February 23, 2019: At The Waterfront, Partisan Cauldron, Dinner Is Served

Back in the day there was a program, originally on NBC, called “Wild Kingdom”. Hosted by zoologist Marlin Perkins, the program featured tales from the wild as a means of introducing urbanites to the ecology of the planet. Normally, it would feature a particular species as a 'family' would wind it's way through the seasons, usually ending with a mating scene. Perkins would always save the best for last as a means of keeping the old man glued to the screen long enough for the rest of the family to enjoy the program.

Anyway, I recall a particular episode, sometime in the late 60's, in which Perkins was featuring the life of lions, observing from a distance the behaviors of a lioness and her cubs, as she gave birth, nurtured, and then instructed the young miscreants on the ways of the world; necessary lessons in survival. As the program droned on, waiting for the inevitable mating scene—which was as close to real copulation as one could see on television in those days—Perkins, while observing the playful behavior of the cubs as the lioness took them down to the river to drink quipped “and she will tolerate no nonsense at the waterfront.” Words that have stuck with me for half a century. No nonsense at the waterfront.

In the aftermath of the great wars of the last century it was the position of both political parties that, following the wisdom of the jungle, “debate ended at the waterfront”. This meant that whatever the differences between the political parties, partisanship did not extend to foreign policy. We might quibble within the house, but we would present a united stand to the world. It was during these times that we forged our great alliances providing an umbrella for the rebuilding of war-torn Europe and Japan, as well as aiding nations emerging from the yoke of colonial domination. The world knew who we are and where we stood. America was as good as it's word.

All this began to unravel in the wake of Viet Nam and Watergate. The war split the nation into warring factions and ever since the country has not been able to go forth with anything like the national unity that it presented to the world decades earlier.

But it is one thing to honestly debate what many rightly saw as a colossal national futility inviting national humiliation; it is quite another to use foreign policy for real or imagined partisan advantage. It is the stature of the United States that has been the bedrock of global hope and aspiration; But nonsense at the waterfront is rapidly eroding our standing in the world.

In 2015 John Boner, then Republican Speaker of the House, invited Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington to speak before a joint session of Congress. (1) Usurping President Obama's role as Head of State, the Speaker did this in order to shore up domestic political support without consulting either the State Department or the White House. At about the same time, nearly two-score Republican senators sent a letter to the leadership in Iran warning Tehran that any agreements reached with the Obama administration would not survive his presidency. Then, sure enough, the Scum made good on the pledge withdrawing from the nuclear agreements a few months after Caesar Disgustus seized power.

And he seized power by criminally conspiring with hostile foreign nationals in a conspiracy against his own country for crass personal and partisan reasons. Treacherously he not only seized power but has used the office to not only service the interests of Putin's regime but to further divide the country in part by throwing all policy—foreign and domestic—into a heated partisan cauldron. Everything is now seen through a partisan lens—right down to reporting itself. And, since our intrepid Caesar conflates all interests with his own, the Rescumlican party is being further dragged down the rabbit hole that is tRUMP in wonderland.

Not only does this nation no longer present a united front to the world but, by lacking consistency, we have undermined our integrity.

It has been observed in these columns that Disgustus projects onto others his own shortcomings. When he says the system is 'rigged' he means that he has rigged it; when he calls his opponent 'crooked', he means that he himself has disjointed limbs; when he told the country that the whole world was laughing at Obama he means that soon the whole world will be laughing at him.

And so it was at the United Nations when, at his appearance before the body, the general assembly broke out in riotous laughter when Disgustus stood before the world and claimed that he was the 'greatest' of them all.

But the world has stopped laughing. With the western alliances in tatters, vice president Pence was found last week in Munich at a security conference. Referring to Senator Lindsay Graham and other dignitaries, the body returned tepid applause. When he brought greetings from the 'greatest' of them all Donald J. tRUMP, the vice president was greeted with a studied stone silence. A silence betraying a deep underlying contempt. This was further demonstrated when outgoing German Chancellor Merkle savaged tRUMP and his administration in a video presentation to great applause while tRUMP larvae Ivanka sat silent in the room.

And now, after consulting not his diplomats or security chiefs but Vladimir Putin on negotiations with North Korea, he is off to Vietnam to meet Kim Jung-Un in a desperate attempt to distract from testimony his personal attorney is about to give before Congress and the nation.

Reagan told us about 'the bear in the woods'; the Republicans famously see the world as a jungle. But, apparently, they missed that episode about the lions.

We all know what happens when you play with fire, when there is nonsense at the waterfront: dinner is served.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison.

__________________

1. See previous post: March 11, 2015: Generation of Swine, Mendacity of the Swine, Deeply

Offensive Performances.

February 7, 2019: Spider and the Fly, Connect the Dots, Tangled Up In Greed

"Putin is the Spider, and tRUMP is the fly" 
                 ----from The Quotations of Chairman Joe

"Founded in the late eighteenth century, the tiny, Brooklyn-based Chabad-Lubavitcher movement is a fundamentalist Hasidic sect centered on the teaching of the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who is sometimes referred to as a messiah—moshiach--a savior and liberator of the Jewish people. It is antiabortion, views homosexuality as a perversion, and often aligns itself politically with other fundamentalist groups on the right.

“It's biggest donors included Leviev, an Israieli Billionaire who was an Uzbek native and was known as the 'king of diamonds' thanks to his success in the diamond trade, and Charles Kushner, and American real estate developer who was later jailed for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. Kushner is also the father of Jared Kushner, who married Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and later became senior advisor to Trump.” (1)

Chabad also has ties to Bayrock, tRUMP's principle source of finding for Trump Tower, through the Sapir Organization, a partner in the firm with ties to the Russian mob, principally Vyacheslav Ivankov's gang in Brighton Beach. (2) Chabad is in ascendency in Russia having “been part of Putin's plan to replace older Jewish institutions in Russia with corresponding organizations that were loyal to him. When they began, Russia had already had a chief rabbi, Adolf Shayevich, who was recognized as such by the Russian Jewish Congress.” But when Chabad installed rabbi Lazar at the head of their rival organization, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, the Kremlin recognized Lazar as Russia's head rabbi and removed Shayevich from its religious affairs council.

