Trump = Traitor, Part 2

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Separatist
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Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

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Trump Gushes About the Former Goldman Sachs CEO Who is Now His Top Economic Adviser
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/20 ... sachs.html
From a new interview with The New York Times:
TRUMP: We have some very, very good people. This man [sitting in the room] was the president of Goldman Sachs. I mean, he was, like, the president of Goldman Sachs.

HABERMAN: I’m very familiar with his work.

TRUMP: And believe me, they wanted him. But he wanted to do something more important. As he said, as big as Goldman Sachs are, it was —

HABERMAN: This is bigger.

TRUMP: — and is. The numbers here are staggering. He did the biggest deals in the world. They were, like, tiny deals. They were like peanut deals. But, but we just have a great group of people.
Also The Times reports the following sat in on the interview. Note well:L no Steve Bannon:
[For]President Trump’s interview with The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush...At least six White House aides were sitting in: Gary D. Cohn, President Trump’s lead economic adviser and a former president of Goldman Sachs; Reed Cordish, an assistant to the president; Sean Spicer, the press secretary; Hope Hicks, a long-serving Trump aide; and eventually Vice President Mike Pence and the chief of staff, Reince Priebus.

Silver
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Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

Back again, "plying my lonely trade." It's not like I get any particular pleasure from pointing out Trump's traitorous deeds. I'd rather be wrong because Trump turned out to be the greatest President since George Washington. However, observation early on told me it wasn't to be. Lately, he's making it more and more obvious that he's in place to help the 1%.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... r-24-hours

by Tyler Durden
Apr 12, 2017 6:11 PM
339
SHARES
Blink, and you missed Trump's blistering, seamless transformation into a mainstream politician.

In the span of just a few hours, President Trump flipped to new positions on several core policy issues, backing off on no less than five repeated campaign promises.

In a WSJ interview and a subsequent press conference, Trump either shifted or completely reversed positions on a number of foreign and economic policy decisions, including the fate of the US Dollar, how to handle China and the future of the chair of the Federal Reserve.

Goodbye strong dollar and high interest rates

In an announcement that rocked currency markets, Trump told the WSJ that the U.S. dollar “is getting too strong” and he would prefer the Federal Reserve keep interest rates low. “I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you,” Mr. Trump said. “I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me. But that’s hurting—that will hurt ultimately,” he added. “Look, there’s some very good things about a strong dollar, but usually speaking the best thing about it is that it sounds good.”

Trump then said the one thing that every other currency manipulator realizes all too well: “It’s very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency.”

During his campaign Trump had repeatedly said that a "strong dollar" policy would be beneficial for the US economy, despite our repeat warnings that he will inevitably reverse on this, especially if and when the "Goldman" circle of advisors starts providing macroconomic advice.

It is unclear if the shift in Trump's policy will mean that US economic data will now "mysteriously" begin to deteriorate to justify not only his request for a weaker dollar, but to also hit the breaks on Yellen's plans for further rate hikes over the next 2-3 years. In any case, the debate over the Fed's balance sheet unwind, and the trajectory of Fed hikes, is now on indefinite hiatus.

The biggest loser here, again, are America's savers who may have been hoping that their bank deposits will finally earn some interest.

As for the most notable outcome from this Trump statement, is that it counters his "desire" for a weaker dollar with the Fed's tightening bias. Will fireworks fly as Trump realizes that Yellen's actions are prompting the strong dollar? Stay tuned for what may be the most entertaining clash yet: Trump vs Yellen.

* * *

Labeling China a currency manipulator

Trump also told the Wall Street Journal that China is not artificially deflating the value of its currency, a big change after he repeatedly pledged during his campaign to label the country a currency manipulator.

"They’re not currency manipulators," the president said, adding that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months, and that he feared derailing U.S.-China talks to crack down on North Korea. Trump routinely criticized President Obama for not labeling China a currency manipulator, and promised during the campaign to do so on day one of his administration.

Trump's declaration also means that Peter Navarro may as well pack his bags, as the Goldman economic advisory team has now won its contest with the "Bannon nationalist" circle.

* * *

Yellen's future

Trump also told the Journal he’d consider re-nominating Yellen to chair the Fed's board of governors, after attacking her during his campaign." I like her. I respect her,” Trump said, “It’s very early.”

Trump called Yellen “obviously political” in September and accused her of keeping interest rates low to boost the stock market and make Obama look good. “As soon as [rates] go up, your stock market is going to go way down, most likely,” Trump said. "Or possibly.”

* * *

Export-Import Bank

Trump also voiced support behind the Export-Import Bank, which helps subsidize some U.S. exports, after opposing it during the campaign.

“It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies,” Trump told the Journal. “Instinctively, you would say, ‘Isn’t that a ridiculous thing,’ but actually, it’s a very good thing. And it actually makes money, it could make a lot of money.”

Trump’s support will anger conservative opponents of the bank, who say it enables crony capitalism.

* * *

NATO

Finally, Trump said NATO is "no longer obsolete" during a Wednesday press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, backtracking on his past criticism of the alliance. During the campaign, he frequently called the organization "obsolete," saying did little to crack down on terrorism and that its other members don’t pay their “fair share.”

“I said it was obsolete. It is no longer obsolete," the president said Wednesday.

Trump has gradually become more supportive of NATO after it ramped up efforts to increase U.S. and European intelligence sharing regarding terrorism. Trump still insisted that NATO allies “meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe.” He said he discussed with Stoltenberg his desire that allies put 2 percent of their gross domestic products into defense by 2024.

* * *

Add to this Trump's first, most prominent reversal, the launch of air strikes on Syria last Friday after repeatedly bashing Obama for even considering that, and Trump's transformation into a mainstream politician now appears complete.

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

Silver wrote: April 12th, 2017, 7:01 pm Back again, "plying my lonely trade." It's not like I get any particular pleasure from pointing out Trump's traitorous deeds. I'd rather be wrong because Trump turned out to be the greatest President since George Washington. However, observation early on told me it wasn't to be. Lately, he's making it more and more obvious that he's in place to help the 1%.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... r-24-hours

by Tyler Durden
Apr 12, 2017 6:11 PM
339
SHARES
Blink, and you missed Trump's blistering, seamless transformation into a mainstream politician.

In the span of just a few hours, President Trump flipped to new positions on several core policy issues, backing off on no less than five repeated campaign promises.

In a WSJ interview and a subsequent press conference, Trump either shifted or completely reversed positions on a number of foreign and economic policy decisions, including the fate of the US Dollar, how to handle China and the future of the chair of the Federal Reserve.

Goodbye strong dollar and high interest rates

In an announcement that rocked currency markets, Trump told the WSJ that the U.S. dollar “is getting too strong” and he would prefer the Federal Reserve keep interest rates low. “I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you,” Mr. Trump said. “I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me. But that’s hurting—that will hurt ultimately,” he added. “Look, there’s some very good things about a strong dollar, but usually speaking the best thing about it is that it sounds good.”

Trump then said the one thing that every other currency manipulator realizes all too well: “It’s very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency.”

During his campaign Trump had repeatedly said that a "strong dollar" policy would be beneficial for the US economy, despite our repeat warnings that he will inevitably reverse on this, especially if and when the "Goldman" circle of advisors starts providing macroconomic advice.

It is unclear if the shift in Trump's policy will mean that US economic data will now "mysteriously" begin to deteriorate to justify not only his request for a weaker dollar, but to also hit the breaks on Yellen's plans for further rate hikes over the next 2-3 years. In any case, the debate over the Fed's balance sheet unwind, and the trajectory of Fed hikes, is now on indefinite hiatus.

The biggest loser here, again, are America's savers who may have been hoping that their bank deposits will finally earn some interest.

As for the most notable outcome from this Trump statement, is that it counters his "desire" for a weaker dollar with the Fed's tightening bias. Will fireworks fly as Trump realizes that Yellen's actions are prompting the strong dollar? Stay tuned for what may be the most entertaining clash yet: Trump vs Yellen.

* * *

Labeling China a currency manipulator

Trump also told the Wall Street Journal that China is not artificially deflating the value of its currency, a big change after he repeatedly pledged during his campaign to label the country a currency manipulator.

