Saturday, March 25, 2017
Trump Turning Point
Friday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conservative talker Mark Levin made the case that President Donald Trump’s reaction to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision not to proceed with the House GOP’s legislative effort to repeal and replace Obamacare was a positive.
Levin called it “actually outstanding” and likened that leadership style to former President Dwight Eisenhower.
“I thought the president’s comments today were actually outstanding,” Levin said. “And he showed enormous humility. And this guy doesn’t give up. I mean, he said OK, we’ll fight another day. In essence, he said that events will reach a point where this is going to have to be resolved. And when it reaches that point, I’m. ‘Mark, that’s not leadership.’ But it kind of is, actually. I’m not making a comparison. It is the sort of way that Dwight Eisenhower managed. When things reach a certain point, they’ll be knocking on my door. Then we’ll figure things out.”
(h/t RCP Video)
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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ReplyDeleteTrump World: Alt-right Reality in an Alt-right Dimension
Part 1: Donald Trump a Fascist? Oh yeah!
Characteristic 3 of 14: The Cult of Action for Action’s Sake
Trump constantly brags about how active he is. During the campaign (and as president) he was always stressing his work schedule, how busy he was, how much he was accomplishing, stressing that what he was doing had never been accomplished before, bragging about how little sleep he needed. Conversely, he pictured his opponents as weak, Jeb was ‘weak’ and ‘low energy’, Hillary had ‘no energy’ and was ‘exhausted’, that vet suffering from PTSD was ‘weak’, Kasich and Cruz were ‘pathetic and ‘weak’.
The irrationalism of the Fascist always considers action sans reflection to be beautiful. Thinking too much is bad. Thinking too much about societal standards or culture is a waste of time. Besides thinking hurts. Progressives become degenerate elites. Liberal educators are snobs who have attacked our traditional values. Those who support them are socialists and commies and snowflakes.
The official Fascist intellectuals were mainly engaged in attacking modern culture and the liberal intelligentsia for having betrayed traditional values.
Goering allegedly said “When I hear talk of culture I reach for my gun”
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-eerily-perfect-match-famous-14-point-guide-identify-fascist-leaders
Since becoming president we aren’t spared a day without seeing Trump or hearing of one of his tweets. It’s all cover. Trump needs to keep filling the airways with his trivial machinations to deflect from the fact that nothing is getting accomplished.
On day 4 of his presidency, Trump pulled out of a bad TPP treaty, one that would never have been passed whether he pulled out of it or not. Since then, he signed an executive order ordering the building of a wall that yet has to be funded and likely won’t be until a new budget is passed. He ordered an ‘emergency’ Muslim ban that two months later has yet to be implemented. He pushes for an AHAC to replace the ACA and it goes down in flames. He proposed a new budget which most analysts have declared DOA. In the mean time, a good portion of the new political positions don't even have nominees.
The rest of the time has been filled with tweets, golf, trips to Mar-a-Lago, unforced errors, starting unnecessary brouhahas that take time away from more important stuff thus setting back the overall agenda, insulting our allies (Australia, UK, Mexico, Nato, Germany, it’s hard to remember them all), insulting every branch of the US government including the judiciary and Congress, insulting the media, blaming everyone else for the paucity of accomplishments or the screw ups committed by his administration, and fighting off charges of corruption and collusion.
However, he has been busy. He tells us so, every day.
Yet, our resident Mensa candidate from Idaho says this proves Trump is not a Fascist as if competence is a requirement for being a Fascist. Here, our rural sophisticate confuses propensities with abilities.
Of course, Trump is a Fascist.
Trump meets Eco’s requirements for Characteristic #3 of Fascism.
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DeleteThe next section will be...
Trump World: Alt-right Reality in an Alt-right Dimension
Part 1: Donald Trump a Fascist? Oh yeah!
Characteristic 4 of 14: Disagreement is Treason
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What a lot of total HORSESHIT.
DeleteQuirk, dear fellow, you are making a FOOL of yourself.
It's really hard to watch, Quirk.
And all YOUR shit is there on the Internet FOREVER.
Think, man, THINK !!
What would be your analysis of Hillary Clinton?
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama?
Mother Teresa - Patron Saint of Women and Children of the World.
DeleteSaint Peter - From Choom Gang to President.
