October 9, 2019

White House official told whistleblower Trump Ukraine call was 'frightening'

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-official-told-whistleblower-trump-ukraine-call/story?id=66141284

A White House official listening to President Donald Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president described the call as “crazy” and “frightening” and was “visibly shaken,” according to notes taken by the intelligence official who filed a formal whistleblower complaint after speaking with the official, and others.

ABC News has learned that the two-page memo, written by the whistleblower a day after Trump’s call, suggests that at least one aide to the president feared that Trump’s own words in the call were damning. According to a rough transcript of the call released by the White House, Trump asked Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch an investigation into a political opponent, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and his son.

The notes were based on a brief conversation between the whistleblower and the White House official and described “highlights” from the president’s call. The document was later provided to the intelligence community’s inspector general, who reviewed the whistleblower’s complaint. The IG has determined the complaint “appeared credible” and of “urgent concern.”

The White House had not responded to a request for comment. Trump has defended the call as acting on his duty as president to end corruption “even if that means requesting the help of a foreign country or countries.”

October 8, 2019

"Romney is the pressure point in the impeachment process": Mitt won't primary Trump--but he's.....

“ROMNEY IS THE PRESSURE POINT IN THE IMPEACHMENT PROCESS”: MITT WON’T PRIMARY TRUMP—BUT HE’S TRYING TO BRING HIM DOWN

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/mitt-romney-wont-primary-trump-but-trying-to-bring-him-down-impeachment-2020

When it comes to impeachment, the Republican Senate, resting on the bedrock of Donald Trump’s base, has been viewed as an unbreachable wall. But what would it look like if it started to crack? The first sign might be an ominous quiet. The emergence of a second intelligence-agency whistle-blower, this one reportedly with a firsthand account that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure its government to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, complicates the president’s deep state conspiracy defense—and the senators on whom Trump’s political survival rests are mostly lying low. “The messaging is missing this time,” a former West Wing official told me. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that he would be forced to hold a Senate trial if the House impeached Trump. “There’s been a real increase in nervousness over the past three or four weeks,” a prominent GOP member told me. “Everybody sees what Trump did as such a clear abuse of power,” said another prominent Republican. “Whether it’s criminal or not is another issue. But it’s so blatantly over the line.”

There’s no flood of GOP refugees yet—but there’s unmistakable drift. Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is 87%, a drop of four points since mid September, according to the latest Gallup tracking poll. Meanwhile, Trump’s firewall at Fox News, a vital bulwark that protects his GOP base, has also shown signs of cracking. Tucker Carlson conceded in an op-ed that Trump’s actions were indefensible, though not impeachable. Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano called Trump’s Ukraine actions “criminal and impeachable behavior” last week. Behind the scenes, Fox board member Paul Ryan has privately told Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch to cut ties with Trump.

In the Senate, Ben Sasse and Susan Collins have made their usual equivocal noises—but not surprisingly, its Mitt Romney, longtime Trump antagonist and sometime suck-up, who’s become the standard-bearer, leading to questions as to what his game is. According to sources, donors have in recent days called the Utah senator and encouraged him to run against Trump in the primary. “There is a half-billion dollars on the sidelines from guys who are fed up with Trump,” a GOP donor told me. Their hopes were raised when Romney attacked Trump on Friday, tweeting: “By all appearances, the President’s brazen and unprecedented appeal to China and to Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is wrong and appalling.” Former White House communications director turned Trump antagonist Anthony Scaramucci tweeted a poll showing Romney beating Trump 55% to 37% in a hypothetical primary. Trump fired back on Saturday. “Mitt Romney never knew how to win,” Trump tweeted. “He is a pompous ‘ass’ who has been fighting me from the beginning, except when he begged me for my endorsement for his Senate run (I gave it to him), and when he begged me to be Secretary of State (I didn’t give it to him). He is so bad for R’s!”

According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. In recent days, Romney has been reaching out privately to key players in the Republican resistance, according to a person briefed on the conversations. “Romney is the one guy who could bring along Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Ben Sasse. Romney is the pressure point in the impeachment process. That’s why the things he’s saying are freaking Republicans out.” (Romney, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.)

October 7, 2019

Johnson to Challenge the Queen to Fire Him, Sunday Times Reports

(yes I know this is two days old but didn't see it here in this forum)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-06/johnson-to-challenge-the-queen-to-fire-him-sunday-times-reports

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is prepared to challenge Queen Elizabeth II to dismiss him rather than resign as he attempts to push through Brexit by the Oct. 31 deadline, the Sunday Times reported, citing senior aides.

Johnson would not step aside if his Brexit proposals were rejected by the European Union, and even if members of the U.K. Parliament declare no confidence in his government and agree to a caretaker prime minister to replace him, according to the report.

Failure to reach a deal would set the U.K. on a course for constitutional showdown with few precedents: Johnson has promised to pull the country out of the EU on Oct. 31 whether the talks succeed, while Parliament has already legislated to prevent him from taking U.K. out of the European bloc without a withdrawal agreement.

“Unless the police turn up at the doors of 10 Downing Street with a warrant for the prime minister’s arrest, he won’t be leaving,” one senior Conservative said in the report.

October 2, 2019

Could Trump have threatened Lindsey Graham ?

https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1179138038464540674

October 2, 2019

Catwalk crasher during Paris Fashion Week

https://twitter.com/LizziePaton/status/1178963241399136256

October 1, 2019

RUMOUR: Breitbart to release whistleblower name

https://twitter.com/juliaioffe/status/1179116586894024704

October 1, 2019

Goose smashes through taxi window (in Radford, UK)

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-england-leicestershire-49853257

Police in Radford said a taxi driver got a major surprise when a goose smashed through a window and landed in the back of their cab.

They joked the bird, which was subsequently checked by a vet, may have been trying to get to Nottingham's Goose Fair.

September 27, 2019

Long-term care insurance, worth it ?

Yes, I know I need to also consult with a financial advisor on this.

I was thinking of buying it but wow, at my age (61) it's pretty expensive and only for 5 years maximum, at best, from what I've seen.

What do you know about LTC insurance ? Thank you for your help!

Steve

September 27, 2019

$50K reward offered to out Trump whistleblower

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/50-000-reward-offered-to-out-trump-whistleblower

(yes I know the WE is right wing but I cannot find this anywhere else yet)

Two Trump supporters are offering a $50,000 reward for information about the national security whistleblower at the center of the Ukraine phone affair.

Controversial conservatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl said they would pay the money for “information relating to the identity of the ‘Trump Whistleblower.’”

The New York Times on Thursday reported that the whistleblower works at the CIA and was stationed in the White House when the call was made.

The duo have said their goal is to provide full transparency on the issue in which the administration has already released the transcript of the July 25 call and the inspector general’s report on it.


from here originally, Rick Wilson is a never-Trump Republican: https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1177349158690316289

September 25, 2019

Boris Johnson speaking now in Parliament

https://twitter.com/i/events/1176563910117224448

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