Hello again, everyone. It’s been a very difficult week, one of the worst of my life. I appreciate very much all the kind words from our readers and, perhaps even more so, your patience.
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IT’S OFFICIAL
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The big story of the day is PDT’s unsurprising withdrawal from the abjectly awful Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran Deal.
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“I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said from the Diplomatic Room in the White House.
“It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,” DJT added as Vice President Pence and new national security adviser John Bolton looked on and took notes on how to be a badass. “The Iran deal is defective at its core.”
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HOW DO WE WITHDRAWAL? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, EXACTLY?
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Like most everything else in life, it essentially comes down to money. The gist of the deal is sanctions relief on the Iranian regime. DJT announced he will not renew sanctions waivers for the Iran deal, which will inevitably lead to its unraveling.
Trump said he would sign an order to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on Iran and also promised to impose “the highest level of economic sanctions,” including measures to target not only Iran but anyone who does business with them.
A Saturday, May 12 deadline had been in place to renew the waivers on oil and banking sanctions that were lifted as part of the deal. The deal had provided Tehran billions in sanctions relief in exchange for pretty-please curbing its nuclear program. We were basically paying them off not to hurt us — not exactly how Trump prefers to do business.
Technically, or perhaps theoretically, the sanctions never went anywhere. They just had to be waived every 6 months pending verification of Iranian compliance.
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BUT BUT BUT….HASN’T IRAN BEEN IN COMPLIANCE?
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Depends on who you ask.
International inspectors and the deal’s signatories, including U.S. officials, have said Iran continues to comply with the terms of the agreement. Israel, conversely, says the entire thing is a lie from the word go. It appears DJT puts more weight behind the latter.
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BARRY IS 40 KINDS OF PISSED:
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Along with 50 kinds of Muslim, 100 kinds of gay and 1000 kinds of anti-American, #ButTheseAreMinorDetails.
Likely irate upon hearing that his presidential library has now been reduced to pictures of him bike-riding in mom jeans and Michelle handing out carrot sticks to Chicago schoolchildren as they dodge gunfire, the Bathhouser-in-Chief put out a statement today calling withdrawal from the Iran deal “misguided” and a “serious mistake.”
“Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East,” Obama said in this incredibly naive Facebook post.
“If the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it,” he added.
He argued that the deal has effectively reined in Iran’s nuclear program, and disputed Trump’s claims that Iran is not complying with the pact.
As for the so-called sunset provision that allows Iran to start building nukes once more in 2025, Barry says that since the clause isn’t up for several years, “there is little reason to put those restrictions at risk today.”
Yes, that’s the best argument that the constitutional scholar Obama could muster to defend this embarrassing deal. Awww shucks, folks, they can’t build nukes for a few more years, no need to make changes!
It would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous.
He concluded that the agreement “was never intended to solve all of our problems with Iran,” and that pulling out of the deal hurts future negotiations.
“Because of these facts, I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” he said.
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He’s damned right that it wasn’t meant to solve all our issues with Iran. The problem is, it doesn’t even solve the problems it does intend to fix, while making all the other problems much worse.
Obama began a cycle of ransom with an Islamic government whose main stated goal is the destruction of America and Israel. There is never — I repeat, never — a good reason to stay in such an arrangement.
Obama says we’re giving ourselves a choice between war and a nuclear Iran, as if strength isn’t even an option to be tried.
How pathetic.
Here is a quote about unsavory choices that Obama may want to take to heart, though it’s entirely too late for him now. It’s a statement from Winston Churchill to Neville Chamberlain:
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.”
I believe that’s all there is to be said.
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#HimToo
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The cynical #MeToo movement that was designed to bring down DJT has been backfiring spectacularly since its inception, and this may be the biggest boom yet.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman appears to have a thing for physically abusing women, and four of them have decided to come forth with their stories.
Schneiderman, who lent his voice to the #MeToo movement and described fellow perv #HornyHarvey Weinstein as “despicable,” has denied the accusations — two of whom being on record and two anonymous.
Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, both far left moonbats from Manhattan, are among the four women who have accusing #AngryEric of sexual violence; both saying they sought medical attention following the incidents.
“His hypocrisy is epic,” Manning Barish said, apparently unaware that all leftwing men are roaring hypocrites. “He’s fooled so many people.”
Around four weeks after the pair became involved with one another, Manning Barish alleges Schneiderman hit her while they were alone in his bedroom, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the bed.