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DeleteI would have to check out each one of them against Eco's characteristics (although he is not the only one who has put out their definition of Fascist).
Actually, as Eco points out, you don't have to hit on all 14 characteristics in order to be a Fascists. He also mentioned that it might even be unusual since some of the characteristics appear contradictory. He also said even one or two might indicate some tendency towards it.
As for Obama or Clinton, I get the feeling that you are looking for me to criticize them too? If that's true, I can only ask why. If you've read my comments over the last eight years, you would know of my issues with Obama. If you remember my arguments with Rufus over Obama's policies you know I was no fan of either his domestic or foreign policies. As for Hillary, I can't remember one positive thing I have ever said about her. I've saved some of my most animated criticisms of her as SOS with Libya, Syria, Egypt, et al.
However, why should I worry about them? They are no longer around. They can't do any more damage. Unless some one offers up something positive about either of them that I disagree with why should I waste my time criticizing them? Their screw ups have nothing to do with Trump and in no way do they excuse Trump's actions. You can't possibly expect any reasoning person to not criticize Trump when he screws up just because you think someone else screwed up more can you?
Trump is a different cat. He is here and I don't like what I see. I started this exercise because after reading Eco's 14 characteristics it struck me that Trump seems to hit on all 14, which is unusual and might make him unique. However, it takes a little time so I won't know until I finish with all of them. However, I am very confident there will be enough of them to objectively call him that.
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The Democrats are so conditioned one can't tell them apart. They all seems clones of one another.
ReplyDeleteTo the point that the image of commies under Stalin all clapping in unison comes to mind, or the terrified clones in North Korea.
They toe that Party Line, and, by God, that is that, and no one has the courage to be the first to breach the line.
And Quirk makes a total fool of himself going on and on and on about Trump being a fascist....
I tried to point out to you earlier, Quirk, that The Donald can't even control his own cadre. In fact he doesn't even have a cadre. What he's got is a bunch of independent minded Republicans on one hand, and a bunch of Democrat Party cadre/clones on the other....
And you are beginning to sound suspiciously like a cadre/clone yourself, Quirk.
Is someone giving you orders, and talking points ?
Daily talking points ?
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DeleteYou are an ass, Bob.
You purport to be well read and intelligent but you are a fool.
You lack simple reasoning skills.
You go on about how Trump isn't a Fascist because he can't control his troops. Ridiculous. You confuse his propensities with his incompetence and psychological problems.
Mussolini and the Fascists operated as part of a coalition. They gave up their populism and anti-clericism and joined with the businessmen, the Church, and the Monarchy because they had to. They realized it. Trump is too dumb to, that or he is unable to because of his personality. But running the US is different than structuring highly leveraged real estate deals where he can operate like some sleazy used car salesman. You can't just say 'Do it" and it gets done.
His lack of competence has nothing to do with his tendencies.
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Honest to God, look at this shit -
ReplyDeletePart 1: Donald Trump a Fascist? Oh yeah!
Characteristic 4 of 14: Disagreement is Treason
QuirkSat Mar 25, 06:14:00 PM EDT
Trump rallies attacked in places by black masked leftists today.
ReplyDeleteIn QuirkWorld, are incidents of Trump supporters being attacked by black masked leftists an obvious proof that Trump is a fascist ?
Oh yeah !
Trump goes fascist on those that disagree with him, threatens Treason Trials (in QuirkWorld) -
ReplyDeleteHere we go: Trump now ready to work with Democrats on health-care fix
Mar 24, 2017 6:41 PM by Allahpundit
“I think having bipartisan would be a big, big improvement.”
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/03/24/here-we-go-trump-now-ready-to-work-with-democrats-on-health-care-fix/
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIs it time to seriously consider the possibility that Quirk is truly, clinically nutz?
DeleteOr is he just pulling our dicks ?
DeleteCan anyone think of a third possibility ?
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DeleteThat or you could stop making an ass of yourself and wait until Characteristic 4 is actually put before offering up your petty mewling.
As I recall, you did the same thing with Characteristic 2.
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DeletePerhaps, you are Fascist, Bob. You certainly seem to adhere to what Eco described as 'irrationalism'.
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ReplyDeleteShark
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We all want to help, Quirk.
ReplyDeleteWhat can we do ?
Do you like warm lentil soup ?
What is your favorite color ?
