LIES MY PRESIDENT TOLD ME...

LIES MY PRESIDENT TOLD ME...and it's only SIX MONTHS...

from the NYT

By DAVID LEONHARDT and STUART A. THOMPSON UPDATED July 20, 2017

JUMP TO STORY BELOW

JAN. 21 “I wasn't a fan of Iraq. I didn't want to go into Iraq.” (He was for an invasion before he was against it.)  JAN. 21 “A reporter for Time magazine — and I have been on their cover 14 or 15 times. I think we have the all-time record in the history of Time magazine.” (Trump was on the cover 11 times and Nixon appeared 55 times.)  JAN. 23 “Between 3 million and 5 million illegal votes caused me to lose the popular vote.” (There's no evidence of illegal voting.)  JAN. 25 “Now, the audience was the biggest ever. But this crowd was massive. Look how far back it goes. This crowd was massive.” (Official aerial photos show Obama's 2009 inauguration was much more heavily attended.)  JAN. 25 “Take a look at the Pew reports (which show voter fraud.)” (The report never mentioned voter fraud.)  JAN. 25 “You had millions of people that now aren't insured anymore.” (The real number is less than 1 million, according to the Urban Institute.)  JAN. 25 “So, look, when President Obama was there two weeks ago making a speech, very nice speech. Two people were shot and killed during his speech. You can't have that.” (There were no gun homicide victims in Chicago that day.)  JAN. 26 “We've taken in tens of thousands of people. We know nothing about them. They can say they vet them. They didn't vet them. They have no papers. How can you vet somebody when you don't know anything about them and you have no papers? How do you vet them? You can't.” (Vetting lasts up to two years.)  JAN. 26 “I cut off hundreds of millions of dollars off one particular plane, hundreds of millions of dollars in a short period of time. It wasn't like I spent, like, weeks, hours, less than hours, and many, many hundreds of millions of dollars. And the plane's going to be better.” (Most of the cuts were already planned.)  JAN. 28 “The coverage about me in the @nytimes and the @washingtonpost has been so false and angry that the Times actually apologized to its dwindling subscribers and readers.” (It never apologized.)  JAN. 29 “The Cuban-Americans, I got 84 percent of that vote.” (There is no support for this.)  JAN. 30 “Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage.” (At least 746 people were detained and processed, and the Delta outage happened two days later.)  FEB. 3 “Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” (There is no evidence of paid protesters.)  FEB. 4 “After being forced to apologize for its bad and inaccurate coverage of me after winning the election, the FAKE NEWS @nytimes is still lost!” (It never apologized.)  FEB. 5 “We had 109 people out of hundreds of thousands of travelers and all we did was vet those people very, very carefully.” (About 60,000 people were affected.)  FEB. 6 “I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35.” (Much of the price drop was projected before Trump took office.)  FEB. 6 “It's gotten to a point where it is not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it.” (Terrorism has been reported on, often in detail.)  FEB. 6 “The failing @nytimes was forced to apologize to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse!” (It didn't apologize.)  FEB. 6 “And the previous administration allowed it to happen because we shouldn't have been in Iraq, but we shouldn't have gotten out the way we got out. It created a vacuum, ISIS was formed.” (The group’s origins date to 2004.)  FEB. 7 “And yet the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years, right? Did you know that? Forty-seven years.” (It was higher in the 1980s and '90s.)  FEB. 7 “I saved more than $600 million. I got involved in negotiation on a fighter jet, the F-35.” (The Defense Department projected this price drop before Trump took office.)  FEB. 9 “Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave ‘service’ in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!” (It was part of Cuomo's first question.)  FEB. 9 “Sen. Richard Blumenthal now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?” (The Gorsuch comments were later corroborated.)  FEB. 10 “I don’t know about it. I haven’t seen it. What report is that?” (Trump knew about Flynn's actions for weeks.)  FEB. 12 “Just leaving Florida. Big crowds of enthusiastic supporters lining the road that the FAKE NEWS media refuses to mention. Very dishonest!” (The media did cover it.)  FEB. 16 “We got 306 because people came out and voted like they've never seen before so that's the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan.” (George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama all won bigger margins in the Electoral College.)  FEB. 16 “That’s the other thing that was wrong with the travel ban. You had Delta with a massive problem with their computer system at the airports.” (Delta's problems happened two days later.)  