Listening to CNN. Sean Spicer said that British intelligence wiretapped Trump Tower on behalf of the Obama administration. British intelligence said the claim was nonsense, and the British Prime Minister demanded an apology.
When asked the source of this claim, Dpicer said he heard it from a commentator on Fox News. The right wing ideologue Judge Napolitano.
Christiane Amanpour said the Brits are scratching their heads and wondering why the president of the world’s most powerful nation is relying on Fox News for information, not the NSA, the CIA, or the FBI.
Two possibilities:
1. He is mentally unfit
2. He is distracting attention from something else. Budget cuts? The Russian investigation?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
And most Americans KNOW he is insane.
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Most of us and those around the world have quit wondering a long time ago.
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Excellent article today in the New Yorker re Trump as president…by Jane Mayer. Features the Mercer family,the Kochs, Brietbart and Bannon, and IMO our truly shadow government. RESIST is imperative…also read today more about Gorka, Trump’s advisor at Bannon’s behest and his current Nazi ties with Hungary.
Bannon who is Trump’s brain, is making America Fascist, not again, but for the first time in our history.
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RE : “resist”, I am so proud of my [solidly-Republican?!] NJ town. Our congressional rep’s office is across from a fave groc store, so I monitor. Every Tues eve since inauguration, NJ Action has a crowd w/signs chanting out front. & recently as debates on healthcare began, another group is out there Thurs eves w/amped folk-songs. Better yet, many driving by (incl me) honk in appreciation.
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Slowly Resist and similar organizations are building a national community of well meaning people who are intent on fighting back. In my local neighborhood this AM I led a meeting for 27 folks, from 22 years old to about 80. Four spoke out about having transgendered children, and others spoke about local anti Semitic acts with swastikahs painted on buildings, others remembered how we fought for clean air and remembered not be allowed to play outside when the smog was too choking, and on and on.
Almost everyone volunteered to do something of consequence and not just schmooze and complain. It was so heartening to think that hundreds of thousands across the country are joining together to Dump Trump.
And all mentioned how rude and arrogant this pseudo Prez was with Angela Merkel ….which led to a worthwhile foreign policy conversation…which led me then talk about ALEC. Not a single person in the room had heard of ALEC so we are doing a study group in three weeks, to learn in depth about ALEC and our shadow government. Most did not know about the Koch Bros. so we will focus on their wealth, plus their vast array of products we can live without, and their intrusion into academe with their Christian colleges producing their own candidates for the legislatures around the nation.
So much to learn, so much to teach.
We agreed that in a few months each person would be a teacher, and exponentially get the word out as to how we could regain our democratic republic from the Trump assault. Such greedy misinformation to have Mulvaney assert that Meals on Wheels deserves to be cut since “it does not work”…and 31% of the EPA must be cut because it is worthless…and ACA must be killed for Free Market intrusion (so 24 Million poor people will be without any health insurance)…the lies, the degraded mentality of these merchants of evil.
Lots of good suggestions from my small group of naysayers however as with having a ticker tape running at CNN and other news sources as The Liar in Chief speaks, which pointed out real facts from his meandering “alternative facts”.
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Word of mouth is more powerful than the media. Think six degrees of separation.
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YES…
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To answer their question, YES. Any other questions they need answered?
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Even an insane person like the malignant narcissist in the White House is dangerous. Being insane isn’t an impediment from doing a lot of damage to the country and the world. In fact, it makes the situation worse.
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Was the comment made by the Old Spicey or the New Spicey?
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There’s a difference?
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I sent this to a British friend saying, “I hope the Brits think Trump is insane. We need supporters on both sides of the pond.”
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I am watching the joint Merkel/Donald press conference. The first question by the German press, from the German Press Agency (DPA), is a model for how real journalists should ask questions: “Madame Chancellor, given the experience of the GDR [East Germany], you are always saying that you are so confident that walls can fall, also, but how dangerous do you think this isolationist policy of the U.S. president is, what with the [import of terrorists that he plans (poor translation)], and also with the fact that he doesn’t think that the E.U., doesn’t deal with the E.U. in a very respectful way. And, Mr. President, America First, don’t you think that is also going to weaken also the European Union? And why are you so scared of diversity in the news, in the media, that you speak so often of fake news, and that things, in the end, that cannot be proven, for example the fact that you have been wiretapped by Mr. Obama.”
Of course, Donald started with a dig and then sidestepped the answer with is preset talking points. Too bad we don’t have a press corps that will consistently ask questions like this.
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Drumpf was so rude to Merkel, it was appalling to watch her embarrassment. He refused to even look at her as she made overtures toward him to shake hands and to speak. The media caught it all. Horrible…this man belongs in a padded cell, not in OUR WH.
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CNN’s Jim Acosta is doing a pretty good job at the spice-shows.
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YES
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Sean Spicer needs to go back to playing the White House Easter Bunny, a job he performed remarkably well during the second Bush administration.
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It was reprehensible the manner in which the American President snubbed her request for a handshake to show the solidarity of our two nations.
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He’s not only out of his mind, he has no manners or statesmanship.
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I didn’t know that. that makes me sick.
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We don’t wonder Diane. We know!
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Deflector in chief: do whatever to misdirect attention from Russia and his sorry health care. He seems to have a need to blame everything on Obama and tear down all progressive programs under Obamacare.
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A middle school teacher recognizes this behavior. He is jealous of Obama.
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Spicer and Conway must be spun from the same cloth. Each is on the cuckoo train backpedaling the nonsense that Trump asserts, alleges, insinuates, and tweets. Why should we, here, be surprised? We’ve know for years that up is down, black is white, etc. Spicer is not as masterful as Conway in his wordsmithing, but the poor dear does try.
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Spicer said today there were no apologies to Britain. Because he is standing by the claim that Britain spied on Trump Tower.
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That is pathetic. I thought their idea was to stick close to BREXIT-Britain, à la Reagan/ Thacher. I guess isolationism includes antagonizing UK.
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Now that Conway’s husband is being nominated for a top DOJ post we know why Kellyanne continues to carry water for the Rump.
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Meanwhile…Tillerson is talking about open warfare with No. Korea, and Ryan is killing ACA. And the Comey report on Russian interference with our election is not even mentioned. How we are being played…..
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Do you really think Ryan is killing ACA? The trumpista natives seem restless…
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Reports say 12 – 16 Repubs don’t want the Ryan Health Care. Said long ago we should be leaning on the Repubs…still think this is the way to use our energy.
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Agree. I email my longtime (R) congressman on issues every couple of months. And locals are outside his office w/signs & chants twice a week. Altho his inclinations are pretty far right, he is a decent & personable man who listens. One of the Repubs who has braved a vociferous Town Hall mtg– even scheduled an extra mtg for the overflow crowd. I think he may be nudged toward center on both healthcare and vouchers based on needs/ wants of locals.
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Calling Trump “insane” is doing a great disservice to insanity. This is not normal.
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This showed up on Slate. Here is another excuse in the WH not being understood. This comes from Slate.
…….
U.S. Reportedly Apologizes to U.K. for White House Endorsement of Wiretap Conspiracy Claim
By Ben Mathis-Lilley
The United States has “made a formal apology” to the U.K. for White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s endorsement of an unsubstantiated claim by a Fox News commentator that a British intelligence service gave then-President Obama transcripts of intercepted Donald Trump conversations, the U.K. Telegraph reports…
In an official statement, the British signals-intelligence service objected strenuously to Napolitano’s claim after Spicer cited it:
Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct ‘wiretapping’ against the then president-elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored.”
The U.S. has apparently backed down, the Telegraph says:
Intelligence sources told The Telegraph that both Mr Spicer and General McMaster, the US National Security Adviser, have apologised over the claims. “The apology came direct from them,” a source said.
General McMaster contacted Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the Prime Minister’s National Security adviser, to apologise for the comments. Mr Spicer conveyed his apology through Sir Kim Darroch, Britain’s US ambassador…
Per the Washington Post’s Abby Phillip, the administration is now also claiming that Spicer didn’t mean to “endorse” Napolitano’s report:
Ambassador Kim Darroch and Sir Mark Lyall expressed their concerns to Sean Spicer and General McMaster. Mr. SPicer and Gen. McMaster both explained that he was simply pointing to public reports and not endorsing any specific story….
Sure, reading a report aloud from the podium at the White House and identifying it as evidence “that something was going on during the 2016 election” is a strange way to not endorse something, but I guess that’s politics for you.
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They’re just trying to straddle the fence: we’re isolationalist, but maybe UK is OK, cuz, BREXIT.
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Carol,
You probably heard that Trump is not apologizing to the U.K.
Our British allies are furious. BREXIT or no, they think he is a fool. This will give momentum to the movement to withdraw the state invitation to Trump to visit London and meet the Queen.
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This came from the NYT. So now we have to worry about N. Korea becoming a nuclear threat. Forget being able to negotiate, that’s for those who are weak. Got to bully N. Korea and China.
This time the Buffoon is staging something really dangerous.
……………..
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said for the first time that the Trump administration might take pre-emptive action if North Korea’s nuclear threat reached an unacceptable level.
During a visit to South Korea, Mr. Tillerson ruled out negotiations with the North over its nuclear and missile programs.
Whether he takes a hard line with China — where he is headed next — over its support for North Korea will be closely watched, as will be the response of China.
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I’m not sure I agree “the buffoon is staging something really dangerous,” the staging is being done by NKorea.
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Here is a good video that has a clip in which Trump proudly admits that he has many ties to Russia. Now, of course, he denies all involvement.
……..
How Foreign Powers Could Try to Buy Trump
The Atlantic
Published on Mar 17, 2017
Donald Trump is an unprecedentedly wealthy president, who owns or licenses his name to buildings, casinos, and luxury hotels around the world. An ethics watchdog group has already brought a lawsuit against him for violating the Constitution’s “Emoluments Clause,” which prohibits government officials from receiving gifts from foreign states. Trump has taken few steps to distance himself from his organization, and foreign governments could use the President’s business interests as bargaining chips to influence his policymaking. Atlantic writer Jeremy Venook has been monitoring the President’s growing list of conflicts of interests since November 2016, and breaks down some of the most alarming ones in this video.
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Just two questions:
Has someone put the football away yet?
Where is Bannon?
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As of this AM, Tillerson seems to indicate that he has the football and is about to toss it at, not to, North Korea. Terrifying bunch of thugs we have who are now in charge with NO experience.
But in LA, gas prices are close to, or over, $4 a gallon…so Tlllerson’s Exxon gang is raking in the profits.
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BOTH!
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