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DeleteGo away, Bob, you waste my time.
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I see you're back to calling Bob a fascist. Bob, who has attended exactly ONE real political event in his entire life....an original TEA PARTY protest in north Idaho.
DeleteAnd, lest you call the entire gathering a gathering of 'fascists' well I can tell you most of these old folks were just like me.....tired of paying taxes.
Quirk, you are wasting EVERYONE'S time.
Shoo shoo shoo
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Delete:o)
You, sir, are a hoot. Well, at times.
Once again, you fail the English Major 101 test for English comprehension.
per·haps
[pərˈ(h)aps]
ADVERB
used to express uncertainty or possibility:
I see you're back to calling Bob a fascist.
Bzzzaapppp. Wrong.
Come on Uncle Bob, you'll never become and English major this way. Why don't you come back after you've studied a little more.
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ReplyDeleteTrump World: Alt-right Reality in an Alt-right Dimension
Part 1: Donald Trump a Fascist? Oh yeah!
Characteristic 4 of 14: Disagreement is Treason
Umberto Eco wrote…
"No syncretistic faith can withstand analytical criticism. The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge. For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason."
- Ur Fascism (1995). Umberto Eco.
Other than the constant stream of ad hominems and invective Trump launches against the Dems, his political opponents, women, Muslims, the so-called ‘Deep State’, foreign governments friend and foe alike, Congress, the judiciary, Nordstroms, protesters, the CBO and BLS, vote counters, etc., who else is one of Trump’s favorite targets? Why the media, of course, or as he puts it the ‘corrupt’ media who are constantly putting out their 'fake news’.
Trump is too thin-skinned to accept or even laugh off any criticism no matter how slight. Anyone who doesn’t accept his view of reality is automatically targeted as an enemy. Some applaud this characteristic saying Trump is a ‘counter puncher’. They seem to fail to realize it simply makes him seem petty and in the worst cases detached from reality. Which brings us to the media.
Trump’s obsession with the press usually carried few negative consequences in the campaign. The press is the low hanging fruit. Their public approval numbers are usually as low as Congress’. During Trump’s rallies then and now, Trump has made is ‘two-minutes of hate’ rants against the media as part of his standard spiel.
He also went after protesters. During campaign rallies Trump worked up the crowd offering to ‘pay for legal fees’ if they would ‘knock the crap’ out of protesters. [Eerily reminiscent of Henry V asking “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest? :o)]
Then in response to articles, broadcast, and fact checks calling out his false claims, hyperbole , and outright lies, Trump started in on his ‘fake news’ meme. Calling reporters corrupt, petty, scum, crooked, dishonest, crooked…well, you get the picture.
Then we saw the tweets calling out news anchors, comedy shows, actors, anyone who disagrees with him or worse yet lampoons him.
Trump rejects any scientific consensus he doesn’t like, he rejects any economic data he doesn’t like, he blasts any organization inside or outside of government that don’t fall in line with his opinions and agenda even when those opinions are obviously not based in fact.
Yes, Trump meets Eco’s definition for Characteristic #4 of Fascism.
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DeleteThe next segment will be...
Trump World: Alt-right Reality in an Alt-right Dimension
Part 1: Donald Trump a Fascist? Oh yeah!
Characteristic 5 of 14: Fear of difference.
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Shit, folks, we got nearly 10 of these crappers to go.
DeleteIt's disheartening.
An Ur-fascist.
ReplyDeleteHo ho ho
What fancy bullshit language by this Umberto Eco creep.
The Donald never was in politics at all until late in life, other than paying bribes to Democrats in New York, a necessary cost, as The Donald put it, of doing business and getting something done.
The classic fascists get all het up about politics early in life....and never ever actually BUILD anything.
I think Quirk may just be subconsciously jealous over the fact that The Donald got a hell of lot more pussy in life, and better quality too, than The Q could ever even dream of....
Comin' up folks ...Fear Of Difference !
ReplyDeleteI predict there will be a long line of ignorant bullshit about fearing the mooslims, who are, we know, if we read their literature, and observe their behavior, dedicated to killing us all, or enslaving us.
It's all part of the Sharia.
Now this is true fascist behavior.
I have pointed out that the Hindus lost 80,000,000 dead in just one 250 year period alone defending themselves from the mooslims.....and that ain't the whole iceberg, folks....this struggle continues to this very day....
