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‘He will die in jail’: Intelligence community ready to ‘go nuclear’ on Trump, senior source says2/15/2017
U.S. national security officials are reportedly ready to “go nuclear” after President Donald Trump’s latest attack on the intelligence community.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump insisted that the “real scandal” was not that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn lied about his contact with Russia. Instead, the president blasted what he said were “un-American” leaks that led to Flynn’s ousting. Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrumpThe real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc? 9:28 AM - 14 Feb 2017 Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrumpInformation is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia 7:19 AM - 15 Feb 2017 Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrumpThe real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by "intelligence" like candy. Very un-American! 8:13 AM - 15 Feb 2017 On Wednesday, former NSA intelligence analyst John Schindler provided some insight into the reaction of national security officials. “Now we go nuclear,” he wrote on Twitter. “[Intelligence community] war going to new levels. Just got an [email from] senior [intelligence community] friend, it began: ‘He will die in jail.'” “US intelligence is not the problem here,” Schindler added in another tweet. “The President’s collusion with Russian intelligence is. Many details, but the essence is simple.” John Schindler ✔@20committeeUS intelligence is not the problem here. The President's collusion with Russian intelligence is. Many details, but the essence is simple. 9:21 AM - 15 Feb 2017 John Schindler ✔@20committeeNow we go nuclear. IC war going to new levels. Just got an EM fm senior IC friend, it began: "He will die in jail. "https://twitter.com/JWal077/status/831871381570781184 … 9:27 AM - 15 Feb 2017 My Source: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/he-will-die-in-jail-intelligence-community-ready-to-go-nuclear-on-trump-senior-source-says/  Trump Answers Question About Rise in Anti-Semitism by Citing Size of Electoral College Victory2/15/2017
It's even WORSE in text form:
Trump: "Well, I just want to say that we are, you know, very honored by the victory that we had -- 316 electoral college votes. We were not supposed to crack 220. You know that, right? There was no way to 221, but then they said there's no way to 270. And there's tremendous enthusiasm out there. I will say that we are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and every other thing that's going on. There's a lot of bad things that have been taking place over a long period of time. I think one of the reasons I won the election is we have a very, very divided nation, very divided. And hopefully, I'll be able to do something about that. And I, you know, it was something that was very important to me. As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends; a daughter who happens to be here right now; a son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening. And you're going to see a lot of love. You're going to see a lot of love. OK? Thank you." Don Lemon smacks down Trump advocate complaining intel community ‘illegally’ spied on Flynn2/15/2017
Former Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) got a lesson in reality from CNN host Don Lemon Tuesday after he attempted to dismiss U.S. intelligence reports that former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn had been communicating with Russia in possible violation of the Logan Act.
Tuesday the White House went into damage control over the Flynn’s Monday night resignation, only to be faced with another crisis when the New York Times released a bombshell report stating Flynn was not the only person associated with the Trump campaign to be in contact with the Russians before Trump was sworn in. Speaking with Lemon, the former Georgia lawmaker first criticized those who have called for an investigation into Flynn’s contacts, saying they were,”Not helping our national security picture right now.” Kingston, who has his own ties to Russia, then tried a new approach, saying Flynn was the real victim because U.S. intelligence agencies were listening in on him illegally. According to Kingston, the accusations against Flynn are suspect because no details have been released. “How does an American intelligence agency spy on a private citizen and then leak the –“Kingston continued, before Lemon cut him off.