Tuesday, March 6th.

GEORGE NADER: COOPERATING WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

Yesterday in Daily Check-In 03/05/2018, I talked about George Nader.  Today, we found out a lot more.  And so has Special Counselor Robert Mueller.

George Nader is an adviser to the United Arab Emirates.  On top of all of his connections to the current members of the White House, George also set up the Seychelles Meeting with Erik Prince.  Hell, George was there as Erik Prince, owner of his own mercenary army and suspected Chinese Intelligence asset, met with Kirill Dmitriev.

George Nader was there.  He told Bobby Three Sticks all about the meeting.

George Nader is the newest cooperating witness to the Special Counselor.  And he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

Around January 20th 2018, George Nader was on his way to Mar-A-Lago for Trump’s 1 year celebration.  The one that Trump had trouble getting to because of the Government Shutdown.  Well, after getting into the country, the FBI stopped him in the airport, and took his phone, put him in a tiny room, and he had a heart to heart with the FBI.

Sounds a lot like George Papadopoulos.

So, it’s time to update the list of known cooperating witnesses.

• George Papadopoulos
• Michael Flynn
• Rick Gates
• Richard Pinedo
• George Nader

George Nader can deliver Erik Prince, Jared Kushner, and likely Donald Trump.

 

SPECIAL COUNSELOR INVESTIGATING TRUMP’S LAWYER MICHAEL COHEN

Michael Cohen is a total and complete scumbag, but he’s got big problems, all of which are deserved.

Special Counselor Robert Mueller is investigating Cohen’s connections to Ukraine, his role in trying to set up a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow, his role as Trump’s fixer for things like paying women to keep their silence, and likely other potential crimes like receiving leaked information from the House Intel Committee.

That last one came out today.  Turns out that someone testified in a closed session for the House Intel Committee, and an unknown staffer **cough**Kash Patel, staffer to Devin Nunes**cough**, informed Cohen’s lawyer Stephen Ryan of the testimony.  Stephen Ryan then approached that witnesses lawyer.  Not in a friendly manner, either.

So, not only is Trump’s lawyer getting investigated, but his lawyer might need a lawyer.

The Lawyer’s Lawyer might need a Lawyer.

Welcome to Lawyerception.

 

GARY COHN RESIGNS FROM WHITE HOUSE

Gary Cohn was Trump’s economic advisor, who almost resigned over Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville.  I talked about it when it happened in August, as well in Racism And Politics Today.

Cohn has had enough of Trump’s shit, and has hit his breaking point.  He will not stand by as Trump destroys the economy.

 

KELLYANNE CONWAY VIOLATED HATCH ACT

The Office of Special Counsel (Not to be confused with the Special Counselor’s Office)  found and ruled that Trump’s spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits sitting political figures from using their office to campaign or advocate for a candidate in an election, unless specifically in a campaign setting, and at that point they are a private citizen.

The Crypt Keeper used her official position as a spokesperson for the White House and Donald Trump to explain on Fox News, from the White House lawn, why people shouldn’t vote for Doug Jones for Alabama Senate.

The OSC forwarded their findings to the White House for them to punish her, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that.  But it is more crimes for the pile.

 

STORMY DANIELS SUING DONALD TRUMP

Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, is suing Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and the LLC Cohen created to pay her off.  She is suing them to have the agreement thrown out as null and void because…

Wait for it…

Trump didn’t sign the contract.

Yes, Michael Cohen had ONE JOB.  Get your client to sign the contract, pay the porn star.  Yet, he managed to fuck that one up.

She also alleges that Cohen has harassed her and attempted to intimidate her into remaining silent.

From Reddit, user tlqr has a good write-up of how this could work.

Lawyer here.

This agreement is not invalid simply because Trump didn’t sign it. The terms are clear, and she was paid the money as contemplated by the agreement. The fact that Trump didn’t sign it is irrelevant because it was signed by his agent.

However, and this is the good part, all Trump needs to do to soundly beat this lawsuit is adopt the contract. If his lawyer had Trump’s authority to execute the agreement, then all Trump has to do is acknowledge and adopt the contract, and it is 100% binding.

