Buried in the massive $1.3 trillion spending bill that Congress is considering this week are strict new punishments against Russia, in what lawmakers and aides say is a message to President Donald Trump to reconsider his relaxed posture toward Moscow.

The legislation, which Trump was always expected to sign, includes restrictions that bar many federal agencies from engaging financially or otherwise with the Kremlin and its backers on a number of fronts. Lawmakers from both parties viewed those provisions and others as an opportunity to enshrine new punishments against Vladimir Putin’s regime at a time when the Trump administration has taken heat for its refusal to immediately and fully implement mandatory sanctions and other punishments.

“Those [sanctions] were a good first step. But I do think that these newer sanctions hopefully put a little more bite to it. And frankly I think that’s a good thing,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Daily Beast. “The Russians are guilty of bad behavior all over the world. And so we shouldn’t be doing anything to encourage or condone that.”

The new measures come as the White House faces renewed criticism over its handling of Russia. Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the president, against the advice of his top aides, congratulated Putin on winning re-election to another six-year term. He also did not press Putin on election-meddling or on the nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom.
via The Daily Beast

I have been an FBI Special Agent for over 21 years. I spent half of that time investigating Russian Organized Crime as a street agent and Supervisor in New York City. I have spent the second half of my career focusing on national security issues and protecting this country from terrorism. I served in some of the most challenging, demanding investigative and leadership roles in the FBI. And I was privileged to serve as Deputy Director during a particularly tough time.

For the last year and a half, my family and I have been the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation and my service to this country. Articles too numerous to count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and degrading allegation against us. The president’s tweets have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service. And all along we have said nothing, never wanting to distract from the mission of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about it.

No more.

The investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has to be understood in the context of the attacks on my credibility. The investigation flows from my attempt to explain the FBI’s involvement and my supervision of investigations involving Hillary Clinton. I was being portrayed in the media over and over as a political partisan, accused of closing down investigations under political pressure. The FBI was portrayed as caving under that pressure, and making decisions for political rather than law enforcement purposes. Nothing was further from the truth. In fact, this entire investigation stems from my efforts, fully authorized under FBI rules, to set the record straight on behalf of the Bureau and to make it clear that we were continuing an investigation that people in DOJ opposed.

via Vox

Tip #1 – DON’T PRAISE NAZIS. Seriously. Nazis are not popular anywhere, but they’re incredibly unpopular in California. We know this has been an issue for you in the past, so to be absolutely clear: DO NOT PRAISE NAZIS, WHITE SUPREMACISTS OR MEMBERS OF THE KKK WHILE YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA.

Tip #2 – Take a moment and enjoy our beautiful coastline. It’s breathtaking, and we’re very proud of it. In particular, please notice that we have (more than) enough oil rigs on our coast. WE DON’T NEED MORE OIL RIGS ON OUR COAST.

Tip #3 – Don’t try and divide people while you’re here. We’re incredibly diverse. We’re one of the most diverse and inclusive places in the world. We’re also a pretty chill group, but when you start attacking any of us, all of us react negatively. (Full disclosure: this isn’t so much a tip on visiting California as it is a tip on being a decent human being).

Tip #4 - Do Not Come For Maxine Waters Unless She Sends For You. We know you have some issues with your fiercest critic in Congress. Resist the temptation, bite your tongue, hand your list of racist dog whistles back to Jeff Sessions, and do not insult Maxine Waters. She's a California Icon and you're not in her league. And while we're on the subject...

Go here for all 9 tips from the California Democratic Party!