“I got up to try to shove him back, or take a swing, and he pushed me back down. He then used his body weight to hold me down, and he began to choke me. The choking was very hard. It was really bad. I kicked. In every fibre, I felt I was being beaten by a man,” she said, also claiming the then-attorney general accused her of scratching him and told her: “You know, hitting an officer of the law is a felony.”
Ma’am, I understand what you’ve been through, but you must stop speaking as if there are physical differences between men and women in terms of strength. It’s incredibly sexist and will get you disinvited from your favorite Manhattan cocktail parties.
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During the two years Manning Barish says the pair dated on and off, she claims Schneiderman was controlling and violent, also saying he drank and took prescription tranquilizers.
The other woman, Tanya Selvaratnam, has a similar story. She accused Schneiderman of hitting and choking her, spitting in her face and criticizing and controlling her during the year they dated.
“Sometimes, he’d tell me to call him ‘master,’ and he’d slap me until I did,” Selvaratnam said.
“He started calling me his ‘brown slave’ and demanding that I repeat that I was ‘his property,’” she said, pushing back against the notion that what happened was “sexual play acting.”
You know, I’m really sorry to my female readers, of which there are more than a few, but I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea of a woman being spat upon, choked and hit like a man and then continuing to date the man responsible.
Am I the only one who finds this story to be more than a little weird?
I’ve no doubt that Schneiderman is every bit the creep that’s being described, but while were all these relationships ongoing? Why are we just now learning of all this? These women are wealthy and powerful. They could have had protection at the snap of a finger. Yet, they went back.
I’m not calling them liars, necessarily, I’m just saying I don’t get it. Anyone who spits on me and punches me in the face, male or female, regardless of circumstances, isn’t going to be in my social circle for long. And if it’s a man, he won’t be hanging out with Earth much longer either.
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Schneiderman is playing the best hand at his disposal, telling the public he had never engaged in non-consensual sex and characterizing his actions as part of role-playing:
Statement from Eric T. Schneiderman:
“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”
— Eric T. Schneiderman (@Schneiderman) May 7, 2018
Both Schneiderman and his ex-wife Jennifer Cunningham have denied the allegations, with Schneiderman stating he strongly contests the allegations and Cunningham, who divorced him in 1996, stating the allegations did not match the man she knew.
“I’ve known Eric for nearly 35 years as a husband, father and friend,” Cunningham said. “These allegations are completely inconsistent with the man I know, who has always been someone of the highest character, outstanding values and a loving father. I find it impossible to believe these allegations are true.”
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The truth in these (and pretty much all) situations is usually somewhere in the middle. There are a lot of things that don’t make sense, but I’ve no doubt that Mr. MeToo is every bit the hypocrite as his fellow Trump haters.
DJT predicted in a tweet back in 2013 that Schneiderman would turn out to be worse than both Spanky Weiner and Elliott Spitzer, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t turn out to be right.
Eh, I take that back. It’s hard to beat Spanky.
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NUNES AIN’T AFRAIDA NO ELF
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Leader of the House Intelligence Committee and rare useful congressional Republican Devin Nunes is threatening to move quickly on a vote to hold AG Keebler Sessions in contempt of Congress if the DOJ doesn’t turn over material related to the Russia investigation.
Nunes said it doesn’t matter that Sessions recused himself from decisions regarding Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election; he’s the head of the Justice Department, so he would be the initial target of a contempt resolution.
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SUBPOENA ISSUED:
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The Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena last week to demand DOJ documents related to the origins of the Russia investigation.
“The only way to enforce would be to move quickly on contempt,” Nunes said. “That’s why if we don’t get a resolution quickly that’s what we’re going to do.”
It hasn’t yet been decided whether this would be a criminal or civil contempt resolution, Nunes said, since the committee is still “trying to figure out how to move forward.”
Meanwhile, Keebler said at a news conference today, referring to Nunes, that the department “has written him a letter and responded as appropriate to him.”
“The request he’s made is one the intelligence community and the Department of Justice feels is not grantable,” Sessions added, noting the documents at issue relate to an ongoing, active investigation.
Cool story, Keebler, but Congress has a constitutional duty to provide oversight of the DOJ, especially a DOJ that has done everything it can to hide material from their lawful overseers since the beginning.
The word on the skreet is that the DOJ fears that Nunes will leak the information to the White House and/or some other entity in order to use it for political purposes.
HOLY **** THE IRONY IS SO THICK I CAN’T BREATHE.
But again, frankly I don’t give a damn. Congress has a constitutional duty to provide oversight. Nunes has clearance to subpoena such a document. Provide the damn thing.
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SO WILL HE BE HELD IN CONTEMPT?
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You know how D.C. operates, so probably friggin not.