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer knows this. But they also know that politically Trump cannot acknowledge or adopt this contract. This is win-win-win for them. Either (1) Trump refuses to adopt the contract, in which case she gets out of it and gets to sell her story to the networks, (2) Trump adopts the contract, and that in itself is a news story, or (3) she gets more money from Trump to drop the suit.

Edit: A few people are correctly pointing out that another issue for Trump is that asserting the contract was for his benefit may also have implications for an FEC violation.

That’s where we’re at now.  The President of the United States can get out of a lawsuit by acknowledging a contract with a Porn Star, but doing so means he admits to his role, and that this payoff was an illegal election contribution.

 

REPUBLICANS LINING UP TO FIGHT PROPOSED TARIFFS TO AVOID A TRADE WAR

If there is one thing that might get the current GOP to stand up to Trump, it will be tariffs leading to a trade war.  I covered exactly how bad of an idea tariffs are on Daily Check-In 03/02/2018.

McConnell and Ryan are playing the hedge game, but I wouldn’t be surprised that they actually do their fucking jobs and pass legislation to prevent this.

According to a recent study, 146,000 jobs would be lost due to steel and aluminum tariffs.

 

BOTH KOREAS PLANNING SUMMIT FOR APRIL

They haven’t met in over ten years, and these talks hope to lead to denuclearize the peninsula.

Hopefully, this doesn’t get fucked up.

 

FLYNN SELLS HOUSE TO PAY LEGAL BILLS

Mike Flynn’s selling his second house in Alexandria, VA.  The house has been on the market since December 2017, listed at 845k.

I’m not used to the D.C. Metro Area pricing, but nearly a million for a 3 BR, 2.5 Bath townhouse is nuts.  That’s mansion money in Pittsburgh.

Plus, if you’re gonna sell your house, clean up the closet and house before having the realtor take pics.

I’d almost feel sorry for him.  Then I remember all of the treason, espionage, and corruption him and his son took part in.  Losing a second home doesn’t even begin to make up for it.

 

THE EX-KREMLIN SPY APPARENTLY POISONED IN BRITAIN HAS LINKS TO THE MAN WHO WROTE THE EXPLOSIVE TRUMP-RUSSIA DOSSIER

I reported this yesterday in Daily Check-In 03/05/2018, but we have new details.

• Sergei Skripal and his daughter are in critical condition after being found on a park bench.
• 11 first responders have also gotten sick.
• Sergei’s wife and son died of mysterious circumstances in the past couple years.
• Boris Johnson has said that an attack by the Russians on residents of Britain as an “act of war.”

 

MARYLAND SENATE PASSES BILL THAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST RELEASE TAXES

If this trend continues, and enough states pass similar laws, that would force Trump to release his taxes before the 2020 election, or not run*

*=Some exclusions apply.  The odds of Trump making it to 2020 are smaller than his hands, and decreasing everyday.

 

SPEED ROUND!

STATES WITH STRICTER GUN LAWS HAVE FEWER SUICIDES AND HOMICIDES

EX-OLIGARCH DESCRIBES THE RUSSIAN MAFIA STATE

A TIMELINE OF JARED KUSHNER’S ALLEGED ACTIVITIES

THE NRA FACES A NEW KIND OF OPPONENT: KIDS WHO UNDERSTAND SOCIAL MEDIA

BALTIMORE STUDENTS WALK OUT OF CLASS TO MARCH DOWNTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY

CLAUDE’S BILLBOARD GOING UP NEAR MAR-A-LAGO

SENATE LOOKING TO UNDO DODD-FRANK RULES

THREE DISTRICTS TO WATCH IN TEXAS PRIMARY ELECTION

NUNBERG’S LAWYER CLAIMED TRUMP MAY BE RUNNING ‘SECRET SHADOW OPERATION’

GET TO KNOW EMMA GONZALEZ

REDDIT ADMITS TO HOSTING RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

 

 

RUMOR MILL: BARREL TIME FOR ROGER STONE

One of the rumors floating around from a few places like the Anon Journal is that Roger Stone is about to get arrested within the next two weeks. Stone was one of Trump’s campaign advisors, is a long time friend of Paul Manafort, Sam Nunberg’s mentor, and an originator of the Post-Nixonian School of Dirty Tricks.

