Trump Clashed with GOP Senators Over Russia

While Trump has kept many journalists distracted with his embrace of the Charlottesville white supremacists and Neo-Nazis and his by all appearances white supremacist rally last night in Phoenix, not all have lost sight of the story line that terrifies Trump the most: Russiagate.  Now, both CNN and Politico are focusing in on issues that will likely trigger a delusional tweet storm from Der Trumpenführer. The irony is that, if Trump, is innocent, the investigations should be of little concern.  The obsession that Trump continues to display toward these investigations suggest that he has something - perhaps much - to hide.   CNN starts it breaking news piece as follows:

Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. . . . . While many details around the Dearborn email are unclear, its existence suggests the Russians may have been looking for another entry point into the Trump campaign to see if there were any willing partners as part of their effort to discredit -- and ultimately defeat -- Hillary Clinton.

The Russian "active measures" campaign to influence the US election was fully underway when Dearborn sent his email. This included cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's senior staffers, as well as pro-Trump messaging by Kremlin-backed propaganda outlets, according to a report declassified by the US intelligence community in January. 

Trump may - okay, will  - plead total ignorance about this other effort to collude with Russia.  But he cannot plead ignorance about his efforts to pressure Republican U.S. Senators to quash the Russia investigations.  Politico looks at this issue.  Here are story highlights:

President Donald Trump privately vented his frustration over Russia-related matters with at least two other Republican senators this month, according to people familiar with the conversations — in addition to the president's public admonishments of Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and Jeff Flake.

Trump expressed frustration over a bipartisan bill sanctioning Russia and tried to convince Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) that it wasn't good policy, according to three people familiar with the call.

Trump dialed up Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Aug. 7, two days before a blunt call with the Senate majority leader that spilled over into a public feud. Tillis is working with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on a bill designed to protect Robert Mueller, the independent counsel investigating the president's Russia connections, from any attempt by Trump to fire him.

The Mueller bill came up during the Tillis-Trump conversation, according to a source briefed on the call — the latest signal of the president's impatience with GOP senators' increasing declarations of independence from his White House. Trump was unhappy with the legislation and didn't want it to pass, one person familiar with the call said.

Trump's chewing out of GOP senators, according to people briefed on the calls, reflected the president's frustration that fellow Republicans would make moves that could damage him, particularly on an investigation that he detests. Trump also complained about the Russian sanctions measure in a call with McConnell earlier this month that devolved into shouting. The New York Times first reported that Trump discussed the Russia probe with McConnell.

"It seems he is just always focused on Russia," one senior GOP aide said.

No matter what Kelly does, Trump and the Senate GOP are in for a rough September, a month that's shaping up as pivotal for his presidency. Along with his attacks on various Republican senators, Trump's aides and advisers are touting polls that show Congress is more unpopular than Trump is — and that they're prepared to run against the quintessential Washington institution.

Trump's insistence on funding his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall promises to further strain relations with Senate Republicans, who must secure at least eight Democratic votes to keep the government funded past Sept. 30. But the president appears unconcerned with helping McConnell navigate that challenge, declaring Tuesday night in Phoenix: "If we have to close down the government, we are going to build that wall."

Several senior Senate Republicans gave a cold shoulder to Trump's wall plans before leaving Washington for this month's recess. They floated a $15 billion border security bill that emphasizes "smart, multi-layered infrastructure" — but not the president's proposed physical barrier.

Wednesday Morning Male Beauty - Pt 2

KKK Issues Plea for Members to Kill Gay People

Last week in the aftermath of the Chralottesville and again last night, Der  Trumpenführer, has given license to hate-filled, far right extremists to direct violence against those who oppose their agenda - and those they simply dislike. And the forces of hatred are feeling emboldened to call for violence.  A case in point: the Louisiana chapter of the group have distributed fliers urging people to join their group and slaughter gay people in an effort to “save our land, join the Klan, white power.”  This is ultimately what "friends" who voted for Trump have supported.  One has to wonder when someone will literally be murdered as a result.  Pink News looks at the frightening mindset in Louisiana.  Here are excerpts:

The Ku Klux Klan is taking aim at the LGBT community – who they believe should be killed in order to end the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Leaders from the Louisiana chapter of the group have distributed fliers urging people to join their group and slaughter gay people in an effort to “save our land, join the Klan, white power.”

