3/12/18: The GOP-controlled U.S. House Intelligence Committee has released its long-anticipated report. Yes: The Russians did interfere in the election.
No, the report claims, the Russians didn’t care who won. “We disagree with the narrative that they were trying to help Trump,” Chairman Devin Nunes, head of the committee insists.
The F.B.I. and C.I.A. demur. (See also: Rex Tillerson, 3/13/18.)
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Chairman Nunes - seen here trying to remember if Moscow is in Russia. |
The President of the United States is thrilled with these “findings.” He tweets excitedly, in Trumpian caps:
THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HAS, AFTER A 14 MONTH LONG IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION, FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION OR COORDINATION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA TO INFLUENCE THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
This might impress Trump’s addle-brained fans; but those of us who have even a tenuous grip on reality understand this panel wasn’t going to find evidence of anything it didn’t want to find.
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THE PRESIDENT may be having a happy moment, but Johnny McEntee, his body man and close friend of the Trump family, is fired and escorted out of the White House without being allowed to collect personal belongings.
It is rumored that McEntee has been given the ax because he was “under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for serious financial crimes.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that those crimes involve “online gambling” and “mishandling” of taxes.
Fortunately, if you’re going to be drained from the swamp it’s nice to crawl right back into the muck when no one is noticing. McEntee is immediately hired to work on the Trump reelection campaign.
And wouldn’t mishandling of taxes almost be a job qualification in this dysfunctional administration?
BLOGGER’S NOTE: McEntee will eventually get a promotion, return to the White House, and be given power over hiring and firing for hundreds of low-level posts. See: 2/13/20.
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MEANWHILE, A NERVE GAS AGENT has been employed to poison a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, England. Prime Minister Theresa May blames the Russian government for what she calls an “indiscriminate and reckless” act, one which left hundreds of bystanders and first responders subject to contamination.
The word “Russia” is frozen from her lips.
Asked if the White House is willing to condemn Russia, Press Secretary Pinocchio can only respond, three times, saying the U.S. supports Great Britain, our ally. The word “Russia” is frozen from her lips.
Traveling overseas, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responds much more pointedly Monday night.
This is a really egregious act. It appears that it clearly came from Russia. Whether it came from Russia with the Russian government’s knowledge is not known to me at this point…It will certainly trigger a response I’ve become extremely concerned about Russia…What we’ve seen is a pivot on their part to be more aggressive. And this is very, very concerning to me and others that there seems to be a certain unleashing of activity [emphasis added] that we don’t fully understand what the objective behind that is.
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IF TRUMP is too much of a coward to take on Russia, at least he’s consistent. He’s also too much of a coward to take on the National Rifle Association.
In the wake of the horrific Parkland massacre, he did briefly jump the reservation. Briefly, there was hope. With the blood still wet, he called on Congress to raise the age to buy rifles, particularly the kind of assault rifle used in the Parkland shooting, to 21. He called for legislation to implement near-universal background checks before purchasing guns. That move was first proposed in 2013, in the wake of the bloodbath at Sandy Hook. Within days, however, Trump backed away from his own proposals.
“Not much political support (to put it mildly),” he tweeted Monday morning, in reference to the proposals he himself had tried to advance.
Apparently, he has been watching too much Fox & Friends and not listening to enough NPR. According to a survey conducted by the latter, there was “widespread bipartisan support for a range of gun-control policies.” These included:
· requiring background checks for all gun buyers (94 percent)
· adding people with mental illnesses to the federal gun background check system (92 percent)
· raising the legal age to purchase guns from 18 to 21 (82 percent)
· banning bump stocks (81 percent)
· banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds (73 percent) and
· banning assault-style weapons (72 percent)
Naturally, the N.R.A. opposes federal action to force all states to raise the age to buy a rifle to 21.
On the other hand, the N.R.A. favors federal action to force all states to honor concealed carry permits issued to citizens who might be traveling from states where it is legal to carry to states where it is not.