Only a fool would lack a certain fear of and learned suspicion about the mooslims....
We are all, or at least I am, waiting patiently for The Q to show us the proof he has stepped up and welcomed some young male Syrian mooslims into his household....
My advice:
Don't hold your breath.
And if he does, we should file on his behalf for his civil commitment until some slight sanity has returned....
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Delete....this struggle continues to this very day....
Of course it is. Muslims, Christians, other religious minorities are being attacked by Hindus there as we speak.
As for the women, just look at the fate of the 170 million Dalits in India. It might open some eyes.
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Mooslims = fascists with a vengeance
ReplyDeleteLet us recall that in their theology a woman is one half a man, and that half is a sexual temptress that must be covered up, minded, beaten and enslaved for their entire life times.
Or, it's the pit, and the stones, or the whip, for you, darling.
A sane man would fear this -
ReplyDeleteImam calling for Jews to be killed in sermon at Montreal mosque - CBC
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/imam-sermon-montreal-mosque-1.4037397
3 days ago - Imam calling for Jews to be killed in sermon at Montreal mosque draws ... from mosque and wonders why controversial imam was invited to preach ... The video was brought to the attention of B'nai Brith Canada, which filed a ...
Visiting Imam At Montreal Mosque Preaches About Muslims Killing Jews
dailycaller.com/.../visiting-imam-at-montreal-mosque-preaches-about-muslims-killing...
3 days ago - ... imam in a Montreal mosque preaching about Muslims killing Jews. ... Qadri recently returned to Pakistan after living in Canada for several ...
WATCH: Muslim imam in Quebec preaches about killing Jews - The ...
https://www.therebel.media/watch_muslim_imam_in_quebec_preaches_about_killing...
12 hours ago - WATCH: Muslim imam in Quebec preaches about killing Jews ... According to the CBC: "A Montreal mosque is facing a police ... And the Canadian population believes that tripe – because they live a smug and entitled life.
Montreal Imam Calls for Killing of Jews, Mosque Faces Investigation
louderwithcrowder.com/montreal-imam-calls-killing-jews-mosque-faces-investigation/
16 hours ago - Canadian Imam Openly Calls for Killing of Jews. ... Not stories like Canada's Kathleen Wynne Visits Mosque Preach to Tolerance, Gets Put in a ...
More anti-Jewish sermons found in Canadian mosques
www.cjnews.com › News › Canada
3 days ago - More videos of anti-Jewish sermons being delivered in mosques in ... imam at another Montreal mosque pleading for the death of Jews.
Outrage! Preaching at Montreal Mosque, Imam Calls for Jews to be ...
https://sputniknews.com/.../201703251051946323-montreal-mosque-hate-speech-ser...
1 day ago - Preaching at Montreal Mosque, Imam Calls for Jews to be Killed ... the Jews," says the verse, according to a translation by the Canadian branch ...
Imam Calls for Jews to be Killed during Sermon... in Canada ⋆ The ...
constitution.com/imam-calls-jews-killed-sermon-canada/
2 days ago - The imam preached this disgusting sermon before a large crowd of gathered worshippers in what is supposed to be a “mainstream” mosque in ...
Canada: Bring on the Islamization! | US Defense Watch
usdefensewatch.com/2017/03/canada-bring-on-the-islamization/
13 hours ago - Imams in Canadian mosques have been inciting the killing of “infidels”, ... Muslims [will] kill them until the Jews [will] hide themselves… and a stone ... public school grounds, on school time and including prayers and sermons, ...
Imam in Montreal Mosque Calls for Jews to be Killed - World News ...
https://www.worldnewspolitics.com/.../imam-in-montreal-mosque-calls-for-jews-to-be...
5 hours ago - Video of an Imam in a Montreal mosque calling on Muslims to kill Jews surfaced online prompting B'nai Brith Canada to file a complaint ... to apologize and explain why they invited the divisive Imam to preach at the mosque.
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DeleteWhat sane person would put up 10 references to the same incident?
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I am willing to wager Umberto tries to come down on The Donald for 'fearing mooslims'.
ReplyDeleteFor his part, The Q doesn't show enough sense to fear a rattlesnake coiled in his lap, the dumb shit.
Ciao
DeleteFriends !
ReplyDeleteHelp restore sanity to our race, one individual at a time.
Please send contributions to:
Sanity Q Project
c/o Q
P.O. Box 0000000000001
Detroit, Michigan
000
Even small cash amounts amounts accepted, and
God Bless !
Q
Well, hell, that proves it. All this long line of bullshit is just another ploy by Quirk to get a little cash infusion into his overdrawn checking account.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteGee, this is a tough one. Who to believe?
Umberto Eco OMRI an Italian novelist, literary critic, philosopher, semiotician, and university professor best known internationally for his 1980 novel Il nome della rosa, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. He later wrote other novels, including Il pendolo di Foucault and L'isola del giorno prima. His novel Il cimitero di Praga, released in 2010, topped the bestseller charts in Italy.
or
Bob, ex-hick, faux farmer, faux English major, rural sophisticate.
I guess I am going to have to go with Umberto. Bob's got an impressive resume but Eco wrote the novel The Name of the Rose which was turned into a movie staring Sean Connery. Sean Connery for god's sake. No contest.
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Wasns't Sean Connery that looker that played 007 in a movie based on a truly third rate piece of pulp shit fiction back in the late 60's ?
DeleteWasn't he the guy that uttered that wonderful ever memorable line:
Pussy !
in reference to the character Pussy Galore in the same shit movie ?
So Sean is still working the same shit movie circuit, eh ?
This time with Umberto....
A man's gotta eat, an old saying goes....
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DeleteDamn, Bob. Do you mean you haven't seen the movie The Name of the Rose?
What the hell were you doing back in the 80's, getting high sniffing Round-Up?
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Pussy ! was pronounced 'poooocy' in a slow lustful worshiping voice by that star of silver screen, the coal miner's son, Sean Connery.
DeleteReally, now, Ciao.
DeleteDamn, Bob. Do you mean you haven't seen the movie The Name of the Rose?
DeleteWhat the hell were you doing back in the 80's, getting high sniffing Round-Up?
I'm weed free, I can tell ya that.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
DeleteMarch 26, 2017
ReplyDeleteObama Did Wiretap Trump: It’s Like Putting Together a Russian Nesting Doll
By Clarice Feldman
Matryoshkas are Russian nesting dolls. Inside each doll are several others smaller but identically shaped characters until you get to the smallest one inside. Studying what we have learned of the timeline -- and we still don’t have the entire story -- we see Wikileaks, the smallest, at the core, and Obama as the largest piece in what is the most historically outrageous misuse of the people and institutions of government for partisan advantage.
Wikileaks
During the campaign, Wikileaks posted a number of email messages from the DNC -- largely Podesta, but Hillary as well. The communications (not well reported, but, in any event, more embarrassing tittle tattle) had been on unsecured accounts, poorly guarded and easily accessed because of carelessness on the part of the Hillary team. Assange, who published them, denied the source of this information was Russian hackers. This now has been confirmed by the heads of our intelligence community, but the Clinton camp claim that the Russians did it set the stage for the notion that her opponent was the favored candidate of the Russians. Apart from the fact that our intelligence services have denied the claim, there are a number of reasons to believe that the Russians would have preferred Hillary to Trump. For one thing, Russia is in terrible financial shape and relies on its sales of oil and gas to Europe to stay afloat. Is it sensible to believe that the Russians would prefer Trump, who made clear he wanted to vastly increase U.S. oil and gas production over Hillary, who gave every indication of keeping it down and the worldwide price of oil and gas higher? (I can’t imagine -- for the same reason -- that Iran and OPEC wouldn’t prefer her as well.) Why you do suppose the Russians have been funding “green” groups in Europe -- and possibly here -- who oppose fracking?
Secondly, for eight years Russian businesses and businessmen closely aligned with Putin pumped millions into the Clinton Foundation slush fund, paid her husband a half-million dollars for a single speech, and got in return a substantial portion of our uranium assets when, as Secretary of State, Hillary okayed their purchase. Finally, John Podesta, chair of Hillary’s presidential campaign was closely aligned with Russian interests. His brother was hired by the Russians to lobby for the uranium sale. He was on the board of a company closely aligned with Putin.
As the crack investigative reporter Richard Pollock notes:
John Podesta, national chairman of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, may have opened himself up to a Russian “influence campaign” designed to temper his views of the Kremlin, The Daily Caller News Foundation (TheDCNF) Investigative Group has learned.