“Stop Aids: Support Gay Bashing,” one of the flyers read. “Homosexual men and their sexual acts are disgusting and inhuman.” “Our race is our nation,” reads another.

The fliers are signed “Loyal White Knights of the KKK” and include a website address and phone number to call for those interested in joining the genocide.

WSBTV reports the Newton County Sheriff Office has launched an investigation, following several complaints by residents who found the flyers placed on their driveways and lawns.

Bessemer Deputy Police Chief Mike Roper told AL.com the flyers were “very offensive”.  Another woman who asked not to be identified told the news station that she is “extremely hurt by” the fliers.  “As a member of the gay community,” she said, “I think it shows the ignorance of society still.”

The FBI said it is investigating the issue.

Trump Plays the Victim; Holds White Supremacist Rally in Phoenix

Displaying behavior increasingly reminiscent of some of Adolph Hitler's more deranged speeches, Donald Trump, a/k/a Der Trumpenführer, went off the rails during his "rally" in Phoenix.  Not only did Trump depict himself as the biggest victim of Charlottesville, but, as one commentator stated, he literally held a white supremacist rally in Phoenix and sought to incite violence and hate against the media, immigrants, Democrats, and all of his opponents, including GOP senators.  The man is mentally ill, in my opinion.  Vanity Fair - a New York City based publication that has known the real Trump all too well over the last few decades, described the "rally" in part as follows:

Donald Trump repeatedly ditched his TelePrompTer and went off-script as he ranted about being mistreated by the media in the wake of Charlottesville, relentlessly attacked an array of enemies including both of Arizona’s Republican senators, and portrayed himself as the true victim of a violent clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters that left one woman dead. Journalists and other social media commentators watched, stunned, as he proceeded to spend the rest of his hourlong speech unloading on the mainstream press, praising a CNN pundit who was fired for tweeting a Nazi slogan, and re-litigating his entire response to Charlottesville, line by line, in what has become a hallmark of the Trump presidency: a full-on public meltdown.

Trump reveled in the opportunity to vent, after a long summer of political crises, and to set the record straight. “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America,” he said, blaming the “thugs” and the “dishonest media” for the violence in Virginia.

Then, in a truly Hitleresque  moment, Der Trumpenführer whined as follows in defense of racism:

The media can attack me, but where I draw the line is when they attack you, the decency of our supporters. You are honest, hard-working, tax-paying—and you’re over-taxed, but we’re going to get your taxes down—Americans. It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions. They are trying to take away our history and our heritage.”

But there was more:

Trump spoke broadly about “liberating our towns” from undocumented immigrants, citing Joe Arpaio, pledging to purge “sanctuary cities” of undocumented immigrants and leading the crowd in a “build the wall” chant. He threatened a government shutdown if the wall he wants constructed between the U.S. and Mexico isn’t approved. And, after the White House said Trump wouldn’t pardon Arpaio during his rally in Phoenix, Trump hinted that a pardon would come.

The question thus becomes one of when will Congressional Republicans act to remove the lunatic from office.  A piece last week in the Friday New York Times drew an analogy of the Roman Senate and Caligula and what we are now witnessing by a man who is obviously unhinged.   Are tax cuts for the wealthy and pandering to huge corporations more important than protecting the country from an unfit leader?  Here are column highlights: 

Even before the media obsession with Hillary Clinton’s email server put The Worst President Ever™ in the White House, historians were comparing Donald Trump to Caligula, the cruel, depraved Roman emperor who delighted in humiliating others, especially members of the empire’s elite. But seven months into the Trump administration, we can see that this comparison was unfair.

For one thing, Caligula did not, as far as we know, foment ethnic violence within the empire. For another, again as far as we know, Rome’s government continued to function reasonably well despite his antics: Provincial governors continued to maintain order, the army continued to defend the borders, there were no economic crises.

Finally, when his behavior became truly intolerable, Rome’s elite did what the party now controlling Congress seems unable even to contemplate: It found a way to get rid of him.

Anyone with eyes — eyes not glued to Fox News, anyway — has long realized that Trump is utterly incapable, morally and intellectually, of filling the office he holds. But in the past few days things seem to have reached a critical mass.

Journalists have stopped seizing on brief moments of not-craziness to declare Trump “presidential”; business leaders have stopped trying to curry favor by lending Trump an air of respectability; even military leaders have gone as far as they can to dissociate themselves from administration pronouncements.

[R]emember, this administration has yet to confront a crisis not of its own making. Furthermore, a series of scary deadlines is looming. Never mind tax reform. Congress has to act within the next few weeks to enact a budget, or the government will shut down; to raise the debt ceiling, or the U.S. will go into default; to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or millions of children will lose coverage. [W]ho’s going to ensure that these critical deadlines are met? Not Trump, who’s too busy praising white supremacists and promoting his businesses. Maybe Republican leaders in Congress will still be able to wrangle their extremist members, who see crippling the government as a good thing, into the necessary deals.

But the revelation that these leaders were lying about health care all those years has destroyed their intellectual credibility — remember when people took Paul Ryan’s pretense of policy expertise seriously? And their association with President Caligula has destroyed their moral credibility, too.

Everyone in Washington now knows that we have a president who never meant it when he swore to defend the Constitution. He violates that oath just about every day and is never going to get any better. The fact is that white supremacists have long been a key if unacknowledged part of the G.O.P. coalition, and Republicans need those votes to win general elections. Given the profiles in cowardice they’ve presented so far, it’s hard to imagine anything — up to and including evidence of collusion with a foreign power — that would make them risk losing those voters’ support. [A]ll one can say is God save America. Because all indications are that the Republicans won’t.

Be very, very afraid.

McConnell Doubts if Trump Can Save His Presidency

One of the hallmarks of a malignant narcissist like Donald Trump is their self-aggrandizement, hostility to those who do not give them sufficient obsequious pandering,  and untruthfulness.  A piece in Psychology Today described the symptoms as follows:

Narcissistic Personality Disorder includes symptoms such as, poor self identity, inability to appreciate others, entitlement, lack of authenticity, need for control, intolerance of the views/ opinions of others, emotional detachment, grandiosity, lack of awareness or concern regarding the impact of their behavior, minimal emotional reciprocity, and a desperate need for the approval and positive attention of others.

Another symptom is the inability to grasp how one's behavior will potentially boomerang back and harm the malignant narcissist.  In Trump's case, the utter alienation of Senate Republicans opens the door for a impeachment conviction should the House of Representatives grow a sufficient spine to pass articles of impeachment. A piece in the New York Times looks at the manner in which Trump burning his bridges with Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans that may well come back to haunt Trump with a vengeance.  Here are article excerpts:

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

What was once an uneasy governing alliance has curdled into a feud of mutual resentment and sometimes outright hostility, complicated by the position of Mr. McConnell’s wife, Elaine L. Chao, in Mr. Trump’s cabinet . . . Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

The rupture between Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell comes at a highly perilous moment for Republicans, who face a number of urgent deadlines when they return to Washington next month. Congress must approve new spending measures

A protracted government shutdown or a default on sovereign debt could be disastrous — for the economy and for the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.  Yet Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell are locked in a political cold war.

Mr. McConnell has fumed over Mr. Trump’s regular threats against fellow Republicans and criticism of Senate rules, and questioned Mr. Trump’s understanding of the presidency in a public speech. Mr. McConnell has made sharper comments in private, describing Mr. Trump as entirely unwilling to learn the basics of governing.

In offhand remarks, Mr. McConnell has expressed a sense of bewilderment about where Mr. Trump’s presidency may be headed, and has mused about whether Mr. Trump will be in a position to lead the Republican Party into next year’s elections and beyond, according to people who have spoken to him directly.

Mr. McConnell expressed horror to advisers last week after Mr. Trump’s comments equating white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., with protesters who rallied against them.

Mr. Trump was set to hold a campaign rally on Tuesday night in Phoenix, and Republicans feared he would use the event to savage Mr. Flake again.

If he does, senior Republican officials said the party’s senators would stand up for their colleague. A Republican “super PAC” aligned with Mr. McConnell released a web ad on Tuesday assailing Mr. Flake’s Republican rival, Kelli Ward, as a fringe-dwelling conspiracy theorist.

The fury among Senate Republicans toward Mr. Trump has been building since last month, even before he lashed out at Mr. McConnell.

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, a Republican who is close to Mr. McConnell, said frustration with Mr. Trump was boiling over in the chamber. Mr. Gregg blamed the president for undermining congressional leaders, and said the House and Senate would have to govern on their own if Mr. Trump “can’t participate constructively.”

“I think he’s going to blow up, self-implode,” Mr. Hoffman said of Mr. Trump. “I wouldn’t be surprised if McConnell pulls back his support of Trump and tries to go it alone.”

Mr. McConnell’s Senate colleagues, however, have grown bolder. The combination of the president’s frontal attacks on Senate Republicans and his claim that there were “fine people” marching with white supremacists in Charlottesville has emboldened lawmakers to criticize Mr. Trump in withering terms.

For the moment, Mr. McConnell appears to be far more secure in his position, and perhaps immune to coercion from the White House. Republicans are unlikely to lose control of the Senate in 2018, and Mr. Trump has no allies in the Senate who have shown an appetite for combat with Mr. McConnell.

“The quickest way for him to get impeached is for Trump to knock off Jeff Flake and Dean Heller and be faced with a Democrat-led Senate,” said Billy Piper, a lobbyist and former McConnell chief of staff.

Wednesday Morning Male Beauty - Pt 1

Tuesday Morning Male Beauty - Pt 2

It’s Time to Talk About Trump’s Mental Health

Watching Der Trumpenführer deliver his address last night was difficult. for several reasons.  First, the man spoke at largely a grade school level - perhaps for the sake of his ignorance embracing base - and came across as anything but presidential.  Second, I had the feeling that I was watching a modern day Emperor Nero who seemed oblivious to the manner in which he is tearing the social fabric of the country apart.  Trump has never been a good speaker.  What was amazing was that he was able to ploddingly read the teleprompter without veering off course into impromptu batshitery and/or a pro-white supremacist rant.  Anyone who has seriously observed Trump for some time should see that the man is mentally unstable - even some of his past acquaintances have observed his mental decline.  All of this makes the fact that he occupies the White House frightening as a column in the Washington Post observes.  Here are excerpts:  

How unstable and divorced from reality is President Trump? We’ve reached the point where the nation has the right and the need to know.

We’re not accustomed to asking such questions about our presidents. We don’t know how to even begin inquiring into a president’s mental health, so we rationalize aberrant behavior as being part of some subtle strategy. We say that Trump is cleverly playing to his base, or employing the “madman theory” of foreign relations, or simply being unpredictable to gain an advantage by keeping everyone off balance.

