COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Monday, April 03, 2017

Wonder why Obama was running around with his hair on fire and a 25 pound lit firecracker up his ass campaigning for Hillary?

Obama panicked that Hillary would lose and Trump would get the keys. Obama knew that he could not erase the tapes and records without getting caught. Trump was right on the surveillance. Can you hear the crickets?


Top Obama Adviser Sought Names of Trump Associates in Intel

White House lawyers last month learned that the former national security adviser Susan Rice requested the identities of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The pattern of Rice's requests was discovered in a National Security Council review of the government's policy on "unmasking" the identities of individuals in the U.S. who are not targets of electronic eavesdropping, but whose communications are collected incidentally. Normally those names are redacted from summaries of monitored conversations and appear in reports as something like "U.S. Person One."

The National Security Council's senior director for intelligence, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, was conducting the review, according to two U.S. officials who spoke with Bloomberg View on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. In February Cohen-Watnick discovered Rice's multiple requests to unmask U.S. persons in intelligence reports that related to Trump transition activities. He brought this to the attention of the White House General Counsel's office, who reviewed more of Rice's requests and instructed him to end his own research into the unmasking policy.

The intelligence reports were summaries of monitored conversations -- primarily between foreign officials discussing the Trump transition, but also in some cases direct contact between members of the Trump team and monitored foreign officials. One U.S. official familiar with the reports said they contained valuable political information on the Trump transition such as whom the Trump team was meeting, the views of Trump associates on foreign policy matters and plans for the incoming administration. 

Rice did not respond to an email seeking comment on Monday morning. Her role in requesting the identities of Trump transition officials adds an important element to the dueling investigations surrounding the Trump White House since the president's inauguration.

Both the House and Senate intelligence committees are probing any ties between Trump associates and a Russian influence operation against Hillary Clinton during the election. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Representative Devin Nunes, is also investigating how the Obama White House kept tabs on the Trump transition after the election through unmasking the names of Trump associates incidentally collected in government eavesdropping of foreign officials.

Rice herself has not spoken directly on the issue of unmasking. Last month when she was asked on the "PBS NewsHour" about reports that Trump transition officials, including Trump himself, were swept up in incidental intelligence collection, Rice said: "I know nothing about this," adding, "I was surprised to see reports from Chairman Nunes on that account today."

Rice's requests to unmask the names of Trump transition officials does not vindicate Trump's own tweets from March 4 in which he accused Obama of illegally tapping Trump Tower. There remains no evidence to support that claim. 
But Rice's multiple requests to learn the identities of Trump officials discussed in intelligence reports during the transition period does highlight a longstanding concern for civil liberties advocates about U.S. surveillance programs. The standard for senior officials to learn the names of U.S. persons incidentally collected is that it must have some foreign intelligence value, a standard that can apply to almost anything. This suggests Rice's unmasking requests were likely within the law.

The news about Rice also sheds light on the strange behavior of Nunes in the last two weeks. It emerged last week that he traveled to the White House last month, the night before he made an explosive allegation about Trump transition officials caught up in incidental surveillance. At the time he said he needed to go to the White House because the reports were only on a database for the executive branch. It now appears that he needed to view computer systems within the National Security Council that would include the logs of Rice's requests to unmask U.S. persons.

The ranking Democrat on the committee Nunes chairs, Representative Adam Schiff, viewed these reports on Friday. In comments to the press over the weekend he declined to discuss the contents of these reports, but also said it was highly unusual for the reports to be shown only to Nunes and not himself and other members of the committee.

Indeed, much about this is highly unusual: if not how the surveillance was collected, then certainly how and why it was disseminated.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story:
Eli Lake  at elake1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Philip Gray  at philipgray@bloomberg.net

119 comments:

  1. 2013

    Susan Rice Becomes Third African American to Lead National Security

    Rice was blocked as a contender for Secretary of State, but now she'll occupy the White House as chief security advisor to Obama.

    This morning, President Obama announced that he would be assigning the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice to the role of national security advisor, a position left open when Tom Donilon resigned from the post. In her new role, Rice will work directly with President Obama from the White House as his senior advisor on national security matters, and operates from the White House's "Situation Room" during times of crisis.

