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."

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

The FBI is one more victim of the March Through the Institutions, the cultural-Marxist initiative in which hordes of leftists infiltrate a trusted institution and corrupt it as a weapon to use against political enemies

FBI: Famous But Ineffective


I’ve got a theory which continues to be supported by evidence — namely, that the American Left is a movement by and for people who simply cannot do a good job.
That’s not to say all the competent people in this country are conservatives, though it does appear that on balance you’ll find more people on the Right capable of high performance than on the Left. Nor am I saying all conservatives are competent. They aren’t. Nor am I even saying there aren’t people on the Left capable of doing a proper job.

But I am saying that left-wing politics and competent job performance make for a very difficult mix, and increasingly where you find one you will not find the other.
With that in mind, the revelations about Parkland, Florida mass shooter Nikolas Cruz, who last week murdered 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in that South Florida suburb, point to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a good example of the connection between left-wing politicization and dysfunction.

Whether you buy the theory or not, let there be little question but that the FBI is an agency in decline. After all, the Bureau is amid a long string of high-profile investigative failures resulting in disaster on American streets.

The FBI had all the information necessary to sound the alarm about Nidal Hassan, for example, before Hassan turned his affinity for violent Sharia Islam into the Ft. Hood massacre, and yet nothing appears to have been communicated to the Army regarding the threat Hassan posed. The FBI also dropped the ball on Omar Mateen, whom they had interviewed and built a file prior to his perpetration of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, and it had all the information it needed to intervene before Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik committed mass murder in San Bernardino. Similar observations could be made about Dylan Roof, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, William Athison and other mass murderers over the last few years.

And then there was Cruz, who was a blinking neon sign advertising a future mass murder. Cruz had been brought to the FBI’s notice, it turns out, on multiple occasions — the first, when in September of last year a YouTube video blogger sent the Bureau a screenshot of a comment Cruz left under a vlog entry, using his own name, advertising his desire to become a “professional school shooter.” The FBI followed up with the YouTuber, Ben Bennight, both at the time and after Cruz followed through on his desire, but it doesn’t appear they did much to follow up with Cruz himself.

And the second time was in January. According to a statement of admission the FBI released on Friday, “a person close to” Cruz called the agency’s public tip line on Jan. 5 and left information on Cruz’s “gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting.”

Nobody followed up. And then six weeks later 17 people lay dead with more than a dozen others wounded when Cruz, who had been meticulously planning his attack, finally executed his plan.

If nothing else one might have expected the FBI to pass this information along to local law enforcement, but Cruz’ case seems to be part of a pattern of neglect when it comes to killers telegraphing their intentions.

That’s not to blame the FBI for these killers doing their deadly work. But it’s clear the Bureau isn’t fulfilling its reputation for investigative excellence and it sure does appear the problem is getting worse.

But the FBI certainly does seem to be progressing along in its politicization. We’ve just come through a couple of months full of revelations about the Bureau conducting, essentially, “black ops” in using campaign opposition research in order to get a FISA warrant to surveil Carter Page, an innocent man working as a campaign advisor to Donald Trump, and the recently released text messages of lead FBI investigator Peter Strzok and his mistress Lisa Page, who also worked for the Bureau, show a level of politicization and unprofessionalism which call into question whether we’re not completely wasting our tax dollars on the FBI in the first place.

Andrew McCabe was the #2 man at the FBI, for crying out loud. James Comey and Robert Mueller are the last two directors of the place. These are political schemers, not crimefighters.

Yes, yes — the FBI contains a great many excellent agents and still does its share of good work. Having the benefit of friendships with several former FBI agents, though, your author can attest that a consensus among them is the Bureau is overrun with political hacks promoted for ideological leanings rather than excellence, and the results are all around us — a refusal to address Islamic jihad as a national security threat cripples the FBI’s counterterrorism efforts, a focus on high-profile, show-off arrests rather than public safety hinders the ability to work with local law enforcement to stop a Nikolas Cruz before he goes off, a willingness to engage in presidential politics kills public trust.

It’s a common story. The FBI is one more victim of the March Through the Institutions, the cultural-Marxist initiative in which hordes of leftists infiltrate a trusted institution and corrupt it as a weapon to use against political enemies. We see it in academia, news media, Hollywood. We saw it at the IRS. And the FISA warrant case shows it was very much in effect at the FBI. And like a Hollywood which struggles to create movies worth watching, a news media which can’t seem to get the story straight and an education industry which turns out kids who are experts in how they feel about math but not-so proficient in doing it, we’ve now got an FBI which routinely drops the ball on major cases.

Enough already. The FBI either needs to return to competence or be disbanded. It is no place for left-wing partisan hackery.

147 comments:

  1. Investigative reporter Mike Cernovich dropped a hot story late on Sunday night, while warning that, like his other scoops, this one will take mainstream media a long time to confirm.

    Former FBI director Andrew McCabe altered FBI investigator Peter Strzok’s notes taken during his interview with General Michael Flynn, to make it look like Flynn had lied. This is why Robert Mueller indicted him.

    Then McCabe illegally destroyed the evidence of what he had done, which is why Peter Strzok’s system didn’t back up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      The words batshit crazy come to mind.

      Cernovich, fill-in host on the Alex Jones show and promoter of the 'Pizzagate' story.

      .

      Delete
  2. FBI agents take notes during an interview – these summaries are put on a form numbered FD-302. The agent who interviewed Flynn did not think Flynn lied. But McCabe altered the agent’s form 302, fabricating what Flynn had said, to secure a guilty plea for Robert Mueller.

    Now the FBI is in deep trouble, with a tough-as-nails Judge demanding they produce evidence to clear McCabe of this criminal act – or else he will be going down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      If true, it appears the judge is demanding a new standard of evidence. Now, according to this, rather than McCabe being innocent until proven guilty, he is now considered guilty unless proven innocent.

      .

      Delete
  3. On Friday, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order in United States v. Flynn that, while widely unnoticed, reveals something fascinating: A motion by Michael Flynn to withdraw his guilty plea based on government misconduct is likely in the works.

    Just a week ago, and thus before Sullivan quietly directed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team to provide Flynn’s attorneys “any exculpatory evidence,” Washington Examiner columnist Byron York detailed the oddities of Flynn’s case. The next day, former assistant U.S. attorney and National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy connected more of the questionable dots. York added even more details a couple of days later. Together these articles provide the backdrop necessary to understand the significance of Sullivan’s order on Friday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "On Friday, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order in United States v. Flynn that, while widely unnoticed..."

      ===

      ...because less than a dozen people in the "News"media have been diligently pursuing the truth.

      Tremendous job by York, McCarthy, and a few others.

      Delete
    2. Including CERNOVICH, in this case!

      Delete
    3. The word DENIAL comes to mind.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Sullivan enters identical standing orders as a matter of course in all of his criminal cases, as he explained in a 2016 Cardozo Law Review article:

      “Following the Stevens case, I have issued a standing Brady Order for each criminal case on my docket, updating it in reaction to developments in the law.”

