Vladimir Putin

Total Transparency? What Trump Really Means When He Lies About Exposing the Phony Witch Hunt

Posted by on September 18, 2018 at 1:37 pm. 1 Comments :

There has never been a president who has expressed more animosity toward the intelligence community he is supposedly leading than Donald Trump, His open disdain for the Department of Justice, the FBI, and all of the other intelligence agencies throughout the federal government and the military, is well documented. He even prefers the word of Russia’s Vladimir Putin to his own intel resources.

Donald Trump

On Monday evening it was revealed that Trump ordered the declassification of a select group of documents involving the the investigation of his nefarious connections to Russia. It’s a conspicuously cherry-picked set of docs that were previously requested by the smarmy and ultra-biased Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes. Needless to say, these items were chosen to deceitfully advance Trump’s paranoid “witch hunt” narrative. However, they actually pose a significant risk to intelligence sources and methods, while also adding to Trump’s expanding portfolio of obstruction of justice charges.

So naturally Trump made a statement on Tuesday morning to try to shore up his crumbling arguments against the work of special counsel Robert Mueller (video below). Trump unironically told the press that “I want total transparency.” Sure he does. He continued saying that:

“This is a witch hunt. Republicans are seeing it. The Democrats know it’s a witch hunt, too, but they don’t want to admit it because that’s not good politics for them. But it’s a terrible witch hunt and it’s hurt our country. And the things that have been found over the past couple of weeks about text messages back and forth are a disgrace to our nation. And I want transparency, and so does everybody else. As you know, congressional committees came to me and they wanted this, and I did it based on their request. But I think it’s a good thing because we should open it up for people to see.”

It’s funny how Trump thinks he knows what Democrats want and are secretly thinking. Particularly since he doesn’t even know what is in the documents that he just declassified at the request of partisan hacks in Congress. But it’s his claim to wanting transparency that really tests the limits of believability. If Trump is really committed to transparency, here are a few other matters that he might want to consider being transparent about:

  • His tax returns. He promised to release them several times, but that’a promise he never intended to keep. Presumably due to the numerous illegal and embarrassing things we would learn if he did release them.
  • Transcript of meeting with Vladimir Putin. Trump met with Putin for a couple of hours in Helsinki, but has refused to disclose what was discussed, even to his own national security officials.
  • Obama’s birth certificate. Trump said that “investigators” he sent to Hawaii “cannot believe what they’re finding.” We know how they feel.
  • Brett Kavanaugh’s file. Tens of thousands of pages relating to Kavanaugh’s service in the George W. Bush White House are still being withheld by Trump.
  • Emails and text messages related to Russia. While Trump did selectively declassify some of these documents, they were limited to those produced by people he regards as “deep state” enemies (James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr) He refuses to release the same sort of documents by Devin Nunes, Jeff Sessions, Sean Hannity, Wikileaks, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, etc.

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list. Trump is surely withholding much more information regarding his finances, his campaign, his relationship with Putin and Russia, and his myriad relationships with the women he was cheating on his wife (wives) with. This is not the behavior of someone genuinely interested in transparency. It’s just another dishonest representation by a notorious liar who is now trying to employ the deceitful, punitive practices of the dictators he admires.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Has a New Mantra in Defense of Trump: Mueller is A Greater Threat Than Putin

Posted by on August 11, 2018 at 10:47 am. 1 Comments :

The top priority of State TV (aka Fox News) for the past year – and the one unfolding – is to make sure that Donald Trump is safely sheltered from any and all criticism and the devastating effects of unsanitized truth. The more that the American people learn about what Trump is doing, and has done, the more political peril he and his accomplices are in.

Donald Trump Fox News

Fox News has, so far, been diligent in carrying out their mission to protect the President. They are his rapid response team when negative news is reported, and that’s almost all of it. They are the attack squad to neutralize critics and truth tellers. And they are even the “brain” trust that incubates Trump’s agenda and public pronouncements.

In the service of that calling, Fox News is now test marketing a new tactic aimed at undermining the rule of law and denigrating the people charged with enforcing it. It is a strategy familiar to totalitarian dictators who strive to hoard control over every institution of an otherwise free society. It surfaced recently when Fox’s Jeanine Pirro asked an eagerly agreeable guest whether special counsel Robert Mueller is “a greater threat than [Vladimir] Putin to this country.”

