When the President of the US decides to wilfully incriminate himself in a tweet, we’re better off without him as an ally

Trump is a danger to a British national interest better served by reversing the referendum result, remaining in the EU, and hugging civilised allies close until a semblance of sanity returns to DC

“....So ends another tempestuous week in the eye of the Trumpnado. Retweeting Britain First’s Islamophoic propaganda films, misaddressing his reply to the Prime Minister’s rebuke to a Bognor housewife, dissing the Fifth in favour of wilful self-incrimination, and perjuring himself once again in the court of public opinion by accusing an honest man of lying. Behold the leader of the free world to whose good graces the non-Bognor Theresa May has seen fit to entrust our post-Brexit hopes of economic salvation...”

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-usa-james-comey-michael-flynn-brexit-a8089836.html

I am Donna Trumpenstein whom no man will ever possess...My beauty blinds all men, unmanning them in the way that King Kong was reduced to a mere simian whimper by the beauteous Fay Wray whom I resemble left three-quarter profile if the key light is no more than five feet high during the close shot.

Abandon hope all ye who enter

Christie Says He's Not Sure Trump Will Seek Second Term in 2020

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he’d back Donald Trump again if he runs for a second term, but he isn’t sure the president would want another four years in the White House.

“If he runs again I would support him, yes, but I’m not so sure what would happen,” Christie said during an interview Friday on NBC’s "Today" show. “Four years is a long time, and especially for someone who has not spent a lifetime in politics, so I think those years affect him differently, so I’m sure the president will make whatever decision is best for him and his family and the country.”

Trump has already begun raising money for a re-election campaign.....

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-27/christie-says-he-s-not-sure-trump-will-seek-second-term-in-2020

He campaigned with a lot of swagger. But his first nine months in office have been defined by indecision, vacillation, and a reluctance to call shots.

Who Knew Trump Would Be a Wuss?

At his rallies, presidential candidate Donald Trump excited his most avid supporters through displays of toughness: his calls when a demonstrator acted up to “get him out of here”; his incantations of his reality show signature “You’re fired”; his promises of robust actions on “Day One.” He promised his ecstatic followers that he’d tear up trade treaties and the Iran nuclear deal. He’d force other countries to renegotiate and he’d be tough in his dealings with them, just as he’d been in business. And he’d show those so-called NATO allies that the U.S. wasn’t committed to defending them—no more of the wishy-washy deference to other nations that Barack Obama had displayed for eight years. Also, on that busy Day One, he’d have a replacement for Obamacare ready for Congress to enact immediately. He’d pick the very best people but wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of someone who wasn’t up to the job. Above all, he’d be decisive, no vacillating figurehead. He’d be a man of action, tough and strong.

And then …

\

https://newrepublic.com/article/145529/knew-trump-weak-president

Grump is going down and he doesn't gave a shit if he takes us with him

Grump is going to deliver on every one of his campaign promises – even if he ruins America in the process

In the space of just two days, Grump took steps to sabotage Obamacare and the nuclear deal with Iran. If either leads to disaster, the blame will all be on him

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-campaign-promises-deliver-iran-nuclear-deal-destroy-obamcare-a7999681.html

Trump is failing and the White House is working overtime to cover it up

Republicans increasingly restless at President's failure to translate goals into policy wins

President Donald Trump cannot fail. President Trump can only be failed. Trump and his allies tell us so. He can only be failed - by the filibuster (never mind that no GOP repeal bill got 50 Senate votes); by the “Fake News” media, which fails to honestly report on his smashing successes; and even by Republican congressional leaders, who have let the Russia probes get out of hand and secretly oppose his agenda.

The Washington Post and The Washington Examiner have remarkable stories on Thursday morning that portray the Republican Party as gripped by an internal war of recriminations over the fact that Trump has not signed any major accomplishments.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-failing-white-house-lies-cover-up-republicans-gop-policy-healthcare-daca-dreamers-a7985926.html

We need to take a break 

We've got a case of chronic Trump fatigue!

Stirring up the media just in case, God forbid, you'd forget about this fat ass over the weekend!

Trump smiles, winks when asked about ‘calm before the storm’ remark

Trump drops ominous ‘calm before the storm’ line while posing with military leaders

President Trump grinned and winked on Friday when asked to explain his comment the night before that the US could be in “the calm before the storm.”