“Consequently, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, the voice of Chabad in Russia, became so close to Putin that he even made a point of attending the dedication of their center in Moscow's Marina Roscha neighborhood in 2001. With Chabad's Rabbi Berel Lazar leading the way, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia was now providing Putin with a Jewish 'umbrella' that allowed him to battle Vladimir Gusinsky, whose media properties had become critical of him and who even dared to back candidates opposed to Putin...

“But another reason for the close ties between Chabad and Putin was that both Lazar and Leviev had promised Putin that they would make their connections available to the Kremlin and 'open doors to the corridors of power in Washington.” (3)

So let's connect the dots. Chabad's largest contributor, Leviev, “had a direct line to Rabbi Berel Lazar, aka 'Putin's rabbi,' to Donald Trump, and to Putin himself dating back to the Russian leader's early days in St. Petersburg. Leviev would make major real estate transactions with Jared Kushner, including selling the retail space in the former New York Times Building to Kushner for $295 million.(4) Wherever one turns there are Russians, Russians, Russians, from the Christian Evangelical Wrong (5), to Bayrock and Felix Sater, to Michael Cohen and Roy Cohn's ties to the Russian as well as American mob, to the religious connections of son-in-lawlessness Jared Kushner; wherever one looks one finds the Russian connection.

Our Caesar Disgustus, tangled up in greed, is hopelessly caught in the Russian web.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison.

_________

1. Unger, Craig. House of Trump, House of Putin. Op. Cit. Page 116.
2. Ibid. 159
3. Ibid. 159-160
4. Ibid. 160.
5. See Previous Post: January 23, 2019

July 17, 2018: Shameful, Disgraceful, Treasonous

“Ol' Two-Cows George W. Bush famously looked into Putin's eyes and saw his soul; Caesar Disgustus looked into Putin's pants and, mouth agape, dropped to his knees.”

                 ----from "The Quotations of Chariman Joe

“Shameful, disgraceful, treasonous”...is how Fox News host Shepard Smith characterized the performance of Caesar Disgustus on the world stage. As the world recoils from the disaster that is our modern Caligula, we are left in bewilderment as the world asks “What the hell are you going to do about this fool?”

What is frightening about the latest display of Presidential villainy is not what was said as he stammered through a mouthful of Russian sperm at the press conference following his two-hour one-on-one meeting with his male paramour, it is what he may have committed to when meeting in secret.

The chorus of condemnation following tRUMP's latest wretched spectacle reverberates throughout the land, indeed around the world. Everyone, including former CIA chief Brennan who called the behavior of Disgustus 'treasonous', have weighed in with condemnation. Senators McCain, Flake, Lindsay, Schumer and others have expressed indignation. House Speaker Ryan stepped forward to reiterate our traditional foreign policies and express support for our allies, while calling out the 'president' for his gaffes. Even Murdoch's "Fox and Fiends" excoriated Disgustus.   Only Senator Rand Paul—always the outlier and always the idiot—expressed overt support for Putin's useful idiot.  

In the wake of the disaster at Helsinki reports are surfacing that during the NATO conference, Disgustus had snubbed our traditional allies choosing instead to hang out with Turkish strong-man Erdogan. Then, it was revealed that in a recent interview when asked to name the nation's foes, Disgustus put the European Union first and at the top of the list.

Our allies are in dismay as they struggle to find their footing in the wake of tRUMP's World Disaster Tour, with the German foreign minister suggesting that perhaps it is now time for Europe to go its own way. Indeed it is.

The country, indeed the world, was waiting to see what Disgustus is made of. As I have pointed out in these columns, going into this 'summit' was going to be nothing but a repeat of an all too familiar pattern. Disgustus will trash our alliances, undermine our friendships, and embrace our adversary. And so it was.

The reaction has been swift and certain. “Trump Shows The World He's Putin's Lackey” wrote The New York Times Michelle Goldberg. David Brooks, on the same Op-Ed page wrote about “The West's Murder-Suicide”. Both chronicling the steep decline of American Standing as tRUMP turns his back on every value held dear by the West, betraying his nation and our allies in service to his Russian overlord.

“No Matter How Low your expectations for the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday,” writes Goldberg, “it was hard not to be staggered by the American president's slavish and toadying performance.”

“On Friday, the Justice Department indicted 12 members of Russia's military intelligence service for criminal conspiracy to interfere with the 2016 election and hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign. The same day, Trump's director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, gave a speech about America's vulnerability to cyberattacks, particularly from Russia. 'I'm here to say, the warning lights are blinking red again,' he said, comparing the threat to the one that preceded Sept. 11.” (1)

Indeed, with the DOJ indictments handed down last Friday, demonstrating in graphic detail how it was done and by whom, it was expected that the 'president' would hand the indictments to Putin and demand the extradition of these Russian intelligence officers for trial in the United States. It was left up to Chris Wallace of Fox News to confront Putin and hand him the indictments. Instead, Disgustus went rambling on about how he had won the election and that it was all a 'witch hunt' whining about how unfairly he has been treated.

“Europe is America's mother continent”, writes David Brooks. “Our foundational institutions were inherited from Europe. Our democracy is Greek and British. Our Universities are German. The etiquette book George Washington read to improve himself was translated from French, and so were Thomas Jefferson's ideals” (2).

Brooks could have added that we get our economics from Europe from the Scottish Capitalist Adam Smith to the German Communist Karl Marx, to everything in between. Fabian and syndicalist socialism? European.  Catholicism?  European.  Protestantism?  European.  

“Europe represented a path to progress; America saw itself embracing that path and surpassing it...As a young adult nation, we took what Europe had and started democratizing it for our own purposes”, finally, in the aftermath of the world wars, our 'parents' “Partner” (3)

“Over the weekend, Trump ripped the partnership to threads. He said the European Union is our 'foe.' On Monday, Trump essentially sided with Vladimir Putin, who has become the biggest moral and political enemy of the Euro-American relationship. Trump essentially dropped a project that has oriented American culture and policy for centuries. He pointed us to a world in which the central ethos is that might makes right”...

“His embrace of Putin Monday was a victory dance on the Euro-American tomb”. (4)

“'An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh.

Impeach and Imprison.

