The 45th POTUS - Donald J. Trump

[McParadigm]

Great read about McCain's speech today.

WaPo: John McCain just systematically dismantled Donald Trump’s entire worldview

John McCain is increasingly mad as hell about President Trump. And on Friday, he went after Trump — hard.

During a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Republican senator from Arizona delivered a pointed and striking point-by-point takedown of Trump's worldview and brand of nationalism. McCain didn't mention Trump's name once, but he didn't have to.

And even considering the two men's up-and-down history and the terrible things Trump has said about McCain, it was a striking display from a senior leader of a party when it comes to a president of the same party.

In his speech, McCain suggested the Western world is uniquely imperiled this year — even more so than when Barack Obama was president — and proceeded to question whether it will even survive.

“In recent years, this question would invite accusations of hyperbole and alarmism; not this year,” McCain said. “If ever there were a time to treat this question with a deadly seriousness, it is now.”

In case there was any doubt that this was about Trump. Here's what followed:

"[The founders of the Munich conference] would be alarmed by an increasing turn away from universal values and toward old ties of blood and race and sectarianism.”
“They would be alarmed by the hardening resentment we see towards immigrants and refugees and minority groups -- especially Muslims.”
“They would be alarmed by the growing inability -- and even unwillingness -- to separate truth from lies.”
"They would be alarmed that more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism and romanticizing it as our moral equivalent."
That's Trump, Trump, Trump and Trump.

McCain continued: “But what would alarm them most, I think, is a sense that many of our peoples, including in my own country, are giving up on the West, that they see it as a bad deal that we may be better off without, and that while Western nations still have the power to maintain our world order, it's unclear whether we have the will.”

[simple schoolboy]

So, is McCain a Maverick again, or no? Also, has he met a potential conflict he didn't want the US to engage in?

[dimejinky99]

So when is trump gonna try shut down the internet?
Surely that's on the agenda?

[tommymtcom]

We should start a Donald Trump impeachment pool. I'm not sure if he'll make it a year.

[dimejinky99]

[wease]

So when is trump gonna try shut down the internet?
Surely that's on the agenda?

That makes no sense. Then he couldn't Twitter.

[wease]

Team McCain.

[McParadigm]

It will not be outside my impression of Donald Trump if he claims to have heard that people from the Tuscany region ride single file to hide their numbers, and adds them to the travel ban

[Simple Torture]

It will not be outside my impression of Donald Trump if he claims to have heard that people from the Tuscany region ride single file to hide their numbers, and adds them to the travel ban

"Look at my sand person right over there!"

[McParadigm]

It will not be outside my impression of Donald Trump if he claims to have heard that people from the Tuscany region ride single file to hide their numbers, and adds them to the travel ban

"Look at my sand person right over there!"

Anakin Skywalker's late night rescue operation was a total success. Suggesting otherwise is unpatriotic! Thinking about having him lead investigation into Jedi intelligence leaks!

[Simple Torture]

It will not be outside my impression of Donald Trump if he claims to have heard that people from the Tuscany region ride single file to hide their numbers, and adds them to the travel ban

"Look at my sand person right over there!"

Anakin Skywalker's late night rescue operation was a total success. Suggesting otherwise is unpatriotic! Thinking about having him lead investigation into Jedi intelligence leaks!

His nomination for Secretary of Youngling Education is coming soon, I imagine.

[McParadigm]

[McParadigm]

Reuters: U.S. inquiries into Russian election hacking include three FBI probes

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is pursuing at least three separate probes relating to alleged Russian hacking of the U.S. presidential elections, according to five current and former government officials with direct knowledge of the situation.

While the fact that the FBI is investigating had been reported previously by the New York Times and other media, these officials shed new light on both the precise number of inquires and their focus.

The FBI's Pittsburgh field office, which runs many cyber security investigations, is trying to identify the people behind breaches of the Democratic National Committee's computer systems, the officials said. Those breaches, in 2015 and the first half of 2016, exposed the internal communications of party officials as the Democratic nominating convention got underway and helped undermine support for Hillary Clinton.

The Pittsburgh case has progressed furthest, but Justice Department officials in Washington believe there is not enough clear evidence yet for an indictment, two of the sources said.

Meanwhile the bureau’s San Francisco office is trying to identify the people who called themselves “Guccifer 2” and posted emails stolen from Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s account, the sources said. Those emails contained details about fundraising by the Clinton Foundation and other topics.

Beyond the two FBI field offices, FBI counterintelligence agents based in Washington are pursuing leads from informants and foreign communications intercepts, two of the people said.

This counterintelligence inquiry includes but is not limited to examination of financial transactions by Russian individuals and companies who are believed to have links to Trump associates. The transactions under scrutiny involve investments by Russians in overseas entities that appear to have been undertaken through middlemen and front companies, two people briefed on the probe said.

Reuters could not confirm which entities and individuals were under scrutiny.

Scott Smith, the FBI's new assistant director for cyber crime, declined to comment this week on which FBI offices were doing what or how far they had progressed.

The White House had no comment on Friday on the Russian hacking investigations. A spokesman pointed to a comment Trump made during the campaign, in which he said: "As far as hacking, I think it was Russia, but I think we also get hacked by other countries and other people."

During a news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump said he had no business connections to Russia.

The people who spoke to Reuters also corroborated a Tuesday New York Times report that Americans with ties to Trump or his campaign had repeated contacts with current and former Russian intelligence officers before the November election. Those alleged contacts are among the topics of the FBI counterintelligence investigation.

[McParadigm]

Referring to the above report, and mirroring speculation about the leaks in general:

[McParadigm]

It will not be outside my impression of Donald Trump if he claims to have heard that people from the Tuscany region ride single file to hide their numbers, and adds them to the travel ban

"Look at my sand person right over there!"

Anakin Skywalker's late night rescue operation was a total success. Suggesting otherwise is unpatriotic! Thinking about having him lead investigation into Jedi intelligence leaks!

His nomination for Secretary of Youngling Education is coming soon, I imagine.

"Greedo is the best bounty hunter. He's the greatest ever. He's gonna do so good, you'll say 'hey, maybe don't be so good.'"

Breaking News

[McParadigm]

This is a really interesting take on the GOP.

[96583UP]

http://nypost.com/2017/02/15/melania-tr ... irst-lady/

what an emasculating event it would be for ze Drumpenführer if his frauline divorced him while in office

[wease]

http://nypost.com/2017/02/15/melania-tr ... irst-lady/

what an emasculating event it would be for ze Drumpenführer if his frauline divorced him while in office

He'd have her deported.

[McParadigm]

Official numbers on the rally: 9,000

I assume Trump will call it 30k.

[McParadigm]

He still has You Can't always Get What You Want as his "end of speech" anthem.