“Well, we don’t know exactly what he said if he did violate the Logan Act,” Kingston offered. “But what we do know is that he was spied on by American security agencies and that’s against the law.” “This is what you have wrong about that, Jack,” Lemon explained. “These were routine interception surveillance and it wasn’t on a private citizen, but with people who were in private contact with Russians. For some reason, this guy was an ambassador to Russia. All the ambassadors to Russia’s calls have the possibility of being intercepted.” “This was a routine interception,” the CNN host continued. “They were not looking for anything that the general was doing. They were monitoring a Russian ambassador. This wasn’t anything where they were trying catch General Flynn.” “So I think you have that part of it wrong,” Lemon concluded. Watch the video below via CNN: Amy Schumer defended her relative, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, against tweets from President Donald Trump targeting the democrat from New York on Tuesday. After blasting the senator for crying what Trump claimed to be "fake tears" over the controversial immigration ban, the president returned to Twitter to demean Chuck again. "Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess) - just like Dem party!" Trump tweeted early Tuesday morning. Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrumpNancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party! 6:21 AM - 31 Jan 2017 Chuck and House Minority Leader Pelosi were speaking in opposition of the travel ban.  "This is what he was thinking about at 621am," Amy wrote on Instagram along with a screenshot of Trump's message. "This was his tweet after his first soldier died. Also 8 Yemeni women and 7 children died and Trump called the raid 'successful.'" "A Muslim ban is so unconstitutional and cruel," she wrote. "They are good, hard-working people and a refugee from the countries he isn't letting people in from have never committed any acts of terrorism on U.S. soil. Never. We need to fight this now and together. Call congress. Call the senate. We need to wake up and rise up together. People need our help.""Also, I know Chuck Schumer, and HE CANNOT act," Amy continued. "Trust me. He can barely smile on cue. He can't help but be transparent and genuine. He was hurt for those people and all the people facing such unconstitutional injustice. Trump is about to bombard us with so many awful decisions. His Supreme Court pick will be terrifying and he will try and stop same sex adoption and all our other nightmares."
On Tuesday, Trump announced right-wing conservative Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, 49, as his nominee to the Supreme Court. As the Supreme Court is currently divided evenly between conservative and liberal justices, adding Gorsuch as a ninth justice could tilt the balance of power on the Court to the conservative side. In her lengthy diatribe, Amy encourages Americans to continue "fighting for each other's rights." My Source: http://ew.com/news/2017/01/31/amy-schumer-defends-chuck-schumer-trump-fake-tears/  In a departure from predecessors on both sides of the political aisle, President Trump’s statement Friday marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not mention the deaths of six million Jews — a lapse the head of the Anti-Defamation League called “puzzling and troubling.” In the three-paragraph statement Friday, Trump said: “It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.” “Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest. As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent,” he continued, again referring only to “the innocent.” “In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good,” he concluded. “Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.” The White House statement with Trump’s remarks “misses that it was six million Jews who perished, not just ‘innocent people,’” tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the ADL shortly after the comments were released. “Puzzling and troubling” that it “has no mention of Jews,” Greenblatt added in a follow up tweet. Read the Transcript to: Statement By The President On International Holocaust Day Remembrance Day (January 27, 2017)  Greenblatt noted that both Republican and Democratic presidents — including all of Obama’s statements on the occasion — always clearly highlighted the centrality of the genocide of the Jewish people on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by the United Nations in 2005 to commemorate the deaths of the six million Jews as well as an estimated two million Roma and thousands of disabled and gay people at the hands of the Nazis. A separate Holocaust Remembrance Day was established by Israel in the 1950s to mark the Jewish losses in particular, which are also traditionally marked by a presidential proclamation. Trump's generic phrasing contrasts considerably with Obama’s fuller statements on the occasion, which always spoke about the sufferings of the Jewish people, even though Trump has consistently portrayed Obama as a foe of the Jews and Israel. The failure of the White House to mention the distinctive Jewish losses in the Holocaust could be problematic given that Trump has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic stereotypes and his campaign has been accused of employing anti-Semitic tropes. He has also been criticized for failing to call out virulent anti-Semitism among some of his supporters. 