_______________________

1. Goldberg, Michelle. “Trump Shows The World He's Putin's Lackey”. The New York Times. Tuesday, July 17, 2018. Page A21
2. Brooks, David. The West's Murder-Suicide” The New York Times. Tuesday, July 17, 2018
   Page A21.
3. Ibid
4. Ibid.

July 13, 2018: All Too Familiar Pattern, Defecating on Diplomatic Tables, Stench that Fills the Air

“It has become an all too familiar pattern: Our Caesar Disgustus moves among our allies, defecating on diplomatic tables, as he makes his way toward a more important rendezvous where he will kneel before the tin-horn dictator and play the skin flute.”

                     ----from "The Quotations of Chairman Joe"

He is beyond a mere national embarrassment. He is beyond a mere national humiliation. He has and is committing more than mere collusion. He is committing sedition, indeed treason.

For the second time in as many months Caesar Disgustus has gone to Europe and defecated on the diplomatic table, deeply offending everyone present—indeed perhaps even senior members of his own administration who are, after all, left with the disagreeable job of cleaning up his mess.

This time it was not only NATO, but the European Union. The NATO summit which, anticipating tRUMP's all-too-predictable boorish behavior, was approached with all the enthusiasm of root canal work. Indeed, the twit did not disappoint his knuckle-dragging followers, berating the Germans for their energy policy demonstrating at once his blinding ignorance of the subject matter. Grossly exaggerating the percentage of German natural gas purchased from the Russians, tRUMP-who can never be educated about anything, kept repeating statistics pulled wholly from the ass of his national security adviser John Bolton. No correction of the record sinks in with this clown. Instead, as the cameras roll our national humiliation continues to prattle on, butt-fuck ignorant and proud of it.

After accusing the Germans of being in the pocket of the Russians, and projecting upon Angela Merkle his own crime of being Putin's Puppet, Disgustus then went on to again question the need for the alliance and to berate those present for not contributing enough toward the joint military commitments. MSNBC had a former ambassador to NATO on the air late in the week explaining that the Europeans offer the use of military bases in Spain, Italy and elsewhere to the United States and, in fact, pay us to station our troops there. The ambassador said that it would cost us more to bring the troops home than keep them there. Then there is the joint commitment of our NATO allies to military action in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the war on terror. It was pointed out during the television interview that the European Union spends more on defense that the entire Russian military budget, and equals that of China, the ambassador underscoring the point as a means of demonstrating that this alliance is not only necessary but powerful.

Of course, at the end of the conference, Disgustus was seen standing alone at an impromptu press conference telling the assembled that he had forced concessions from the group, getting greater commitments to military spending. No sooner had the stench of his presence left the assembly than the President of France promptly informed the world that no such agreement had been reached and that the alliance is to proceed on spending schedules previously reached with the Obama Administration.

Nevertheless, here was Disgustus standing before the world—as at Singapore—crowing about mountains unclimbed. Whatever fealty tRUMP professed to our allies in the wake, it is clear that the alliance has been further shaken. In this, he has done the work of his mentor as he prepares to go to Helsinki and kneel to service him.

Indeed, prior to the trip reports surfaced that Disgustus has offered the French certain financial incentives to follow Britain out of the European Union. The French were having none of it, but it is clear that Disgustus will leave no stone unturned in his quest to service the Russian national interest.

But he wasn't finished. Prior to his London visit, Disgustus sat down for an interview with The Sun, a London tabloid. It is interesting how Disgustus is always drawn to tabloids, but in this case, The Sun gave us some real news. The result was described by the paper as “incendiary” as Disgustus told the paper “ In an extraordinary intervention timed to coincide with his U.K. Visit, Mr. Trump said Theresa May ignored his advice by opting a soft Brexit strategy.

“And he warned her any attempts to maintain close ties with the EU would make a lucrative US trade deal very unlikely.

“Mr. Trump said:'If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of the dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal”.

Disgustus then went rabbiting on:

                *Accusing “EU leaders of destroying its culture and identity by allowing in millions of migrants

• Tearing “into London Mayor Sadiq Khan for not standing up to terrorists
• Blaming “Khan for spiraling crime in the capital
• Insisting “former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would make 'a great Prime Minister”'
• Denying “one branding Theresa May a 'bossy schoolteacher'”
• Maintaining “he would keep ties with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin despite the Salisbury Novichok poisonings”
• Once again “demanded Britain and other NATO countries spend more on defense
• “Spoke of his sadness at feeling unwelcome in the capital by anti-Trump protesters”
• “claimed millions of Brits backed his policies
• “told of his pride at taking his wife Melania to meet the Queen.

It remains unclear, as of this writing, if his hosts let him ride in the Cinderella coach on his way to the ball; but one thing is certain—he turned into a pumpkin (and a stinking overripe pumpkin at that) well before his arrival.

One can forgive Prime Minister May for not heeding the advice of our village idiot. After all, as videos gleaned from congressional testimony back in the '80's show, tRUMP is no stranger to stupidity. Tapes surfaced this week of our ignoramus testifying before congress telling the assembled that science declaring Asbestos a carcinogen was faulty and should be ignored, indeed berating the congressmen for their temerity in banning the substance. This was well before his much ballyhooed denials on climate change, or his embrace of Birtherism and other tin-hat conspiracies. Indeed tRUMP is a catch-basin for all the flotsam and jetsam coursing its way through the backwater of American culture dignified by a defiant ignorance that beggars the imagination. Why would anyone take him seriously?

To underscore the point, he went on blathering about how he had “doubled” or “tripled” the GDP of the country in the last 18 months, demonstrating that he doesn't have the foggiest idea of what the Gross Domestic Product of the country is. At 17 trillion dollars, the tripling of the dollar amount of goods and services, which would take 20 years for the former and 30 years for the latter, without a corresponding increase in the money supply would have resulted in catastrophic deflation, producing an economic depression the likes of which the world has never seen.

But such is the level of idiotic braggadocio that passes for informed opinion in this administration; and such is the level of press coverage that no reporter calls him out on this nonsense to his face. Instead the madness is allowed to linger, like the stench that fills the air in the wake of his every move.

“'An Br'er Putin he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison.

