Last edited by LA Ute; 03-10-2019 at 08:42 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Omar bails out Trump
Democrats used to be happily united in their opposition to Trump. It’s getting more complicated.
By ELIANA JOHNSON and MELANIE ZANONA
03/07/2019 07:22 PM EST
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...n-omar-1211798
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I agree with Trump that the media fans many of the flames that divide the country. Of course, the finger-pointing politicians from both parties are the ones who primarily provide the fuel and the match. The Omar statement is one of those. I have a hard time viewing the statement that pro-Israel groups give money to politicians who take pro-Israel positions is an expression of anti-Semitism. I expect pro-Israel groups to give money to politicians who support pro-Israel positions just as I expect the NRA give money to politicians who oppose gun control.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Jason Riley, Wall Street Journal:
Disgusting behavior in opposition to a disgusting person. Hard to find anyone to cheer for in this situation.On Twitter, Mr. Trump criticized McCain for the 2017 breaking of his promise to support repeal of the Affordable Care Act and also for McCain’s role in circulating the unverified Steele dossier with its claims of Trump-Russia collusion.
Mr. Trump tweeted that McCain embraced the dossier before the 2016 election when recent testimony suggests it was just after the election. Also, Mr. Trump claimed on Twitter that McCain finished last in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy when most reports indicate McCain actually finished fifth from the bottom.
Let’s hope for more accuracy from the President in the future, but he and many other Americans seem to have every right to be angry. On Thursday Rowan Scarborough reported for the Washington Times:
David Kramer, the then-Sen. John McCain aide who leaked the discredited Christopher Steele dossier on President Trump, testified in a libel case that he spread the unsubstantiated anti-Trump material all over Washington during the presidential transition.
Mr. Kramer shared the Clinton-funded collection of unverified claims with numerous media outlets including BuzzFeed, which published it without verifying its contents. Mr. Scarborough continues:
Mr. Steele, whose mission was to sink the Trump campaign and then his presidency, believed Mr. McCain’s involvement would give “the FBI additional prod to take this seriously,” Mr. Kramer testified.
“I shared with [Mr. McCain] the document, and he took some time to review it, he asked me what I thought he should do, and I suggested that he provide a copy of it to the Director of the FBI and the Director of the CIA,” Mr. Kramer testified.
Mr. McCain shared the document with the FBI’s then-director James Comey, who had already seen it, while McCain’s associate leaked it far and wide to the media. The litigation also reveals that according to Mr. Steele, one of his sources was nothing more than a viewer comment posted on CNN’s website. Mr. Scarborough reports:
The libel lawsuit was brought by Russian businessman Aleksej Gubarev. Mr. Steele accused him of conducting the hacking into Democratic Party computers — a charge the Russian denied from the start.
Mr. Steele said the charge came from unsolicited information and that he tried to verify it on an internet site called CNN iReport. Mr. Steele testified that he relied on an article on XBT, Mr. Gubarev’s firm, published on July 28, 2009.
Mr. Steele was asked by Mr. Gubarev’s attorney, Evan Fray-Witzer, “Do you understand that they have no connection to any CNN reporters”?
“I do not,” he answered.
The attorney added, “Do you understand that CNN iReports are or were nothing more than any random individuals’ assertions on the internet?”
Mr. Steele: “I obviously presume that if it is on a CNN site that it has some kind of CNN status.”
The dossier did not even meet the journalistic standards of CNN?
As for Mr. McCain’s oft-repeated pledge to eliminate the so-called Affordable Care Act, it was the key to extending his Senate career. “In fight of his political life, McCain hammers Obamacare,” said a Politico headline in 2016. The publication’s Jennifer Haberkorn and Theodoric Meyer reported at the time:
John McCain is running for reelection like it’s 2010.
The Arizona Republican has made his opposition to Obamacare — which dominated Senate races across the country six years ago — a central point of his campaign, by all accounts, the toughest reelection fight of his career.
... The issue helps him run to the right of his GOP primary opponent, while also taking a direct shot at his Democratic opponent, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who called her 2010 vote for the law the one she’s “most proud about.”