See also:
Powerful photos of Holocaust refugees mark Holocaust Remembrance Day Auschwitz survivors make painful pilgrimage 72 years later to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day Germany slowly relaxes its grip on how it confronts the Holocaust The unlikely allies assisting Israel’s Jewish Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivor told story to thousands of students The idea that Donald Trump might impose a border tax on all goods coming from Mexico — and that it could be 20 percent — unleashed a lot of outrage from both sides of the aisle. Then, White House press secretary Sean Spicer clarified that it was just a proposal. That might seem like the White House pulling the reins after unexpected outrage but Trump's a smart businessman who knows a thing or two about making deals — and how to work the media. It's altogether possible this was just the opening salvo and that the actual border tax could be a lot less than 20 percent — say, something more like 2 percent or 3 percent. I mean, really, that doesn't sound bad at all after you were bracing for 20 percent, right? Pass the guacamole!
In his 1987 bestseller, "The Art of the Deal," Trump documents his affinity for making almost insane opening statements or bids for projects and prices. In one instance, the future president boasts about getting almost 50 percent off the price of a private jet by first offering just a third of the original asking price. And the trend continues from there. Several Trump-watchers have opined over the past year that his campaign and now his presidency is incorporating that strategy, thus inducing initial shock and outrage and then relative relief.
So how would 2 percent work? Check out the actual trade numbers. The last full year with complete figures is 2015, when the U.S. imported $295 billion in goods from Mexico, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. A 2-percent tax would theoretically bring in $5.9 billion per year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently estimated that the wall would cost $12 billion to $15 billion . So, multiply $5.9 billion times four years and that brings in enough money to cover the cost of the wall in time for the 2018 midterm elections, with more than $8 billion to spare. The question is: If you reduced the border tax to 2 percent from 20 percent, would the outrage die down enough to actually get this kind of tax plan through Congress? If President Trump made that adjustment now, the answer would probably be no. The fact that it's U.S. consumers who would ultimately shoulder the cost of that tax — as companies paying that border tax raise prices on goods from Mexico — makes the idea a non-starter for many people across the political spectrum. But never underestimate Trump and his deal-making ability: Watch for him to make the case that restricting illegal immigration will save the country and the taxpayers money over the long run and that could turn the tide of opposition. Remember, President Trump is someone without any prevailing conservative or liberal ideology. His lack of liberal orthodoxy makes it possible for him to propose building a wall and his lack of a prevailing conservative ideology makes it possible for him to propose a tax to pay for it. And while that leaves partisans on both sides fuming, the much-less partisan American people can be convinced to get behind the idea. And that's true even before the Trump team starts making its inevitable case for all the construction jobs that will be created by the project on top of the growing argument that reducing illegal immigration will save taxpayers billions in annual costs for schooling, hospitalization, and policing. And don't forget the persuasive power of President Trump if he were to drop that 20 percent to something more like 2 percent. That kind of a decrease would simply make the White House sound very reasonable and fair, wouldn't it? That's how Trump negotiating tactics work: They flip the script on the other guys across the table. So it all boils down to two things: First, getting the hysteria to focus on the 20 percent number so intensely that a lower number like 2 percent sounds great by comparison. Second, taking the time to make a case for the cost savings included in restricting the flow of undocumented immigrants so taxpayers will be willing to pay extra for avocados and everything else from south of the border. As negotiating and political tactics go, it's not too hard to see a scenario where this works out for the White House. For Mexico and the American consumer, perhaps not so much. But those who continue to underestimate President Trump and his team should know by now that these guys can really surprise you. My Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/op-ed-why-outrage-over-174841586.html * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs.
* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy. * On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen. * On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations. * On January 20th, 2017, roughly 230 protestors were arrested in DC and face unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers, journalists, and medics. * On January 20th, 2017, a member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical condition. * On January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press. * On January 21st, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest audience of any in history, “period.” * On January 22nd, 2017, White House advisor Kellyann Conway defended Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts” on national television news. * On January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back. * On January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a medical option. * On January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China. * On January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote. * On January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in. * On January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote. * On January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and will hang in the White House press room. The photo is curiously dated January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history. * On January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants and contracts. * On January 24th, 2017, the USDA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted by the White House. * On January 24th, 2017, HR7, a bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote. * On January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human Service nominee Tom Price characterized federal guidelines on transgender equality as “absurd.” * On January 24th, 2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that would legalize hitting and killing protestors with cars if they are on roadways. * On January 24th, 2017, it was discovered that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of clients and sources. And today: that fucking wall and a ban on Muslims entering from a large number of countries and the end to accepting Syrian refugees. To spread around, please copy and paste rather than share - this will reach more people. Carl bernstein: Nervous Republican officials are questioning President Trump’s ’emotional stability’1/26/2017
President Donald Trump’s obsessions with defending his inauguration crowd size and embracing false “voter fraud” conspiracies has reportedly led some members of his own party to question his emotional well being.
Reporter Carl Bernstein went on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon this week, and he said that he’s been hearing from Republicans in Washington D.C. who are concerned about the president’s overall mental health. “It is unlike anything that I have seen in 50 years of being a reporter,” said Bernstein, who first made his name by breaking stories on the Watergate scandal while working for the Washington Post. “I am hearing from Republicans, and other reporters are as well, that there is open discussion by members of the President of the United States’ own party about his emotional maturity, stability.” Trump drew criticism even from media confidantes such as Joe Scarborough this past weekend for his speech at the CIA in which he boasted repeatedly about his inauguration’s crowd size, while at the same time sending out Press Secretary Sean Spicer to deliver an angry news conference whose sole purpose was to defend the size of the Trump inauguration’s crowds. Apparently, these actions have been enough to raise red flags from people within his own party about his temperament. “People are saying his psyche is driving the news cycle,” said Bernstein. “We are in uncharted territory.”
My Source:
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/carl-bernstein-nervous-republican-officials-are-questioning-president-trumps-emotional-stability/  Now Melania Trump is fielding her own foreign leader calls. Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, called Mrs. Trump on Wednesday to congratulate her on becoming the First Lady, according to the prime minister’s office. “The two of them look forward to seeing each other soon in Washington and to working together to strengthen the ties between Israel and the United States,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. Their husbands spoke by telephone earlier in the week, and Mr. Trump invited Mr. Netanyahu to visit him in Washington next month. My Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html
President Trump announced that he will nominate businessman and former military intelligence officer Philip Bilden as Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Bilden, who ran a private equity firm in Hong Kong until retiring three years ago, has expertise in both maritime affairs and Asia — two areas that are of central importance to the Navy. He was picked over an early Trump campaign backer, former Rep. J. Randy Forbes of Virginia. Mr. Bilden received a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard in 1991. My Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html
President Donald Trump has tapped businessman Philip Bilden to take over as Secretary of the Navy, touting his military intelligence experience and cybersecurity expertise as perfect for the post.