___________________

(1). Dunn, Tom Newton. “Trump's Brexit Blast” https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6766531/trump-may-brexit-us-deal-off/

June 12, 2018: President Quisling, Cannot Dominate and Preen, Cutting the Ties that Bind

“When Vladimir Putin ordered his hackers to surreptitiously help Donald Trump in the presidential race,” opined the editors in today's The New York Times, “he could hardly have anticipated that once in office, Mr. Trump would so outrageously, destructively and thoroughly alienate America's closest neighbors and allies as he did at the Group of 7 meeting in Canada.” (1) Indeed, the editors have once again grievously underestimated our adversary. I suspect, and have previously commented in these columns, that Putin anticipated precisely this turn of events; knew precisely who he was dealing with; understood completely how Donald J. Trump could and would serve his interests.

The Times confined its comments this morning to the wreckage in the wake of the G7 summit in Quebec:

“Indeed,” continued the editors, “the group of 7 was just the kind of forum a bully like Trump cannot abide, not out of geopolitical considerations, but because he cannot dominate and preen. He knew he would be on the defensive—over backing out of the Paris environment accord and the Iran nuclear deal, and now over the tariffs he slapped on European and Canadian steel and aluminum—so he made a point of being late, acting petulant, leaving early and lashing out at Mr. Trudeau.” (2)

Like the coward he is, Disgustus didn't confront Trudeau or anyone else directly, instead skipping out early—cutting short his participation in a forum on women's issues and avoiding altogether meetings on the environment—Trump slinked off to Air force One and from the comfort of 30,000 feet lashed out at the conference by repealing U.S. Endorsement of the final communique and insulting the leader of the host country. Disgustus has a penchant for vandalizing institutions by throwing monkey wrenches into the machinery. Through the adroit use of boorish behavior, inspiringly ignorant public statements and unilateral executive actions, tRUMP is doing his best to wreak havoc upon not only domestic institutions within this country but our international alliances and institutions as well. Disgustus also has a penchant, while doing so of insulting the leader of the host country. Remember last year his treatment of German Chancellor Merkle at the last European conference held in Germany when he cold not bring himself to shake the hand of the leader of the host country?

Disgustus, of course, always blames others, always playing the pitiful victim, claiming from the safety of 50,000 feet that it was our allies and particularly Canadian Prime Minister's Justin Trudeau's fault that the summit was not the success he previously claimed it to be. The fact is that the petulant little twit, knowing that the assembled were not about to genuflect at his feet, announced before even landing on the tarmac in Quebec that Russia should be re-admitted to the group—and action that prompted at least one foreign minister to muse that perhaps the United States should be expelled. That's how the meetings began.

“This is not a column” wrote economist Paul Krugman also in today's New York Times, “about whether Donald Trump is a quisling—a politician who serves the interests of foreign masters at his own country's expense. Any reasonable doubts about that reality were put to rest by by the events of the past few days, when he defended Russia while attacking our closest allies.”

“It's important to understand that the fight Trump is picking with our allies isn't about any real conflict of interest—because they are not, in fact, doing the things he accuses them of doing. No, Canada and Europe aren't imposing 'massive tariffs' on U.S. Goods: A vast majority of U.S. Exports enter Canada tariff-free, and the average European tariff is only 3 percent. These are simple facts, not disputable issues.

“So Trump is justifying his attempt to destroy the Western alliance by accusing our allies of misdeeds that exist only in his imagination.” (3)

“We don't know Trump's motivation. Is it blackmail? Bribery? Or just generalized sympathy for autocrats and hatred for democracy?”(4), asks Krugman. Perhaps we shall never know. I suspect it is a combination of all of the above.. Bribery and the susceptibility to blackmail that this entails; blackmail

involving involvement in racketeering and money-laundering with Russian interests, coupled with authoritarian impulses and an overweening devotion to the likes of Putin and Hitler.

In any case Krugman has it right. Disgustus is, in the words of a German diplomat, “a pathetic little man-boy”, a Quisling in Krugman's estimation doing the bidding of the world's strong-man; putting to torch the fabric of civilization and helping to usher in a new age of barbarism. Our Quisling president is a Russian Agent, proving himself to be Putin's 'useful idiot' cutting the ties that bind 280 'twitter' characters at a time.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”.

Impeach and Imprison.

________________

1. Editors “America Isolated” The New York Times. Tuesday, June 12, 2018: Page A22
2. Ibid
3. Krugman, Paul. “A Quisling and His Enablers” The New York Times. June 12, 2018 Page A22
4. Ibid

April 12, 2018: Double-Dog Dare, Eternal Adolescent, School-yard Blowhard

“Caesar Disgustus is the eternal adolescent, the school-yard blowhard.”

----from “The Quotations of Chairman Joe”

Yesterday, our eternal 12-year-old Caesar Disgustus responded to an alleged gas attack by Syria's Assad. He did this, as he always does, by taking to 'twitter'. As I've said before, only a birdbrain 'tweets' and our resident birdbrain cannot resist singing as he twists in the wind. In this case, always the juvenile, Disgustus challenged Putin by saying “look out Russia, the missiles are coming”. Joe Scarborough, on his Morning Joe program chose to find something positive in all this saying that at least Disgustus could be found finally criticizing Putin for supporting the Assad regime.

Putin, the only adult in the room, responded saying that one does not engage diplomatically on 'twitter'. Indeed, one does not. Nevertheless, Disgustus' tweet-storm set the White House staff a-titter, many complaining that no discussions had occurred involving any use of force. And, true to form, the White House did a bit of backpedaling today leaving the military response open to some future development.

These are the actions of an eternal adolescent. These are the actions of a school-yard blowhard, issuing a double-dog dare to a classmate, reminding one of the film “A Christmas Story” where Ralphie's friends get into a pissing match on the playground in the middle of December. His friend Flick accepts a double-dog dare from his friend Swartz to put his tongue on the pump handle. Flick finds, upon putting his tongue on the cold iron, that his tongue is now fixed fast to the pump handle. And here we have our Caesar Disgustus accepting a dare, shortly after unilaterally announcing that we are withdrawing our forces from Syria and leaving the area in the hands of Russia. Putin has issued a double-dog dare, threatening to shoot down any missles and to attack the origin of any missile strike. The question before us is whether our eternal adolescent will have the wisdom not to put his tongue on the pump handle.

Don't count on it.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison.

March 27, 2018: Tepid Response, Inconvenient Truth, Fold Like a Deck Chair

“Whenever Caesar Disgustus confronts Vladimir Putin, our “president-for-life” folds like a deck chair on the Titanic.

