. officials.
The target was Shayrat airfield, with two runways in western Syria that were used by Assad's warplanes to launch a chemical attack Tuesday against civilians in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikoun, the officials said.
Targets included aircraft, fuel and weapons depots, and command and control facilities in Assad's stronghold, officials said. Pentagon officials said they were assessing the results of the strikes, adding that there were no plans for additional strikes Thursday.
The attack marks the first time the U.S. has deliberately targeted Assad's military in Syria's multi-sided civil war, now in its seventh year. Until now, the U.S. has focused only on targeting Islamic State militants.
April 5th 6 2017
Days 146-147 since the Nov 8th 2016 election and days 76-77 since the Jan 20th inaguration and No45 has been in office.
Oh, happy day!!
Bannon is kicked off the NSC but make no mistake, as long as he is in the WH, he is dangerous and needs to be put out.
Twitter alleges the rich asshole administration tried to unmask critical account
Twitter filed a lawsuit against the the rich asshole administration on Thursday alleging that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials had tried to get the company to reveal the identity of an anonymous account that has been critical of the agency.
The lawsuit alleges CBP agents issued an administrative summons to Twitter asking it to reveal the identity of the user @ALT_uscis, an account that has been critical of the administration and specifically the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and claims to be run by a government employee.
Both CBP and USCIS are part of the Department of Homeland Security, which is named in the lawsuit.
Shortly after the news broke, @ALT_uscis posted a screenshot of the First Amendment.
According to the lawsuit, CBP agents Adam Hoffman and Stephen Caruso sent the administrative summons to Twitter on March 14, saying that the company was “required to turn over “[a]ll records regarding the [T]witter account @ALT_USCIS to include, User names, account login, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and I.P. addresses.”
- This story was updated at 5:10 p.m.
There’s a reason Trump hates CNN, and it’s been obvious for a long time. However, what many may not know is exactly why CNN’s negative coverage gets under his skin so badly. It turns out that he believes CNN owes him for putting their current president, Jeff Zucker, in place. When the network released the “Access Hollywood” tapes in which Trump admitted to sexually assaulting women, and then followed that up with increasingly bad coverage, he saw it as an act of betrayal.
“Jeff — Too bad you (CNN) couldn’t be honest with how well I did in the debate. The dumbest thing I ever did was get you the job at CNN — you are the most disloyal person. Just remember, I always seem to find a way to get even. Best wishes, Donald J. Trump.”
Yep. “You are the most disloyal person.” Trump literally believes that Zucker should reward him with favorable coverage throughout…what…the rest of his career, or his whole career in politics, or something. Maybe he expected CNN to just ignore all the heinous things he does because he was so awesome to them way back.
[T]he only thing better than having Donald Trump on your network is having him attack it. Far from hurting CNN, Trump’s war against it has amounted to a form of product placement — ‘earned media,’ you could say — giving its anchors and correspondents starring roles in the ongoing political drama, turning them into camera-ready warriors for the First Amendment.
In 2016, CNN made nearly $1 billion, which was the network’s most profitable year ever. They’re on track to beat that for 2017 already, and it’s only April. Zucker’s on a hiring spree. They’re getting some huge scoops. The list of good fortune goes on.
So revenge? It’s backfired on Trump horrifically.
CNN disagrees that Trump’s 2012 lobbying had any effect on their decision to give Zucker the top position, and it wouldn’t be surprising to find that they’re actually telling the truth. Trump is a narcissist who believes he has far more influence over everyone than he does.
Bannon's removal from the NSC is a huge blow to his prestige and the mythology surrounding his power, and the Alt-Right movement will be acutely aware of what this means.
According to Bloomberg
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was given responsibility for setting the agenda for meetings of the NSC or the Homeland Security
Council,
and was authorized to delegate that authority to Bossert, at his discretion,
according to the filing.
Under the move, the national intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, are again "regular attendees" of the NSC’s principals committee.
Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was elevated to the National Security Council’s principals committee at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. The move drew criticism from some members of Congress and Washington’s foreign policy establishment.
