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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
September 11, 2019
House Democrats Are Examining Whether the Middleman in Trump’s Secret Moscow Deal Withheld Information
But Felix Sater says he has cooperated fully with the probe of Trump’s covert Russia venture.
David Corn
Dan Friedman
When the Democrats took over the House of Representatives, there seemed to be the promise of vigorous investigations and high-profile hearings related to a long array of Donald Trump controversies, including the Trump-Russia scandal and one particular component of that affair: Trump’s secret effort to score a large project in Moscow while he was running for president. Yet the House Dems, as they debated what to do on the impeachment front, have rarely succeeded in mounting probes and holding hearings on Trump that shape the ongoing (and, yes, often crazy) political agenda of the day, week, or month. And the story of Trump’s covert venture in Moscow—like many other tales of Trump corruption—has drifted from public view. The House Intelligence Committee, though, is still on that case, and it is examining whether a key witness in that investigation, a former business associate of Trump, has tried to obstruct its probe—an allegation this onetime Trump ally fiercely denies.
First, some background. During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly asserted he had nothing to do with Russia. And when he was asked in December 2015 about his relationship with a man named Felix Sater—a former asset for US intelligence and law enforcement in key terrorism and mafia cases who also has a criminal record—Trump lied and essentially denied knowing the guy: “Felix Sater, boy, I have to even think about it. I’m not that familiar with him.”
Yet Trump had worked closely with Sater, a fellow developer, on the Trump Soho, a hotel condominium that opened in 2010 in New York City, and after that Sater had served as a scout for Trump, looking for projects in Russia and elsewhere. Sater even carried a business card identifying him as a Trump Organization consultant. Starting in September 2015, Sater became the middleman in Trump’s latest attempt to develop a tower in Moscow, which had long been a goal for Trump. Collaborating with Michael Cohen, then Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Sater hooked up the Trump Organization with a Russian company for this Moscow deal that could, if successful, reap Trump hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump himself signed a letter of intent for the project in October 2015. In emails to Cohen, Sater maintained that this deal could help Trump win the 2016 election.
The gargantuan venture certainly could not have succeeded if Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime felt unkindly toward Trump. So Trump, as he campaigned, was in no position to speak critically of Putin or his government—that is, if he gave a damn about this project. And indeed Trump often gushed positively about Putin and refused to endorse criticism of the Russian leader (who, as it turned out, had ordered a clandestine attack on the American election in part to help Trump). In January 2016, Cohen even contacted Putin’s office for help on the project and spoke to an assistant to a key Putin aide about the venture. Cohen and Sater also considered giving Putin a $50 million penthouse in the tower to lure Russian oligarchs to buy into the project.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/house-democrats-are-examining-if-the-middleman-in-trumps-secret-moscow-deal-withheld-information/
Corn/Friedman:House Dems Examining Whether the Middleman in Trump's Secret Moscow Deal Withheld Info
House Democrats Are Examining Whether the Middleman in Trump’s Secret Moscow Deal Withheld Information
But Felix Sater says he has cooperated fully with the probe of Trump’s covert Russia venture.
David Corn
Dan Friedman
When the Democrats took over the House of Representatives, there seemed to be the promise of vigorous investigations and high-profile hearings related to a long array of Donald Trump controversies, including the Trump-Russia scandal and one particular component of that affair: Trump’s secret effort to score a large project in Moscow while he was running for president. Yet the House Dems, as they debated what to do on the impeachment front, have rarely succeeded in mounting probes and holding hearings on Trump that shape the ongoing (and, yes, often crazy) political agenda of the day, week, or month. And the story of Trump’s covert venture in Moscow—like many other tales of Trump corruption—has drifted from public view. The House Intelligence Committee, though, is still on that case, and it is examining whether a key witness in that investigation, a former business associate of Trump, has tried to obstruct its probe—an allegation this onetime Trump ally fiercely denies.
First, some background. During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly asserted he had nothing to do with Russia. And when he was asked in December 2015 about his relationship with a man named Felix Sater—a former asset for US intelligence and law enforcement in key terrorism and mafia cases who also has a criminal record—Trump lied and essentially denied knowing the guy: “Felix Sater, boy, I have to even think about it. I’m not that familiar with him.”