                           ---- from "The Quotations of Chairman Joe

To date, the response by the Western World to the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter has been tepid. Prime Minister May of Great Britain has called out Putin for this outrage but, led by May, the Western World has so far only expelled diplomats. True, a significant representation of participating countries joined in the effort, from France to Ukraine, with the U.K. Expelling 20 diplomats, but the response of the United States has been puzzling.

Disgustus' first response was 'wait and see', telling the press corps and the nation that he wanted to first talk with the Brits and see the evidence, not that anything the Rescumlickans do is evidence-based. This was a curious response, given that Prime Minister May had already stood in the House of Commons and declared unequivocally that the attack, using an agent pioneered by the Russians, was engineered by Putin and his henchmen. Nevertheless, like any other 'inconvenient truth' (like global warming), the scum are always late to the scene. So while May and the European community were organizing a response, our very own Caesar Disgustus was found wanting.

Instead, our intrepid Disgustus was seen congratulating Putin on his electoral victory, ignoring a memo written by his national security team with the words “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in capital letters. Disgustus, famous for his illiteracy, ignored the memo and called, we learned again from Russian sources, Putin to do precisely that. Not only did he ignore his advisers, but failed to call Putin into account for the violence visited upon the former Russian spy and his daughter, nor bring any criticisms to bear concerning ongoing election tampering or the Russian hacking of our nuclear plants and the power grid. White House officials were stunned and embarrassed, as is the nation.

Disgustus has been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the collective effort by the West to mount some kind of response. But let us face facts. The effort, to date, has been lackluster. Obama, in the wake of election tampering, expelled 25 Russian diplomats. Putin responded by expelling 700 U.S. Diplomats from Russia. Disgustus, responding to the Russian reaction merely said that his friend Putin was doing him a favor by helping his administration cut costs. Now we have another round of Diplomatic tit-for-tat, which basically boils down to a slapping on the wrist, while the meddling and hacking continue.

What is amazing here is not only the tepid response of this administration—as deplorable as it is—but that of the West generally. While Britain's may take some solace in the expulsion of twenty Russian diplomats, the fact is that this isn't much of a response. Indeed London has been flooded with Russian Oligarch money, money in search of a safe haven against possible political upheaval, or the falling from grace. Russian-linked money has done its worst, for it has not only bought the oligarchs a safe haven for their funds, or their possible futures but has bought acquiescence from the governments of those countries so invested.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United States, where Russian money-laundering and the implicit, if not explicit, participation by our very own Caesar Disgustus has frozen in place the appropriate American action. Look no further than the steadfast refusal of Disgustus to impose the sanctions voted by Congress with only 5 dissenting votes in both the House and the Senate. Clearly, Disgustus is willfully ignoring the expressed will of the people and their demand that our response is punitive. Instead, our Maximum Leader, our “president-for-life” in waiting, folds like a deck chair on the Titanic.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison.

March 2, 2018: Phalanx of Intelligence, Twisting In The Wind, Unmistakable Conclusion

In an editorial appearing in The New York Times, the paper asserted that tRUMP is “blind to Russia's threat”. “The phalanx of intelligence chiefs who testified on Capitol Hill delivered a chilling message,” wrote the editors, “not only did Russia interfere in the 2016 election, it is already meddling in the 2018 election by using a digital strategy to exacerbate the country's political and social divisions...

“It's particularly striking that four of the men who gave this warning to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday—C.I.A. Director, Mike Pompeo; the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats; the F.B.I. Director, Christopher Wray; and the Defense Intelligence Agency director, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley—were all appointed by Trump” (1)

The editors note that tRUMP is not completely oblivious concerning Russia's behavior, but that he “continues refuse to even acknowledge the malevolent Russian role.” (2) Indeed, NSA (National Security Agency) Director Mike Rogers, testified before Congress this week that he has yet to receive any instructions from the White House concerning a response to the threat dumbfounding Connecticut Senator Reed. The director informed the senators that indeed this country has powerful cyber weapons that can be brought to bear. Unfortunately, no one asked the director why he hadn't reached the White House to ask for directions. Instead, we find the heads of relevant departments twisting in the wind.

The unmistakable conclusion one is left to draw is this: tRUMP is not blind to the Russian threat. In fact tRUMP knows all about the threat; has been an eager participant in the Russian effort; a willing volunteer in the subversion of the country's electoral process; an eager accessory to the crimes. Precisely why he has been so obsequious to Putin, such willing clay in Putin's hands remains to be fully explored. But one thing is sure: follow the money.

“an' Br'er Putin he jus' laugh and laugh”

Impeach and Imprison

______________________

1. “Mr. Trump is Blind to Russia's Threat” The New York Times Editorial. Thursday
   February 15, 2018. Page A30
2. Ibid.

February 4, 2018: Putin's Work, Nothing But Lapdogs, Weapon of Mass Self-Destruction

“In 2016, the Russian government engaged in an elaborate plot to interfere in an American election and undermine our democracy. Russia employed the same tactics it has used to influence elections around the world, from France and Germany to Ukraine, Montenegro, and beyond. Putin’s regime launched cyberattacks and spread disinformation with the goal of sowing chaos and weakening faith in our institutions. And while we have no evidence that these efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling political discord and dividing us from one another.

“The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests – no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s. The American people deserve to know all of the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation must proceed unimpeded. Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.”

                                                           ----Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) (1)

Indeed, the Russians are suspected of being behind not only the Brexit movement in Britain, La Pen's fascist party in France, nationalist parties in Germany, but also nascent secessionist movements in the United States. From the campaign to have Alaska declare independence and, perhaps rejoin Russia, to the online petition campaigns to have California and Texas secede from the union, the Russians have been doing their utmost to sow discord not only within the international community but within the very confines of the United States as well. McCain knows from whence he speaks. He has deep ties to the defense and intelligence communities and was the one member of Congress that Steele felt he could trust with the information that he had garnered from his intelligence network in Russia and Eastern Europe.

McCain knows the scope of this threat and, I suspect, he knows that Disgustus is guilty. Nevertheless we have seen the governing political party become nothing but lapdogs, justifying and enabling what can only be described as a clear and present danger.

