SSHoya
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 5:25:50 GMT -5
So what has the government alleged? That Mariia Butina engaged in a conspiracy with a Russian government official in order to soften U.S. policy toward Russia on behalf of Moscow without properly notifying the Department of Justice. She did this, the government alleges, by using relationships with officials in influential conservative political groups, including the National Rifle Association, to establish private lines of communication on behalf of representatives of the Russian government. www.lawfareblog.com/latest-russia-twist-criminal-charges-against-mariia-butina
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SSHoya
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 5:49:58 GMT -5
Donald Trump left for Europe a week ago with his reputation enhanced by a strong Supreme Court nomination. He returned Monday with that reputation diminished after a tumultuous week of indulging what amounts to the Trump First Doctrine. Mr. Trump marched through Europe with more swagger than strategy. His diplomacy is personal, rooted in instinct and impulse, and he treats other leaders above all on how much they praise Donald J. Trump. He says what pops into his head to shock but then disavows it if there’s a backlash. He criticizes institutions and policies to grab headlines but then claims victory no matter the outcome. www.wsj.com/articles/the-trump-first-doctrine-1531781061
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SSHoya
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"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 6:02:14 GMT -5
So now Trump apologists are promoting idiocy like the idea that this is an example of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer. No, he’s been alienating America’s friends and flattering America’s enemies. Trump’s words are the product of an ego so fragile that he simply can’t handle any insinuation that his electoral triumph is tainted in any way Russian actions — so he has defend his victory at every opportunity, no matter how inappropriate the setting. In other words, Trump’s press conference wasn’t about advancing America’s interests, it was about defending Trump’s accomplishments. www.nationalreview.com/corner/trump-putin-summit-international-diplomacy-words-matter/Drawing moral equivalences where they do not exist is a dangerous game that enables the world’s tyrants. There was a time when conservatives would pan the previous president for making rhetorical concessions and pursuing policies that supposedly undermined American exceptionalism, but Barack Obama never called the concept “insulting.” In fact, he once said, “I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.” If we are not vigilant, we’ll wake up one day, having forgotten the vocabulary of American moral leadership, and worse, we’ll have ceded a unique global role that makes the promotion of human freedom the ultimate goal of foreign policy. Dismissing Russian interference because we do it too is bad, but blaming America for a downturn in relations provoked by a journalist-assassinating, dissident-assassinating, civilian-airline-downing, chemical-weapons-dictatorship-supporting regime, is downright unconscionable. www.nationalreview.com/corner/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-against-moral-equivalence/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2018 9:25:21 GMT -5
I don't ever want to hear about how Trump is like any other President. Thx.....
We're not even sure what country's interest he is serving at this point....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2018 9:39:29 GMT -5
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SSHoya
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 9:43:18 GMT -5
I don't ever want to hear about how Trump is like any other President. Thx..... We're not even sure what country's interest he is serving at this point.... We're sure. He's Putin's Puppet and is carrying out Russia's goals. His two hour meeting with his handler gave him his instructions going forward. The cowardly, corrupt and craven Republicans refuse take action to rein in the malignant racist narcissist who is the leader of the GOP. Crickets from the Hoya Talk Trump supporters/enablers/sycophants. Especially those who pretend they don't support him yet weigh in distract and attempt to point the finger at "the Left" and other assorted bogeyman. The server!! Fake tough guy cowards like their role model Trump.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2018 9:56:18 GMT -5
I don't ever want to hear about how Trump is like any other President. Thx..... We're not even sure what country's interest he is serving at this point.... We're sure. He's Putin's Puppet and is carrying out Russia's goals. His two hour meeting with his handler gave him his instructions going forward. The cowardly, corrupt and craven Republicans refuse take action to rein in the malignant racist narcissist who is the leader of the GOP. If Trump said all that crazy bs in front of the cameras, can you imagine what he told Putin behind closed doors? America first has to be the biggest joke ever. With the world watching he chose NOT to defend the US and decided to side with a murderous dictator who kills people on the streets for fun. We're so far past the point of if this being about Trump. Trump is a lemming for Putin, and the GOP is in Trump's pocket. If you love America, vote accordingly
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SSHoya
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"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 10:03:22 GMT -5