It’s an odd question for the obvious reasons. Putin is a ruthless dictator who has invaded neighboring countries, murdered his political adversaries, and waged a cyber war against the United States. While on the other hand, Mueller is a war hero, a lifelong public servant, and a man who has earned unqualified respect from across the political spectrum (at least until he took his current job). But the question is also a curious one coming from people who have lately been praising Putin as a strong leader who, according to Trump, would be a dandy friend to the U.S. and no threat whatsoever.

Nevertheless, the allegation has been making the rounds at Fox News. The latest eruption of this slander came from Fox News host Mark Levin during an interview on Sean Hannity’s program. And he wasn’t shy about making a pointedly defamatory charge with no basis to support it:

“Robert Mueller is a greater threat to this republic and the Constitution than anything Vladimir Putin did during the campaign. And I’m no fan of Vladimir Putin. He’s threatening to take down a President of the United States.”

So Levin’s theory is that Mueller is worse than Putin because he’s trying to remove a president that Putin installed. But he wasn’t through. As he continued he enumerated the reasons he thought Mueller’s investigation was improper. But he actually supplied a pretty good opening to explain all the reasons that mueller’s probe is proper and necessary. He launches into it saying “Now let’s walk through this quickly:”

“The President is not a witness to any crime. How do we know that? Because we don’t know what crime they’re even talking about. So he doesn’t need to be questioned as a witness.”

In fact, the President is both a witness and a participant in several potential crimes including conspiracy with a foreign government to interfere with an election, campaign finance law violations, and obstruction of justice. Just because Levin can’t identify Trump’s criminal exposure, doesn’t mean there isn’t any. And the need to question him about is apparent to any first-year law student.

“The President did not commit a crime. What crime did he commit? So he’s not a target, he doesn’t need to be questioned about that.”

Once again, the assertion that Trump did not commit a crime comes from Levin’s imagination. Currently Trump is considered to be a “subject” of the investigation, and that status can be changed to “target” at any time. So he does need to be questioned about that.

“According to the Department of Justice, a president can’t be indicted. A president cannot be questioned by a subordinate, like Mr. Mueller, about his prerogatives as president, that is, about the firing of a subordinate like Mr. Comey. So what questions, exactly, does Mr. Mueller have?”

Actually, the Justice Department’s guidance as to whether a president can be indicted is an administrative rule, not a law. It can be changed with the stroke of a pen. And there is no prohibition of a special counsel questioning a president. Levin is just making that one up. While Comey, as FBI Directer, can be terminated by the President, if it is proven to have been done in order to obstruct justice it is actionable as a crime.

These points by Levin all seem to be aimed at making excuses for why Trump should decline to be interviewed by Mueller. Of course the more salient reasons would be because he can’t help himself from lying (which even his own attorneys and some members of his administration have insinuated), and he is at heart a coward. Levin goes on to rant incoherently about Trump being a “white hat” hero and Mueller being an evil usurper of some undefined and unauthorized power. And Hannity agrees, describing the legally mandated operations of the Justice Department (which is being run by Trump appointees) as akin to the former Soviet Union.

It’s a rather peculiar spectacle to watch Fox News and the Republican leadership rail on Mueller, a man most of them praised as the perfect choice for special counsel when it was announced. But it’s nauseating to see a man with real integrity, principle, and courage, being trashed as a traitor to the country he served faithfully for his entire adult life. Especially when held up in comparison to the greedy, racist, sexual predator who is currently exploiting his occupancy of the White House to sell out the nation to its enemies. For the record, this is who Levin, Hannity, Fox News, and the GOP are castigating as a corrupt defiler of democracy:

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Why Trump’s Loony Charges of Russian Collusion By Hillary Clinton Will Blow Up in His Lying Face

Posted by on August 6, 2018 at 11:42 am. 3 Comments :

In the process of his rapid descension into panic and fear, Donald Trump is becoming ever more frenzied and detached from reality. He knows that the law is closing in on him and his family (who he just threw under the bus) and he’s grasping for any lifeline to keep from sinking into the abyss of his treasonous criminality.

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton

Among the tactics Trump has settled on is an effort to snare Hillary Clinton in a Russian collusion story of her own. This fictional construction has already been hammered to death by Trump’s pals at Fox News, so his cult followers are primed to buy into it. But there are a couple of significant problems with this desperation ploy.

The gist of Trump’s scheme asserts that Clinton is the one who has conspired with the Kremlin to bring down the candidacy of Trump. Never mind that Vladimir Putin admitted at a joint press conference in Helsinki that he wanted Trump to win. The President’s angle is that Clinton and/or her campaign paid Russians for dirt on Trump that they would use to his detriment in the election. And that is his basis for claiming that Clinton is the real colluder. He’s addressed it many times on Twitter, including this past weekend. For instance:

However, that fairy tale is just plain ludicrous. What Trump is referring to is the now famous Steele Dossier. It was researched and complied by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent who was regarded as credible by his American counterparts. He did have Russian sources from whom he extracted information. That’s called investigating, but it’s not colluding. And he didn’t pay for the information. He was paid by a firm, Fusion GPS, that was originally contracted for opposition research on Trump by a conservative website, but he was not paid by Clinton or her campaign.

In addition to that, the data in the dossier was never used by the Clinton campaign. So the allegation that she engaged in this alleged collusion to harm Trump doesn’t make any sense. Contrast that with the evidence that Trump was colluding. He personally promoted the information that was obtained by his son and his campaign manager in meetings that they lied about later. He even asked the Russians to do more hacking to steal even more data from Clinton. Which they did.

But the real problem for Trump is that he keeps hedging his claim that there was no collusion with the false assertion that collusion isn’t a crime. That’s like a murderer saying “I didn’t shoot the guy, and was nowhere near the scene. But anyway, it was a self defense.” While “collusion” is not a word in the criminal statutes, the crime does exist as a combination of related offenses such as conspiracy. And it is illegal to interfere with an election and to solicit or accept money or other things of value from foreign governments.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

So every time that Trump pretends that collusion is not a crime, he is outright lying. But worse, when he demands that Clinton be investigated for collusion, he is conceding that it actually is a crime. So which is it? Trump wants everyone accept his premise that “Crooked Hillary” should be investigated and prosecuted (lock her up) for colluding with Russia. Therefore, the same standard would have to be applied to Trump. By casting blame on Clinton, Trump is actually making the best argument for bringing himself to justice. And the good news is that that is exactly what special counsel Robert Mueller is doing.

Heartsick: Trump Breaks His Date With Putin Until 2019, After the ‘Witch Hunt’ is Over (Huh?)

Posted by on July 25, 2018 at 12:42 pm. 1 Comments :

The first date went so tremendously that Donald Trump almost immediately asked dreamy Vladimir Putin out again for a rendezvous in romantic Washington, D.C. in the fall. But Trump was dissed by his crush when Putin wavered as to whether he would accept the invitation. A crestfallen Trump is now saying that he has other plans as well.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

Trump’s National Security Advisor, and mustache ride attendant, John Bolton, made the announcement that “The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year.” A dejected Trump is now employing the famous “You can’t fire me, I quit,” method of diplomatic courtship.

However, this statement has some peculiarities that warrant additional scrutiny. First of all, this is the first use of the phrase “witch hunt” by Mr. Bolton, and maybe by any senior White House staffer other than Trump himself. Apparently they are trying to cement its use as an acceptable descriptor of legal processes.

Secondly, Trump is assuming that Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation will be ongoing at least through the end of this year. That’s a long ways from the predictions of his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has been saying that the probe would be over in a couple of weeks ever since he joined Trump’s legal team.

Finally, it is very likely that the real reason for the delay has something to do with the upcoming midterm elections. It could be embarrassing if Trump were to repeat his disastrous performance in a rematch with Putin just prior to those contests. Republicans are already considered to be in dire shape as a massive blue wave of Democratic victory is forming. Putin may have been aware of that and was subtly nudging his politically naive American stooge into rescheduling until after election day. Not that things will be any better for Trump if the GOP takes the beating that is being forecast. But they could simply pretend to forget about the summit entirely should that happen.

What’s more, if Mueller completes his investigation anytime between now and year’s end, that will throw a huge Russian boot into plans for the two authoritarian aficionados to convene. Unless, of course, wherever they wind up incarcerating Trump allows for conjugal visits.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Rachel Maddow: White House Transcript Erases Putin Saying He Helped Trump Win the Election

Posted by on July 24, 2018 at 10:10 pm. 3 Comments :

Holy crap. This is one of those moments when it simply cannot be ignored that the Trump administration is deliberately falsifying reality in order to deceive their glassy-eyed Deplorables. The White House has brazenly disappeared part of the press conference he held with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. And the purpose is painfully obvious.