“You’ll find out,” Trump said at a White House event, repeating the answer he gave Thursday night when asked the same question as he posed with military brass at the White House...

http://nypost.com/2017/10/06/trump-smiles-winks-when-asked-about-calm-before-the-storm-remark/

Lickspittal of the Day

Jeff Sessions Defends Trump’s Right To Speak Out Against Free Speech

“The president has free speech rights too,” the attorney general said of Trump’s condemnation of NFL players who protest.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave an impassioned defense of the values of free speech on Tuesday, proclaiming that “in this great land, the government does not tell you what to think or what to say.” Then the nation’s top law enforcement official condemned the actions of NFL players who protest during the national anthem and defended his boss’ right to call for them to be fired.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-sessions-trump-nfl_us_59ca8732e4b0cdc7733534d4?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Trump the Terrible is not the only asshole...there's that super-asshole, Kim Jerk  Whatever......

This Stanford Professor Has a Theory on Why 2017 Is Filled With Jerks

We are living in a world full of assholes. To be sure: There are no census figures to back this up, no national registry from which to draw statistics, but one need only look at the headlines to see that the asshole population has not only grown in recent years but also spawned some new and rather alarming mutants. I mean, Martin Shkreli? Travis Kalanick? PewDiePie? “You can make the argument that we are living in Peak Asshole,” says Robert Sutton, a Stanford professor...

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/robert-sutton-asshole-survival-guide.html

Democracy is a joke, says China – just look at Donald Trump

Chinese Media Can’t Stop Making Fun Of Donald Trump

Chinese media has referred to Trump’s election a “democracy malfunction,” compared him to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, called him “as ignorant as a child” and mocked his spelling problems. During the presidential campaign, media in the country called Trump “big-mouthed” and “abusively forthright,” and even compared him to a clown. ..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-china-media-mocked_us_58f039c5e4b0da2ff85fa722

Trump’s lawyers wanted Jared Kushner gone

President Trump received legal advice earlier this summer that Jared Kushner should step down from his White House role because of possible complications related to the Russia probe, it was revealed Monday. Some of the president’s lawyers advised him in June that Kushner was dead meat due to his entanglement with Russian officials.....

http://nypost.com/2017/09/11/trumps-lawyers-wanted-jared-kushner-gone-report/

Insulting the leaders of your party is not the path to legislative success.

Expect Trump and Congress to Do Nada

As a presidential deal-maker, Donald Trump is, in Texas parlance, all hat and no cattle. It's a big reason that, aside from disaster relief, not much is likely to get done this month or this year. To the shock of fellow Republicans, Trump gave Democrats all they wanted to get a temporary extension of the debt ceiling and government funding and the first installment of huge assistance for hurricane victims....Trump cut this small deal to punish House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom he blames for this year's dismal legislative record, while simultaneously bragging he has gotten more done than any than any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. The next day Trump gloated about the GOP leaders' discomfort and the media reviews.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-10/don-t-expect-trump-and-congress-to-do-anything

Fasten your seatbelts




\

Trump Runs The Country Like He’s Driving A Bumper Car

When you drive a bumper car you just smack into whatever is right in front of you, deal with whatever is immediately in view, and have no idea or concern where you’re going. That’s the way Donald Trump governs.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer absolutely the got the best of him in their White House negotiation over the short-term debt ceiling/continuing resolution. That was partially because Pelosi and Schumer are simply better negotiators and tacticians than “the great dealmaker” Trump.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-runs-the-country-like-a-guy-drives-a-bumper-car_us_59b2eb22e4b0c50640cd6713?section=us_contributor

“Oftentimes, Trump’s cluelessness extends beyond specific policy details into more rudimentary “how does the government work” territory. At the beginning of his term, Trump seemed to believe the president was a dictatorship, and was chastened to find out that it’s not....”

When Trump Aides Admit He Has No Idea What He’s Talking About

“....Ultimately, it’s Trump’s unthinking impulsivity that seems to worry aides most. Ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin, advisers confided that they were worried about what he’d say, given his “propensity for unpredictable utterances and awkward optics.”

“And then there are moments when staffers just seem eager to confirm that Trump’s rhetorical non sequiturs are as ludicrous as they appear, like when Trump tweeted disparagingly about John Podesta during a G20 summit in Germany. “I have no idea what he’s talking about,” a source told The Daily Beast.

