President Trump

[Las Vegas]

Chuckle chuckle.  OK.  Who cares, but those looking for a laugh.



Possible Trump appointee scrubs Facebook post after fantasizing about ‘exterminating’ Muslims

(Raw Story) The editor of a website belonging to a former Florida congressman under consideration for a position in the Trump administration was forced to issue a apology on Sunday after deleting a meme calling for the extermination of Muslims that was posted on his Facebook page.

Saturday, Michele Hickford, editor-in-chief on allenbwest.com issued an apology for the image of President-elect Donald Trump’s potential defense secretary, retired Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis.

Included in the picture were the lines: “Fired by Obama to please the Muslims. Hired by Trump to exterminate them.”

Writing on Facebook, Hickford took responsibility for the “reprehensible” Facebook post.

“As editor in chief, I must take full responsibility for this, although I was not the one who posted it, and it was posted without my knowledge. I neither condone nor support the message included in the meme,” she wrote. “This meme was not created by me or any of our writers. It was reposted from another source. The image has been removed. Its message was despicable, offensive to many, and a terrible error in judgement by the person who posted it. Furthermore, it does not reflect Col. West’s beliefs, principles and values.”

In a recent post on West’s website, Hickford linked to story from The Hill about West making the pilgrimage to Trump Tower to meet  the president-elect, with West admitting, “Nothing was offered. I mean, they know my reputation very well.”

West’s career in the U.S. Army came to an abrupt end in 2003 when he faced an Article 32 hearing over treatment of a prisoner,  accepted a non-judicial punishment and was allowed to retire.

A screenshot of the Facebook posting below was captured by Imrann Siddiqi:



(Raw Story)

[Las Vegas]

I'm not willing to give up hope so easily.  Remember, this is Trump -- and he's all about the unexpected.  But IMO it's not entirely unfair criticism to bring it up, and Trump of all people shouldn't be surprised by it.  He's the one making these choices.

Trump can’t wait to sell out his base

A rule of thumb for the next four years: With Trump, everything that Republicans said about corruption and conflicts of interest where Clinton was concerned is now, to use the Nixon-era word, inoperative.

“Watch what we do, not what we say.”

At the beginning of Richard Nixon’s presidency, that’s how Attorney General John Mitchell explained the way reporters could best understand what the country was about to experience.

It’s also good advice for understanding the administration of the billionaire phony populist who will assume the presidency next month. Donald Trump cast himself as the champion of a besieged American working class and a defender of its interests. His early decisions tell us something very different: This could be the most anti-worker, anti-union crowd to run our government since the Gilded Age.

There’s an irony here, since Mitchell was trying to reassure journalists that despite Nixon’s 1968 law-and-order campaign, he would stay true to enforcing civil rights laws. In Trump’s case, we’re learning that rhetoric out of labor songbooks meant less than nothing. He was covering up an agenda focused on undercutting legal protections for workers and weakening their already beleaguered organizations.

How else to understand Trump’s decision to nominate Andrew Puzder, a fast-food executive, as secretary of labor? Perhaps, in the interests of transparency, the incoming Republican Congress can rename the part of our government historically devoted to workers’ interests the “Department of Low-Wage Labor.”

The contradictions abound. One of Trump’s core promises was to restore well-paying jobs in the factories and the mines. But he’s putting at the helm of the Labor Department the CEO of the company that franchises Hardee’s and Carl Jr.’s. Their workers tend to be at the bottom end of the pay scale. Puzder’s passions have been invested in cutting wage costs. If Trump wanted a corporate type at Labor, might he at least have tried to pick someone from the manufacturing sphere?

Ah, but Trumpworld is also a land of cronies. Trump and the Republican Party could not say enough about the “corrupt” intersection of donors to the Clinton Foundation and the policies that Hillary Clinton would pursue as president. Yet here comes Puzder -- joining a Cabinet of working stiffs with a net worth so far of $14.5 billion, according to NBC News -- who will no doubt feel well rewarded for his own financial support of the Trump campaign.

A rule of thumb for the next four years: With Trump, everything that Republicans said about corruption and conflicts of interest where Clinton was concerned is now, to use the Nixon-era word, inoperative.

