The 45th POTUS - Donald J. Trump

[BurtReynolds]

[McParadigm]

Preibus says journos should stop using anonymous sources, and a bunch of them troll him. Several reply with questions about whether or not they should go back and put source names into existing articles. Another just says "that's going to backfire."

Pretty naked implications that Preibus has been a source on multiple occasions.

[The Argonaut]

dummy

[McParadigm]

‘I’m a Dead Man Walking’

None of this feels normal. The congressman greets me inside his Washington office wearing a wrinkly collared shirt with its top two buttons undone, faded denim jeans and grungy, navy blue Crocs that expose his leather-textured feet. Nearing the end of our 30-minute interview, he cancels other appointments and extends our conversation by an hour....

And then he does the strangest thing of all: He lays waste to the president of his own party.

Mark Sanford is not like most Republicans in Washington.

I ask Sanford, in our early February interview, whether it’s fair to say Trump doesn’t impress him. “Yeah, that's accurate,” he tells me. “Because at some level he represents the antithesis, or the undoing, of everything I thought I knew about politics, preparation and life.”

Sanford, an Eagle Scout, has long been renowned for a work ethic that straddles the line between tireless and maniacal. Famously brutal on staff members—his former speechwriter wrote a book documenting his workplace misery—Sanford recalls holding marathon meetings as a congressman and as governor to review every intricate detail of budgets, bills and other proposals that came across his desk.

“And all of a sudden a guy comes along where facts don’t matter?” Sanford asks aloud. “It’s somewhat befuddling. It’s the undoing of that which you base a large part of your life on.”

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/ ... ile-214791

[Simple Torture]

[The Argonaut]

That got creepy real right quick. Then even creepier right at the end there. damn, dude

[tragabigzanda]

You know what? I think John McCain's a very good guy. I have a hunch his standing up to Trump now is not about politicking, but about a guy who is looking at the end of his life, has accumulated some wisdom, and is genuinely scared for our country. (To what extent Ed Harris's portrayal in Game Change affected this, I could only guess...)

[The Argonaut]

John McCain is a very good guy. He's a patriot

[tommymtcom]

McCain's a hack and a terrible pilot.

[McParadigm]

Fox News, again defying expectations:

The Senate was still taking its final vote Friday before a 10-day recess when Burr bounded out of the chamber. He traced a circuitous route, gliding past the Northeast Grand Staircase in the Capitol, making a hard right into the Ohio Clock Corridor, then jogging left again past the Mike Mansfield Room. Burr then strode down a carpeted hallway leading past the hideaway offices of other senators.

The senator boarded an obscure elevator at the end of that hallway that he obviously didn’t use often. He asked a U.S. Capitol Police officer carrying a salad if the elevator went to the SCIF. The elevator didn’t go as far down as Burr needed it to. So he disembarked, resuming his break-neck stride, spilling out into the upper level of the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center (CVC).

Burr cut past school children and tourists -- nimbly avoiding the obvious thoroughfare to the SCIF. After all, reporters circled near the precise spot the Intelligence Committee chairman wanted to avoid -- a spiral staircase beneath a skylight close to the Senate subway station that led to the obvious doorway concealing the SCIF.

Burr made his way to an escalator and coasted past the statues of King Kamehameha from Hawaii and Sakakawea from North Dakota. He disappeared behind a set of wooden doors by the CVC appointments desk.

Burr’s quarry was up ahead. A non-descript, double doorway at the end of the hall. All that sheathed the passageway was a six-panel, folding screen that looked like it belonged in the changing room of a high-end department store. Burr rapped his knuckles on the doorway three times to gain ingress. He then disappeared behind the ultimate backdoor on Capitol Hill.

[McParadigm]

More from that:

Whatever the reason, it was enough for Burr to keep the meeting on the Q.T. and slash his way through back hallways just to make the briefing. Congressional sources wouldn’t even confirm on the record that Comey was at the Capitol.

Reporters never would have known Comey was around had the director’s lanky, 6-foot-8-inch frame and robust security detail not betrayed him as he made his way to the conclave.

Soon, other senators came and went from the meeting, but no one would stop to talk or even generally elaborate on the subjects discussed.

“It was a classified briefing,” was all Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, offered.

“We made our non-statement, statement,” declared Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence committee.

This was truly under the Cone of Silence.

[McParadigm]

Basically 45th pres news:

Reuters: British officials believe Russian authorities were behind a plot in October to kill Montenegro's pro-Western prime minister, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing senior British government sources.

The British newspaper reported on Sunday that senior British officials believed there had been a plot to kill Djukanovic, and that Russia had constructed it in a way that it could be blamed on rogue Russian nationalists if uncovered.

"You are talking about a plot to disrupt or take over a government in some way. You can't imagine that there wasn't some kind of approval process," the newspaper quoted one unnamed source as saying.