“The dearth of knowledge about how laws, the government or the criminal justice system works, and the insouciance with which he displays his ignorance, are qualities that define the 45th president. This is a man who understands one thing better than anyone: how to whip a crowd into a reactionary strew of resentment and fear. After that, as his own staff has acknowledged for months, he’s got nothin’.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/when-trumps-aides-admit-he-doesnt-know-any-policy.html

Kushner Frantically Searching Desk Drawer For Bold Solutions To Today’s Most Pressing Issues

Cursing under his breath as he dug through the assorted documents and folders, Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner was frantically searching a desk drawer Wednesday for bold solutions to today’s most pressing issues. “I could have sworn I put my trailblazing approaches to ushering in a new era of prosperity in here somewhere,” said Kushner as he pulled out random sheets of paper and quickly scanned them in hopes some might contain his strategy for bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a swift, peaceful conclusion....

http://www.theonion.com/article/kushner-frantically-searching-desk-drawer-bold-sol-56854

Wait until Wall Street wakes up and smells the arabica

THE TRUMP-COHN BROMANCE IS OFFICIALLY OVER

The president has been making furtive phone calls to Steve Bannon as he fumes over his economic adviser.

Unfortunately, like many Trump romances, this one has hit the skids. Trump quickly proved to be the sort of undisciplined employee who would’ve been fired from Goldman Sachs on day one. He withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement, despite Cohn’s protestations. The breaking point was Charlottesville: Cohn was said to be “disgusted” and “dismayed” at his boss’s characterization of a group containing neo-Nazis as having some “very fine people,” and, after two weeks of stewing, let his thoughts be known in an interview with the Financial Times, wherein he condemned the president’s equivocating. Not surprisingly, it did not go over well....

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/09/the-trump-cohn-romance-is-officially-dead

Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund down to its last $1 billion

FEMA Is Almost Out of Money and Hurricane Irma Is Approaching

With Texas still reeling from Hurricane Harvey and another storm barreling toward Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to run out of money by Friday, according to a Senate aide, putting pressure on Congress to provide more funding this week.  As of 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which pays for the agency’s disaster response and recovery activity, had just $1.01 billion on hand. And of that, just $541 million was "immediately available" for response and recovery efforts

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-05/fema-is-almost-out-of-money-as-hurricane-irma-threatens-florida

 

Melania, Fashionistas love love love you!  

Jeff Sessions’ DOJ To Put Woman Who Laughed At Jeff Sessions On Trial Yet Again

Remember the woman who dared to laugh at a Trump official? Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department plans to put the woman who laughed at the now-attorney general back on trial yet again, a federal prosecutor told a D.C. judge here on Friday.

Desiree Fairooz, a woman taken into custody after she laughed during Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing, will go to trial in November for a second time.

Fairooz and her lawyer rejected a plea deal offered by the government in which she would have pleaded guilty to one of two charges in exchange for the government recommending a sentence of time served,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-laughed-jeff-sessions_us_59a8cb8ae4b0b5e530fd7c8b?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Trump’s new communications chief once backed Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump’s new communications chief previously supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions. Commander Schtark was appointed on Friday – prompting the resignation of embattled White House press secretary Sean Spicer. Mr Schtark has little experience of either Republican party politics or handling media relations. He founded global investment firm Universe Capital in 2005, and hosted investment news TV show Galaxy Week.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/trumps-new-communications-chief-backed-clinton/

Donald Trump Reportedly Uses His Personal Cell Phone Behind 
‘Church Lady’ John Kelly’s Back

Since joining the White House as chief of staff, General John Kelly has sought to bring order to the West Wing. But to no one’s surprise, President Donald Trump is reportedly not happy about being controlled — and, in an act of teen rebellion, has been sneaking calls on his personal cell phone....

https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/donald-trump-john-kelly-cell-phone.html

If Trump doesn't resign earth to collide with Nibiru next month!

NASA scientists have reportedly confirmed that the planet Nibiru will collide with Earth on October 17, 2017 or 17/10/17.

The Nibiru collision with Earth in 2017 has been predicted for a long time, but astrophysicists, cosmologists and astronomers around the world have now come to a consensus that Earth will indeed collide with the planet, which lies just outside Pluto.

