[BLUF]
[PJ] In hindsight, the success of the Iran nuclear deal implicitly hinged upon the hidden assumption of a third and possibly a fourth Obama term through Hillary Clinton. Her defeat not only exposed the huge costs of the deal but undermined the future payoffs themselves. The eagerness of the Resistance to bring down Donald Trump stems from one single fact. He threatens to ruin their meticulously crafted multi-year plans.
Perhaps it was foolish of Obama to count on four terms to bring his plan to fruition. Maybe Bush's "bringing Democracy to the Middle East" strategy and Obama's "grand bargain with Iran" strategy can't exist in a Washington unable to maintain the multi-decade containment strategy that made victory in the Cold War possible. Foreign policy investments must show a return in one or two presidential terms, or run the risk a new president will reset everything from scratch.
Ironically, Trump's supposed lack of a "grand vision" may accidentally be working in his favor. By focusing on shorter term payoffs he may be aligning his decision cycle closer to the quickening clock of events. He may get up each morning thinking "what shall I do today" -- and that happens to align perfectly with a world in chaos.
Obama's deal suffered ultimately from one great weakness. It was vulnerable to time, the very time which it intended to buy from Tehran with cash and concessions to Hezbollah. Its costs were front-loaded while its benefits were deferred into far misty reaches, the glory so apparently near yet in reality so far. And the first of time's betrayals was the non-election of a president Hillary Clinton.
It was just Obama's bad luck that the sure thing of 2016 never came off so that all the sure things he counted on afterward would come true.
Ayman Saied Joumaa’s network rang alarm bells in Washington when agents discovered he was working with Mexico’s brutal Los Zetas cartel to move multi-ton loads of cocaine directly into the United States, and washing $200 million a month in criminal proceeds with the help of 300 or so used car dealerships. The network would funnel huge amounts of money to the dealerships to purchase used cars, which would then be shipped to Benin, on Africa’s west coast.
Emphasis added
Interesting. The Paki Awan's (former DNC IT contractors) reportedly used a car dealearship as a money laundering front in Falls Church as well.
#6
but can anyone name one fucking 'benefit' of this deal (for us)?
I take it you do not share our beloved former president’s history of cocaine use, Raj, and you feel no need to pacify and employ the residents of various ghettos by increasing the supply of crack.
#7
I take it you do not share our beloved former president’s history of cocaine use, Raj, and you feel no need to pacify and employ the residents of various ghettos by increasing the supply of crack.
And when transported to the polling stations, many even VOTE !
[WASHINGTONTIMES] Remington Christopher Steele, the former British spy who fueled an ongoing investigation into President Trump’s administration, was a lot more confident of his charges when he wrote his now-notorious 2016 dossier than he is today in defending it in a libel lawsuit.
While Mr. Steele stated matter-of-factly in his dossier that collusion between Mr. Trump and the Russian government took place, he called it only "possible" months later in court filings. While he confidently referred to "trusted" sources inside the Kremlin, in court he referred to the dossier’s "limited intelligence."
In recent weeks, the dossier of opposition research has taken on added importance in the debate over the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into suspected Russia coordination and whether it is biased against Trump people. Congressional Republicans are demanding that the FBI explain how the deeply contested, Democrat-financed document took on such importance in a major government investigation.
Mr. Steele wrote 35 pages of memos in which he said Trump aides were part of a vast conspiracy with Moscow to interfere in the election against Perennial Presidential Campaigner Hillary Crooked Hillary Clinton ... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away... . The unverified charges were spread by Fusion GPS, the Washington-based political research firm that first commissioned the report. Mr. Steele bragged to Mother Jones magazine that he started the Mueller investigation by convincing FBI agents that summer about the credibility of his dossier.
It was later revealed that the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton helped fund the dossier, meaning that in essence her paid agent was spreading unsubstantiated charges to get to the FBI to investigate her opponent, critics say.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
... her paid agent was spreading unsubstantiated charges to get to the FBI to investigate her opponent ...
It should be noted that the FBI was eager and very willing to comply which one could argue is a violation of the FBI Ethics and Integrity Program, Section 7. Political Activities. Or does that only apply to the little people?
Posted by: S. Sleater9697 ||
12/22/2017 6:32 Comments ||
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#2
So, why is Mueller's team so intent in linking Trump to Russia? Never mind, just a rhetorical question.
#3
#2 - to cover Hilly's involvement in the Russian uranium deal?
To mask Hilly's involvement in the origins of the dossier?
To divert attention from Russia's investments in Hilly's slush fund?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/22/2017 8:55 Comments ||
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#4
embrace the power of "and"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2017 8:59 Comments ||
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#5
There are probably a few more 'tidbits' about Hilly out there that we aren't even fully aware of yet, too.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/22/2017 9:03 Comments ||
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#6
...to cover Hilly's involvement in the Russian uranium deal? To mask Hilly's involvement in the origins of the dossier? To divert attention from Russia's investments in Hilly's slush fund?
All of the above, plus time delay. Over time news becomes overtaken, memories fade, evidence is lost, and people even become deceased.
#9
What? You think he shot himself two times in the back of the head?
Posted by: Matt ||
12/22/2017 16:34 Comments ||
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#10
What makes me sad is I want to believe the FBI is composed of good honest folks with just really corrupt leadership but nobody has resigned (well maybe five people), nobody has come out and tried to stop this nonsense, they've just kept quiet to see how it plays out.
[NYPOST] There’s one sure way for Mayor Bill de Blasio to get better press coverage ‐ own the press.
The mayor said he’s open to the idea of the city investing in a media outlet that would cover the city.
"I think it’s a really good question and one that intrigues me and one that I’d be open in seeing the city invest in," de Blasio said last week during a closed-door Q&A with news hounds laid off by local news sites DNAinfo and Gothamist.
"Publicly sponsored, with appropriate grounds," he added. "The BBC model, not always perfect, but in the best sense ‐ there’s definitely a place for that."
De Blasio claimed a publicly owned press operation would be more "fair and responsive" and "create more balance" than those owned by "a bunch of rich individuals from multinational corporations."
The mayor’s comments, which were posted on Medium.com on Tuesday, raised red flags.
"The idea of the city directly funding local news would always raise questions about the independence of a news operation," said Brooklyn College journalism Professor Paul Moses.
Jarrett Murphy, publisher of CityLimits.org, added, "I’m generally pretty skeptical of the idea because I think it opens the door for some issues ‐ the credibility of the media is so important, and direct government funding could undermine that . . . I just don’t know if it’s a good idea."
De Blasio cited WNYC ‐ owned by the city from its inception in 1922 until Mayor Rudy Giuliani sold it in 1994 ‐ as an example of a city-funded outlet that worked.
"Sure, the mayor named the head of WNYC, but that was a no-fly zone in terms of political influence. You had to choose someone very much above the fray, using almost the same sensibilities we would think about naming judges, for example," de Blasio said.
But history suggests otherwise. "After private media outlets ‐ newspapers, TV, radio ‐ rejected my proposal and refused to publish the names of convicted johns, I ordered WNYC, then a city-owned radio station, to read the names," Ed Koch wrote in a 2008 op-ed about his actions as mayor in 1979.
Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa had a show on WNYC for one year in 1994 "after I was forced upon them by Rudy Giuliani," he told the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... in 2006.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Or you could just stop behaving like an out of control leftist who hates cops...
[DAILYCALLER] A New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... contributor cranked the President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... -hysteria-meter to 11 on Thursday when he wrote the president "and his allies seem on the verge of staging a coup against independent institutions and the rule of law."
In the column "The Real Coup Plot Is Trump’s," New York Times contributor and Harvard University lecturer Yascha Mounk warns readers about the upcoming assault on American democracy that the president is plotting.
Fox News host Jesse Watters recently claimed that in the midst of all the alleged bias within the FBI, that "we have a coup on our hands in America."
Mounk doesn’t cite any evidence that Trump is preparing to fire special counsel Robert Mueller ‐ the president, after all, has said repeatedly that he doesn’t intend to.
If you dare criticize Mueller, you are making yourself an "active accomplice in a deliberate assault on our democracy," according to the New York Times op-ed.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan ...Speaker of the House, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party. He proposed an alternative to President Obama's 2011 budget and made himself the target of both Democrat and Republican verbal pies... and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were busy passing tax cuts for over 80 percent of Americans. Now, they are "equally to blame" for the public’s growing mistrust of the Russia probe, according to Mounk.
The real blame falls on "mainstream conservatives" for any damage America’s institutions have faced, according to Mounk.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2017 00:00 ||
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(Reads article)
Hmmm.
I wonder what color the sky is on this dude's world.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/22/2017 4:44 Comments ||
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#2
These people have zero empathy and can't really imagine anybody different from themselves - except for stereotypes like "African-American" (all other "brown" people are honorary "African-American")
#5
2. Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.
So which authority is planning and executing this strategy? Who is directing the NYT and WaPo?
4. Propaganda must affect the enemy's policy and action.
This NYT propaganda article is an obvious attempt to protect Meuller. What can I say? Thank you for being so transparent.
13. Propaganda must be carefully timed.
Why now? What is AG Sessions doing that the NYT is trying to prevent? This is good news.
14. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
Staging a coup; that is rich. The President is the chief executive. Executive branch agencies fighting presidential authority are not deserving of protection and talk of a coup is just ridiculous. Checks and balances include Congress and the Courts.
Maybe somebody with PSYOP training can chime in.
Posted by: S. Sleater9697 ||
12/22/2017 5:55 Comments ||
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#9
A coup against the shadow government/deep state? A clean-up and clean-out has been needed for a long time. A lack of transparency/sunshine in government is the enemy of freedom. As has been said: "Trading freedom for safety and security will result in neither."
#10
I was under the impression that by definition, the one staging a coup is the one not in power, hence the coup.
Do the morons at the NYT not realize that Trump won the election and thus is the one in power? Are they seriously suggesting that he is about to stage a coup against himself?
This takes LPL (Liberal Pretzel Logic) to a whole new level that I didn’t think was possible.
(If I could figure out how to insert the Yoda “hysteria” meme pic that I just uploaded, I would)
#11
#10I was under the impression that by definition, the one staging a coup is the one not in power, hence the coup. Do the morons at the NYT not realize that Trump won the election and thus is the one in power? Are they seriously suggesting that he is about to stage a coup against himself?
NYT: "See? That's what THEY want you to think!!11!! That's how devious the Donald IS!""
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2017 11:14 Comments ||
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#12
"When he's not being an idiot, that is"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2017 11:15 Comments ||
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#13
NYT bitten by the projection tick. It’s in the blood area folks.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/22/2017 11:20 Comments ||
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#14
Bloodstream
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/22/2017 11:22 Comments ||
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#15
Give a dog a bad name so you can hang him. SSDD, from the NYT.
[Townhall] Vlogger Candace Owens posted a video about racism in America. She focused primarily on how the Left abuses the word "racist" and "racism" as a means of controlling African American Voters. The Left says everything in racist so that blacks won’t think twice about voting for a Time for some transparency.
h/t Instapundit
[NYTimes] In a legal victory for the Trump administration, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Thursday that accused President Trump of violating the Constitution by continuing to own and profit from his business empire.
The complaint, filed this year in the Southern District of New York, said that Mr. Trump’s failure to divorce himself from his businesses had harmed companies or workers who compete against his restaurants or hotels in New York or Washington. By taking advantage of his official position, the lawsuit said, Mr. Trump violated clauses of the Constitution that prohibit a president from accepting any government-bestowed benefits, or emoluments, either at home or abroad.
Judge George B. Daniels of United States District Court in Manhattan found that the plaintiffs had failed to show that they had suffered as a result of specific actions by Mr. Trump intended to drum up business for his enterprises. Even before Mr. Trump took office, the judge said, "he had amassed wealth and fame and was competing against" the plaintiffs. As opposed to the usual way of first being elected to public office and then amassing wealth?
"It is only natural that interest in his properties has generally increased since he became president," the judge said. Moreover, Judge Daniels said, customers might be patronizing Mr. Trump’s hotels and his hotels’ restaurants because of price or quality ‐ reasons totally unrelated to his presidency.
Beyond that, the judge found, the emoluments clauses of the Constitution are intended to protect the country against presidential corruption from foreign influences or financial incentives that might be offered by either states or the federal government. They were not meant to protect businesses from competition from presidentially owned enterprises, he ruled.
#2
The lawsuit was brought by CREW. The judge ruled that CREW had no standing and the matter should be resolved by the political process.
If one looks at the current leadership of CREW, that is probably all one needs to know. Recently CREW elected, David Brock as its board president. He said he has a broad plan to turn the organization into a more muscular organization.
[DAILYCALLER] Former Obama deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes mused about the deaths of top Republicans on Twitter Thursday before being scolded by GOP Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was severely injured in the June Congressional baseball practice shooting.
Rhodes issued the inflammatory tweet in response to fellow Obama White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer, who joked that he hopes President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s Instagram photo celebrating the passage of the GOP tax reform bill appears on the front page of The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... when Trump is indicted. Pfeiffer didn’t specify what Trump would be indicted for.
Rhodes agreed and added that the image should also accompany the obituaries of Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan ...Speaker of the House, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party. He proposed an alternative to President Obama's 2011 budget and made himself the target of both Democrat and Republican verbal pies... . Scalise, who spent weeks at death's door after he was shot during a practice for the annual Congressional baseball game, suggested Rhodes reassess his messaging.
The sweeping tax reform bill, the most comprehensive of its kind in over three decades, passed both chambers largely along party lines Tuesday. The House passed the bill again Wednesday after last minute revisions made in the Senate to ensure the bill complied with the budget rules. Trump is expected to sign the bill into law on Jan.3 to prevent automatic spending cuts to Medicare from taking effect.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2017 00:00 ||
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Maybe he [Rhodes] was musing about Peter Strzok's "insurance policy." Maybe Rhodes should get visited by the SS and U.S. Capitol Police and called up before a Congressional committee.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Perennial Presidential Campaigner Hillary 
[Townhall] Vlogger Candace Owens posted a video about racism in America. She focused primarily on how the Left abuses the word "racist" and "racism" as a means of controlling African American Voters. The Left says everything in racist so that blacks won’t think twice about voting for a Time for some transparency.
