His Master's Voice

When President Donald Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office on Wednesday just hours after firing the FBI director who was overseeing an investigation into whether Trump’s team colluded with the Russians, he was breaking with recent precedent at the specific request of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The chummy White House visit—photos of the president yukking it up with Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak were released by the Russian Foreign Ministry since no U.S. press was allowed to cover the visit—had been one of Putin’s asks in his recent phone call with Trump, and indeed the White House acknowledged this to me later Wednesday. “He chose to receive him because Putin asked him to,” a White House spokesman said of Trump’s Lavrov meeting. “Putin did specifically ask on the call when they last talked.”

I thought one of Trump's claims to fame was that he was a PR whiz. Who the hell is in charge of optics at the White House, Jose Feliciano? "when they last talked"...how often does Trump report in?

Meeting with the Russian ambassador, allowing only Russians to cover the meeting, and doing that while 98% of sentient adults think that Trump fired Comey because of the FBI's Russian investigation has to be about the worst decision made in the White House since Lincoln chose to go take in a play.

Trump's Letter to Comey; the Rough Drafts

Stupidity; Dolt-45 Ed.

Say, for the sake of discussion, that Trump's new hand-chosen FBI director looks over the Russian investigation and orders it closed.

Who, other than GOP party loyalists, will ever believe that nothing was found?

Comey got fired days after asking for more resources to pursue the investigation. Nobody is going to believe that he was doing that just to make sure that there was nothing there.

It's a coverup, people. And even the GOP loyalists, if they are being honest with themselves, know that.

Just like they did 44 years ago. They all knew that Nixon had done everything that he was accused of doing. But out of party loyalty, they closed their eyes, plugged their ears and hummed loudly, until the crescendo of evidence was too loud for even them to ignore.

And so it will go this time. Only this time, we all know how it will play out. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan will willingly sacrifice any shred of personal honor that they may still cling to in order to save Trump.

You know what is really sad? If the situations were reversed, Trump would throw both of them overboard without a nanosecond's worth of hesitation and he'd not look back.

In the end, when all this is over and Trump is either in exile or in a cell, the GOP will look as pathetic and as foolish as they did in 1974. But I guess they can live with that.

Word- Trump Edition

Trump is a hell of an overachiever: It took him less than 120 days to reach the same point in his presidency that Nixon reached in 4.75 years.

This was true then:

“Whether we shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people.” -- Archibald Cox, October 20, 1973.

And it is true today. If you've been keeping track, Comey is the third person who was investigating Trump to get fired for doing that.

Which makes Comey's firing sort of a slow-scale Saturday Massacre, only moreso. Nixon was a seasoned pol and understood the system that he was trying to manipulate. Trump, on the other hand, is really just a rich thug with, at best, a second-grade-level understanding of the presidency. He is advised by people, such as Bannon and Sessions, who, at their core, are enemies of democracy. Trump has an elementary-level understanding of the military and of foreign affairs, which partially explains why he seems to be as erratic as a child on crack.

This presidency is a cancer and a far more virulent one than was Nixon's.
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In other Trump-related news, Operation Butthurt has been strangled in its crib. Because there is no case to be made.

Trump Fired Comey for One Reason and One Reason Only: Russia

President* Donald Trump weighed firing his FBI director for more than a week. When he finally pulled the trigger Tuesday afternoon, he didn't call James Comey. He sent his longtime private security guard to deliver the termination letter in a manila folder to FBI headquarters.

He had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said.

The reason Comey was fired now seems to be that he was asking for more resources for the Trump-Russian probe. So, like Major Strasser, Trump ordered Jess Sessions (in the role of Capt. Renault), to find a reason to fire Comey.

It is now time that Republicans and conservatives decide whether or not their ultimate loyalty is to their country or their party.

I think I know the answer for most of them. They lie every time that they recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

What Nixon Did and Did Not Do.

What Nixon did do: He created the EPA.

What Nixon did not do:

Also, Trump reported to his overlords this morning.

Icon Crash Update

The two killed were employees. One, Jon Karkow, was the chief test pilot and lead engineer.

RUMINT is that the lake where they crashed was frequently used by Icon for tests and that the lake had a set of powerlines that were strung across it. Lake Berryessa is a dam-created lake with a hydroelectric plant, but that doesn't mean that there are lines across it. I can't see anything on satellite photos. And presumably, Icon-employed pilots would know their location and stay well clear, as powerlines are almost invisible themselves.

Shorter Trump Spox: "Comey's Been Fired, So It's Time to Stop Investigating Trump's Russian Ties."

Spicer's assistant liar pretty much has given the game away.

Which, to my way of thinking, shows that they don't give a shit about anything remotely resembling the rule of law. The excuse of "do things Americans care about" would, if taken honestly, mean a full and impartial investigation of Trump's Russian fuckery. Because people do care about that.

Trump's firing of Comey is, to quote Jeffrey Toobin: "Transparently bogus."

Update #1: Sen. McConnell, aka "Toady #1," defended Trump. No surprise there.

.38s

This is a pretty good explanation of the state of .38 ammo and why what is now considered to be +P ammunition isn't anything of the sort.

Shorter Trump: "How Dare You Investigate Me!!!"

President* Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, dramatically ousting the nation's top law enforcement official in the midst of an FBI investigation into whether Trump's campaign had ties to Russia's election meddling.

And then there was this bullshit rationale:

In a letter to Comey, Trump said the firing was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in the FBI.

Horseshit. And this part was about pure 100% triple-distilled bullshit:

In announcing the firing, the White House circulated a scathing memo, written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton probe, including the director's decision to hold a news conference announcing its findings and releasing "derogatory information" about Clinton.

Riiight. Trump cares about that as much as he cares about ethics or pollution. Without Comey's little "October surprise," Trump would now be living back in his home, giving brick-tossing interview to Fox News. Anyone with even a quarter of a functioning cortex is aware that Comey tipped the election.

Maybe Trump is mad about that, to some extent.

But more likely, the FBI was investigating internal links or leaks to the Trump campaign during the election itself. I have no doubt that that investigation will be squashed. As will the FBI's investigation of Trump's ties to Putin.  The very last thing that Trump wants is anybody investigating his ties to Russia. Clearly, the House of Representatives isn't going to do it. Trump's allies in the Senate will ultimately make sure that investigation goes nowhere. All that was left to worry Trump was an independent FBI investigating him, and now he's taken that off the board. Somewhere in Hell, the spirit of Richard Nixon is smiling broadly.

Trump also wants his own puppet cop running the FBI. Trump, along with his staff of neo-nazis, is clearly frustrated that he cannot bend the Federal government to his will. But he can get a lot closer to what he wants to be, namely, a dictator, if he can put a compliant toady (like Rudy Giuliani) in as director of the FBI.

All hail El Generalissimo Trumpo!