Nibiru, in Babylonian Astronomy translates to “Point of Transition” or “Planet of Crossing,” especially of rivers, i.e. river crossings or ferry-boats, a term of the highest point of the ecliptic, i.e. the point of summer solstice, and its associated constellation. The establishment of the Nibiru point is described in tablet 5 of the Enuma Elish. Its cuneiform sign was often a cross, or various winged disc.

http://weeklyworldnews.com/aliens/42896/earth-to-collide-with-nibiru-on-decembe-21-2012/

Kushners’ China Deal Flop Was Part of Much Bigger Hunt for Cash

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away. His family’s real estate business, Kushner Cos., owes hundreds of millions of dollars on a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue. It has failed to secure foreign investors, despite an extensive search, and its resources are more limited than generally understood. As a result, the company faces significant challenges.

Over the past two years, executives and family members have sought substantial overseas investment from previously undisclosed places: South Korea’s sovereign-wealth fund, France’s richest man, Israeli banks and insurance companies, and exploratory talks with a Saudi developer, according to former and current executives. These were in addition to previously reported attempts to raise money in China and Qatar.....

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-kushners-china-deal-flop-was-part-of-much-bigger-hunt-for-cash/

Trump’s debt to Deutsche Bank

When Donald Trump sued Deutsche Bank in late 2008, it was “classic Trump”, according to the German bank, which sued him back. The New York property developer was trying to wriggle out of $40m of personal guarantees he had supplied on a $640m loan to build Trump International Hotel & Tower in downtown Chicago. The Lehman Brothers crisis was an unimaginable event that should get him off the hook, he argued. The future US president sought damages of $3bn — because the Deutsche-led consortium of lenders had just played a part in wrecking the world economy.
The two sides sparred for a while before settling out of court....

https://www.ft.com/content/8c6d9dca-882c-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787

All bark and no bite?

Trump May Be More Dangerous Than His Handlers Realized

It was always clear that Donald Trump could never be fully White House–trained. No chief of staff could ever quiet the billionaire’s bark, or keep him from chewing up the Oval Office scenery. The septuagenerian celebrity is set in his ways — and those ways include broadcasting nearly every destructive impulse that skims across the surface of his mind. But while few believed they could muzzle the president, many have thought he could be defanged....

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/trump-may-bemore-dangerous-than-his-handlers-realized.html

A bad sign of what is to come

European pension cuts U.S. investment on Trump worries

A $53 billion Finnish pension fund is cutting its exposure to U.S. stocks, due to concerns about President Trump's behavior. The "breaking point" for Varma Mutual Pension Insurance was Trump's reaction to the recent racial tensions in Charlottesville, according to a Bloomberg interview with Varma CEO Risto Murto: "It seems as if there is no president... The lesson from 2008 is that if we have a problem in the U.S., then we all have a problem....

https://www.axios.com/european-pension-cuts-u-s-investment-on-trump-worries-2478728266.html

Bookies: The chance of Donald Trump resigning is at its highest yet

The odds on President Trump resigning are now the shortest they've been since betting opened. Paddy Power said it's reporting a stream of bets on the President calling it a day, piling into the 6/4 on offer for Trump to resign, which has made the bookmaker cut the odds into Evs. That is the shortest price it has been since betting opened just after Trump's inauguration in January.

The news comes after the ghostwriter of Donald Trump's book The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, predicted that Trump will resign before the end of the year. Schwartz said on Twitter that Trump's presidency was "effectively over" and that "the circle is closing at blinding speed"....

http://www.cityam.com/270495/chance-donald-trump-resigning-its-highest-yet-say-bookies

Donald Trump’s company ‘pursued deal to develop Trump Tower in Moscow’

DONALD Trump’s company was reportedly pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow while he ran for the US presidency, according to sources.

Citing several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers, The Washington Post reports Trump’s company went after the plan in late 2015 and early 2016 as he faced off with Hillary Clinton to become commander-in-chief.

As part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer allegedly urged Trump to come to Moscow to tout the proposal and suggested he could get Russian President Vladimir Putin to say “great things” about Trump, The Post reported based on information from several people who were briefed on his correspondence.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/donald-trumps-company-pursued-deal-to-develop-trump-tower-in-moscow/news-story/8d76c3a34740c4cc57a452df954aa612

An influential group of investors refuses to give up hope that Trump will get something done

You don't need to follow the market to know that expectations around President Donald Trump's proposed policies have dimmed considerably. But if you look closely enough at the investment universe, you'll notice one area hasn't abandoned hope: equity mutual funds.

http://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-news-mutual-funds-donald-trump-agenda-tax-reform-goldman-sachs-2017-8

Trump Damaged Democracy, Silicon Valley Will Finish It Off

Donald Trump’s rise is, in a sense, just one symptom of the damage the tech oligarchs are doing to America.