    Rice's name was floated last year as a possible lead contender to become secretary of state when Hillary Clinton retired from the role. But Republicans in the Senate vowed not to confirm her for that position, citing perceived missteps in the Benghazi flap while other conservatives claimed that Susan Rice was a "black radical." Environmentalists also disapproved of Rice for State and accused her of being invested in creating the Keystone XL oil tar sands pipeline that they strongly oppose. She's also been accused of enabling massive violence throughout Africa.

    As national security advisor to Obama, she does not need to be confirmed by the Senate nor win the approval of special interests. She's expected to take up the West Wing of the White House in July. She is the third African American to assume this role. The first was Gen. Colin Powell, who served under Ronald Reagon in the late 1980s. Like Powell, Rice is of Jamaican lineage. She is also the second African-American woman for national security advisor, after Condoleezza Rice who served under George W. Bush.

    Rice will still have to contend with Republicans and conservatives who oppose her on sensitive national security issues like Benghazi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Obama had to know about it.

    Obama had to approve it.

    Obama did it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. He should be with Hillary, locked up.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Front page of The Washington Post - Nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. https://twitter.com/newyorker/status/847209919623430144

    ReplyDelete
  6. ?

    I'm obviously missing something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. You have yet to meld your mind with MSM/Deep State/DNC/

      Delete
    2. You also never thought you would live to see the day that "Free" Citizens would cheer on Police State Tactics.

      (As long as it's practiced on THEM)

      Delete
    3. You're not missing anything. There is nothing there to miss. There is nothing there.

      SMIRK'n'QUIRK are conditioned to laugh cause it's in The New Yorker They laugh like a young child having trouble starting flow that is conditioned to pee when mommy turns the faucet on.

      Gonzaga coming up ! MOME points out they have 21 feet of human hulk on the front line.

      My wife even likes the one they call the Brainless Polish Catholic Giant.

      She is of course 1,000 % for North Carolina, the team that is going to win, unless they Lord intervenes.

      All Gonzaga has is a prayer.

      Delete
    4. The Warriors have Zaza Pachulia

      100% Caveman

      Georgian

      Makes the black guys look like girls.

      Delete
    5. He was born Zaur Pachulia, but his first name was legally changed to Zaza.

      - Tbilisi, Georgia

      Delete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ms Quirk speaks up:

    Watch a Reporter Explain to Sean Spicer Why There Are No Hillary Questions (Video)


    http://www.thewrap.com/watch-a-reporter-explain-to-sean-spicer-why-there-are-no-hillary-questions-video/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quirk's a fake reporter reporting fake news for a fake newspaper published in his basement somewhere just outside of Detroit, Michigan.

      Delete
    2. Mayor Smedly murders his wife and children.

      He is replaced by Mayor Jones.

      Mayor Jones asks the press why they are not covering the deaths of the Smedly Family.

      The Media and Quirk reply:

      YOU'RE THE FRIGGIN MAYOR !

      Delete
    3. Oops, missed the Ms

      Ms Quirk sometimes fills in for Quirk when he's at a court hearing..

      Delete


    4. "A reporter then shouted, “You won. You’re here.”"

      Pathetic

      Delete
    5. ...Quirk has connections.

      And an "attitude."

      Delete
  9. My wife just reports that 'the big dumb Polish guy' has all the moves of a Sequoia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Steph Curry and Zaza are quite a contrast.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. I think the information flow from the small Polish brain to the legs and arms is abnormally slow due to the distance needed to be traversed.

      Delete
    4. Here're 11 seconds worth of Curry's latest, starting at 1 min 11 seconds:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Y-57_39tE

      Delete
  10. DougSun Apr 02, 09:12:00 PM EDT

    Obama, "Intel" Fbi, MSM continue their phony story, Quirk and Ash slurp it up.

    The truth:

    Under the Obama Admin, US citizens were illegally unmasked.

    Police State Tactics.

    Many times worse than Nixon.


    No problemo!

    To some.

    ==========

    AshSun Apr 02, 09:14:00 PM EDT

    Riiiiight! Doug says it, so it must be true.

    ==========

    QuirkSun Apr 02, 11:32:00 PM EDT
    .

    Ash, relax. Sit back. Enjoy the experience. You are up close and personal, blah blah blah...