The labor secretary is responsible for enforcing laws that protect employees. But as New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman noted, “the fact that Mr. Puzder has now reportedly been selected to lead the same agency that uncovered wage theft at his restaurants is a cruel and baffling decision by President-elect Trump.” How closely will the Republican-led Senate look into this issue?

And you get a clear sense of how anti-union Trump threatens to be when you combine the Puzder pick with Trump’s attack on Chuck Jones. He’s the president of the United Steelworkers Local 1999 at the Carrier plant in Indiana where Trump claimed he saved 1,100 jobs. Jones used colorful language to say that Trump had “lied” about the number of jobs protected and had given Carrier workers “false hope.” The real jobs number was closer to 800 and layoffs are expected in 2017.

Jones was quickly assailed by Trump (on Twitter, of course) for having “done a terrible job representing workers.” Further, Trump blamed the union for the job losses. “If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana.” Trump likes to talk about workers but hates it when they talk back.

Jones, tougher than Trump when it comes to absorbing criticism, shrugged off the president-elect’s tantrum, saying Trump didn’t know “what in the hell he was talking about.”

But the rest of us — and particularly workers who cast ballots for Trump in the hope of better days — ignore the Tweeter-in-Chief’s behavior at our peril.

Fake populism is an old story, and it often involves dividing workers against each other along the lines of race, religion, ethnicity or immigration status. Trump has already proved himself a master of this sort of manipulation.

Over the long run, though, workers will rely on the content of their paychecks and the quality of their living standards to help them decide whether Trump’s word to them was any better than his promises to the students he fleeced at Trump University. They won’t need John Mitchell to tell them to keep a close eye on what this man actually does.

(Journal Sentinal - Opinion: EJ Dionne)

[Yamcha]

I'm sorry; but I will not believe a single Opinion piece from any news outlet until they change their tune.

That being said about the "hacking" of the election; how is it that the media isn't questioning the great number of foreign nations that made donations to the Clinton Foundation right before Hillary announced her candidacy? God knows she used that money for her campaign. Isn't that illegally skewing the advantage of an election due to foreign contributions?

[Las Vegas]

I'm sorry; but I will not believe a single Opinion piece from any news outlet until they change their tune.

That being said about the "hacking" of the election; how is it that the media isn't questioning the great number of foreign nations that made donations to the Clinton Foundation right before Hillary announced her candidacy? God knows she used that money for her campaign. Isn't that illegally skewing the advantage of an election due to foreign contributions?

I really can't deny what you say.

Where have these people been for the last eight years, for instance?   Have they been on Obama's ass for trying to sneak-in TPP?   Or for trying to stop JASTA?

No, they seem to be crawling out of the holes in the ground, right at the moment Trump steps up.

[Yamcha]

How much is one tweet worth? Depends on who you are and what it says...



Donald Trump wipes $3.5bn off Lockheed Martin market value with single tweet

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/donald-trump-lockheed-martin-tweet-f35-stock-shares-value-hit-drops-latest-a7470046.html

[Las Vegas]

Being that he's a guy who has spoken against the effects of globalism and cheap human value, I'd like to know why he insists on surrounding himself with people who think the opposite way.


Carly Fiorina and Kellyanne Conway at Trump Tower.

President-elect Donald Trump considers Carly Fiorina for national intelligence director

Carly Fiorina — who had her physical appearance insulted by Donald Trump during the GOP primary campaign and who later called on the then-nominee to step aside — is now under consideration to be the President-elect's director of national intelligence, according to a report Monday.

Fiorina discussed the position with the mogul during a visit to Trump Tower Monday, The New York Times reported, citing transition sources.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO also discussed foreign hacking by nations like Russia and China with Trump, and, after her meeting praised her former rival's "executive abilities."

"We talked about hacking, whether it's Chinese hacking or purported Russian hacking," Fiorina told reporters inside the Trump Tower lobby. "We talked about the opportunity that the President-elect has to literally reset things, to reset the trajectory of this economy, to reset the role of government, to reset America's role in the world and how we're perceived in the world."

If Fiorina were to land the job, it would mark a stunning turnaround for the former presidential candidate, who during her campaign, frequently exchanged intense barbs with Trump.