When Democrats made their post-election populist “Better Deal” pitch, they took a strong stance against pharmaceutical and financial monopolies. But they conspicuously left out the most profound antitrust challenge of our time—the tech oligarchy.

The information sector, notes The Economist, is now the most consolidated sector of the American economy. The Silicon Valley and its Puget Sound annex dominated by Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft increasingly resemble the pre-gas crisis Detroit of the Big Three....

http://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-damaged-democracy-silicon-valley-will-finish-it-off

Can an ex-spy take away the president’s megaphone before he tweets the world into Armageddon?

INSIDE VALERIE PLAME’S QUIXOTIC MISSION TO BUY TWITTER—AND SHUT DOWN TRUMP

\

Nearly 15 years after former C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame had her covert status leaked to the press by members of the George W. Bush administration, the outed spy has a new national security mission: saving the world from Donald Trump. She has been keeping busy in the years since she retired from the C.I.A. and moved, with her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, from Washington to Sante Fe, writing spy thrillers and raising teenage twins. She turned one of her books, a memoir about the 2003 scandal that bears her name, into a movie starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. But it is her obsession with nuclear weapons that has inspired her most recent, and most quixotic, bout of activism....

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/08/inside-valerie-plames-quixotic-mission-to-buy-twitter-and-shut-down-trump

Bad, bad jobs

White House Staffer Tasked With Finding Positive Press About Trump Has Resigned

The person with one of the hardest jobs in the history of the world — finding and distributing positive news stories about President Donald Trump — has resigned from the White House, Politico reports. Andy Hemming, the White House’s director of rapid response, stepped down on Monday, which a source told Politico was a “mutually agreed upon” separation (sure). Now, the 31-year-old plans to take some time off to vacation, golf, and plot his next move — instead of making $89,000 a year somehow tracking down favorable stories about a man with an incredibly-low approval rating.

https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/andy-hemming-trump-positive-press-resignation.html

“He is pretty crazy”

He Screams About ‘Race Traitors’ and Trump Loves Him

Sam Clovis is anti-science, pro-birther, and UFO-curious. Which has a lot of folks asking: Why did Trump name him to a top science post?

Sam Clovis is good on TV, which is why President Donald Trump likes him. Whether it qualifies him for a high-level administration post, or gets him confirmed by the Senate, is another question entirely.....

http://www.thedailybeast.com/he-screams-about-race-traitorsand-trump-loves-him

You plebes can’t even fathom how hard it is being this rich.

MNUCHIN’S WIFE GOES FULL MARIE ANTOINETTE IN INSTAGRAM MELTDOWN

The millionaire wife of the millionaire Treasury secretary bragged about how much they pay in taxes and accused a critic of being “adorably out of touch.”

Prior to January 20, 2017, there was a lamentable lack of social-media scandals involving our public servants in the federal government. Then Donald Trump moved into the White House and, of course, everything changed. Now, we’ve come to expect that the president of the United States will go on late-night rants when he is feeling piqued, attacking everything from North Korea to media outlets to retailers who stopped selling his adult daughter’s handbags, occasionally deploying ALL CAPS to signal his seriousness or scare quotes to underscore his contempt. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the tone set by the president seems to have trickled down to his Cabinet members and their spouses, too. For instance, whereas in times past, the wife of the Treasury secretary might have felt an obligation to not lash out at an Instagram commenter in a diatribe boasting about her vast wealth, now.....

Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Reportedly Tells Email Prankster He Can Have Ivanka ‘Out by End of Year’

Upon his departure from the White House, Steve Bannon made it pretty clear how he felt about Ivanka Trump. According to the New York Times, he “openly complained to colleagues that he resented how Ms. Trump would try to undo some of the major policy initiatives he and Mr. Trump agreed were important to the economic nationalist agenda,” and he put her and Jared Kushner near the top of his enemies list....

https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/breitbart-editor-says-hell-have-ivanka-out-by-end-of-year.html

Former DNI Chief Clapper Questions Trump’s ‘Fitness’ to Be President

National Intelligence, James Clapper, said he now questions President Trump’s fitness for the executive office following a rally in Phoenix that Clapper called “downright scary and disturbing.”