We're sure. He's Putin's Puppet and is carrying out Russia's goals. His two hour meeting with his handler gave him his instructions going forward. The cowardly, corrupt and craven Republicans refuse take action to rein in the malignant racist narcissist who is the leader of the GOP. If Trump said all that crazy bs in front of the cameras, can you imagine what he told Putin behind closed doors? America first has to be the biggest joke ever. With the world watching he chose NOT to defend the US and decided to side with a murderous dictator who kills people on the streets for fun. We're so far past the point of if this being about Trump. Trump is a lemming for Putin, and the GOP is in Trump's pocket. If you love America, vote accordingly I posted the link to this article back in March but it is worth reposting: We have both spent our professional careers strenuously avoiding partisanship in our writing and thinking. We have both done work that is, in different ways, ideologically eclectic, and that has—over a long period of time—cast us as not merely nonpartisans but antipartisans. Temperamentally, we agree with the late Christopher Hitchens: Partisanship makes you stupid. We are the kind of voters who political scientists say barely exist—true independents who scour candidates’ records in order to base our votes on individual merit, not party brand. This, then, is the article we thought we would never write: a frank statement that a certain form of partisanship is now a moral necessity. The Republican Party, as an institution, has become a danger to the rule of law and the integrity of our democracy. The problem is not just Donald Trump; it’s the larger political apparatus that made a conscious decision to enable him. In a two-party system, nonpartisanship works only if both parties are consistent democratic actors. If one of them is not predictably so, the space for nonpartisans evaporates. We’re thus driven to believe that the best hope of defending the country from Trump’s Republican enablers, and of saving the Republican Party from itself, is to do as Toren Beasley did: vote mindlessly and mechanically against Republicans at every opportunity, until the party either rights itself or implodes (very preferably the former). www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/boycott-the-gop/550907/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2018 10:18:13 GMT -5
I love this talking point... You now who thought had an effect Paul? Donald J Trump.
If he didn't think it had an effect, why did he make Wikileaks part of his stump speech the entire last month of the campaign? It was a major part of his closing argument. This talking point is b.s. just like 99% of what's coming out of the Republican Party right now.
The reason why they bring it up is because they have to make sure they are showing the proper amount of servility to the President, it's not based in fact...
Surprised Paul had time comment since he's usually intently focused on his non existent legislative agenda..
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2018 10:31:00 GMT -5
If Trump said all that crazy bs in front of the cameras, can you imagine what he told Putin behind closed doors? America first has to be the biggest joke ever. With the world watching he chose NOT to defend the US and decided to side with a murderous dictator who kills people on the streets for fun. We're so far past the point of if this being about Trump. Trump is a lemming for Putin, and the GOP is in Trump's pocket. If you love America, vote accordingly I posted the link to this article back in March but it is worth reposting: We have both spent our professional careers strenuously avoiding partisanship in our writing and thinking. We have both done work that is, in different ways, ideologically eclectic, and that has—over a long period of time—cast us as not merely nonpartisans but antipartisans. Temperamentally, we agree with the late Christopher Hitchens: Partisanship makes you stupid. We are the kind of voters who political scientists say barely exist—true independents who scour candidates’ records in order to base our votes on individual merit, not party brand. This, then, is the article we thought we would never write: a frank statement that a certain form of partisanship is now a moral necessity. The Republican Party, as an institution, has become a danger to the rule of law and the integrity of our democracy. The problem is not just Donald Trump; it’s the larger political apparatus that made a conscious decision to enable him. In a two-party system, nonpartisanship works only if both parties are consistent democratic actors. If one of them is not predictably so, the space for nonpartisans evaporates. We’re thus driven to believe that the best hope of defending the country from Trump’s Republican enablers, and of saving the Republican Party from itself, is to do as Toren Beasley did: vote mindlessly and mechanically against Republicans at every opportunity, until the party either rights itself or implodes (very preferably the former). www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/boycott-the-gop/550907/
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 17, 2018 13:50:04 GMT -5
Trump claims he misspoke?!?! Reviewed the transcript? You gotta be kidding me. The only ones stupid enough to believe this are Trump supporters/enablers/sycophants. You know who you are. "I don't see any reason why it WOULDN'T be Russia." That's his attempt to clean up his traitorous actions?? He looked like a hostage reading his prepared statement before the cameras. Now the broader idea that Russia has compromising information, or kompromat, on Trump has moved even more to the forefront. And it's all thanks to Trump's decision to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and then practically bow to him. The thing about Trump's posture toward Putin isn't just that it's highly controversial and questionable given Russia's 2016 election interference; it's also totally counter to Trump's brand. This is the guy who wrote the “Art of the Deal” and, just days before his meeting with Putin, was wrecking shop at a NATO summit in hopes of getting fellow members to kick in more for the common defense. Even as he has oscillated from being extremely tough on and extremely friendly toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has almost always been deferential to Putin. And that was certainly the case Monday. www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/07/17/does-putin-have-kompromat-on-trump-suddenly-its-no-longer-such-a-taboo-question-thanks-to-trump/?utm_term=.7df846d89b99
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hoya9797
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by hoya9797 on Jul 17, 2018 14:28:02 GMT -5
Can you imagine the brainstorming session last night and this morning? If this was the best they could come up with, what was rejected? I'm starting to get the feeling that Trump is not surrounding himself with the best people.