"They’re not currency manipulators," the president said, adding that China hasn’t been manipulating its currency for months, and that he feared derailing U.S.-China talks to crack down on North Korea. Trump routinely criticized President Obama for not labeling China a currency manipulator, and promised during the campaign to do so on day one of his administration.

Trump's declaration also means that Peter Navarro may as well pack his bags, as the Goldman economic advisory team has now won its contest with the "Bannon nationalist" circle.

* * *

Yellen's future

Trump also told the Journal he’d consider re-nominating Yellen to chair the Fed's board of governors, after attacking her during his campaign." I like her. I respect her,” Trump said, “It’s very early.”

Trump called Yellen “obviously political” in September and accused her of keeping interest rates low to boost the stock market and make Obama look good. “As soon as [rates] go up, your stock market is going to go way down, most likely,” Trump said. "Or possibly.”

* * *

Export-Import Bank

Trump also voiced support behind the Export-Import Bank, which helps subsidize some U.S. exports, after opposing it during the campaign.

“It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies,” Trump told the Journal. “Instinctively, you would say, ‘Isn’t that a ridiculous thing,’ but actually, it’s a very good thing. And it actually makes money, it could make a lot of money.”

Trump’s support will anger conservative opponents of the bank, who say it enables crony capitalism.

* * *

NATO

Finally, Trump said NATO is "no longer obsolete" during a Wednesday press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, backtracking on his past criticism of the alliance. During the campaign, he frequently called the organization "obsolete," saying did little to crack down on terrorism and that its other members don’t pay their “fair share.”

“I said it was obsolete. It is no longer obsolete," the president said Wednesday.

Trump has gradually become more supportive of NATO after it ramped up efforts to increase U.S. and European intelligence sharing regarding terrorism. Trump still insisted that NATO allies “meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe.” He said he discussed with Stoltenberg his desire that allies put 2 percent of their gross domestic products into defense by 2024.

* * *

Add to this Trump's first, most prominent reversal, the launch of air strikes on Syria last Friday after repeatedly bashing Obama for even considering that, and Trump's transformation into a mainstream politician now appears complete.
https://youtu.be/MoqLXsgTWeY

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

Trump-Flip-Flops-Only-Days-After-Saying-Hed-Default-Now-Says-He-will-Hyperinflate-The-Dollar-Vigilante-676x374.jpg
Trump-Flip-Flops-Only-Days-After-Saying-Hed-Default-Now-Says-He-will-Hyperinflate-The-Dollar-Vigilante-676x374.jpg (29.46 KiB) Viewed 3982 times
Build That Wall --- No Wall in Sight

Lock Her Up --- Still at Large

No Foreign Entanglements --- Tomahawks Launched

Repeal Obamacare --- Obamacare Remains

Lower Taxes --- No Tax plan

Import Tax --- None Proposed

NATO Sucks --- NATO Great

Russia Rapprochement --- Piss on Putin

Drain The Swamp --- Dove into the Deep End

Dump Yellen --- Jellen with Yellen

Difference between Hillary and Donald --- Hair Coloring Highlights

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... -president

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

https://mises.org/blog/trump-abandons-e ... r-spending

Trump Abandons Economic Reforms to Embrace War Spending

trumpsalute.JPG
9 COMMENTS
TAGS Taxes and SpendingWar and Foreign Policy

04/11/2017Ryan McMaken
In February, David Stockman pointed out that the Trump administration appears none too interested in addressing many of the economic issues that Trump claimed would be at the center of his administration. Instead, Stockman noted, Trump spent all his time obsessing over his travel ban — which he still can't get beyond the courts — and other non-economic issues. Stockman noted:

It's the economy, stupid. ... Trump was elected because flyover America is hurting economically. The voters of Racine, Wisconsin and Johnstown, Pennsylvania are imperiled not because of some refugees, they're imperiled because their jobs have all been disappearing for decades. The problem is far more the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, the bubbles they're creating on Wall Street...
And that was even before Trump mishandled the Obamacare repeal.

But now that it's April, it's all the more clear that Stockman was right. Trump and the GOP have already abandoned the Obamacare issue — and the Trump administration has now signaled there won't be any attempts at tax cuts anytime soon.

In February, Trump was promising a corporate tax cut bill "in two or three weeks." Now, nothing's even on the horizon. Obamacare has also been relegated to the back burner.

Nor should we expect anything on monetary policy. Trump has already hired a Treasury Secretary who praises Janet Yellen, and if Trump is as "anti-establishment" on monetary policy as he is on foreign policy, then we can expect Trump to offer simply more of the same. And, given Trump's big spending plans, Trump will certainly need the Fed with its ability to further monetize the deficit spending Trump is more than happy to keep going full speed ahead.

Moreover, when the economy enters recession, we can expect Trump to call for both massive monetary and fiscal stimulus, just as his Republican predecessor George W. Bush did in the face of recession in 2001 and again in 2008.

In response to the administration's obvious disinterest in economic issues, the Trump fanboys will surely cry "give him some time!" But, if Trump actually cared about these issues, he'd be talking about the need for tax cuts and relief from Obamacare. He'd be making speeches. He'd be meeting with Congress about it. He'd be telling voters to call their members of Congress and demand reform. He'd be giving press conferences on how we need to get the government off the backs of the people.

But no. None of that is happening.

What's worse, what few changes Trump has made on regulatory reform have all been made through executive order. This means they will be immediately reversible when another administration comes in — probably four years from now.

To make any lasting reform, Congress would need to take action on these matters, but Trump is either too lazy or too inept or too apathetic to do the hard work that comes with this type of lawmaking. In order to move beyond Rule by Decree, which is clearly Trump's favored type of governing, he'd have to work with Congress. But this so-called "master negotiator" apparently lacks the necessary skills.

It is now increasingly clear that the Trump administration is going to be at least four years of endless war, budget-busting spending, massive deficits, and more big government in general. His demonstrated preference is not for addressing the issues that won him the Rust Belt states. He's a war president now, and has better things to do.

Moreover, Trump has already declared 75 percent of the federal budget to be off limits to budget cuts, and has pledged to spent a trillion more in infrastructure spending on top of the already bloated social-spending budgets that he has pledged to not touch.

He has also called for $50 billion more in military spending, in just the next year alone.

That $50 billion is just chump change compared to what Trump will likely spend with his big plans for multiple wars, including wars in Syria and North Korea. Wars with boots on the ground — should Trump continue down that road — don't just cost a few hundred billion dollars. They cost trillions. According to one conservative estimate, the US has spent $3.6 trillion on wars between 2001 and 2016. (That not including future obligations to disabled veterans thanks to the wars.) What could have been done with that money? To use the words of Trump himself: "we could have rebuilt our country — twice."

Indeed, it may be a repeat of the George W. Bush years when Bush — via Medicare expansion — gave us the largest expansion of the welfare state since Johnson's Great Society, and then went on to break the bank with massive deficit spending on wars and welfare. Much of this, by the way, was done during a six year period when the GOP had control of both the White House and Congress.

Knee-jerk defenders of the GOP will no doubt point out that Obama spent immense amounts of taxpayer funds too, and that he placed huge regulatory burdens on American workers and business owners. No one denies that, nor did anyone seriously claim that Obama was going to be a budget cutter or lessen the burden of government on middle-class workers. Trump and his supporters do make such claims.

If Trump's only claim to fame is going to be "Hey, I'm slightly less awful than Obama," that will probably be good enough for some people. But many of us aren't going to be falling over ourselves to thank Trump for the few scraps that fall from his table.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... esday.html

Donald Trump’s ‘Globalist’ Makeover

It was a bad day for Trump campaign positions. NATO? Not ‘obsolete.’ China? ‘Not currency manipulators.’ Janet Yellen? ‘I like her.’

LACHLAN MARKAY
04.12.17 6:00 PM ET

President Donald Trump and his staff reversed or walked back at least six campaign positions on Wednesday.