Roger is an expert in Shock and Awe politics, which is why he was a natural fit for Donald Trump.  Distract and Attack are two of his basic plays while on the defensive.  Distract from the problem at hand, and Attack against an enemy with one’s own weakness.  Blame the opponent of what you did to take away their punch when they come after you.

Roger Stone worked with Julian Assange, a known Russian Asset, during the 2016 election.  He coordinated with Assange and Wikileaks the release of the DNC emails, and likely coordinated the “discovery” of Hilary Clinton’s emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop.

Yesterday’s incident with Sam Nunberg is a play right out of Stone’s playbook; Distract and Attack.  Distract from the problem, and attack the enemy.  The enemy, in this case, is Trump.

“But wait, didn’t Stone work for Trump?  Aren’t they friends?”

Maybe, but this is war, and Roger knows how deep the whole he’s looking at is.

Listen to what Sam said yesterday.  He buried Carter Page, Trump, the family, everyone but Steve Bannon and Roger Stone.  Sam said he wouldn’t testify against Roger Stone at all.

There’s a strong chance that Sam either did what Roger Stone told him to do, or asked himself “What Would Roger Do?”  Looks like that answer was “Get drunk and go on national television.”

To Sam’s credit, when he sobered up this morning, his lawyer released a statement that he would cooperate with the Special Counselor’s office, then get some treatment in a rehab facility.

 

That’s it for today.  We’ll see how things go the rest of the week.  We’re getting to the 3 Stooges Syndrome phase of Trump.  There are so many things flying at once that can destroy him, it almost feels like they’re cancelling each other out.

Then, I sit back and remember that there are 330 million Americans, and 7 billion humans yearning for freedom.  They’re looking to us to carry the flame of freedom on to the next generation.

We will prevail, but we must do it the right way.  We are a nation of laws, not of men, personality, or wealth.  That means that traitors and tyrants are stopped by and through the law.

Everything must be done by the book.

 

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Monday, March 5th.  Today’s been a crazy one so far.  I’ll give as much time as I can to some of these stories, but there were several bombshells over the past week.

SAM NUNBERG MAKES CASE FOR DUMBEST PERSON IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN

Ok, this one is pretty fucking nuts.

Early in the day, we got a hit list from Mueller’s team that was supplied by an unnamed recipient.  The subpoena was asking for information on any and all communications between the recipient and the following people, beginning November 1, 2015.

• Carter Page
• Corey Lewandowski
• Donald J. Trump
• Hope Hicks
• Keith Schiller
• Michael Cohen
• Paul Manafort
• Rick Gates
• Roger Stone
• Steve Bannon

That by itself was pretty big, as we finally get to see one of Mueller’s subpoenas, and we get proof that the Special Counselor is asking for communications between, about, or even mentioning Trump himself.

While Twitter was all atwitter about who leaked this to the press, the Washington Post released the full subpoena.

Screen shots below grabbed off of Twitter.

Sam Nunberg was a staffer in the White House who had a long and… colorful history involving racism, extremism, and being a total and complete dick.  He’s been a long time friend of Steve Bannon and Roger Stone, and his ties to Ted Cruz and Cambridge Analytica are definitely worth a look into things as well.

As if this wasn’t weird enough, Sam Nunberg told the Washington Post that he wouldn’t abide by the subpoena, and said “go ahead, arrest me.”  Things went downhill from there, as Sam went on every cable news show he could, and proceeded to go completely off the rails and make a push for dumbest person in the Trump Campaign.  Which is a pretty high/low fucking bar.

Here’s a partial transcript of his interview with Katy Tur.

Nunberg dropped a bunch of info, everything from saying that Carter Page colluded with the Russians, Trump knew about the June 9 meeting, that Mueller thinks that Trump is the Manchurian candidate, that Roger Stone is the target of a Grand Jury investigation, and that he claims he was offered immunity to testify against Roger Stone, but said no.

If it helps his case, at least one interviewer asked if he was drinking.  After he slurred a no, she said she could smell alcohol on his breath.