A White House official said that Bannon was placed on the committee in part to monitor Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and never attended a meeting. He’s no longer needed with McMaster in charge of the council, the official said.
The official explanation as to why he was removed doesn't make any sense given Bannon's position on the committee was clearly created to politicize it reported attempts from from the NSC all the more understandable.
Trump's decision to place a political advisor with no government experience on the NSC was unprecedented and was an alarming overture to Washington that the line between basic governance and Trump's new Alt-Right ideology was going to become obsolete. But as Bannon's influence created disastrous results for Trump in the real world (think the immigration ban), those close to the president have no doubt been urging him to steer clear of the nationalist guru whose fan base elected him.
According to the Alt Right fan site Bannon used to run, Breitbart.com, (and no, we're not linking to them), Bannon was privately highly critical of Trump's health care policy given it was essentially a giveaway to the insurance industry. Bannon is no corporate Republican and has been trying to implement his vision of a quasi fascist/nationalist economic system that free market establishment Republicans are repulsed by. Kushner and other more rational advisors to the president know that Republicans will not stand by idly as Bannon attempts to enact his agenda and will have almost certainly lobbied to take away as much power from Bannon as possible. His removal from the NSC is a huge blow to his prestige and the mythology surrounding his power, and the Alt-Right movement will be acutely aware of what this means.
Trump was elected on a platform of economic populism and xenophobia towards immigrants and Muslims. He has made almost no progress on any of these fronts and is finding out the difficulties of passing legislation in a political system designed to prevent radical change. Bannon's extremism may have been a plus on the campaign trail, but in Washington D.C it is a serious liability and his influence over Trump is waning by the day.
The Alt-Right aren't exactly a forgiving bunch and despite their unyielding allegiance to Trump they'll jump ship as soon as they begin to understand he never cared about them in the first place.
“Bekah tried to convince him that this is a long-term play,” another person familiar involved with the situation confirmed.
Mercer’s family is a major investor in Breitbart News, the right-wing site Bannon once led. She also became a quick supporter of Trump during the 2016 campaign. Bannon also served as vice president for Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics firm that is largely owned by Mercer’s family along with Bannon.
The White House told Politico
You have no one to blame but yourself. You knew he was going to deport people like your husband but you didn't care because you thought it didn't affect you personally.
Typical GOP supporter.
Roberto Beristain, an undocumented immigrant whose American wife voted for Donald Trump last year, has been deported to Mexico.
Beristain, who was a resident of Granger, Ind., and owner of the popular Eddie’s Steak Shed restaurant, was deported despite pleas from both his family and from local government officials, who lauded him as a model citizen who never broke any laws.
Even though Beristain came to the United States illegally in 1998, he later obtained documentation to legally work in the country while regularly checking in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Beristain’s wife, Helen, last month told Indiana Public Media
“[Trump] did say the good people would not be deported, the good people would be checked,” she explained.
Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s chief strategist, threatened to quit over the president’s decision to demote him on the National Security Council, the New York Times
According to a new report, Bannon “resisted the move” and threatened to leave the team if the change was implemented, despite a White House official presenting the decision to as a natural progression, rather than a demotion.
I'm guessing Bannon is a snowflake after all.
By Sarah 2017 6:19 pm ·
Never shy to speak her mind, Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines has clearly had enough of some rich asshole’s shenanigans, and over the last several days, she has really been heating up her attacks.
Not to go back too far, but let’s take a look from about mid-March on. Clearly not holding back, she posts this:
I just love T.I.'s use of alliteration in his poetry;)
Then this:
And this:
"Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them, Donald Trump invents them."
Then Maines asks the rich asshole a question that we’d really all like answered:
“Well, [the rich asshole], how do you see this all ending?I put my money on you being a quitter and blaming everybody else for it.”
Well @realDonaldTrump
And then goes on to mock him:
Then things got a little deep. Maines wrote:
“Do you ever feel like you can’t escape the person that brings out the worst in you? [some rich asshole] you’re mine and I hate you for it.”