Influence campaigns are conducted by many governments -- including the United States -- with the aim of influencing decision makers in other countries to realign their geopolitical worldviews more closely to the influencing country.
Some national security experts interviewed by The DCNF wonder if Podesta may still be a target of Russian influence. They trace the campaign back to his company board membership, in which one-third of the board were top Russian businessmen with direct ties to the Kremlin.
The last time Podesta talked negatively about Russia was Dec. 18, 2016, when he charged in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview the 2016 election was “distorted by the Russian intervention.”
The former Clinton national campaign chairman has since been silent, even as other former top Clinton aides, such as Robby Mook, Brian Fallon and Jim Margolis have repeatedly aimed high-decibel rhetoric at President Donald Trump about Russian “meddling” in the 2016 presidential race.
Delete[snip]
Podesta’s silence is particularly striking, according to retired Air Force Col. James Waurishuk.
“We haven’t heard very much from Podesta lately, particularly on the subject of Russia’s interference in the elections,” Waurishuk told the DCNF. He served on the National Security Council and worked on “information operations” for military intelligence.
The suggestion is that he’s staying out of it, because the Russians want this chatter about their influence silenced.
In any event, Russia has now been cleared of the claim yet in the recesses of the dimmer voters’ minds the charge remains a cogent explanation of why their candidate lost the election.
The National Security Agency and the FISA
The NSA engages in global monitoring for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence. It does by passive means (signals Intelligence) and active means like physically bugging systems and through subversive software. It assists and coordinates SIGINT elements at other government organization like the DIA
Domestic communications can be intercepted under two circumstances: in the first instance to protect us against sabotage or international terrorism or sabotage. In such a case, when authorized by the president through the attorney general, it can be done without a court order provided that it is for only one year and only to acquire foreign intelligence information and there is real likelihood that a U.S. person is a party to the communication. Even then it must be done in such a way to minimize the impact on the U.S. person. The attorney general must report such surveillance under seal to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and report their compliance to both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Surveillance can also be done on a court order from FISA when the attorney general persuades the court that there is probable cause (i.e. a reasonable suspicion) that the target is a “foreign power” or an “agent of a foreign power” and the minimization requirements for information pertaining to U.S. persons will be followed. Such orders may be approved for 90 days,120 days, or a year.
FISA court authorization is almost always granted. Reliable reports indicate that the Obama administration sought authorization in July of last year when Trump appeared a likely opponent (the application is still secret) and it was denied. These reports also state that a pared-down application was sought in October and granted by the court. We have no idea on what basis the Department of Justice sought these warrants nor who the purported target was.
From the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, we learned this week that Trump team’s conversations were caught in the surveillance, that for over nine months this was never reported to his committee. Moreover, it is public knowledge that three days before the inauguration in January, for no legitimate purpose, Obama authorized wide distribution of the surveillance reports to 16 other agencies, the names of U.S. persons involved in the conversations were not redacted, the contents were of no intelligence value and they were widely leaked -- a perfectly predictable consequence of spreading the raw data so widely in contrast to normal redaction and dissemination patterns. By January 20, for example, the New York Times reported that Trump had been wiretapped.
We learned this week from Nunes’ work that the investigation is continuing. Suspicious minds like mine think this may well be to further hamper the incoming administration by leaks designed to embarrass members of his team. Nunes also reported the post-election spying “had nothing to do with Russia.”
DeleteOn his own Mike Rogers, head of NSA, met privately with Trump shortly after the inauguration. We have no details of their discussion, but my guess is he told him what had happened and how. At the moment, Rogers appears to be the sole white hat in our intelligence network. But he may not be the only one, which, I think, would mean a number of former Obama officials have to be looking for lawyers.
Tom Lipscomb, a former reporter and online friend, thinks the white hats in the intelligence community fed the truth about the wiretapping directly to Trump so he could weed out from their ranks the Obama confederates. Like him, I think the Trump tweet that he was wiretapped was smart. He’s giving “fair warning to what is coming”, and the claims that Trump was engaged in some “crazy conspiracy” are evaporating just as had the earlier nonsense that he and the Russians were conspiring via Wikileaks.