Let us be clear about this. Not only did Disgustus openly invite the Russians to illegally hack emails and welcome their influence, but upon taking office one of the first acts of the administration was to eliminate entirely the funding for the only federal agency charged with protecting the cyber integrity of our electoral process, an overt action that virtually insured that nothing was going to be done and put our electoral system at further risk. Here we have an entire political party openly colluding with a declared foreign adversary to subvert the electoral system of this republic and now they are about the business of brazenly doing everything they can to shut down the investigations into their perfidy.

The Rescumlicans will do anything to stop us from revealing the truth. No act is beneath them. They have sowed discord and suspicion, destroyed the integrity of congressional oversight committees, created antipathy toward our law enforcement agencies and destroyed whatever lingering faith the public has in our representatives in Washington.

In an opinion published in “The New York Times”, Thomas Edsall wrote:

“President Trump has single-handedly done more to undermine the basic tenets of American democracy than any foreign agent or foreign propaganda campaign could.
“Trump is a political weapon of mass self-destruction for American democracy — for its norms, for its morality, for sheer human decency,” Henry Aaron, a senior fellow at Brookings, wrote by email:

So if Putin backed him, and if he did it to damage the United States, then he dropped one extremely smart bomb in the middle of Washington.”' (2)

Yes, Br'er Putin knew precisely what he was doing when he fashioned this 'tar baby' called Donald Trump and thrust him before the American people. Like Br'er Rabbit, the country just couldn't leave him alone and there appears no brier patch in which we can now get ourselves clean.

“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”.

Impeach and Imprison.

_____________________

1. https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=12E0BD0A-B549-43ED-B42E-594EDBE182C1
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/opinion/trump-putin-destruction-democracy.html

January 25, 2018: Br'er Putin, Whack-A-Mole, Object Of Ridicule

“And Br'er Putin, he just laugh and laugh”

                                              ----from “The Quotations of Chairman Joe”

Caesar Disgustus spent the first anniversary of his maladministration holed up in the 'dump' he calls the White House. It wasn't supposed to be that way, for he and his henchmen had planned a gala at tRUMP's Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida, a veritable bribery dinner which cost those in the cheap seats one hundred thousand dollars per couple and those seated around the 'captain's table' forking over two hundred thousand dollars per couple for the benefit of dining with and hearing the gibberish that continually emanates from the Oracle of Queens.

Disgustus was held hostage in Washington because the wheel had come off the wagon. The Democrats, having grown tired of playing “whack-a-mole” with the White House had filibustered a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. A week earlier, in a televised White House meeting Disgustus assured the assembled lawmakers and the nation that he would happily sign whatever immigration measure that the Congress could pass. Accordingly, Senators, Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina), and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) headed up a group that included Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) among others, producing a bi-partisan plan to meet the urgent needs of the DACA (see previous posts) recipients as well as significant compromise provisions concerning an overall immigration overhaul, the first in nearly 35 years. Durbin called the White House and informed Disgustus that he had a deal, tRUMP asked if Graham was on board and was assured he was. Accordingly tRUMP led Durbin to believe that a deal had been struck, one that would easily pass the Senate and, if Ryan allows the bill to be voted upon in the House would receive broad bi-partisan support. Durbin contacted Graham and the two of them went down Pennsylvania Avenue to meet the 'president'.

Upon arriving they confronted Disgustus in ill-humor, fresh from a meeting with White House Counsel Miller and his Chief of Staff Kelly who had invited Senators Tom Cotton (Rescumlican-Arkansas) and Purdue (Rescumlican-Georgia) both immigration hard liners. Durbin found himself having been sandbagged, surrounded by a host of congressional hard liners and White House staff who, last obtaining Disgustus attention, blew up the deal. Hours later, C-Span presented us with the visual spectacle of the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell openly pining that he had no idea what this 'president' wants. Whereupon business came to a halt.

The Rescumlican Lie is that the Democrats shut down the government and moved to interrupt and hold hostage our military. NOT TRUE. Like everything coming from the RESCUMLICANS this is a bold-faced lie. Lawrence O'Donnell in his broadcast last night told us the truth, complete with video from the Senate floor. Immediately following the vote that sustained the filibuster and forced the shutdown Senator Claire McCaskill took to the floor and asked for unanimous consent to fund the military during the crisis, asking to approve the action without objection whereby Mitch McConnell rose and said: "I object". Senator Nelson of Florida rose to ask for a continuing resolution to fund the government for another day so that the government would run while negotiation continues. Again, McConnell rose and said, "I object". Senator Tester then rose and asked for unanimous consent for a continuing resolution to keep the government open until Monday, again McConnell rose and said: "I object". Here for all the world to see, McConnell not only shut down the government but moved to block the payment of our military creating a crisis in which, thankfully, cooler heads eventually prevailed. But make no mistake about it. The Rescumlican spin is, as always, a boldfaced lie. It was McConnell and his Rescumlicans that shut down the government and McConnell and his Rescumlicans that were holding the military hostage.

The nation has become a laughingstock. Recent polls show that confidence in institutions, not just political institutions plummeted 37% in the last year, greatly accelerating a trend that has been decades in the making. Americans now trust no one, not their law enforcement agencies, not their religious institutions, not their congress, not their president; and every day in every way Disgustus defiles whatever he touches further eroding confidence.

Internationally, the U.S. Stands one place ahead of Russia and behind China as a trustworthy and respected presence on the international stage. Effectively, Disgustus has isolated the United States, making this country an object of ridicule among nations.

Fearing the fallout of a 'leader' skipping out of town to hobnob with billionaires while the government was turning out the lights, the White House kept their man, however reluctantly, in town. Rumors quickly spread that he was holed up in 'the dump' alone in bed with his cheeseburger forcing the White House to release a photograph of the idiot sitting in the presidential chair looking for all the world like a tourist who had broken free from the tour group, stole into the presidential sanctuary striking a pose. “The Acting President” who can't act.

January 12, 2018: Unforeseen Circumstance, Modern Caligula, Death Knell of the Republic

The founders could foresee a possible Tiberius, a possible Augustus, a possible Napoleon. They could foresee the development of faction. They did not foresee the organization of political parties not to mention the emergence of a modern Caligula, our very own Caesar Disgustus.

