Trump and Co. Thursday

[mbcdefg]

Jeff Sessions is on the cover of TIME: time.com/5220086/jeff-sessions-is-winning-for-donald-trump-if-only-he-can-keep-his-job/ 

Someone on Twitter pointed out how pissed Trump was last year when Steve Bannon made the cover. 

Also ... AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[audette]

Holy dark elf...

[HRH Queen Dick I]

He looks like a wizened Pence, doesn't he? I never noticed that before.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Holy moly, that photo is awful. Were they trying to make him look mummified?

[jreeds]

Yowza that is a scary picture

[pixy0stix]

[WanderingWinoZ]

did he agree to sit/pose for that photo for Time??

There were lots of big news hitting late last night...see yesterday's thread for more details

Trump's new lawyer is an idiot
Cohen acted alone (without telling DJT) on the Stormy NDA
Muller is playing hardball on the Dutch dude's sentencing & dropped a 1st sign of evidence of Russian collusion

[cous0226]

Cohen’s lawyer admitting that seems like a big deal to me. How can 45 sign on to sue Stormy for 20 million if he supposedly didn’t know there was even an agreement.

45 and cronies hire only the best people.

[miniroller]

Mar 29, 2018 9:55:24 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I said:

He looks like a wizened Pence, doesn't he? I never noticed that before.

EEK. When you put it like that, I can see exactly what you’re saying which makes it even creepier!

[pitta12]

Shulkin is raising alarms about VA privatization and saying he was kicked out because he was pushing back on it. I heard him on NPR this morning and he said the same thing. I was side-eyeing him through much of the interview because he refused to talk about how he was fired or if he was told by 45 why he was fired and was super defensive about his shady Wimbledon adventure, but the rest of it echoed this op-ed and it's disturbing. On NPR he was asked if 45 is pushing for privatization and he dodged but basically said without saying it that 45 has no idea what he wants.

www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/opinion/shulkin-veterans-affairs-privatization.html

I believe differences in philosophy deserve robust debate, and solutions should be determined based on the merits of the arguments. The advocates within the administration for privatizing V.A. health services, however, reject this approach. They saw me as an obstacle to privatization who had to be removed. That is because I am convinced that privatization is a political issue aimed at rewarding select people and companies with profits, even if it undermines care for veterans.

And the closing line:

As I prepare to leave government, I am struck by a recurring thought: It should not be this hard to serve your country.

[Pom]

Trump attacking Amazon for not paying taxes is hilarious.

This morning's tweet:
"I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!"

Uh-What about when trump brags about how smart he is for not paying taxes and taking advantage of tax loop holes.
Doesn't USPS get paid for Amazon delivery?
What about how 45 and his creepy kids troll for foreign money to run their businesses, buy their shit from kiddy labor overseas and he buys his steel from China? Hmmmm.

He sounds jealous because he's not doing more of it.

[tealblue]

Mar 29, 2018 11:02:52 GMT -5 Pom said:

Uh-What about when trump brags about how smart he is for not paying taxes and taking advantage of tax loop holes.
Doesn't USPS get paid for Amazon delivery?
What about how 45 and his creepy kids troll for foreign money to run their businesses, buy their shit from kiddy labor overseas and he buys his steel from China? Hmmmm.

He sounds jealous because he's not doing more of it.

He’s super jealous that Jeff Bezos and Amazon are far more successful and rich than 45 could ever be. It’s not the first (or last) he’ll mention Jeff/Amazon.

[suburbanzookeeper]

Mar 29, 2018 11:02:52 GMT -5 Pom said:

Trump attacking Amazon for not paying taxes is hilarious.

This morning's tweet:
"I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!"

Uh-What about when trump brags about how smart he is for not paying taxes and taking advantage of tax loop holes.
Doesn't USPS get paid for Amazon delivery?
What about how 45 and his creepy kids troll for foreign money to run their businesses, buy their shit from kiddy labor overseas and he buys his steel from China? Hmmmm.

He sounds jealous because he's not doing more of it.

