Trump Gets Closer To Impeachment After Proof That Russia Helped Him Win Wisconsin And Michigan

By Jason Easley on Tue, Oct 3rd, 2017 at 9:49 pm

Russia used Facebook's ad targeting system to help Donald Trump carry both Wisconsin and Michigan. 

According to CNN, “A number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Donald Trump’s victory last November, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Some of the Russian ads appeared highly sophisticated in their targeting of key demographic groups in areas of the states that turned out to be pivotal, two of the sources said. The ads employed a series of divisive messages aimed at breaking through the clutter of campaign ads online, including promoting anti-Muslim messages, sources said.”

Trump won Wisconsin and Michigan by a combined 33,400 votes. With the Russians running targeted advertising for Trump in key swing states, a picture is beginning to take shape of how the Russians may have been able to collude with the Trump campaign to swing the election. It is already known that Russia used Facebook to organize rallies for Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania, add the advertising in Wisconsin and Michigan to the mix and Trump’s surprise victory begins to look less surprising.

The Russians interfered in the election. There is only one piece of information missing. Who inside the Trump campaign was working with Russia to exchange data to help with the voter targeting?

Jared Kushner was responsible for the campaign’s data operation, so any questions about who worked with the Russians should begin with President’s son in law and right-hand man.

Each new puzzle piece that snaps into place is another step toward Trump impeachment.

Paul Ryan is CLUELESS AS FUCK About Poverty and the American Dream

Paul Ryan thinks that, no matter what condition you are born in, the American dream is only limited by your "god given potential." Benjamin Dixon reports on why the Speaker of the House is CLUELESS AS FUCK.

Trump's Hypocrisy Problem: Private Planes, Private Emails, And Public Humiliation

Between the revelations that his appointees are zipping around the country on private planes at the expense of US taxpayers and the fact that at least 6 members of his staff – including his own family members – are using private email accounts to conduct official business, Donald Trump and the Republicans are suffering from a massive hypocrisy problem. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.



http://thehill.com/homenews/house/352649-house-oversight-panel-to-investigate-cabinet-officials-using-private-planes

Another Trump Cabinet Official Caught Taking 10 Day European Trip At Taxpayer Expense!

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse addresses more fraud, waste, and abuse within the Donald Trump Cabinet.

As Puerto Rico Suffers, @realDonaldTrump Worries About Big Banks And Wall Street!

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse addresses Donald Trump's lack of response in the wake of Hurricane Maria and the dire situation in Puerto Rico. Looked at are Trump's tweets and public statements.

Donald Trump, you lying hypocritical imbecile, you need to shut your draft dodging ass up about The American Flag!

Where were you when it was your turn to respect the flag?

"I didn't dodge the draft just so some son of a bitch could take a knee during the National Anthem."

7/18/15 UPDATE: Now that Donald Trump has maligned Senator John McCain as a phony war hero who got himself captured in Vietnam, below you’ll find a reminder--which TSG published the last time the Republican claimed to be running for president--how Trump avoided military service.

The son of a wealthy real estate developer, Trump received four student deferments that were followed by a 1968 medical deferment that came a few months after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

After denigrating McCain during remarks today at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Trump faced reporters questions about his lack of service. Asked about the last of his five deferments, Trump said that his disqualifying medical condition was a bone spur in one of his feet (he could not remember which one). It is unknown on which golf course the injury was sustained.

HEY, DOTARD TRUMP!

 

APRIL 28--Despite Donald Trump’s claim this week that he avoided serving in the Vietnam War solely due to a high draft number, Selective Service records show that the purported presidential aspirant actually received a series of student deferments while in college and then topped those off with a medical deferment after graduation that helped spare him from fighting for his country, The Smoking Gun has learned.

During a TV interview Tuesday morning, Trump--who spent his high school years enrolled at the New York Military Academy--said, “I actually got lucky because I had a very high draft number. I’ll never forget, that was an amazing period of time in my life.”

He went on to recall, “I was going to the Wharton School of Finance, and I was watching as they did the draft numbers and I got a very, very high number and those numbers never got up to.” The word “deferment” was not mentioned by Trump during his chat with the morning show hosts on WNYW, the Fox affiliate in New York City.

However, Selective Service records reveal that Trump, the fortunate son of a multimillionaire real estate baron, took repeated steps to avoid serving in Vietnam.

By the time his number (356) was drawn during the December 1, 1969 draft lottery, Trump had already received four student deferments and a medical deferment, according to military records on file with the National Archives and Records Administration. An extract of Trump’s Selective Classification record, seen here, was provided in response to a TSG records request.