The consensus opinion from defense lawyers is Nunberg is PWF. Pretty Well Fucked.

 

SECOND STEELE MEMO FROM NOVEMBER 2016 ALLEGES THAT RUSSIA VETOED MITT ROMNEY AS SECRETARY OF STATE

The New Yorker has an amazing piece on Christopher Steele with an amazing scoop in it.

    Steele talked at length with Mueller’s investigators in September. It isn’t known what they discussed, but, given the seriousness with which Steele views the subject, those who know him suspect that he shared many of his sources, and much else, with the Mueller team.

One subject that Steele is believed to have discussed with Mueller’s investigators is a memo that he wrote in late November, 2016, after his contract with Fusion had ended. This memo, which did not surface publicly with the others, is shorter than the rest, and is based on one source, described as “a senior Russian official.” The official said that he was merely relaying talk circulating in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but what he’d heard was astonishing: people were saying that the Kremlin had intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of State, Mitt Romney. (During Romney’s run for the White House in 2012, he was notably hawkish on Russia, calling it the single greatest threat to the U.S.) The memo said that the Kremlin, through unspecified channels, had asked Trump to appoint someone who would be prepared to lift Ukraine-related sanctions, and who would coöperate on security issues of interest to Russia, such as the conflict in Syria. If what the source heard was true, then a foreign power was exercising pivotal influence over U.S. foreign policy—and an incoming President.

…

“It was as if all criminal roads led to Trump Tower,” Steele told friends.

You read that right.  The Russians vetoed Mitt Romney as SecState, and pushed for Rex Tillerson.  Remember, Rex was recommended to Trump by Paul Manafort, and Rex is a recipient of the Russian Medal of Friendship for his work in setting up a deal between Exxon and Rosneft worth half a trillion dollars.

So, here’s my guess of the “unspecified channels.”

Vladimir Putin talked to Oleg Deripaska. Oleg talked to Konstantin Kilimink.  Konstantin talked to Paul Manafort.  Manafort talked to Rick Gates, who was still on the Transition Team.  Gates talked to Trump, Pence, and/or Flynn to give them the message from Putin about deep sixing Mitt Romney in favor of someone more … amenable to removing sanctions.

 

FORMER SOVIET SPY SERGEI SKRIPAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO ‘UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE’

Sergei was poisoned in Salisbury.  According to rumors on Twitter, Sergei is one of Christopher Steele’s sources.

 

COHEN SCREWED UP THE STORMY DANIELS PAYMENT, TRUMP IMPLICATED DIRECTLY FOR FIRST TIME

So, he missed two previous deadlines to pay Stormy because he couldn’t get a hold of Trump, his final payment was flagged as suspicious by the bank, and he complained that he hadn’t yet been reimbursed by Trump.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Campaign Finance Fraud.  Michael Cohen allegedly committed at least two felonies here.  Improper use of campaign fund, and failing to declare an in-kind contribution.

Hell, the second one could have been avoided if he had disclosed it after the election.  At that point, Trump won, and the FEC disclosure wouldn’t come out until after the inauguration.  If he disclosed the payment, all that would have done was confirmed that Trump was a sleazebag. Instead, they out think themselves, and commit at least two felonies.

That’s Cooley Law School of Western Michigan University for you.

 

NETENYAHU SPOKESMAN FLIPS

This is like the third or fourth government employee to turn state’s evidence against the Israeli Prime Minister in the last few weeks.

When Bibi goes down, a whole ton of connections to Trump and Kusher will come out in the open.

 

OBAMA CHIEF OF STAFF: MITCH McCONNELL FORCED A WATERED DOWN RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN MEDDLING

From June 2017, before I started this blog, WaPo covered what Obama tried to do to stop the Russians.  Recently on Daily Check-In 01/23/2018, Joe Biden described how Mitch McConnell didn’t do jack shit to stop the Russians.

We’re seeing a pattern here, for one reason.

Mitch McConnell is complicit.

 

USE OF PRESIDENTIAL SEAL ILLEGAL AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE

Add it to the pile of crimes.  Profiting off of the Presidential Seal is punishable by six months in jail, per occurrence.