Not only that but he's also missing out that 3rd party sellers are a huge part of Amazon's platform (about 40%+) - and many of those are run by smaller businesses including mom & pop shops (I'm in that group). We pay taxes, we collect sales tax and turn it in to their respective states. There are sketchy out-of-country sellers but there is a huge number of independent sellers who live in the US. 

Plus USPS has said that they make great money thanks to Amazon: theweek.com/speedreads/764024/trump-way-about-amazon-post-office 

[ESF]

Mar 29, 2018 10:10:11 GMT -5 cous0226 said:

Cohen’s lawyer admitting that seems like a big deal to me. How can 45 sign on to sue Stormy for 20 million if he supposedly didn’t know there was even an agreement.

45 and cronies hire only the best people.

I KNOW!  As someone that has litigated some arbitration agreements myself, I can say with some confidence that Avenatti must have burst out laughing, then leapt up from his couch to run and email everyone in his office with a subject line that probably included multiple exclamation points. 

I know I say this every day, but I am living for the ridiculousness that is Trump's legal team. 

[pitta12]

Yeah, I have a feeling Avenatti would annoy the shit out of me in real life because he's such a macho blusterer, but I am loving how he's got 45's sad legal team tripping all over themselves every day. You know 45 is probably flipping out behind the scenes, too, about how Avenatti is making Cohen look weak. I'm here for every bit of it.

[ESF]

Mar 29, 2018 11:01:44 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Did we discuss Laura Ingraham going after David Hogg on twitter for not getting into his first choice colleges?

www.nydailynews.com/news/national/parkland-survivor-david-hogg-calls-boycott-laura-ingraham-article-1.3902504

He responded by tweeting out a list of her show's sponsors and urging people to boycott them.

She is so disgusting. If she wants to challenge these kids on the merits of their political arguments, that would be one thing. But a grown ass woman making fun of a politically active kid because he wasn't accepted at UCLA? What the fuck kind of deranged, sociopathic hosebeast do you have to be to do that?

If you have to go to that level with a child, it means you know you are losing.

[bohemianmango]

Mar 29, 2018 11:00:38 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

So Trump is going after Amazon now over not paying their taxes. Hmmmmmm.....

www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/trump-goes-after-amazon-on-twitter-again.html

Also, that Sessions photo is terrifying.

Maybe he thought he can buy a lawyer on there and is frustrated with another failed attempt.

And I agree, Sessions’s photo is nightmarish.

[Pom]

Mar 29, 2018 11:27:01 GMT -5 bohemianmango said:

Mar 29, 2018 11:00:38 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

So Trump is going after Amazon now over not paying their taxes. Hmmmmmm.....

www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/trump-goes-after-amazon-on-twitter-again.html

Also, that Sessions photo is terrifying.

Maybe he thought he can buy a lawyer on there and is frustrated with another failed attempt.

And I agree, Sessions’s photo is nightmarish.

I believe 45 prefers to shop for lawyers and staff on Fox.  #bestpeople=epicfail

[anodyne]

Mar 29, 2018 11:23:00 GMT -5 pitta12 said:

Yeah, I have a feeling Avenatti would annoy the shit out of me in real life because he's such a macho blusterer, but I am loving how he's got 45's sad legal team tripping all over themselves every day. You know 45 is probably flipping out behind the scenes, too, about how Avenatti is making Cohen look weak. I'm here for every bit of it.

Right!  I have mixed feelings on Avenatti.  But in the end I have to love him because Trump has finally met his match.   Avenatti and Stormy are doing all the things to Trump that Trump has done to countless others. 

[gt7301b]

Mar 29, 2018 11:07:47 GMT -5 tealblue said:

Mar 29, 2018 11:02:52 GMT -5 Pom said:

Uh-What about when trump brags about how smart he is for not paying taxes and taking advantage of tax loop holes.
Doesn't USPS get paid for Amazon delivery?
What about how 45 and his creepy kids troll for foreign money to run their businesses, buy their shit from kiddy labor overseas and he buys his steel from China? Hmmmm.

