Monthly Archives: March 2018

Mar 6 2018

Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Chairman Trey Gowdy Request DOJ Special Counsel…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 6, 2018 by

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has direct oversight authority over the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Courts. Within this oversight, the House Judiciary Committee also has oversight over the FISA court. Additionally, in his current oversight role, Chairman Goodlatte has been working closely with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

Today Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Representative Trey Gowdy pen a letter (full pdf below) to Attorney General Jeff Sessions requesting the appointment of a special counsel to investigate “conflicts of interest” and decisions “made and not made” by current and former Justice Department officials in 2016 and 2017, noting that “the public interest requires” the action.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Gowdy and Goodlatte spoke about the discovery of new information as their reasoning behind calling for a second independent counsel:

“What changed for me was the knowledge that there are two dozen witnesses that Michael Horowitz, the [DOJ] Inspector General, would not have access to,” Gowdy said. “When I counted up 24 witnesses that he would not be able to access were he to investigate it, yeah only one conclusion, that’s special counsel.”

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/373159802/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-fOqL7jg1coZs1VjTS7Vr

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Mar 6 2018

Putin’s Address to the Nation & the World


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia

Re-Posted Mar 6, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

 

Putin’s address on March 1st to the Federal Assembly seems to have sparked a lot of crazy emails with people talking nonsense about things they do not even come close to understanding. Yes, the headline grabber was Putin’s statement about a new invincible cruise missile. I will address that in a moment. Overlooked, however, was Putin addressing the real issues of economic concerns that seem to have gone over everyone’s head. The problem with the Oligarchs where he is implying that things need to change for the good of Russia. China moved to Capitalism directly from Communism and we see the difference with China poised to surpass the US economy by 2032 and is already the second largest economy in the world. Russia, on the other hand, simply moved from state-controlled economic system to one where political friends became Oligarchs and prevented a free market economy. Russia economically ranks 12th in the world behind the USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Italy, Canada, and South Korea. This is what Putin was addressing, the need to truly open up the economy to competition. If you try to compete against an Oligarch by opening a restaurant in Moscow, you will be lucky to survive beyond 24 hours. Russia is economically a third world country with a lot of weapons. Putin realizes that for all its military power, it collapsed BECAUSE it did not have the economy to support its military ambitions.

Putin also addressed trying to keep people from leaving Russia. Despite the Global Warming movement that is really trying to reduce the population, in fact, the population is declining among the industrialized nations and Russia is no exception. The population of Russia peaked at 148,689,000 back in 1991, just before the breakup of the Soviet Union. Ever since the collapse of Communism, people realize that the State will not simply take care of them. As a direct result, the birth rates have been steadily dropping and there have been abnormally high death rates in Russia as well among the elderly. Russia’s population has been declining at an annual rate of 0.5%, or about 750,000 to 800,000 people per year since 1991. Add to this figure, the migration of Russian women looking for Western men, and you have a crisis brewing in the decline of population in Russia that threatens its long-term viability.

Nevertheless, the area of Putin’s speech that has sparked the wildest claims were those comments which mentioned the invincible strategic nuclear systems in various stages of development. The boast of a missile that can penetrate the US defense system has been known behind the curtain as the RS-28 “Sarmat” system which is a new land-based heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This is what is being fitted with advanced technology to assure penetration of any missile defense.

Putin definitely made global headlines with these comments. However, I really did not think it warranted comment since Russia’s ability to defeat U.S. missile defenses is nothing new. I suppose I have known that fact but it seems many did not. Let me explain something that may not be common knowledge. U.S. policy has been not to deploy a defensive system that could neutralize a Russian retaliatory response to a U.S. nuclear attack. The reason this is the basic policy is the concern that such a system which was called Star Wars, would destabilize the world and result in a new arms race where Russia would be driven to re-establish a retaliatory capability. Putin’s response was directed at Trump and his administration’s idea of reversing that policy creating a new Ballistic Missile Defense Review. This was part of the February 2018 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review which states that any improvements in U.S. defensive capabilities will be deployed in such a way as to “preclude an arms race” with China or Russia. Therefore, Putin was addressing this very issue and to make it clear that there MUST remain a balance between powers for all the nukes keep everyone in check.

Putin also addressed a maneuverable hypersonic glide the “Avangard” which is a new missile system with a vehicle of this type. Putin also mentioned a long-range nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle that can be fitted with a nuclear warhead, known commonly as “Status-6.” Both of these systems are designed to evade any U.S. defensive measures — Avangard by presenting an unpredictable flight trajectory, while Status-6 is an entirely new sea-based way to deliver a nuclear weapon. Both are designed to maintain the power balance.

The invincible new cruise missile was really a statement to Trump not to start a new arms race. You simply have to understand what is going on behind the curtain right now.

Mar 6 2018

Sketchy Sam, Take Six – Perhaps Drunk, Sketchy Sam Gives Erin Burnett The Goofiest Epic Interview…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 5, 2018 by

Sketchy Sam (Nunberg) shows up for his sixth media interview in four hours apparently suffering from a manic episode, drunk or medicated, and performing his Tommy Flanagan (Jon Lovitz) routine.  CNN takes glorious advantage of Sketchy’s unstable disposition and allows himself to make a complete fool of himself.

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….“And my wife is ah.. Morgan Fairchild, yeah, yeah.. that’s the ticket.”…

(more video below)

Mar 6 2018

Federal Judge Rules Trump DACA Program Elimination Appropriate and Authorized – Full Judicial Ruling…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 6, 2018 by

Federal judge Roger W Titus (Maryland) has ruled that President Trump acted appropriately and within his authority by announcing his intent to rescind the Obama-era executive order surrounding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). However, the Judge Titus order does not stop the previous blocks by activist judges currently working through the courts.

Eventually the state challenges to the recension of DACA will work through the appellate courts and arrive at the Supreme Court. It is likely SCOTUS will take the same position on DACA as they did on DAPA; overrule the state challenges and determine the program unconstitutional.

In the interim, President Trump had requested that congress take up the DACA issue as part of their responsibility to put forth an immigration reform bill. Democrats have abandoned legislative efforts to assist those impacted by DACA, and have instead chosen to make DACA a political issue for the 2018 mid-term election.

MARYLAND – […] Judge Roger W. Titus, a Bush appointee, ruled late Monday President Trump acted within his authority in his plan to rescind an executive order former President Barack Obama announced in 2012 as a way to protect illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors. Trump ended the order over a period of six months until Congress could legislatively solve the problem.

[…] While a major win for the Trump administration, the decision does not affect the current status of DACA. The program is still in place because other courts have handed down injunctions mandating the program continue while legal challenges to Trump’s decision to end the program continue. The administration originally set a March 5 deadline for the end of DACA.

Current recipients are able to apply for renewal while the cases are pending, but no new illegal immigrants who would otherwise be covered by the program can apply.

A Justice Department spokesman praised the judge’s decision.

“The Department of Justice has long maintained that DHS acted within its lawful authority in making the discretionary decision to wind down DACA in an orderly manner, and we welcome the good news today that the district court in Maryland strongly agrees,” DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement. (read more)

Here’s the ruling:

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/373075382/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-e7j9EChWn7bEq5tS7ter

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Here’s the back-story to the parallel executive action around DAPA.

D.A.P.A or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program – was the executive action Obama attempted in November of 2014 which was shut down by Federal Judge Andrew Hanen in February 2015 with the issuance of an emergency injunction.

Mar 6 2018

Gone Bananas: CNN Dispatches Production Crew To Thailand To Locate Hooker Promising Dirt on Putin/Trump…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 5, 2018 by

CNN doesn’t have a single broadcast show in the top 40 of cable. CNN’s current ratings are the worst in their history. CNN uses Bananas and Apples to explain their 2018 journalistic mission statement.

A few months ago, a special CNN investigative unit reached the end of a year compiling information that proved Pokemon-Go conspired to defeat Hillary Clinton. Last month the network sent a reporter to St. Petersburg, where he literally dug around a dumpster looking for leads to the global Russian election conspiracy.

Earlier tonight, after Jake Tapper interviewed him by phone, CNN quickly arranged for an hour-long broadcast interview with a seemingly drunk guy , “sketchy sam“, to discuss the vast Russian-Trump planetary conspiracy theory & his involvement with Robert Mueller.