“I think it’s a very strong issue,” McCain told POLITICO about his focus on Obamacare.
It turned out to be strong enough to get him re-elected, but not strong enough to make him keep his promise.
As long as Americans remember the bravery of our military, they will recall the courage of John McCain during his captivity in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison operated by the communist government of North Vietnam.
But Americans should also recognize that Mr. McCain’s role in promoting unverified conspiracy theories generated by the President’s political opponents was not the late senator’s finest hour. And neither was his breaking of a signature campaign pledge.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
The only winner is Team Chaos.
Embrace Team Chaos.
Touching: Trump Visits McCain's Grave Every Day To Yell At It
https://babylonbee.com/news/touching...aign=mattwalsh
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Prediction: If the Mueller report finds no collusion, Mueller will suddenly be praised as a wise patriot by those who’ve been lambasting him, and attacked by those who’ve been placing high hopes on him finding collusion. If he does find collusion, the reactions will be reversed.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Here’s the letter from the Attorney General about the Mueller report:
https://games-cdn.washingtonpost.com...f6ccb1a89e.pdf
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
My summary:
Did Russia attempt to interfere? Yes, by using social media to sow discord and by hacking and disclosing e-mails of Clinton, Clinton staffers and DNC.
Was Russia successful? Sowing discord - yes (my opinion); disclosing e-mails - yes; causing people to change votes - who knows?
Did Trump or Trump campaign coordinate with Russia's efforts - No evidence of collusion.
Did Trump Obstruct Justice - Chose to gather evidence and set out supporting and opposing evidence without reaching a conclusion or exonerating Trump.
Where do we go now? The Dems in Congress will choose to seek to impeach Trump for obstruction or to not. I, for one, hope they do not. Use the evidence in the campaign against him, but try to focus on issues and not Trump. Dems will only win if they focus on issues and not the Trump circus.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
It won’t.
Trump is already calling for Congress and the DOJ to investigate the “other side”.
And of course there are issues with so many other things around Trump that I doubt there will ever not be a day of questions and investigations.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Well, never mind.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Of course people are now asking questions about how all this happened. This Russian collusion story is now the biggest political dirty trick in US history. If the Democrats would let go of it there wouldn’t be enough news and entertainment media support to sustain a counter-narrative by Republicans. So far it doesn’t look like they will let go.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Not so. I’m full of surprises.
But enough about me. As a law enforcement officer, what do you think about a two-year investigation based on a claim of conspiracy between a United States president and the government of Russia, our biggest geopolitical foe (at least according to some people), when at the end of the investigation the conclusion is that there not only is not enough evidence to prove that conspiracy theory, there is no evidence? Don’t you think people would naturally be asking some questions about how on earth we got to this point? Even if the president in question is a repulsive person to many Americans? Doesn’t somebody, or maybe a lot of people, have a lot of explaining to do?
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I think you should wait to see the entire file (which won’t ever happen) before claiming there’s no evidence of things.
But I can’t tell you how many investigations I’ve done that lead to no evidence. Many we know what happened, but we don’t have actual evidence to prove it. But I’m sure you know that happens often as well.
Law is messy, unless it’s Law & Order. Dong dong.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
You know their wouldn't have been an independent counsel investigation if the only evidence out there was the Steele dossier. And Trump and his cronies have shown themselves to be untrustworthy, so it's quite reasonable to assume there might have been collusion, warranting an investigation.
The House Dems. will definitely do some further investigation of the Russia meddling, but I hope they focus more on campaign contribution/inaugural issues. I'd prefer they leave all of that to the DoJ, but that's hoping for too much. I certainly hope Republicans in Congress don't start talking about investigating "the other side" when they've already had two years to do it and have chosen not to.
As everyone has said, let's move on to the regular issues, where there will be as much accomplished as was by the Mueller investigation.
No evidence of anything? This investigation was about a number of things, not just whether Trump colluded. It was about whether Russia interfered in the elections and how they went about doing it. Not only was evidence uncovered, people were indicted. It was about obstruction of justice, where evidence was uncovered and people indicted - the choice to not indict Trump does not, as the report states, exonerate him.