Ranging from monetary to budget to defense policy, the reversals culminated at an afternoon press conference with North Atlantic Treaty Organization secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, where Trump said he no longer believes that the landmark defense pact is “obsolete.”
NATO has retooled itself to place greater emphasis on terrorism, the president explained. “I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete,” he said
“I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change, and now they do fight terrorism,” Trump claimed as White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon and senior adviser Stephen Miller, stalwarts of Trump’s brand of America First populism, looked on from the audience.

The president appeared to be referring to NATO’s creation last summer of a new intelligence-sharing office, which experts at the time described as not a particularly significant shift and NATO officials insisted was wholly unrelated to Trump’s campaign rhetoric.

NATO placed significant emphasis on terrorism prior to last summer, most notably in its response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, the only time in the alliance’s history that its Article 5 mutual defense provision has been invoked.

NATO troops subsequently served in Afghanistan for more than a decade.

Trump ignored that record during the campaign as he railed on NATO’s supposed obsolescence. But late in the race, he appeared to walk back that position, citing the creation last summer of its Joint Intelligence and Security Division.
“I’m all for NATO,” he insisted in September.

Still, Trump’s remarks on Wednesday, in which he heaped praise on NATO even as he called for member nations to step up their defense budgets, marked a departure from his often dismissive attitude towards the alliance on the campaign trail.
That reversal came just after the Wall Street Journal published an interview in which the president completely reversed his position on Chinese currency manipulation.

Trump vowed declared the campaign that he would officially declare China a currency manipulator on “day one” of his presidency. On Wednesday, he told the WSJ simply, “they’re not currency manipulators.”

He also reserved some praise for Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, whom he criticized during the campaign for creating a “false market” by keeping interest rates low “because she’s obviously political and doing what Obama wants her to do.” Yellen, he said at the time, “should be ashamed of herself.”

He changed his tune on Wednesday. “I like her, I respect her,” Trump said of Yellen when asked whether he would renominate her next year. As for the Fed’s interest rate policies, he told the Journal, “I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you.”

Still in the same interview, he completely reversed his position on the U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal agency criticized by many free market conservatives and that Trump had ripped early in his presidential campaign.

“It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies,” Trump said on Wednesday. “But also, maybe more important, other countries give [assistance]. When other countries give it we lose a tremendous amount of business.”

The Ex-Im comments came shortly after White House Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, who’d been a fierce critic of the institution while he served in Congress, told CNBC it would “continue to exist,” but that the administration would ensure it “sticks to its knitting and doesn’t experience some of the mission creep that many of our critics have seen.”

In a separate interview Wednesday, Mulvaney announced an end to the administration’s federal hiring freeze designed, the White House said when it was unveiled last month, “to stop the further expansion of an already bloated government.”

The freeze was a key campaign promise, featured prominently in a series of policy proposals that Trump dubbed his “Contract with the American Voter” and in which he also promised to reform the tax code, repeal Obamacare, and spend $1 trillion on infrastructure projects in his first 100 days in office.

Wednesday was day number 83.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room ... -visitors/

Judicial Watch Statement on Trump White House Decision to Keep Secret the Names of White House Visitors

APRIL 14, 2017

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Trump White House about its decision to keep secret the names of White House visitors:

“Judicial Watch is disappointed with the Trump White House decision to keep secret the names of White House visitors. Unfortunately, this move is perfectly in line with the policy of the Obama White House to prevent these visitors logs from being processed and released under the Freedom of Information Act. President Trump should simply allow the Secret Service to apply FOIA to its White House visitor logs. The Secret Service can protect the personal privacy of some visitors while upholding the rule of law. This new secrecy policy undermines the rule of law and suggests this White House doesn’t want to be accountable to the American people.”

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/us/p ... licts.html

With Trump Appointees, a Raft of Potential Conflicts and ‘No Transparency’
By ERIC LIPTON, BEN PROTESS and ANDREW W. LEHRENAPRIL 15, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck.

The potential conflicts are arising across the executive branch, according to an analysis of recently released financial disclosures, lobbying records and interviews with current and former ethics officials by The New York Times in collaboration with ProPublica.

In at least two cases, the appointments may have already led to violations of the administration’s own ethics rules. But evaluating if and when such violations have occurred has become almost impossible because the Trump administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules.

One such case involves Michael Catanzaro, who serves as the top White House energy adviser. Until late last year, he was working as a lobbyist for major industry clients such as Devon Energy of Oklahoma, an oil and gas company, and Talen Energy of Pennsylvania, a coal-burning electric utility, as they fought Obama-era environmental regulations, including the landmark Clean Power Plan. Now, he is handling some of the same matters on behalf of the federal government.

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Another case involves Chad Wolf, who spent the past several years lobbying to secure funding for the Transportation Security Administration to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a new carry-on luggage screening device. He is now chief of staff at that agency — at the same time as the device is being tested and evaluated for possible purchase by agency staff.

There are other examples. At the Labor Department, two officials joined the agency from the K Street lobbying corridor, leaving behind jobs where they fought some of the Obama administration’s signature labor rules, including a policy requiring financial advisers to act in a client’s best interest when providing retirement advice.

This revolving door of lobbyists and government officials is not new in Washington. Both parties make a habit of it.

But the Trump administration is more vulnerable to conflicts than the prior administration, particularly after the president eliminated an ethics provision that prohibits lobbyists from joining agencies they lobbied in the prior two years. The White House also announced on Friday that it would keep its visitors’ logs secret, discontinuing the release of information on corporate executives, lobbyists and others who enter the complex, often to try to influence federal policy. The changes have drawn intense criticism from government ethics advocates across the city.

Mr. Trump’s appointees are also far wealthier and have more complex financial holdings and private-sector ties than officials hired at the start of the Obama administration, according to an Office of Government Ethics analysis that the White House has made public. This creates a greater chance that they might have conflicts related to investments or former clients, which could force them to sell off assets, recuse themselves or seek a waiver.

A White House spokeswoman, Sarah H. Sanders, declined repeated requests by The Times to speak with Stefan C. Passantino, the White House lawyer in charge of the ethics policy. Instead, the White House provided a written statement that did not address any of the specific questions about potential violations The Times had identified.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... violations

Trump WH officials work their way around ethics rules: report
BY BROOKE SEIPEL - 04/15/17 10:48 PM EDT

The Trump administration has secretly issued waivers to some officials who may have violated ethics rules, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The Times, in collaboration with ProPublica, reported that after analyzing reports from lobbyists and interviews with ethics officials, it appears that at least two of Trump's appointees in the White House may have violated ethics rules.

However, the newspaper said it is nearly impossible to determine the details of such violations, as the administration is reportedly issuing secret waivers to the rules.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders reportedly turned down The Time's requests to speak with Stefan Passantino, the White House ethics lawyer, but did offer a brief statement about the report.

"The White House takes its ethics pledge and federal conflict of interest rules very seriously. The White House requires all of its employees to work closely with ethics counsel to ensure compliance and has aggressively required employees to recuse or divest where the law requires," the statement read.

The Times listed a handful of White House staff that could be the subject of ethics violations, including a top energy adviser, Michael Catanzaro, who until late 2016 worked as a lobbyist for major energy and oil industries.

Another person examined was the Transportation agency chief of staff Chad Wolf, who previously lobbied to secure funding for the Transportation Security Administration.

Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics that advises federal agencies including the White House on complying with federal ethics law, criticized the administration's handling of the ethics rules.

Shaub said Trump's executive order in late January eliminated a requirement adopted by former President Barack Obama that executive branch appoints not accept jobs at agencies they have lobbied.

He also said it's easier for former lobbyists who have joined the government to get waivers allowing them to focus on matters potentially benefitting former clients.