In fact, the December 1969 draft lottery occurred about 18 months after Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied business at the Wharton School. So, while claiming that he would “never forget” being at Wharton watching the draft numbers being drawn, the 64-year-old Trump seems to have misremembered, as candidates are fond of saying.

Trump obtained his first two Class 2-S student deferments in June 1964 and December 1965, when he was student at Fordham University in the Bronx. He was briefly reclassified as 1-A--or "available for military service"--in late-November 1966, but that classification was switched back to 2-S three weeks later.

Another 2-S deferment is dated January 16, 1968, just months before his graduation from UPenn (to which he transferred following his sophomore year at Fordham).

Following his UPenn graduation, Trump--no longer qualified for a 2-S deferment--was again briefly classified as available for service on July 9. However, three months later, on October 15, his classification was switched to 1-Y, which was given to men deemed qualified for military service “only in time of national emergency.”

The 1-Y classification came a month after Trump underwent an “Armed Forces Physical Examination,” according to Selective Service records, which note the results of the exam as “DISQ.”

While the military records do not further detail why Trump was granted the 1-Y deferment, a 1992 biography of the businessman by journalist Wayne Barrett reported that Trump received a medical deferment following the September 17, 1968 exam.

Trump’s 1-Y classification stayed in effect until February 1, 1972 when it was changed to a 4-F classification (which covered registrants not qualified for military service). The change in classification was likely prompted by the military’s December 1971 decision to abolish the 1-Y classification.

The Selective Service records also include a copy of the registration card signed by Trump in June 1964, 10 days after he turned 18. The possible future Commander-in-Chief, it turns out, has birthmarks on both his heels.

Housing Authority charges rent to tenants for apartments made uninhabitable by Hurricane Harvey

By Kelly Macias  

Friday Sep 22, 2017 · 8:01 PM EST

 

Why can't the government seem to do right by hurricane victims?

It’s almost shocking that, in this country, government at both local and federal levels has absolutely no clue how to treat victims of natural disasters. Almost. Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, people were still living in FEMA trailers—which turned out to be toxic and made hundreds of people sick from the incredibly high levels of formaldehyde found inside. From a corrupt mayor, persistent crime rates a decade-plus later and a snail-paced recovery for the many in the city, we know from the example of New Orleans alone that we routinely fail victims of hurricanes and the poorest fare the worst of all. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Houston is already failing those impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Residents of at least one Houston public housing complex have been asked to pay September rent for flooded units deemed uninhabitable, even as Mayor Sylvester Turner has publicly condemned private landlords for similar practices.

Half a dozen tenants of Clayton Homes, which is owned by the Houston Housing Authority, said property management asked them about rent earlier this month, even though Hurricane Harvey had rendered their units unlivable. Most paid after being told they otherwise would lose their spot at the complex, one of the city's few subsidized developments.

Surprised, no. Outraged, yes. People who are already low-income, who have lost almost everything and who been displaced by this storm are being charged money for apartments they can’t even use. And the completely incompetent local and federal governments are feigning ignorance. No one seems to know what’s going on and no one has a rational explanation. But that still hasn’t stopped them from taking residents’ money.

Houston Housing Authority President Tory Gunsolley initially said federal rules prevented the agency from forgiving rent, even in a disaster.

"The regulations don't contemplate us not charging rent and just waiving rent collection," he said.

Gunsolley changed course Tuesday afternoon, however, after questions from the Chronicle prompted a call from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"Tenants of public housing authorities do not have to pay for units that are uninhabitable," HUD spokesman Scott Hudman explained.

So which is it? Can they charge people or can they not? Why does no one seem to know? (Answer: They can’t and they shouldn’t.)

So why is this happening and why can’t they figure out how to refund people their money immediately? And where is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson? He recently laid out a very tepid plan to reform HUD but he’s been very quiet when it comes to helping hurricane victims.

A $50 rent, which is what they took from one of the tenants, may not seem like a lot of money to some of us. But to people who are struggling, who have lost homes, belongings and employment, $50 can mean the difference between eating for several days or starving. Or the difference between getting necessary medication or going without. When you don’t have much, don’t have resources immediately available to you and have already lost your place to live, losing $50 can be devastating.

It remained unclear Wednesday how long it would take the housing authority to reimburse the residents from whom it had improperly collected rent. [...]

The housing authority called last week to ask if [LaShondra Ford, a resident of Clayton Homes,] would be willing to move to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or Fort Worth, but her children had just started in a new school in Conroe, and she had a new job working security.

