Thursday.
OLEG DERIPASKA TIED DIRECTLY TO RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT
A big shout out to Alexei Nalvany for getting his hands on some footage from Oleg’s yacht.
So, quick refresher: Donald Trump brings Paul Manafort onto his campaign last year, in spite of the objections of everyone who thinks this looks shady AF. Manafort sets up a deal with Oleg to give him information on the campaign. Oleg is tight enough with the Russian Government that he can have one of the Deputy Prime Ministers and a close associate of Vladimir Putin, Sergei Prikhodko, on his yacht with a bunch of escorts in August 2016. Manafort was the campaign manager from June until August, when he was “fired” after evidence of his laundering money for Former Ukrainian President and Putin Puppet Viktor Yanukovych was published by the New York Times.
I put fired in quotes because while he was no longer officially part of the campaign, rumor has it that Paul was still in communication with Trump and some other senior members.
Trump talks to Paul, Paul talks to Oleg, Oleg talks to Sergei, Sergei talks to Vladimir.
There are two numbers that one should not live their life by; their weight and the Dow Jones.
After a 600 point drop on Friday, 1200 down on Monday, 500 up on Tuesday, and a semi-stable Wednesday, the Dow dropped again by over 1000 points today.
It’s so scary I heard some of the computer stock brokers reformatted themselves.
GEORGE W. BUSH: RUSSIA INTERFERED IN OUR ELECTION
The Former President of the United States said this. Not just that, but one of only two living Republican Former Presidents, and the only one not having serious health problems.
This is interesting not just because W is enjoying not being the worst President of the last 30 years, but because former VP’s and Presidents have the option to receive the PDB, the Presidential Daily Briefing, the same intelligence report given to the current President every day. They see what Trump sees, and unlike Trump, they can read.
They know what’s going on, and have known for a long time. Something I said several months ago was that when the fecal matter strikes the mechanical air circulation device (when the shit hits the fan), the Ex-Presidents will stand, side by side, and address the nation. When they start speaking out against Trump and Russia, consider that the end of the act, and the beginning of the next one.
LARGE RUSSIAN DELEGATION AT PRAYER BREAKFAST
As I mentioned a few days ago, expect to hear more about the right wing connections among the religious groups. One to keep an eye on is between the American Evangelicals and the Russian Orthodox Church.
REPUBLICANS BUILDING PHYSICAL WALL BETWEEN HOUSE INTEL STAFFERS
Aside from the fact that the Republicans are building an ACTUAL FUCKING WALL IN THE OFFICE THEIR STAFFERS SHARE, the most important piece was a quote from Congressman Tom Rooney.
Rooney said one reason for the tension is an erosion of trust, exacerbated by an ongoing ethics investigation into the “entire Republican staff,” including “the woman up front that answers the phone” for alleged leaks. He later added that the matter was being handled by the Office of Congressional Ethics.
Yes. That’s right. The ENTIRE staff is under investigation, and their solution isn’t to work together or instruct the staff on proper ways of handling secrets, but to build a wall to keep the Democrats from seeing what they do.
Next week they’ll set up a bathroom schedule so that D’s and R’s don’t pee together.
PA SUPREME COURT: EQUAL, COMPACT AND CONTIGUOUS DISTRICTS ARE A CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT
The decision from the court came down, and in doing so they defined the requirements for legislative districts. They need to be equal, compact, and contiguous, as best as possible. Also, special attention should be paid to existing boundaries, and townships should not be split unless absolutely necessary.
How are these currently handled? Poorly. Hence the reason this case went all the way to the State Supreme Court.
What this also does is give other states, and possibly the Federal government, precedence and direction on how to handle these cases in the future.
The Republican Legislature has a short time to submit a redrawn map to the Governor for approval. If neither happens, then the court will use a mathematically drawn map generated by computer algorithm.
OP-ED FROM HUFFPO: WHITE WOMEN WHO ENABLE TRUMP DO NOT DESERVE THE BENEFIT OF YOUR DOUBT
This is a great article that I’m glad someone else wrote, because it perfectly illustrates something that I’ve been guilty of doing.
I’m not blaming evil white women for being evil white women. I’m blaming everyone else but the evil white women.
I’m blaming the men around them for the women’s actions.