 

PAUL RYAN SPLITS FROM TRUMP OVER TARIFFS

Trump’s proposed tariffs would fuck over the GOP donors.  Fucking with their money is one thing they won’t abide by.

 

REPUBLICAN SENATOR THAD COCHRAN TO RETIRE APRIL 1

For once, this isn’t about a scandal.

Thad Cochran is 81 years old and going senile.  His aides have had to correct him on several of his votes, and remind him of where he was, and even who he was.

He waited until now to announce his retirement because the person likely to run in his place is tied up in another race.

 

PANAMANIAN POLICE EVICT TRUMP MANAGEMENT TEAM FROM TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL IN PANAMA CITY

Panamanian police finally kicked Trump’s team out of the hotel.

Here’s your moment of zen.

 

REDDIT ADMITS TO REMOVING A ‘FEW HUNDRED’ RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA ACCOUNTS, REDDIT USERS CALL FOR REMOVAL OF THE_DONALD SUBREDDIT, REDDIT RISES UP AGAINST CEO FOR HIDING RUSSIAN TROLLS

I’m not sure what’s going on, but the Battle of Reddit is just getting started.

 

GEORGE NADER UNDER INVESTIGATION AS GO-BETWEEN FOR UAE AND KUSHNER

Remember George Nader from Daily Check-In 01/22/2018?  Well, he’s back in the picture.  George Nader served as a go-between for the United Arab Emirates and the Trump Administration, specifically Jared Kushner.

Remember, Jared helped the UAE and the Saudis set up a blockade against Qatar after Qatar refused to loan Kushner Company money to get out from under 666 Fifth Avenue.

 

TRUMP ALLY BROIDY TRIED TO KILL 1MDB MALAYSIAN DOJ INVESTIGATION FOR $75 MILLION

I haven’t kept up with this scandal, but it looks like We’re already at the seizing yachts phase.

1MDB is an international money laundering scandal involving many countries, including Malaysia, United States, and Switzerland.  They look like the company behind the Wolf of Wall Street money laundering case referenced from The Justice League.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio is caught up.  He received gifts from one of the principals, including an old Oscar from Marlon Brando.

 

ALEX JONES CAUGHT UP IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL

Good.  Couldn’t happen to a bigger prick.

 

TRUMP JOKES ABOUT BEING PRESIDENT FOR LIFE

I could talk about the outrage, the despotic dreams, and how Trump thinks he could make this happen, but here’s a quick prediction…

The only way that fat traitorous fuck becomes President for Life is if he dies of a heart attack by the end of the Summer.

 

RUSSIAN TROLL MOVED TO SUBURBAN WASHINGTON STATE

She wasn’t one of the 13 indicted Russians from the IRA, but as soon as Russian media said where she was, she tried to wipe her existence from the web.

 

RUMOR MILL: SAM’S PLEA FOR HELP

An interesting take coming from the Rumor Mill came after Sam’s breakdown and freakout today.  At first, laughing and pointing at his craziness, but Claude was the first to  say that maybe Sam should seek some help.  Throughout the night, the narrative shifted from “look at this idiot” to “is he crying for help?”

Sam was drunk for at least one interview, and might know how screwed he really is.  Not just the legal punishments, but Sam knows that Trump and his team are nuts deep in Russian Mob.

Here’s the hypothesis…

Sam’s scared for his life.  He’s not a big enough fish to avoid getting whacked, and he can’t depend on a pardon or anything else like that.  He’s scared shitless.  If he’s out in public, he’s one random stranger away from a Russian Heart Attack.

But, if he makes an ass out of himself on national television, he might get the Special Counselor’s team to take him into custody.  His only chance at survival might be getting locked up.

I don’t completely buy this hypothesis, but he’s under a shitload of stress.  He became my choice for Most Likely To Pull an R. Budd Dwyer.  Shit, I’m worried that not only will he do it, but it won’t even be the most fucked up thing to happen that day.

 

That’s it for today.  If this is how Monday starts out, then we’re in for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONGGGG week.  It’s gonna get crazy.  The pace is going to pick up from here.  Think about what we got today.