"That's too far," she said.

Next, the woman from the housing authority asked if Ford would be interested in other public housing in Houston, but again Ford worried about uprooting her children.

"Do we have options? Do we get to choose?"

No, the woman said.

Somehow we haven’t learned any lessons in the years post-Katrina or any of the other devastating hurricanes or natural disasters we’ve experienced as a nation. We are still unorganized and unconcerned with people’s well-being and expecting the most vulnerable among us to take care of themselves. What a shame it is that so many lawmakers spend their days trying to outlaw abortion, take away health care, cut taxes for the rich, fund wars, build walls and prisons but leave people stranded and needy at the most desperate times in their lives. We really need to do better as a nation and get our priorities in order.

Trump, the Russians Oval Office snitch, is forcing federal employees to attend anti-leak classes

https://www.apnews.com/5907d7e83087480ab2b311e699782645

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/21/1700404/-Trump-the-Russians-Oval-Office-snitch-is-forcing-federal-employees-to-attend-anti-leak-classes

Bill Cassidy just won't stop lying about his healthcare bill

By Laura Clawson

Bill Cassidy

“This guy, Bill Cassidy, just lied right to my face,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Tuesday night. And on Wednesday morning, Cassidy did a lot more lying about his healthcare plan. He lied on CNN:

“I’m sorry he does not understand,” Cassidy said of Kimmel. “Under Graham Cassidy Heller Johnson, more people will have coverage, and we protect those with preexisting conditions. States like Maine, Virginia, Florida, Missouri — there will be billions more dollars to provide health insurance coverage for those in those states who have been passed by by Obamacare, and we protect those with preexisting conditions.”

He lied on MSNBC:

“There will be more people covered under the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson amendment than are under status quo and we protect those with pre-existing conditions,” Cassidy said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

And the reality that Kimmel laid out so clearly—that Cassidy’s bill simply does not live up to the tests he set himself and will hurt a lot of people—remains:

That statement, similar to one Cassidy also made on CNN, is virtually impossible to defend. The Graham-Cassidy proposal, which Republicans are rushing to take up for a floor vote next week, calls for reducing federal spending on health care through two sets of changes. [...]
As for Cassidy’s other claim, that his bill would protect people with pre-existing conditions, that’s not true, at least in the sense most people would understand it. The bill would very explicitly allow states to waive existing rules, which the Affordable Care Act put in place, prohibiting insurers from charging higher premiums to people based on their medical status. With that flexibility, insurers could make coverage prohibitively expensive for people with a variety of medical conditions, from diabetes to cancer.

Cassidy wants to make his bill seem different from the wildly unpopular Republican bills that failed, but the only thing that’s really different is that this time, Republicans are up against a Sept. 30 deadline for repealing Obamacare and the pressure to get on board will be that much more intense. This bill will still gut the Medicaid expansion that’s gotten so many people the health coverage they need and it will still weaken protections for pre-existing conditions and essential health benefits and much more. He lies, he lies, he lies—and he lies in the service of harming millions of Americans.

Another Obamacare repeal bill?! It’s time to jam the congressional phone lines again. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote NO on any repeal bill.

Trump’s Golf Ball Retweet Was Low, Even For Him

Donald Trump over the weekend decided to retweet a GIF of himself hitting a golf ball that had been merged with a GIF of Hillary Clinton falling down (the editors had made it look like Trump’s ball hit Hillary and that’s why she fell.)

This kind of behavior should be beneath the resident of the United States, yet Trump once again managed to sink well below the already-lowered bar that has been set for his administration. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Fresh Health Care Fuckery: Your McCain Praise Was Probably Wasted

Posted by Rude One

Ah, remember when Mighty Maverick John McCain was the mighty maverick hero last time there was a vote on a bullshit health care "reform" bill with his mighty mavericky thumbs-down?

Remember the ejaculations of praise for this irascible cockhead doing something decent just to fuck with Donald Trump? Remember his slobber-coated speech where he said of the Senate, "Let's trust each other. Let's return to regular order"? Remember how he insisted, "Let the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee under Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray hold hearings, try to report a bill out of committee with contributions from both sides. Then bring it to the floor for amendment and debate"?

Yeah, fuck all that noise. Now that the new spiked dildo of health care, the Graham-Cassidy-etc bill, is threatening to be rammed up the hemorrhoidal anus of the American people, with just about every fucking terrible thing as the last attempt intact, McCain said that he wanted to hear from Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona. Ducey had opposed the previous Trumpcare bill because it dicked over Arizonans on expanded Medicaid. Now Ducey has said he supports Graham-Cassidy-who-the-fuck-cares, even though the aforementioned dicking remains, and McCain has tweeted that he's still feeling cranky about the process but is "inclined" to support the bill.

