McCamy Taylor
McCamy Taylor's JournalDoes Turkey have Dirt on Trump? Or Did They Pay Him Big Bucks to Let ISIS Kill Kurds?
Suspicious timing. Flynn has been told he will go to prison unless he plays even more ball with Mueller. Flynn's crimes include being an unregistered agent of Turkey. Turkey hates the Kurds. But being a democracy, it can not conduct a genocide within its own borders. So, it encourages its neighbors in Iran, Iraq and Syria to do the killing. ISIS--the Russian mob's Muslim offshoot--is extremely good at killing Kurds. Since everything that ISIS does---from sex trafficking to looting museums to kidnapping--is done for profit, it is possible that ISIS is under contract to kill Kurds. Under the table contract from Turkey. Turkey is pretty much unique among democratic countries in its failure to condemn ISIS. And now that the United States is gone, Syria's Kurds are at the mercy of ISIS. Meaning that ISIS can fulfill its contract to kill Kurds, thanks to Donald Trump.
So, why is Trump giving Turkey what it wants most in the world? One possibility--Turkey has damning evidence of Trump's or Jared's personal involvement in the death of WaPo journalist, Khasshogi. Such as an intercepted transmission from Saudi Arabia to Trump/Jared telling them to make sure that no one in US intelligence tries to interfere with the planned murder of the resident US alien. And Trump is having to do Turkey's bidding now to keep their dark secret from being revealed.
Or, it is also possible that during his tenure as Trump adviser/unregistered agent of Turkey, Flynn arranged for big bucks to be passed under the table to Trump. And Trump now must fulfill his part of the bargain. By throwing the Kurds to the wolves.
Or it could be a little bit of both.
What Do Sarah Palin and Dr. Ben Carson Have in Common? I Will Never Vote for Either of Them.
Margaret Thatcher was a women. Idi Amin was a Black African. Did that make either of them a better human being than Joe Biden?
Please stop trying to claim that only a woman or only a person of color can lead this country. A human being will lead this country. One who represents the diverse interests of the Democratic Party----fair pay, equal rights, health care. I do not care what color the skin of the person who signs into law the legislation that end Citizens United. I do not care what kind of shoes the president who signs the Medicare for All bill wears. If the candidate can mobilize a core democratic constituency to come out and vote, great.
Divide and Conquer is the Republican Party's favorite political weapon. Do not be fooled. We are all workers and if we could ever for a moment look past superficial difference of religion, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age and gender, we would be unstoppable in a democratic form of government.
How Far Will Trump Go to Make Money in the Final days of His Administration?
Ever wonder why Trump keeps blustering in the face of overwhelming evidence of his crimes? Do you think it might be mental illness? Delusions of grandeur and invulnerability and divine right? Maybe you are correct. But it is just as likely that Trump can read the writing on the wall--prosecutors now have solid evidence of a felony. He knows his days as POTUS are numbered. And his family coffers are still not full. So, what is a serial bankrupt-er to do? This is his final shot. His last chance at the Big Leagues, to borrow a baseball metaphor. After this gig, there will never be another chance to prove to his now dead Daddy that he has what it takes to be Rich with a capital R.
Do not look for Donald Trump to go "gentle into that good night." Not unless someone pays him to do so. In cold, hard cash. There are still a lot of ways that a president dancing on the precipice can make money. For instance....
He can dump Pence and offer the role of Vice President who will become President as soon as Trump resigns for sale. That is where the really big money is right now. As long as he can convince potential buyers that the Republicans will not dump him in the next primary. The potential payoff from this deal could measure in the billions. Or he could just talk about dumping Pence and force Pence's sponsors the Koch Brothers to cough up cash. But the Koch Brothers will not pay Trump a cent if they think he will not be the party nominee. So, Trump has to feed the base what they love best---lots of bigotry, lots of tough talk, lots of hot air. He has to encourage his followers with guns to get rowdy. He has to talk about members of the GOP who question him as "traitors." He must make his fellow Republicans afraid.
Trump can also sell positions like head of the FDA and head of the FCC and UN Secretary and Secretary of State and even Attorney General to the highest bidder over and over again. The industries which depend upon the favor of federal agencies will be more than willing to make an investment in the Trump Family Retirement Fund if it means getting their own man or women into office to derail a nasty federal investigation or broker a peace treaty with a human rights violating tyrant.
Trump can declare crazy tariffs that benefit no one--at first glance. But if you look closely, you will see that a single player is making out like a bandit, because Trump has slapped a huge tariff on something stupid like imported animal shaped dildos. He can sell off mineral rights in national parks and timber rights in national forests and off shore drilling rights along the nation's beaches.