    However, the truly amazing thing is that in Trump-world the Trumpettes, the lumpkins that populate Trump-world, actually eat this shit up and regurgitate it out with childlike Trumpisms such as 'Ooh, MSM, MSM, bad, bad'. Or the more sanguine, referring to news that's a little over a month old but still unresolved, might say "So what...old news" seemingly indicating that lies to Congress and possible tax issues are of little importance when we should instead be concentrating all our attention on that flashing object the Kahuna is waving.

    It's a rare and crazy site, Ash, and it is destined to be a very short lived one. Enjoy it while you can. Soak it in so that some day you can laugh with your grandkids as you try to convince them you were actually able to view that alternate universe of clown cars and alternative facts that was Trump-world. You'll play hell trying to convince them such a thing was possible but you will know. You will know.

    .
    ==========

    AshSun Apr 02, 11:46:00 PM EDT

    Heh :)

    Heh, Indeed:

    Saint Susan Rice.

    America's First Female Black Fascist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She and Bowe Bergdahl served this country with HONOR AND DISTINCTION.

      Honest

      Delete
    2. Rice found evidence that Trump was in cahoots with the Benghazi Jihadis.

      Delete
  11. Saint Susie (Video)

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/03/susan-rice-requested-to-unmask-names-trump-transition-officials-sources-say.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. The Patriot Act was a horrible thing.

    Obama Admin tactics are fine.

    - Quirk

    .


    .

    ReplyDelete
  13. As I noted a while back, while Obama and Loretta Lynch authorized the expansion of who could request the unmasking of Americans caught up in surveillance, the process still required a paper trail of who the request was from and for what purpose. From the law itself:

    For every entity in the US Intelligence Community involved with the intercepts of Team Trump, the head of that entity should have filled out this request, including:
    (U) Use of information. The IC element will explain how it will use the raw SIGINT, to include identifying the particular authorized foreign intelligence or counterintelligence missions or functions that are the basis for its request.


    Skipping down, we get to another key item: who reviewed and approved these requests:
    C. (U) Evaluation of requests. A high-level NSA official designated by the DIRNSA will review requests for raw SIGINT covered by these Procedures. NSA will document its approval decisions in writing and include a statement explaining how the request fully complies with paragraph A.

    OK, a key person who should have participated in the legal distribution of intercepts involving members of Team Trump would be the Director of NSA and whomever they designated to review the requests.
    Note that the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) is accepting the requests made by the National Security Advisor (a different NSA). Today that would be one Micheal Rogers, who had to review and concur on Rice’s request.

    Interestingly enough, one would have thought the FBI would be the organization with due cause to unmask Americans for investigation. Why would the head of NSA be investigating Americans and violating their 4th Amendment rights?

    Well, that seems pretty obvious given that all this ill-gotten information landed in the hands of the left wing news media, to fuel diversionary stories about some elusive Trump-Russian connection. The fact this information takes a left turn through the office of NSA on its way to the news media is telling in itself.

    Clearly what caught Susan Rice was the paper trail of her requests, as is confirmed in the article:

    In February Cohen-Watnick discovered Rice’s multiple requests to unmask U.S. persons in intelligence reports that related to Trump transition activities. He brought this to the attention of the White House General Counsel’s office, who reviewed more of Rice’s requests and instructed him to end his own research into the unmasking policy.

    The strange thing is, if not for all the leaks to the newspapers, I doubt this review of the logs would have happened! She and Team Obama triggered their own demise.

    ====

    Not if Quirk and the MSM have anything to say about it.


    http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/22131

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      More bullshit from the haole.

      I doubt I have ever had anything positive to say about Rice.

      In fact, she has been on my shit list since the three Valkyries convinced Obama to attack Libya.

      That said, this story just came out today. Unlike the Twins, I usually will wait until we see some actual 'Proof' of a crime before accusing Rice of one.

      As the story above says.

      Rice, among others, can legally request the info she is reported to have reviewed.

      So far, there is no proof that she actually disseminated or 'leaked' any information.

      Well, that seems pretty obvious given that all this ill-gotten information landed in the hands of the left wing news media, to fuel diversionary stories about some elusive Trump-Russian connection.