Do you ever feel like you can't escape the person that brings out the worst in you? @realDonaldTrump
And something we’ve all thought. Well, those of us with souls and a conscience, both of which the rich asshole seems to lack:
straight. I need you to care.
She didn’t stop there:
I beg you @realDonaldTrump
That's what will make you a good human being that stops tweeting hatred and discrimination at 4AM.@realDonaldTrump
Just do right by human beings. If you take $$ out of the equation, the same basic things bring every human happiness. @realDonaldTrump
That implies that the rich asshole is actually human, and that has still yet to be determined. The man lies with no remorse, surrounds himself with only folks who agree with him, and actually thinks that he’s doing a good job. How can we convince him otherwise if he’s so absorbed within himself? It may not even be possible.
However, we thank you for trying, Natalie! Somebody has to.
‘Bannon got cannoned!’: Gleeful internet celebrates Steve Bannon getting kicked off NSC
News broke on Tuesday morning that top Trump political strategist Steve Bannon had been kicked off the National Security Council — and the internet wasted no time celebrating.
Bannon, a controversial figure who once boasted about transforming Breitbart News
Given this, it’s not surprising that news of his ouster was greeted with lusty cheers all across Twitter. A sample of the top reactions follows below.
I told you: dominoes!!! Another one has fallen. Congratulations, Steve Bannon, you've proven that you are useless as well. #thedominoeffect
Steve Bannon wasn't removed, he was alt-promoted.
Steve Bannon has been removed from the NSC and will be replaced by an angry raccoon and a YouTube commenter chosen at random.
I have removed Steve Bannon from Russia's US national security council.
Quit the National Security Council. Got tired of giving briefings to intelligence agencies.
Steve Bannon left the National Security Council because his skills as a racist anti-semitic piece of shit were needed elsewhere.
i got like 5 notifications telling me Bannon was removed from the National Security Council and i think it temporarily cured my depression
Yeah their spin on Bannon is pretty bad.
Bannon will use all this new free time to do what he does best, make sweet love to a handle of Wild Turkey and a bucket of Carl's Jr chili
BREAKING: Bannon has been removed from the National Security Council with fine-tipped tweezers. Alcohol has been applied to the bite area.
The funniest tweets from people thrilled that Steve Bannon got fired.
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On Wednesday morning, White House officials confirmed Steve Bannon Donald Trump jokers are thrilled to see Bannon, the founder of far-right conspiracy blog Breitbart News, lose his position on the Council. Here are the funniest tweets ripping into this millionaire we could find.
This is the first time Bannon has been removed from something that wasn't an airport bar
Bannon's good looks could only get him so far.
Congratulations to Steve Bannon on graduating from NSC in record time. Take a gap year, buddy. Take four.
Steve Bannon deconstructed from the administrative state of the National Security Council
Steve Bannon may have been removed from the National Security Council, but he laid enough eggs there to make sure he'll always have a voice.
I have removed Steve Bannon from Russia's US national security council.
The evil cackle that rolled through me reading that Bannon got knocked out of the National Security Council
Live footage of Steve Bannon leaving the National Security Council
I hope someone wakes Steve Bannon up from his morning whiskey nap to tell him he's been removed from the National Security Council.
Steve Bannon to return to creek from whence he was dredged.
"#SteveBannon
For health reasons, the chair Steve Bannon sat in has also been removed from the National Security Council
He's out
Trump just booted Steve Bannon from the National Security Council
Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon just lost his permanent seat on the National Security Council, restoring power to members the president had previously downgraded.
In a presidential memorandum Bloomberg principals committee.
Trump’s previous reorganization of the council through a January presidential memorandum had downgraded top intelligence officials’ positions to attend meetings only when the discussion directly related to their responsibilities. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who advised Trump during the transition last winter, called that move a “big mistake.”
Trump also added United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry to the principals committee. (The Department of Energy looks after America’s nuclear stockpiles.)
Going forward, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who replaced Michael Flynn in February, will set the agenda for both the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, removing some power from Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert.
