Category Archives: 2016 presidential campaign
Trump, Dow, Book Sales Soar, Bannon Crashes
Steve Bannon called Trump’s son “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”. The quotes appear in Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury.
This didn’t sit well with President Trump. Trump tweeted that Bannon “lost his mind” when he fired him. The Avenging Donald then sicced his lawyers on Wolff – guaranteeing best seller status for the book .
CNN’s Brian Stetler claims Wolff’s book “suggests Trump is unstable and raises alarms about his fitness for office.”
But CNN also reports that Secretary of State Tillerson, once accused of calling Trump a moron, never questioned the president’s mental health. And the White House deputy press secretary called Wolff a fake news, crackpot fantasy fiction writer.
Wolff agrees! A note in the front of his book says some of his sources definitely lied to him.
Dow Up Bannon Down
Whatever. If it’s stability you want, the Dow steadily rose above the 25,000 mark.
Stock analyst Paul Gambles is terrified about that too.
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.”
Trump’s First Year
Despite his low popularity President Trump’s first year wasn’t bad. He signed a tax cut into law, cut regulations, and oversaw a growing economy and booming stock market.
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.
Vanity Fair Hillary Shots
Vanity Fair had a little fun with Hillary Clinton last week. But it didn’t last long.
Hillary Shots
The mag produce this video for its on-line site The Hive. The sketch featured staffers proposing toasts to Hillary. And each toast offered a New Year’s resolution urging her to abstain from running for office again.
One recommended she teach Yoga, another counseled alternate nostril breathing and another advised her to take up knitting.
Naturally the Hillary Faithful charged sexism. So Vanity Fair apologized and pulled the video.