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Jul 17, 2018 21:11:24 GMT -5
Another Russian (gun activist, NRA) charged (non-Mueller). "American politicians" = corrupt and craven Republicans: A Russian national with alleged ties to a top Russian official was charged in federal court in Washington Monday with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation, and was ordered held without bond. Maria Butina, 29, was arrested Sunday in the District and made her first appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson. Her attorney, Robert Neil Driscoll, told the judge that Butina’s residence was searched by the FBI in April, that she had testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed session several months ago, and that “we have been offering to cooperate with the government the entire time.” Butina is accused of developing relationships with American politicians and a “gun rights organization,” none of which are named in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint. FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson wrote that Butina was attempting to “establish a ‘back channel’ communication for representatives of the Government of Russia.” www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/maria-butina-russian-gun-rights-advocate-charged-in-us-with-acting-as-russian-federation-agent/2018/07/16/d1d4832a-8929-11e8-85ae-511bc1146b0b_story.html?utm_term=.98aa7a589d7e www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/17/trump-administration-wont-force-nra-kochs-disclose-donors-irs/792094002/The Trump administration will no longer force some tax-exempt organizations, including politically active groups such as the National Rifle Association, to identify their contributors to federal tax officials.
The policy, announced this week by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, achieves a long-standing goal of some conservative groups who say donor disclosure, even to the IRS, could subject their contributors to government intimidation and harassment.
The change drew protests Tuesday from campaign finance watchdogs, who said it strips the government of its ability to scrutinize those donations and could lead to foreign interests illegally infiltrating U.S. elections through advocacy groups – as the country grapples with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential contest.
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Jul 17, 2018 22:50:13 GMT -5
If he had said the "wouldn't" part, it would make absolutely no sense in the context of what he was saying.
And if there was no material effect on the election, why is Paul Ryan commenting at all? Isn't little Paulie's admission of Russian interference (though denying it had any effect) an act of insubordination to his master?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 2:12:23 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 2:18:18 GMT -5
1) That's still racist......
2) The only time this has occurred was after 9-11... Why should Danes die in Afghanistan after 9/11 fighting next to American troops? More Danes have died as percentage of population than any country.
There's only one person who benefits from this stuff and it isn't the US or our allies.
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 18, 2018 5:26:17 GMT -5
In the world of CI, this is known as a honey trap: There, Butina met Paul Erickson, a South Dakota-based Republican operative who was well known to Republican insiders, going back to the work he did as national political director for Pat Buchanan’s presidential campaign in 1992. She told the Senate Intelligence Committee in April that she began a romantic relationship with the American operative, people familiar with her testimony said. Erickson matches a description of an American described in court filings as a political operative who helped introduce Butina to influential American political figures “for the purpose of advancing the agenda of the Russian Federation.” “Hello, I am Russian,” one veteran CPAC attendee recalled she told him as she introduced herself, quickly asking questions in accented but otherwise excellent English: “What do you do? Who do you back for president?” The CPAC veteran, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, recalled her as “friendly, curious and flirtatious.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/she-was-like-a-novelty-how-alleged-russian-agent-maria-butina-gained-access-to-elite-conservative-circles/2018/07/17/1bb62bbc-89d2-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html?utm_term=.62d8f2a2c80aforeignpolicy.com/2010/03/12/the-history-of-the-honey-trap/
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SSHoya
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"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 18, 2018 6:21:44 GMT -5
Obviously, Bill Shine, the disgraced former head of Fox News now Deputy COS for Communications at the WH is one of "the best people." To put the lying liar out there again to lie and then hedge ("could have been a lot of people, lots of people out there") was a master stroke -- for those who are so lack cognitive functioning that they continue to support Trump. Trump is the biggest threat to US national security and the supine feckless GOP is complicit. But "I support his agenda!"
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Jul 18, 2018 11:37:32 GMT -5
Just now after the Cabinet meeting:
Q: Is Russia still targeting the United States?
Trump: No.
The biggest threat to US national security but you mouth breathing Trump supporters still stand behind this mentally unstable, racist, xenophobic malignant narcissist.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:19:02 GMT -5
Putin engages in cyber activity to help Trump and Trump despite all of the evidence provides cover for Putin to keep doing it. He views Putin as an ally, and US citizens that are disgusted by this behavior his enemy... What part did I get wrong?
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