      A Brady order directs the government to disclose all exculpatory evidence to defense counsel, as required by Brady v. Maryland.
      The Stevens case, of course, is the government’s corrupt prosecution of the late senator Ted Stevens—an investigation and prosecution which, as Sullivan put it, “were permeated by the systematic concealment of significant exculpatory evidence. . . .”


      Mueller needs to find a way to eliminate any remaining judicial integrity.

      Delete
    2. What if Mueller and Company find a way to disappear a few crucial bits?

      Delete
    3. .

      :o)

      And what if pigs flew?

      .

      Delete
    4. Love the way you always find a way around the FACTS submitted in articles here.

      Delete
    5. .

      This is what you call FACTS?

      What if Mueller and Company find a way to disappear a few crucial bits?

      Strange interpretation of the definition of fact.

      .

      Delete
  5. Same fabulous organization that gave us Waco and Ruby Ridge and prevented 911. OOrah!

    ReplyDelete
  6. If the Government knew that Flynn's guilty plea was false, to protect his son perhaps, then the Government/lawyers are in trouble.

    All this is getting too Byzantine for a simple farmer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You can't arrest someone before they commit a crime unless you can prove conspiracy. He had the gun legally. That's the problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      It's not the only problem.

      Everyone seemed to have known the kid had problems (except the people he was living with at the time of the crime). He had previous problems with the law. He had been evaluated for mental problems. Nothing happened. His last review with social services did not recommend any changes to his status. This despite the fact of everything he said and that he bought something like 10 rifles in the past year for heavens sake.

      The FBI screwed up in not following up on the tips they had on the kid. However, even if they had done everything right, would it have made a difference? Possibly. Possibly not.

      The kid had no existing charges against him. He had no restraining orders or any kind of court restrictions on him. He seemed to be smart enough to worm his way through psych exams.

      Would the fact that the FBI visited him and showed they were watching been enough to stop him? Possibly. I heard his girl friend recently broke up with him. Maybe if the FBI showed up at his door it would have caused him to pause long enough to get over any type of episode he was going through. And maybe it wouldn't.

      What could the FBI do? Lock him up for 72 hours for probable cause? After that you have to convince a judge to hold him longer. The system had already cleared him a number of times before. Put him in for involuntary commitment for 30 days? I don't know the mechanics of the process but you still at a minimum have to convince a judge. The people he was living with said they couldn't believe it when they heard about the crime. No doubt the judge would have talked to them. What happens after the 30 days are up?

      .

      Delete
    2. The kid was bonkers but he's going to have trouble with an insanity defense. Too much premeditation, and, he tried to escape by melding into the student crowd and fleeing, which shows a consciousness of guilt.

      Delete
  8. There Is Only One Sure Way to Stop School Shootings
    Patricia McCarthy
    Look to Israel for answers on how massacres at schools are prevented. More


    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/there_is_only_one_way_to_stop_school_shootings.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. School Shooting Survivor Turned Activist David Hogg’s Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO]

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/exposed-school-shooting-surviver-turned-activist-david-hoggs-father-fbi-appears-coached-anti-trump-lines-video/

    ReplyDelete
  10. JILL STEIN: Media And Democrats Were The Real Meddlers In 2016 Election (VIDEO)

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/jill-stein-media-democrats-real-meddlers-2016-election-video/

    ReplyDelete
  11. "PYEONGCHANG 2018
    The Americans and their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Games
    Cathal Kelly

    Though she is not competing here under the Stars and Stripes, slopestyle skier Elizabeth Swaney may be this Olympics' representative American "competitor." Quote marks required.

    Swaney, from Hungary via California, is a skier in the way you are a skier. She owns skis, but can't do anything special on them.

    The essence of slopestyle halfpipe is that you go down it, launch yourself off the edges and do tricks. Swaney's only trick was gaming the system to qualify for an Olympics.

    Working with crowd-funded money and using her grandparents' Hungarian passports, she traversed the globe, going to minor events, racking up points when serious slopestyle skiers fell over.

    Swaney doesn't fall down because she doesn't try. She undulates slowly down the hill like a vacationer headed back to the chalet.

    She finished last in Pyeongchang and only then became the all-time Olympic champion of cheek.
    "I didn't qualify for the finals," Swaney told reporters afterward. "So I'm really disappointed with that."
    I also didn't qualify for the finals of the ice dance, though I kept telling people I was willing to put on a bodysock and paw my way around the boards for a couple of minutes while 'My Heart Will Go On' played. I'm disappointed, too.

    Swaney is a familiar American type – the flim-flam artist, the corner-cutter, the oblivious striver. Swaney wanted to go to an Olympics. Since that's her dream, who does the world think it is to say she can't have it?

    In other countries, they'd boo you back onto the plane when you got home, but in modern America this is a smart way of getting yourself a show on the E! Network.

    s it stands right now, Swaney may be the most talked about American in South Korea. Which is rather a change of pace for the Greatest Country in the World™

    Our good friends are having a bad Olympics. Not a so-so Olympics or a downbeat Olympics. But a pretty awful one.
    With five days remaining, they stand fifth on the medal table, having already been lapped by leaders, Norway (pop: a little less than Wisconsin).

    Medals aren't the major problem here. It's the impression left. The one America's making has little to do with sport, and it is largely poor.

    It started with U.S. vice-president Mike Pence coming over to show North Korea ... well, I have no idea what. That he was capable of powering through the norms of social etiquette.
    Manners matter to South Koreans. Pence's old-timey-cowboy insistence on sitting to make a point resonated, but not in the hard-man way he'd hoped.

    Locally, Pence was so badly put in the PR shade by the grinning sister of Kim Jong-un, he may never tan again.
    It was a rough start for the new American way of being in the world, and it has not gotten much better.
    Though there are plenty of American spectators here, they are quieter than at Games past. All the swagger has left them.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Out in what passes for a downtown in Pyeongchang, you see plenty of national colours on the street. The red-white-and-blue is rarely one of them. American symbology is in visual retreat, even at the friendliest gathering on Earth.
      The athletes have osmotically absorbed their role in the new order of things. They seem to understand that no one appreciates the usual woo-hooing and fist pumping any more. The "U-S-A!" chants have grown less frequent at venues. The hand-over-the-heart stuff is more muted.

      A few American athletes have stood out, but they are notably the ones who can project a comfortable distance from the nation's worst instincts.

      Everybody here loved figure-skater Adam Rippon and snowboarder Chloe Kim, in large part because their success is a rebuke to forces within the country they represent.

      Rippon and Kim are Other America, the America the world would like to encourage.

      Many of the stars who were supposed to thrive based the formula (Medals)+(Q rating)=(Interest) have fallen flat.
      Downhiller Lindsey Vonn was the most notable of them, and possibly the most famous person here. She's yet done little of note.

      After she finished sixth in Super G, Vonn said, "At least I'm not fourth."
      That may not be the proper tone to strike.

      From an American perspective, the highlight of this Games was meant to be Vonn's multiple head-to-head encounters with her successor, Mikaela Shiffrin.