As chronicled in these columns the cancer that is modern conservatism fueled as it is by the corresponding dominance of the “Generation of Swine”, has been eating away first at the economic base of this country and now upon its hallowed social and political institutions. This cancer has culminated with the rise of one Donald J. tRUMP, extreme narcissist and quintessential 'boomer'. Our very own Caesar Disgustus representing, perhaps, the death knell of the republic.

As we speak a motion is being introduced into the House of Representatives calling for a vote to censure the 'president' for conduct unbecoming. This in the wake of a remark made two days ago referring to 'shithole' countries like Haiti and Africa and complaining that we are accepting too many immigrants from these countries and bemoaning the lack of white folks from places like Norway coming to our shores.

A new book having been released by a beat-writer named Wolff, has chronicled the madness inside the tRUMP White House. Portraying this 'president' as a juvenile, self-absorbed, indeed narcissistic twit, about whom virtually no one who works for him holds any respect, operatives inside this madhouse went about putting Disgustus on television broadcasting the first hour of a meeting with congressional leaders about fixing DACA (the Obama era program to address the needs of the so-called 'dreamers') and the larger immigration issue. Here was Disgustus, arms folded over his chest, the haughty condescending countenance that has now become a permanent fixture upon his face, trying his level best to appear informed, rational and in control. Instead the country watched transfixed the 'president' pogo back and forth agreeing with virtually everything that was said, finally ending with the flat statement that he would sign whatever was sent to his desk. This reminded me of a remark that Huey Long made about the man who would succeed him as governor of Louisiana and over whom Long had absolute control. “Hell”, remarked Long, “he'll sign a leaf if it blows in the window and lands on his desk”. So it is with Caesar Disgustus. He will act upon the advice of whomever speaks to him last; and will sign into law whatever the billionaires and their paid prostitutes put on his desk.

Every day brings a new outrage. Every day the depths of the cesspool are sounded as Disgustus goes off on another of his twit-storms, making another offensive remark, launching another assault upon our institutions. When he isn't insulting black athletes, picking fights with Gold Star families of wounded and dead servicemen and women, hurling insults at congressional leaders, senators, judges and agency heads, endorsing a candidate for the United States Senate convincingly accused of violating an underage girl, we find him undermining the very rule of law by engaging in a prolonged and concerted effort to obstruct justice and working to vilify and discredit those charged with investigating his conduct. And now this.

Several African nations are demanding an apology. Disgustus does not apologize, this insecure fragile little man's ego will not allow it, especially to those that do not look like him. Every day in every way the cancer that is our Caesar Disgustus eats away at the republic, destroying our standing in the world, unraveling our longest-standing alliances. Indeed, it was yesterday announced, Caesar Disgustus was dis-invited to London, canceling a planned state visit to meet with our closest ally. These are the depths to which we have fallen and I fear we are nowhere near sounding the bottom.

You've got to hand it to Vladimir Putin. Putin knows tRUMP well. Putin knew that he would get quite a return on his investments. Putin understands that Caesar Disgustus is a very useful idiot indeed.

Meanwhile a motion is introduced to censure this man for “conduct unbecoming”, that is, For Being Ye Public Ass”.

Impeach and Imprison.

December 10, 2017: Russian Affiliated Television (R.A.T.), Murdoch's Slime Machine, Hand it to Putin

“Fox (Faux) News is nothing more than Russian Affiliated Television (R.A.T)”.

----from “The Quotations of Chairman Joe”

The investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller proceeds, and is slowly closing in on the oval office. The recent revelations that former tRUMP foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous had pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I, and, more recently, the National Security Advisor to Caesar Disgustus has likewise copped a plea and is now cooperating with the investigations has hit the conservative community like a sledge hammer upon a tuning fork.

So, as predictable as the morning sunrise, Fixed Noise, Rupert Murdock's slime machine, is about the business of savaging both Mueller and his investigation as well as the FBI.

Sean (SEEN) Hannity, ever the reliable scumbag, ever the slime bucket for the cause, has taken to the airwaves condemning Mueller, protesting that he has no credibility and must step down. On his 'show' Hannity could be seen with a guest that with a straight face compared the FBI with the former Soviet KGB, if not the Guestapo, complaining of wiretaps and midnight raids. Hannity, limiting himself to simple charges of political bias, nevertheless nodded in agreement.

Never mind that both Mueller and former FBI director James Comey are life-long Republicans, that is until the recent emergence of Disgustus and his gang. Never mind that every 'institution' is filled with people who hold political beliefs and act upon them in their private lives. Never mind that the confessions of now two principles of possible colluding with the Russians and lying about it have given clear evidence substance behind the suspicions. Never mind that the professionals investigating these matters have experience and a long and noble track record of getting to the bottom of these things. Mueller has put together a first-rate team, including investigators who got to the bottom of the Enron scandal. Until now, no one has questioned the integrity of either Mueller or his investigation. Not until he started getting close to the truth.

But this is the problem for the White House. Disgustus knows he is guilty; Hannity and his corporate paymaster knows likewise that he is guilty; as do several brain-dead members of Congress, and that is why they have turned upon the authorities in an effort to lay the groundwork to discredit these investigations. The time of reckoning will, sooner or later, be upon us and the alternate universe of the idiot wrong will by then have done their work—discrediting the evidence, negating the facts, so that their knuckle-dragging constituencies can continue on their blessed paths of denial.

But in so doing, Faux News and the hate mongers on talk radio, InfoWars, Limbaugh and his ilk, will not only further enable Disgustus but will be material accomplices in the obstruction—by discrediting the facts—of justice. They will also be material accomplices of the Bannon-inspired efforts by Disgustus to discredit, diminish and besmirch everything about him.

You've got to hand it to Putin. He knows his 'useful idiot' very well, and the return upon his investments in this bastard 'presidency' are now obvious for all to see. Caesar Disgustus is our gift to Russia that keeps on giving.

Disgustus must go. It will be ugly, and the stench will linger for decades, but he must go.

Impeach and Imprison.

March 31, 2017: The Russian Connection, Useful Idiot, Threaten to Sing

The scandal simply will not go away.  No matter how mightily our Caesar Disgustus struggles to obfuscate, mislead, confuse, blame and raise wholly bogus complaints of election fraud, wiretapping, and other nefarious misdeeds by enemies’ and forces real or imagined, the scandal simply will not go away.