Christopher Steele and John McCain
Christopher Steele is a former British intelligence agent of dubious character and credibility. He had been hired early by the Clinton camp to dig up dirt on Trump. When she ended that agreement, unnamed Republicans engaged him to continue, and when they stopped paying him the FBI -- for as yet unexplained reasons -- took him up. His “dossier” is preposterous, based on accounts to his aides from unnamed and thus unverifiable sources. In the rare instance when they provide recognizable details they have been proven false. As incredible as the “dossier” was it was used to tar Trump with salacious nonsense and to further encourage the ridiculous notion that he and his team were Russian agents.
There are three different versions of how John McCain, a bitter #NeverTrumper always seeking media cuddles and enamored by globalization, came to get the dossier -- he says, in December. In one version, he got it from a member of the McCain Institute, in other published accounts he dispatched someone abroad to get it, and in a third he first heard of it from a former British ambassador while at a meeting in Halifax. That he’s offered various tales in itself suggests some dissembling on his part. Nevertheless, he concedes he widely distributed the scurrilous dossier to the media and members of Congress. He was either a useful dupe of those determined to bring down Trump or a willing partner of theirs. Right now, he’s flailing about abroad, attacking the president and moaning that Trump hasn’t yet met with him.
The Media
DeleteJohn Nolte, writing for the Daily Caller, highlights how it is apparent that the media knew of the spying operation and later covered it up:
“Of course the media knew what the Obama administration had done. First off, when they thought the news would hurt Trump, the national media publicly reported on the fact that the Obama administration had spied on Team Trump. It was only after that knowledge became a liability for Precious Barry that the media pretended otherwise. In other words, they LIED.”
Jim Geraghty at National Review cites a specific example of the media-leaker waltz:
On January 12, the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote:
According to a senior U.S. government official, Flynn phoned Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak several times on Dec. 29, the day the Obama administration announced the expulsion of 35 Russian officials as well as other measures in retaliation for the hacking. What did Flynn say, and did it undercut the U.S. sanctions? The Logan Act (though never enforced) bars U.S. citizens from correspondence intending to influence a foreign government about “disputes” with the United States. Was its spirit violated? The Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a leak of classified information. Michael Flynn was not, as far as we know, a target of any U.S. government surveillance. He was one of the figures whose conversations was “incidentally” recorded, presumably as part of the regular monitoring of Kislyak.
People within the U.S. government are not supposed to take the information that is incidentally recorded and then run to David Ignatius because they don’t like the American citizen who was recorded. That’s not the purpose of our domestic counterintelligence operations. Even if Flynn had violated the Logan Act -- which, as we all know, no one has never been prosecuted for violating -- there are legitimate avenues for dealing with that, namely going to law enforcement and a prosecutor.
(Invoking the Logan Act in this circumstance is particularly nonsensical, because the interpretation Ignatius floats would criminalize just about any discussion between a presidential candidate, a president-elect or his team and any representative of a foreign government on any matter of importance. If you ask a foreign official if his country would make a concession on Issue X in exchange for a U.S. concession on Issue Y, BOOM! Call out the SWAT teams, we’ve got a Logan Act violation!)
There are a lot of reasons not to like Michael Flynn, but that doesn’t change the fact that somebody broke the law and leaked classified information in an effort to get him in trouble. That is wrong and that is illegal, and Nunes is right to point out we’re going down a dangerous road when information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies about American citizens starts getting strategically leaked for partisan purposes.
No matter how many dolls are hidden in the nest -- Comey, Clapper, Brennan, Lynch -- it is undeniable that they all fit under the big one -- Obama. It was he who authorized the surveillance and multiagency distribution of intelligence -- in Bob Woodward’s reading, “highly classified gossip” -- about political opponent Trump and his team -- invading their privacy in violation of the law. If you were inclined to want Americans to lose faith in their intelligence community and media you couldn’t have done a better job than they did themselves. The Russians didn’t have to do a thing.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/03/obama_did_wiretap_trump_its_like_putting_together_a_russian_nesting_doll.html
Delete.
DeleteWhat bull. All speculation. No facts. Supposition that goes against all known facts. The charges have been denied in 'sworn' and 'open' testimony. If there was anything to this, it could be proven quite quickly by the president making a phone call.
Why isn't he doing it?
He is the friggin president.
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DeleteThree feet of wasted white space.
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