Trump surprised many on Capitol Hill and in the intelligence community when he named Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, to the committee while diminishing the role of the joint chiefs of staff. Sen. John McCain of Arizona it a “radical departure from any National Security Council in history.”
Bannon’s credentials didn’t seem to fit: Though he served as a surface warfare officer and an admiral’s aide in the Navy, the majority of his career, until his appointment to the Trump administration, had been spent in the business world as an investment banker and political agitator.
In contrast, most members of the principals committee are Cabinet-level people and high-ranking military officers.
Trump later privately complained that he wasn’t fully briefed on the details of the executive order before he signed it, according to The New York Times. a copy-and-paste error
Trump’s reorganization looks like a success for McMaster, who encountered resistance when he entered the White House in February. McMaster counseled the president to stop using the term “radical Islamic terrorism,” according toPolitico overruled McMaster’s decision
Cohen-Watnick has since become embroiled in the controversy over Trump’s unproven claims that President Barack Obama wiretapped his presidential campaign last year. After the White House counsel’s office reportedly helpedprovide
But since the initial turbulence, McMaster has replaced previously announced hires
McMaster’s apparent elbowing out of Bannon from the council, however, might not diminish Bannon’s considerable influence over the president. Even if he doesn’t attend meetings, Bannon has tremendous access to the commander in chief as he confronts international and domestic issues. If and when a crisis arises, how much this reorganization matters will become clearer.
One of Trump’s biggest campaign promises is already going down in flames
Again and again on the campaign trail, Donald Trump made promises he couldn’t keep, playing on the ignorance of his base and revealing his own glaring misunderstanding of policy. The GOP candidate repeatedly vowed to strong arm companies into keeping jobs at home instead of sending them to Mexico, renegotiate NAFTA and impose stiff import taxes on foreign goods. It was a message that appealed widely to Trump supporters, blending the illusion of economic hope with the rubric of “America First” nationalism.
Problem is, nothing about Trump’s vision has anything to do with reality, and U.S. jobs continue to be sent across the border. As Bloomberg
Illinois Tool Works Inc. will close an auto-parts plant in Mazon, Illinois, this month and head to Ciudad Juarez. Triumph Group Inc. is reducing the Spokane, Washington, workforce that makes fiber-composite parts for Boeing Co. aircraft and moving production to Zacatecas and Baja California. TE Connectivity Ltd. is shuttering a pressure-sensor plant in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in favor of a facility in Hermosillo.
Those companies aren’t alone. Indianapolis-based firm Rexnord is moving 300 jobs to Monterrey, Mexico, despite a December tweet CNN Money
Trump’s falsehood moved a local union leader to declare POTUS had “lied his ass off.”
“Trump and Pence, they pulled a dog and pony show on the numbers,” Chuck Jones, president of the local steelworkers union, told the
More smoke-and-mirrors shenanigans surround Trump’s recent boasts of job-saving at Ford Motor Company. “Big announcement by Ford today,” Trump wrote in an intentionally misleading tweet
But those jobs—there are just 130 of them—had nothing to do with Trump. The same is true of the company’s decision to put the brakes on a plan to transport 700 jobs to Mexico, announced after Trump criticized the move on social media. As Reuters notes
Trump may also be backing off of promises to raise tariffs on incoming goods and renegotiate NAFTA. The shift in tone comes on the heels of a series of calamitous failures that have come to define this bumbling presidency. Days ago, according to the New York Times
Trump’s War on Journalism
APRIL 5, 2017
I n Donald Trump’s America, the mere act of reporting news unflattering to the president is held up as evidence of bias. Journalists are slandered as “enemies of the people.”
Facts that contradict Trump’s version of reality are dismissed as “fake news.” Reporters and their news organizations are “pathetic,” “very dishonest,” “failing,” and even, in one memorable turn of phrase
Trump is, of course, not the first American president to whine about the news media or try to influence coverage. President George W. Bush saw the press press operation tried to exclude Fox News reporters from interviews, blocked many officials from talking to journalists and, most troubling, prosecuted more national security whistle-blowers and leakers than all previous presidents combined.