We got proof that Mueller is looking directly at Trump for conspiring with the Russians.  We got a story about the Russians choosing the Secretary of State of their choice.  We got proof that British Intelligence told the CIA that Trump’s team was talking to the Russians during the campaign.  We got a world leader going down in a corruption scandal.  We have something that the spineless one Paul Ryan will stand up to Trump against.

It’s gonna get nuts.  Fortunately, I’m already nuts, so I’ll be your tour guide.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Friday, March 2nd.

ALEXANDER TORSHIN TWEETED HIS TIES TO AND CULTIVATION OF NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION

When the National Rifle Association issues a non-denial denial about accepting Russian money for campaign purposes, journalists are going to look at the names involved.  In 2018, that means checking out social media, going through a Twitter timeline for any clues, like where they traveled, what they did, who they talked to.

National Public Radio looked at Alexander Torshin’s Twitter timeline going back a few years, and found a treasure trove of information about his ties to the NRA and Donald Trump.

Here’s some of the highlights…

• The NRA leadership invited Torshin to visit Tennessee to observe the 2012 Presidential Election.
• Torshin bragged about meeting Donald Trump in a meeting in 2015 set up by the NRA.
• Torshin ran into Donnie Jr. at the May 2016 NRA Convention.  This is after the Mayflower event, but before the June 9 meeting.
• He offered to set up a meeting between Trump and Putin.
• Torshin met with every NRA President since 2012.
• Torshin is wanted for Money Laundering in Spain.

So, we have a known criminal associate of Putin getting all chummy with the leadership of the NRA, who arranges meetings with Presidential candidates.  All the while, Torshin promises to set up meetings with Putin.

And the FBI, Senate, and FinCEN are all up in this.

 

JARED AND THE NO-GOOD, HORRIBLE, VERY BAD MONTH

Watching Jared Kushner get dragged through the mud is such a beautiful sight.

We’ve learned the following about Jared in February:

• He’s lost his security clearance
• Been caught up in pay for play scams
• Accepted bribes and loans for his personal business
• Been called ‘easy to manipulate’ by foreign diplomats
• Saw multiple staffers testify to Mueller and Congress
• Lost his spokesman from the White House
• Lost their mouthpiece Hope Hicks
• Has been implicitly accused of selling state secrets
• Has seen his wife implicated in a money laundering scheme
• He’s under investigation in multiple states, where daddy’s pardon power is useless.

Here’s the good news…

It’s only going to get worse from here for him.  He’s looking at many, many crimes, and there’s an above zero percent chance he committed capital crimes, so he might face the death penalty.

I didn’t say it was good news for him.  I wonder what’s going to happen in March.

 

JARED KUSHNER’S COMPANY SOUGHT MONEY FROM QATAR GOVERNMENT WEEKS BEFORE BLOCKADE

Back in April 2017, Kushner’s company pitched Qatar’s Minister of Finance Ali Sharif Al Emadi about a deal regarding 666 Fifth Avenue, the albatross hanging around their families’ neck.

In May, following a Russian hack of Qatari news that was likely ordered by the United Arab Emirates, a blockade of Qatar was enforced by Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other nations.  This blockade led to several deaths and rampant destruction in Qatar.

It’s funny how about a month after Kushner’s company met with Qatar, and during Trump’s first visit to the Middle East, all hell breaks loose between these nations, and Trump’s Administration ended up siding with Saudi Arabia, even though Qatar hosts the largest American military base in the Middle East.

Almost like it was retaliation for something, like not giving his family money.

New York Magazine confirmed the story, since I don’t completely trust The Intercept.

 

RUSSIANS USED REDDIT AND TUMBLR TO TROLL 2016 ELECTIONS

From the “No Shit, Sherlock” Department.

I spend many, many hours a week on Reddit.  I probably spend more time there than I do interacting with my family.  So, hearing news that Russians were on Reddit trolling hard is like hearing about bad weather in Winter.

Of course the Russian Trolls were on Reddit.  They’re still there, and will still be there until their is either no Reddit, or no Russian Trolls.  I’ve had more than a few scrape-ups with them.  I’ll often ask the black lesbian planned parenthood worker who agrees with Trump’s policies “How’s the weather in St. Petersburg?”

