the Trumps claimed to be discussing.

Tonight I watched The Eleventh Hour with Brian Williams and one segment was about Russian women paying toncome here, stay at one of Trump’s real estate locations and give birth so that the babies are American citizens who can get a green card for their Russian parents to come here when the baby reaches 21.


Hmm. I don’t believe there was ever any legit conversation about Russian adoptions by the Trumps btw. Still, interesting.

According to the reporting on the show there’s an organization called “Miami Mommas” where these Russian women can pay to come here. They even showed DonTheCon speaking against this type of birth citizenship in the past.

of these separate announcements. I mean, I’m grateful to see each and every one of the current corrupt Republicans leave, cannot happen soon enough, but apparently many of them are jumping ship, um, er, uh, retiring and if they just did it all together it would streamline things.

Of course I’m being facetious here and of course each one leaving will want their own announcement, press coverage, fanfare, whatever...

I’m guessing there will be many more Republicans exiting congressional stage right practically hourly in the days and weeks ahead. You know, to “spend more time with family” or for “ personal reasons” blah blah blah

I mean he’s a disgusting, vile, who uses theatrical tactics like tRump and Fox and their ilk. But, still, an FBI warrant for his emails? It is curious to me that he is coming up at this time in the investigation. Weird even. No? The connections must be oddly dispersed. I would have figured other names and warrants and Clarke would not be among them. I realize I am arm chair quarterbacking and I’m not qualified not to mention I am grateful I am not responsible for this investigation. I attempt to put the puzzle pieces together like most people here at DU. This is a strangely shaped puzzle piece lacking distinguishing marks that makes it difficult to connect. That’s the way I see it. I wonder what your thoughts are? Who is Clarke and how does he fit in? Why pursue him now?

He was a tireless fighter for the majority of American people and for the USA.

This morning, reflecting on the information I heard last night about Nancy Pelosi’s letter to Paul Ryan, I remembered the letter sent by Harry Reid to James Comey back in August 2016.

From the letter Harry Reid wrote (paragraph 3):

“It is of vital public interest to understand the chain of custody of these illegally obtained documents from the time they were stolen to the time of public dissemination, including any evidence of complicit intermediaries between the Russian government, those who leaked the material and any United States citizen.”

In four paragraphs the Honorable Harry Reid, at that time Senator Reid, makes a strong succinct statement about the precarious predicament we have been in.

Links
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/29/us/politics/document-Reid-Letter-to-Comey.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=Harry+Reid%27s+letter+to+James+Comey&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=niv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSzI6k5KzYAhVKl1QKHReaBv0Q_AUIEigC&biw=375&bih=549#imgrc=ZLVWnGcpc3sneM:

On the news tonight I heard:

Back in 2016, after the Russians hacked the DNC, Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Paul Ryan asking him not to use the hacked materials for the RNC. Also, she told him that using the materials could mean he would be (and I presume the RNC would be too) acting against the USA with the foreign government who stole the information. That is the gist of what I got from the segment. Oh, and btw Nancy never heard back, Paul Ryan never replied in any way...to date.

Link
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mueller-probing-republican-non-trump-work-with-russian-hacking-1125032515802?cid=sm_tw_maddow

Over a year ago this SNL skit was done. It’s funny but keen. I’d like to find some humor now but it escapes me. Joy Reid said this week that Republicans are protecting tRump from the Rule of Law. I agree. Well, with the added thought that they are protecting themselves from it also. In any case, Republicans ought to have cleaned house decades ago when their Party was first hijacked by extremists and fundamentalists. If they had, America would not be in this mess.

He will kill us all before Republicans stop him.

So many wonderful words in this article. Thank you Roger Cohen.

It begins with this:

Dec. 22, 2017
If this is America, with a cabinet of terrorized toadies genuflecting to the Great Leader, a vice president offering a compliment every 12 seconds to Mussolini’s understudy, and a White House that believes in “alternative facts,” then it is time to “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.”

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/opinion/america-trump-united-nations.html?referer=https://t.co/WT70mpuCTY?amp=1

Edited to add link to Rudyard Kipling poem “If”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---

than intellect” so if you could use your imagination in a way that brainstorms positive solutions to the current horrible threatening situation we have been thrust into, what would it look like?

Like imagination used for good. Like visualization. Creativity.

I really haven’t thought this through. I just had this idea. I am not a positive person, definitely not an optimist although I admire their creed which I read years ago. I tend not to have faith in humans. Even so, I wonder if I could focus long enough - I find this extremely difficult lately - to use my imagination in this way.

What do you think? Any takers? Any positive people? Any dreamers in the John Lennon sense of the word?

it going? I’m a novice, ok, actually fledgling ing chess player. I am limited in the number of moves I can imagine if and ahead. Perhaps some of you are much better at it?

When you think about the current situation this government and the American people are in, how do you see it unfolding? I mean, there’s the miracle outcome where tRump and his complicit cohorts are rendered no longer a threat to the country preferably by the application of RICO laws. What would that look like? Charges. Indictments. Removals from offices. Resignations to spend more time with family. Trials. Testimonies. Depositions. Plea agreements.

I mean we know Russia interfered. We know tRump is a Russian asset. We know at least 19 tRump people (so far) have connections to Russia. We know there is money laundering, Cyprus, Mob/Mafia and the like. But how does this play out?

What will happen in the public opinion arena? What will the people do? First of all, we know Americans cannot be bothered to participate in their government, you know, the one “of the people, by the people, for the people” that has functioned for decades without most of the people because you know they’re “not political” or “all politicians are corrupt” or “both political parties are the same so it doesn’t matter” but I digress, my point is given the climate here now, do you think people will be thoughtful, reasonable, civically minded, hell, even civil? I don’t. Maybe you do?

I’m attempting to wrap my head around what could be ahead. What might unfold. What the possible outcomes are. At this point, I don’t see things going well. How about you?

I don’t know how else to describe it. When people close to me ask, “how are you” that is my answer, “overwhelmed and under siege.” My significant other replied, “that’s because we are.” Some people get it.

At this rate, America won’t be recognizable in a year much less 3 more. People talk about 2018 and 2020 but we don’t have that kind of time. Every moment tRump is not removed along with his complicit Rethuglican KGOP congress people we are under serious threat, physically, economically as individuals but even more threatened is our form of government.

It is mind boggling the level of insanity and indecency that has been tolerated so far. Even if we manage to avert disaster as a nation, we still have the problem of brainwashed braindead people watching Fox and supporting tRump et al.

There is so much more I could add. Hell, I’m sure many of us have great difficulties personally in addition to this toxic political environment.

Overwhelmed and under siege is how it feels to me.