FEB. 16 “Walmart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the United States just this year because of our various plans and initiatives.” (The jobs are a result of its investment plans announced in October 2016.)  FEB. 16 “When WikiLeaks, which I had nothing to do with, comes out and happens to give, they’re not giving classified information.” (Not always. They have released classified information in the past.)  FEB. 16 “We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court. Got a bad decision.” (The rollout was chaotic.)  FEB. 16 “They’re giving stuff — what was said at an office about Hillary cheating on the debates. Which, by the way, nobody mentions. Nobody mentions that Hillary received the questions to the debates.” (It was widely covered.)  FEB. 18 “And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing.” (Refugees receive multiple background checks, taking up to two years.)  FEB. 18 “You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?” (Trump implied there was a terror attack in Sweden, but there was no such attack.)  FEB. 24 “By the way, you folks are in here — this place is packed, there are lines that go back six blocks.” (There was no evidence of long lines.)  FEB. 24 “ICE came and endorsed me.” (Only its union did.)  FEB. 24 “Obamacare covers very few people — and remember, deduct from the number all of the people that had great health care that they loved that was taken away from them — it was taken away from them.” (Obamacare increased coverage by a net of about 20 million.)  FEB. 27 “Since Obamacare went into effect, nearly half of the insurers are stopped and have stopped from participating in the Obamacare exchanges.” (Many fewer pulled out.)  FEB. 27 “On one plane, on a small order of one plane, I saved $725 million. And I would say I devoted about, if I added it up, all those calls, probably about an hour. So I think that might be my highest and best use.” (Much of the price cut was already projected.)  FEB. 28 “And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that.” (NATO countries agreed to meet defense spending requirements in 2014.)  FEB. 28 “The E.P.A.’s regulators were putting people out of jobs by the hundreds of thousands.” (There's no evidence that the Waters of the United States rule caused severe job losses.)  FEB. 28 “We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials.” (They can't lobby their former agency but can still become lobbyists.)  MARCH 3 “It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet.” (Paperwork for the last two candidates was still not submitted to the Senate.)  MARCH 4 “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” (There's no evidence of a wiretap.)  MARCH 4 “How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” (There's no evidence of a wiretap.)  MARCH 7 “122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!” (113 of them were released by President George W. Bush.)  MARCH 13 “I saved a lot of money on those jets, didn't I? Did I do a good job? More than $725 million on them.” (Much of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)  MARCH 13 “First of all, it covers very few people.” (About 20 million people gained insurance under Obamacare.)  MARCH 15 “On the airplanes, I saved $725 million. Probably took me a half an hour if you added up all of the times.” (Much of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)  MARCH 17 “I was in Tennessee — I was just telling the folks — and half of the state has no insurance company, and the other half is going to lose the insurance company.” (There's at least one insurer in every Tennessee county.)  MARCH 20 “With just one negotiation on one set of airplanes, I saved the taxpayers of our country over $700 million.” (Much of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)  MARCH 21 “To save taxpayer dollars, I’ve already begun negotiating better contracts for the federal government — saving over $700 million on just one set of airplanes of which there are many sets.” (Much of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)  MARCH 22 “I make the statement, everyone goes crazy. The next day they have a massive riot, and death, and problems.” (Riots in Sweden broke out two days later and there were no deaths.)  MARCH 22 “NATO, obsolete, because it doesn’t cover terrorism. They fixed that.” (It has fought terrorism since the 1980s.)  MARCH 22 “Well, now, if you take a look at the votes, when I say that, I mean mostly they register wrong — in other words, for the votes, they register incorrectly and/or illegally. And they then vote. You have tremendous numbers of people.” (There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud.)  MARCH 29 “Remember when the failing @nytimes apologized to its subscribers, right after the election, because their coverage was so wrong. Now worse!” (It didn't apologize.)  MARCH 31 “We have a lot of plants going up now in Michigan that were never going to be there if I — if I didn’t win this election, those plants would never even think about going back. They were gone.” (These investments were already planned.)  