Yet Trump had worked closely with Sater, a fellow developer, on the Trump Soho, a hotel condominium that opened in 2010 in New York City, and after that Sater had served as a scout for Trump, looking for projects in Russia and elsewhere. Sater even carried a business card identifying him as a Trump Organization consultant. Starting in September 2015, Sater became the middleman in Trump’s latest attempt to develop a tower in Moscow, which had long been a goal for Trump. Collaborating with Michael Cohen, then Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Sater hooked up the Trump Organization with a Russian company for this Moscow deal that could, if successful, reap Trump hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump himself signed a letter of intent for the project in October 2015. In emails to Cohen, Sater maintained that this deal could help Trump win the 2016 election.
The gargantuan venture certainly could not have succeeded if Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime felt unkindly toward Trump. So Trump, as he campaigned, was in no position to speak critically of Putin or his government—that is, if he gave a damn about this project. And indeed Trump often gushed positively about Putin and refused to endorse criticism of the Russian leader (who, as it turned out, had ordered a clandestine attack on the American election in part to help Trump). In January 2016, Cohen even contacted Putin’s office for help on the project and spoke to an assistant to a key Putin aide about the venture. Cohen and Sater also considered giving Putin a $50 million penthouse in the tower to lure Russian oligarchs to buy into the project.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/house-democrats-are-examining-if-the-middleman-in-trumps-secret-moscow-deal-withheld-information/
September 11, 2019
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
9/10/2019
How Much of a Pussy Ass Bitch Is Donald Trump? An Investigation
snip//
So let's take a look at the evidence of pussy ass bitchery.
1. Trump fired National Security Adviser John Bolton by tweet because he's always been too much of a pussy ass bitch to fire anyone in person unless they are fake employees on his old game show. (Note: John Bolton is dangerously batshit insane and should be sprayed with a fire hose if he comes anywhere near a government position, but he's not a pussy ass bitch.)
2. He had Commerce Secretary Wilbur "Hey, Can You Check to See If Wilbur's Dead" Ross threaten to fire people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This was after some NOAA employee in Birmingham, Alabama, did the responsible thing last week and informed the public that Donald Trump was totally wrong when he said that their state was in the path of Hurricane Dorian. We had a week-long fit from Trump because he was too much of a pussy ass bitch to admit he fucked up.
3. Trump dismissed the idea of allowing some of the tens of thousands of people whose cities were wiped out by Dorian in the Bahamas to come to the United States, saying that other areas of the Bahamas that weren't hit should take them. And he did it in the most dickish way possible, by accusing victims of possibly being "some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers." So he's such a racist pussy ass bitch that he won't allow people who've lost everything to recover here in the United States.
4. When it was revealed that the Air Force had been using the Trump resort in Scotland for its crews to stay during long flights (and play golf there), as well as using the airport right near the resort to refuel at a higher price than a relatively nearby airbase, Trump claimed he had "nothing to do with" it, which, of course, turned out to be a lie, as it often does. He's such a pussy ass bitch that he can't even cop to something that he personally signed off on.
5. Trump gave the Public Safety Medal of Valor to six police officers from Dayton, Ohio, in honor of them doing their duty in taking down a mass shooter there. However, he did not invite the mayor of Dayton, Nan Whaley, because she's a Democrat and she's been critical of Trump. Instead, he had Republican political leaders from Ohio present. When you can't handle having anyone around you who doesn't kiss your ring, that's some pussy ass bitch behavior right there.
In sum, Trump is a total pussy ass bitch. Everything he does stems from him being a pussy ass bitch. His entire immigration policy is about turning us into a nation of pussy ass bitches. Every time he says something about reforming gun laws, the NRA shows him their pimp hand and he cowers back into his natural state of being a pussy ass bitch. And let's not even get into how much of a pussy ass bitch he is when it comes to the dictators in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
more...
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2019/09/how-much-of-pussy-ass-bitch-is-donald.html
The Rude Pundit: How Much of a Pussy Ass Bitch Is Donald Trump? An Investigation
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
9/10/2019
How Much of a Pussy Ass Bitch Is Donald Trump? An Investigation
snip//
So let's take a look at the evidence of pussy ass bitchery.
1. Trump fired National Security Adviser John Bolton by tweet because he's always been too much of a pussy ass bitch to fire anyone in person unless they are fake employees on his old game show. (Note: John Bolton is dangerously batshit insane and should be sprayed with a fire hose if he comes anywhere near a government position, but he's not a pussy ass bitch.)
