A fascinating story appeared on the New York Times website tonight. The relationship is based on Jared Kushner’s friendships with Turkish sons-in-law. Guys like him.
Read this:
By David D. Kirkpatrick and Eric Lipton
ISTANBUL — Behind President Trump’s accommodating attitude toward Turkey is an unusual back channel: a trio of sons-in-law who married into power and now play key roles in connecting Ankara with Washington.
One, Turkey’s finance minister, is the son-in-law of its strongman president and oversees his country’s relationship with the United States.
Another is the son-in-law of a Turkish tycoon and became a business partner to the Trump Organization. Now he advocates for Turkey with the Trump administration.
And the third is Jared Kushner, who as the son-in-law of and senior adviser to Mr. Trump has a vague if expansive foreign policy portfolio.
Our foreign policy is now being dictated by relatives of both Trump and Erdogan’s. In this country it should be outlawed to have relatives as official consultants. Jared, Ivanka are not qualified to be anywhere near the Oval Office. They are motivated by their own personal enrichment.
Where are the recorded or transcripts of phone calls between Jared, Trump and Turkish officials? How much more dirt has been put in highly classified files?
This is Trump’s version of leadership: nepotism, conflicts of interest and corruption. He exploits racism and religion to appeal to the lowest instincts of humanity. Because of his ignorance, foreign leaders can easily manipulate him.
Why, at this time in history, are so many evil dictators gaining power? I’m not a historian. Was this always the case? N. Korea: Kim Jong Un; Saudi Arabia: Mohammed bin Salam; Turkey: Erdogan; Philippines: Duterte: Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil.
Interesting that they are all friends of Trump’s. He emulates them for their power that he wants to have.
Erdogan – democratic backsliding and corruption, established an executive presidency to minimize parliamentary governance, purged secular bureaucrats, replacing them with the religious.
DeVos is the poster child for Erdogan-type governance. Leonard Leo’s Federalist Society provides the ideal judges to enable.
I agree, the rise of populist cult leaders on both ends of the political spectrum is extremely concerning. One can count Chavez and Maduro of Venezuela as leftist leaders whose followers approve of their leader’s bending the law in order to stay in power. Morales also extended his stay as president of Bolivia past his due date.
The lesson Trump and the GOP are teaching us is how absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The GOP uses the well-worn playbook that Erdogan used- create division between right wing orthodox religion and the secular/moderate religious. It’s just a matter of time before the GOP will move to the next step, sow dissension among the right wing Catholics, right wing Jews and evangelicals. It’s not difficult to predict the loser. BTW- early in his political career, Erdogan was imprisoned for inciting religious hatred among sects.
Pres. Coolidge’s immigration law (a model for Hitler’s plans) targeted Eastern and southern Europeans, which in the 20’s would have included Jews and Italians (mostly Catholic). With total indifference to history, Trump’s Steven Miller, as reported by SPLC, wrote e-mails to Breitbart, repeatedly referencing Coolidge’s immigration law. Breitbart was Steve Bannon’s mouthpiece. Following Trump’s election, Bannon had a campaign that sent political messages to phones that had had GPS locations in Catholic Churches.
Some at this blog would have us ignore the writing on the wall.
“Public Schools are the Heart of American Identity” – a statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (moderate religious).
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated they themselves had been the strongest advocates for privatization since the beginning of the school choice movement.
Bellwether advised ed reformers to reach out to churches to achieve their goals.
Princess Sparkle and the Orange Buffoon both speak. It’s sickening to ramble on about how great this complex is. “We really stress quality!” No you don’t. Trump stresses how great he is.
…………………………………….. Donald Trump in April 2012 opening the Trump Towers in Istanbul, Turkey
Matt Novak
Video from the opening of Trump Towers in Istanbul, Turkey.
I wonder what all of this means for the fate of Fethullah Gülen who has been a permanent resident of the US for twenty years. He lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania, while managing to establish at least 200 Gülen charter schools in the US, with names such as Harmony, Magnolia, Paragon Science Academy.