[McParadigm]

This is half the point I was trying to make after reading the speeadsheets the other day, with the other half being that as you break down the demographics of it, this is a truly catastrophic number...not just in terms of voting, but also fundraising and how it will alter key swing states in coming years.

[tragabigzanda]

This is half the point I was trying to make after reading the speeadsheets the other day, with the other half being that as you break down the demographics of it, this is a truly catastrophic number...not just in terms of voting, but also fundraising and how it will alter key swing states in coming years.

Unless he engineers a false flag attack to put himself into hero mode.

[McParadigm]

This is half the point I was trying to make after reading the speeadsheets the other day, with the other half being that as you break down the demographics of it, this is a truly catastrophic number...not just in terms of voting, but also fundraising and how it will alter key swing states in coming years.

Unless he engineers a false flag attack to put himself into hero mode.

Data only exists within the context of its creation. Projections are by definition imperfect. Under a scenario like the one you describe, this information would not serve as a predictive variable, but rather as evidence that the event was more consequential than the president's choices and words.

In other words, it is worth reporting and interpreting now...and remembering for whatever comes later.

[McParadigm]

Reuters has been shockingly great this week.

(Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to direct immigration agents to greatly expand the categories of immigrants they target for deportation, according to drafts of two memos seen by Reuters and first reported by McClatchy news organization on Saturday.

Two sources familiar with the plans told Reuters the documents have been approved by Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, but are under final review by the White House. They are expected to be released to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) early next week.

Under the orders, hundreds of thousands of people would face expedited removal proceedings, including those that had not been prioritized for deportation under former President Barack Obama.

The memos are guidance to instruct agents in the field to implement two executive orders signed by Trump on Jan. 25 intended to deter future migration and drive out more illegal migrants from the United States.

One memo instructs ICE agents to ignore Obama’s memos on immigration priorities that targeted only recent arrivals and convicted criminal migrants for deportation. Instead, migrants who have been charged with crimes but not convicted would be prioritized for deportation. The guidance also allows ICE agents wide discretion in deciding who to deport and considers anyone in the United States illegally to be subject to deportation.

[McParadigm]

?

[Stickman]

White House Issues Details On ‘Person Of Interest’ In Swedish Terror Attack

Spoiler: show

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bannon/Trump Administration has released details on what they are calling a “person of interest” in the recent, tragic terror attack in Sweden. Though details of the attack are extremely scant at this hour, the FBI and CIA are currently looking for a person that think may have vital information in helping them track down not only the perpetrators of the attack, but such details as where and when it actually happened.

“Right now, all we know is Sweden,” Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told reporters, “is where the attack took place. But we don’t know if it was in Sweden City, Swedenfield, or Sweden Town. So obviously we’re on a hunt for details on top of details, and this guy we’re looking for right now may be the lynch pin to the entire investigation.”

Priebus said the sooner that authorities can get a hold of this person of interest, the sooner some answers may be gleaned. The man is described as being of average height with a large frame. His eye color is unknown, as his large, bushy eyebrows cover them up completely. He wears a head dress consistent with the people in his line of work from country. He speaks very little English, Priebus said, but they do have some intercepted recordings between the man and someone in the United States identified as only as “The Frog.”

Mr. Priebus shared a print out of one of the conversations between the person of interest and The Frog. Below is a transcript of that conversation.

PERSON OF INTEREST: Hurny, shmurny der flurr smurhn!

THE FROG: It’s, uh, certainly good to hear from you too. Been a long time.

POI: Cana you-en getteen dee message to-a yourn preeseedent, the giant orange twat waffle-en?

THE FROG: Oh, gee, I don’t know, I don’t really hang around that guy. Even as a Muppet there are some humans too vile for us to make cameos with, you know?

POI: Itsen lifen anden deathen, froggen!

THE FROG: Oh, geez, okay, I get it. Sure. Let me just grab a pencil and I’ll take the message for you.

POI: Theren no been anan attackken inen my country.

THE FROG: The signal’s really bad, can you say it again?

POI: NO-EN ATTACKEN INEN SWEDEN!

THE FROG: Sorry, again, I just can’t hear you.

POI: NO-EN ATTACKEN. INEN. SWEDEN!

THE FROG: Gosh, I’m really sorry pal, I just can’t hear you well enough. Can you try calling back?

POI: Hurdy, bagurdy, badurk BORK BORK BORK!

End transmission

This is a developing story. If you or anyone you know has any information leading to this person of interest, the FBI and CIA want you to call their special hotline, 1-800-ICU-AHOL.

[dimejinky99]

What was he thinking saying that about Sweden?
Sweden has officially asked for an explanation. Is he going to accuse them of covering up a terrorist attack that never happened next?

What a fuckin moron.

[Rangi Guy]

Dumb mix up with the Pakistani city of Sehwan