“There’s no transparency, and I have no idea how many waivers have been issued,” he told the newspaper.
Last edited by Silver on April 24th, 2017, 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

My, oh my, we are a warlike people.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... t-2-months

War 'Works' - Trump Favorability Hits 50% - Highest In 2 Months

by Tyler Durden
Apr 17, 2017 10:43 AM

It appears that if you want to be liked by the American public, go to war. After a non-stop plunge to record low ratings for a new president, Rasmussen's most recent data shows President Trump's favorability surging to 2-month highs since he started rattling sabres around the world.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty percent (50%) disapprove. This is the first time the president’s overall approval rating has been back in the 50s in nearly a month. Just after his inauguration, Trump’s job approval peaked at 59% and remained in the 50s every day until early March. It’s gone as low as 42% since then. The latest figures for Trump include 30% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 39% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9.
20170417_trump_favor.jpg
20170417_trump_favor.jpg (27.46 KiB) Viewed 3891 times
However, while this recent warmongery has juiced Trump's favorability, a recent Gallup poll says majority of people no longer believe he will deliver on promises...
20170417_trump rating.jpg
20170417_trump rating.jpg (73.84 KiB) Viewed 3891 times
The more positive assessments of Trump in February came as he started his presidency with a flurry of executive orders and Cabinet appointments. Regardless of whether they agreed with those actions, Americans appeared to take them as evidence Trump was keeping his campaign pledges to fundamentally alter the course of the federal government.

In the two months since, however, Trump appeared to walk away from repealing the Affordable Care Act after Republicans failed to agree on the healthcare replacement bill that Trump stood behind. Political friends and foes alike have complained that Trump is not carrying out the promises he made on the campaign trail. Supporters have expressed unhappiness that more has not been done on taxes and immigration, in addition to healthcare. Opponents say he has not protected middle- and working-class Americans.

As Gallup concludes, at the outset of his presidency, a majority of the public did give Trump credit, however, for keeping his promises and for being a president who could bring about needed changes. Now many have turned away from those views, perhaps because of the GOP's failure to deliver on their long-standing promise to repeal Obamacare. As a result, a majority now disagree that he has these qualities. These views could shift again, depending on Trump's actions over the course of his presidency. But for now, Trump has lost significant ground with a public that only two months ago credited him with having one of the key characteristics of a successful president.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... ula-yonhap

US Deploys Two More Aircraft Carriers Toward Korean Peninsula: Yonhap

Tyler Durden's picture
by Tyler Durden
Apr 17, 2017 11:53 AM

According to a report by South Korea's primary news outlet, Yonhap, the Pentagon has directed a total of three US aircraft carriers toward the Korean Peninsula, citing a South Korean government source.

Yonhap reports that in addition to the CVN-70 Carl Vinson, which is expected to arrive off the South Korean coast on April 25, the CVN-76 Ronald Reagan - currently in home port in Yokosuka, Japan - and the CVN-68 Nimitz carrier group - currently undergoing final pre-deployment assessment, Composite Training Unit Exercise off Oregon - will enter the Sea of Japan next week. According to the senior government official. the US and South Korea are discussing joint drills, which will include the three aircraft carriers and other ships.

CVN-68 Nimitz carrier group

USS Carl Vinson, surrounded by a fleet of US warships, was sent by Washington toward the Korean Peninsula in the beginning of April.

While details are scarce, and we would urge confirmation from US-based sources, Yonhap also reports that according to the government source the operation of three aircraft carriers in the same location is unusual, and demonstrates the US commitment to North Korea. Other sources said the Trump administration is demonstrating deterrence by acting on its behalf. "We expect it to be completely different from the previous administration."

On Sunday, Pyongyang launched an unidentified projectile, but the test reportedly failed. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that the attempted launch was conducted from the area near North Korea's eastern port city of Sinpo, but likely ended in a failure.

The most recent map showing key US naval deployments around the globe is shown below.

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

When do you know that you've lost a war? When the assembled might and power of the United States can't bring down a few thousand Taliban fighters. Why do we continue this nonsense? We are victims of Luciferian warmongers.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... fghanistan

Hundreds Of U.S. Marines Headed To Afghanistan

by Tyler Durden
Apr 19, 2017 3:00 PM
Authored by Jason Ditz via TheAntiMedia.org,

With the US seeking to slow the mounting losses by the Afghan military in the southern Helmand Province, the Pentagon has announced a deployment of roughly 300 US Marines to the province, with the fighters expected to arrive by the end of the month.

The deployment marks the largest single deployment of US Marines in occupied Afghanistan since 2014, which reflects the Afghan military’s growing woes in combat. These troops will join smaller numbers the US had already deployed into the area, who were nominally “advisers.”

And while officially, the new Marines are also “advise-and-assist” troops that are being sent in a non-combat role, Col. Matthew Reid confirmed that the Marines are always deployed “with a combat mindset.” Given how poorly the Afghan military has done on its own, it wouldn’t be surprising to find the Marines in combat situations.

Large numbers of US and British soldiers were deployed in Helmand earlier in the war, but officials had withdrawn them largely in the transition away from direct combat missions. Since then, Helmand has been among the major targets of the Taliban, and they’ve captured large portions of the province.

Silver
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Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-1 ... obal-order

Is Trump About To Flip Again: Ryan Says "TTIP Good For Global Order"

by Tyler Durden
Apr 19, 2017 6:30 PM

From Obamacare to NATO, and from Ex-Im Bank to Chinese currency manipulators, President Trump has shown he is comfortable changing his mind 'bigly'. Today's exuberant support for "TTIP as good for global order," from Speaker Ryan, following VP Pence's meetings in Japan, raises questions about whether Trump's executive order withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement is the next big flip-flop.

During his presidential campaign, Trump often criticized the TPP agreement and called it a "terrible deal," which is harmful for US workers. On January 23, Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement and promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Trump administration was expected to at least delay talks on the TTIP deal, according to media reports.

And then today,. Speaker Ryan, according to Bloomberg News noted that "TTIP was good for global order," adding...

We are more determined than ever to lead. We don't want China to write the rules of the 21st century global economy. We want to do that. We want a level playing field for our businesses. And yes, we want free trade deals, but they have to be smart trade deals. They need to help workers and raise wages. They need to create high-paying, sustainable jobs. The good news is that these are exactly the type of jobs you get from smart free trade agreements. And we must continue to sharpen tools to combat unfair trade practices.

Now that Article 50 has been invoked, the UK and EU will determine the best path forward over the course of negotiations. We want the parties to come together and strike a lasting agreement. A strong UK-EU relationship is in all of our best interests.

In that same vein, the United States will continue to work closely with our EU friends, and chart a path forward on TTIP negotiations.
And while it's a jump from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as one analyst notes, given his recent backtracking, it's not beyond the realms of possibility...

"Whoever thought that Trump would let China, a rival, off the hook on currency? If he can do that with a country that's clearly not a friend, maybe he could reconsider reversing himself on TPP for a friend like Japan," Sean King, senior vice president of Park Strategies, told CNBC on Tuesday.
Japan was set to be a major beneficiary of TPP, particularly the country's auto sector that would have obtained cheaper access to U.S. markets. Tokyo, which has long lamented the trade pact would be "meaningless" without the U.S., has decided to forge ahead with the other remaining 10 participating nations to revive the deal but many are doubtful of whether the TPP will be a game-changer in Washington's absence.

Trade topped the agenda when Vice President Mike Pence holds talks with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo yesterday as part of a 10-day Asia tour. Pence focused on the prospect of a U.S.-Japan free trade agreement (FTA).

"We [the U.S.] are trying to offer them a poor man's TPP with this FTA idea, but I don't think Japan has any interest in pursuing that. They want to stick with ideas and principles that were hammered out in TPP," said King, specifically referring to intellectual property rights as well as market access.

"I think Taro Aso is just going to hear out Pence to be nice to Trump...I don't expect much to come out of these talks, it's going to be a bunch of niceties but no real deliverables."
Trump still has time to change his mind on TPP, King warned, noting that the treaty text remains valid until February 2018.

"Trump said [TPP] was a disaster, but I'm sure the other members would be willing to make concessions to get the U.S. back in, just like South Korea was willing to make concessions to Obama for his endorsement of the U.S.-Korea [free trade agreement]," King said.

"He's certainly made greater reversals and claimed victory. Why not do this for our friends who want to stand with us against countries like China and North Korea? I'm all for it."
We can only imagine the reaction in the rust-belt, after being told how distastrous TPP would be for US jobs, if Trump were to spin on this topic too.

Silver
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Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/opin ... pe=article

A Fake and a Fraud
Charles M. Blow APRIL 20, 2017

A cardboard cutout of Donald Trump used for photo-ops at a campaign event last year. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Donald Trump’s mounting reversals, failures and betrayals make it increasingly clear that he is a fake and a fraud.