Rachel Maddow Donald Trump

On the Rachel Maddow Show Tuesday, Rachel revealed that the official White House transcript had an omission that could not have been accidental. The video from Maddow’s show tells the whole story. But the gist of it this: Reuters reporter Jeff Mason asked Putin a question and got a surprisingly candid answer. After Putin replied to a question about assisting Robert Mueller’s special counsel probe, Putin and Mason had the following exchange:

Putin: That could be a first step, and we can also extend it. Options abound, and they all can be found in an appropriate legal framework.
Jeff Mason: President Putin, did you want President Trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?
Putin: Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.–Russia relationship back to normal.

However, that is not what showed up in the White House transcript. They omitted the first part of Mason’ question, making it appear that Putin was still replying to the Mueller question:

PRESIDENT PUTIN: That could be a first step, and we can also extend it. Options abound, and they all can be found in an appropriate legal framework.
Q: And did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?
PRESIDENT PUTIN: Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.–Russia relationship back to normal.

So the Trump camp removed Putin’s explicit admission that he wanted Trump to win the election, and that he took measures to achieve that end. Gee, why do you suppose Trump didn’t want the American people to know about that, even after they saw it with their own eyes when it occurred? Could Trump be trying to re-write history in order to cover up his collusion with Russia? Would he be that obviously Orwellian? Well, on Tuesday he spoke at a VFW event and said “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening” That’s frighteningly close to what Orwell wrote in 1984: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

To make matters worse, the official video of this on the White House website has the same clearly intentional and flagrantly deceptive edits. This is nothing more than the sort of twisted propaganda tactics that occur regularly in authoritarian dictatorships. In fact, Russia excised the same parts of the transcript as the White House did (collusion?). Trump is trying to erase the fact that Putin openly advocated for his candidacy, and even directed his officials to provide assistance. And what’s really disturbing is that it seems to be right in line with the sort of abhorrent behavior we all expect from Donald Trump.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

See for yourself: And be prepared to be disgusted by the unscrupulous immorality of our current, and hopefully short-tenured, president.

UPDATE: Philip Bump of the Washington Post is saying that Maddow’s analysis of these video discrepancies is wrong. He says the video that the White House (and the Post) transcribed was missing the part of the question identified above. But even if that’s true, why didn’t the White House get the complete video? Maddow did. And if they want to say this is all just an innocent mistake, then why haven’t they corrected the White House website? Are we supposed to believe that they are committed to the truth when they leave information they know is false on their website?

UPDATE II: Sometime on July 26, the White House website finally corrected their transcript of the the Trump/Putin press conference. And it only took them them a week and a half.

Gaslighting 101: Trump is ‘Very Concerned’ that Russia Will Be ‘Fighting Very Hard’ for Democrats

Posted by on July 24, 2018 at 11:02 am. 1 Comments :

Perhaps the most lasting legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency will be the ease and frequency with which he passes off flagrant falsehoods to the American people and the world. It’s a display of pathological lying that could keep psychiatric researchers busy for decades. Yet is a daily occurrence for Trump and it is actually increasing in volume and depth of dishonesty every day.

Donald Trump

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Trump tweeted another absurdity that he hopes will tickle the shriveled hearts of the glassy-eyed disciples who believe his every utterance. The cult mentality is strong in these adoring StormTrumpers. But this latest Twitter post ought to be recognizably fake news to even the most naive Deplorable:

There is much wrong with this that it’s hard to know where to begin. How about with the fact that just two days ago Trump tweeted that Russian election hacking was “all a big hoax.” And that came only a few days after he insisted that he didn’t see why Russia would interfere with our elections, a statement he supposedly “corrected” the day after he said it. It appears that Trump was arguing that Obama should have told him about the Russian interference that he also says never happened? And what he has been repeatedly calling a hoax and a “witch hunt” is suddenly real.

Secondly, at the joint press conference Trump held with his Russian counterpart (aka boss), Putin was asked directly: “Did you want President Trump to win the election? And did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?” Putin replied, “Yes, I did. Yes, I did.” In fact, Putin has been consistently as flattering toward Trump as the infatuated Trump has been toward him.

Thirdly, Trump has an odd conception of what toughness on Russia is. After all, he just rewarded Putin, who he now believes is intent on interfering with American elections again, with an invitation to the White House. Why on Earth would an American president grant such an honor to someone who the entire intelligence community has concluded was responsible for hacking the last election, and the same president is asserting plans to hack the next one?

