It's About Revenge: Trump Cronies Trying to 'Out' Whistleblower

Good Day World!

Republicans, with the surprise exception of Sen. Liz Cheney, went after a war hero - Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman - because he was making Trump look bad yesterday.

The truth hurts. 
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After Vindman's Testimony , Right-Wing Conspiracies Fired Up
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Especially if you're a Republican lawmaker these days. Trying to defend the indefensible actions of Trump is impossible, so most have gone into the silence mode.

Not all, however. One of the biggest assholes in The House, Devin (DUI) Nunes, tasked his top aid - Derek Harvey - to "out the whistleblower." A number one priority for a vengeful Trump.

Harvey has been spreading notes around for Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee identifying the whistleblower's name. The plan is to get the whistleblower's name in the proceedings which the Democrats have pledged to release.

The ultimate reason for publicly exposing the whistleblower is so Trump can get his revenge against him/her. At this point, there's no need to get the whistleblower's testimony, facts supporting the claims have been pouring in weekly.

Nevertheless, House Republicans went out of their way yesterday to change the topic to help Trump. Both parties got into a heated shouting match when Chairman Adam Schiff accused Republicans of trying to out the anonymous whistleblower.

What are these Republicans hoping for by exposing the whistleblower's identity? An "atta boy" from Trump who will go out of his way to destroy the person? Is it really worth that?

I guess these spineless Republicans will see, as this inquiry moves forward and becomes history.

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

ISIS Leader Dead Despite Trump's Desertion of the Kurds Who Made it Possible

Delta Force members with Canine jump into raid site in Syria - AP

                                     Good Day World!

What we know:

The world's number one terrorist leader was killed in a daring nighttime raid by American special forces on Sunday.

In a 48-minute campaign speech after the news was released, Trump took nearly all the credit for the success of the operation; surprising no one in the room... or the country.

The first credit he gave to others involved in the raid was to Russia... that's right, our biggest enemy in the world, alongside China.

Then he thanked Turkey. He did get around to thanking our special services for their successful mission. In an afterthought he mention the Kurds helped.

As after-reports continue to pour in about the operation, it's becoming clearer the Kurds were vital in the hunt, and they provided the information that led to el-Baghdadi's death.

This is the same ally that Trump throw under the bus. Even as the Kurds were fleeing their cities their intelligence operation was working with it's American counterparts to locate ISIS's leader.

Related: Kurdish Informant Provided Key Intel On Operation That Killed ISIS Leader Abu Bakr el-Baghadi 

Also: Baghadi raid Was a Victory Built on Factors Trump Derides

Also: Death of ISIS Leader Was IN SPITE of Trump's Actions

Trump and his minions were quick to tamp down on the part played by the Kurds. Instead the praise went to Putin and Erdogan for their permission to carry out the raid.

Almost as an afterthought, Trump decided to stay in Syria to "protect" the oil fields despite his claim of bringing troops home.

Trump told reporters that he intends to "...make a deal with an Exxon-Mobile or one of the great companies to go in" and exploit the field properly.

"We should be able to take some also," he coyly added.

With no regard to how it looks - America exploiting foreign lands resources - Trump decided to stay in Syria for oil. Not to defend the Kurds, but to guard a revenue source in the Middle East.

ISIS is a many-headed snake. Cut off one head, and another takes its place.

Middle Eastern intelligence agencies have been telling their American counterparts since last year, that ISIS planned ahead of their leader's death, and already has at least two leaders groomed to take Baghdadi's place.

I suspect our intelligence agencies haven't bothered relaying this information to our Liar-in-Chief, who is still taking victory laps.

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

Haunting in the White House: Ghost Defends Trump

                                      Good Day World!

There's a ghost in the White House sending out messages via email, Twitter, etc., supporting everything Trump says or does.

In time for Halloween, this benevolent ghost has been trying to uplift Trump's reputation with rhetoric that sounds hauntingly like what we hear from North Korea where Kim is treated like a god.

This political poltergeist announced yesterday that ex-chief of staff, John Kelly's assertions about a conversation he had with Trump warning that Yes Men will get him impeached, were bogus.