When Ivanka pulled background moves to keep Chris Christie out of the White House, I blamed Jared Kushner.
When Kellyanne Conway repeatedly violated ethics rules and introduced the world to “Alternative Facts,” I blamed whoever wrote her notes.
When Sarah Huckabee Sanders lies to the nation repeatedly, I blamed her parents for raising her this way.
When Melania married Donald Trump for money, starting an affair with him while he was already married, I rationalized it as taking a job.
When Hope Hicks obstructed justice on Air Force One, I wondered “Surely that can’t be right…”
When Hope Hicks wrote a statement praising a wife beater, I blamed the culture she’s in.
When Hope Hicks… You know, I’m noticing a pattern here.
I have to start blaming evil women, especially the evil white women, for being evil white women.
Hope Hicks, Ivanka, Kellyanne, and Melania. They are not innocent bystanders. They are co-conspirators.
I will try to do my best for equal rights. I will do my best to assign blame where it belongs, regardless of gender. We can’t have equality until evil white women get the punishment they deserve.
FBI SURVEILLANCE OF CARTER PAGE MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP BANNON
Carter Page talked to Steve Bannon in January 2017, while he was under a FISA warrant. So, that means the FBI likely has notes on this conversation, if not the call itself. Supposedly, Bannon called Page and told him to stay off of television.
Why is this coming out now?
Bannon is supposed to meet with Mueller soon, and rumor has it he flipped like a gymnast. This could be a leak to let him know what the FBI knows about him, or it’s designed to discredit Bannon.
I wonder where this is heading.
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO RELEASE ADDITIONAL TRUMP TOWER TRANSCRIPTS
The transcripts for 6 people interviewed about the June 9 Trump Tower meeting, including Donnie Jr., should be released sometime soon. Of course, using Senate time, sometime soon should be within a month or two.
Also, Senator Chuck Grassely couldn’t help but take a shot at Senator Diane Feinstein in his press release.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN 2: RAND PAUL BOOGALOO
Rand Paul is a dick. He’s also neck deep in Russian activity and connections, just like his daddy, Ron Paul. I still enjoy Rand asking on Twitter one day “Am I under investigation?”
Yes, Rand. Yes, you are.
RUMOR MILL: THE CURIOUS CASE OF JOHN KELLY
Whatever good will John Kelly had with the Rumor Mill is quickly evaporating.
When John Kelly took over as the White House Chief of Staff, he was supposed to be the adult in the room. A lifetime of honorable service in the Marines, an unapproachable character, and a take-no-prisoners attitude. He was supposed to bring stability to the White House.
When he took his position, everyone in the Rumor Mill proclaimed his appointment as a defining moment. Louise called him a White Hat. Countercheckist was in full support. The ex-soldiers were thrilled.
Then, we spent the next several months learning about him. And he’s been a colossal dickbag.
He’s attacked a black House representative for defending a Gold Star widow. He has called immigrants lazy. He’s been a mouthpiece for racist and sexist actions coming from Trump.
And now, it turns out that he looked the other way when his friend Rob Porter couldn’t get a security clearance because he beat both of his ex-wives.
So, what happened? Is John Kelly still a White Hat Good Guy? Is he pretending to be a massive dickbag? Are these his true colors? Is he actually enabling Trump’s racism?
I’m not sure, and the opinions are still split. Louise stands by him being a White Hat. Claude isn’t so sure. The ex-soldiers are ready to throw him under the bus.
Me? I want to hold out hope, but at this point I’m not so sure anymore. His main job is to keep Trump from starting a war and doing anything too stupid. Everything else is secondary, but it shows the man’s character.
If it turns out that years from now, he was acting like a massive dickbag to fit in, fine. But until then, that White Hat is a little dirty.
That’s it for today. If this seems a little light on the extraneous thoughts, I have a very stupid reason.
Yesterday, I’m loading the dishwasher, and I grabbed a steak knife by the blade. I didn’t hurt myself too much, but I did cut the tip of my finger. Nothing bad, and I was able to work through it yesterday. Today, I can plow through it, but it’s amazing how many typing strokes and trackpad motions are done with the pointer finger.
So that’s me, being a dumbass.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
That stability seems to be coming from Mattis. From what I’ve been seeing, he’s none too thrilled with his “supervisor”….
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