In a September 2015 Rolling Stone article, Trump was quoted as insulting Fiorina's appearance.

"Look at that face," Trump said. "Would anyone vote for that?"

"Can you imagine that, the face of our next president," he added. "I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?"

At a Republican primary debate a week later, Fiorina took Trump to task for the attack, telling the crowd, "I think women all over the country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."

Later, she even teamed up with Ted Cruz, signing on as the Texas senator's running mate, in a last ditch attempt in April to prevent the ascendant Trump from winning delegates in the remaining primaries.

And months later, when, in October, a tape of unaired "Access Hollywood" footage from 2005 surfaced, showing Trump bragging about grabbing women, Fiorina actually called on Trump to drop out of the race altogether.

"We must have a conservative in the White House to restore accountability, opportunity and security. For the sake of our Constitution and the rule of law, we must defeat Hillary Clinton," she said just four weeks before the general election. "Today I ask Donald Trump to step aside and for the RNC to replace him with Gov. Mike Pence."

Trump's inauguration lacks entertainment lineup, but set on funds

Fiorina wouldn't be the first rival Trump has considered for a cabinet or cabinet-level post. Former GOP nominee Mitt Romney, with whom Trump also sparred frequently during the campaign, is a top contender for the secretary of state.

As the director of national intelligence, Fiorina would be charged with overseeing the nation's intelligence agencies and would serve as the President's top intelligence adviser. Fiorina served on the CIA's external advisory board from 2007 to 2009.

(NYDN)

[Las Vegas]

How much is one tweet worth? Depends on who you are and what it says...



Donald Trump wipes $3.5bn off Lockheed Martin market value with single tweet

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/donald-trump-lockheed-martin-tweet-f35-stock-shares-value-hit-drops-latest-a7470046.html

   But they'll regain it soon enough.  It's actually only a small percentage, for as big $ as it is.

[Las Vegas]

Trump picks Goldman-Sachs executive (Gary Cohn) for director of NEC.

[Las Vegas]

Many sharks looking to draw blood with the Russia "hacking" story, I notice.  Looks to be building.

But they'd better step-up their game a whole damn bunch, if they expect to get some mileage from it.  At this point, they are just being annoying.

And the thought that we're supposed to accept the CIA claim stating Russia intended to assist Trump, while the FBI says they simply wanted to "undermine faith" in our system (calling the results into question just the same), and that the two chose to make media statements as a reaction to it all -- rather than to sort through it first -- is just so very insulting.  Not even slightly believable.

Guess they're not done perfecting their Fake News technique.

[Yamcha]

Many sharks looking to draw blood with the Russia "hacking" story, I notice.  Looks to be building.

But they'd better step-up their game a whole damn bunch, if they expect to get some mileage from it.  At this point, they are just being annoying.

And the thought that we're supposed to accept the CIA claim stating Russia intended to assist Trump, while the FBI says they simply wanted to "undermine faith" in our system (calling the results into question just the same), and that the two chose to make media statements as a reaction to it all -- rather than to sort through it first -- is just so very insulting.  Not even slightly believable.

Guess they're not done perfecting their Fake News technique.

they have a week before electoral college votes
 

[Las Vegas]

they have a week before electoral college votes
 

IMO they're either going to have to manufacture something (which will sharply increase the chance for them to get busted at it) or they will need to STFU and quit bothering us with their bull.

But we know they'll just extend their passively aggressive, highly vague, thoroughly BULLSHIT stories like they are doing right now, for as long as they can get away with it.

Until they convince us, though, it's nothing but FAKE NEWS.  STFU, MSM.  Do you really, really think you're fooling anyone but the sad cases who wanted Hillary in office (despite them having no explanation for it)?

[Yamcha]

IMO they're either going to have to manufacture something (which will sharply increase the chance for them to get busted at it) or they will need to STFU and quit bothering us with their bull.

But we know they'll just extend their passively aggressive, highly vague, thoroughly BULLSHIT stories like they are doing right now, for as long as they can get away with it.

Until they convince us, though, it's nothing but FAKE NEWS.  STFU, MSM.  Do you really, really think you're fooling anyone but the sad cases who wanted Hillary in office (despite them having no explanation for it)?