Now, I would like to move forward, but neither side will allow it. Too many Democrats are obsessed with Trump the mob-boss. Meanwhile, Trump and his mouthpieces keep saying total exoneration, which it wasn't. That is the
Trump bait that in part keeps this thing in the news. He wants to be the victim. It gives him crap to shout about at his rallies.
There was some evidence, maybe no direct evidence. Like Diehard says, it would be good to see all of the evidence.
One thing we can conclude from this, one thing we anti-Trumpers should have always kept in the forefront, was that Russia didn't need to coordinate with the Trump campaign to accomplish its ends. It sowed discord with false information, and arguably helped to get its man elected.
Well, in addition to the Steele Dossier there was a conversation overheard in a bar. Kimberly Strassel:
This is more than an exoneration. It’s a searing indictment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as a reminder of the need to know the story behind the bureau’s corrosive investigation.
Mr. Mueller’s report likely doesn’t put it that way, but it’s the logical conclusion of his no-collusion finding. The FBI unleashed its powers on a candidate for the office of the U.S. presidency, an astonishing first. It did so on the incredible grounds that the campaign had conspired to aid a foreign government. And it used the most aggressive tools in its arsenal—surveillance of U.S. citizens, secret subpoenas of phone records and documents, even human informants.
The wreckage is everywhere. The nation has been engulfed in conspiracy theories for years. A presidency was hemmed in by the threat of a special counsel. Citizens have gone to jail not for conspiracy, but for after-the-fact interactions with Mr. Mueller’s team. Dozens more have spent enormous amounts of money and time defending their reputations.
None of this should ever have happened absent highly compelling evidence—from the start—of wrongdoing. Yet from what we know, the FBI operated on the basis of an overheard conversation of third-tier campaign aide George Papadopoulos, as well as a wild “dossier” financed by the rival presidential campaign. Mr. Mueller’s no-collusion finding amounts to a judgment that there never was any evidence. The Papadopoulos claim was thin, the dossier a fabrication.
Which is all the more reason Americans now deserve a full accounting of the missteps of former FBI Director James Comey and his team—in part so that this never happens again. That includes the following: What “evidence” did the FBI have in totality? What efforts did the bureau take to verify it? Did it corroborate anything before launching its probe? What role did political players play? How aware was the FBI that it was being gulled into a dirty-trick operation, and if so, how did it justify proceeding? How intrusive were the FBI methods? And who was harmed?
I don't want another special counsel but I think the FBI's OIG should investigate this and issue a report. He'll need broad access to classified currently classified material.
Last edited by LA Ute; 03-25-2019 at 10:50 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
I will say it again. I detest Donald Trumps's behavior and I opposed him with all I had when he was running for the nomination. I didn't vote for him and I wish another Republican were president. At the same time I do not think he is evil or about to turn the USA into the Fourth Reich. I think it's absurd to argue that any moral person would prefer Hillary Clinton as president, or that support of any policy initiative coming out of Trump's administration makes the supporter a collaborator of some kind.
That aside, I said long ago that if Mueller found no collusion with Russia by Trump or his campaign, that would mean we've lived through the most cynical McCarthy-like effort to remove a duly elected president ever. And that's what it looks like to me now.
Here's what we've had a steady diet of for the last 2 years. It's ridiculous:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
For someone who leans far right I totally understand your using the “we wouldn’t be better off with Hillary” argument.
But for the millions of Americans who don’t almost fall over left or right, the argument isn’t about which one was better. Rather it’s about how far off the rails politics has gone.
Perhaps that’s the problem. The left and the right see this about their rival, when in actuality the problem isn’t one of them, it’s both of them.
As for Trump, perhaps he’s not evil in a Hitler way, but he’s a terrible person who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. And that’s a horrible person to have in the most powerful job on our planet.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
And one of the reasons I was sick about Trump being nominated was that I thought he would do exactly what he's done to the national discourse. He's shameless. But the people who have followed him to the bottom, as you say, are shameless too. I don't expect much introspection out of them either.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell