Category Archives: Foreign
Death to Khamenei
In a WSJ op-ed, Mark Duowitz and Ray Takeyh describe the current uprising in Iran. They say it differs from the Green Revolution which was about election fraud. This one began “over economic grievances and quickly transformed into a rejection of theocracy.”
The protesters are angry that $100 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen by the Obama administration haven’t trickled down to the people. Instead the money has gone to support militias in the Middle East and energy and weapons for Bashar Assad in Syria.
Death Threats
So, instead of chanting “Death to America” they now shout “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to Rouhani!”
The White House narrative on Iran has changed too. The Trump administration is supporting the protesters and ignoring the “moderate leadership.”
Political Bias Investigation
Most everybody is either a Democrat or Republican. So it’s hard to find politically pure investigators.
Bias
Nine of the fifteen lawyers Robert Mueller hired to investigate Donald Trump made political contributions. A total of $62,043 of those contributions went to Democrats and $2,750 to Republicans according to Politifact.
Crack FBI agent Peter Strzok also referred to Trump as an “idiot” and a “douche.” And he went on to text that a Trump win was highly unlikely. Even so, he claimed an insurance policy was needed in the event of a Trump victory.
Trump won. And Mueller kicked Strock off the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the Mueller special investigation against bias charges.
Niki Haley’s List
The U.N. General Assembly took a vote condemning the United States for moving its embassy to Jerusalem. U.S. Ambassador Nike Haley told them she would be taking names.
Haley’s List
Here’s how they voted: 128 yes, 9 no, 35 abstain.
The U.K. voted yes. Canada abstained.
Latino Victory Fund Scares Elephants
A moderate Democrat beat a moderate Republican to win the governor’s race in Virginia last week.
Latino Victory Fund
But a campaign ad by the Latino Victory Fund was anything but moderate. It featured an Ed Gillespie stand-in chasing minority children in a pickup truck. The ad only ran once but the Latino Viciory Fund president, Cristóbal Alex, says he’d do it again.
Some Republicans fear this could be a trend that will cost them their Senate majority.
Nothing really changed in Virginia though. A new Democrat simply replaced an old Democrat in the governor’s house.
Paul Manafort Swamp Creature
Special Counsel Robert Mueller busted Paul Manafort on Monday. The charges included money laundering, tax evasion and failure to register as a foreign agent.
But there was no mention of President Trump colluding with Russians to steal the election. Which Trump was quick to tweet. What he didn’t tweet is why he hired a swamp creature like Manafort to run his campaign in the first place.
Manafort served as Trump’s campaign manager in the summer of 2016.
Swamp Creature Comforts
Prior to that gig Manafort took in $75 million representing the pro-Russian party in Ukraine. Here’s what National Review’s Kevin Williamson has to say about the president’s swamp creature:
In 1980, he founded a lobbying firm with Roger Stone, one of the most disreputable figures in Washington — no minor distinction — a habitual liar who boasts of his dishonesty and whose entrée into politics was setting up Richard Nixon’s dirty-tricks operation.
Manafort has earned a fortune working as a lobbyist for corrupt foreign governments and thugs and kleptocrats ranging from Mobutu Sese Seko to Ferdinand Marcos.
In the indictment Manafort’s accused of stashing Ukranian money in offshore accounts and using it to buy real estate in the U.S. Then he took out loans on those properties to raise cash to fund his lavish lifestyle, without paying taxes.
The future Trump campaign manager also used some of that money to hire the Podesta Group to seek favors for his Ukranian client. Tony Podesta resigned from his firm the same day Manafort was indicted.
Tony’s brother, John Podesta, was Hillary’s campaign manager.