Of course, to listen to Disgustus tell it the “Russian Story” is an entire fabrication concocted by the Democrats to explain away, in his words, “losing an election they should have won”.  Like everything else emanating from the mouth of this man there is always a tidbit of truth.  In this case the Democrats should have won, and won hands down were it not for the machinations of forces within the Democratic Party securing the nomination of the only person on the planet capable of losing to this man; and, it is becoming increasingly apparent, forces within the Rescumlican Party reaching from the Kremlin all the way into the highest echelons of the tRUMP campaign and the Rescumlican Party working to ensure the outcome.  

But, it appears, there may be a bit more to the story.  According to several news sources it appears that as early as 2015 foreign intelligence agencies, among them Estonia, Poland, Germany, France, Israel and Australia while monitoring the activities of several principles within the murky world where Russian Intelligence, Russian political leadership and the Russian Mafia combine, were bumping into information regarding contacts between these actors and people associated with the tRUMP campaign.  It was these agencies that first brought this issue to the attention of the FBI and American Intelligence.  Other sources have also surfaced, including the famous “Steele Dossier”, put together by a former British MI6 agent and funded first by an unnamed opponent of tRUMP in the Republican primaries, and later by a Democratic operative.  Much of it today remains unsubstantiated, but much of it has been verified. There is still, however, no word on the veracity of the salacious account involving tRUMP and Russian Prostitutes involving acts of urination known as “Golden Showers”.   What we do know from all of this is that to date at least nine different tRUMP associates have been identified as having contacts with the Russians before and after the election including, it is rumored, tRUMP himself.  Precisely what was exchanged at these meetings is under investigation but, in the words of John McCain, “This is beginning to resemble Watergate and more shoes are bound to fall”.

This much we do know.  All 17 U.S. Intelligence Agencies agree with “High Confidence” (read “Dead Certainty”) that the Russians meddled in our election in order to elect one bombastic, willfully ignorant megalomaniac with a vocabulary of about 700 words and the attention span measured in nanoseconds to the presidency of the United States.  They did so, it is held, because Vladimir Putin, angered by the actions of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to question the legitimacy of his re-election, was moved to retaliate.   It wasn’t that Putin thought he could win the election, it was that by backing a man this unstable, this vengeful, this paranoid, and animated by this level of complete mendacity he had found a man who promised to shake the political process and, therefore, the legitimacy of the most powerful republic on the planet.  Here was a golden opportunity for tRUMP, win or lose, is in the parlance of Russian Intelligence, a most “useful idiot”.   It is not difficult to imagine the chaos Disgustus would now be wreaking upon the republic had he lost the election.  Can there be any doubt as to his response?  Calling the election “rigged” and “fake”, whining that the office-- which, in the mind of Disgustus, is so rightfully his—could only have been lost by having it ‘stolen’ from him.  Can there now be any doubt that having lost he would be presently barnstorming the country demanding justice and doing everything within the power of “Faux News” and mendacity itself to delegitimize the Clinton administration.  Perhaps, it is feared, there would have been armed rebellion. 

But to WIN the election!  Oh, what a delicious prospect for Putin that would be!  What better candidate could one possibly conjure who, placed at the vortex of political power, is better suited to vandalize and wreak entire havoc upon one’s greatest adversary?  tRUMP’s staggering ignorance alone would almost insure the project.  Add to this his breathtaking incompetence and the stench of his malignant personality and one has the perfect ‘useful idiot’; a vandal capable of nothing save damaging, destroying, defacing, and besmirching virtually everything and everyone about him.  For let there be no mistake about it: anyone who associates with this man is belittled thereby and reputation besmirched. 

Putin, a former head of the old Soviet KGB, knows something about personality profiling.  He also knows something about political power.  He knows that a man with tRUMP’s resources and tRUMP’s personality would make for a very toxic mix, win or lose.  And like any good geostrategist Putin, always thinking at least six steps ahead, found in our Disgustus the perfect foil—a man who, among other things, cannot see beyond his nose much less around any corner.  So, leading his idiot by the nose, Putin helped Disgustus assume the throne. 

The broad outlines are there and the details will, no doubt, be forthcoming.  All our intelligence agencies agree that the Russians interfered in our election.  They hacked into not only the Democratic National Committee and Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta’s emails but also into the electoral rolls of at least 22 states and several congressional campaigns.  They spread disinformation about Hillary on the anti-social networks Facebook and Twitter.  They may, and probably did, have done much more. 

But what isn’t emphasized in the reporting here in the States is that Disgustus, upon receiving this aid and comfort from our adversary began to change policies and ape the Kremlin line concerning elections in republican countries.  On orders from Disgustus himself, and with the Russian Ambassador looking on, the Rescumlican Party did an immediate ‘about-face’ on Ukraine, changing its platform from support of the Ukrainian nationals over Crimea to supporting Putin and Russia. tRUMP immediately, again aping the Kremlin’s line, began to warn that the election was rigged, and that the only way he could lose would be through outright theft. 

Faced with a growing chorus of questions about Russian interference and his role in it, tRUMP dismissed U.S. Intelligence, denigrated the agencies, and parroted the Kremlin line, and then set about undermining our western alliances by questioning the need for NATO, suggesting that the U.S. may no longer honor the provision to come to the aid of any member of the alliance under attack, and demanding—like some slumlord running a tenement—that the member states belly-up to the bar and “pay their fair share”.   This, of course, has served to undermine one of the great alliances that has kept the peace in Europe for over 70 years; a principle policy goal of Putin and the Kremlin since NATO’s expansions into Eastern Europe right up to the doorstep of Russia itself.  Once again, Disgustus has demonstrated by undermining our alliances—even to the point of refusing to shake the hand of the German Chancellor-- how useful an idiot he has become in the furtherance of Russian national interests.    

In the memorable words of Senator Sam Irvin presiding over the Senate Select Committee investigating Watergate: “If it looks like a horse, walks like a horse and sounds like a horse, one can reasonably assume it’s a horse.” 

As we speak, former tRUMP National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, known to have met with the Russians before and after the election and suspected of undermining Obama’s response to the Russian interference by promising reversal of policy upon tRUMP’s inauguration, has offered to sing in exchange for immunity from prosecution.   So far no one has taken him up on it.