      On Tuesday, Shiffrin bowed out of the key duel, the downhill, citing scheduling conflicts. Vonn rubbished the training sessions as "mind games," leaving her little choice but to win or look quite foolish.

      Snowboarder Shaun White was another senior member of the very-well-known redemption set. Four years ago, his gold would have been the story of the Games. But a personality that once seemed goofball and witty (albeit, in a witless way) now seems smug and out of touch. He's the America that once amused the world, and no longer does. A sex harassment scandal didn't help. White quickly fled South Korea and was immediately dropped from the Olympic narrative.
      And the rest? No strong signals emerging from the U.S.A. camp. It's as if America's best Americans have decided the wisest course of action is one in which no one notices America at all.

      Things should improve when the president's daughter arrives for the closing ceremonies. One can imagine the athletes' joy when they get – for the second time! – to be props in the Trump family's war on the norms of diplomacy.
      Ahead of this thing, you would've thought athletes having a bad go of it would console themselves with the idea that, 'Hey, at least we're not Russians'
      .
      Now it feels like nothing could be harder than to represent the U.S.A. – a country that no longer understands what it's supposed to be on the international stage, or how it should act while out in public. Russia may have been reduced to a winless and smouldering resentment at these Olympics. But it plays better than American cringing."

      https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/the-americans-and-their-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-games/article38026417/

      Delete
    2. Ole Ash, he just loves him some USA. Yes he do!

      Delete
    3. just holding up a mirror for you good ole boys.

      Delete
    4. How was Black Panther, Ash? Did you wear African garb and yell at the screen? Did you talk on your cell phone and annoy the hell out of everyone around you?

      Delete
    5. .

      The story is so dumb it sounds like something the twins would put up.

      .

      Delete
  12. Chairman Nunes Goes After Comey, Clapper, Brennan in Phase 2 of Trump Dossier Probe – THREATENS TO ISSUE SUBPOENAS

    House Intelligence Committee Republicans have launched “Phase 2” of their probe into the origins of the unverified anti-Trump dossier, firing off an inquiry to a host of current and former officials — including former FBI Director James Comey.

    In a letter obtained by Fox News, committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., posed a string of dossier-related questions to current and former intelligence, law enforcement and State Department officials. He specifically wants to know when they learned the document was funded by Democratic sources, and how it was used to obtain one or more surveillance warrants at the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

    In the Feb. 20-dated letter, Nunes even threatened to issue subpoenas.

    “If you do not provide timely answers on a voluntary basis, the Committee will initiate compulsory process,” he wrote.

    Fox News understands the questionnaire went out to about two dozen current and former officials.

    Among them were Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, who testified in May 2017 that the Trump dossier was virtually unknown to him.

    In his May 2017 testimony before the intelligence panel, Brennan emphatically denied the dossier factored into the intelligence community’s publicly released conclusion last year that Russia meddled in the 2016 election “to help Trump’s chances of victory.”

    Brennan also swore that he did not know who commissioned the anti-Trump research document (excerpt here), even though senior national security and counterintelligence officials at the Justice Department and FBI knew the previous year that the dossier was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign.


    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/chairman-nunes-goes-comey-clapper-brennan-phase-2-trump-dossier-probe-threatens-issue-subpoenas/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      What Democratic response to the Nunes memo?

      A month after Inspector Clouseau's memo was submitted to Trump and released by him without change over the objections of his own FBI and DOJ, the Dem memo countering the GOP talking points still hasn't been released.The Nunes memo centered on the FISA application on Carter Page. The main objection to the Dem memo is that it cites 'actual wording from that application'.

      Amazing that Trump would have so quickly released the GOP memo over objections of the FBI and DOJ; yet quickly got religion when it came to the Dem memo. Well, maybe amazing isn't the right word. Let's be clear, Trump as president can release anything he wants to release. The fact that he refuses to release something so central to the main issue is telling. And not unexpected. In fact, it was predicted on this blog by the premiere blogger here.

      Hell, at this rate, we can expect Nunes to put out an entire portfolio of memos before the first Dem memo is released. It may not even be released until Trump is out of office.

      .



      Delete
    2. "Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain."

      Delete
    3. .

      Exactly.

      What private gain did Comey, Brenner, or Clapper hope to achieve from their testimonies.

      vs

      What private gain does Trump hope to achieve by allowing only one side of the story on the FISA memo, the one supporting him, while striking a tougher standard for the other side?

      .

      Hmmm.

      .

      Delete
    4. You done gone and got yourself the triple dot, Doug.

      Delete
    5. The Trump has supernatural powers.

      Just by snapping his fingers he can allow only one side of the story on the FISA memo

      I call that competence.

      Delete
    6. My God, you're right, Sam.

      Poor Doug.

      Recipient of feared triple dot !!!.

      We must all rally round Doug and help him anyway we can.

      Deuce should ban triple dotting.

      Delete
    7. OUTSTANDING:

      samTue Feb 20, 08:13:00 PM EST
      You done gone and got yourself the triple dot, Doug.

      Delete
  13. House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes has sent a series of questions about the Trump dossier to a number of current and former government officials. The committee did not specify to whom Nunes sent the questions, but a spokesman said the letter has gone to more than 20 recipients.

    ...

    Here is the list of questions:

    1. When and how did you first become aware of any of the information contained in the Steele dossier?

    2. In what form(s) was the information in the Steele dossier presented to you? By whom? (Please describe each instance)

    3. Who did you share this information with? When? In what form? (Please describe each instance)

    ...

    But in recent weeks, some former officials, notably State Department veterans Victoria Nuland and Jonathan Winer, have made voluntary public statements about their own knowledge of and involvement in the dossier matter. At least as far as those two are concerned, it seems unlikely they would decline Nunes' request since they have already talked about the dossier in appearances on television, a widely-distributed podcast, and a Washington Post op-ed.


    Trump Dossier

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems, Sam, you have fallen for the Canard that anything at all related to the Steele Dossier is false.

      Delete
    2. Now ole Ash be hatin on Sam too!

      Delete
    3. Kindly outline for us, Ash al-Canucki, those items related to the Steele Dossier that are true.

      We need to be brought up to speed.

      Yes, you can turn to The Quirkstar for help if you need to do so.

      Delete
    4. .

      Hint: The only thing true in the Dossier is that Carter Page had flown to Russia to, I think, give a speech.

      .

      This is not illegal.

      .

      Delete
    5. Quirkhutch would know more.

      TRUE:

      1. A warrant submitted by the FBI to the FISA court in 2016 to spy on Carter Page was based mainly on information compiled in the dossier.

      2. The warrant application was not straightforward about the source of the dossier's funding.

      Delete
    6. I heard at the barber shop Hillary paid for the Dossier.

      Delete
    7. 3. Steele's work was paid for by Hillary's 2016 presidential campaign committee and DNC.

      4. The FBI's failure to tell the FISA court about Steele's funding first came to light as a result of a 4 page summary of classified information prepared by aides to Nunes.

      5. The warrant was approved and then re-approved multiple times all without required full disclosure of the facts about Steele.

      Delete
    8. The boys down at Ye Olde Nordic Barber Shoppe generally get it more or less right.