2. He had Commerce Secretary Wilbur "Hey, Can You Check to See If Wilbur's Dead" Ross threaten to fire people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This was after some NOAA employee in Birmingham, Alabama, did the responsible thing last week and informed the public that Donald Trump was totally wrong when he said that their state was in the path of Hurricane Dorian. We had a week-long fit from Trump because he was too much of a pussy ass bitch to admit he fucked up.
3. Trump dismissed the idea of allowing some of the tens of thousands of people whose cities were wiped out by Dorian in the Bahamas to come to the United States, saying that other areas of the Bahamas that weren't hit should take them. And he did it in the most dickish way possible, by accusing victims of possibly being "some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers." So he's such a racist pussy ass bitch that he won't allow people who've lost everything to recover here in the United States.
4. When it was revealed that the Air Force had been using the Trump resort in Scotland for its crews to stay during long flights (and play golf there), as well as using the airport right near the resort to refuel at a higher price than a relatively nearby airbase, Trump claimed he had "nothing to do with" it, which, of course, turned out to be a lie, as it often does. He's such a pussy ass bitch that he can't even cop to something that he personally signed off on.
5. Trump gave the Public Safety Medal of Valor to six police officers from Dayton, Ohio, in honor of them doing their duty in taking down a mass shooter there. However, he did not invite the mayor of Dayton, Nan Whaley, because she's a Democrat and she's been critical of Trump. Instead, he had Republican political leaders from Ohio present. When you can't handle having anyone around you who doesn't kiss your ring, that's some pussy ass bitch behavior right there.
In sum, Trump is a total pussy ass bitch. Everything he does stems from him being a pussy ass bitch. His entire immigration policy is about turning us into a nation of pussy ass bitches. Every time he says something about reforming gun laws, the NRA shows him their pimp hand and he cowers back into his natural state of being a pussy ass bitch. And let's not even get into how much of a pussy ass bitch he is when it comes to the dictators in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
more...
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2019/09/how-much-of-pussy-ass-bitch-is-donald.html
September 11, 2019
Trump wears his bigotry like a badge of honor
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/09/10/trump-harder-african-americans-buy-homs.html
Trump Wants To Make It Harder For African Americans To Buy Homes
Still a POS 
Posted on Tue, Sep 10th, 2019 by Sean Colarossi
Trump Wants To Make It Harder For African Americans To Buy Homes
In the latest demonstration that Donald Trump’s bigotry stretches far beyond his hateful rhetoric, a new housing plan from the administration will make it difficult for those in the minority community to buy homes.
According to The Washington Post, “The Trump administration’s plan to overhaul the country’s housing finance system would make mortgages more expensive for minority borrowers and aspiring homeowners in the South, the Midwest and rural communities, according to fair housing and lending groups.”
The report notes that the proposal – which was revealed last week by the Department of Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development – “could further reduce access to credit for low-income communities.”
More from The Washington Post:
“This plan would interject new entities that would cream the market by seeking to serve the most lucrative regions and borrowers,” such as New York and San Francisco, where home values have skyrocketed, said Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending. “The very communities that need greater access to mortgage credit — communities of color, specifically — would have great difficulty securing credit.”
…
But the Trump administration has proposed replacing the affordable housing goals with a more “efficient, transparent and accountable mechanism,” such as a new fee that would be transferred to HUD to promote affordable housing activities. Many consumer and civil rights groups argue that the plan would not directly increase homeownership among low-income families.
…
In addition, housing advocates say, the administration’s plan would lead to a bifurcated market that would block first-time home buyers and low-income borrowers, many of whom are people of color, from lower-cost conventional loans. Borrowers who cannot afford 20 percent down payments and have less-than-pristine credit scores would be channeled into more-expensive loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, whose insurance premiums last for the life of the loan.
…
But the Trump administration has proposed replacing the affordable housing goals with a more “efficient, transparent and accountable mechanism,” such as a new fee that would be transferred to HUD to promote affordable housing activities. Many consumer and civil rights groups argue that the plan would not directly increase homeownership among low-income families.
…
In addition, housing advocates say, the administration’s plan would lead to a bifurcated market that would block first-time home buyers and low-income borrowers, many of whom are people of color, from lower-cost conventional loans. Borrowers who cannot afford 20 percent down payments and have less-than-pristine credit scores would be channeled into more-expensive loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, whose insurance premiums last for the life of the loan.