One part of the article that’s pissing people off is the lack of response from Reddit.  While it is shady AF that they aren’t even commenting, I have another hypothesis.

They received a National Security Letter, and can’t talk about it since it pertains to Russian activities.

NSL’s are very strict.  They can’t be disclosed at all, and the target of the letter cannot be told that they’re under investigation.

Reddit made use of a Warrant Canary in their User Agreement until March 2016.  The way this works is that a company, website, library, or other entity will post something like a sign that says “The FBI Has Not Been Here.”  If they receive an NSL, they remove the sign. On March 31, 2016, the Warrant Canary disappeared.  It hasn’t reappeared since.

What happened back in March 2016?  The Presidential Primary was in full swing, and the Redcaps and Bernie Bros were out in full force.  /r/The_Donald was picking up speed, and /r/Politics was flooded with Pro-Bernie stories.  John Podesta’s email was hacked on the 19th.  Something was fishy, and the FBI wanted to know what.

The BBC reached out to Reddit for comment.

 

TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON STEEL, ALUMINIUM ‘STRAIGHT UP STUPID’

During yesterday’s shitstorm, Trump announced that he wanted to add a 25% tariff to steel and aluminum imports.

This is a ridiculously bad idea, from someone who has no understanding of how business or economics work.  This will cause a Trade War with Europe where they’re already targeting specific industries that hurt Congressional Leadership.

In other words, this tariff is a standard issue Trump idea.

So, why is this a bad idea?  Let’s look at the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and how it led to the Great Depression.

Following World War 1, or “The Great War” as it was called then, countries were recovering from the fighting and trying to build industries.  All of them had severe infrastructural problems, except the United States.  Industry was booming in the U.S., and we were exporting materials like steel everywhere.  This was great for the U.S., but terrible the nascent steel industries in places like France, Belgium, and Germany.  Those countries to protect their steel industries, would add a tariff, or import tax, on American steel.  In response, the United States imposed tariffs on other products from countries that put tariffs on their steel.  Those countries would respond with more tariffs, then the U.S. responds with more tariffs, creating a feedback loop.

This was all well and good, right up until the 1929 Market Crash.  When the bottom fell out, every country was hurting, but could have made it through without the tariffs by helping each other through trade.  Instead, high tariffs choked off international trade, further impacting local economies.

What should have been a minor recession turned into the Great Depression.  Unemployment was at an all time high, economies collapsed, and chaos reigned supreme.  Things got so bad that Germany elected Hitler and the Nazis come to power, Mussolini took over in Italy, and Soviet Communism rose in power, since their economy wasn’t as badly hurt.  These events led to World War 2, and we all know how that went.

So, tariffs, bad idea.

Combine this tariff with his hard-on for cutting the Affordable Care Act, increasing the deficit through increased military and border spending, and cutting taxes by over $1 trillion dollars, we’re fast on our way to the next great economic collapse.

 

CARL ICAHN DUMPS STEEL STOCKS DAYS BEFORE TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT

I feel like we’re repeating history at this point.

Carl Icahn, billionaire asshole, opportunist, and former member of the Trump Administration, sold $31.4 million in stock of a company that is heavily dependent on foreign steel just a couple days before Trump announced his ridiculous tariff idea.  Icahn stood to lose millions if he kept the stock.

When Trump took office, Icahn was an unpaid Senior Advisor on economic affairs, relating to how the EPA worked.  He pushed for policies that made certain kinds of pollution offsets less valuable, then shorted stocks on those offsets.

If anyone wants to know how serious insider trading is, Ask Martha Stewart.

 

BOYCOTT UPDATE: REI CUTS TIES WITH VISTA OUTDOORS OVER NRA

Vista Outdoor sells Bell bicycle helmets, Giro ski goggles, CamelBak, and about 50 other brands.

They have cut ties with Vista specifically over Vista’s ownership of firearms and ammunition manufacturers, and their support of the NRA.

Looks like we can add L.L. Bean to the list.