For many of us, this is affirmative reinforcement; for others, it is devastating revelation.

But it is those who believed — and cast supportive ballots — who should feel most cheated and also most contrite. You placed your faith in a phony. His promises are crashing to earth like a fleet of paper airplanes.

He oversold what he could deliver because he had no idea what would be required to deliver it, nor did he care. He told you what you wanted to hear so that he could get what he wanted to have. He played you for fools.

That wall will not be paid for by Mexico, if in fact it is ever built. If it is built, it will likely look nothing like what Trump said it would look like. His repeal and replace of Obamacare flopped. That failure endangers his ability to deliver on major tax reform and massive infrastructure spending. China is no longer in danger of being labeled a currency manipulator. The administration is now sending signals that ripping up the Iran nuclear deal isn’t a sure bet.

Trump has done a complete about-face on the Federal Reserve chairwoman, Janet Yellen, and when was the last time you heard him threaten to lock up Hillary Clinton?

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the positions he took for in-the-moment advantage that have been quickly converted into in-reality abandonment.

He isn’t cunningly unpredictable; he’s tragically unprepared and dangerously unprincipled.

No wonder then that a Gallup poll released Monday found:

“President Donald Trump’s image among Americans as someone who keeps his promises has faded in the first two months of his presidency, falling from 62 percent in February to 45 percent. The public is also less likely to see him as a ‘strong and decisive leader,’ as someone who ‘can bring about the changes this country needs’ or as ‘honest and trustworthy.’”

While the largest decline in the percentage of those who think Trump keeps his promises came among women, young people and Democrats, the number also dropped 11 percentage points among Republicans and nine percentage points among conservatives.

Even so, The Washington Post’s The Fix warned readers to beware “the myth of the disillusioned Trump voter,” citing a Pew Research Center poll released Monday “showing very little buyer’s remorse among Trump voters.”

As the newspaper pointed out: “The poll showed just 7 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say Trump has performed worse than they expected him to. Fully 38 percent — five times as many — say he has performed better.”

This seems to me a fair point, but it requires us to have a better handle on the expectations for him in the first place. After all, the union has yet to crumble into ashes and his Twitter tirades have yet to push us into an impulse war.

Furthermore, the stubborn human resistance to admitting a mistake should never be underestimated. Admitting that Trump is failing, even when he is failing you and your family specifically, is an enormous pill to swallow. Acknowledging that your blindness, selfishness and fear compelled you to buy into a man who is selling you out may take more time.

But I think that time is coming, because Trump is an unabashed leech and an unrepentant liar.

Trump cares only about Trump, his brand and his image, his family and his fortune. Indeed, his personal philosophy as president might best be described as clan over country.

Instead of being a grenade-throwing iconoclast bent on blowing up the D.C. establishment and the big-money power structures, he has stocked his inner circle with billionaires and bankers, and he has bent to the establishment.

Trump sold himself as a populist only to line his own pockets. Trump built his entire reputation not as the champion of the common man, but by curating his image as a crude effigy of the cultural elite.

He accrued his wealth by selling hollow dreams of high society to people who wanted to flaunt their money or pretend that they had some.

Put another way, Trump’s brand is built on exclusivity, not inclusivity. It is about the separate, vaulted position of luxury, above and beyond the ability for it to be accessed by the common. It is all about the bourgeois and has absolutely nothing to do with the blue collar.

And yet somehow, it was the blue collar that bought his bill of goods. People saw uncouth and thought unconventional; they saw raffish and thought rebel.

They projected principle and commitment onto a person anathema to both. Now, we all have to pay a hefty toll as Trump’s legions cling to thinning hope.

Silver
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Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/Articles/ta ... onger.aspx

Donald Trump: Just Another Neocon Warmonger

Published: Thursday, April 13, 2017

“Talk is cheap” is a phrase that politicians teach us constantly. This time the teacher is Donald Trump. Donald Trump campaigned as an outsider, someone that was not owned by the establishment, and someone who would fight the globalists and drain “the swamp.” But “talk is cheap.”

In 2013, AFTER Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was accused of using sarin gas against his own countrymen, Trump tweeted, “What will we get for bombing Syria besides more debt and a possible long term conflict? Obama needs Congressional approval.” (August 29) And, “Obama’s war in Syria has the potential to widen into a worldwide conflict.” (September 5) And, “Forget Syria and make America great again.” (September 11) And, again, “We should . . . stay out of Syria and other countries that hate us, rebuild our own country and make it strong and great again--USA!” (September 12)

Then, after spending months condemning Hillary Clinton for her intentions to escalate U.S. military aggression in the Middle East--especially in Syria--and assuring the American people that if he were elected President he would NOT try to depose Syria’s President Assad or use increased military force in Syria and elsewhere, and stating that he looked forward to building a closer relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin, it took him exactly 77 days after being inaugurated to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles into, guess where? Syria! And guess what the pretext was for this military attack? You guessed it: Assad used a chemical attack against his own people. What was it that Yogi Berra said?

You must understand: politicians live in this encapsulated, insulated world in which it is absolutely accepted that the American people cannot remember ANYTHING past yesterday’s FOX or CNN newscasts.

For years, I have been trying to get people to understand that the key agenda driving both parties in Washington, D.C., is WAR. Neocons and neolibs are all about WAR. They can argue and wrangle about social and domestic issues as much as they want, but what unites them is WAR. When will the American people come to realize that there is just ONE PARTY in Washington, D.C.: THE WAR PARTY?

It didn’t take long for the icons of the War Party to begin patting Trump on the back for his attack against Syria. War Party potentates who never had a kind word to say about Donald Trump are now praising him for his “brave” decision to bomb Syria. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Paul Ryan, and the bulk of War Party propagandists in the mainstream media have joined the chorus lauding Trump’s missile attack. For example, MSNBC’s Brian Williams called the attack “beautiful.”

Even Democrats are not immune from the wrath of the War Party. “Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard went on CNN Friday and said she's not sure Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was behind the attack. The Iraq War veteran said, ‘I'm skeptical because we have to take at a premium the cost of these wars not only on the Syrian people and the people in the middle east but the cost of these wars here in the United States.’"

No sooner than the words were out of the congresswoman’s mouth, and DNC Chairman Howard Dean fumed, "This is a disgrace. Gabbard should not be in Congress."

But the gritty Gabbard fired back, “Those who've declared Trump a habitual liar now vilify those refusing to blindly follow him into another regime change war. Hypocrisy.”

Don’t you see? Republican Party or Democrat Party doesn’t matter; it is the War Party calling the shots.

There is a real correlation here between Donald Trump and Barack Obama. Obama deceived his voting base into believing that he was going to change the Bush war doctrine. He was going to be the “peace” President. But after being elected, Obama ordered ten times more drone attacks than Bush. In 2016 alone, Obama dropped more than 26,000 bombs. He arranged the largest weapons deal in U.S. history to the terrorist regime of Saudi Arabia. And he deployed thousands of U.S. military forces on Russia’s doorstep in Poland. Now, Trump is doing much the same thing.

Donald Trump campaigned on a message of peace and goodwill. But he is governing completely opposite of his campaign rhetoric. He has increased Obama’s military transfers to Saudi Arabia (weapons that are being used to kill thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Yemen). Just last month, Trump carried out more air strikes on Yemen than Obama did in all of 2016. He has increased Obama’s troop strength on Russia’s border. He has sent thousands of troops (including U.S. Special Forces, Marines, and the 82nd Airborne) into Middle Eastern countries--not to mention a massive show of naval power in the Sea of Japan. And now, he has launched a missile attack against Syria.

Acclaimed American journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote, “In the last two months, Trump has ordered a commando raid in Yemen that has massacred children and dozens of innocent people, bombed Mosul and killed scores of civilians, and bombed a mosque near Aleppo that killed dozens.” And that was BEFORE launching missiles against Syria, of course.