And he can make promises. Big promises. Like the promise that some contractor will finally be paid big bucks to build that border wall which also comes with a huge land grab---a full mile of Texas waterfront ranch land will suddenly become federal property which can be offered to the highest bidder which will probably be DOW, one of the few American companies that contributed to the Trump inauguration celebration. Dow is desperate for water. Cheap, easily adulterated water. Imagine polluting plants on both sides of the Rio Grande River. The chances that it will happen are slim to none, but if you are a Dow executive you will not want to be the one who has to explain to stockholders why you did not move heaven and earth to keep Trump in office.
For the Trump Family scams to work, Trump will have to pretend that he is 100% confident that he will be exonerated and re-elected. Do not be fooled. And whatever you do, if he offers to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge or the Statue of Liberty, don't listen!
Unfortunately, the adage "a fool and his money are soon parted" is often true. So, I expect a fair number of people to throw their money down the Trump Family toilet. Do you think that if We the People of the United States got together to create a go-fund-me and came up with a huge wad of cash that we could pay Trump to leave? Naw. he would take the money but then he would refuse to deliver on his promise. That is just the kind of grifter he is.
The Trouble With Tweeting
Another day, another celebrity brought down because of tweets. As people line up to express their opinion/judge the soul of the latest sinner, I find myself disagreeing with the NRA---sometimes, it really is the gun that kills, not the one pulling the trigger. Or typing the tweets.
The urge to journal our thoughts is as old as human civilization. Maybe even older (if primitive cave paintings are a record of kills). But this modern desire to broadcast these thoughts to as many strangers as possible reminds me of a certain type of dystopian science fiction in which everyone is suddenly gifted/cursed with telepathy. We all know what happens in that scenario. Chaos. The usual rules of social interaction--the ones that allow us to be around other people without wanting to rip their heads off--are tossed to the wind. Our husband thinks our favorite outfit makes us look fat. Our wife thinks we suck in bed. Our neighbor covets our wife. Our priest would rather be _____ing (use your imagination).
George Orwell worried that Big Brother would be watching--and he is. Information is valuable. Every time we log on or make a call or do a web search, we are putting gold in the hands of data miners. Where Orwell got it wrong was when he predicted that our response to the ever watchful Big Eye in the Sky would be to find a small, private corner of our house where we could just be ourselves, penning our thoughts in a private journal.
What would George say if he could see us now, shouting out (in text) our deepest desires, waving our (virtual) arms as if to say Look at Me! Forget 1984. We have all become characters in a Tennessee Williams play, standing in the street, bellowing out our deepest, darkest desires, our only fear the fear that no one is listening.
Turns out that we should have been more afraid that someone was listening. And by someone, I mean anyone. At anytime. At a time when you least expect it--or want it. At a time when those distant fears and emotions are no longer relevant. Our fifteen minutes of fame have finally arrived. We are in the spotlight. We have our story polished, our hair neatly combed, our clothes are immaculate---and why does that man in the front row have our diary?! Why is he reading aloud from our journal, written years ago in our hour of despair?! No fair! That's not me! This is me! How am I going to fix this mess? How am I going to restore my reputation?
And no, the answer is not another flurry of tweets. Better to look for Wilde, the Restorer of Reputations, a character invented by Robert Chambers in his prescient first book, The King in Yellow. Wilde will fix the damage that too much Look at Me has done. But be prepared. It will cost you dearly.
"If you make a mask, you must wear it" wrote the real Wilde, Oscar Wilde. He should know. Look where Look at me! got him. Two years of prison and exile and death. All for demanding that the world accept the real Oscar Wilde. To which the World replied (like a petulant child) "Don't wanna!" And in a battle between Me and the World, the World will always win---if our definition of Me is What the World Sees.
Maybe we would all be happier and get along better if we made our motto the moral of another dystopian science fiction story. The Only Way to Win is Not to Play. Cherish your anonymity. Revel in your ability to have ugly, shameful emotions in private. In your heart of heart, you know that Twitter is not your own personal Jesus. Twitter is just the ultimate data mining tool, designed to sell you shit you do not need.
Masked Protesters in France. Are They Russian?
A few months ago I predicted that Russia would orchestrate violence in France. Russia eliminated the UK through the rigged Brexit. Germany is a puppet of the US so as long as Trump is president Putin does not have to worry about Germany. That just leaves France—which has a world power sized army and nukes—to stand against Putin when he makes his move against the Baltic States. In my opinion, it is very likely that the riots in France over the “decline” in living standard are probably being orchestrated by Russia using the same playbook they have used here. Mobilize fascists. Inject a lot of Russian money. Steal an election. Take over Europe.
Manafort Lied to Mueller and Now We Know Why Trump Looked So Scared on Election Night
If the House had stayed under Republican control, Trump and Manafort would be sitting pretty right now. Trump could pardon Manafort for every crime he has committed--including the crime of lying to Mueller--on the grounds that his lies prove that he stayed loyal to the POTUS, and in Trump's universe (the world of organized crime), loyalty is more important than honesty or obeying the law. While some state might choose to prosecute Manafort for other crimes, it is quite likely that Kavanaugh, as part of his soul selling to get on the Supreme Court--had already promised that if Manafort was charged by a state for something that he admitted to Mueller, double jeopardy laws would come into play. Or Kavanaugh might argue that Trump's pardon covered even state crimes as long as they were uncovered in a federal investigations.
However, that plan backfired when the Democrats regained control of the House--and the ability to subpoena witnesses. Were Trump to pardon Manafort now, the Democrats in Congress could demand that the former Trump aid testify. In public. Without pleading the Fifth since he would no longer be in legal jeopardy. If Manafort lied to Congress , then Mueller would tell on him--and another round of federal prosecution would begin, this one even more politically dangerous to Trump than the first since all of Manafort's testimony--and the nature of his lies--would be public.
That means Manafort must remain un-pardoned--even though he now faces many years on federal prison for lying to Mueller as well as for his other crimes. Unless....
If I were a wily, scheming manipulator of politicians, I would have foreseen the possibility that the House would flip. Or that Trump might not deliver the promised pardon. And I would have bought myself insurance by making certain that I had solid evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Trump and Pence. And Jared and Ivanka. And others. I would have placed that evidence someplace secret and secure. And then, I would have my attorneys talk to Democrats in Congress. I would promise to reveal that iron clad evidence and spill my guts in front of Congress and the nation, in essence offering Trump's head up on a platter like the head of John the Baptist--in exchange for a promise from Congress that nothing I reveal to them will be used against me. If at all possible, I would have solid evidence of a conspiracy between me and Trump to lie to Mueller in exchange for a presidential pardon.
The ball is in your court, Congressional Democrats. Mueller has given you all you need to take down Trump. Prison for the Cheeto Haired Pussy Grabber is no longer a long shot.
Trump has one last play he can make---pardon Manafort, get him sprung from jail and on a plane bound for Russia before the new House Dems are sworn in and before any federal or state prosecutor can arrest him again. Which means we need reporters camped out at whatever federal prison is housing Manafort 24/7 and state prosecutors standing by with arrest warnings in hand.
This may be a very entertaining Christmas.
Let's Get One Thing Straight. The Military is Not Our Enemy
Time after time in the last one hundred years, the US Military has defended us at home as well as abroad. When a bunch of banksters wanted to stage a coup and replace FDR with a general, the general exposed the plot. Who shut down the McCarthy communist witch hunts? A general turned president, Eisenhower, when McCarthy declared that he was gong to go after the military. Who was behind "Deep Throat"? The Pentagon. Who stepped in to stop W. from turning the stolen 2004 election into a "mandate" to invade Iran as prescribed in his brother's Project for a New American Century? The Pentagon again, which used its ties to GE/MSNBC and the Washington Post to debunk administration lies about the Iranian "threat", leaving Congress ripe for a Democratic take over in 2006.
What happened when Trump demanded a big Soviet style military parade? Nothing. What do you think will happen if he tries to declare martial law and have his political enemies rounded up? Nothing.
Whatever we may think about some of the foreign wars which our military has fought, the mission of our military is to defend this country, its Constitution, its people. The president serves at the will of the people under the watchful eye of their defenders who sacrifice their own freedom to preserve the freedom of others.
How Much Money Will Trump Demand Under the Table If He Sells Nukes to Saudi Arabia?
Serious question. The NYT reports that Saudi Arabia wants to set up its own nuclear reactors with no oversight of the fuel--meaning they will be able to make weapons grade material for bombs. The first bomb will hit Iran, home of their mortal enemies the Shiite Muslims who do not believe in an Allah ordained monarchy. And, once Iran (and Iraq due to the spill over effect) are completely uninhabitable and their oil fields are untouchable, Saudi and Russian oil will rise in price, making it a Two-Fer for Saudi Arabia. With so much at stake--the Saud Family's wealth and power and the price of oil---how much money will Trump be able to demand? Any guesses?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-nuclear.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
VA's Job Can Not Be Done by the (Inferior) U.S. Private Medical System
Good editorial at the NYT on why the VA Health System is not inferior to the for profit U.S. health care system, focusing on the research which the VA conducts and then gives away (making no profit on innovations such as nicotine patches and shingles vaccines)--innovations which benefit us all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/opinion/sunday/veterans-department-health-hospitals.html
I want to take this one step further. The VA is not just good for all of us. The VA is good for veterans.
The VA is good for veterans on Medicare who can not afford their medications. At the VA, all medications come with the same low copay whether they are a $4 generic or a $10,000 course of the state of the art medication that you (the veteran) need for your fatal/rare condition. In other words, the VA does not discriminate against those who are sick. The VA also supplies hearing aids without a $4000 co-payment. It offers glasses, durable medical goods, home repairs and other supplies aimed at preventing falls, strokes, illness. The VA is not like the for profit system--it does not make money every time grandpa falls and breaks a hip. So, the VA tries to prevent the fall, prevent the osteoporosis, stop the smoking, control the diabetes.
And now, I am going to take this one step further still. The for profit system absolutely can not fulfill the VA's other purpose which is to keep the men and women in our nation's military reserves health and ready for active military duty if an emergency such as Pearl Harbor occurs. Every combat veteran is entitled to five years of free care at the VA. That means five years with no out of pocket for check ups, medications, tests, smoking cessation programs, gynecology and obstetric care, orthopedic care, mental health care. Imagine what would happen if our combat veterans--the ones who will be vital to our national security if we are attacked--were thrown into the for profit health care system. More than likely, they would have no health insurance. And if they did have insurance, it would be high deductible and it would not cover preventive services and it would have no incentive to invest in disease prevention. Since most young men do not visit a doctor for check ups, veterans would quickly fall prey to the same preventable diseases that have rendered non veterans obese and unhealthy.
The for profit health care system makes money from treating disease. The for profit health care system has no incentive to prevent disease. The for profit health insurance system makes money from writing insurance policies for the healthy, and when the healthy become sick and lose their jobs (and their employer sponsored insurance) they go on Medicare disability or Medicaid or a county funded program, meaning that the for profit insurance system has no incentive to prevent disease. Quite the opposite. In an ideal (for profit) system, those who get sick will get so sick that they can no longer work--and no longer have insurance.
The VA, on the other hand, makes a commitment to take care of veterans from military discharge to the grave. That is why the VA invests in disease prevention insurance. The VA is the closest thing we have in this country to a single payer, cradle to grave system like that in Canada or Western Europe. It is streamlined. It is efficient. And the for profit sector hates it for pioneering research in disease prevention and research that debunks medical claims--like claims that lumbar surgery is 100% effective at relieving pain. The private sector will give a morbidity obese man with uncontrolled diabetes who smokes two new knees--knees doomed to become infected or fail or lead to complications such as chronic deep venous thrombosis. The VA will give that same man bariatric surgery so he can lose weight, diabetes control, smoking cessation--and then, when that is all done, if his knees still hurt, they will give him new knees. Knees that are much more likely to work.
In time of emergency, the United States can quickly increase the size of its military forces by calling upon members of the reserves and those who have recently served. But what good is that fighting force if over half its members are no longer healthy? The U.S. for profit health care system has terrible statistics when it comes to health and disease prevention. If the job of the VA is farmed out to the for profit sector, then national security is threatened.
Saturday Night Massacre Here We Come!
Someone is giving Trump some god awful advice. The man could have reached out a hand to the Democratic House. He could have said "I was just dancing with the folks who brought me to the party. I didn't mean any of it. I want to be a Democrat again." He could have offered to broker deals between the Democratic House and the Republican Senate that would allow them to tackle the problems that really concern Americans--like health care. And health care! And health care.
But instead, he made threats. He bullied. He told Democrats that if they attacked, he would attack back--without actually saying how he planned to attack. There is no legal way for the president to investigate Congress. Maybe he meant that his new acting attorney general would file bogus charges against House Dems. Or maybe he meant that Putin would send thugs to their houses. Or that his base would send them pipe bombs. You never know with Trump.
And then, Trumped forced out Sessions and replaced him with a man named Whitaker who looks like Bane from Batman, but meaner and with a bigger stick up his ass. A man who has recommended stripping Mueller of his funding so that he can not do his job. Because why do things the legal way when you can do them the mobster way? Why act like a president when you can act like a whiny little brat? Why obey the law when it is so much more fun to break it?
Trump is going to fire Mueller. Or rather, he is going to tell Whitaker to fire Mueller. And Whitaker will do it--not for Trump. He will do it for his own political future. As soon as the act is done, Whitaker will make a hasty exit from the public stage and use his newfound Right Wing laurels to advance his own career. He will leave Trump with his ass hanging out, the way Dick Nixon's ass was left hanging out after the poorly conceived and poorly executed Saturday Night Massacre. The two or three Americans who have resisted forming an opinion about Trump's guilt will decide that he is guilty. The new Democratic House will answer the popular call---"Restore the rule of law!" CNN's Jim Acosta will become a superstar covering the House hearings. Trump will wish he was back in the "good old days" when Mueller ran a tight ship Grand Jury--no leaks allowed. Every day will bring a new revelation--and these will be much worse than a few "expletive deleted" s. CNN's ratings will soar----
Hmm. Maybe Whitaker is working for CNN.
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