July 20, 2018: FBI Director Wray and DNI Dan Coats Undercut Trump

 

7/20/18: F.B.I. Director Christopher Wray has already undercut Trump at the Aspen Security Forum (see: 7/18/18). Now Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats takes a shot. 

 

Coats is laughing at Trump. 

At this point, four days after Trump sat down privately to chat with his pal Vladimir, the White House still hasn’t briefed top administration officials or military leaders on any agreements the two men might have made. Mr. Coats is answering questions from Andrea Mitchell, a reporter for MSNBC, in front of a large audience, when news breaks. Press Secretary Pinocchio announces, via Twitter, that Putin will be invited to the White House this fall. Coats’s reaction is telling, and we learn later that White House aides feel Coats is laughing at Trump. 

That’s because he is – and like Wray, on Wednesday – almost daring the president to fire him.

 

 

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary James Mattis makes it clear in a statement what our country’s biggest problem is in Europe. 

It isn’t NATO. 

Russia should suffer consequences for its aggressive, destabilizing behavior and its illegal occupation of Ukraine. The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once in a generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the U.S. vision [emphasis added] for global security and stability.

 

No one knows yet what Putin and Trump talked about during their private meeting in Helsinki. We do know this. They both agree the free press is a giant pain in the ass for dictators. 

BLOGGER’S NOTE: In January 2019 we learn that our president has been confiscating translator’s notes from his meetings with Putin. Other top administration officials still don’t know what has been said.

 

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WE LEARN IN PASSING that Mueller has issued a subpoena for Kristin Davis, 41, formerly known as the “Manhattan Madam.” Ms. Davis operated a high-priced prostitution ring and ran an abortive campaign for governor of New York in 2010. Since then she has worked for Roger Stone. 

That is, not counting the twenty-four months she spent behind bars, starting in 2013, for illegally peddling prescription pills. 

These are the kinds of people who orbit the Trump sun.

December 20, 2019: Sutter Health Agrees to $575 Million Settlement

 

12/20/19: The Trump administration rolls back rules on energy efficient light bulbs because… 

Okay, there’s no “because.” (See: 12/21/19).

 

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Yeah. We. Plus You. Plus Your Bank Account.

TEAM TRUMP may not care about protecting the environment; but to listen to President Trump, he is working day and night to protect all good Americans from dangerous criminals who want to slink across the border and rob us – especially if we are old white folks, i.e. the Trump base. 

 

Sutter Health: Ripping off patients and taxpayers. 

Unfortunately, Sutter Health, a northern California healthcare provider, was robbing not only old white folks who came to their facilities for treatment, but everyone else, including pregnant women and children with leukemia. The State of California got wise and sued Sutter for anti-competitive practices. 

According to one study, Sutter managed to push the costs of a “typical inpatient procedure” up as much as $90,000, compared to the cost of the same procedure in the southern half of the state. 

This lead to a rap on the company’s greedy knuckles and a court settlement of $575 million in damages – just in time for Sutter to avoid a jury trial and possible damages totaling $1 billion. That followed a $46 million legal judgment against Sutter for providing kickbacks to doctors who recommended patients use Sutter facilities for expensive operations.

 

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IT IS A RARE DAY that passes without President Twitter Thumbs issuing some incredible piece of stupidity. Friday, Trump retweets a story, supporting the idea that he has been unfairly impeached. 

Who says so? 

Vladimir Putin! 

Trump, who has been under a cloud since Day 1 of his presidency for taking Russian help in the 2016 election – and now again for asking for Ukrainian help in 2020 – Donald J. Trump is so clueless as to imagine that touting the support of an authoritarian killer, and an enemy of the United States, strengthens his case. 

And his polling numbers are actually rising of late.