      Delete
    9. Simply because the DNC partially funded the research doesn't render it false. Even if they wholly funded the research it wouldn't mean it is false.

      Delete
    10. True, in the rarified world of theoretical logic.

      Now we must move on and establish why and who created such a fakaroo.

      Delete

  14. Cadet Bone Spur folded, gave in to the Muzzie despot.

    He had a cute little blonde with a tight ass break the news.

    The U.S. said Tuesday it will start working together with Turkey “in a better fashion” so the two countries can achieve mutual goals.

    State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert made the remarks at a daily press briefing ...



    http://aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-pledges-closer-cooperation-with-turkey/1069178


    No Testosterone

    ReplyDelete

  15. The Muzzies and the Russkies ...
    They just don't respect Cadet Bone Spur


    As Turkey invades territory in Syria held by U.S. allies, and threatens U.S. troops while buying billions of dollars in Russian arms, American diplomats and analysts are worried.

    Former U.S. ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman and former advisor to former Vice President Joe Biden sum up the collective fear in a recent Politico article, claiming that Turkey is “out of control.”

    But Turkey’s actions are not spontaneous or chaotic;
    they are part of a larger geopolitical realignment, one that involves a more ambitious foreign policy and a closer relationship with Russia.

    Turkey then, is not simply ‘out of control,’ but ‘out of the U.S.’ control.’


    https://www.albawaba.com/news/original-turkey-is-cozying-up-to-russia-disavowing-the-us--1091672


    No Testosterone

    ReplyDelete
  16. 'BLACK PANTHER' packed with action, diversity -- but no gays...DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
  17. The perfidious Turk is gonna steal our nukes !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never trust a Muzzie, Stanley.

      Unless you are Stupid.

      Delete
  18. Golly ...

    Even the Cadet's Supreme ... wasn't

    Justice Neil M. Gorsuch did not dissent to California's assault on the 2nd Amendment.

    Only Justice Thomas stood strong

    .
    Thomas filed a 14-page dissent and lamented the court's "general failure to afford the 2nd Amendment the respect due an enumerated constitutional right."


    http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-court-guns-20180220-story.html


    Promises Made - Promises Broken

    ReplyDelete
  19. Turkey-led forces will begin besieging the Syrian town of Afrin in the coming days as part of Turkey's operation to drive the Kurdish YPG militia out of the region in northwest Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete
  20. .

    samTue Feb 20, 08:56:00 PM EST

    :)



    Cute diversion, Sam, but I'm sure you noticed ol Doug never answered the question.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      :o)

      Sam, we hardly knew ye.

      Damn, it appears you have moved to the dark side and bought into the Bobbsey Twins Deep State conspiracy theories. It's always hard to lose a good man, however...

      You stated 'facts' some of which are questionable but you failed to answer the question, "If all of this is so clear cut why didn't Trump just release the Dem memo. I doubt you deny he had the power and authority.

      Why did Trump ignore the advice of the FBI and DOJ, the people he hired after becoming president, regarding the Nunes memo yet judge it down right prudent when the same people made the same objections about the Dem memo? Why has a month passed after Nunes submitted his memo and yet we have seen nothing of the response from the Dem side while Nunes continues producing other political 'memos', a process that will likely continue until November?

      The cynical among us might suggest a strictly political reason. The intelligent among us would likely agree.

      From Idaho Bob...

      BobTue Feb 20, 09:35:00 PM EST
      Kindly outline for us, Ash al-Canucki, those items related to the Steele Dossier that are true.

      We need to be brought up to speed.

      Yes, you can turn to The Quirkstar for help if you need to do so.


      You are definitely right about needing to be brought up to speed, however, I despair of being able to accomplish it as I have been trying for some time. Still...

      I'll take you up on the question, Bob, but not tonight as it will take too much time to run my response through the google translator and convert it from standard English into 5th grade level Idahoese.

      Right now, I notice I am 17 minutes late for a scheduled raid by me and my Aldmieri Dominion friends against Daggerfall Covenant possessions in Cyrodil on Elder Scrolls Online (PvP). Time to take out some of those Daggerfall pricks.

      Charge!

      .



      Delete
    2. What Battle Level are you at, QuirkStar ?

      All the Daggerfall pricks are lame dicks and it shouldn't take a Master like you long to wipe them out, QuirkStar.

      I sense prevarication and uncertainly and delay lurking behind your response.

      Go ya here to orientates yersef ifs ya needs to:

      Elder Scrolls Online - Cyrodiil PvE (Gameplay) - YouTube
      Video for Cyrodiil in Elder Scrolls Online▶ 7:59
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWfc6fm6bUA
      Mar 13, 2014 - Uploaded by Force Gaming
      A quick look at one of the small PvE areas in Cyrodiil. Force Strategy Gaming: http://www ...


      I think you really have decided to turn in for the night, being stumped.

      Delete
  21. The chances for a deepening crisis in Afrin are growing.

    On Monday night, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. Sources fed local rosy statements to media about “cooperation in the fight against terrorist elements” and Rouhani said the two leaders discussed “plots to disintegrate regional states.”

    ...

    A Syrian rebel source says that Russia has quietly acquiesced to Turkey taking Afrin. “Iran is challenging the Russians now.”

    If the pro-regime troops enter Afrin it will embarrass Moscow, he says, because Moscow has sought to cultivate Ankara in recent months. Iran has meanwhile prepared the ground for pro-regime militias to enter Afrin via Al-Mayadeen News, which supports Damascus.

    ReplyDelete
  22. February 21, 2018
    Do We Really Love Our Kids?
    By Ted Noel

    I voted for Marco Rubio, but it was basically a vote against a horrible Democrat. Now the junior senator from Florida has re-affirmed what I thought in the beginning: Liddle Marco is no leader.

    When Nikolas Cruz killed seventeen people at a South Florida high school, Senator Rubio declared, "If someone's decided, 'I'm going to commit this crime,' they'll find a way to get the gun to do it." In other words, forget about stopping the bad guy. The jig is up. The fix is in. Buy stock in casket-makers. There will be blood in the hallways, and there isn't anything we can do about it. But don't try to ban guns, because that won't work.


    We can do better. Senator Rubio is simply wrong. There are people who are totally determined to kill schoolkids, and we can defeat them, if we are willing to listen to the people who have learned how.

    In 1974, Israel endured the Ma'alot Massacre at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Twenty-five were killed and 68 more injured. Since then, the Israelis have completely changed how they tackle school safety. Since 1974, there have been two successful attacks, with fewer than ten dead. In both cases, the bad guys were killed by armed teachers. That's still too many dead, but it's fewer than we lost in Florida just this week.

    Israel implemented a careful strategy of "Defense in Depth." This is a military concept, and it's why we lost so many men taking Okinawa and Iwo Jima. There the Japanese set up a whole lot of layers that we had to fight through. Every added layer makes the problem worse for an attacker. More layers equals more safety for the defender.