A lawyer working for the Turkish Government has set up a website with an interactive map showing the number of Gülen charter schools in each state and number of H-IB visa workers for the schools, the number of property deals made and other factoids. http://www.empireofdeceit.com/#3
It is also also clear from numerous press reports that Giuliani was especially interested in getting Gülen deported to Turkey where he is regarded as an enemy of the Erdogan for “backing” a 2016 coup attempt.
Mike Flynn was a paid lobbyist for Turkey before he was briefly Trump’s national security advisor. Flynn wanted to deport Gulen too. Erdogan is a dictator and he blames Gulen for the bloody and failed coup of 2016. Let’s see what Trump does. Under these circumstances, the imam becomes a sympathetic figure.
Watching Trump cozy up to foreign dictators in an age of rising authoritarianism is very troubling. What I hope to see is the impeachment circus evolving into a real look at how the present foreign policy direction places the US squarely on the side of ideas that are in conflict with our self-interest, our foundational principles, and our collective better judgement.
This is the current BS that is coming from the WH. Trump is guilty but all sorts of excuses are being promoted to make this a ‘witch hunt’ to sway pubic opinion against him. Poor innocent Trump.
NOW Trump is interested in what Congress could be doing if they weren’t wasting time chasing him?? HA.
……………………………………….
West Wing Reads
How Democrat Leaders Made Today’s Hearings ‘As Scripted As Possible’
“Democrats from Speaker Nancy Pelosi on down are open about their intentions here: The point now isn’t to examine the evidence so they can decide whether to impeach President Trump, but simply to sway public opinion against him,” the New York Post editorial board writes.
“Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman, have tried to make the coming hearings as scripted as possible: They’re only calling witnesses who’ve already testified in secret, or in some cases just releasing transcripts of that testimony.”
The editors write that it’s clear House Democrats aren’t actually trying to reach across the aisle and persuade their colleagues in the Senate, as the Founders intended. “No, Democrats are using impeachment as a partisan stunt — perverting the Constitution’s process for purely political purposes. It’s a disgrace.”
“Schiff and Pelosi are not interested in real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. Their only interest is staging a political coup against their adversaries. But this is even bigger than the president. This is an attempt to overthrow the federal government from the inside,” constitutional law attorney Jenna Ellis Rives writes in The Hill.
Much like the hyped-up “whistleblower,” Rep. Schiff today is calling forward individuals to testify who admit they have no firsthand knowledge of President Trump’s telephone call with the President of Ukraine. “The Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says he doesn’t want Republicans turning the impeachment proceedings into a ‘sham.’ The hilarious irony is lost on no one,” Gregg Jarrett writes for Fox News.
“For those who find the hearings far from riveting but watch out of obligation or amusement, here’s a modest suggestion to pass the hours productively: Count the important things your representatives could and should be doing otherwise. They could seal the border and fix the immigration mess. They could get back to that huge infrastructure program that everybody in Washington said they wanted. Pelosi could pass the new NAFTA deal, with even the unions blasting Dems for doing nothing,” Michael Goodwin writes in the New York Post.
“It has become clearer than ever that our trading policies with Canada and Mexico need to be modernized — which is why Congress must take action and ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) promptly,” writes Darlene Robbins, leader of a Pennsylvania manufacturing association, in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
Is this the Turkey that will be “pardoned” by IQ45 pre-Thanksgiving?
As for Gulen, he has no sympathy from me. How much of our money has been diverted from our public schools & exactly what is being taught in those schools?
& he lives well–on a compound–on our dime.
Gulen Schools raided by the F.B.I., & we still are in the dark, with no closures or outcome.
Tamir Soner, formerly head of Harmony schools is a Fellow of the Gates funded Pahara. His wife Nancy J Li is on the St. Thomas Catholic University Business School Advisory Board (Houston) and the board of Royal charter schools where Soner is CEO.
Li’s bio is interesting.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Are they there so that if Mr Trumpolini goes down THEY will have power within the situation ?
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Our foreign policy is now being dictated by relatives of both Trump and Erdogan’s. In this country it should be outlawed to have relatives as official consultants. Jared, Ivanka are not qualified to be anywhere near the Oval Office. They are motivated by their own personal enrichment.
Where are the recorded or transcripts of phone calls between Jared, Trump and Turkish officials? How much more dirt has been put in highly classified files?
This is Trump’s version of leadership: nepotism, conflicts of interest and corruption. He exploits racism and religion to appeal to the lowest instincts of humanity. Because of his ignorance, foreign leaders can easily manipulate him.
Why, at this time in history, are so many evil dictators gaining power? I’m not a historian. Was this always the case? N. Korea: Kim Jong Un; Saudi Arabia: Mohammed bin Salam; Turkey: Erdogan; Philippines: Duterte: Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil.
Interesting that they are all friends of Trump’s. He emulates them for their power that he wants to have.
LikeLike
Erdogan – democratic backsliding and corruption, established an executive presidency to minimize parliamentary governance, purged secular bureaucrats, replacing them with the religious.
DeVos is the poster child for Erdogan-type governance. Leonard Leo’s Federalist Society provides the ideal judges to enable.
LikeLike
I agree, the rise of populist cult leaders on both ends of the political spectrum is extremely concerning. One can count Chavez and Maduro of Venezuela as leftist leaders whose followers approve of their leader’s bending the law in order to stay in power. Morales also extended his stay as president of Bolivia past his due date.
The lesson Trump and the GOP are teaching us is how absolute power corrupts absolutely.
LikeLike
The GOP uses the well-worn playbook that Erdogan used- create division between right wing orthodox religion and the secular/moderate religious. It’s just a matter of time before the GOP will move to the next step, sow dissension among the right wing Catholics, right wing Jews and evangelicals. It’s not difficult to predict the loser. BTW- early in his political career, Erdogan was imprisoned for inciting religious hatred among sects.
Pres. Coolidge’s immigration law (a model for Hitler’s plans) targeted Eastern and southern Europeans, which in the 20’s would have included Jews and Italians (mostly Catholic). With total indifference to history, Trump’s Steven Miller, as reported by SPLC, wrote e-mails to Breitbart, repeatedly referencing Coolidge’s immigration law. Breitbart was Steve Bannon’s mouthpiece. Following Trump’s election, Bannon had a campaign that sent political messages to phones that had had GPS locations in Catholic Churches.
Some at this blog would have us ignore the writing on the wall.
“Public Schools are the Heart of American Identity” – a statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (moderate religious).
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops stated they themselves had been the strongest advocates for privatization since the beginning of the school choice movement.
Bellwether advised ed reformers to reach out to churches to achieve their goals.
LikeLike
Princess Sparkle and the Orange Buffoon both speak. It’s sickening to ramble on about how great this complex is. “We really stress quality!” No you don’t. Trump stresses how great he is.
……………………………………..
Donald Trump in April 2012 opening the Trump Towers in Istanbul, Turkey
Matt Novak
Video from the opening of Trump Towers in Istanbul, Turkey.
LikeLike
I wonder what all of this means for the fate of Fethullah Gülen who has been a permanent resident of the US for twenty years. He lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania, while managing to establish at least 200 Gülen charter schools in the US, with names such as Harmony, Magnolia, Paragon Science Academy.
A lawyer working for the Turkish Government has set up a website with an interactive map showing the number of Gülen charter schools in each state and number of H-IB visa workers for the schools, the number of property deals made and other factoids. http://www.empireofdeceit.com/#3
It is also also clear from numerous press reports that Giuliani was especially interested in getting Gülen deported to Turkey where he is regarded as an enemy of the Erdogan for “backing” a 2016 coup attempt.
This is one of several reports on the degree to which Trump and some of his advisors look at Gülen’s extradition as a possible “gift” to Erdogan. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-tns-bc-trump-cleric-schools-20191028-story.html
See also this article in the Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/giuliani-pressed-trump-to-eject-muslim-cleric-from-us-a-top-priority-of-turkish-president-former-officials-say/2019/10/15/bf43d1ec-ef68-11e9-b648-76bcf86eb67e_story.html
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Mike Flynn was a paid lobbyist for Turkey before he was briefly Trump’s national security advisor. Flynn wanted to deport Gulen too. Erdogan is a dictator and he blames Gulen for the bloody and failed coup of 2016. Let’s see what Trump does. Under these circumstances, the imam becomes a sympathetic figure.
LikeLike
Watching Trump cozy up to foreign dictators in an age of rising authoritarianism is very troubling. What I hope to see is the impeachment circus evolving into a real look at how the present foreign policy direction places the US squarely on the side of ideas that are in conflict with our self-interest, our foundational principles, and our collective better judgement.
LikeLike
This is the current BS that is coming from the WH. Trump is guilty but all sorts of excuses are being promoted to make this a ‘witch hunt’ to sway pubic opinion against him. Poor innocent Trump.
NOW Trump is interested in what Congress could be doing if they weren’t wasting time chasing him?? HA.
……………………………………….
West Wing Reads
How Democrat Leaders Made Today’s Hearings ‘As Scripted As Possible’
“Democrats from Speaker Nancy Pelosi on down are open about their intentions here: The point now isn’t to examine the evidence so they can decide whether to impeach President Trump, but simply to sway public opinion against him,” the New York Post editorial board writes.
“Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman, have tried to make the coming hearings as scripted as possible: They’re only calling witnesses who’ve already testified in secret, or in some cases just releasing transcripts of that testimony.”
The editors write that it’s clear House Democrats aren’t actually trying to reach across the aisle and persuade their colleagues in the Senate, as the Founders intended. “No, Democrats are using impeachment as a partisan stunt — perverting the Constitution’s process for purely political purposes. It’s a disgrace.”
“Schiff and Pelosi are not interested in real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. Their only interest is staging a political coup against their adversaries. But this is even bigger than the president. This is an attempt to overthrow the federal government from the inside,” constitutional law attorney Jenna Ellis Rives writes in The Hill.
Much like the hyped-up “whistleblower,” Rep. Schiff today is calling forward individuals to testify who admit they have no firsthand knowledge of President Trump’s telephone call with the President of Ukraine. “The Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says he doesn’t want Republicans turning the impeachment proceedings into a ‘sham.’ The hilarious irony is lost on no one,” Gregg Jarrett writes for Fox News.
“For those who find the hearings far from riveting but watch out of obligation or amusement, here’s a modest suggestion to pass the hours productively: Count the important things your representatives could and should be doing otherwise. They could seal the border and fix the immigration mess. They could get back to that huge infrastructure program that everybody in Washington said they wanted. Pelosi could pass the new NAFTA deal, with even the unions blasting Dems for doing nothing,” Michael Goodwin writes in the New York Post.
“It has become clearer than ever that our trading policies with Canada and Mexico need to be modernized — which is why Congress must take action and ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) promptly,” writes Darlene Robbins, leader of a Pennsylvania manufacturing association, in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
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Is this the Turkey that will be “pardoned” by IQ45 pre-Thanksgiving?
As for Gulen, he has no sympathy from me. How much of our money has been diverted from our public schools & exactly what is being taught in those schools?
& he lives well–on a compound–on our dime.
Gulen Schools raided by the F.B.I., & we still are in the dark, with no closures or outcome.
LikeLike
We know where state Catholic conferences, Napa Institute and Liberty stand on the Blaine amendments. Gulen, too?
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Tamir Soner, formerly head of Harmony schools is a Fellow of the Gates funded Pahara. His wife Nancy J Li is on the St. Thomas Catholic University Business School Advisory Board (Houston) and the board of Royal charter schools where Soner is CEO.
Li’s bio is interesting.
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