Finally, if Trump is so concerned about the election being tampered with by Russia, then why did he and his Republican Party just vote to eliminate funding for election security? These cuts are being imposed even as Trump’s own national security team warn that Russia is still engaging in the election tampering activities that they employed in 2016.

While most of Trump’s tweets are dripping with hostility and deceit, this one is especially infested with his psychotic determination to turn reality on its head. He even said in a speech today to the VFW that “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” In other words my children, “Believe me, not your own eyes and ears.” Is he doing this to put Democrats on the defensive as the beneficiaries of Russia’s cyber war? Or to take the heat off of himself as Putin’s puppet? Or is it just a means of distracting the public and the media from his other scandalous behaviors? Most likely it’s a Trumpian combo-plate of his specialties: blaming others, lying, and treason. And the rightist Republicans who are incapable of coherent thought will eat it up.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

STOP THE PRESSES! Trump Says Russian Election Interference is ‘All a Big Hoax’ (Again?)

Posted by on July 22, 2018 at 6:03 pm. 1 Comments :

This roller coaster ride is really getting ridiculous. After a week of Donald Trump swerving in every direction at once he is now taking another sharp turn toward the sort of absurdity that usually accompanies acute mental decline or senility. However, in Trump’s case it’s just more evidence of a mind that is incapable of rational thought or honesty. It’s the cognitive processes of a malignant narcissist gone wild.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

Remember when Trump held a news conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin and, responding to a question about whether Russia was interfering with American elections, he said “I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia? And then, after he was deservedly raked over the coals for taking the word of our enemy over the that of our intelligence community, Trump back-flipped and said that he meant to say “wouldn’t” instead of “would”?

That was just last week. And in the aftermath of that public display of treason, Trump and his defenders in the right-wing media insisted that all along he has declared his commitment to the conclusions of the American intelligence agencies with jurisdiction over these matters. State TV (aka Fox News) even put together a little propaganda video to drive the point home. Although in their inept sycophancy they actually proved the opposite of their intention.

Well now Trump is back to calling all of the intelligence agencies that he so earnestly claimed to believe, liars. In a new tweet that was aimed at besmirching his arch nemesis, President Obama, he said that the claims of Russian election hacking were “all a big hoax.”

Poor Donald just can’t seem to hold a coherent thought in his cartoon brain for more than hour. His argument is now that Obama’s failure to do anything about Russia’s cyber attack is evidence that it never took place. So is Trump saying now that he actually meant he doesn’t see why it “would” be Russia in the first place? Is he arguing that Obama should have told him about the Russian interference that he says never happened? And the lame excuse that he meant “wouldn’t” was, as Trump might say, all a big hoax?

For the record, Obama did plenty when he found out about Russia’s hacking. He ordered new sanctions against Russia that included expelling thirty-five diplomats, restricting the activities of Russian intelligence services and their operatives, and closing two compounds used by Russians in the U.S. He also admonished Putin in no uncertain terms that this behavior would not be tolerated. Notice that he didn’t ask Putin whether or not he did it. Obama simply told him forthrightly to stop. And he would have done more, but was obstructed by Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress.

Also, Trump is lying when he says that Obama didn’t tell him about the hacking. Trump was personally informed of the election tampering by Obama administration national security officials. So now he’s denying that the disclosures he personally participated in took place. This is not a failure of memory. This a deliberate lie. We know this because he was reminded of it just four days ago by the New York Times.

The brazen and corrupt dishonesty of Donald Trump is on scale never before seen in American politics. And what’s even more frightening is that his glassy-eyed disciples will believe anything he says no matter how ludicrous and contradicted by demonstrable facts. Add to that the traitorous complicity of the Republican Party as whole and we have the makings of a constitutional crisis. The Congress needs to step up and hold Trump accountable. And the only solution at this late date is impeachment and removal from office. And if Congress won’t remove Trump, then the American people will remove Congress.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

WTF? Fox News Host Suggests Trump Traded Election Tampering in Secret Deal with Putin

Posted by on July 20, 2018 at 11:21 am. NO Comments :

When Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki he prohibited any media coverage of their discussion. Consequently, the American people have been left in the dark about what he did and said with the Russian dictator he is so clearly infatuated with. We know only what he said in the post-summit press conference, which is mainly that he trusts Putin more than he trusts his own intelligence agencies.