Perhaps the best analysis of Trump’s Syrian missile attack that I’ve seen is provided by “The Saker”:

I don’t think that anybody seriously believes that Assad or anybody else in the Syrian government really ordered a chemical weapons attack on anybody. To believe that it would require you to find the following sequence logical: first, Assad pretty much wins the war against Daesh which is in full retreat. Then, the US declares that overthrowing Assad is not a priority anymore (up to here this is all factual and true). Then, Assad decides to use weapons he does not have. He decides to bomb a location with no military value, but with lots of kids and cameras. Then, when the Russians demand a full investigation, the Americans strike as fast as they can before this idea gets any support. And now the Americans are probing a possible Russian role in this so-called attack. Frankly, if you believe any of that, you should immediately stop reading and go back to watching TV. For the rest of us, there are three options:

1. a classical US-executed false flag.
2. a Syrian strike on a location which happened to be storing some kind of gas, possibly chlorine, but most definitely not sarin. This option requires you to believe in coincidences. I don’t. Unless,
3. the US fed bad intelligence to the Syrians and got them to bomb a location where the US knew that toxic gas was stored.

What is evident is that the Syrians did not drop chemical weapons from their aircraft and that no chemical gas was ever stored at the al-Shayrat airbase. There is no footage showing any munitions or containers which would have delivered the toxic gas. As for US and other radar recordings, all they can show is that an aircraft was in the sky, its heading, altitude and speed. There is no way to distinguish a chemical munition or a chemical attack by means of radar.

Whatever option you chose, the Syrian government is obviously and self-evidently innocent of the accusation of having used chemical weapons.

And we cannot ignore the fact that Donald Trump’s attack on Syria violated international law, the U.S. Constitution, and, most importantly, the Natural Law of God. To again quote “The Saker”:

The US attack happened in direct violation of US law, of international law and of the UN charter. First, I would say that there is strong legal evidence that the US attack violated the US Constitution, Presidential War Powers Act and the 2001 Authorization of Military Force (AUMF) resolution. But since I don’t really care about this aspect of Trump’s criminal behavior, I will . . . just simply summarize the argument of those who say that what Trump did was legal. It boils down to this: “yeah, it’s illegal, but all US Presidents have been doing it for so long that they have thereby created a legal precedent which, uh, makes it legal after all”. I don’t think this kind of “defense” is worthy of a reply or rebuttal. So now let’s turn to international law.

Most people think that crimes against humanity or genocide must be the ultimate crime under international law. They are wrong. The ultimate crime is aggression. This is the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trial on this topic:

To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.

I have no idea who “The Saker” is, but he is the only person, other than myself, that I have read who publicly acknowledges that “The Crime of Aggression” is the most serious crime any nation can commit. I reached that conclusion through my study of Natural and Revealed Law. I am guessing “The Saker” came to that conclusion via other studies, but I am proud as a peacock that he had the heart and mind to understand and speak it.

In my mind, it is no coincidence that Trump has suddenly decided to join the War Party. After Trump betrayed General Michael Flynn and Stephen Bannon (signaling everyone close to him that he will quickly throw anyone under the bus no matter how loyal they are to him--and to the principles he articulated on the campaign trail--and that his word is absolutely meaningless; not to mention the fact that Flynn and Bannon were the two guys Trump appointed to ostensibly keep an eye on “the swamp”), he immediately took counsel from two of his warmongering CFR appointees, General Herbert McMaster and K.T. McFarland. And never lose sight of the fact that Zionist son-in-law Jared Kurshner is the man who, for all intents and purposes, is overseeing Trump’s entire cabinet and overall foreign policy.

Bombing Syria and escalating global military aggression is EXACTLY what Hillary Clinton would have done had she been elected President. Although, I’m not sure she would have done it as quickly as Trump. And you can count on this: if this was President Clinton bombing Syria instead of President Trump, “conservative” radio talk show hosts, websites, and publications would NOT be giving her a pass on it like they are Trump. It seems that’s why the gamemakers let neocon Republicans win elections: they are the ones who are better able to take America into hot wars. “Conservatives” will let a Bush or a Trump do in the war department what they would never let a Clinton or an Obama do. And we MUST face it: talk is indeed cheap. Donald Trump has proven that he is just another neocon warmonger.

Folks, this could get REAL serious REAL fast. Of course, it’s been serious for those poor folks in the Middle East who are the victims of both ISIS and U.S. aggression. If you are a mom or dad living in the Middle East, what difference does it make to you whether your family is killed by ISIS terrorists or American drone and missile attacks? Your family is just as dead. But this could get real serious for the people of the United States as well.

People in America think themselves impervious to the violence and bloodshed taking place all over the world: violence and bloodshed of which we are a major instigator. We are constantly told that America is the “exceptional” nation and that God would never let anything like that happen HERE. We are wrong!

God is VERY angry with the United States. The blood of over 60 million unborn babies cries out from the ground. The Zionist-led war against America’s Christian heritage has totally triumphed, leaving America in the throes of a burgeoning godless, pagan country--no better than any pagan country on earth. For the most part, our churches are little more than carnivals and our pastors carnival barkers. Our economic, education, and political systems are totally corrupt. Our news media are mere puppets and propagandists. The Gospel is thriving in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and it is dying in Western Europe and the United States. Don’t blame Muslims for the proliferation of mosques in the West; blame Christians.

From Day One, this has been my nagging concern about Donald Trump. No, Hillary Clinton was not an option. (The power elite always make sure that the real options, i.e., Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, Rand Paul, et al., are always defeated in the primaries.) But neither is sitting back and excusing Donald Trump’s warmongering an option. The voting public did NOT elect Donald Trump so that he might continue these endless Middle Eastern wars--all fought on behalf of Israel, of course. Neither did they elect him to take us into a nuclear war with Russia.

I like “The Saker’s” take on this, too:

1. The Russians are afraid of war. The Americans are not.
2. The Russians are ready for war. The Americans are not.

If the voting bloc that elected Donald Trump doesn’t stand up LOUDLY and CLEARLY against Trump’s warmongering RIGHT NOW, what was 59 Tomahawk missiles raining down on Syria a few days ago could be scores of ICBMs raining down on the United States a few days from now.

freedomforall
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Posts: 16479
Location: WEST OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by freedomforall »

During a recent stop, a heckler in an audience hollered, “Hey, Trump, where are you hiding your tax returns?”

The president politely responded, “I've found a very secure place where I'm certain they won't be found.”

The insistent heckler, then shouted, “And just where is that, dummy”?

President Trump smiled and said, “They are underneath Obama's birth certificate, his passport application, his immigration status as a student, his funding sources to pay for college, his college records, and his Selective Service registration”.

"What's your next question?"

This might be something Trump would say.

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

freedomforall wrote: April 22nd, 2017, 12:54 am During a recent stop, a heckler in an audience hollered, “Hey, Trump, where are you hiding your tax returns?”

The president politely responded, “I've found a very secure place where I'm certain they won't be found.”

The insistent heckler, then shouted, “And just where is that, dummy”?

President Trump smiled and said, “They are underneath Obama's birth certificate, his passport application, his immigration status as a student, his funding sources to pay for college, his college records, and his Selective Service registration”.

"What's your next question?"

This might be something Trump would say.
He's quick! :))

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

I feel sorry for people who never learned at their mother's knee that two wrongs don't make a right.

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

Silver wrote: April 22nd, 2017, 8:16 am I feel sorry for people who never learned at their mother's knee that two wrongs don't make a right.
I lost my Mother when I was 3 years old.

freedomforall
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Posts: 16479
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Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by freedomforall »

Silver wrote: April 22nd, 2017, 8:16 am I feel sorry for people who never learned at their mother's knee that two wrongs don't make a right.
Where do forum gossipers fit in? Did their mother teach them not to point fingers or gossip? Do two gossiping hatemongers make a right?
You see, it is very hard for some people to see the very dung they're standing knee deep in and throwing it every which way.

Speaking of those who go all out in digging a pit for their neighbor or taking advantage of their words:

2 Nephi 28:8
8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

D&C 109:25
25 That no weapon formed against them shall prosper; that he who diggeth a pit for them shall fall into the same himself;

Prov. 26:27
27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

Prov. 28:10
10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

So now what is right and what is wrong, and we can leave our mothers out of it because she can't be there to pat you on the head as God judges men's works, good and bad.