Trump quickly denied it claiming he would have kicked his ass out of the White House... a claim I find hard to believe. Trump is a coward.

Back to that ghost who whispers sweet things about Trump from time-to-time. There's rumors the ghost is actually a member of Trump's team of mindless minions.

In a stunning rebuttal of Kelly's claim the apparition messaged news medias announcing, "Kelly was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great president." 

I strongly suspect that this political phantom stays out of sight because there's truth in the light. 

I grudgingly admit the wraith in the White House has a point; no one understands Trump's plans because he doesn't have any. Our self-proclaimed leader calls himself a "stable genius." 

That should tell you something right there. No sane person would say that. The spook in the West Wing referred to Trump as our "Great President." 

If that sounds oddly familiar it's because North Koreans refer to Kim as their "Great Leader." 

It's not about understanding Trump. That's impossible. It's more like surviving Trump as long as he squats in the Oval Office.

Update! A leaked inter-office memo names Stephanie Grisham as the spirit doing the speaking.

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

One Clown Defense Team: Trump's Fiery Rhetoric Rallies Base But Rattles Republicans

Good Day World!

Yes. These are strange days.

It's not just that way for you and me, but the whole country.

The chaos coming out of The Red House/aka The White House, is torching the nation by burning up laws; values; traditions; ethics; and assaulting facts along with the truth.

As one political wit put it (George Conway), "The White House is a dumpster fire."

Some good news: Judge Says Impeachment Inquiry is Legal and Justifies Disclosing Grand Jury Material

With impeachment hanging over Trump's head (and the thing living on it) he's taking the flame-thrower approach and is setting fires on Twitter, and everywhere he goes.

Trump's incendiary rhetoric may be keeping his base happy, but the rest of the country is sick and tired of wildfires every day on the wake-up.

There's an old phrase that warns "If you play with fire, you're going to get burned." 

Teflon Don believes he's immune from the consequences that "lesser men" suffer for their actions.

What's scary this Halloween, is he may be right.

The spineless GOP cowards in the senate may give our fire-starter-in-charge a free pass to continue burning up the Constitution, and the current laws of the land.

However... the worms could turn as this article suggests:
Trump Should Be Very Worried About Senate Republicans

If Trump isn't impeached and thrown out of office, our democracy will be reduced to ashes. In it's wake will be chaos, disorder, and... a monarchy.

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

Where in the World is Rudy Giuliani?

                                        Good Day World!

I kind of miss that crazy little bastard Rudy Giuliana.

I know. It's only been a week since we last heard from Trump's personal lawyer. But, I miss his shtick.

His performances on TV news shows were great theatre, and his facial gestures provided mask-makers a new inspiration for Halloween this year.

He's an entertaining cross between a weasel and a snake. His rants have become his trademark. A sad decline compared to when he was once respected and called America's Mayor decades ago.

The talk among political pundits is Rudy is searching for a lawyer because he's going to need one. 

His relationship with corrupt businessmen who have been arrested, Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas is causing waves right up to the White House, which has it's own problems trying to stay above water during the impeachment process.

While the feds were blowing a door off a safe while searching the arrested men's homes, and issuing subpoenas to probe into Giuliani's associates, he's managed to stay out of the public eye.

But for how long?

The feds are building a case against him. 

It's only a matter of time before he's ordered to appear before an investigative committee after a grand jury decides the little weasel was acting badly.

Rudy has options right now, before the men in the dark suits and sunglasses escort him to jail to await a trial that will certainly go badly for him.

1) Rudy can take a page from Forest Gump... and run!

2) Rudy can claim executive privilege or client lawyer confidentially, and stonewall efforts with the hope he'll get away with it.

3) Rudy could suddenly get a conscience (?) after watching Trump sink faster than the Titanic,and turn against him in the Ukraine scandal by cooperating with impeachment investigators.

Ultimately, Rudy could just claim insanity. Who would argue with that?

Related: Rudy Butt-Dials NBC Reporter, Heard Discussing The Need for Cash and Trashing Bidens.