Fox News Steve Doocy

In the days that followed the meeting Fox News has been feverishly trying to mop up Trump’s mess with ludicrous excuses and irrational defenses. They even aired a flagrant propaganda video that was so inept it actually confirmed that Trump is a liar. They really didn’t need to work so hard at Trump’s absolution considering that his followers are blindly loyal cultists who are incapable of thinking anything Trump does is bad.

On Friday morning Fox News floated a new theory about Trump’s omnipotent brilliance and dominance over Putin. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends were engaged in their daily Trump-fluffing when co-host Steve Doocy unveiled how he thinks Trump outsmarted his BFF Vladimir (video below):

“What will be very interesting is if the President sat down with Putin and they had that private meeting on Monday of two hours. Nobody knows what they said, except the translator, who everybody on Capitol Hill and the political left would love to talk to.”

For the record, not everybody on Capitol Hill wants to talk to the translator. Democrats made a proposal to subpoena her, but Republicans voted it down. These are the same Republicans who are threatening to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for not turning over vol;umes of documents in the name of transparency. But I digress. Back to Doocy:

“None the less, it will be interesting if the President said to him, ‘Vladimir, you’ve gotta stop it. You’ve gotta stop with the meddling.’ If he said that on Monday to him and then he shows up, let’s say mid-October, before the midterms, and it’s still going on, what do you think the President would say then?

“He’d say ‘Look, I thought we had a deal here. I thought you were gonna stop it.’ So it looks like, if that were true, the President would have a little chip to play against Mr. Putin. ‘Look, you’re not doing it? I’m not gonna go along with the Ukraine, Israel, Syria, the plans we had made, maybe not so fast.'”

Doocy is suggesting that Trump used election tampering as a condition for agreement to a larger deal. Is he friggin’ kidding? The only consideration with regard to Russia interfering with American democracy is that it is unacceptable, intolerable, and that it must not occur under any conditions. Period. It is not a “chip” to be played in some diplomatic game. The only thing that a responsible president would say is “Stop it now or there will be serious consequences.” Also, how could Putin agree to to stop tampering with our election when he insists that he isn’t doing it?

And as if it isn’t bad enough to reduce the sanctity of our democracy to dealmaking with murderous tyrants, Doocy’s speculation also suggested that, in exchange for leaving our elections alone, Trump would put the status of international crises in Ukraine, Israel, and Syria up for grabs. Everything is apparently fodder in the “Art of the Deal” presidency (a book that Trump didn’t actually write). The welfare of millions of people, including long-time allies, can just be traded away for hollow promises from known liars.

This is just the sort of thing that makes testimony from the translator all the more necessary. And it reinforces the need to prevent Trump from engaging in these affairs behind closed doors where his ignorance and deceit can be exploited and/or concealed. The proposed second meeting with Putin that Trump is seeking should be canceled, or at least chaperoned by reputable adults. Because if Fox News hosts are speculating, in favorable terms, that Trump might trade away America’s democratic security for the welfare of innocent people, then truly any horror you can imagine is possible.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Bad Propaganda: Trump Tweets Fox News Clip Showing He Lied About Russian Election Hacking

Posted by on July 19, 2018 at 2:24 pm. NO Comments :

In one of the worst weeks for Donald Trump since his election (aren’t they all?) Fox News is once again fulfilling their mission to shield him from any and all criticism. It doesn’t matter to them that Trump has explicitly taken the side of Russia, a nation with hostile intentions toward the United States, and denigrated our intelligence community as having less credibility to him than Vladimir Putin. The only thing that matters is that they advance their propaganda effort on behalf of the White House at all costs.

Donald Trump, Russia Meddling

The only problem is that sometimes they are not very good at it. Case in point: On Thursday morning Trump’s favorite Fox News program, Fox and Friends, compiled a little video montage that they intended to serve as proof that the President “recognized Russian meddling many times.” Well, everyone recognized it. But Trump seems to have requested it. Never mind that he has repeatedly refused to affirm Russia’s sole culpability for an extensive campaign of cyber espionage aimed at helping Trump’s candidacy and hurting Hillary Clinton’s. Every intelligence agency with jurisdiction over these matters has come to the same conclusion: it was Russia, and only Russia. And it was ordered personally by Vladimir Putin. What’s more, despite Trump’s weakness on standing up for American interests, he is now known to been fully briefed on Russia’s activities before he was even inaugurated. So he has been bald-faced lying ever since.