Trump wears his bigotry like a badge of honor
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/09/10/trump-harder-african-americans-buy-homs.html
September 11, 2019
Trump’s Trade War Has Killed 300K Jobs
September 10, 2019 at 8:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Trump's Trade War Has Killed 300K Jobs
https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/10/trumps-trade-war-has-killed-300k-jobs/Trump’s Trade War Has Killed 300K Jobs
September 10, 2019 at 8:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Yahoo News: “Forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics estimates that Trump’s trade war with China has already reduced U.S. employment by 300,000 jobs, compared with likely employment levels absent the trade war.”
“That’s a combination of jobs eliminated by firms struggling with tariffs and other elements of the trade war, and jobs that would have been created but haven’t because of reduced economic activity.”
“That’s a combination of jobs eliminated by firms struggling with tariffs and other elements of the trade war, and jobs that would have been created but haven’t because of reduced economic activity.”
September 10, 2019
Obama diplomats throw in with Buttigieg
The young mayor has nearly two dozen former ambassadors lending heft to his campaign and mining their elite networks for new supporters.
By DANIEL STRAUSS and JACQUELINE FELDSCHER
09/09/2019 04:45 PM EDT
Pete Buttigieg has enlisted an army of elite supporters to argue that the 37-year-old mayor of a small city has what it takes to be the leader of the free world.
Nearly two dozen former ambassadors who worked for President Barack Obama abroad see a commander in chief in the South Bend, Ind., mayor and are using their fundraising connections and stature in elite Democratic circles to build support for him. The campaign is currently discussing plans to deploy Buttigieg’s team of former ambassadors to woo influential undecided Democrats to his team, according to multiple people with knowledge of those discussions.
Buttigieg’s diplomatic support extends to the rank and file, as well: Employees of the State Department and agencies within it, along with their spouses, have given more money to Buttigieg’s campaign (over $62,000) than to any other Democrat running for president in 2020, according to analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics.
The diplomatic support is part of a balancing act for Buttigieg, who is running as a candidate of generational change with big ideas but a relatively thin political résumé. As he ramps up his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the ambassadorial support balances Buttigieg’s youth with experience, giving him a stamp of approval from experienced and credentialed party insiders.
more...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/09/pete-buttigieg-ambassador-support-2020-1479225
Obama diplomats throw in with Buttigieg
Obama diplomats throw in with Buttigieg
The young mayor has nearly two dozen former ambassadors lending heft to his campaign and mining their elite networks for new supporters.
By DANIEL STRAUSS and JACQUELINE FELDSCHER
09/09/2019 04:45 PM EDT
Pete Buttigieg has enlisted an army of elite supporters to argue that the 37-year-old mayor of a small city has what it takes to be the leader of the free world.
Nearly two dozen former ambassadors who worked for President Barack Obama abroad see a commander in chief in the South Bend, Ind., mayor and are using their fundraising connections and stature in elite Democratic circles to build support for him. The campaign is currently discussing plans to deploy Buttigieg’s team of former ambassadors to woo influential undecided Democrats to his team, according to multiple people with knowledge of those discussions.
Buttigieg’s diplomatic support extends to the rank and file, as well: Employees of the State Department and agencies within it, along with their spouses, have given more money to Buttigieg’s campaign (over $62,000) than to any other Democrat running for president in 2020, according to analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics.
The diplomatic support is part of a balancing act for Buttigieg, who is running as a candidate of generational change with big ideas but a relatively thin political résumé. As he ramps up his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the ambassadorial support balances Buttigieg’s youth with experience, giving him a stamp of approval from experienced and credentialed party insiders.
more...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/09/pete-buttigieg-ambassador-support-2020-1479225
September 10, 2019
Pence family boondoggle in Ireland cost U.S. taxpayers $600,000 for the limos alone
Jen Hayden
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday September 10, 2019 · 3:56 PM EDT
Vice President Mike Pence went to Poland to stand in for Donald Trump, who decided to stay behind in the U.S. for a weekend of monitoring Hurricane Dorian from his golf cart. Pence met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on behalf of Trump in an effort to build support for allowing Russia to be re-admitted to the G-7, something all the other members of the G-7 oppose because of Putin’s aggressive actions in the Crimea region of Ukraine, which he annexed for Russia.
Afterward, the Pence family, which included the vice president’s wife-mother, sister, and mother, loaded up for a trip to Ireland, where the Pence family immigrated from several generations ago. Although he was there to meet with Irish leaders and he was technically there on official United States business, Pence and his family opted to stay on the opposite side of the country, to be near the hometown of Pence’s great-great-grandpappy, which also happened to be conveniently located near the once struggling Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg. Oh, what a time they had! They saw a pub! They walked down the main street to the pub, which is owned by a distant cousin of Pence’s, with an entourage of limousines behind them, waving to the roughly half-dozen people who turned out to see them.
Now we learn that the travel back and forth from Dublin to Doonbeg, where the Pence family spent two nights at Trump’s hotel, were quite costly for American taxpayers. CREW obtained the contracts from the State Department and learned that taxpayers ponied up $599,454.36 just for the limousines used to ferry the Pence family back and forth across Ireland.
And for the record, the Doonbeg stay wasn’t the first time Mike Pence has directly helped Donald Trump’s bottom line:
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/10/1884643/-Pence-family-boondoggle-in-Ireland-cost-U-S-taxpayers-600-000-for-the-limos-alone?detail=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3Vbq8NYwv1BE7a5bcqGHGbk9cQ2SiiRAxsLHItJpLkO12Tm5X-FZPENHI
Pence family boondoggle in Ireland cost U.S. taxpayers $600,000 for the limos alone
Pence family boondoggle in Ireland cost U.S. taxpayers $600,000 for the limos alone
Jen Hayden
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday September 10, 2019 · 3:56 PM EDT
Vice President Mike Pence went to Poland to stand in for Donald Trump, who decided to stay behind in the U.S. for a weekend of monitoring Hurricane Dorian from his golf cart. Pence met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on behalf of Trump in an effort to build support for allowing Russia to be re-admitted to the G-7, something all the other members of the G-7 oppose because of Putin’s aggressive actions in the Crimea region of Ukraine, which he annexed for Russia.
Afterward, the Pence family, which included the vice president’s wife-mother, sister, and mother, loaded up for a trip to Ireland, where the Pence family immigrated from several generations ago. Although he was there to meet with Irish leaders and he was technically there on official United States business, Pence and his family opted to stay on the opposite side of the country, to be near the hometown of Pence’s great-great-grandpappy, which also happened to be conveniently located near the once struggling Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg. Oh, what a time they had! They saw a pub! They walked down the main street to the pub, which is owned by a distant cousin of Pence’s, with an entourage of limousines behind them, waving to the roughly half-dozen people who turned out to see them.
Now we learn that the travel back and forth from Dublin to Doonbeg, where the Pence family spent two nights at Trump’s hotel, were quite costly for American taxpayers. CREW obtained the contracts from the State Department and learned that taxpayers ponied up $599,454.36 just for the limousines used to ferry the Pence family back and forth across Ireland.
And for the record, the Doonbeg stay wasn’t the first time Mike Pence has directly helped Donald Trump’s bottom line:
Though the ridiculous logistics and spending of taxpayer money a Doonbeg made this visit particularly corrupt, it was far from the first time Pence funneled money to Trump properties. According to a recent CREW report, he is one of the most frequent visitors in the Trump administration, visiting Trump businesses at least 20 times. Additionally, political groups linked to Pence have also hosted 6 events at Trump properties.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/10/1884643/-Pence-family-boondoggle-in-Ireland-cost-U-S-taxpayers-600-000-for-the-limos-alone?detail=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3Vbq8NYwv1BE7a5bcqGHGbk9cQ2SiiRAxsLHItJpLkO12Tm5X-FZPENHI
September 10, 2019
3 hours ago
Trump’s National Security Team Is Now a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Defense Industry
Charlie Kupperman served as an executive for Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Dan Spinelli
With John Bolton out as national security adviser, the defense industry is poised to receive even more representation in the highest levels of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy team. Bolton deputy Charlie Kupperman—a former executive at Boeing and Lockheed Martin—was tapped to fill the job in an acting capacity, giving industry veterans another prominent perch in the administration. Ex-Raytheon lobbyist Mark Esper already serves as Secretary of Defense.