But Trump being Trump, he has escalated the traditionally adversarial relationship in demagogic and potentially dangerous ways.
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Most presidents, irritated as they may have been, have continued to acknowledge — at least publicly — that an independent press plays an essential role in American democracy. They’ve recognized that while no news organization is perfect, honest reporting holds leaders and institutions accountable; that’s why a free press was singled out for protection in the 1st Amendment and why outspoken, unfettered journalism is considered a hallmark of a free country.
Trump doesn’t seem to buy it. On his very first day in office, he called journalists “among the most dishonest human beings on earth.”
Since then he has regularly condemned legitimate reporting as “fake news.” His administration has blocked mainstream news organizations, including The Times, from briefings and his secretary of State chose to travel to Asia without taking the press corps, breaking a longtime tradition.
“He apparently hopes to discredit, disrupt or bully into silence anyone who challenges his version of reality.” SHARE THIS QUOTE
This may seem like bizarre behavior from a man who consumes the news in print and on television so voraciously and who is in many ways a product of the media. He comes from reality TV, from talk radio with Howard Stern, from the gossip pages of the New York City tabloids, for whose columnists he was both a regular subject and a regular source.
But Trump’s strategy is pretty clear: By branding reporters as liars, he apparently hopes to discredit, disrupt or bully into silence anyone who challenges his version of reality. By undermining trust in news organizations and delegitimizing journalism and muddling the facts so that Americans no longer know who to believe, he can deny and distract and help push his administration’s far-fetched storyline.
It’s a cynical strategy, with some creepy overtones. For instance, when he calls journalists “enemies of the people,” Trump (whether he knows it or not) echoes Josef Stalin and other despots.
But it’s an effective strategy. Such attacks are politically expedient at a moment when trust in the news media is as low as it’s ever been, according to Gallup . And they’re especially resonant with Trump’s supporters, many of whom see journalists as part of the swamp that needs to be drained.
Of course, we’re not perfect. Some readers find news organizations too cynical; others say we’re too elitist. Some say we downplay important stories, or miss them altogether. Conservatives often perceive an unshakable liberal bias in the media (while critics on the left see big, corporate-owned media institutions like The Times as hopelessly centrist).
“The news media remain an essential component in the democratic process and should not be undermined by the president.” SHARE THIS QUOTE
To do the best possible job, and to hold the confidence of the public in turbulent times, requires constant self-examination and evolution. Soul-searching moments — such as those that occurred after the New York Times was criticized for its coverage of the Bush administration and the Iraq war or, more recently, when the media failed to take Trump’s candidacy seriously enough in the early days of his campaign — can help us do a better job for readers. Even if we are not faultless, the news media remain an essential component in the democratic process and should not be undermined by the president.
Some critics have argued that if Trump is going to treat the news media like the “opposition party” (a phrase his senior aide Steve Bannon has used), then journalists should start acting like opponents too. But that would be a mistake. The role of an institution like the Los Angeles Times (or the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or CNN) is to be independent and aggressive in pursuit of the truth — not to take sides. The editorial pages are the exception: Here we can and should express our opinions about Trump. But the news pages, which operate separately, should report intensively without prejudice, partiality or partisanship.
Given the very real dangers posed by this administration, we should be indefatigable in covering Trump, but shouldn’t let his bullying attitude persuade us to be anything other than objective, fair, open-minded and dogged.
The fundamentals of journalism are more important than ever. With the president of the United States launching a direct assault on the integrity of the mainstream media, news organizations, including The Times, must be courageous in our reporting and resolute in our pursuit of the truth.
This is the fourth in a series.
Trump wants visitors from countries like Germany and France to hand over social media passwords
Even America’s closest allies may be subject to “extreme vetting.”
The U.S. government is mulling whether to force foreign visitors to hand over their cellular phones so that officials can conduct social media screenings, check financial records, and ask “probing questions” about ideology, according to Trump administration officials who spoke with theWall Street Journal .