Trump embarrassed himself, and all of America, at his meeting with Putin. By stating again that he didn’t see why Russia would have engaged in election hacking, he confirmed where his loyalties lie. He tried to walk back those comments the next day, but no one was buying it. Coming to the rescue now are the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. They put together this video of Trump’s remarks that they thought would neutralize the criticism that was overwhelming the White House:

Really? There are three separate clips edited together in that video, and everyone one of them shows that Trump is a liar. In all three he failed to hold Russia accountable for the cyber attacks by interjecting that it might have been someone else and not Russia at all. He said that:

“As far as hacking, I think it was Russia. But I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people.” […and…]

“Well I think it was Russia. And I think it could have been other people in other countries. It could have been a lot of people interfered…I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries…It was Russia, and I think it was probably others also.” […and…]

“Well, the Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever. But certainly there was meddling. But probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals.”

In other words, Trump thinks that it was Russia, except that he also thinks it probably wasn’t. What could be more clear? Snark aside, how can Fox and Trump actually think that this video corrects his abhorrent comments acquitting Putin of all guilt for election hacking? It literally affirms Trump’s belief that Putin is innocent. Fox News is undoubtedly proud of this propaganda clip. Especially after seeing that Trump himself found it so persuasive that he tweeted it to his millions of Deplorable disciples (who will view it as total vindication). It was only one tweet in a flurry that also castigated the “fake news media” as “going crazy,” “wanting war,” and, as always, being “the real enemy of the people.” That’s the overarching theme of the Trump presidency. He regards murderous dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un as strong leaders whose friendship he craves. But Americans carrying out their journalistic duties as defined in the Constitution are “the real enemy.”

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Robo-Trump Issues Mindlessly Identical Endorsements of Glassy-Eyed Stepford Republicans

Posted by on July 19, 2018 at 10:19 am. NO Comments :

It’s less than four months until election day. These midterms may be among the most consequential in history. The current Republican Party is worse than ineffective. They are knowingly complicit with a president who openly favors America’s enemies over the patriots who put their lives on the line in her defense. They are enabling Donald Trump’s assault on democracy and the Constitution.

Donald Trump robo-endorsements

As we approach the November election, Trump is participating in the process in a manner that is unprecedented. He literally declared his candidacy for reelection within days of his inauguration. And he hasn’t stopped campaigning in the seventeen months he’s been in office. His rallies, staged in safe GOP strongholds, are pits of hostility and aggression toward fellow Americans. Not to mention the media that he castigates in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.”

However, Trump is electioneering in another way that is more consistent with his twitsted persona. He regularly tweets out endorsements of GOP candidates that have kissed his – let’s say ring – even during Republican primaries. But there is something oddly familiar in these tweet-dorsements. They all seem like they were written by a computer programmed to spout cliched Republican talking points. For instance:

  • “Kevin has been strong on Crime, the Border, the 2nd Amendment, and he loves our Military and Vets.”
  • “Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration. He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment.”
  • Matt Gaetz is…”Strong on Crime, the Border, Illegal Immigration, the 2nd Amendment, our great Military & Vets”
  • Kevin Cramer is…”tough on crime, strong on borders, loves our Military, and our Vets”
  • Clay Higginsis…”fighting for Border Security, our Military and are Vets. He is tough on Crime”
  • Ron DeSantis…”is strong on Borders, tough on Crime & big on Cutting Taxes – Loves our Military & our Vets”
  • Henry McMaster…”is tough on Crime and strong on Borders, Health Care, the Mititary and our great Vets”
  • “Donovan, who is strong on Borders & Crime, loves our Military & our Vets, voted for Tax Cuts”
  • Asa Hutchinson is for…”lower taxes, border security, and crime prevention. Asa loves our military and our veterans”
  • Marsha Blackburn is…”Great on the Military, Border Security and Crime.”
  • Rick Saccone is…”tough on crime & border. Loves 2nd A & VETS”
  • LATE ADDITIONS:
  • Brian Kemp … is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration. He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment.
  • John James is strong on crime and borders, loves our Military, our Vets and our Second Amendment.
  • Troy_Balderson of Ohio is … strong on crime and borders, loves our Military, our Vets and our Second Amendment.
  • David Kustoff … is strong on crime and borders, loves our Military, Vets and Second Amendment.
  • Go VOTE TODAY for Foster Friess – He will be a fantastic Governor! Strong on Crime, Borders & 2nd Amendment. Loves our Military & our Vets. He has my complete and total Endorsement!
  • Rick Scott of Florida is doing a fantastic job as Governor. … He is strong on Crime, Borders, and loves our Military and Vets. Vote for Rick on Tuesday!
  • Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona is doing a great job. … Doug is strong on Crime, the Border, and our Second Amendment. Loves our Military & our Vets.
  • Martha McSally is an extraordinary woman. … She is Strong on Crime, the Border and our under siege 2nd Amendment. Loves our Military and our Vets.
  • …Mike Braun, a very successful businessman who is campaigning to be Indiana’s next U.S. Senator. He is strong on Crime & Borders, the 2nd Amendment, and loves our Military & Vets. Will be a big night!
  • Kevin Stitt … is strong on Crime & Borders, the 2nd Amendment, & loves our Military & Vets. He has my complete and total Endorsement!
  • Paul Cook … loves and supports our Military and Vets. He is Strong on Crime, the Border, and supported Tax Cuts.
  • Matt Rosendale … is strong on Crime, the Borders, & will save your Second Amendment from the onslaught. Loves our Military & Vets!
  • Dave Hughes is … strong on Crime, the Border, our 2nd Amendmen, Trade, Military and Vets.
  • @JayWebberNJ is running for Congress in the 11th District of New Jersey. He is outstanding in every way. Strong on Borders, loves our Military and our Vets. Big Crime fighter. Jay has my Full and Total Endorsement!
  • Senator Hyde-Smith, who has a very important Election on Tuesday. She is an outstanding person who is strong on the Border, Crime, Military, our great Vets, Healthcare & the 2nd A. Needed in D.C.
  • Senator John Cornyn has done an outstanding job for the people of Texas. He is strong on Crime, the Border, the Second Amendment and loves our Military and Vets. John has my complete and total endorsement.
  • Fred Keller of the Great State of Pennsylvania has been an outstanding State Rep … Strong on Crime, Second Amendment, Military, Vets
  • Dan Bishop is strong on Crime, Loves our Military, Vets, 2A, and great Healthcare. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!
  • Martha (McSally) is strong on Crime and Borders, the 2nd Amendment, and loves our Military and Vets. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement!
  • Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has really stepped up to the plate. Thom is tough on Crime, Strong on the Border and fights hard against Illegal Immigration. He loves our Military, our Vets and our great Second Amendment. I give Thom my Full and Total Endorsement!
  • Greg [Murphy] is tough on Crime, Borders, and loves our Second Amendment, our Military and our Vets. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!
  • Daniel Cameron is tough on Crime, Strong on Borders, and will fight for our Second Amendment. Daniel will never let you down. He has my Full and Complete Endorsement!
  • Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is…tough on Crime, Strong on the Border and Illegal Immigration…She loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment. Cindy has my Full and Total Endorsement! #MAGA
  • Senator Jim Risch of the Great State of Idaho has been an incredible supporter of our Agenda! He is tough on Crime, Strong on Borders, and will continue to fight for our Second Amendment.
  • SenCoryGardner has done a fantastic job representing the people of Colorado. He really knows how to win. Strong on Crime, Borders & the 2nd A, Cory fights hard for our Military & Vets.
  • Senator Ben Sasse … is great with our Vets, the Military, and your very important Second Amendment. Strong on Crime and the Border, Ben has my Complete and Total Endorsement!

    • Governor

  • Matt Bevin … continues to protect your very important Second Amendment. Matt is Strong on Crime and the Border, he Loves our Great Vets and Military. Matt has my Complete and Total Endorsement.
  • Tate Reeves … is strong on Crime, tough on Illegal Immigration, and will protect your Second Amendment.

Someone needs to fix that broken playback loop. All of these candidates seem like they are the same person. They will surely behave in identical, lock-step obedience to Dear Leader. Trump sounds like he can’t express an original thought. He certainly can’t assess the candidates he’s backing in any intelligent way. He doesn’t know most of them, and his endorsement is a purely partisan effort to pack Congress with mindless sycophants who will nod and applaud everything he says. Hence the mindless, repetitive nature of his endorsements.

For Americans who are truly concerned about having a treasonous Putin lapdog in the Oval office, it is imperative that we exhaust every bit of our energy and determination to get to the polls and vote in November. The welfare of our nation depends on it. Republicans cannot be trusted to do the right thing, or to hold Trump accountable for his criminal actions. This is serious. Be sure to vote and to get as many people as you can to vote as well. Vote like your life depends on it. Because it does.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.