Monday, October 30, 2017

MAGA! More Attorneys Getting Attorneys

Here we go, Paul Manafort, his deputy Rick Gates and 12 indictments, including conspiracy against the United States.
According to the indictments, Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered agents for the government of Ukraine, between 2006 and 2015. (I blogged about Ukraine & Russia starting in 2013, here, here and here)
It appears that Manafort had ties to Ukraine's President Yanukovych, who was president from 2010 to 2014. Apparently Gates and Manafort profited from those ties and got millions that were laundered through the US.
One thing I was looking at during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine was who would profit from that crisis? Looks like it was Manafort and Gates, along with President Yanukovych, who would eventually flee to Russia.
There is an interesting timeline, involving a confluence of events, when it comes to Manafort and the Trump campaign;  Manafort joined the Trump campaign back in March 2016, after Trump fired Corey Lewandowski.
By June of 2016, there was a meeting at Trump Tower, with Don Jr., Kushner and Manafort with a lawyer who had Kremlin ties. The Senate Intelligence Committee has been investigating this meeting, at first Donny Jr. denied it ever happened. Recall, that this meeting happened because these people thought they could get some incriminating evidence on Hillary Clinton.
By August of 2016 it was reported that Manafort may have illegally received $12.7 million from The Party of Regions, President Yanukovych's former party.
By August 17th Trump had his first security briefing, 2 days later, Manafort resigned and Steve Bannon took his place.So there's some context.
 Whether there is any evidence, when it comes to Trump's  campaign being tied in, remains to be seen. Trump tweeted that there was "NO COLLUSION"
I did have my suspicions about Trump's intentions, when I wrote about the JFK Files last week, that he may have done the CIA/FBI a solid, allowing them to redact more incriminating evidence, in order to stay out of trouble, in case of any dirt the Mueller investigation found out about Trump.
That could also include members of Trump's family.
Regarding the "softening"of the GOP platform on Russia, during the Trump campaign, the US would not be giving weapons to Ukraine. Trump denied he was involved, (We  just give weapons to the Saudi's and Israel.)
Also, on Friday, when the indictments were sealed, a US Eastern Virginia Attorney by the name of Dana Boente,  resigned, clearing the way for a Trump appointment. There was speculation that Trump could hire someone sympathetic, who could be persuaded to fire Mueller.
Then there's speculation that Manafort or Gates will be persuaded to take immunity in order to rat on other rats that haven't jumped ship.
So much winning!
So, I wonder how long this will actually last? The Las Vegas shooting was about a week.
Then we've got those kneeling football players ruining America. Oh, the humanity!
I doubt this story is going to last longer than Halloween, depending on what distraction is served up next. Maybe for trick or treat Trump will pardon Manafort and Gates.
Tonight is Mischief Night, anything can happen!



Friday, October 27, 2017

The JFK Files


My earliest memory of television, was this day.
I remember my mother crying after something the man on the TV said.
 When you see your mother crying, you know something has gone terribly wrong.
It's embedded in my memory, like a lot of people.
 I really didn't know what to expect, when it came to the "new"information Trump said would be so "interesting" that was released yesterday, well, some of it anyway.
 Was Trump talking about his claims that Ted Cruz's father was seen with Lee Harvey Oswald, before he shot JFK?
He tried to use this for political advantage during his election.
So,what was the point of this weird twitter buildup?
Is it some kind of distraction from what went down in Niger? With the further distraction of Trump and the soldier's widow, to deflect us from that horror show too?
Maybe it's the FBI investigation, they have now interviewed Sean Spicer?
Could it be that Trump is holding on to some of the files, as a favor to the FBI/CIA in order to gain some kind of favor, during this investigation of him? Mueller, who is in charge of the investigation, was also a major player during the 9/11 investigation, he is KNOWN for throwing investigations.
 I wouldn't be expecting anything from that guy.
 As far as the "release" of the "new" JFK  files, we aren't going to be learning anything these criminal agencies don't want us to know.
There will be no evidence that does not back up the official story, that Oswald did it and the Russians were in on it. It is ironic, since the Russians are still in the headlines over 50 years later and we are still supposed to fear them, be very afraid.
 Right.
I am sure there will be a lot of people pouring through the archives, to shed some new light on the lies we were told from day one about the assassination.
I won't be one of them.
 It is nothing but a circular unproductive knot, without resolution.
 It is nothing more than a distraction from what is really happening to us, now.
Is it any coincidence the same day the JFK files were supposed to be released, that Trump goes full on the Opioid Crisis?  Does it mean anything to know that Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey and one of the most corrupt politicians in the country, is head of the Opioid Task Force?
So, Trump at least remembered to sign the Executive Order, this time, but what is it going to do exactly? Trump can call for a lot of things, like a Public Health Emergency, but without any funding, what is that supposed to do?
I guess it's about as useful as saying he's going to release the files about the JFK assassination, but then holds back some for later.
 It's always a bunch of smoke and mirrors with him.
Meanwhile, what's Trump going to do this weekend? Will it be golf in Bedminster? A trip to Mar-A-Lago? So far his golf outings have cost the tax payer; $75,567,520, he didn't even earmark that much money for the Opioid Crisis.
The funding last year under President Obama was for $37,000,000.
It's really weird how the last heroin crisis we had was during Vietnam and nothings changed. JFK,had a hand in that war, contributing to more drug addiction. Here we are again. No closer to solving that problem, than to finding out what really happened in Dallas almost 54 years ago.
                                         Hope I don't trip over one of these on my run today.






Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Flake News

The first thing that went through my mind when I heard about Jeff Flake denouncing Trump, again, was; Oh really?
Since when does Flake have any principles or values?
So there was a meeting with Trump and a bunch of Republicans and Flake came out of it and denounced Trump in  the senate in front of an audience of  how many? I have seen estimates of over a dozen Senators in attendance, out of 100 Senators. This tells me, not only are they lazy bastards, but they knew what Flake was up to and didn't want to rile Trump up listening to Flake go off.
Cui Bono
Who benefits?
What kind of deal is going on? There has got to be something in this for Flake.
He's trying to say he's got some kind of Conscience, but the evidence says he does not.
He's been known to lie.
Especially when it comes to his sketchy past as a lobbyist in Namibia, representing the interests of Rio Tinto's Uranium mine.
Does good old Flake have another sweet deal with the Rio Tinto mining company?
 In the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act., Both Flake and John McCain snuck in a giveaway of sacred Apache land to Rio Tinto. 
 I am sure Rio Tinto owes him their gratitude.
Flake voted to repeal Obamacare with nothing to replace or offer Americans.
Yeah, he's got a conscience.
He sold out and voted to allow telecom companies to sell consumer data.
I am sure Flake has a plan, maybe to go back to the Goldwater Institute, where he was Executive Director. Good old Grover Norquist is on the Board of Directors.This is where his "Conscience of a Conservative" reboot came from in the first place. Also, a guy named Templer, has connections to Mesa, Arizona, where Flake's home is.
Flake knows his re-election chances are over. The latest poll shows him trailing his opponent by 14 points. Robert Mercer the hedge fund billionaire who backed Trump is going to fund Kelli Ward, who would be running against Flake in 2018.
Flake is no hero, more likely he's a coward. He holds the party line and votes with Trump. His future, rest assured will be well compensated.



Sunday, October 15, 2017

When Roosters Come Home To Roost

I really wish I could say I've never come into contact with dudes like this. I can't even pinpoint when it started happening. Maybe it was when your creepy uncle wanted you to sit in his lap.
 13 years old is too old for that.
 When you are a woman, life is a minefield of stepping around these creepy men.
Color me surprised when the stories about Harvey Weinstein came out. Who knew? How is it even shocking? It's everywhere.
Not just in Hollywood.
 It's on the bus or the subway, it's when you are out on your daily run and dudes pull up and try to get you to go with them in their cars - when you refuse they get angry.
I could go on & on.                                                        What will Harvey's punishment be for sexual assault, rape, and molesting women?
Just kick him out of the Hollywood Oscar Club.
By Monday, there will be a fresh new crisis to look at and he'll be safe in his sex rehab clinic.
The rich never pay.
I can barely wrap my head around creepy Stephen Paddock and the clusterf*ck going on in Las Vegas.
What sheriff has to come out and say that there's no conspiracy? Since when has that ever happened?
A lot of people have no faith in the police or the FBI's timeline at all. People are over believing the "official stories." they've been burned with; from the  Gulf of Tonkin to JFK, to 9/11, now they don't believe anything anymore.
 I have seen all the theories out there, I don't have any idea of what's true or what's not. I am leaning towards MGM screwing up royally and trying to do damage control so they won't lose millions in lawsuits
 The creepy guy who killed and wounded all those people, played video poker for 14 hours a day, he would rather interact with a machine than a human, that is, when he wasn't amassing enough fire power to start a small war and don't get me started on his weird brother.
Who the hell acts like this when there's a horrible tragedy?
 Who talks about money like this and tries to justify his parasitic life of living off his brother by saying not everyone works at Taco Bell?
Seriously, there's something very wrong with these Paddock people.

                                      
In D.C., the week started out with Senator Corker telling us the White House is running an adult day care center, which only made me laugh.
 Doddering Dotard, who for the second time, forgot to sign an Executive Order, to gut Obamacare, Pence had to chase after him and tell him to sign.
It could take a long time to take subsidies away from Obamacare, I can't even find a date other than the middle of next year.
I have no love for Obama, but why do this? When you've got nothing to offer except taking away what little Americans have when it comes to our crap healthcare system?
 It reminded me of the Rose Garden announcement when Congress tried to "decertify" Obamacare. Look where that went, all the way to Dotard signing his own
order to take money away from it. 
 Dotard isn't much different than Kim Jong-un.
 Have big displays over nothing much, act like it's a big victory, wait till the next news cycle takes over and no one will care.
Did Rex Tillerson call Donald Trump a "fucking moron" for wanting to build even more of a nuclear arsenal than we already have? How many do we need? Seriously, is there ever enough for these psychopathic dudes?
Rex Tillerson must be a moron too, to continue working for one.
They should both take I.Q. tests. Maybe that should be a prerequisite for a position of power.
Then there's the Iran Nuclear Treaty "decertification" I was like, is that a thing? Can you "decertify" something that other countries signed too? It just looks like Dotard gets a bug up his ass and then he's got to make something happen. Like have a big speech. But a speech doesn't mean anything.
Actions are what you look at and all he can do is sign some papers, or make it look like he actually did something, then run off to Mar-A-Lago or Bedminster to golf. Why?
Because Trump "hates everyone in the White House."
I think Trump used to have a life set up more like Weinstein or Paddock.
Those dudes really didn't have to deal with anyone they didn't want to or maybe even anything at all. Weinstein isn't alone when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct. Donald Trump has had his share too. God only knows what we'll find about these dudes, and their double lives, they are able to keep hidden because of money or influence. They literally do not care if they drone some people or try to coerce a woman to sleep with them for a future starring role, or shoot up a concert.
It's just business to them. "Not everyone works for Taco Bell", "sometimes gambling's just like a job."
Until the last gamble doesn't pay off, until you find you have overextended yourself, until you have just flat run out of luck. That's what happens to these psychopaths. Like Stephen Paddocks father, who also led a double life.
I don't know why authorities are so surprised when these people lead a double life, it's not like it came from nowhere. I know I have had run in's with more than my share of these people, who are capable of so much chaos & confusion. It get's to the point where you know them when you see them, from the trail of nonsense they leave behind them. The less money they have the less they are able to cover their problems up. I have seen them get dragged off to psych wards for calling up authorities & impersonating people from other countries with weird accents, to getting hauled off by the cops for spitting on them.
You don't need money to be a psychopath. You just need to be heartless and ruthless. The most troubling thing about the Stephen Paddock's and the Harvey Weinstein's is they are everywhere. They are in your neighborhood and at the Walmart. Once you have had an encounter with one, you never look at people the same way again.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Guns and Guitars

It wasn't lost on me,the irony, that Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter bought his guns at a place called "Guns & Guitars."
 While he was busy shooting, American icon, musician, Tom Petty, was leaving this world.
These guys were both in the same age bracket and that is all they had in common.
One man was creative and wrote the soundtrack for our day to day American lives.
Tom Petty, struggled with addiction and beat it. He had a violent upbringing and rose above it, bringing joy and comfort in bad times to people around the world. He will be missed.
On the other hand, it seems that the Las Vegas murderer, Mr. Paddock, was addicted to gambling, made millions and God only knows what his upbringing was like; his father was a diagnosed psychopath and bank robber.
I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up with that kind of burden. I am sure at that time there was no thought of the lasting psychological damage that caused.
According to his family, he was "just a guy" I find it hard to believe there wasn't one red flag that smelled "off" to someone. I can't find an answer to how someone, who was supposedly a "normal guy," could stockpile 42 weapons, thousands of rounds of ammo and explosives. You just don't buy that in a day or a week, it takes planning and time, money wasn't a problem, I guess.
He was described as a "Lone Wolf" yeah, ok. I haven't ever heard of a wolf who killed that many people and injured over 500 more. So let's stop with this weird romanticized "Lone Wolf" label. There are too many of these white male's to keep calling them a "Lone Wolf."
Why do so many white guys do this? Why do some men pick up a guitar and another a gun?
How is it that one person can buy that many weapons?
This country is awash in guns and that will not change.
It is a proxy war by corporate powers and the NRA to keep American citizens in a frightened and helpless state.
What do we do, when we hear of another shooting, another blood bath? We shake our heads and just go on. Weapons of war are used on the American people daily, if not by the police, then it's our armed neighbors and so it goes...
Lots of thoughts and prayers and then there will be some lame attempt at gun control, but nothing will happen that will stop corporate donations rolling in and the carnage to continue.
In 2017, there have been, 35,403  deaths and injuries due to gun violence. (not including the recent massacre) Let me add another stat to that, there were 60,000 drug overdoses in 2016.
Seriously, between the guns and the drugs, what is going on in this country that is causing this amount of human misery? That's close to 100,000 people and the stats aren't all in for 2017.
If there was a raging epidemic of some virus killing 100,000 people something would be done about it.
How is it that people in 2017 don't have the tools to deal with the stress and despair in their lives?
It's like we have chosen mass murder and suicide instead of trying to solve these problems in any meaningful way.
I don't know the answers to these problems, the artist in me wants to shut down all the gun shops and give free guitars to anyone who wants a gun. Pick up a guitar, not a gun.
I know, for myself, at my bleakest times it was music that saved me. It was art that kept me going.
I taught my kids to play the guitar and paint and sing.
When I was in a band, a long time ago, Tom Petty was on our set list.
That's me, in the band
Despite the heartbreak in this country, there is still beauty, and music.
Unfortunately along with all the people who lost their lives at a concert  in Las Vegas, we lost Tom Petty too.
RIP to all the lives lost.
This was one of Tom Petty's songs we played back in the day, it's probably pretty appropriate.