    The outside layer of this onion is careful police work. Every time a hint of pending trouble is identified, it is carefully investigated. Israel's police agencies don't turn away information the way our FBI did. This works not only for school safety. Israel's national airline, El Al, has had decades without a terrorist incident, largely due to careful police work. But this can't stop every attack. And we don't expect it to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Next comes the classic "See something? Say something!" slogan. Surprise! It actually works. A grandmother in Everett, Washington foiled a plot by her grandson the day before the Parkland massacre when the Snohomish County sheriff listened to her. Multiple threats in New England were shut down the day after the Parkland shooting. We just don't hear about many of these because nobody dies when a crime is prevented.

      In the virtual reality ecosystem defined by social media, there are many, many opportunities to identify likely bad actors. We don't often learn of how a specific tweet or Facebook post led to apprehension of a potential shooter, but it happens. This third layer saves lives, and we haven't even gotten to the schoolyard.

      Consider this. If we knock off a few threats with protective layers away from the schoolyard, there aren't as many to deal with at the school. That's where the next layer works.

      Schools have been the softest of soft targets. Most have multiple entry points that are guarded only by a door. Most of those doors open to anyone. Israel realized that this is an untenable situation. Entry to schools in Israel is now limited, and there are armed guards at every entryway. These guards are trained to look for suspicious signs and have largely prevented bad guys from getting in. Their mere presence is enough to stop all but the most determined attackers.

      By now we have at least four layers of protection, any one of which may be enough to protect our children from bad guys with guns. All of these are preventive. Now we move beyond prevention into active protection. What do we do if a bad guy with a gun gets inside the school?

      Let's remember one key fact. The rampage of every bad guy with a gun ends with intervention by a good guy with a gun. Period. Full stop. No exceptions. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed themselves when the cops closed in at Columbine High School. Syed Riswan Farook and Tashfeen Malik died in a hail of police gunfire in San Bernardino. Stephen Paddock ended it all in Las Vegas as the police got close. And Nikolas Cruz dropped his gun when the cops moved in. He was able to sneak out but got caught shortly after. Every bad guy with a gun was stopped by good guys with guns.

      Delete
    2. But in most schools, once a shooter gets past the front door, there are no more protective layers. Translation: A school is a target-rich environment. All students and faculty are targets. The Israelis saw this and got busy. They knew that the vast majority of terror attacks are stopped not by police, but by armed civilians. So they started training teachers in firearms use. Those teachers took out the bad guys in the two incidents since the Ma'alot Massacre.

      When you have armed faculty in a school, all of a sudden, the bad guy isn't walking into a free fire zone, where he can shoot at will. He's walking into a shooting gallery where he is the target. On top of that, he doesn't know which of the staff might be ready to shoot, or where they might be coming from. In short, only an idiot would try to shoot up a school with a trained staff of shooters. And the less he knows about who's carrying, the more difficult it is for him.

      Once that layer is in place, there's yet another one: the students. Israel trains them on what to do in case a bad guy does get in. That involves "active shooter drills." Doors are barricaded so that bad guys can't get into classrooms. Desks get turned into cover by turning them over. A bad guy will have trouble shooting what he can't see. Finally, the kids learn that if a bad guy does get in, there are enough of them to take him down. He may get a couple, but the rest will defeat him.

      Isn't that going to scare kids? How awful! But wouldn't you rather have a live scared child than a full casket? Oh. I forgot. You aren't supposed to ask that question. The left is the only side allowed to have a moral argument.

      Let's get one thing clear. The left is all about feelings. Leftists are completely unconcerned with facts. And two facts remain absolutely clear. When a bad guy has a gun, the only thing that can ultimately save the life of a child is a good guy with a gun. Further, bad guys will always get guns. In the Israeli Arab communities that have zero legal guns, police estimate that there are half a million illegal guns. Or visit Chicago, where there are almost no legal handguns, but gang-bangers use illegal handguns to make one person every day assume room temperature. Until that changes, gun-banners have no place to stand. We cannot allow emotional arguments to distract us from solutions that are proven to work.

      It may seem heartless to deal with facts, but if we love our children, we must protect them. Since the bad guys always find a way to have guns, we have to make certain that we have enough good guys with guns who can protect them from evil.

      The real question isn't which single fix we can make. For every complex question, there is a simple answer that is wrong. We know the steps that have to be taken. Schools have to be hardened so that they become safe places. But that hardening works together with measures outside the schools to create a defense in depth. More layers of defense create more safety for our children.

      The real question is, do we love our children enough to let good guys with guns protect them from bad guys with guns?



      https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/do_we_really_love_our_kids.html#ixzz57jTSzzq7

      Delete
  23. It's a great day in Heaven today.

    Billy Graham, 99, has gone home.

    The angels are rejoicing.

    RIP, Billy

    One must admit, the guy stayed on message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kept his nose out of politics too, not taking 'positions' on earthly matters, though he prayed with and for our Presidents from Truman on.

      He did say it's either Christ or the commies, Christ or the anti-Christ, but this is unremarkable for his day and age.

      Delete
    2. I kinda liked Billy.

      He at least came over as authentic.

      Never a scandal, either.

      Delete
    3. tape of that 1972 conversation in the Oval Office was made public by the National Archives. Three decades after it was recorded, the North Carolina preacher's famous drawl is tinny but unmistakable on the tape, denigrating Jews in terms far stronger than the diary accounts.

      ''They're the ones putting out the pornographic stuff,'' Mr. Graham said on the tape, after agreeing with Mr. Nixon that left-wing Jews dominate the news media. The Jewish ''stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain,'' he continued, suggesting that if Mr. Nixon were re-elected, ''then we might be able to do something.''

      Finally, Mr. Graham said that Jews did not know his true feelings about them.

      ''I go and I keep friends with Mr. Rosenthal at The New York Times and people of that sort, you know,'' he told Mr. Nixon, referring to A. M. Rosenthal, then the newspaper's executive editor. ''And all -- I mean, not all the Jews, but a lot of the Jews are great friends of mine, they swarm around me and are friendly to me because they know that I'm friendly with Israel. But they don't know how I really feel about what they are doing to this country. And I have no power, no way to handle them, but I would stand up if under proper circumstances.''

      http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/17/us/billy-graham-responds-to-lingering-anger-over-1972-remarks-on-jews.html

      Delete
    4. Never heard that about Billy before. He sounds very confused.

      Delete
    5. It's old news, just making the point he was JUST a man.

      Delete
    6. That he was. A better sort than some of these "Lord, I have sinned against Thee" preachers that get caught with hookers, booze and such, and confess in fake tears before the folks. I'm thinking of Jimmy Swaggart I think his name is.

      Fox News must have been anticipating his death because it only took seconds for them to bring up all the news reels....