He sounds jealous because he's not doing more of it.

He’s super jealous that Jeff Bezos and Amazon are far more successful and rich than 45 could ever be. It’s not the first (or last) he’ll mention Jeff/Amazon.

Someone must have printed out an article from the Washington Post for him to read.

[WOT?*]

I can’t believe we’ve missed this opportunity.

[mbcdefg]

ICE Now Detaining Pregnant Women, Thanks to Trump Order


Immigration and Customs Enforcement will end the practice of auto-releasing pregnant women from detention, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Beast.


www.thedailybeast.com/ice-now-detaining-pregnant-women-thanks-to-trump-order?source=twitter&via=desktop


Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ending its practice of automatically releasing pregnant women from detention, according to internal communications reviewed by The Daily Beast.



This is because of President Donald Trump’s executive order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” which requires stricter enforcement of immigration laws. Previously, the agency’s general practice was to release women from detention who were pregnant.



Now, pregnant women will only be able to get released if an ICE officer determines so on a case-by-case basis.



Pregnant women were still sometimes detained under the previous internal guidelines. Immigrants’ rights advocates say the practice is dangerous to women and to their unborn children, and that pregnant women are more likely to miscarry if they’re in detention than if they are free. This new policy means more pregnant women will spend time in detention.

[mbcdefg]

Mueller probing Russia contacts at Republican convention: sources

www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-convention/mueller-probing-russia-contacts-at-republican-convention-sources-idUSKBN1H52VT

Investigators probing whether Donald Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia have been questioning witnesses about events at the 2016 Republican National Convention, according to two sources familiar with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiries.

Mueller’s team has been asking about a convention-related event attended by both Russia’s U.S. ambassador and Jeff Sessions, the first U.S. senator to support Trump and now his attorney general, said one source, who requested anonymity due to the ongoing investigation.

Another issue Mueller’s team has been asking about is how and why Republican Party platform language hostile to Russia was deleted from a section of the document related to Ukraine, said another source who also requested anonymity.

Mueller’s interest in what happened at the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio in July 2016, is an indication that Trump campaign contacts and actions related to Russia remain central to the special counsel’s investigation.

[lilibet]

Yep, those pregnant women sure are a threat to our public safety....

He really is a horrible person/this is a horrible policy.

[AAM2012]

I will say that I have friends who work for USPS absolutely HATE amazon and it’s the reason they work 7 days a week.

USPS has a contract with Amazon but they haven’t used it to hire new workers so OT sucks for them. I have a feeling that Amazon definitely had the upper hand when they negotiated the deal a few years ago.

But that isn’t why shithead is tweeting about it...

[miniroller]

Mar 29, 2018 14:29:27 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

I will say that I have friends who work for USPS absolutely HATE amazon and it’s the reason they work 7 days a week.

USPS has a contract with Amazon but they haven’t used it to hire new workers so OT sucks for them. I have a feeling that Amazon definitely had the upper hand when they negotiated the deal a few years ago.

But that isn’t why shithead is tweeting about it...

Yeah. I always feel awful for my postWoman when she delivers to me on Sunday 🙁
I specifically try to line orders up to avoid Sunday deliveries, as I despise the 7-day-workweek this standardizes. I know one order doesn’t help, but I’ve contacted Amazon & USPS both a couple of times from an unhappy-with-how-you’re-treating-your-employees customer standpoint.

[bowies]

Mueller investigating Sessions is delicious but perilous. He has a lot of loyalists in the Senate.

[pitta12]

Y'all. Carter Page is going back on Chris Hayes tonight. Set your DVRs!

[pixy0stix]

BRING ON THE BUCKET HATS!

[miniroller]

Mar 29, 2018 15:34:33 GMT -5 pitta12 said:

Y'all. Carter Page is going back on Chris Hayes tonight. Set your DVRs!

I don’t know why I didn’t just assume that Carter would respect the shiz outta Devin Nunes...😌