Bilden has spent most of his career as a Hong Kong-based venture capitalist with HarbourVest Partners, a global private-equity investment firm. For months, Washington insiders had expected former Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes, a Trump supporter, to be selected for the post. But Bilden’s name emerged in recent weeks as the front-runner to replace departed Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, and Trump made it official on Wednesday. “As Secretary of the Navy, Philip Bilden will apply his terrific judgement and top-notch management skills to the task of rebuilding our unparalleled Navy,” Trump said in a statement. “Our number of ships is at the lowest point that it has been in decades. Philip Bilden is the right choice to help us expand and modernize our fleet, including surface ships, submarines and aircraft, and ensure America’s naval supremacy for decades to come.” In a statement released by the White House, Bilden said he was humbled by the nomination. “Maintaining the strength, readiness, and capabilities of our maritime force is critical to our national security,” he said. “If confirmed, I will ensure that our Sailors and Marines have the resources they need to defend our interests around the globe and support our allies with commitment and capability.” Bilden served from 1986 to 1996 in the Army Reserve as a military intelligence officer, including a stint at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Following that, he spent three decades in international investment firms, and was a founding member of the global private equity investment management firm Harbour Vest Partners. He is a graduate of both Georgetown University and Harvard Business School. Bilden is the last of the three service secretaries to be nominated by Trump. On Monday, he nominated Heather Wilson to take over as Air Force Secretary. In December, he announced Vincent Viola would be his pick for Army Secretary. No confirmation hearing date has been set for any of the three. Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, former Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, was confirmed by the Senate just hours after Trump’s inauguration. In a statement Wednesday evening, Mattis applauded the nominations of Bilden, Wilson and Viola, calling all three "proven leaders." "All three of these nominees have my utmost confidence," he said. "They will provide strong civilian leadership to strengthen military readiness, gain full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense, and support our service members, civilians and their families. I appreciate the willingness of these three proven leaders to serve our country. They had my full support during the selection process, and they will have my full support during the Senate confirmation process." First came the reposting of photos by the National Park Service that clearly showed that President Trump’s inauguration crowd was smaller than former President Barack Obama’s in 2009. That was followed by a contrite apology and lots of pretty pictures. But the national parks took up the cause, with a Twitter storm on climate change from the Badlands that was quickly taken down. Now, with word that Mr. Trump is moving to shut down the flow of refugees and halt immigration from Muslim-majority nations, is the Defense Department joining the fray? Incidentally, the National Park Service now says those Twitter posts from the Badlands came from a disgruntled former employee who had commandeered the account without permission. A National Park Service official said Tuesday: “Several tweets posted on the Badlands National Park’s Twitter account today were posted by a former employee who was not currently authorized to use the park’s account. The park was not told to remove the tweets but chose to do so when they realized that their account had been compromised.” No official word on why so many other Parks chimed in. My Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html
■ By President Trump’s definition of voter fraud, his senior adviser, Steve Bannon, his Treasury secretary nominee and one of his daughters could be swept up in the investigation. By President Trump’s definition, his senior White House adviser, Steve Bannon, is apparently committing voter fraud. So is his nominee to be the next Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. So, apparently, is one of his daughters, Tiffany Trump. Mr. Trump was pretty broad with his definition of voter fraud when he took to Twitter Wednesday morning to request an investigation of the nefarious conduct of the 2016 electorate — with no evidence to support it.
There is, in fact, a difference between investigating actual voter fraud and cleaning up the voter roles. If you move states, you aren’t usually required to tell the state you are leaving that you no longer want to be on the roster. And so it goes that Mr. Bannon is registered in Sarasota County, Fla., and New York City. Mr. Mnuchin appears on the roles of New York and California. And Tiffany Trump, should she choose, could potentially vote in Pennsylvania and New York. If she did, of course, that would be fraud. My Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html
■ The Mar-a-Lago resort doubles its initiation fee — to $200,000 — leading to charges that the Trump Organization is cashing in on its founder’s power. Ka-ching! Mar-a-Lago membership cost doubles, to $200,000 The initiation fee at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida — which the president himself has dubbed the Winter White House — has doubled to $200,000, after membership applications surged in the wake of Mr. Trump’s election, the head of membership there said. Bernd Lembcke, the managing director at the Palm Beach, Fla., club, said the change in the initiation fee had been planned last fall, before the election, and that $200,000 had been the fee before 2010, when it was cut in half because of the recession. But Mr. Lembcke, who has been at the club for 21 years, said that it also reflected the upswing in Mar-a-Lago’s popularity. “We have had a sudden surge in requests,” he said, adding that new members must be recommended by someone who is already a member, as is the case at many private clubs. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit group that promotes government ethics, said the move showed that Mr. Trump and his family intended to profit from his status as president. “At the minimum, this creates the appearance of cashing in the presidency and selling direct personal access to the president,” he said. “It is unacceptable. And it demeans the office of the presidency.” The new initiation fee went into effect on Jan. 1, although the annual dues remained the same — $14,000 a year, he said. The club has 482 members, with a cap of 500. “It enhances it,” Mr. Lembcke said of Mr. Trump’s new job and its impact on the value of the membership. “His presidency does.” “But we are very careful in vetting them,” he added. News about the change in the initiation fee was reported by CNBC. My Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/donald-trump-administration.html
“We speak Dutch. It’s the best language in Europe. We’ve got all the best words.”