      This seems obvious to the writer of this article but there are likely other explanations. For instance, she may have been looking at communications to see if there was any connections that would interfere with Obama's foreign policy with Russia. Not saying that was the reason, but I can wait for proof, one way or the other.

      To Doug, Rice was convicted as soon as her name was mentioned. The boy appears quite desperate at the moment.

      .

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      Once someone comes up with some proof, if Rice is found guilty of leaking names of private citizens to the press and she is prosecuted, I will be the first to cheer.

      .

      Delete
    3. True statement about yourself.

      Delete
  14. .

    Once again, Doug plays the fool.

    Obama Admin tactics are fine.

    - Quirk


    Bullshit. Quirk was the first one here to report and denounce the move Obama made in January of this year allowing the NSA to more broadly spread their intel among the various other intel agencies. Quirk was the one who lead the charge here against the surveillance practices of the US under the Patriot Act and he was doing it long before Snowden, back in the days when a little shit from Hawaii was still making up excuses for Bush's torture program.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Obama, "Intel" Fbi, MSM continue their phony story, Quirk and Ash slurp it up.

      The truth:

      Under the Obama Admin, US citizens were illegally unmasked.

      Police State Tactics.

      Many times worse than Nixon.

      No problemo!

      To some.


      More bullshit from the Hawaiian Haole.

      Since nothing has been proven against Rice, and since even if she did some 'unmasking' in her capacity as NSA there has been nothing presented yet showing anything illegal was done, I can only assume (giving Doug the benefit of the doubt) that the haole is referring to the leak of Michael Flynn's name.

      Since on more than one occasion I have said here that leakers know that what they are doing is illegal and are subject to prosecution, they do so at their own risk.

      Also, as I noted most people make a distinction between 'leakers' and 'whistleblowers'. It usually depends on whether they think there is justification for the information to become public.

      In Flynn's case, you have a man who accepted money from foreign governments and lied about it in deposition to Congress. You can contrast this with the Bush administration outing Valerie Plame in order to get back at her husband.

      On Flynn, I have never said those that leaked his name shouldn't be prosecuted.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      As for my post from yesterday that you reposted, I appreciate that. I was kind of pleased with it. Wish you had put it all up.

      .

      Delete
    3. You're hilarious.

      You spend 99% of your energy here arguing there's no substance to other's arguments, and denouncing all sources but yours,

      ...then you mount your high horse and say you've been leading the charge!

      Delete
    4. .

      Try coming up with a little what they call Proof asshole instead of mere conspiracy theories and I won't have to spend so much time arguing there is no substance to your charges.

      then you mount your high horse and say you've been leading the charge!

      Yea, I do. Please, don't blame me because your short and long term memory is shot. Try getting a little more sleep.

      .

      Delete
  15. White House logs indicate Susan Rice consumed unmasked intel on Trump associates

    The intelligence reports included some intercepts of Americans talking to foreigners and many more involving foreign leaders talking about the future president, his campaign associates or his transition, the sources said. Most if not all had nothing to do with the Russian election interference scandal, the sources said, speaking only on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the materials.

    Ordinarily, such references to Americans would be redacted or minimized by the NSA before being shared with outside intelligence sources, but in these cases, names were sometimes unmasked at the request of Rice or the intelligence reports were specific enough that the American’s identity was easily ascertained, the sources said.

    The exact national security justifications for Rice accessing the reports isn’t clear and may require additional documentation that the House and Senate intelligence committees have requested from the NSA, America’s lead agency in spying on foreign powers.


    http://circa.com/politics/accountability/white-house-logs-indicate-susan-rice-consumed-unmasked-intel-on-trump-associates

    ReplyDelete
  16. Deuce and I cite multiple sources pointing to subjects other than Flynn, Quirk argues he's forced to assume I'm referring to Flynn!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      What sources, Breitbart, Napolitano? Seems to me quoting those assholes is what got Trump in trouble.

      .

      Delete
    2. They said he was using Breitbart when in fact he and Breitbart had Ezra and the Whitehouse files as a source.

      ...carefully documented by the Obama Whitehouse.

      ...and the NEW YORK TIMES used the word: WIRETAPPED !

      Delete



  17. Deuce ☂Mon Apr 03, 01:52:00 PM EDT

    Front page of The Washington Post - Nothing.