Silver
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Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

irony.jpg
irony.jpg (7.85 KiB) Viewed 3653 times

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

IRONY

Today is the exact date I lost my Mom in the Mall, I will always wonder what she looks like as an old woman spraying on the
tester perfumes, and how she must look in those funny socks trying on shoes.


I want to die in my sleep like Grandpa did, not screaming like the other 4 people in the car. He was too old to be driving!

I'm not afraid of getting old like Grandpa, because after all;

" The older you get, the better you get, unless your a banana." Betty White

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by Silver »

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-2 ... was-trojan

You Got Trumped! Winning horse in presidential race was Trojan

by Knave Dave
Apr 23, 2017 1:27 PM

The following artice by David Haggith was first published on The Great Recession Blog:

If you voted for Donald Trump, you got trumped.

Has there ever been a bigger or worse April fools joke than the spectacle this month of Donald Trump revealing the manifold ways in which he fooled the multitudes? I sympathize with the many people who hoped for a shot at changing the corrupt political-industrial establishment as they feel their opportunity evaporate around them. Their hopes were the best hope this nation had, but the head-spinning transformation of Trump has turned stomachs to where some of Trump’s most ardent campaign supporters now publicly deem him Traitor Trump. The rest are simply hoping against hope that he is not. Everyone, conservative or liberal, is seriously starting to wonder what happened to Candidate Trump.

This is what April has consistently revealed: If you voted for the Donald because you wanted to end America’s endless wars for regime change and failed attempts at nation building, you got Trumped. If you thought Hillary’s red reset button with Russia was a disaster and so you voted for the orange reset button as a path to peace with Russia, you got Trumped. If you voted for the Tweeter in Chief because he promised to get tough on trade with China, you got Trumped. If you voted for Trump in order to thump Fed Head Janet Yellen; she doesn’t get thumped, but you got Trumped.

Back in September when he was still just Candidate Trump, I wrote an article titled “Trump: Trojan Horse for the Establishment or Mighty Mouth for Mankind?” I knew that pointing out my deep reservations about Trump would cost me readers because I write an anti-establishment blog, and Trump was the anti-establishment candidate of choice. I published the article anyway. It not only cost me readers (from which I haven’t recovered), but it also cost me websites that had been carrying my articles. Such is the pursuit of truth over popularity

Nevertheless, I continued to write on that theme in the months that followed because I believed the warning was important and because I choose to see and describe the world as it is (as best I can) and not how I want it to be. Because I criticize any political party as readily as another, I am often seen as too conservative by liberals and too liberal by conservatives. (I don’t get the benefit of club membership that gains a writer an easy loyal following.) So be it.

Here is some of that article, which is now looking like it was spot on:

I crave the opportunity to see an anti-establishment candidate win the election. I would exult in seeing our corrupt establishment shattered. So, while I do not like Trump the man (as it would appear he has never done anything that didn’t entirely serve his own self-interest and pompous ego), I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing him upset establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats alike. (And, yes, they are “alike,” so let’s just call them “the establishment” because whether they are Republican or Democrat is not relevant; both parties exist to serve the same rich people and themselves either way.)

I’ll even acknowledge that perhaps it takes someone as brazen and blusterous as Trump in order to stand up to such a powerful assemblage of egoists as we have embedded in congress and in the president’s administration, which now rules by decree…. While I have never liked this particular publicity whore, I’d put up with his relentless boasting and forgive his audacious past if it takes that kind of brassy, risk-taking adventurer to find someone with enough spine to stand up to the intimidations of congress…. Whether or not I like him is not important unless it is leading me to see flaws that may mean Trump is not what he makes himself out to be.

From there, I pointed out such character flaws as made me believe Trump would not prove to be what he was making himself out to be. He would let his anti-establishment supporters down hard:

Overturning a vast global establishment is the kind of battle that will take someone with unbelievable tenacity, intelligence, and courage. The opponents are rich, and you can be sure some are willing to kill to keep the status quo that is making them immensely rich (and have killed).

Unfortunately, I have seen often in life that bellicose people are usually nowhere near as brave as they sound. People like Ike, who was strong in war and humble in attitude, are usually the ones with real courage. It is not usually the most blustery people who have the deepest strength to carry through with the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of cost to themselves. Trump is aptly named for how often he blows his own horn in order to create his own image; but his actions show he backed out of previous presidential races when it was clear they weren’t going to be an easy win after getting lots of publicity for teasing people with the possibility that he’d run. He has also backed out of many business deals when things got rough, rather than push forward to try to make things work…. It’s his latest political actions that concern me. In the few places where we have seen Trump make actual political decisions so far, his choices have been 100% pro-establishment as I pointed out in a recent article titled “Whirled Politics: Would you rather be Trumped or Pillaried?” I wished very much to see something different than what I am seeing.

The article delineated a number of tell-tale signs that indicated Trump was anything but the anti-establishment candidate he was presenting himself to be. I pointed out, for example, how the Trump horse that was being brought into the city gates was filled with neocons and the Wall Street establishment, and how I believed they would come to own Trump if they didn’t already. The Trump horse was brazenly anti-establishment on the outside, but almost total establishment on the inside.

I concluded my intro to the article with this warning:

Be careful that you don’t believe something just because you want to believe it so badly. That is how the citizens of Troy were conquered in the Trojan war. I’d love to have an anti-establishment candidate roll in, too. Sadly, I don’t think I do…. The time to hold Trump to task is now, not after the establishment makeover turns him into their Trojan Trump card, but while they are trying so that they don’t succeed.

And I closed the article by asking,

Is he force or farce?

April has demonstrated that Trump was either a Trojan horse by design or, in the very least, that his establishment makeover is nearly complete. Before he has even finished his first hundred days as president, President Trump has turned 180 degrees on almost every promise Candidate Trump made, and the couple of times Trump has tried to enact his promises, he has failed “bigly.”

In this final week of April as Trump finishes his first hundred days, I’m publishing a series of daily articles that lays out the huge reversals toward serving the establishment that Trump has already made. As Trump would say, “They’re big! Really big! They’re the biggest reversals you’ve ever seen.” Unfortunately, those turns point consistently to one clear message: “You got Trumped!”

Last week, I wrote about the Korean Missile Crisis, and tomorrow this series will look at how completely owned Trump has become by the military-industrial complex. As one example among several, Trump has revolved on Russia more quickly than I’ve seen any politician spin, just as he did on Hillary, going from “lock her up” to “she’s good people.”

I have to disagree with Guo Rui, the director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies, who says President Donald Trump’s domestic troubles should keep him from engaging in a war with North Korea. I think they may be doing just the opposite. There is nothing like shifting the nation to a war footing to shift the national conversation.

Did you notice how suddenly war has consumed the press and congress so that inquests into President Trump’s former relationship with Russia fell instantly to the back pages of the news? Is that what the armada to Korea that never happened, the biggest bomb in Afghanistan, and the $50-million barrage that disabled Assad’s airport for all of half a day were all about? Was Trump acting alone to throw up as much flack as he could to create distraction? Or was this month of military muscle evidence of a Trump deal with the military-industrial complex to get the intelligence community, the Democrats and the McCains and Grahams in the Republican party to back off from their Trump attacks?

We’ll close the week by looking at the degree to which the Trump transformation has caused Trump to lose some of his most ardent and outspoken supporters. While some are sitting uneasily on the fence, hoping for a better turn, others have stated emphatically, “I’m off the Trump train!”

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

Silver wrote: April 23rd, 2017, 3:33 pm http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-2 ... was-trojan

You Got Trumped! Winning horse in presidential race was Trojan

by Knave Dave
Apr 23, 2017 1:27 PM

The following artice by David Haggith was first published on The Great Recession Blog:

If you voted for Donald Trump, you got trumped.

Has there ever been a bigger or worse April fools joke than the spectacle this month of Donald Trump revealing the manifold ways in which he fooled the multitudes? He hasn't fooled anybody, he is doing what he said he would do. I sympathize with the many people who hoped for a shot at changing the corrupt political-industrial establishment as they feel their opportunity evaporate around them. Their hopes were the best hope this nation had, but the head-spinning transformation of Trump has turned stomachs to where some of Trump’s most ardent campaign supporters now publicly deem him Traitor Trump. The rest are simply hoping against hope that he is not. Everyone, conservative or liberal, is seriously starting to wonder what happened to Candidate Trump.Candidate Trump is evolving into a President who will be deemed one of the greatest.