      Delete
    7. I HAVE SINNED - YouTube

      Video for Lord I have sinned against you - Swaggart▶ 0:11
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1OXAi7rNMg
      Aug 25, 2009 - Uploaded by handcuffed1000

      I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your precious blood would wash and cleanse every ...
      Jimmy Swaggart I have sinned - YouTube
      Video for Lord I have sinned against you - Swaggart▶ 5:15
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWkVa-_sd24

      Jun 21, 2013 - Uploaded by Bill Wheters
      Oh! Jesus i am your little jimmy and i have sinned, but that ain't my fault coz i know that you paid for it. So ...
      Jimmy Swaggart: "I have sinned" - YouTube

      Video for Lord I have sinned against you - Swaggart▶ 2:16
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCpeeaIfF9c
      Oct 28, 2009 - Uploaded by christianityrevealed
      1988 TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart in sex scandal. ... So who ever you are you need to remove this video ...

      Jimmy Swaggart - Apology Sermon (21 Feb 1988) - American Rhetoric
      www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jswaggartapologysermon.html
      Feb 21, 1988 - And as far as this gospel has been taken through the airwaves to the great cities of the world and covered this globe, it would never have been done were it not for her strength, her courage, her consecration to her Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. I have sinned against you [looking directly at his wife in the ...


      Gotta love the Swagg....:)

      Delete
  24. DIVERSITY IS PARIS' STRENGTH:

    Three men have been arrested in the heavily migrant-populated Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois for attacking a man by biting at his face and then eating the pieces of flesh they had bitten off.
    The men, who all originally came from the African island nation of Cape Verde, were arrested on Sunday after they attacked a man who was walking in the Hector-Berlioz alley at around 6 pm and bit off pieces his ear and lower lip, Le Parisien reports.

    The victim was able to fight off the attackers, wounding one of them in the ankle, before police arrived a short time later and arrested the three Africans.

    Both the victim and the injured man were then taken to Montfermeil hospital.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A new dimension in fine French Dining

      Delete
    2. Lower lip and ear are both good, soft and chewy.

      With a little Marseille sauce, wonderful.

      Add a tasty white wine.

      Delete
  25. Canada is under-represented in the fine young cannibals department.

    Put The Chomp Back In Canuckistan

    ReplyDelete
  26. We have Dreamers - France has Chompers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      But we share a shitty performance in the Winter Olympics. Last I checked, we were tied with them on medal count somewhere around 5th or 6th (behind countries like Norway, Germany, Canada, and Netherlands.

      .

      Delete
    2. Our Lady ice skaters all fell on their arses, managing the worst performance ever in the Winter Olympics.

      Delete
  27. Eastern CN channels France, but their life support and life raft lies immediately to the south of them. They would not survive a week without the good ole USA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      :O)

      Amazing.

      (As a tear rolls down my cheek ala Iron Eyes Cody its hard to tell if it's one of mirth or of sadness.)

      .

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      <:o(

      Grrrrr.

      "I will not shut up," Haley yells at empty seat.

      .

      Delete
    2. I hope she gave it an earful.

      Delete


  29. Russia and Pakistan plan to establish a commission on military cooperation to counter the Islamic State threat in the region, accusing the United States of downplaying the terrorist group's dangerous "proliferation" in Afghanistan.

    "We have confirmed Russia's readiness to continue boosting Pakistan's counterterrorism capacity, which is in the entire region's interests," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday in Moscow.

    Speaking to reporters along with his Pakistani counterpart, Khawaja Asif, the Russian official said fighting terrorism is one of the priority areas of cooperation between the two countries. He said joint military exercises between Russian and Pakistani special forces, which began in 2016, will continue this year.


    Muzzies with nukes are now working with Pootie Pooh, after the Cadet cut their allowance.


    Just like that Muzzie despot in Turkey that has Cadet Bone Spur flummoxed by US force projection protection at Incirlik.

    A direct result of ...

    No Testosterone

    ReplyDelete
  30. POLL: TRUMP APPROVAL POPS TO 48%...

    *Obama was 45% at same date in presidency [Feb 21, 2010]....DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. RCP Average 2/5 - 2/20

      41.4 = Approve
      54.0 = Disapprove

      -12.6 = Spread


      Cadet Bone Spur may be enjoying a "Dead Cat Bounce"



      Delete

  31. Maybe we should just get 'em "Armed Guards"

    Maryland police officer shot and killed is second cop murdered in 12 hours

    ReplyDelete
  32. Joe diGenova on Ingraham podcast

    https://www.podcastone.com/episode/LI-Podcast-022118

    ReplyDelete

  33. ran and northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government hope to increase cross-border trade volumes by increasing the number of border crossings between them, KRG local officials have been quoted by state-run news agency of the Turkish government Anadolu Agency as saying.

    According to Aballah Akrayi, an official at KRG’s Foreign Relations Department, relations between Tehran and Erbil (the KRG’s administrative capital) have thawed noticeably since KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Tehran last month



    No Testosterone

    ReplyDelete
  34. Turkey is to host Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi at the end of this week to discuss the resumption of oil exports through the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

    The invitation comes just ahead of Iraq’s planned start of oil exports from the northern Kirkuk fields to Iran and hence it is viewed with much interest in the Islamic Republic.

    ...

    Luaibi said then Iran and Iraq also planned to build a pipeline to carry the oil from Kirkuk. While the plan is far-fetched, it holds the prospect of relieving the Iraqi government from the long-standing irritation of shady deals between the local Kurdish authorities and Ankara.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Venezuelans lost 24-lbs on average last year as hunger spread...DRUDGE

    Venezuelans report big weight losses in 2017 as hunger hits
    Vivian Sequera


    CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans reported losing on average 11 kilograms (24 lbs) in body weight last year and almost 90 percent now live in poverty, according to a new university study on the impact of a devastating economic crisis and food shortages.

    People wait in a queue to buy food, on a sidewalk outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

    The annual survey, published on Wednesday by three universities, is one of the most closely-followed assessments of Venezuelans’ well being amid a government information vacuum and shows a steady rise in poverty and hunger in recent years.

    Over 60 percent of Venezuelans surveyed said that during the previous three months they had woken up hungry because they did not have enough money to buy food. About a quarter of the population was eating two or less meals a day, the study showed.

    Last year, the three universities found that Venezuelans said they had lost an average of 8 kilograms during 2016. This time, the study’s dozen investigators surveyed 6,168 Venezuelans between the ages of 20 and 65 across the country of 30 million people.


    After winning the presidency in 1999, leftist President Hugo Chavez was proud of improving Venezuela’s social indicators due to oil-fueled welfare policies. But his successor President Nicolas Maduro’s rule since 2013 has coincided with a deep recession, due to failed state-led economic policies and the plunge in global oil prices.

    Wednesday’s study flagged Venezuelans’ deteriorating diets, which are deficient in vitamins and protein, as currency controls restrict food imports, hyperinflation eats into salaries, and people line up for hours to buy basics like flour.

    “Income is being pulverized,” Maria Ponce, one of the study’s investigators, told a news conference at the Andres Bello Catholic University on Caracas’s outskirts.

    People crowd at the gates of a supermarket as they wait to buy food in Caracas, Venezuela January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

    “This disparity between the rise in prices and the population’s salaries is so generalized that there is practically not a single Venezuelan who is not poor,” she said.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-food/venezuelans-report-big-weight-losses-in-2017-as-hunger-hits-idUSKCN1G52HA

    ReplyDelete
  36. Venezuela's opposition says it will boycott an election challenging socialist President Nicolas Maduro unless the government drops a ban on major candidates and takes other steps to ease fears it's rigged.