    Deuce ☂Mon Apr 03, 01:52:00 PM EDT

    They must be out to lunch.


    ==========

    Anatomy of a fake scandal, ginned up by right-wing media and Trump

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/04/03/anatomy-of-a-fake-scandal-ginned-up-by-right-wing-media-and-trump/?utm_term=.660424d7f9a3


    Mr. Waldman also writes for The American Prospect.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Last game that big dumb Pollack for Gonzaga was standing there with his thumb up his ass and someone put a finger in his only eye in his central forehead, and that about put him out of the game.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my: McCain backs McConnell on the nuclear option
    POSTED AT 5:01 PM ON APRIL 3, 2017 BY ED MORRISSEY

    When you’ve lost Maverick … The man who engineered a 2005 compromise to break up a Senate logjam on judicial confirmations threw in the towel this afternoon. John McCain, the leader of the Gang of 14, says that there is no opening for a compromise with Democrats on the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch, reports Bloomberg’s Laura Litvan.

    Nuclearmas, here we come:

    Follow
    Laura Litvan ✔ @LauraLitvan
    John McCain just told me he's giving up on idea of a deal that will avert nuclear option fight in Senate #Gorsuch #SCOTUS #SCOTUSnominee
    1:44 PM - 3 Apr 2017
    Retweets likes
    Follow
    Laura Litvan ✔ @LauraLitvan
    McCain says tried at talks Friday and today, it's clear Democrats are proceeding w filibuster. He'll vote with GOP to change Senate rules https://twitter.com/LauraLitvan/status/848999776364490752 …
    1:45 PM - 3 Apr 2017
    5 5 Retweets likes
    Reuters also reported the same thing:

    Follow
    Reuters Politics ✔ @ReutersPolitics
    UPDATE: Senator McCain, a longtime opponent of Senate rule change, says will vote to end 'filibuster' in order to win Gorsuch confirmation
    1:41 PM - 3 Apr 2017

    Earlier today, McCain was lamenting the dead end and trying to explain how much he didn’t want to cast this vote:

    The U.S. Senate could make history this week, but no one is feeling particularly good about it.

    “It is depressing; I’m very depressed,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “We’re all arguing against it, but we don’t know any other option.”
    The avalanche of Democratic commitments to the filibuster must have stripped McCain of any remaining hope. Not that there was much anyway; the declarations from red-state Democrats like Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester of support for Chuck Schumer’s filibuster over the weekend clearly showed the writing on the wall. With those at-risk Democrats joining La Resistance, how could Pat Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, and Chris Coons balk?

    McCain’s support for the nuclear option will likely have the same impact on wavering Republicans. If the mastermind of the Gang of 14 says “game over, man,” who are Jeff Flake and Susan Collins to argue? If nothing else, McCain’s abandonment of the filibuster might give Schumer one last opportunity to call off the obstructionism if his intention was to bluff Senate Republicans into backing down on Gorsuch. Given the personal vitriol directed at Gorsuch by Schumer’s colleagues, however, Schumer now has no place to go. And Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump will have carte blanche on the next nominee.

    Update: Reuters adds a little more to the report:

    McCain, in remarks to reporters, said he had “no choice” but to go along with a change in rules ending a tradition of 60 votes in the 100-member Senate needed to advance Supreme Court nominees to a final vote. He said he would support the rule change “because we need to confirm Gorsuch.”
    More accurately, it’s because they need to confirm anyone. And if Democrats obstruct Gorsuch, it’s clear that they will obstruct anyone not chosen by themselves.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2017/04/03/oh-my-mccain-backs-mcconnell-on-the-nuclear-option/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeezus!

      McCain's gone Republican.

      For once.

      Delete
    2. Stupid Dems:

      Once the Pubs go Nuclear, Nuclear is the new standard for whoever them Dems choose to 'buster.

      They done forced the Pubs to pretend they have balls.

      Delete
  20. Big time defense going on in this championship game.

    ReplyDelete
  21. North Carolina's shooting was terrible but they are a second half team.

    All is well.

    ReplyDelete
  22. More hysterical by the day:

    Blackwater founder held secret meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel

    April 3, 2017 | The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html?utm_term=.72a40ffd6ce6

    GRAPHIC!

    Ties to Russia !


    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/trump-russia/?utm_term=.cd6b7c3a44d9

    ReplyDelete
  23. HO HO !

    There IS a God and he ain't Catholic nor Jesuit neither !

    He's a TAR HEEL !

    Must rate as one of the worst played Final Four games in NCAA history, but, hey, the wife was happy at the end !

    That big Polish oaf Grabowshitsky or whatever his name was weren't worth a dog shit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grabashitsky is the guy that's distantly related to Quart via the convent nun and Pope Pius whatever his number was.....

      Delete
    2. (these Catholic genealogies can become complex like quick, man)

      Delete
    3. And O'Reilly on Fox ought to be jailed for sexual harassment.

      Delete
    4. .

      Mercedes (the car company not the women) have pulled their ads from his show.

      .

      Delete
  24. Hey, it's looking like the criminal Susan Rice ought to be in jail for unmasking.

    What say you, SMIRK ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What were they doing ?

      Why, spying on The Donald, of course.

      Waiting to hear from SMIRK....

      Delete
    2. Everything would have come out looking so squeaky clean.

      ...if only Hillary had won.

      Delete
    3. Wasn't Susan Rice the witch that went all over creation, including the UN, blaming a video for Benghazi ?

      Why, yes, she was that witch:

      Benghazi Report: Even State Dept Officials Were Horrified by Susan Rice’s TV Appearances
      by Alex Griswold | 10:15 am, June 28th, 2016

      Then-U.N. Ambassador and current National Security Advisor Susan Rice was lambasted by Obama administration critics when she went on all five Sunday morning shows in the wake of the 2012 Benghazi attack and blamed a YouTube video for the attack. But included in the newly-released Benghazi Committee report is the revelation that even within the Obama administration, State Department officials were flabbergasted by Rice’s appearances.

      “State Department employees in Washington D.C. who had spoken with those on the ground in Libya after the attack were universal in their condemnation of Rice’s statements,” the Republican-controlled committee revealed, citing emails obtained in the course of their investigation.

      The State Department’s Senior Libya Desk Officer wrote an email to his colleagues saying, “I think Rice was off the reservation on this one.”....

      http://www.mediaite.com/online/benghazi-report-even-state-dept-officials-were-horrified-by-susan-rices-tv-appearances/

      Delete
    4. Don't go off on a Witch Cunt.

      Delete
    5. Susie Rice

      Professional liar.

      Delete
  25. Calling Smirk, calling Smirk....

    Pick up Smirk, pick up Smirk....

    ReplyDelete
  26. Michael McCartney
    6 hrs ·
    It's 11:45 AM in Hawaii and I am outside listening to those Civil Defense sirens blaring for the monthly test. I feel like I am an extra in the film "War Of The Worlds". It's really loud today outside. Anyone else across the state hearing them?

    ===

    Lyn Ho

    when we lived there it was loud..right at the corner

    https://www.facebook.com/lyn.ho1


    ===

    I almost wrote

    "You shoulda heard Hiroshima"

    ...then I decided that might come off as insensitive.


    ReplyDelete
  27. .

    ...and the NEW YORK TIMES used the word: WIRETAPPED !

    Gee, Doug, do you mean that Donald Trump is actually reading the MSM? My. My.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      No surprise, really. Trump is so paranoid and thin-skinned, he reads every paper and every TV program there is to see if anyone says anything critical about him. That's why he is up until 3:00 am writing tweets responding to them.

      Makes you wonder where he finds the time for his pep rallies, golf, and PR sessions signing off on executive orders that is when he remembers to sign them.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      To be fair, he did sign off on a bill today. It was a GOP bill removing broadband 'privacy right' for customers of ISP's, Comcast et al.

      .

      Delete
    3. .

      ...'Privacy protections'...

      .

      Delete
    4. At least he spends most of his time out of bed....

      Delete
    5. A true sacrifice with Melania as wife....

      Delete
    6. .

      Likely, not on Melania's part.

      Have you seen that guys hands?


      .


      Delete
  28. O Susan !

    Where do we get these idiots ?

    WHO ASKED SUSAN RICE TO UNMASK THOSE NAMES?
    Obama’s national security advisor is a liar -- and possibly a felon.
    April 4, 2017 Matthew Vadum

    Former President Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice asked for the names of Trump transition officials to be unmasked and made public in raw intelligence files, according to media reports, a move apparently carried out to harm the incoming Trump administration.