While in office, Trump has become a major booster for American defense contractors. He’s urged Vietnamese leaders to buy “the best military equipment in the world by far” from American firms and has even promoted specific companies, such as Lockheed Martin, from the White House’s official Twitter feed. When Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally, drew international condemnation for its role in ordering the death of a Washington Post journalist, Trump appeared to excuse the kingdom’s behavior due, in part, to the “record amount of money” it had spent on “military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great US defense contractors.”
That unwavering support for the defense industry is reflected in the makeup of Trump’s advisory team.
Kupperman worked in space operations at Lockheed and as a missile defense executive at Boeing after holding several positions in the Reagan administration. He joined Bolton’s staff in January as deputy national security adviser, replacing another former Boeing executive, Mira Ricardel.
Esper, who originally served as Army secretary, lobbied on behalf of the Aerospace Industries Association of America and US Chamber of Commerce before spending seven years at Raytheon. He succeeded acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who entered government service for the first time in July 2017 following more than three decades at Boeing.
Even James Mattis, Trump’s first Defense Secretary, has ties to the defense industry. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, Mattis joined the board of General Dynamics, and upon his exit from Trump’s Cabinet, he re-joined the board.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/trumps-national-security-team-is-now-a-wholly-owned-subsidiary-of-the-defense-industry/
Trump's National Security Team Is Now a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Defense Industry
3 hours ago
Trump’s National Security Team Is Now a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Defense Industry
Charlie Kupperman served as an executive for Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Dan Spinelli
With John Bolton out as national security adviser, the defense industry is poised to receive even more representation in the highest levels of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy team. Bolton deputy Charlie Kupperman—a former executive at Boeing and Lockheed Martin—was tapped to fill the job in an acting capacity, giving industry veterans another prominent perch in the administration. Ex-Raytheon lobbyist Mark Esper already serves as Secretary of Defense.
While in office, Trump has become a major booster for American defense contractors. He’s urged Vietnamese leaders to buy “the best military equipment in the world by far” from American firms and has even promoted specific companies, such as Lockheed Martin, from the White House’s official Twitter feed. When Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally, drew international condemnation for its role in ordering the death of a Washington Post journalist, Trump appeared to excuse the kingdom’s behavior due, in part, to the “record amount of money” it had spent on “military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great US defense contractors.”
That unwavering support for the defense industry is reflected in the makeup of Trump’s advisory team.
Kupperman worked in space operations at Lockheed and as a missile defense executive at Boeing after holding several positions in the Reagan administration. He joined Bolton’s staff in January as deputy national security adviser, replacing another former Boeing executive, Mira Ricardel.
Esper, who originally served as Army secretary, lobbied on behalf of the Aerospace Industries Association of America and US Chamber of Commerce before spending seven years at Raytheon. He succeeded acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who entered government service for the first time in July 2017 following more than three decades at Boeing.
Even James Mattis, Trump’s first Defense Secretary, has ties to the defense industry. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, Mattis joined the board of General Dynamics, and upon his exit from Trump’s Cabinet, he re-joined the board.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/trumps-national-security-team-is-now-a-wholly-owned-subsidiary-of-the-defense-industry/
September 10, 2019
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-falsely-thinks-hes-found-proof-obama-failing-be-great
Trump (falsely) thinks he’s found proof of Obama failing to be ‘great’
09/10/19 10:04 AM—Updated 09/10/19 12:46 PM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump wasn’t asked about Barack Obama or judicial nominees during a brief Q&A with reporters yesterday, but the Republican shared some notable thoughts on the subject anyway.
Yes, Trump has heard quite enough about his predecessor being great, and he thinks he’s uncovered some evidence to the contrary. If Obama were truly great, the argument goes, he wouldn’t have left a bunch of vacancies on the federal judiciary for his Republican successor to fill with young, far-right ideologues.
Trump has made comments like these several times before, suggesting he’s genuinely baffled. In his mind, Obama must’ve been outrageously incompetent to simply leave all of these vacancies on the federal bench.
It’s at about this point that some of the folks that I know who worked in the Obama White House start having aneurysms.
Obama didn’t hand Trump dozens of judicial vacancies, including a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court; Mitch McConnell did.
For the first six years of the Democratic administration, GOP senators did everything they could to slow, block, and obstruct the judicial confirmation process, exploiting every procedure, abusing every rule, and in some cases, making up new rules that didn’t exist.
In the final two years of the Obama era, when Republicans were in the majority, McConnell brought the confirmation process to a halt altogether. That included leaving a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court open for nearly a year – at a time in which several GOP senators said they were prepared to keep that vacancy unfilled for an additional four years in the event of another Democratic White House victory.
This isn’t evidence of Obama failing to be great; it’s evidence of Mitch McConnell and his Republican brethren engaging in an abuse without precedent in the American tradition. The fact that Trump seems wholly unaware of these details suggests he was paying even less attention to current events before his election than he does now.
Trump (falsely) thinks he's found proof of Obama failing to be 'great'
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-falsely-thinks-hes-found-proof-obama-failing-be-great
Trump (falsely) thinks he’s found proof of Obama failing to be ‘great’
09/10/19 10:04 AM—Updated 09/10/19 12:46 PM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump wasn’t asked about Barack Obama or judicial nominees during a brief Q&A with reporters yesterday, but the Republican shared some notable thoughts on the subject anyway.
“President Obama gave me a beautiful birthday present when he gave me 138 judges that weren’t approved. And, frankly, how do you consider that being a great president when you hand to the opposition 138 slots of federal judges, including appellate court judges and one Supreme Court judge?”
Yes, Trump has heard quite enough about his predecessor being great, and he thinks he’s uncovered some evidence to the contrary. If Obama were truly great, the argument goes, he wouldn’t have left a bunch of vacancies on the federal judiciary for his Republican successor to fill with young, far-right ideologues.
Trump has made comments like these several times before, suggesting he’s genuinely baffled. In his mind, Obama must’ve been outrageously incompetent to simply leave all of these vacancies on the federal bench.
It’s at about this point that some of the folks that I know who worked in the Obama White House start having aneurysms.
Obama didn’t hand Trump dozens of judicial vacancies, including a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court; Mitch McConnell did.
For the first six years of the Democratic administration, GOP senators did everything they could to slow, block, and obstruct the judicial confirmation process, exploiting every procedure, abusing every rule, and in some cases, making up new rules that didn’t exist.
In the final two years of the Obama era, when Republicans were in the majority, McConnell brought the confirmation process to a halt altogether. That included leaving a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court open for nearly a year – at a time in which several GOP senators said they were prepared to keep that vacancy unfilled for an additional four years in the event of another Democratic White House victory.
This isn’t evidence of Obama failing to be great; it’s evidence of Mitch McConnell and his Republican brethren engaging in an abuse without precedent in the American tradition. The fact that Trump seems wholly unaware of these details suggests he was paying even less attention to current events before his election than he does now.
September 10, 2019
Posted on Tue, Sep 10th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump Is Losing Texas By 5 As Lone Star Hispanic Democrats Surge
Hispanic Democratic voters are surging in Texas in the Lone Star state, and Trump is trailing against any Democrat by 5 points.
According to the Univision Texas Voter Poll:
Trump trails with Hispanic voters in Texas 69%-19% with 12% undecided.
If Trump loses Texas, Hispanic voters will be the reason why.
It is interesting that such a large segment of the electorate in what has been deep red state have already made up their minds to vote against Trump. Instead of quibbling about which Democrat is better, Texas voters appear to be saying give us any of the top three Democrats who aren’t Donald Trump. Elizabeth Warren would have the most work to do to win the state, but she is the lesser-known of the top three Democrats, so that is to be expected.
One poll doesn’t mean that Democrats are going to win the state, but as with the Ted Cruz/Beto O’Rourke Senate election, Republicans might have to dump resources into propping Trump in red Texas that they were planning on using in a place like Pennsylvania.
Texas is in play, and Democrats may get a chance to turn the great red presidential election whale into a solid shade of blue.
Trump Is Losing Texas By 5 As Lone Star Hispanic Democrats Surge
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/09/10/trump-texas-poll.htmlPosted on Tue, Sep 10th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump Is Losing Texas By 5 As Lone Star Hispanic Democrats Surge
Hispanic Democratic voters are surging in Texas in the Lone Star state, and Trump is trailing against any Democrat by 5 points.
According to the Univision Texas Voter Poll:
Days away from the third Democratic debate in Houston and over a year from the 2020 presidential election, an exclusive poll by Univision News found that 40% of registered voters in the state say they will vote for the Democrat who prevails in the party’s primary, while 33% say they will support President Trump. If undecided voters leaning one way or the other are included, the advantage would be 47% to 42% in favor of the Democrats.
…..
Senator Bernie Sanders would win the state (48% against 42%). Similarly, former Vice President Joe Biden would win the state (47% to 43%), and the same would happen with Senator Warren (44% to 42%).
…..
Senator Bernie Sanders would win the state (48% against 42%). Similarly, former Vice President Joe Biden would win the state (47% to 43%), and the same would happen with Senator Warren (44% to 42%).
Trump trails with Hispanic voters in Texas 69%-19% with 12% undecided.
If Trump loses Texas, Hispanic voters will be the reason why.
It is interesting that such a large segment of the electorate in what has been deep red state have already made up their minds to vote against Trump. Instead of quibbling about which Democrat is better, Texas voters appear to be saying give us any of the top three Democrats who aren’t Donald Trump. Elizabeth Warren would have the most work to do to win the state, but she is the lesser-known of the top three Democrats, so that is to be expected.
One poll doesn’t mean that Democrats are going to win the state, but as with the Ted Cruz/Beto O’Rourke Senate election, Republicans might have to dump resources into propping Trump in red Texas that they were planning on using in a place like Pennsylvania.
Texas is in play, and Democrats may get a chance to turn the great red presidential election whale into a solid shade of blue.
September 10, 2019
Pompeo’s whopper: Team Trump is the most science-friendly in history
09/09/19 11:13 AM—Updated 09/09/19 12:06 PM
By Steve Benen
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at an event Kansas on Friday, where he fielded a question from a Kansas State University physics professor who asked a very good question.
Pompeo was less impressed with the question than I was.
I realize the cabinet secretary was able to say all of this with a straight face. That’s part of the problem. The idea that the Trump administration has set a historically high bar, relying on science in ways that exceed every administration in the history of the country, is completely bonkers.
Indeed, the timing of Pompeo’s comments was almost comical: the same day the Kansas Republican praised Team Trump’s handling of science, Trump’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration threw National Weather Service scientists under the bus for daring to tell the public truths the president didn’t like.
more...
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/pompeos-whopper-team-trump-the-most-science-friendly-history?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR268CLUiwvBjOQyYl2uaCvGOuNajj47l_lZequB5dzMGzmgEKMQTW7UnK4
Pompeo's whopper: Team Trump is the most science-friendly in history
Pompeo’s whopper: Team Trump is the most science-friendly in history
09/09/19 11:13 AM—Updated 09/09/19 12:06 PM
By Steve Benen
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at an event Kansas on Friday, where he fielded a question from a Kansas State University physics professor who asked a very good question.
“As you know, there have been an exodus of scientists across many of the federal agencies. This exodus has been driven largely because the results of their work has been suppressed. Indeed, recently a well-regarded physicist/chemist Dr. Rod Schoonover left the U.S. Department of State due to the suppression of even a security-cleared version of his assessment on the impact of climate change on national security. I add parenthetically that, in my opinion, the Department of State can ill afford the loss of any good scientists.
“My question is: Do you support the suppression of scientific reports from within the U.S. Department of State? If not, how did this happen? And if so, why?”
“My question is: Do you support the suppression of scientific reports from within the U.S. Department of State? If not, how did this happen? And if so, why?”
Pompeo was less impressed with the question than I was.
“Well, it won’t shock you that I disagree with most of what you just said. Of course, no one supports the absence of science. I would argue that this State Department – indeed, this administration – has relied on science far more than the previous administration, and I would argue more than any administration in history. […]
“We turn to scientists and facts-based approaches to every single difficult challenge we face every day.”
“We turn to scientists and facts-based approaches to every single difficult challenge we face every day.”
I realize the cabinet secretary was able to say all of this with a straight face. That’s part of the problem. The idea that the Trump administration has set a historically high bar, relying on science in ways that exceed every administration in the history of the country, is completely bonkers.
Indeed, the timing of Pompeo’s comments was almost comical: the same day the Kansas Republican praised Team Trump’s handling of science, Trump’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration threw National Weather Service scientists under the bus for daring to tell the public truths the president didn’t like.
more...
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/pompeos-whopper-team-trump-the-most-science-friendly-history?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR268CLUiwvBjOQyYl2uaCvGOuNajj47l_lZequB5dzMGzmgEKMQTW7UnK4
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