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

Trump's Alternate Reality Defense Isn't Working This Time

                                         Good Day World!

Let's face it, Trump's use of an alternate reality defense stymied the Democrats when the Mueller report was released.

It was a victory for Trump and his minions. They managed to muddy Mueller's warnings and went into a complete stonewall mode that defused the facts in the report. 

Two days after claiming exoneration, Trump felt so invincible he put the screws on the Ukraine's new president Zelensky, demanding that he conduct a conspiracy investigation against his main Democratic rival for president Joe Biden. 

He also wanted Zelensky to pursue another conspiracy theory over a mysterious server that supposedly had proof Russia didn't interfere with the 2016 election, and that the Ukraine did.

Unfortunately for Trump he went back to the well too soon and found a newly energized Democratic Party. They gathered facts on his latest corruption so fast Trump and his minions haven't been able to mount an effective defense.

When Republican sources said yesterday that diplomat Bill Taylor's testimony was a 'game changer" and points to "quid pro quo," a dark cloud descended on Trump and his minions.

With no organized defense tactics (other than storming into a Congressional closed-door meeting in a highly secure area), Trump's case gets worse by the day.

Thus far, Trump has held his minions in thrall with his alternate universe seemingly working so well in the real world. But like all theatrical performances the curtain comes down in the end.

With evidence and facts hitting the confused Republican Party lawmakers like bricks, the foundation of Trump's reality show has been exposed as a fantasy for the wealthy and white supremacists.

If Trump and his enablers think it's tough going right now they're in for a big shock when the hearings go public in mid-November.

National polls favoring Trump's impeachment and ouster from office are showing a steady increase as the weeks go by. In the matter of one month, 51 percent of all voters think Trump needs to go.

What really stands out about this poll is when the news broke about a whistleblower exactly one month ago today, only 37 percent of voters wanted Trump kicked out of office. 

There's reason to believe more bad news will be coming during the impeachment process revelations in the weeks ahead.

There's also good reason to believe Trump will act crazier than he already has as the investigation gains ground. It's important to remember, these are not normal times.

Trump is not a normal president. His three-year reality show in politics has crippled America's standing in the world community, and his corruption has been like a poison infecting our government and Constitution.

The only thing that could save him is if the Senate decides to let Trump get away with everything. At one time, I would have said there's no way GOP senators would ever turn on Trump.

The times, however, are a changing.

Related: Trump's 'Red Wall' Against Impeachment is Looking Less Stable After Two GOP Senators Said They Were Wavering 

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

Unhinged! GOP Lawmakers Obstruct Congressional Hearing

                                       Good Day World!

How desperate are the Republicans who are trying to defend Trump's corruption?

Enough to break every rule in Congress. First by stonewalling a slew of subpoenas, and then yesterday by breaking into a closed door Congressional hearing and disrupting it.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper was sitting down to testify, the roughly two dozen Republicans stormed through three different doors, according to news reports.

GOP Rep. Bradley Byrne was screaming in the committee Chair Adam Schiff's face, but Schiff didn't engage. It quickly turned into a circus as both parties attempted to outshout the other.

One source (as reported by CNN) said, "It was the closest thing I've ever seen around here to mass civil unrest as a member of Congress."

The protesting Congressmen did not belong to any of the committees. 

Despite having equal representation, and the ability to ask questions on every inquiry committee, the Forever Trumpers in the House felt they needed to stage a protest in response to Trump's call for them to defend him more strongly.

Cheez-It crackers and pizza was brought into the room an hour later as the few remaining Republicans continued to stand around like defiant rats, claiming the current impeachment process wasn't fair.

Finally, after five hours, the last unhinged protestor left, warning he "might come back!" 

The protestors violated the Sensitive Compartment Information Facility (SCIF) rules by bringing in their electronics. 

GOP Rep. Mike Conaway, who is on the committee, had to collect them from the protestors led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz/aka Trump's most drama-queen defender.

At the very least, every one of those uninvited GOP protestors should be cited for obstruction of justice. Their only goal was to delay the impeachment process because it was becoming too painful to hear.