But if Trump were really playing three-dimensional chess, presumably he’d be getting things done. His approval ratings would be rising rather than falling. Allies in Congress would be expressing admiration rather than increasing dismay.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) hit a nerve Thursday when he saidthat Trump “has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence” needed in a president. . . . . . Corker said he feared that “our nation is going to go through great peril” and called for “radical change” at the White House. Democrats have been slightly more plain-spoken. Rep. Adam B. Schiff told CNN on Sunday that “I certainly think that there’s an issue with the president’s capability.” And fellow California Rep. Jackie Speier tweeted last week that Trump “is showing signs of erratic behavior and mental instability that place the country in grave danger.” Trump’s performance last week following the Charlottesville incident was indeed alarming, the problem being not just what he said but how he said it. . . . . Trump went back to blaming “both sides” in what can only be called an angry, red-faced rant. Anyone can have a bad day. But according to many published reports, Trump often erupts into rage — especially when he sees something he doesn’t like on the cable news shows he is said to watch compulsively. I have spoken with people who have known Trump for decades and who say he has changed. He exhibits less self-awareness, these longtime acquaintances say, and less capacity for sustained focus. Indeed, it is instructive to compare television interviews of Trump recorded years ago with those conducted now. To this layman’s eyes and ears, there seems to have been deterioration. The stakes are so high, however, that the officials who work alongside Trump and observe him closely bear a tremendous responsibility. There is a huge difference between sounding as unhinged as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and actually being that unstable. It is uncomfortable to talk about the president’s mental health. But at this point it is irresponsible not to.

Mike Pence - Trump’s Top Sycophant

While he continues to play his Sergeant Schultz routine of feigning ignorance on virtually everything, especially all things Russian, he nonetheless continues to confirm that he is unfit for the presidency and that, if Trump is removed from office, Pence must go with him.   Jennifer Rubin - perhaps at this point former Republican, conservative columnist for the Washington Post lets loose on Pence's lies and disingenuous behavior.   I hope that Robert Mueller fully investigates what Pence knew and when he knew it.  If Trump goes, we do not need yet another pathological liar in the White House. Here are column highlights:

Vice President Pence is in an unusual position. He must try to remain a confidante of the president, but he cannot for his own sake — and, if he might have to assume the presidency, for the sake of the country — be seen as adopting President Trump’s noxious views on race, misleading the American people on any issue or generally appearing as a disingenuous sycophant. Unfortunately, he regularly fails to steer clear of the latter.

At times his gushing over Trump is downright embarrassing. Pence’s unctuous comments tend to mystify listeners rather than convince them, as when he defended Trump’s attacks on his own attorney general.

Likewise when Pence on a foreign trip blatantly misstates Trump’s words, Pence comes off as dishonest and spineless:

Responding to a question about criticism of Trump’s statement, Pence both selectively quoted Trump and then added his own condemnation of neo-Nazis and others.

He then ventured to add context to what Trump had meant by “many sides.”

“The president also made clear that behavior by others of different militant perspectives are also unacceptable in our political debate and discourse,” Pence added.

Aping Trump’s mindless attacks on the media (for reporting his own words), Trump comes across as over-eager and disingenuous. (“Many in the media spent an awful lot of time focusing on what the president said and criticisms of what the president said instead of criticizing those who brought that hatred and violence to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia,” he said.)

His speeches ladle on the praise to such an extent one wonders if he’s serious (and has horrendous political judgment) or is so insecure that he feels it necessary to genuflect before the delusional leader for fear of losing favor.

On his most recent trip, Pence outdid himself. The Post reported:

On a normal day, Vice President Pence’s praise of his boss knows few limits.  But on Thursday, it seemed to reach a new level. During a visit to the Panama Canal here, Pence spoke of President Trump as the modern reincarnation of one of the vice president’s personal heroes, Theodore Roosevelt.

This is as ludicrous as it is unhelpful since it winds up underscoring the enormous gap in character and ability between Trump and his predecessors. Again, Pence doesn’t make the president look any better; he just makes himself look servile.

Aside from making himself look less credible and impressive, Pence’s excessive praise will come back to haunt him, and undermine his stature, if he is forced to take over for the president before 2020 or pursues the presidency on his own down the road. He surely cannot align himself ever again with Trump’s lies (e.g., the false cover story about the reasons for firing FBI director James B. Comey), nor does he want to be seen as making excuses for Trump’s racist, white supremacist sympathies.