Click on the Link Below the Pic to View the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELD2AwFN9Nc&t=160s
Dutch TV Mocks President Donald Trump With Spoof Tourism Ad
Dutch TV is warmly welcoming President Donald Trump into the White House. Sort of.
As most countries around the world fret over how Trump’s “America First” inauguration pledge could economically affect them, the satirical “Zondag Met Lubach” show is working on getting “Netherlands Second” passed as official policy. To that end, it’s created a spoof English-language tourism ad that promotes its nation (it has “the best tax evasion system God ever created,” by the way) using Trump’s own speaking style. “[Trump] had a clear message to the rest of the world: I will screw you over big time,” said the show’s host, Arjen Lubach. “And because we realize it’s better for us to get along, we decided to introduce our tiny country to him in a way that will probably appeal to him the most.” The parody ad features references to Trump’s racism, his mocking of a disabled reporter, a brief yet biased history of the country and the importance of its language, which is totally better than Danish ― that “failed” tongue.
President Donald Trump’s Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, has lied so much in her first three days on the job that top journalists and a few journalism professors are seriously positing a boycott against interviewing her in the future.
Jay Rosen, one of the foremost media critics and journalism professors on the planet, was interviewed on Recode Media’s Monday’s podcast and had plenty to say about Ms. Conway. “I don’t think the people interviewing Kellyanne Conway know what they are doing,” Rosen told Recode. “The journalistic logic of it is growing dimmer with every interview. The logic is, this is a representative of the president. This is somebody who can speak for the Trump administration. But if we find that what Kellyanne Conway says is routinely or easily contradicted by Donald Trump, then that rationale disappears.” Basically, even though she’s only been in office for three days, it’s clear that Ms. Conway has absolutely no clue what she is talking about. Let’s take a look back at some of her not-so-great interviews as chief of staff. During an interview with Meet the Press Sunday, Conway rebranded President Trump’s running lie about the size of his inauguration crowd as “alternative facts.”
"Alternative facts are not facts. They are falsehoods,"
Chuck Todd tells Pres. Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway this morning. CLICK THE LINK BELOW THE PIC TO WATCH: 
https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/823184384559878144/video/1
Ms. Conway’s blaze of stupidity continued less than 24 hours later when she told George Stephanopoulos the she couldn’t understand why roughly 3 million women would spend Saturday exercising their first amendment rights to protest Trump’s presidency. “I frankly didn’t see the point. I mean, you have a day after he’s uplifting and unifying and you have folks here being on a diatribe where I think they could have requested a dialogue. Nobody called me and said, ‘Hey, could we have a dialogue?’” Well, Kellyanne, maybe they wanted to spend time talking to people who actually know what facts are. Just guessin’. Apparently they aren’t the only ones. A whole host of journalists took to social media Monday in concurrence that Ms. Conway might not be worth talking to anymore. CBS News confirmed reports that President Donald Trump brought a studio audience to his visit with the CIA on Saturday. The news agency reports that an official said the visit left a wake of "unease," “made relations with the intelligence community worse," and was “uncomfortable.” CBS News confirmed reports that President Donald Trump brought a studio audience to his visit with the CIA on Saturday. The news agency reports that an official said the visit left a wake of “unease,” “made relations with the intelligence community worse,” and was “uncomfortable.” Intelligence people were “stunned” and “offended by the president’s tone,” CBS reported U.S. government sources tell CBS News that there is a sense of unease in the intelligence community after President Trump’s visit to CIA headquarters on Saturday.” Also, Trump did bring cheering props, which fits with how he has operated previously in requiring a cheering section – a sort of laugh track of supportive extras like those his