And now this:

Yes America, today CNN sends Ivan Watson to Bangkok, Thailand, for an interview with a prostitute claiming to have the goods on the President Trump’s collusion with Russia. The hooker, Anastasia Vashukevich, who is also a self-described “sex coach,” is currently imprisoned, and hopes that America will offer her asylum in exchange for naked pictures of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

Yes, seriously…

“Mass Extinction in Natural World”?

Mar 6 2018

Italian Elections – Another Nail in the Coffin of Brussels?


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Mar 6, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

EU CrisisThe Italian election results are in and once again it demonstrates that correlating economics with voting, you end up with a far more accurate forecast. Trying to predict based upon samples of calling people appears to be not merely questionable, but also prone to human bias. We have been warning that this trend toward nationalism is growing worldwide and especially within Europe. The Italian vote proves that the refugee issue is a major crisis and the people do not support it. Civil Unrest in Ital has been rising, but nobody listens to the people.

The politicians in Europe and even in the United States with respect to Trump, have assumed that this is merely a populist movement that would quickly fade into memory. Career politicians have had it their way for so long, they cannot fathom why after robbing the Treasury for decades and nobody said anything, why are the people suddenly mad now? The Italian vote should be a wake-up call to Brussels, but they will remain in a state of denial. Their attempt to PUNISH Britain they believed would prevent other states from leaving. They are sadly mistaken.

A majority of Italian voters have spoken and they supported the Eurosceptic candidates in the national election. Italy had been a steadfast championed the European project. However, the dreams have fallen to the ground as dusk in the winds of politics. Those in Brussels have been totally dishonest with the European people swearing that a single currency would solve all the ills and that they were not trying to take over Europe making it the United States of Europe with one government. The promise that a single currency would also produce a single interest rate for all proved also a complete lie.

The early results released by the interior ministry pointed to a hung parliament, with the only hope of perhaps a center-right coalition, with about 37% of the vote could perhaps secure a majority once parliamentary seats are allocated ignoring the people as they have done in Germany. Any way we cut this, the Italian vote is a complete repudiation of Brussels following the trend set by BRXIT for Britain to leave the European Union.

The newspapers are reporting that unlike British voters, Italians would NOT support an exit from Europe or a referendum on leaving the Eurozone. Nonetheless, the very populist parties who score big in this vote have previously been open to a referendum on the Euro and will remain as an important barometer of the mood of the country moving forward. The burning question comes down to – are Italians proud to be Italians? Or do they buy into this view that an Italian is nothing without Europe?

The Italian vote on Sunday also marked the rise of two relatively new political parties that had been ignored and laughed at as fringe movements – (1) the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which early results showed had 31% of the vote, and (2) the anti-migrant and Eurosceptic League, formerly known as the Northern League. Neither group warrants being laughed at or ignored anymore.

The former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi appears to have lost to a younger rival on the far right, Matteo Salvini, who supports radical immigration policies that even include mass deportations of immigrants who are in Italy illegally. Many have called Salvini a racist, as they are using that label in Britain to disparage anyone who votes for BRIXT. However, this is not really a racist issue. During hard times, during the 1840s, there was a nationalist movement in the United States against the migration of Irish. That even turned into gun battles on the street of Philadelphia and it had nothing to do with RACE!

The RACIST label being used against anyone who opposes the mass immigration from Africa under the pretense of war in Syria is simply a tactic used to defend a policy that is indefensible. Regardless of race, this is a crisis created by conflicting cultures and no politician will address the issue because they must have to admit a mistake. The performance of Salvini’s has been a clear warning sign that this entire Refugee Crisis in Europe is indeed tearing the continent apart. It was implemented unilaterally by Merkel who was concerned that her image was being harmed by her position refusing to compromise or foregive any debt with Greece. Germany tried to cover-up the Refugee Crisis without success.  Only when the elections were coming up did Markel suddenly flip and said she too would deport refugees. This was only after Merkel’s party suffered a historical defeat in Berlin local elections. The statistics show that 70% of the migrants are young men who are economic migrants, not political refugees. Whatever happened to women’s rights in the middle of all this?

Salvini made a “gentleman’s agreement” with Berlusconi that if the center-right were to win a majority, whichever party comes out with the most votes within the coalition would name the next prime minister. I have written previously that removing Berlusconi from office was a coup staged by Brussels all because he was beginning to favor exiting the Euro. Salvini also publicly stated that the Euro as a currency was destined to fail, and he also said he would not rule out a referendum on the issue.

Then we have the former Prime Minister Renzi’s leading lieutenant, Maria Elena Boschi, won a safe parliamentary seat in South Tyrol in northern Italy, two other prominent politicians, the interior minister, Marco Minniti, and the culture minister, Dario Franceschini, were defeated. This is clearly demonstrating that there is an underlying rejection of Europe and the Brussels’ agenda.  Consequently, Renzi has stepped down as head of the Democratic party (PD). Renzi has seen his political career go down in flames all because he would not listen to the people.

The politicians have simply backed Merkel, who never put this entire refugee matter to a vote among politicians no less the people. The Refugee Crisis demonstrates that there is no democratic mechanism within the European Union because politicians have viewed that they are smarter than the people and they are just stupid sheep who do as they are told.

 

The results also demonstrated that Sicily, which had traditionally supported Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, also moved toward M5S, which is a broader movement rather than a party that is variously considered populist, embracing anti-establishment, environmentalist, alter-globalist, and Eurosceptic philosophies.

Mar 5 2018

NAFTA Round Seven Ends in Mexico City With Negligible Progress – USTR Lighthizer Remarks (Transcript)…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 5, 2018 by

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer, love ya’ but enough already.  After eight months, and seven rounds of negotiations, only six trade chapter agreements -out of 30- have been closed.  It’s an election year in Mexico (July), Canada and the U.S. (November).

Time to cut bait; call the baby ugly; end the nonsense; stop the backslapping; put everyone out of their diplomatic misery, and finally make a formal NAFTA exit announcement in Washington DC.

Today, round #7 ends in Mexico City with no progress. Surprise fail.   Here’s the trilateral presser (sorry, poor audio):

Other than the progressive Canadian ‘princess rainbow-sparkles’ stomping her feet and promising targeted political trade retaliation for U.S. Steel and Aluminum tariffs, there’s nothing newsworthy within the entire public conference.   Below is a transcript of Ambassador Lighthizer’s full remarks as delivered.

Ambassador Lighthizer: Good Afternoon.

Let me begin by commending Secretary Guajardo for a terrific job hosting this seventh round of negotiations here in Mexico City. It is a privilege to return to this great city.  Not long after I was last here, Mexico was struck by devastating earthquakes.  Your nation’s rapid recovery from that tragedy shows the great strength of the Mexican people.  You deserve our praise for that and our continued prayers and support.

I would like to thank both of you — Secretary Guajardo and Minister Freeland — for your hard work and for the hard work of your able staffs.  We have to keep in mind that there were several hundred people working very long hours for several days during the course of this process.  We are dealing with a large number of difficult issues, very technical issues, and I appreciate the efforts made by all negotiators.

In spite of this hard work, we have not made the progress that many had hoped in this round.  We have closed out only three additional chapters: Good Regulatory Practices, Administration and Publication, and Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures.  We have also completed work on sectoral annexes related to chemicals and proprietary food formulas.  And we are making substantial progress on Telecommunications and Technical Barriers to Trade.  We have also agreed to include a chapter on energy.

These chapters are important and provide further evidence that all three countries want to upgrade and modernize NAFTA.  But to complete NAFTA 2.0, we will need agreement on roughly 30 chapters.  So far, after seven months we have completed just six.  Now granted, these things tend to converge more towards the end of a negotiation.

As I have said since August, we have two major goals in these negotiations.  First, we want to update NAFTA to address modern trade issues.  All three countries agree that NAFTA is outdated, and I believe we should be able to reach agreement on new issues like digital trade, labor, and environment, intellectual property, and much more.  We urge all parties to move more quickly on these issues.

Second, we believe that NAFTA should be rebalanced.  This has been a longstanding U.S. concern about the treatment of our workers and businesses.  From our point of view, among other things, changing the agreement so that it no longer encourages outsourcing, developing rules of origin that will fairly treat our manufacturing sector and workers, and reshaping the rules of government procurement are very important.  We also need to make more progress on these points to conclude a new NAFTA.  We continue to stress the need to act quickly.

Now our time is running very short.  On July 1, as everyone here knows, Mexico will choose a new president.  That campaign as I understand it begins in earnest just next month.  But Mexico is not the only NAFTA country in the midst of elections.  Both Ontario and Quebec have elections scheduled later this year.  Finally, the United States has mid-term elections coming up in November.  All of this complicates our work.  I fear that the longer we proceed, the more political headwinds we will feel.

I also note that in all three countries, reaching an agreement at the negotiating table is only part of the process.  In the United States, after an agreement in principle is concluded, our laws require public disclosure of text, further consultations, and numerous reports before it can be considered by Congress.  Thus, in the U.S., we must resolve our outstanding issues soon to maintain the possibility of having this measure be considered by the current Congress.

As President Trump has said, we hope for a successful completion of these talks, and we would prefer a three-way, tripartite agreement.  If that proves impossible, we are prepared to move on a bilateral basis, if agreement can be made.

We have tried to be clear and very specific about what we hope to see in a new NAFTA.  We are prepared to work continuously to achieve a breakthrough.  I understand that these talks are not easy for anyone.  Each of us has our own political concerns.  But we are at the point where we have very important decisions to be made.  If the political will is there, I am certain that we have a path to a rapid and successful conclusion.

Thank you.

Mar 5 2018

Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran Announces His Retirement Effective April 1st…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 5, 2018 by

It was the Mississippi primary race between 40-year-term Senator Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel in 2014 that reveled just how far the GOPe would go to keep a grip on their power.  The establishment and Mitch McConnell were willing to do anything to protect Thad Cochran despite his infirmity and near certain senility.

Senator Cochran was barely awake for the past few years.  Today his staff announce his retirement effective April 1st:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today announced his intention to resign from the U.S. Senate effective April 1, 2018.

“I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge. I intend to fulfill my responsibilities and commitments to the people of Mississippi and the Senate through the completion of the 2018 appropriations cycle, after which I will formally retire from the U.S. Senate.

“It has been a great honor to serve the people of Mississippi and our country. I’ve done my best to make decisions in the best interests of our nation, and my beloved state. My top concern has always been my constituents in Mississippi. My hope is by making this announcement now, a smooth transition can be ensured so their voice will continue to be heard in Washington, D.C. My efforts, and those of my staff, to assist them will continue and transfer to my successor.”

Cochran was first elected to the Senate in 1978, becoming the first Republican in more than 100 years to win a statewide election in Mississippi. He is the tenth-longest serving Senator in U.S. history. Cochran previously served three terms in House of Representatives. (LINK)

Chris McDaniel (pictured above) was already planning a primary challenge to Mississippi GOP Senator Roger Wicker.  It will be interesting to see what comes next.

Mitch Tyner (circled) was Chris McDaniel’s lawyer in the divisive 2014 GOP election.  The 2016 Donald Trump Republican primary race was a national example of the same conflicts between the establishment and outsiders that existed in Mississippi 2014.

Mar 5 2018

The Glorious Stories of “Sketchy Sam” – Sam Nunberg Talks ‘Muh Russia Conspiracy’ Mueller Investigation With Media…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 5, 2018 by

BACKSTORY – Sketchy Sam Nunberg was a former aide/adviser to the Donald Trump campaign and very close friend of Roger Stone. Sketchy Sam was fired by Corey Lewandowski in 2015 for leaking salacious inflammatory information to the media and being a generally unstable fellow. Nunberg told media in 2015 that Ms. Hope Hicks (Trump Communication Lead) and Mr. Corey Lewandowski (former Trump Campaign Head) were having an affair.

Upon firing a jaded Sketchy Sam went to join the Ted Cruz campaign, and became a Cruz advocate. {Go figure} Later it was revealed that Sketchy Sam had written weird, divisive and racist material to his social media.  Everyone distanced themselves from him. The guy was/is just plain goofy, aka ‘sketchy’.

Enter Robert Mueller’s team, who interviewed Sketchy Sam for over five hours.  Then Mueller sent a subpoena to Sketchy.   Sam tells media today he thinks Mueller is on a witch hunt and other sketchy stuff as only Sketchy Sam can.

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This entire Nunberg/media enterprise is a clown show of historic proportions; and even the moonbat interviewers recognize the goofy narrative that becomes obvious to anyone watching. If an elephant walked through your front yard, how many pancakes would it take to fill a canoe?  The vast Russian-Trump planetary conspiracy theory is epically ridiculous.  Sketchy Sam is the representative image of that nuttery.

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