As for the last remark, Pence is a Christofascist himself.  I'm sorry, but check the history of Christofascist groups and you will find white supremacists. Pence likely shares Trump's racist and loathsome views. 

Trump Nominee: Gay Rights could Bring Legalization of Pedophilia

I hope my "friends" who voted for Donald Trump are paying attention. Der Trumpenführer's nominee to head the science department of the Department of Agriculture underscores the anti-LGBT loathing that Trump has brought to the executive branch of the federal government.  In addition, it highlights the embrace of ignorance that now motivates the White House but by extension, the Republican Party.  Sam Clovis (pictured above), Trump's pick to be chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture, has argued that homosexuality is a choice and that the sanctioning of same-sex marriage could lead to the legalization of pedophilia.  Never mind that EVERY legitimate mental health and medical association in America (and around the world) states that sexual orientation is not a choice and that so-called "ex-gay" therapy does not work.  Worse yet, Clovis ignores the fact that the vast majority of pedophiles are HETEROSEXUAL men, many of whom are married to women.  Like Trump, Clovis doesn't let facts and objective reality get in the way of his of his bigoted agenda and/or desire to maintain the support of the Christofascists, the last remaining core of his base.   A piece at CNN looks at this latest batshitery.  Here are excerpts:

Sam Clovis, Donald Trump's pick to be chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture, has argued that homosexuality is a choice and that the sanctioning of same-sex marriage could lead to the legalization of pedophilia, a CNN KFile review of Clovis' writings, radio broadcasts, and speeches has found.

Clovis made the comments between 2012 and 2014 in his capacity as a talk radio host, political activist, and briefly as a candidate for US Senate in Iowa. His nomination has drawn criticism from Senate Democrats, who argue his lack of scientific background makes him unqualified for the USDA post overseeing science.

Clovis has repeatedly argued that the science on homosexuality is unsettled and that "LGBT behavior" is a choice. The American Psychological Association has said that while there is no scientific consensus on the causes of sexual orientation, "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."

Asked for comment on Clovis' beliefs surrounding the science of homosexuality, a USDA spokeswoman told CNN: "The Supreme Court settled the issue in 2015."

KFile has previously reported on controversial comments Clovis made during his time as a talk radio host about race and then-President Barack Obama. At that time, a USDA spokesperson said that Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue still supports Clovis to be the under secretary for research, education and economics.

Clovis, whose background and views are strongly rooted in the politics of conservative talk radio, made most of his remarks in the context of discussing his belief LGBT people should not be given protections under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. He says he believed that if LGBT people got such protections, pastors wouldn't be allowed to preach against the "aberration" that "alternative lifestyles" were to church doctrine.

Writing in an op-ed for the local conservative blog Iowa Republican in April 2011, Clovis argued science of being LGBT was unsettled and if being gay was genetic, then other people genetically-disposed like left-handed people should receive constitutional protections as well.

At a campaign stop during his failed campaign for the Republican Senate nomination in Iowa, Clovis said the science was still out but "as far as we know" being LGBT is choice. Clovis then concludes the protecting of LGBT people could mean that pedophilia would also be protected.

"Someone who engages in LGBT behavior -- I don't know what the science is on this, I think it's still out -- but as far as we know, LGBT behavior is a choice they make, Clovis says in a video obtained by CNN's KFile. "So we're being asked to provide Constitutional protections for behavior, a choice in behavior as opposed to a primary characteristic."

"There's no equivalency there between the civil rights issue associated between those protected classes and the civil rights of someone who engages in a particular behavior," continues Clovis. "Follow the logic, if you engage in a particular behavior, what also becomes protected? If we protect LGBT behavior, what other behaviors are we going to protect? Are we going to protect pedophilia? 

 I hate to sound mean, petty or cruel, but does Clovis think morbid obesity is a choice?   Or will he claim that his disgusting obesity has nothing to do with his own choices and actions?