For the most part, these elites aren't nearly as smart as they want you to believe.

They are still using tactics that were developed before the Internet age, and they always leave a trail. Always. The sad thing is most Americans are too drugged up, or entrenched in partisan/identity politics, to even care.

[Primemuscle]

Wash Post: CIA Assessment Concludes Putin Was Trying to Help Trump Win White House

(NEWSMAX) The CIA has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, according to a secret assessment disclosed on Friday.

"It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected," a senior U.S. official told The Washington Post. "That’s the consensus view."

The official was briefed on an intelligence presentation made by the CIA to U.S. senators, the Post reports.

According to the Post, American intelligence agencies identified "individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

"Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton’s chances."

Clinton long has charged that Russia was meddling in the election — and President Barack Obama ordered intelligence officials to review the widespread election-season hacking.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also declared that he was chairing several investigations into Russia because he wanted President Vladimir Putin "personally to pay a price."

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doubted the credibility of any intelligence linking Russia to any elections tampering in a secret briefing for Congress in September, the Post reports.

Trump also has dismissed concerns about Russian hacking.

"I don’t believe they interfered," he told Time magazine this week.

The hacking, "could be Russia," he said. "And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey."

According to the Post, the CIA briefed top senators last week on its latest assessment, citing growing evidence from "multiple sources."

They said it was now "quite clear" Moscow's goal was to elect Trump, said the officials, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity.

Last week's CIA presentation, however, fell short of a formal U.S. assessment produced by all 17 intelligence agencies, the Post reports.

A senior U.S. official said minor disagreements had occurred among intelligence officials about the agency’s assessment, in part because various questions remain unanswered.

"We may have crossed into a new threshold, and it is incumbent upon us to take stock of that, to review, to conduct some after-action, to understand what has happened and to impart some lessons learned," Lisa Monaco, Obama's counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, said at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor.

President Obama wants the report before he leaves office Jan. 20, Monaco said, the Post reports.

(NEWSMAX)

Do you trust anyone connected to the government or media?

[Las Vegas]

For the most part, these elites aren't nearly as smart as they want you to believe.

They are still using tactics that were developed before the Internet age, and they always leave a trail. Always. The sad thing is most Americans are too drugged up, or entrenched in partisan/identity politics, to even care.

Really, couldn't agree more.  IMO they manage to stay "just" ahead of the curve.  

Without their Fake News operation, they'd have been taken down to the sidewalk by now and stomped into it.

Thing is, I just can't help but sense we're in for something very twisted.  I don't know if it includes a big set-up on the FBI, to say they're in on it too, or what.  Someone is up to something, and God help us if it gets out of control.

[Las Vegas]

Do you trust anyone connected to the government or media?

I do, yes.

[Las Vegas]

What do you think about the "Russia hack" story, Prime?

[Las Vegas]

"This is an Investigation!"

Did Russia try to aid Trump? Make the hacking intelligence public

(Chicago Tribune) Washington is in an uproar over reported findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russian government used secret cyberattacks to help Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Trump called the charge "ridiculous," while deriding the agencies for their errors before the Iraq War. But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., demanded a full investigation, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants the Senate Intelligence Committee to take it on. President Barack Obama has ordered Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to undertake a review and report back before Obama leaves office Jan 20.

Judging what to believe here is difficult, though, because little information is available. News stories have been based on accounts of a secret CIA report, as revealed to reporters by anonymous government sources. One "senior U.S. official" told The Washington Post, "It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia's goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected."

Yet other intel officials familiar with the same raw information evidently disagree with the CIA's conclusions about it: The Post also reports that, several days ago, a senior FBI official's briefing for lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee was, in comparison with the CIA's certitude, "fuzzy" and "ambiguous," suggesting to those in attendance that the bureau and the agency weren't on the same page. "For the Democrats in the room," the Post reports, "the FBI's response was frustrating — even shocking."

If the CIA's view is true, it demands responsive action. But there is no way for the rest of us to know, because the people overseeing the CIA and FBI have not come forward with public statements. They should — and right away. Calls for congressional investigations may be de rigueur, and certainly make all of us feel that our government is on the case. But remember: Such probes (most recently of American deaths in Benghazi, Libya) can drag on interminably.