    As recently as March 22, Rice denied knowing anything about the intelligence reports. In an appearance on “PBS Newshour,” she said pretty definitely, “I know nothing about this.” The new news reports paint Rice as a liar.

    The evidence we know about in the Trump-Russia saga so far seems to be pointing at Obama.

    Adam Housley of Fox News reports:....


    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/266314/who-asked-susan-rice-unmask-those-names-matthew-vadum


    Like many inept, intellectually-deficient left-wingers, Rice was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. She earned a doctoral degree from Oxford University in 1990. In her dissertation she hailed the genocidal Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe as a “pragmatic, intelligent, sensible, gentle, balanced man” in possession of much “patience and restraint.”

    Quirk, lately, thinking of Umberto, seems overly impressed with academic credentials...

    Stalin went to Tiflis Seminary...it is said he learned how to run an effective spy agency there....

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  29. .

    Former President Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice asked for the names of Trump transition officials to be unmasked and made public in raw intelligence files, according to media reports, a move apparently carried out to harm the incoming Trump administration.

    And made public?

    Are we sure of this?

    .

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    1. Of course we are....we all rely on unnamed media reports.

      Otherwise none of us would know nuttin' !!

      Delete
    2. .

      Probably true.

      I see the White House is going dark.

      No more notifying the public as to troop deployments.

      No more call logs at the White House.

      Won't release his taxes.

      Called for media blackouts at executive agencies.

      ...and that in only the first 10 weeks.


      Well, there was that incident in 2012, when Trump had his 'birther' going, so the Guardian asked him to provide a copy of his B/C and he refused.

      I guess the only way we are going to actually see any info on Trump is to go his ISP and pay them for the info.

      .

      Delete
  30. .

    Quirk, lately, thinking of Umberto, seems overly impressed with academic credentials...


    Don't pout, Bobbie. I did mention that you were an English major.


    .

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    1. Quirkie, what I am proud of is being a farmer.

      This wouldn't count for squat with a slicker like you, and that is what really pisses me off.

      I'll put my farming up against your advertising any day !

      Delete
    2. .

      Come on, Bob, let's be honest. You're not really a farmer. You are more a land baron and landlord, or what we call a faux farmer.

      .

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    4. I used to be a farmer.

      Now I am trying to be a developer, hoping that it pays better.

      Delete
    5. I'm too old to farm at any rate so really have no choice in the matter.

      Must stay on or ahead of schedule for soon I will have no choice in any earthly matter, like most of us here.

      Delete
    6. Come on, Bob, let's be honest.

      This shocked me when I first read it.

      Delete
    7. .

      Speaking of real estate, have you noticed how this country is now being 'run' if that's the word by a real estate company.

      Trump is the nominal head, a real estate guy, but foreign policy is being run by Kushner whose only experience is also in real estate.

      The military seems to be running our ongoing wars.

      The establishment GOP is running domestic policy.

      The cabinet seems to be guys drawn straight out of the GOP's main constituencies, big money, energy, the MIC, the Banks, and the establishment all the guys Trump said he was going to control when he got to DC. Well, I guess he was being honest. He gets to set the place cards.

      Saw an article the other day (I'll have to dig it up and post it). It said that Trumps 27 top appointees have a combined wealth that exceeds that of the bottom 50% of the American public.

      Now, were do you think the little guys fits with Trump's plans?

      .

      Delete
    8. There are more billionaires backing the Democrat Party than billionaires backing the Republican Party.

      Democrat billionaires have combined wealth that exceeds that of the bottom 50% of the American public.

      What do you propose to do about it ?

      Delete
    9. A Constitutional Amendment mandating that no one own assets worth more than 20 times (say) that of anyone else ?

      100 times ?

      1000 times ?

      Who does the accounting ?

      And I agree things are not as they ought to be....but what do you do about it ?

      Already the bottom 50% pays practically no taxes....sales taxes excluded....

      These mega societies are hard to get right, especially when people disagree about what right is....

      Delete
    10. Marie Harf is just on Fox.

      We could just do whatever she says....

      She's Big Lib.