    ...

    Demands include dropping a ban on major opposition candidates and moving the vote to a more conventional date later in the year. It's now set for April 22.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An election with a ban on major opposition candidates does sound somewhat suspect.

      In fact it doesn't sound like an election at all.

      :o(

      Delete
  37. The Italian elections are getting very interesting:

    The power of individuals to effect political change.

    If an Italian citizen of the 1930s were tele-transported to the 1950s she would scarcely believe her eyes. Where the poor were left to die of curable illnesses, she would find a universal national health service. Where fascism ruled she would find a vibrant democracy. Where protectionist empires collided, she would find booming international trade. In the short span of 20 years a new world had emerged.

    Today, as we stand at yet another crossroads, is politics still able to provide such transformative potential - peacefully? Dramatically, the upcoming Italian elections bring a response in the negative.

    The economic background is bleak. The country remains below its pre-crisis output, while the little economic growth there is concentrates at the top of the pyramid. Unemployment may be nominally decreasing, but only due to the spread of precarious, underpaid jobs. And while the national debate focuses on the effects of rising immigration, the number of Italians leaving their country each year often exceeds the number of migrants coming in.

    The political response to the grave state of affairs has been little more than feeble attempts to muddle through and petty squabbles. The incumbent Democratic Party of Matteo Renzi and its stitched-up coalition try to tout the economic "success" achieved in the last five years and promise more of the same. On the other side of the spectrum, a coalition led by former prime minister and convicted tax-fraudster Silvio Berlusconi puts together neo-fascists, nationalists, and old centrists in an incoherent alliance promising everything, and its opposite. Between the two, comedian Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement seems willing to say anything its marketing experts recommend on any given day: tellingly, the party is both in favour and against Italian membership of the Euro, the EU's single currency.

    {...}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. {...}

      Silvio Berlusconi's coalition is leading the polls, but none of the contenders in the upcoming election seems to have a chance of securing an absolute majority in Parliament, leaving horse-trading, a grand-coalition, or a technocratic government as the most realistic options.

      But regardless of the swinging electoral arithmetic, the upcoming elections bring further proof of the crisis of European democracy. At a moment when Italy and Europe need ambition, leadership and a clear vision for change, politics is turning parochial and short-sighted. Where the extraordinary economic, ecological and geopolitical challenges of our time would call for a battle of ideas and for competing world views, the electoral debate is solidly buried in the sands of insignificance. The sad truth is that China's long-term planning increasingly appears as a captivating alternative to Europe's petty bickering.

      The outcome of this political abdication is a contradictory mix of apathy and extremism. In the upcoming Italian elections, abstention is expected to reach 50 percent among younger people, an all-time high. A sense of gloom and powerlessness prevails: "We need to hit rock bottom before anything can begin to change" is another refrain very commonly heard in the country. At the same time the debate becomes even more polarised, with increasingly toxic media coverage and openly racist claims from leading politicians encouraging a climate of fear, xenophobia, and even far-right terrorism. Recently, a drive-by shooting targeted migrants in Northern Italy.

      As the Irish poet W. B. Yeats sung in 1919, these appear to be times when:

      "The best lack all conviction, while the worst

      Are full of passionate intensity"

      {...}

      Delete
    2. {...}

      Despondency grows all across European democracies.

      And during the 2017 French presidential elections I have heard many young people thinking that a victory for Marine Le Pen's far-right party, however disastrous, might at least have provided a much needed wake up call. In the meantime, the far-right has entered government in Austria, Poland and Hungary, while in Germany it has become nearly as popular as the Social Democratic party.

      Apathy and extremism are the bitter fruits of a failing economy and a political system that has renounced any vision or passion for the future. Ultimately, Italian elections will mean almost nothing. And this is precisely the problem.

      Yeats ended his poem with a terrifying vision:

      "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

      Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

      It was the beast of war. History rarely repeats itself. But a feeling of political impotence coupled with material suffering has always been the premise of all catastrophe. Keeping the monsters at bay will require the courage of political renewal and transformation. But a tired and provincial European political class appears tragically unfit for the task.

      Lorenzo Marsili
      Lorenzo Marsili is a writer, politic activist, and the founder of international NGO European Alternatives.

      Delete
  38. At least a million more Britons should be put on antidepressants, the authors of the largest ever review of the drugs today conclude.

    The research led by Oxford University, and published in The Lancet, examined 522 trials involving 21 types of medication over almost four decades.

    ...

    Dr James Warner, Reader in Psychiatry, Imperial College London, said: “This rigorous study confirms that antidepressants have an important place in the treatment of depression.

    "Depression causes misery to countless thousands every year and this study adds to the existing evidence that effective treatments are available. This study also adds clarity about how effective and how well tolerated all the common antidepressants are, and should help clinicians and patients in treatment choices.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Billy Graham would suggest another solution to depression.

      Delete
  39. EXCLUSIVE: Not A Single Lawyer Known To Work For Mueller Is A Republican

    Photo of David Sivak
    DAVID SIVAK
    Fact Check Editor
    8:49 PM 02/21/2018


    None of the 16 lawyers known to work for special counsel Robert Mueller are registered Republicans
    There are 13 registered Democrats on the investigation and three lawyers with no party affiliation
    Campaign finance records reveal that 11 lawyers are Democratic donors
    None of the 16 publicly-confirmed lawyers on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team are registered Republicans, The Daily Caller News Foundation has found.

    Voter registration records indicate that 13 of the attorneys are Democrats and three have no party affiliation. This is the first time the political affiliation of all 16 lawyers has been reported.


    One of the lawyers, Zainab Ahmad, appears to have registered as a Republican at the age of 18, but has since changed her registration status to unaffiliated.

    There is a 17th lawyer on the Russia probe, but this person’s identity and political affiliation remain unknown.


    The special counsel’s office has previously disclosed that nine of the 16 lawyers have made a total of $62,000 in donations to Democrats, with one of those nine lawyers having also donated $2,750 to Republican candidates.

    However, that analysis only looked at donations found in Federal Elections Commission records. TheDCNF has uncovered two additional Democratic donors by searching for all donations – regardless of party – recorded in campaign finance databases at the state level.

    http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/21/exclusive-zero-registered-republicans-mueller-lawyer/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahab the Arab was rumored to be a Republican.

      Delete
    2. :)

      I knew you'd latch onto that, 'Quirkstar'.

      :)

      Delete
    3. Quirkstarfruitski

      https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1200&bih=536&ei=v8OLWrGMJ42mjwO78pzQCg&q=star+fruit&oq=STAR+F&gs_l=img.1.0.0j0i10k1j0j0i10k1j0l6.3760.7418.0.12081.7.7.0.0.0.0.189.1039.0j6.6.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.6.1032.0..35i39k1.0.TzSkkjYc0j4

      Delete
    4. .

      Not a Republican in the lot?

      Well, that's one more thing that confirms my opinion Mueller is no dummy.


      .