campaign hired for his announcement event. It has been confirmed by Trump insiders that the President loves props. “Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign,” CBS continued. The crowd was filled out with about 40 Trump invites and also, the front rows were senior CIA who were not cheering (on the video you can see their heads pivot to the cheers and laughter while not joining in), “An official with knowledge of the make-up of the crowd says that there were about 40 people who’d been invited by the Trump, Mike Pence and Rep. Mike Pompeo teams. The Trump team expected Rep. Pompeo, R-Kansas, to be sworn in during the event as the next CIA director, but the vote to confirm him was delayed on Friday by Senate Democrats. Also sitting in the first several rows in front of the president was the CIA’s senior leadership, which was not cheering the remarks.” They told CBS that Trump certainly does have supporters in the CIA workforce, and they were standing off to the right, which I observe was the direction Trump directed his most needy remarks. Out of thousands invited, 400 RSVP’d, and “Officials dismiss White House claims that there were people waiting to get into the event.” No, there were not people waiting to get in. That’s a line Trump loves to use, fitting in with his difficulty accepting the reality of the relatively low attendance numbers for his inauguration. All the world’s a stage to Trump. While Trump supporters have used his Saturday visit to the CIA as proof that everyone who matters loves the new President, in reality his visit did more damage than good. Trump needed to repair relations with the CIA after spending his time on the trail undermining the intelligence community, but instead he offended them in numerous ways to the degree that they are now confirming to the press that he brought his own cheering audience. The real point here isn’t just that Donald Trump is very insecure, but more importantly that he tried to mislead the public into seeing the CIA as a partisan agency that wholly supported his very divisive campaign and now presidency. By doing that, Trump is working toward his larger goal of undermining the American voters’ trust in our government and media. TRUMP’S LAUGH TRACK IS TRICKING AMERICA “But reporters were clapping and laughing, they loved it.” — a commenter defending Trump’s first press conference. “But members of the CIA were clearly laughing at his jokes and clapping, so what he was saying couldn’t have been inappropriate.” — CNN pundit defending Trump’s CIA speech where he talked about his war with the media, in front of a memorial to men and women who lost their lives in actual wars. ****************************************************** The clapping and laughing you hear in both instances are Trump’s own people. They are sycophants who he brings to cheer him on and make it seem like what he’s saying is being well-received. And it’s working. The laugh track was invented to cue the audience to the jokes and encourage laughter in response. But it has another effect: if you hear people laughing and you’re not, you start to question if maybe there’s something wrong with you for not getting it. It happened to me during that press conference and during that CIA speech. What he was saying wasn’t as surprising as the fact that the response wasn’t dead silence or audible fucking gasps. How does the President say, “We should have taken the oil in Iraq” and “Maybe we’ll get another chance” to a crowd roaring with laugher? It made me wonder — wait, am I the crazy one? I’m not. Like everything with Trump it’s made up, it’s put on, it’s a fucking illusion.  
This is how he’s going to chip away at our understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s real and what’s not. This is even stronger, more powerful gas lighting — making us question our own instincts and even start doing things because we want to fit in with “everyone else” who from what we know, seem to think this is all fine.
Trump wants a cheering section at all his press conferences and if you don’t realize that those are not the reporters clapping, it will seriously fuck with you. The media needs to take a cue from one of Trump’s own complaints during the campaign: show us the crowd. Let us see who is clapping, and who is not. Otherwise we’re all going to start feeling like we’re going crazy, even more so than we already are. I saw this on Facebook and thought it was thought-provoking.