The former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said Tuesday night on CNN that he now questions President Trump’s fitness for the executive office and worries about his access to the nuclear-launch codes, in an unprecedented critique of a commander in chief by a top intel official. Following a rally in Phoenix that Clapper called “downright scary and disturbing,” he said, “I really question his ability to be—his fitness to be—in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/former-dni-chief-clapper-i-question-trumps-fitness-to-be-potus

Trump terrible, but Democrats impotent

It's a daily occurrence. Donald Trump says, does or tweets something Democrats find outrageous. They kick, scream and tweet. They proclaim that Trump and the Republicans are repugnant, out of touch and—just you wait—will be booted to the curb at the next election. Then the sun sets, rises again and the cycle repeats itself. It has been this way for eight months. There is a good chance it will continue for eight months more. Perhaps by that time Democrats will actually have a coherent, unified message they can pass along that will make people vote for them. 

 But don't bet on it....


http://www.jamestownsun.com/opinion/columns/4314956-trump-terrible-democrats-impotent

U-turns, self-regard and equivocation are not what it takes

Donald Trump has no clue what it means to be president

DEFENDERS of President Donald Trump offer two arguments in his favour—that he is a businessman who will curb the excesses of the state; and that he will help America stand tall again by demolishing the politically correct taboos of left-leaning, establishment elites. From the start, these arguments looked like wishful thinking. After Mr Trump’s press conference in New York on August 15th they lie in ruins.

https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21726696-u-turns-self-regard-and-equivocation-are-not-what-it-takes-donald-trump-has-no-grasp-what-it

Trump disbands federal advisory panel on climate change

The Trump administration will push ahead with disbanding a federal advisory panel that reported on climate change, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The move follows the leak of a draft of a major climate change report warning of rising temperatures.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347269-trump-disbands-federal-advisory-panel-on-climate-change-report

The US fired the first shot in a trade war with China

The US has initiated an investigation into China's theft of US intellectual property (IP) using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. What that boils down to is that the US just fired the first shot in a trade war with China.

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-begins-section-301-investigation-2017-8

How Trump v Kim can still wreck the world economy without a shot being fired

Full marks for timing, Mr President. Last week marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, making it an appropriate moment for Donald Trump to threaten North Korea with obliteration...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/13/how-trump-v-kim-can-wreck-the-world-economy-without-a-shot-being-fired

Bannon, backed by billionaire, prepares to go to war

Steve Bannon's next moves will be all about the billionaire Mercer family. I'm told Bannon, who visited New York this week, met with Bob Mercer and together they will be a well-funded force on the outside. Bannon has felt liberated since it became clear he was being pushed out, according to friends. He's told associates he has a "killing machine" in Breitbart News, and it's possible he returns to lead their editorial operation. A source familiar with Breitbart's operations told me they would go "thermonuclear" against "globalists" that Bannon and his friends believe are ruining the Trump administration, and by extension, America.


https://www.axios.com/bannons-next-move-2474479917.html

Prefer Pence? 10 things to know about Mike Pence's policies and beliefs — and how he acted on them over the years.

1) Pence didn't want women serving in the military, he wrote in a 1999 op-ed that "Mulan" was liberal propaganda, and proof that women in the military doesn't work (referring to her love interest in another soldier).

2) In 2000, Pence wrote an op-ed in which he said "smoking doesn't kill." The article resurfaced during the 2016 election because of the claim, which Penc appeared to contradict by saying in the same op-ed, "smoking is not good for you."

3) While running for Congress in 2000, Pence wrote on his website that money funding research for HIV/AIDS should be moved to fund conversion therapy, "which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."

4) In 2011, Pence authored a bill to completely defund Planned Parenthood, and signaled he was willing to prompt a government shutdown over it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-pence-beliefs-about-abortion-gay-marriage-women-reporters-2017-6

Generous Trump Lets Melania Be Her Own Woman, Tweet Her Own Tweets


Last Saturday, shortly after news spread of violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Melania Trump sent out a tweet:

Follow
Melania Trump ✔ @FLOTUS
Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence. #Charlottesville
11:36 AM - Aug 12, 2017
22,487 22,487 Replies 37,592 37,592 Retweets 134,247 134,247 likes

It was somewhat remarkable, given the fact that her husband had yet to comment on the issue — his tweet came almost an hour later. And on Wednesday, as the nation waited for President Trump to address the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Melania again beat him to the punch:

Follow
Melania Trump ✔ @FLOTUS
Thoughts and prayers to #Barcelona
11:51 AM - Aug 17, 2017
2,520 2,520 Replies 10,553 10,553 Retweets 48,744 48,744 likes