This is what April has consistently revealed: If you voted for the Donald because you wanted to end America’s endless wars Trump is setting a precedent, it needs to be done, we have had 8 years of a limp noodle apologizing for America, giving Iran nuclear capabilities etc.for regime change and failed attempts at nation building, you got Trumped. If you thought Hillary’s red reset button with Russia was a disaster and so you voted for the orange reset button as a path to peace with Russia, you got Trumped. If you voted for the Tweeter in Chief because he promised to get tough on trade with China, you got Trumped. If you voted for Trump in order to thump Fed Head Janet Yellen; she doesn’t get thumped, but you got Trumped.Yep, some people got Trumped but not the voters, its those of you who can't act like American citizens and give him a chance.

Back in September when he was still just Candidate Trump, I wrote an article titled “Trump: Trojan Horse for the Establishment or Mighty Mouth for Mankind?”I won't b e reading it, I don't like science fiction. I knew that pointing out my deep reservations about Trump would cost me readers because I write an anti-establishment blog, and Trump was the anti-establishment candidate of choice. I published the article anyway. It not only cost me readers (from which I haven’t recovered), but it also cost me websites that had been carrying my articles. Such is the pursuit of truth over popularity. But when one has neither, its hard to take.

Nevertheless, I continued to write on that theme in the months that followed because I believed the warning was important and because I choose to see and describe the world as it is (as best I can) and not how I want it to be.Its your opinion, stop pushing to hard. Sheesh Because I criticize any political party as readily as another, I am often seen as too conservative by liberals and too liberal by conservatives. (I don’t get the benefit of club membership that gains a writer an easy loyal following.) So be it.

Here is some of that article, which is now looking like it was spot on:

I crave the opportunity to see an anti-establishment candidate win the election.He just did, Trump is a business man, he gets things done, he is decisive and means what he says. I would exult in seeing our corrupt establishment shattered. So, while I do not like Trump the man (as it would appear he has never done anything that didn’t entirely serve his own self-interest and pompous ego),That is a LIE. He had helped many people, with no fanfare or reward. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing him upset establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats alike. (And, yes, they are “alike,” so let’s just call them “the establishment” because whether they are Republican or Democrat is not relevant; both parties exist to serve the same rich people and themselves either way.)

I’ll even acknowledge that perhaps it takes someone as brazen and blusterous as TrumpYes it does, thats why we voted for him in order to stand up to such a powerful assemblage of egoists as we have embedded in congress and in the president’s administration, which now rules by decree…. While I have never liked this particular publicity whore, I’d put up with his relentless boasting and forgive his audacious past if it takes that kind of brassy, risk-taking adventurer to find someone with enough spine to stand up to the intimidations of congress…. Whether or not I like him is not important unless it is leading me to see flaws that may mean Trump is not what he makes himself out to be. Pffft, you wouldn't see his accomplishments if they bite you on the butt.

From there, I pointed out such character flaws as made me believe Trump would not prove to be what he was making himself out to be. He would let his anti-establishment supporters down hard:

Overturning a vast global establishment is the kind of battle that will take someone with unbelievable tenacity, intelligence, and courage. The opponents are rich, and you can be sure some are willing to kill to keep the status quo that is making them immensely rich (and have killed).

Unfortunately, I have seen often in life that bellicose people are usually nowhere near as brave as they sound. People like Ike, who was strong in war and humble in attitude, are usually the ones with real courage. It is not usually the most blustery people who have the deepest strength to carry through with the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of cost to themselves. Trump is aptly named for how often he blows his own horn in order to create his own image; but his actions show he backed out of previous presidential races when it was clear they weren’t going to be an easy win after getting lots of publicity for teasing people with the possibility that he’d run. HE RAN AND WON!! HE HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN THIS NATION, HE DIDN'T NEED THIS JOB, WE NEEDED HIM. He has also backed out of many business deals when things got rough, rather than push forward to try to make things work…. It’s his latest political actions that concern me. In the few places where we have seen Trump make actual political decisions so far, his choices have been 100% pro-establishment as I pointed out in a recent article titled “Whirled Politics: Would you rather be Trumped or Pillaried?” I wished very much to see something different than what I am seeing.

The article delineated a number of tell-tale signs that indicated Trump was anything but the anti-establishment candidate he was presenting himself to be. I pointed out, for example, how the Trump horse that was being brought into the city gates was filled with neocons and the Wall Street establishment, and how I believed they would come to own Trump if they didn’t already. The Trump horse was brazenly anti-establishment on the outside, but almost total establishment on the inside.

I concluded my intro to the article with this warning:

Be careful that you don’t believe something just because you want to believe it so badly.GOOD ADVISE, TAKE IT. That is how the citizens of Troy were conquered in the Trojan,
war. I’d love to have an anti-establishment candidate roll in, too. Sadly, I don’t think I do…. The time to hold Trump to task is now, not after the establishment makeover turns him into their Trojan Trump card, but while they are trying so that they don’t succeed.

And I closed the article by asking,

Is he force or farce? I CAN'T READ ANYMORE OF THIS DAZZLING RHETORIC.

April has demonstrated that Trump was either a Trojan horse by design or, in the very least, that his establishment makeover is nearly complete. Before he has even finished his first hundred days as president, President Trump has turned 180 degrees on almost every promise Candidate Trump made, and the couple of times Trump has tried to enact his promises, he has failed “bigly.”

In this final week of April as Trump finishes his first hundred days, I’m publishing a series of daily articles that lays out the huge reversals toward serving the establishment that Trump has already made. As Trump would say, “They’re big! Really big! They’re the biggest reversals you’ve ever seen.” Unfortunately, those turns point consistently to one clear message: “You got Trumped!”

Last week, I wrote about the Korean Missile Crisis, and tomorrow this series will look at how completely owned Trump has become by the military-industrial complex. As one example among several, Trump has revolved on Russia more quickly than I’ve seen any politician spin, just as he did on Hillary, going from “lock her up” to “she’s good people.”

I have to disagree with Guo Rui, the director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies, who says President Donald Trump’s domestic troubles should keep him from engaging in a war with North Korea. I think they may be doing just the opposite. There is nothing like shifting the nation to a war footing to shift the national conversation.

Did you notice how suddenly war has consumed the press and congress so that inquests into President Trump’s former relationship with Russia fell instantly to the back pages of the news? Is that what the armada to Korea that never happened, the biggest bomb in Afghanistan, and the $50-million barrage that disabled Assad’s airport for all of half a day were all about? Was Trump acting alone to throw up as much flack as he could to create distraction? Or was this month of military muscle evidence of a Trump deal with the military-industrial complex to get the intelligence community, the Democrats and the McCains and Grahams in the Republican party to back off from their Trump attacks?

We’ll close the week by looking at the degree to which the Trump transformation has caused Trump to lose some of his most ardent and outspoken supporters. While some are sitting uneasily on the fence, hoping for a better turn, others have stated emphatically, “I’m off the Trump train!”

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Trump = Traitor, Part 2

Post by eddie »

Checking Off His To-Do List

Aiming to place deeply conservative justices on the Supreme Court is not the only thing Trump is in the process of accomplishing that he said he would. At roughly two weeks in, he’s checking multiple things off his lengthy list. So far it’s far more than his predecessor, who campaigned on that very notion.

Within his first two weeks, President Obama used $825 billion in taxpayer dollars to implement the American and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for shovel-Checking Off His To-Do List

Aiming to place deeply conservative justices on the Supreme Court is not the only thing Trump is in the process of accomplishing that he said he would. At roughly two weeks in, he’s checking multiple things off his lengthy list. So far it’s far more than his predecessor, who campaigned on that very notion.

Within his first two weeks, President Obama used $825 billion in taxpayer dollars to implement the American and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for shovel-ready projects that turned out to be a disaster. Compare that to Trump, who signed an executive order to reduce regulations that will allow businesses to keep and reinvest funds that otherwise would have been wasted.

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