      We could do whatever Ash/Bernie Sanders says....though I fear we would end up like Venezuela.

      Delete
    11. So, your proposals, please, Quirk.

      I might well go along with whatever you say....might give it a try....

      Delete
    12. Marie Harf was the one that said the way to win the war on terrorism was jobs for jihadis....might work, might well be worth a try, regardless that 14 centuries of human experience argue forcefully against the idea....

      Delete
    13. .

      There are more billionaires backing the Democrat Party than billionaires backing the Republican Party.


      Trump's got more billionaires in his cabinet than on all the Democratic party.

      :o)


      Besides, we all know that the Dems have made a living off promising the little guy everything and giving them nothing. They are dicks.

      Now, you are telling me Trump is the same type dick.

      Gee, where have I heard that before?

      .

      Delete
    14. What do 14 centuries of human experience know that Marie Harf doesn't know ?

      She's the one holds a college degree.

      Delete
    15. .

      So, your proposals, please, Quirk.


      Condemn the hypocrites to hell.

      Or, at least stop making excuses for them for god's sake.

      .

      Delete
    16. I voted for Trump because he's not (so far as I now know) a criminal, and I liked his style in admitting he paid bribes (I am excluding this as criminal behavior) to Democrats in New York so he could get something done.

      Somebody's got to do something!

      Delete
    17. .


      She's the one holds a college degree.


      Izzar little baby still pouting? Izzee?


      .

      Delete
    18. Who decides who the hypocrites are ?

      Enough !

      Delete
    19. .

      Somebody's got to do something!

      What has Trump done? I mean for (not to) the people who put him over the top in the election.

      .

      Delete
    20. I'm laughing/crying at the idea that a moron like Marie Harf actually got a job in the State Department.

      Fuck it.

      It's hopeless.

      Give it up Quirk.

      All this shit is why some of your type theologians call it 'a fallen world'.

      Turn to family, friends and the further shore, what else can one do ?

      Delete
    21. .

      Who decides who the hypocrites are ?

      Dictionary.com

      hypocrite


      [hip-uh-krit]
      Spell Syllables
      Synonyms
      Examples
      Word Origin
      See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

      noun

      1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

      2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

      .

      Delete
    22. The Donald ?

      Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of jobs over the years, untold millions in taxes to society, decent daytime Gong Show....

      Now this is a direct order:

      Stop It !

      :)

      Delete
    23. .

      Turn to family, friends and the further shore, what else can one do ?

      I can still call you out when you make excuses for this turd.

      :o)

      .

      Delete
    24. .

      Good night, sweet prince.

      .

      Delete
    25. O all right, whatever you say.

      Whatever pleases you just tickles me plumb to death.

      Delete
  31. SECOND subway bomb deactivated in Russia
    By Pamela Geller - on April 3, 2017

    http://pamelageller.com/2017/04/second-subway-bomb-deactivated-russia.html/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. St. Petersburg: Suspected jihad-martyrdom suicide bomber had ties to the Islamic State
      By Robert Spencer on Apr 03, 2017 05:38 pm

      “I saw a lot of smoke, a crowd making its way to the escalators, people with blood and other people’s insides on their clothes, bloody faces.” And their bloodthirsty god is appeased. “Suspected suicide bomber in St. Petersburg attack had links to Islamic State: report,” by Denis Pinchuk and Alexander Winning, Reuters, April 3, 2017: […]
      Read in browser »

      https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/04/st-petersburg-suspected-jihad-martyrdom-suicide-bomber-had-ties-to-the-islamic-state

      Delete
  32. ‘Sanctuary state’ bill passes California Senate

    http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article142502974.html#storylink=mainstage

    ReplyDelete
  33. Man dies trying to eat giant doughnut at Voodoo Doughnuts

    Malouff was taking the shop's "Tex-Ass Challenge," which requires participants to consume the colossal doughnut — the equivalent of six regular doughnuts — within an 80-second time limit. Winners get a free meal and a button.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Man-dies-trying-to-eat-giant-doughnut-11047491.php

    A Connecticut college student also died Sunday in a food-eating contest. Caitlin Nelson, a 21-year-old Sacred Heart University student, was participating in a pancake-eating contest when she fell ill and began choking. She later was pronounced dead at a hospital.

    ReplyDelete