And even if McCain ends up going thumbs-down again, fuck him for even contemplating an upraised thumb. Either you've got principles or you don't, motherfucker.

In all the time the GOP has had, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, since the election, since the failure of the "Fuck You, We Don't Care If You Die Bankrupt" bill in July, they have not made a case for repeal except "We said we'd do it." It's like a bunch of morons promising to light their farts if their favorite team wins a championship. The only people who wanna see that are other morons. Right now, we're down to 8.8% of Americans without health insurance, and a good number of those are because of the assholes in Republican states not expanding Medicaid.

Who does this bill help? It's faith-based legislation. Republicans say that Obamacare is making you suffer, so, if you're GOP-inclined, you believe it's making you suffer (even if it's paying for your chemo or psoriasis medication). And you have staked your entire political belief system on your investment in this bullshit. You'd rather die a miserable death than admit that you were always the mark for a bunch of low-rent Barnums. This way to the amazing egress, idiots. Grab a snipe on your way.

I wrote last week about the remarkable care I received in the UK for free. I was in the middle of the fourth largest city in the country, and every complaint I've heard about single-payer was rendered utterly and completely false.

Yet here we are, unable to even agree that tens of millions of people, including those with pre-existing conditions, who are now covered by the Affordable Care Act, deserve to be treated as human beings. What a stupid goddamned society we've built. It's repulsive. It's disgusting. It's immoral. And yet so many of our dumb fellow citizens think this is the way things ought to be.

The cruelest trick that capitalists ever played on Americans was making them believe they didn't need everyone else. Our fake rugged individualism will be our undoing.

And for those of us who do give a shit about our fellow Americans, it's once more to the phones to make Senators fear for their careers.

Trump Adviser Issues Threat: Politicians Who Support Impeachment Are Endangering Their Lives

Roger Stone, one of Donald Trump’s closest allies and advisers, issued what could be perceived as a death threat against politicians who support Trump’s impeachment: If you are in favor of it, you are putting your own life at risk.

Stone threatened a new civil war if impeachment takes place and an “insurrection” the likes of which this country has never seen. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains why these comments not only prove the need for Trump’s impeachment, but they should also land Stone in prison.



https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-roger-stone-impeach-vote-endanger-life-congress-house-senate-white-house-russia-meeting-a7911691.html

Even on 9/11 Donald Trump Couldn't Resist Bragging About Himself

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse addresses the sociopathic nature of Donald Trump and the lengths to which he will go to brag about himself... Even in the face of tragedy and the heartbreak of a nation!

Conservatives Disrespect The American Flag And Violate U.S. Flag Code With Their Fake Patriotism

In this episode of "The Conversation", Jesse discusses the U.S. Flag Code and the many violations of it committed by the same "conservatives who act so hyper patriotic. Even the "Blue Lives Matter" crowd are a bunch of violators of U.S. Code!

Limbaugh Tells Listeners That Hurricane Coverage Is A Liberal Hoax, Then Bails

Rush Limbaugh on Hurricane Irma: Powerful Storm or Liberal Conspiracy?

Rush Limbaugh: Warnings about Irma inflated to advance ‘climate change agenda’

Limbaugh evacuates South Florida after claiming Hurricane Irma was a liberal hoax

Trump’s betrayal of the Republican leaders should surprise no one

Donald Trump meets with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

 

By Eugene Robinson Opinion writer September 7 at 7:48 PM

Chuck and Nancy and Donald and Ivanka seemed to thoroughly enjoy their meeting at the White House the other day. Mitch and Paul, not so much.

Does it really surprise anyone that President Trump betrayed the Republican leaders who have been trying their best to carry water for him on Capitol Hill — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) — and is playing footsie with their Democratic rivals? It shouldn’t.

One thing that should be blindingly obvious by now is that political loyalty, for the president, is a one-way street. Yes, McConnell and Ryan embarrassed themselves and squandered precious political capital in a long, fruitless attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Yes, the Republican leaders have held their tongues time and again when Trump has manifested his unfitness for office. Yes, they have pretended not to notice the glaring conflicts of interest between Trump’s private business affairs and his public responsibilities.