According to CNN, the First Lady is so quick on the uptake because she “does not pay attention to when her tweets are sent vs. those of the President.” She also operates her Twitter account autonomously. According to a White House official, “When it comes to social media, Twitter in particular, the first lady does not check in with her husband before posting. She is her own person, the official said, operating the account herself and paying close attention to which events warrant comment and which do not.”

https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/donald-trump-melania-trump-tweets-charlottesville-barcelona.html

Pence compares Trump to Teddy Roosevelt, praises his 'can-do spirit'


On a normal day, Vice President Mike Pence's praise of his boss knows few limits.
But on Thursday, it seemed to reach a new level. During a visit to the Panama Canal here, Mike "Lickspital" Pence spoke of President Donald Trump as the modern reincarnation of one of the vice president's personal heroes, Theodore Roosevelt.
"In President Donald Trump, I think the United States once again has a president whose 
vision, energy and can-do spirit is reminiscent of President Teddy Roosevelt," Pence said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-pence-trump-teddy-roosevelt-20170817-story.html

Trump Doesn’t Need Dimon, Fink, Or Schwarzman If He’s Got Teen Hedge Fund Manager Jacob Wohl, Says Wohl



One of Donald Trump’s favorite things to brag about was his super-team of CEOs, and he reveled in playing “Real Businessman” when he summoned the likes of Steve Schwarzman, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink and others to the White House,..But now that whole kabuki routine is no more, and the president has been openly condemned by the very people that he was eager to show off as “The best people. The people that love Trump.”

No sooner had President Donald Trump lost the backing of Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink than he was heralding support from a somewhat lesser financial figure: Jacob Wohl. That’s right, you guys, Trump is finding solace in the social media arms of everyone’s favorite banned teenage futures trader...




http://dealbreaker.com/2017/08/trump-doesnt-need-dimon-fink-or-schwarzman-if-hes-got-teen-hedge-fund-manager-jacob-wohl-says-jacob-wohl/?

‘Art Of The Deal’ Co-Author Tony Schwartz Predicts Trump’s About To Resign
“Trump’s presidency is effectively over.”



Tony Schwartz, co-author of Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal, predicted the president would make a deal for immunity and then resign.  Schwartz is predicting that the president is getting ready to call it quits ― and that the resignation will happen soon.
He wrote on Twitter Wednesday:

Tony Schwartz ✔ @tonyschwartz
The circle is closing at blinding speed. Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and congress leave him no choice.
12:34 PM - Aug 16, 2017

Tony Schwartz ✔ @tonyschwartz
Trump's presidency is effectively over. Would be amazed if he survives till end of the year. More likely resigns by fall, if not sooner.
2:20 PM - Aug 16, 2017




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tony-schwartz-trump-resign_us_59952d91e4b06ef724d64fd6?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Top London hedge fund boss warns populist wave may roll on

One of London's top hedge fund bosses reckons there could be further political shoes to drop  Sir Michael Hintze, the billionaire chief executive of London-based CQS, has warned the wave of political populism that swept the US and Europe in 2016 could have further to run yet — picking out South Africa, Turkey and France as countries at risk.
"I think rumours of the demise of populism are premature," Hintze wrote....


https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/hedge-fund-boss-populist-wave-may-roll-on-20170817

Trump Blasts Critics Who Judge Neo-Nazi Groups By Most Extreme Members

http://www.theonion.com/graphic/trump-blasts-critics-who-judge-neo-nazi-groups-mos-56662?ref=hvper.com

The White House - Corporate meltdown in the making

Trump’s Overt Racism Has Put Corporate America In a Bind

Virtually no one in the United States believes that corporations deserve a tax break. Despite the fact that one of the nation’s major parties spends every election cycle loudly decrying the IRS’s oppression of Corporate America – while the other evinces a quieter sympathy for big business’s plight – only 9 percent of Americans think that corporations pay “too much” in taxes,.....”

This puts major corporations in a bit of a pickle. This isn’t a new problem for our job creators. And over the past few decades, they’ve developed a number of strategies for overcoming it. Among the most successful of these was the business community’s decision to enter into a coalition with the reactionary whites and fundamentalist Christians who were repulsed by the racial and social progressivism of the post-Civil Rights Era Democratic Party.....

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/trumps-overt-racism-has-put-corporate-america-in-a-bind.html