Do you agree? "I am tired of being told I should want the President to succeed. I don't want him to succeed. I don't want education to be only for the wealthy. I don't want social security privatized. I don't want Medicare and Medicaid reduced to a voucher program. I don't want people kicked off their insurance and be denied new coverage. I don't want insurance companies setting policy for health care. I don't want the press silenced, threatened, and cowed. I don't want women being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. I don't want women threatened by judicial systems when they have a miscarriage. I don't want people who are different from me to be treated as second class, or worse, citizens. I don't want our national parks to become corporate cash cows. I don't want laws that protect the safety of our water and air to be rolled back so corporations can make more money at our expense. I don't want hatred, xenophobia, bigotry and fear to become the norm. I don't want religion used as prop, pawn or twisted into a weapon to hurt others. I don't want lies that hurt the citizens, going unchallenged. The current president has advocated for many of these and while he is out front playing Lord and master his majorities in the house and the Senate are stripping our safety nets right out from under us. So am I hoping he fails? Damn straight I am." I saw this on Facebook and it is thought-provoking isn't it? "I am tired of being told I should want the President to succeed. I don't want him to succeed. I don't want education to be only for the wealthy. I don't want social security privatized. I don't want Medicare and Medicaid reduced to a voucher program. I don't want people kicked off their insurance and be denied new coverage. I don't want insurance companies setting policy for health care. I don't want the press silenced, threatened, and cowed. I don't want women being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. I don't want women threatened by judicial systems when they have a miscarriage. I don't want people who are different from me to be treated as second class, or worse, citizens. I don't want our national parks to become corporate cash cows. I don't want laws that protect the safety of our water and air to be rolled back so corporations can make more money at our expense. I don't want hatred, xenophobia, bigotry and fear to become the norm. I don't want religion used as prop, pawn or twisted into a weapon to hurt others. I don't want lies that hurt the citizens, going unchallenged. The current president has advocated for many of these and while he is out front playing Lord and master his majorities in the house and the Senate are stripping our safety nets right out from under us. So am I hoping he fails? Damn straight I am."
Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.
Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because, today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people. For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have born the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs and, while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration, and this, the United States of America, is your country. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of an historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public, but for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We've defended other nations' borders, while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas, while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. But, that is the past and now we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today, are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again. Winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth. At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America and, through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when god's people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and most importantly, we will be protected by God. Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium ready to unlock the histories of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease and to harness the energies, industries, and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will lift our sights and heal our divisions. It's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky. They fill their heart with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator. So, to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And, yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you and god bless America. Thank you. God bless America." My Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/full-text-president-donald-trumps-inauguration-speech/story?id=44915821 ******************************* 
Trump’s Epic Inaugural Failure
DONALD TRUMP likes to think that he is perpetually breaking boundaries and setting records, and he surely did with his inauguration speech. It was the worst in generations, and perhaps the worst of all time. It wasn’t just mediocre. It was stunningly, disconcertingly, dumbfoundingly bad. And bad in a deeply worrying way. There was little that was unifying about it; little that was inspirational; little that spoke to the better angels of America, to transcendent American values or freedoms, or higher causes. Nor was there much by way of concrete causes, beyond a call for investments in American infrastructure. Instead, Trump outlined an all-out nationalist, protectionist, and populist approach that, frankly, is incompatible with a nation that leads the free world. But most distressingly, this speech was simply out of touch with reality. To hear Trump’s grim, pinched, dystopian vision, America isn’t a country that has seen a steadily strengthening recovery from a devastating recession, and now is finally experiencing real income growth. Instead, we are a nation still on its knees economically, a nation where the cities are besieged by crime and the schools are a disaster. One quality unites well regarded presidents, no matter the party: a sense of graciousness. Think Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy. It’s a quality a president needs if he or she is to transcend campaign divisions and engender some good will in those who opposed his election. Beyond a thank you to Barack and Michelle Obama, there was none of that in Trump’s speech. There was no mention of Hillary Clinton, who was gracious enough to attend, and no outreach to the majority who voted against him. One hopes for the country’s sake that, as the gravity and reality of his responsibilities set in, Donald Trump will somehow rise to the occasion, and that, at 70, he is capable of such growth. But there was little evidence of that in his inauguration speech.
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