Nunes said he would “definitely consult” Paul Rino before introducing a contempt resolution, because he’ll need the Speaker’s backing for this to get any political legs. Rino thus far has (shockingly) stood behind the committee’s demands, even during a private meeting in which Fraud Rosenstein attempted to explain the department’s reservations about sharing full information about an ongoing investigation with the Intelligence panel.
According to Rino’s spokeswoman AshLee Strong, he and Nunes have yet to meet about the matter, but the latest info is that he doesn’t support the move. I don’t expect him to in the future, either, because it’s getting closer to the midterms and they’re trying to avoid any serious internal squabbling.
Rino’s strategy on this politically divisive investigation has been to privately encourage a resolution of these situations, at least according to sources on the Hill.
The reason, as with most political decisions, is self-preservation. While many Trump supporters in deep red districts want blood in the Russian witch hunt, a vote to challenge the DOJ is seen as extremely damaging to a Republican trying to hold onto a hotly contested seat in coochie land.
I would be very surprised if a contempt resolution even made it to the House floor.
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There is a ray of sunshine over the Swamp today, though. While establishment Republicans are worried about muddying their campaign messages going into the midterms, Nunes is — GASP — actually trying to do the right thing! What a concept!
“We know they have a long history of stonewalling us, and we’re well aware of it, that’s why we need to move more quickly than usual,” Nunes said in a brief interview. “We’re not going to give them the opportunity to squirm around and put lies out and mislead and obfuscate like they’ve done in the past. Those days are over.”
Now just imagine if every Republican had the courage and conviction displayed by Nunes over the last year. That swamp might actually get drained! But the truth is that won’t happen because they’d be draining themselves.
In the very tiny chance that a high-ranking GOP strategist is reading this, though, take heed of what I’m about to say:
What you think is a solid political calculation is anything but. Yes, it’s true that GOP tittybabies in blue areas might get nervous if there is an escalation between the House and DOJ. And yes, it might even cost you a swing district or two.
But I highly suggest you think about the Trump base, who are growing increasingly frustrated with the business as usual in D.C., which is to say they’re fed up with your uselessness and cowardice. You might save a couple seats for RINOs, but you damn well might lose a bunch of other seats you’re currently taking for granted.
If you think Trump voters will go along with whatever you do no matter what, you’ve been in the Beltway way too damn long. I suggest you get out and talk to some folks on the street.
If 2016 didn’t teach you that old political strategies have gone out the window, Im not sure what will. Then again, when you’re a one-trick pony, I suppose you don’t have a choice.
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A NEW PENCE IN D.C.
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That’s right, folks!
Greg Pence, the brother of VP Mike Pence, is projected to win the GOP primary for the seat now held by Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN).
Greg, a wealthy businessman, defeated his top Republican rivals, Jonathan Lamb and Stephen MacKenzie, for the seat that VP Pence himself held from 2001 to 2012.
The Associated Press called the race for Pence at 7:17 p.m. EST, meaning it was a blowout.
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Instead of running for reelection his seat, Messer ran for the GOP Senate nomination this cycle, which is good for us because he’s a good candidate.
The primary for Indiana’s 6th District was one of the most expensive House races in Indiana this cycle, with a total of $1.45 million spent between Pence and Lamb. Lamb, an entrepreneur, poured in hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money, while Pence relied more on funds from outside groups.
Pence got a big boost from his brother and others closely associated with the White House. The VP headlined a fundraiser for his bro at Trump International Hotel and a pro-Trump group also spent six-figures on ads backing him.
Pence’s opponents accused him of relying on his name to coast to victory and have also criticized his business record. He has also come under fire for avoiding media interviews, candidate debates and not releasing a public schedule of events.
Frankly, those criticisms are probably correct, sans maybe the business record, which seems to be pretty decent. Ninety-nine percent of the time I’d vote for an entrepreneur over an establishment politician’s brother, but I know we can trust him to support the Trump agenda, and that sort of thing comes at a premium at this point in time.
Indiana’s 6th District encompasses rural areas in the southwest part of Indiana, including the suburbs of Cincinnati and Indianapolis. It’s a safe Republican seat, one which Trump won by more 40 points in 2016, in fact. It’s expected to stay in GOP hands, meaning Pence will be strongly favored in November.
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BOTTOM LINE: Go Greg! #MAGA
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There it is, homeskillet. You know the drill: questions, comments, concerns, memes, insults, compliments, stickers, jokes, emojis and, if we have time, complaints.
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Good job Trey
Very informative recap——thank you, Trey Vaught—- you & the recap were missed.