When Trump called out to Republicans to "get tougher" a few days ago, the Forever Trumpers responded with a dramatic break-in to a classified hearing after meeting with Trump, and presumably getting their marching orders.

What worries me is what are those same GOP members going to do next, as more evidence condemning Trump comes out daily? How far will they go?

Nothing seems off the table for those increasingly worried GOP lawmakers who have decided to flaunt rules, and even laws, to protect Trump.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman, a Florida Democrat who was in the room when the Republicans charged in, put it best, "This investigation clearly has far too much fact for their comfort level, so they have to stop it from moving forward."

It's unclear what will happen next.

In the future it looks like they're going to have to have better security (!) in the SCIF if they don't want these illegal break-ins to continue.

That should be interesting.

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

How To Deal With Trump: Don't Take the Bait!

Good Day World!

After three years you'd think the Democrats would have caught on to Trump's race-baiting tweets and not be diverted by them.

But no.

They went bonkers yesterday when Trump referred to the impeachment process against him as a "lynching." 

Just when I thought the Democrats were on track in their impeachment inquiries, I see a headline like the one in the link above. They're still talking about lynching today.

After over 1000 days (and 13,000 lies) later, Trump is still getting away with one of his favorite diversionary tactics: throwing verbal grenades into the mix.

He manages to curtail controversies he stirs up by saying something so outrageous - and off the subject - it demands a response in return, successfully blunting whatever accusations were leveled against him.

It seems to have worked thus far.

The good news is Trump is fighting for his political life right now, and every day brings more bad news for him. Government employees and insiders are speaking out about his corrupt dealings.

As the evidence continues to build up against him, Trump will get more desperate. 

What he did to the Kurds reflects his desperation. He was more worried about his base than what all of his generals told him not to do - pull out and abandon our ally.

It was a classic wag the dog moment.

Instead of diverting attention away from the impeachment accusations however, it only added to the narrative he's out of control and is a threat to the country.

The Democrats need to be focused in their investigations and not get distracted by Trump's stunts. 

The investigation is coming to a turning point - with 55 percent of Americans wanting Trump impeached and ousted from office. But, the numbers have to keep climbing in order to break the Republican firewall in the senate.

For Congress to succeed in impeaching Trump - especially within a certain timeline - they can't waste time censuring and exposing every stunt or racist remark he makes daily.

Just don't take the bait. His grenades are just smoke bombs.

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

They're Back! Russian Trolls for Trump Are After Joe Biden

                                       Good Day World!

Putin, who has to be pleased with his trolls work in the 2016 election, has turned them loose again for a repeat in 2020.

Every intelligence agency in the U.S. knew the Russians were coming back. The Mueller report predicted it.

The new target? Joe Biden.

It's an obvious quid pro quo after Trump handed over Syria, and ruined America's relationships with all of our major allies.

Throw in the weakening of Ukraine's democratic status, and it was the least Putin could do for his Donny.

In normal times, if a foreign power was caught meddling in a presidential primary the White House would have immediately responded with a stern warning to Russia or whoever the perpetrator was.

But there was no response from the Trump White House.

The fact is, Trump has corrupted part of our government, and is trying to do away with separation of powers so he can become a king.

Yesterday, our wannabe monarch told the press what he thought about the Constitution by calling the Emoluments Clause "Phony."

Fake news and a phony passage in the Constitution. The only real thing in Trump's world is that he's a stable genius and The Chosen One.

As for the rest of us (the majority of the country), we don't want foreign interference in our elections. Trump has welcomed it from the start. He's probably going to need all the foreign interference he can get in 2020.

There's never been a more unpopular president in American history running for re-election. 

If Trump survives his impeachment trial in the Senate, he'll become the first American president to attempt to be re-elected with that dark cloud over him.

To assure victory, Trump's minions have been conducting a worldwide "find dirt on Joe Biden" campaign, touring the Ukraine, Australia, and Italy seeking to prove a debunked conspiracy theory.