Still, there was something brazen about the way events unfolded Wednesday. First, Ryan tells reporters that a short-term, three-month extension on the debt ceiling, tied to relief funds for Hurricane Harvey — an idea supported by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — was “ridiculous and disgraceful.” Then, in the Oval Office meeting, Trump stuns everyone by endorsing the Schumer-Pelosi plan — and agrees to work with the Democrats on repealing the debt ceiling altogether, according to The Post. Later, on Air Force One, Trump goes on about what a productive meeting he had with “Chuck and Nancy,” not bothering to mention the GOP congressional leaders by name. Ouch.

Some shell-shocked attendees said they believed the meeting went off the rails when the president’s daughter Ivanka, who has an office in the West Wing, cheerily dropped in and disrupted the conversation’s focus. But this sounds to me like nothing more than a search for a scapegoat. Ryan and McConnell have no one to blame but themselves.


Trump is many things, but he is not, nor has he ever been, a committed Republican. He seized control of the party in a hostile takeover. His campaign positions on trade, health care, entitlements and other issues bore no resemblance to GOP orthodoxy. He has instincts — some of them odious, from what we can intuit about his views on race and culture — but his worldview is transactional and situational, not ideological.

Ryan, McConnell and many of their Republican colleagues in Congress convinced themselves that Trump could be a useful instrument — that he would sign whatever legislation they sent him, and therefore they would be able to enact a conventional GOP agenda of tax and entitlement cuts.
Trump might have gone along with this scenario, at least for a while. But Ryan and McConnell utterly failed to hold up their end of the bargain.

Look at the health-care fiasco from Trump’s point of view. His campaign position was that Obamacare had to be repealed, but that the replacement should be a system offering health care for “everyone.” What Ryan and the House delivered, however, was a plan that would make 23 million people lose health insurance and cut nearly $800 billion from Medicaid.

Trump called that legislation “mean” but was so desperate for a big win that he backed it anyway. In the Senate, however, McConnell wasn’t able to deliver anything at all — not even a stripped-down measure to repeal the ACA now and replace it later. Trump was humiliated and angry. “Mitch M” and “Paul R” became frequent targets of his barbed tweets.

So on Wednesday, Trump dished out a little humiliation of his own. At the White House meeting, the president reportedly cut off Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — who supported the Ryan-McConnell approach to raising the debt ceiling — in mid-sentence to announce that he was siding with Schumer and Pelosi.

The stunning slap down almost overshadowed a surprise that Trump had delivered Tuesday evening: After sending Attorney General Jeff Sessions out to announce the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Trump tweeted that if Congress did not act within six months, he would “revisit” the question.

What Trump clearly has already revisited is his belief in the ability of the conservative GOP congressional majorities to get anything meaningful done. He seems to be at least flirting with the idea of working instead with Democrats and GOP moderates — working not with but around the House and Senate leadership.

I just hope Schumer and Pelosi know not to trust him the way Ryan and McConnell did.

Read more from Eugene Robinson’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A.

Donald Trump Rescinds DACA - Stands With White Supremacists Against A Million Dreamers

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse Dollemore addresses Donald Trump's decision to rescind DACA.

Is Joel Osteen A Bad Guy For Reasons Beyond Failing To Act During Hurricane Harvey?

In this episode of "The Conversation", Jesse Dollemore discusses Joel Osteen and his bizarre Americanized version of Jesus' Gospel message.

His inaction in the face of the suffering caused by Hurricane Harvey was bad, but are there more reasons his actions should be questioned and scrutinized?

Will Trump's Republican lackeys in Congress reverse course on disaster response cuts?

By Joan McCarter

Now would be a good time to break with him, guys.

 As the slow disaster of Harvey continues to roll over southeast Texas and into Louisiana, bringing record-shattering rainfall over the region, the Republican Congress is pondering $1 billion in cuts to federal disaster response programs to fulfill Donald Trump's demands for a border wall.

The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief account is part of a spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when Congress returns from its August recess. The $876 million cut, part of the 1,305 page measure’s homeland security section, pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on a U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

It seems sure that GOP leaders will move to reverse the disaster aid cut next week. The optics are politically bad and there’s only $2.3 billion remaining in disaster coffers.

One would like to think that they'd reverse those cuts. But don't forget the request they're working with from the White House.

The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guard’s $9.1 billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.

All so Trump can hire more border agents, build his wall, and more effectively terrorize people of color. Given the disproportionate hit people of color are taking from this natural disaster, don't bet on Trump changing his mind about pushing for these cuts.

Donald Trump Lied About Avoiding Flood Victims In Flooded Areas

In this ‘Dollemore Daily’ Jesse Dollemore addresses the reporting from journalists with Donald Trump which refutes his claims of witnessing the 'horror' and 'devastation' caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.