Prompted by President Donald Trump’s campaign call for “extreme vetting” to prevent foreign terrorists from entering the United States, the government is considering strict guidelines that would require embassies to spend more time interviewing visa applicants, the Journal reported. The vetting procedure could affect people around the world, including visitors from 38 countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program , including France, Germany, and Australia . That program allows citizens from specific countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without having to get a visa.
“If there is any doubt about a person’s intentions coming to the United States, they should have to overcome — really and truly prove to our satisfaction — that they are coming for legitimate reasons,” Gene Hamilton, senior counselor to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, told the publication.
The vetting guideline was part of Trump’s revised executive order in March that bans travel from six Muslim-majority countries. According to the Wall Street Journal, the order allows security officials to provide a “rigorous evaluation” of whether applicants support terrorism or are at risk of causing harm.
A federal judge in Hawaii put a temporary halt to the revised executive order, but the vetting review to get more information from visitors, refugees, and immigrants, has been allowed to proceed.
As part of the review, visitors would have to turn over their phones so that officials can check stored contacts with the goal to “figure out who you are communicating with,” a senior Department of Homeland Security officialsaid .
The revelation of these new details fall in line with the guidance that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued in previous diplomatic cables . Those cables pointed to a “mandatory social media check ” for applicants, including making them list all email addresses and social media handles used in the past five years. In those cables, he also wanted officials to ask visitors about their travel history, employers, and addresses used in the last 15 years.
The government’s crackdown on social media accounts comes roughly two years after two extremists carried out a deadly massacre in San Bernardino, California. It was discovered that Tashfeen Malik and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook had private conversations about jihad on an online messaging platform before they carried out the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Had officials found the private messages earlier, they may not have allowed Malik to enter the country on a visa.
There is inconclusive evidence that foreigners present a bigger domestic threat than do other people already in the United States, however. Right-wing extremists are more likely to commit terrorism-related attacks in the United States than foreigners, and a recent DHS draft report failed to find evidence that people excluded from the country because of Trump’s original Muslim ban pose a significant terror threat.
News that one of Trump’s closest advisor, Steve Bannon, had been ousted from his position within the National Security Council are fired abruptly. People resign abruptly. And the reasons why are always obscured through a mountain of lies.
In Bannon’s case, the official White House line was that he had only been placed in his role to keep an eye on disgraced former national security advisor Michael Flynn.
sr WH official tells me Bannon was only on NSC to keep an eye on Flynn & "de-operationalize NSC from Rice" & that he never went to a meeting
Unfortunately for Trump, the cover story was so hamfisted that it began falling apart almost immediately. In their rush to spin the story, top placed “anonymous sources” all began using the oddly specific word “de-operationalize” to describe Bannon’s role suggesting this was a talking point being crafted from the White House itself. The excuse that Bannon was there to watch Michael Flynn is even worse. Trump has repeatedly stood by Flynn, so claiming he wanted Bannon to watch him means he knew Flynn was a crook but put him in the job anyways. Not a good look.
What’s the real reason Bannon was slapped down? A source close to Trump told White House correspondent John Roberts that Trump had grown increasingly jealous of Bannon sharing his “limelight.”
“We are also told, though, that the president wasn’t particularly happy with the way Bannon had been grabbing the limelight and that may have also played into all of this.”
Which is kind of like life imitating art because for months people have been noting that the best (and perhaps only) way to stop severely unqualified Bannon from having influence in the White House would be to appeal to Trump’s massive ego.
And Politico reported
Hilariously, Saturday Night Live seized upon this unique opportunity to piss off Trump by referring to a grim reaper clothed Bannon as “President Bannon,” playing up the fact that Trump wasn’t really in charge.
Apparently, this childish play on Trump’s narcissism actually worked. Trump would never go after Bannon because he’s unqualified and overtly racist, or that he once described himself as Satan and Darth Vader. But Trump would certainly go after Bannon for getting too much attention. And he just did.
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