The Russian trolls appearance this early in the game shows how serious they are about keeping Trump in power. And, why not? They've been winning since he slithered into office!

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

A Case for Democracy and Democrats on the Far Left

Good Day World!

If Trump is still lumbering around in the White House like a petulant child for the 2020 election, Democrats are going to have to take the kid gloves off and lean to the far left to defeat him.

There's a good chance that despite being impeached, Trump will stay in office thanks to spineless cronies in the senate. If anything, Trump's base will become even more motivated to turn out and vote for him.

Normally, I vote for moderate Democrats in elections. But my concern right now is there's not going to be anything normal about the 2020 election process.

Political gurus all agree that it will be the nastiest election in U.S. history. There will be no rules. Trump thrives in that environment.

Every pol agrees that to beat Trump (even though crippled by Impeachment and record low approval ratings) the Democrats will need a massive turnout. The election needs to be a mandate against Trump's corruption.

Not just a repeat of the successful 2018 elections, but a real tidal wave of blue from energized voters setting an all time voter participant high.

The problem with a moderate approach is it doesn't seem to have the same high energy level the far left has shown thus far, with candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

I like Biden, but I don't believe he would bring the same energized mojo against Trump's crazed base. In these nontraditional times, I predict millions of people will be voting based upon emotion (more than ever) rather than reason or track records.

The far left candidates, with their passionate supporters, will be a more worthy opponent capable of fighting fire-against-fire. Bernie's ground swell campaign support is almost legendary in the 21st century.

Elizabeth Warren's campaign is a nightmare for Wall Street, and Trump's wealthy friends and family, who've been enjoying his graft. 

I also need to point out that another Democrat could emerge as a real challenger for the nomination in the next couple of months. I have no idea who, but there's always that possibility.

As a patriotic American, I have one mission; to make sure Trump doesn't get re-elected. If that means moving my political position further left to have the best chance of doing that... then so be it. 

The Democratic Party of old - mildly liberal but mostly solidly centrist - is a thing of the past. 

How high are the stakes for all Americans today? I'll put it this way; either we'll have a Republic, or a Monarchy, in 2021.

Related: Note to Democrats: Stop Chasing Centrist Suburban Voters

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

A Rare Reversal: Trump's Attempt To Hold Next G-7 was in Foul Territory

Good Day World!

Trump was playing hardball to hold the 2020 G-7 Summit at his failing National Doral Resort... and lost.

Team Trump, led by pitcher Mick Mulvaney, recently announced the best place in the entire United States for the G-7 Summit happened to be Trump's property in Florida.

During a lie-laced press briefing Mulvaney claimed that there were a dozen properties considered for the location of the G-7 Summit.

Mulvaney admitted that it was Trump who suggested his property was the place to go. So much for any vetting of conflict of interest. By passing on all selection norms the game of ethics struck out.

If Mulvaney had steered a federal contract to a business he owned, he'd be sitting in jail right now awaiting arraignment. But, as Team Trump claimed, it's okay for the president because he's (in their view) above the law.

Team Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham suggested it was absurd (!) to believe that the law could apply to Trump. She also falsely claimed that Trump was no longer involved in the family business.

Fact: Trump's own financial disclosure statements show that he retains ownership of Trump National Doral as well as the Trump Organization that operates it, through a trust he created after winning the 2016 election for which he is the sole trustee.

Trump's frequent visits to his commercial properties in Florida, New Jersey, and other locals have funneled federal dollars into his own coffers ever since he was elected.

However, the other team wasn't just idly sitting by and watching Team Trump.

Actions taken before Trump backed off:

* Democrat's introduce 'THUG Act' to block funding for G-7 at Trump resort 

* Senators are demanding answers on the decision to hold the G-7 Summit at Trump Doral

* Trump invites new emoluments fight with G-7 resort pitch 

* Experts: President's plan to hold G-7 at Trump Resort violates the U.S. Constitution

It appears that the "Chosen One's" swing at an ethics grand slam has fouled out. 

That leaves Trump with two more outs left in the game and Congress is working on them with an expert impeachment bullpen.

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