If there is firm evidence that Vladimir Putin had Russians hack the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and others to get material to transmit to WikiLeaks in an attempt to change the outcome of our presidential election, the American people should see that information. How better to keep such intrusions from occurring again? But House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a member of Trump's transition team, told The Post that "there is no clear evidence — even now. There's a lot of innuendo, lots of circumstantial evidence, that's it."

The opaque nature of all this leaves the American people buffeted between troubling speculation and the self-assured pronouncements of U.S. officials and politicians who may or may not have hard evidence supporting them. Among those doing the pronouncing is the president-elect, who has taken the unusual step of dismissing the work of intel analysts he'll soon oversee.

Did Moscow in fact deploy spycraft in an attempt to rig a U.S. presidential election? Only the agencies that investigated the matter have the information needed to assess the competing claims. Most of the time, these agencies have an understandable preference for secrecy. But this is one of those occasions when greater transparency is essential.

Clapper, who oversees the 17 government units that collect and analyze intelligence data, is the logical person to step out and shine a light on what is known — and what is not. Obama can help by declassifying any relevant documents that can be safely published.

There are limits to such openness, of course. The agencies don't want to compromise human sources or reveal spying methods that would help our enemies figure out how to evade detection in the future. But if people in the executive branch can talk about these things with reporters, on the condition of anonymity, it's safe to assume the people running our intelligence agencies can address the controversy before TV cameras without doing harm.

The House and Senate intelligence committees may want to invite public testimony from Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey and others. But the reveal shouldn't have to wait until Congress is ready.

As things stand, President-elect Trump is beset by suspicions he benefited from the surreptitious efforts of a longtime U.S. rival — suspicions that he can't dispel and his detractors can't prove. When the stakes are this high, the public deserves to know more, and the sooner the better.

[Walter Sobchak]

Just so we are clear here.....did Russia tell Hillary not to campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin?

Did Putin force Hillary, Podesta, and Huma to lie, cheat, insult, backstab, and steal every chance they could?

Did Russian hackers force Hillary to run the shittiest, most expensive, least successful campaign in history?

Gayer than a 50 year old playing with a kiddie train set in his mommy's basement....

[Primemuscle]

I do, yes.

This is good to know. Could you name some of those you place your trust in and tell us why you do?

[Primemuscle]

What do you think about the "Russia hack" story, Prime?

I'm going to take a "wait and see" approach to this CIA announcement. So far, what I've read seems pretty vague considering the media usually exaggerates or sensationalizes stories such as this one. Where the hell is inspector Cluzo  when we need him?


I don't have strong opinions on a lot of things some people think I do. My world is fairly small; engaging with family, friends and a couple of volunteer positions I hold is about it for me...oh, and posting on Getbig for fun and giggles. You youngins keep me current on a lot of things. I appreciate it. Believe it or not.

[Yamcha]

This is the printing of blatant lies.

[Primemuscle]

They may well be lies, but who can disprove them?

[Yamcha]

They may well be lies, but who can disprove them?

Who can prove them? There hasn't been any new information regarding this since before the election. The NYT's article even states that. Even if there was Russian interference, it didn't effect the outcome of the election. With recounts in a few KEY states, you'd expect that if Russian tampering was discovered it'd be all over the MSM. Funny how all the recount discussions kinda disappeared... now on to the next way to delegitimize Trump's presidency and tamper with the electoral college votes.

[Yamcha]

[Las Vegas]

Just so we are clear here.....did Russia tell Hillary not to campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin?

Did Putin force Hillary, Podesta, and Huma to lie, cheat, insult, backstab, and steal every chance they could?

Did Russian hackers force Hillary to run the shittiest, most expensive, least successful campaign in history?

Gayer than a 50 year old playing with a kiddie train set in his mommy's basement....

Exactly.  They need make their accusation against Trump if they think it's possible to do that with any credibility.  I want to see them take information from what we know, and make a damn accusation already.  Or deliver some new facts and insight, something.

Because right now, it looks like they're trying to infuence the EC with nonsense.  FAKE NEWS.