 

GEORGIA CUTS TAX BREAKS FOR DELTA OVER DELTA’S DECISION TO NO LONGER SUPPORT NRA

In about two days, the state of Georgia enacted new legislation to punish a company that decided it no longer wanted to provide a discount to a special interest group.

That’s extortion.

I hate saying this, but good job Delta.

Remember, Delta can play hardball, too.  I’m sure Pennsylvania would make a great place to move to if Georgia doesn’t want their business.

 

DURING NRA CONVENTIONS, GUN INJURIES DROP 20% NATIONWIDE—63% IN HOSTING STATE

The argument that the gun enthusiasts try use is that because of all the well-armed “good guys” in town, the criminals stay home.  This ignores the fact that the crime rates are consistent, but that only the number of injuries fall.

Here’s what really happens…

All of the gun enthusiasts that would otherwise be screwing around with their guns and treating them like toys are now in a building where they can’t keep them loaded and are supervised by people who know what the fuck they’re doing.

Amazing how a little bit of training and supervision can prevent injuries.

 

REPRESENTATIVES TED LIEU AND KATHLEEN RICE ASK FBI TO INVESTIGATE STORMY DANIELS, KAREN McDOUGAL PAYOFFS

As I mentioned in Daily Check-In 02/14/2018 for Stormy Daniels and Daily Check-in 02/16/2018 for Karen McDougal, having a lawyer and newspaper pay almost $300,000 in hush money to women to keep quiet about affairs during the last few weeks of a Presidential campaign would likely be an in-kind contribution, and not claiming it with the Federal Election Committee.

Looks like Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice agree, and they’ve asked FBI Director Chris Wray to open an investigation.

The full text of the letter is Here.

 

DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION, STORMY DANIELS THREATENED TO CANCEL DEAL TO KEEP ALLEGED AFFAIR WITH TRUMP SECRET

We know by this point that Michael Cohen could fuck up a wet dream, but this is a level of incompetence that borders on bad writing.

Trump’s team had a deal with Stormy Daniels to pay her by October 17th.  They didn’t pay her, and her team told Trump’s team that the deal was off.  Cohen scrambled that day to set up the LLC by the end of the day, and Stormy was paid 10 days later on October 27th.  Because of that mad dash, he screwed up and put his name on the company.  That allowed journalists to track this down, and trace the payments.

Plus, by waiting as long as they did, there’s no way that this payment wasn’t a violation of election campaign laws.

 

RICK WILSON: WE KISSED CONSERVATISM GOODBYE WHEN WE LET TRUMP LEAD THE GOP

Here’s a good article from Rick Wilson, one of the original #NeverTrump crew that has been trying to save the Conservative movement from Trump, identity politics, and itself.

 

RUMOR MILL:  THE BEGINNING OF THE END, CYBER WARFARE, OLEG’S CYPRIOT PASSPORT, TARIFFS AND GUNS

One overarching thread coming from Twitter was an optimistic one.  Even though it might not look like it from the outside, all of gears are in motion.  Everyone is going down.  Justice may be slow, but thorough.

There was a lot of drama on Reddit today following the story about Russians using /r/The_Donald to create propaganda, spread disinformation, and use it as a tool to coordinate with co-conspirators.  The moderators of /r/Politics, the largest battlefield against the trolls, pulled a couple submissions about it for weird reasons.  I realized something.

We are on the front lines of the First Cyber War.

Why is the tariff on Steel and Aluminum?  Why not bauxite, or iron ore, or oil?  Because Oleg Deripaska and his friends stand to benefit from this.  Oleg owns Russia’s largest aluminum company, and these tariffs don’t include them.

Speaking of Oleg, guess who bought a passport from Cyprus?  If you guessed Oleg Deripaska, you get a cookie.  If you guessed Moe from the Three Stooges, what the fuck are you drinking, and can I have some?

 

That’s it for today.  It’s been a busy week.  I need to relax.  Funny thing is, I relax by writing.  I think I might have fun with something this weekend. Maybe something fictional and/or funny, like casting the most insulting movie possible.

I’m wrapping it up, I’m so tired I can’t keep my eyes open.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur