Dictator Love: What's Up With Trump and China?

Good Day World!

Trump's admiration for strongmen who ruthlessly rule countries, is no secret to the world.

In his latest example of dictator love, Trump has suddenly reversed sanctions against a Chinese company by the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments for doing business with Iran and North Korea...and for spying!

The sudden reversal was a surprise to Congress. When Trump tweeted on Monday that "Too many jobs in China lost," lawmakers jaws dropped. 

What the hell was happening? What happened to unfair trade practices that Trump was trumpeting about for the last two years?

On Tuesday the nation's top counterintelligence official told the Senate Intelligence Committee that penetration of the U.S. market, by the Chinese telecom firm ZTE could pose a national security risk to the United States.

He warned that the ZTE phones were being used to spy on Americans.

Lawmakers on both sides have come out against Trump's instructions to stop the sanctions and to let ZTE continue to operate in the U.S.

Even Trump supporters find the optics troubling. 

Critics of the sudden move are pointing to the Trump Organization's involvement in an Indonesian theme park backed by the Chinese government, arguing that Trump faces a conflict of interest in negotiations with China. 

Let's face it, the Trump administration is one conflict of interest after another. 

This is just the latest example highlighting Trump's hypocrisy, and ability to flip flop on issues like a mackerel out of water.

Funny how Trump is so concerned about building a wall for the nation's security, while supporting a vehicle by the Chinese government used to conduct espionage against Americans.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Trump. 

Time for me to walk on down the road...





  

Two Corrupt Leaders Open Pandora's Box in Middle East

Good Day World!

Yesterday will go down as a day of infamy. 

Trump's moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem is a culmination of two corrupt leaders, Trump and Netanyahu's, efforts to secure personal business ties under the guise of bringing peace to the middle east.

The official unveiling of the new US Embassy on Jerusalem was greeted by mass protests by enraged Palestinians. According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), they were 35,000 protesters.

While Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump cozied up to Netanyahu and unveiled the new embassy plaque, Palestinians were dying in clashes with the IDF on the Gaza Strip.

The current estimate of 55 dead, and 2,700 wounded will undoubtedly go up, as the result of the carnage is unveiled later today, and in the days ahead.

Fact: Yesterday, was the deadliest day for Palestinians since the 2014 war.

The IDF used tanks, drones that dropped gas on the crowds, and even air strikes against the protesters who were there to regain their homes lost by their ancestors.

France issued a formal statement yesterday:

This decision contravenes International Law and in particular the resolutions the Security Council and the UN General Assembly."

Turkey's prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recalled his ambassadors to the US and Israel in an official protest on Trump's decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The ensuring blood bath was preordained from the moment Trump made the announcement that the US was moving its embassy, despite worldwide protests.

Thanks to two corrupt leaders, Pandora's Box has been opened in the middle east. Time will tell how many lives will be lost on both sides because of this stupid and corrupt decision.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

How Many Counties Has Trump Pissed Off?

Good Day World!

I've got a fun way to start your week this morning...
let's count how many countries Trump's has pissed off in his short tenure as president.

England would be a good place to start. By now, the world knows what England thinks about The Donald. He's about as popular as the black plague with the London set.

Prime Minister Theresa May has found numerous occasions to chastise our rude and racist Liar-In-Chief. She's also made it clear she can't clear the streets from Trump protesters, unlike Saudi Arabia (who played Donny like a fiddle), when he visits in July.

Trump has made it clear that he thinks Africa is a shithole. One can only imagine how popular Trump is there. You can bet he has no intentions of visiting a continent that loathes him.

Tension between the US and Pakistan have increased since Trump's rude ass got involved. Right now an American diplomat is being held in Pakistan because he got into a fatal car accident and they won't release him, violating his diplomatic immunity.

So the Trump regime is playing the same game and are restricting the movements of Pakistani diplomats in America. This pissing match looks like it's going to go on for quite a while.

Then there's South America. Trump hates it's Hispanic populations. He's doing everything he can to stop refugees fleeing to the US from brutal regimes.

Trump puppet, and weasel double, Sessions has proudly declared last week that the US is going to go out of it's way to separate children and their parents as a deterrent to immigration.

When Trump is feeding his base raw meat one of his favorite attacks is against so-called Mexican rapists and criminals invading our country.

European countries are becoming alienated by Trump's tactics that involve breaking every treaty President Obama made during his administration.

From the Paris Environmental Accord to the Iran Nuclear Treaty, Trump has displayed a distain for the rest of the world. His isolationist policies have caused America to lose face with the rest of the world.

Trump's obvious bromance with Putin has shaken up governments across the globe who looked to America for leadership, and to lead the fight for freedom and equality worldwide.

It's impossible to accurately count how many countries Trump has pissed off because new one's are added daily.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Trump's Stooge Has An End Game

Good Day World! 

The Justice Department has been under siege since Trump waddled into the Oval Office.

Facts are poison to Trump, the ultimate demagogue. 

To counter the facts coming out of Mueller's investigation on Trump's team and Russia playing "kissy-face" during the 2016 election, red herrings have been coming fast and hard from all directions.

No one has shown himself to be a bigger SOB and blatant liar than Trump's favorite stooge, Represenative Devin Nunes. 

Nunes war with the Justice Department is just another low coming from a Trump supporter - who just happens to be in Congress - with no conscience. 

The fact that he's abusing the law by forcing access to materials that are usually off limits to Congress under department policy, is troublesome. But with Trump's backing, he's got away with it thus far.

And when Nunes doesn't get what he wants quick enough he threatens top law enforcement officials. He even suggested he'd impeach Jeff Sessions - who has no part in the Russia investigation.

Nunes mission is simple. Discredit Mueller's investigation any way he can. By being a confrontational stooge, Nunes helps feed Trump's base and muddies up the waters of the investigation.

By injecting doubt into Mueller and his team's conclusions, Nunes hopes to thwart the truth...just like his puppet master Trump has shown him how to do.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Trump Lawyer WAS Selling Swamp Tours Like Hotcakes - WH Seeks New Guide

Good Day World!

Does anyone remember Trump's campaign promise to "drain the swamp" in Washington if he gets elected? I sure do.

While Trump was campaigning on "draining the swamp," his personal attorney was "selling swamp tours" in the form of access to the then-prospective president.

That was just the start. Since slithering into office Trump has appointed cronies and puppets to further perpetrate the swamp experience in the West Wing.

Scumbags like Scott Pruitt are getting away with numerous ethic violations - which the White House has yet to comment on - because he's carrying out Trump's hateful agenda so effectively.

Trump's enlarged swamp has become too deep for many of his appointees who have come and gone like worker ants reporting to the queen bee.

Too prove how toxic Trump's swamp is you need look no further than the steady stream of litigators who have quit, or got dumped by Trump, since day one of his illegitimate regime.

First the first time in memory, lawyers are not leapfrogging over one another to get hired on as a part of the White House legal staff.

Most are content to wait for a better opportunity where they won't have their careers trashed by a petulant man child with the morals of a snake.

With Cohen being shoulder high in shit, it looks like the guided tours through the swamp will have to stop for now, or at least until another Trump crony assumes the position.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday Flickers: Fantasies, Falsehoods, and Freewheeling Dealing

                                            Good Day World!

While sipping some great hazelnut-flavored coffee this morning I got an epiphany... 

After reading about the breakthroughs Army surgeons have made when it comes to growing new ears (on a patient's arm) a thought came to me:

Army surgeons could offer to grow Trump a brain on his arm!

I know it might be awkward, but just think about the benefits.

Instead of talking out of his ass - where his current excuse for a brain resides - he could grow a brain on his arm. When ready it could be transferred to his head enabling him to talk out of his mouth, instead of his anus.

Moving on...

Iranian reaction to Trump's decision to leave the 2015 nuclear deal:

Iranians last seen in front of the American  embassy: an angry crowd chanting "death to America" and setting the American flag on fire.  

The rest of the world that signed the treaty is working with Iran to stay with the accord. The middle east has become a little more unstable thanks to our Moron-In-Chief.

Things Are Getting Swampy

Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer (and "fixer"), has been caught making money with big companies, by selling his influence with Trump.

Trump's latest addition to his legal team, Rudy Giuliana, is giving guided tours of the swamp as he tries to defend Cohen and claim Trump didn't know anything about the scheme.

Year, right. Just like he didn't know anything about Stormy Daniels.

Moving on...

A political sign in Calvert County, Maryland, tells liberals to "get your guns if you try to impeach President Trump."

Isn't that nice? Now that the NRA has elected convicted felon, Oliver North as it's new president, can we expect a sudden resurgence of smuggled drugs from Iran or South America?

It's Fantasy Time

Imagine if Trump and his base all booked passage to Mars via the Mars One Mission? The opportunity to be Mar's first dictator just might motivate Donny to finance the adventure.

I'd be glad to donate to that mission.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

The Plot Thickens: Leaked Cohen Dossier Reveals Russian Connection To Trump

Good Day World!

Thanks for stopping by.

How do you feel about real life detective stories and mysteries?

The Curious Case of Michael Cohen 

Quick update: Thus far, we know that Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is in a world of shit.

After the FBI raided his home, and office, he suddenly became an albatross around the all ready beleaguered Trump's neck.

A porn star's lawyer has emerged as the detective unearthing valuable information about Cohen and Trump's relationship with a Russian bad boy...and more.

The latest clue in the sleuthing of Cohen's curious case has produced a dossier (sound familiar?) that showed Cohen was hired last year by the a U.S. - based affiliate of a Russian company owned by Victor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch.

FYI - Vekselberg attended Trump's inauguration.

BTW - He's also on a list of sanctioned Putin puppets by the US government.

Get this: Cohen's company Essential Consultants had received payments from several others with business considerations before the federal government once Trump was elected.

The other sneaks involved in this case are the telecommunications giant AT&T, aircraft manufacturer Korea Aero Space Industries, and the pharmaceutical company Novartis.

Since the news was released yesterday, all three companies confirmed they did make payments to Cohen. There's no doubt what all these companies paid for - influence with Trump.

To rehash: Michael Avenatti - the erstwhile detective in this case - got involved after representing porn star Stormy Daniels who was paid $130,000 by Cohen shortly before the 2016 election to keep quiet about her affair with Trump.

Now he's the darling of the talk-show circuit. And why not? He seems to be charmed with digging up dirt on Donny and his friends, and hasn't been caught lying yet, unlike Cohen.

That someone in the know somewhere, saw fit to leak all this incriminating information is a hole-in-one for any lawyer - or detective.

The news has triggered the inspector general's office to inquire into allegations that Suspicious Activity Reports on Cohen's banking transactions were "improperly disseminated.

The plot thickens... 

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Republicans No Longer Care About Norms Or Rules of American Politics

Good Day World!

It almost feels like an invasion.

An army of Trumpies are emulating their lord and master, Trump, and throwing out everything that use to keep politics from resulting in a country-dividing combat mission.

And why not? Trump has delivered on several of his campaign pledges, including tearing up the Iran treaty yesterday that the rest of the world signed onto with America in 2015.

Another world-wide pact was torn apart by Trump who ditched the Paris Environmental Treaty earlier in his presidency for no good reason.

Both broken American agreements were on Trump's agenda to please his base, as just about everything he's done so far has been for his rabid followers.

When the Republican Party realized that Trump was starting to get away with breaking laws, stifling truth, attacking the media, and in general assaulting everything good about America...they hopped on the Trump train to hell.

Increasingly "mini-me" Trumps are finding their master's voice and copying it as a blueprint to getting elected. Look no further than the child molester Roy Moore's campaign in Alabama where Trump backed him.

Some of the "mini-Trumps" are unabashedly just using the Liar-In-Chief's tactics without worrying about Trump's endorsement.

Don Blankenship is the most recent example of a rebellious breed of "mini-Trumps."

Blankenship, a convicted criminal who was held responsible for the deaths of 29 coal miners, ran against two other Republicans in the West Virginia primaries yesterday.

When Trump tweeted that he couldn't win and that Republicans should vote for one of the two other candidates, Blankenship just shrugged and pressed on with his campaign. He lost last night.

The question remains, how should Democrats react to the reduction of civility and truth that seems to be working for many Republicans today?

The Democrats must either take the high road, or the low road and emulate their opponents.

I'm hoping Americans will stand up for truth and equality when they go to the polls in November.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

One-Third of Americans Have No Problem With Liars

Good Day World!

You want the good news, or the bad news, first?

The Bad News

In the 2016 exit polls only 33 percent of voters viewed Trump as honest and trustworthy, and he still won. 

That tells me there were a lot of Americans who voted for Trump despite knowing he was a first-class liar.

That percentage of Americans coupled, with his deluded cult base of reality TV fans, helped Trump win the election with the additional help of Russia.

What do those voters - who weren't part of the 33 percent of his regular cult followers - but still voted for a known serial liar, think now?

The Good News

I suspect there's a lot of buyers remorse going on, and we'll see that at the midterms when the Democrats take back the House, and possibly even the Senate.

It also helps to remember that two-thirds of Americans agree that Trump is a serial liar. Several news organizations document his daily lies. Yes, daily. He averages six a day.

With over 3000 documented lies, Trump has taken the office of the president down into the gutter, where truth doesn't matter.

More Bad News

That he's got away with inventing his own realities as we watch him, is nothing short of scary. Trump is truly at that the point where he believes he's above the law.

He's taken on the FBI, the CIA, the EPA, our entire judiciary system, and the world, in a one-man assault upon democracy and the rule of law.

Millions of Americans no longer trust the news, or organizations that fact-check, calling them fake news. This is one of the most insidious things Trump has accomplished thus far.

More Good News

It looks like Trump is in hot water after his personal lawyer Michael Cohen had his home and office raided by the FBI. Being Trump's "fixer" he knows where all Donny's skeletons are hidden.

Trump has already kicked him under the bus.

The chance that Cohen,  who has been charged with multiple felonies, will keep his mouth shut and do 30-years of prison for his buddy is a stretch...and Trump knows it.

Trump's public lies, and rotating stories, are not going to help Cohen's case when he goes to trial. Will he flip on his mentor?

Will truth finally win out? Can we reverse the damage Trump and his cronies have created?

I think the answers are, yes, and yes.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Trump-Netanyahu's Dirty Tricks: Spy Team Hired To Discredit Iran Deal

                                             Good Day World!

France's president Macron tried to charm Trump into staying with the current Iran agreement. He might as well been talking to a stone wall.

Perhaps he didn't realize how invested Trump was in tearing up the treaty. Trump, Kushner and Netanyahu go back a long way. 

Last Monday, Netanyahu, accused Iran of continuing to hide and expand its nuclear weapons know-how after the 2015 deal, presenting what he claimed was “new and conclusive proof” of violations.

The world called BS on that attempt and Netanyahu's staged presentation fell flat.

That didn't deter Trump however. He had another plan to create chaos in the middle east. Reverting back to his campaign days, Trump hired private investigators to "get dirt" on two of Obama's top national security advisers to discredit the deal.

This was one of the dirty tactics Trump and company pulled during the presidential election in 2016. The Trump camp made numerous attempts to dig up dirt on Hillary, going so far as to work with the Russians to get what they wanted.

As we all know, special counsel Robert Mueller is leading an investigation into apparent attempts by Trump's inner-circle to dig up damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

This extraordinary revelation by The Guardian, come days before Trump’s May 12 deadline to either scrap or continue to abide by the international deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.

A spokesman for the White House's national security counsel offered "no comment" when approached by the press.

Why Trump is so eager to help Netanyahu - who has his own problems dealing with corruption charges - is not immediately clear.

It does appear that they are kindred souls; thick as thieves, as the saying goes.  

Here's something else to consider when looking for reasons why Trump would want to back out of a deal America signed with the international community:

Trump's under intense pressure from multiple lawsuits and the Russia investigation. At some point, when it looks like he's going to go down for his misdeeds, he could declare war on Iran for trumped-up reasons.

You might want to check out the movie "Wag The Dog" for some context.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

I Didn't Vote For McCain, But I Admire Him and His Spirit

Good Day World!

I still think there's a small possibility I might have voted for John McCain when he ran for president, if he wouldn't have brought Sarah Palin aboard.

Yes, I had other concerns, but it was adding Palin as VP that cemented my decision not to vote for him.

As a Vietnam veteran, I have nothing but admiration for how McCain handled himself as a prisoner-of-war. I'll always be in awe of what he went through, and how he managed to lead a fairly normal life afterwards.

When our current Asshole-In-Chief derided McCain during one of his hate rallies, saying he didn't like people who got captured, my blood boiled!

The idea that cadet Bonespur, who dodged the draft four times, would criticize a combat veteran, and hero, was outrageous. 

Despite leaning liberal on a lot of subjects, I also listen to what conservatives have to say, if they appear sincere in their desire to serve the public.

As you might guess, there hasn't been too many conservatives who fit that image. Instead, many conservatives have shed their traditional values to take a ride on the Trump train.

McCain is one of only a handful of conservatives who have stood up to Trump. His vote stopped Trump and his cronies in their tracks when they tried to get rid of The Affordable Care Act.

He challenges Trump when he lies (which is often).

If McCain didn't have a fatal cancer, I'm sure he would have run another term to try to protect the Constitution from being destroyed by Trump.

The man is a fighter, and has the spirit of a warrior-statesman. As much as I've disagreed with some of the things McCain's done, I've always respected the man.

How could I not?

Just because his political views generally run opposite of mine, is no reason to revile a man whose spent his life serving this country.

When the time comes, and McCain loses this final battle to survive one more time, I'll proudly salute his life, and hope he rests in peace for eternity.

Related: At His Ranch, John McCain Shares Memories and Regrets With Friends 

Time for me to walk on down the road....