      Delete
    5. Hilarious

      http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Robert_Mueller_Democratic_Donors-e1519229026587.jpg

      Delete
    6. .

      I've heard the first question in the interview, the one that disqualified the GOP candidates, was 'do your peers consider you a qualified and knowledgeable lawyer'?

      I understand a few kind of noodled through the meaning of the word 'qualified' but the extra syllable in the word 'knowledgeable' stopped them dead in their tracks.

      .

      Delete
    7. .

      Damn, I didn't know the guy could smile much less laugh.

      Bowling night with him and Comey must have been a hoot.

      .

      Delete
    8. James Clapper's perjury, and why DC made men don't get charged for lying to Congress

      In DC, perjury is not simply tolerated, it is rewarded.
      In a city of made men and women, nothing says loyalty quite as much as lying under oath.

      Former National Intelligence Director James Clapper is about celebrate one of the most important anniversaries of his life. March 13th will be the fifth anniversary of his commission of open perjury before the Senate Intelligence Committee. More importantly, it also happens to be when the statute of limitations runs out — closing any possibility of prosecution for Clapper.

      https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/19/james-clappers-perjury-dc-made-men-dont-get-charged-lying-congress-jonathan-turley-column/1045991001/

      Delete
    9. Who knows, it might be the first laugh of Mueller's life.

      Delete
    10. L
      ater, Clapper said that his testimony was “the least untruthful” statement he could make. That would still make it a lie of course but Clapper is a made guy. While feigned shock and disgust, most Democratic leaders notably did not call for his prosecution. Soon Clapper was back testifying and former president Obama even put Clapper on a federal panel to review the very programs that he lied about in Congress.

      Clapper is now regularly appearing on cable shows which, for example, used Clapper’s word as proof that Trump was lying in saying that there was surveillance of Trump Tower carried out by President Barack Obama. CNN and other networks used Clapper’s assurance without ever mentioning that he previously lied about surveillance programs.

      Delete
    11. For Clapper, the attempt to justify his immunity from prosecution has tied officials into knots. After Clapper lied before Congress and there was a public outcry, Clapper gave his “least untruthful answer” justification.

      When many continued to demand a prosecution, National Intelligence general counsel Robert Litt insisted that Clapper misunderstood the question.

      Still later, Litt offered a third rationalization: that Clapper merely forgot about the massive surveillance system.
      That’s right.
      Clapper forgot one of the largest surveillance (and unconstitutional) programs in the history of this country
      .

      Litt did not explain why Clapper himself said that he knowingly chose the “least untruthful answer.” Litt added, “It was perfectly clear that he had absolutely forgotten the existence of the ... program ... We all make mistakes.” Of course, this “mistake” was an alleged felony offense.

      Clapper will establish a standard that will be hard to overcome in the future. He lied about a massive, unconstitutional surveillance program and then admitted that he made an “untruthful” statement.

      That would seem to satisfy the most particular prosecutor in submitting a case to a grand jury, but this is Washington.

      Delete
    12. Bob Thu Feb 22, 01:00:00 AM EST

      Who knows, it might be the first laugh of Mueller's life.

      ===

      He's known as The Fixer in DC.

      Fixers aren't 'sposed to smile a lot.

      Delete
    13. In the case of Trump, the fix is in:

      Get Trump out.

      Delete
    14. .

      I know. Clapper lied, Brennan lied, Alexander lied, the whole sorry lot of them lied about the surveillance programs and their effectiveness. Brennan lied about hacking Congressional computers. They all walk. WTF wit dat?

      But that isn't how people knew that Trump was and is lying. The simple listened to every line and counted back from 2.

      .

      Delete
    15. .

      Every other thing he says is a lie. It's habitual maybe even congenital.

      It's merely a matter of finding one statement that is either true or false and then counting from there.

      .

      Delete
    16. Lying about anything wrt colluding with the Russkies?

      Delete
    17. .

      Well, we don't know about that, yet. There has been no leaks, no assertions, not even a knowing smile from Mueller on anything associated with Trump and the Russkies, certainly no charges. Who can be sure if there's anything there or not? But I guess I can wait.

      Though it's kind of obvious, Trump can't. He has been denying anything and everything about this investigation since day one. Declaring it's all fake news, a nothingburger, a waste of time and money. He's called out and blasted everyone involved with the investigation. Threatened to fire the whole lot. Did fire one. And it continues. Some days he puts out a shitstorm of tweets on the subject. Unfortunately, all that denyin just doesn't really make him look all too innocent.

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  41. This is about getting Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been the target — Donald Trump has been the suspect — from before this investigation began. That remains the objective: Getting rid of Donald Trump via impeachment if the Democrats win the House in 2018. And everything Mueller is doing is in preparation for that. The preparation of a dossier, if you will, of evidence or a case for House Democrats to use in impeaching Trump.
    That’s what’s happening right now.

    There’s no letup in it; there’s no slacking off in it. All of these chump-change indictments of lawyers in London and Manafort and all this, they’re gonna be all part of a gigantic, voluminous report that Mueller I don’t think is gonna draw any conclusions from. He’s gonna leave it up to the House. He might recommend something, but there aren’t gonna be any official indictments ’cause there’s no crime here!

    There is no crime! Mueller is not pursuing a crime. The deputy AG in charge of special counsels did not identify a crime, which is normally why you have a special counsel. There’s no crime here that anybody’s been able to find! All there is is a bunch of absolutely ridiculous, defamatory allegations. So now, they’re looking at obstruction. The latest news today is that Mueller wants to talk to Jared Kushner about some of his financial dealings during the transition.

    It’s all part of a collaborative effort to get rid of Donald Trump. There hasn’t been the slightest change in that objective no matter what you’ve heard reported in the news, no matter how badly you think the Mueller investigation is going, no matter how much you think, “Gosh, the guy hasn’t found anything.

    Remember, pursuing high crimes and misdemeanors and evidence of incompetence, that’s a far different thing than trying to find evidence of a crime for which there would be an indictment and charges and a jury and a conviction.

    https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/02/20/the-establishment-is-gunning-for-trump-and-every-day-is-a-trap/

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    1. Lying about anything wrt colluding with the Russkies?

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    2. .

      Answered the first time

      (though it's difficult trying to keep up with those dancing fingers of yours.)

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    3. .

      Sorry, I was thinking of you.

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  42. I say throw the whole lot of them in the river, like in the old days.

    If they sink, the river has accepted them as innocent, albeit they drown.

    If they float the river has rejected them as guilty, and they are hauled to shore and hung.

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    1. This may have been a very early Roman judicial procedure, if memory serves

      If memory doesn't serve it was some other early group, maybe even the Brits for all I know.

      Source: J. Campbell

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    2. "I asked a Burmese why women, after centuries of following their men, now walk ahead.
      He said there were many unexploded land mines since the war."

      - Robert Mueller

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    3. .

      Source: J. Campbell


      Heck, I thought you got it directly from the Brits.

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    4. It might have been an old Polish practice.

      Possibly even Swedish.

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  43. Flying Tuna Boat

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZitSzunM7gI

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