APRIL 2 “And I was totally opposed to the war in the Middle East which I think finally has been proven, people tried very hard to say I wasn’t but you’ve seen that it is now improving.” (He was for an invasion before he was against it.)  APRIL 2 “Now, my last tweet — you know, the one that you are talking about, perhaps — was the one about being, in quotes, wiretapped, meaning surveilled. Guess what, it is turning out to be true.” (There is still no evidence.)  APRIL 5 “You have many states coming up where they’re going to have no insurance company. O.K.? It’s already happened in Tennessee. It’s happening in Kentucky. Tennessee only has half coverage. Half the state is gone. They left.” (Every marketplace region in Tennessee had at least one insurer.)  APRIL 6 “If you look at the kind of cost-cutting we’ve been able to achieve with the military and at the same time ordering vast amounts of equipment — saved hundreds of millions of dollars on airplanes, and really billions, because if you take that out over a period of years it’s many billions of dollars — I think we’ve had a tremendous success.” (Much of the price cuts were already projected.)  APRIL 11 “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late. I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn’t know Steve.” (He knew Steve Bannon since 2011.)  APRIL 12 “You can't do it faster, because they're obstructing. They're obstructionists. So I have people — hundreds of people that we're trying to get through. I mean you have — you see the backlog. We can't get them through.” (At this point, he had not nominated anyone for hundreds of positions.)  APRIL 12 “The New York Times said the word wiretapped in the headline of the first edition. Then they took it out of there fast when they realized.” (There were separate headlines for print and web, but neither were altered.)  APRIL 12 “The secretary general and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism. I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change, and now they do fight terrorism.” (NATO has been engaged in counterterrorism efforts since the 1980s.)  APRIL 12 “Mosul was supposed to last for a week and now they’ve been fighting it for many months and so many more people died.” (The campaign was expected to take months.)  APRIL 16 “Someone should look into who paid for the small organized rallies yesterday. The election is over!” (There's no evidence of paid protesters.)  APRIL 18 “The fake media goes, ‘Donald Trump changed his stance on China.’ I haven’t changed my stance.” (He did.)  APRIL 21 “On 90 planes I saved $725 million. It's actually a little bit more than that, but it's $725 million.” (Much of the price cuts were already projected.)  APRIL 21 “When WikiLeaks came out ... never heard of WikiLeaks, never heard of it.” (He criticized it as early as 2010.)  APRIL 27 “I want to help our miners while the Democrats are blocking their healthcare.” (The bill to extend health benefits for certain coal miners was introduced by a Democrat and was co-sponsored by mostly Democrats.)  APRIL 28 “The trade deficit with Mexico is close to $70 billion, even with Canada it’s $17 billion trade deficit with Canada.” (The U.S. had an $8.1 billion trade surplus, not deficit, with Canada in 2016.)  APRIL 28 “She's running against someone who's going to raise your taxes to the sky, destroy your health care, and he's for open borders — lots of crime.” (Those are not Jon Ossoff's positions.)  APRIL 28 “The F-35 fighter jet program — it was way over budget. I’ve saved $725 million plus, just by getting involved in the negotiation.” (Much of the price cuts were planned before Trump.)  APRIL 29 “As you know, I've been a big critic of China, and I've been talking about currency manipulation for a long time. But I have to tell you that during the election, number one, they stopped.” (China stopped years ago.)  APRIL 29 “I've already saved more than $725 million on a simple order of F-35 planes. I got involved in the negotiation.” (Much of the price cuts were planned before Trump.)  APRIL 29 “We're also getting NATO countries to finally step up and contribute their fair share. They've begun to increase their contributions by billions of dollars, but we are not going to be satisfied until everyone pays what they owe.” (The deal was struck in 2014.)  APRIL 29 “When they talk about currency manipulation, and I did say I would call China, if they were, a currency manipulator, early in my tenure. And then I get there. Number one, they — as soon as I got elected, they stopped.” (China stopped in 2014.)  APRIL 29 “I was negotiating to reduce the price of the big fighter jet contract, the F-35, which was totally out of control. I will save billions and billions and billions of dollars.” (Most of the cuts were planned before Trump.)  APRIL 29 “I think our side's been proven very strongly. And everybody's talking about it.” (There's still no evidence Trump's phones were tapped.)  MAY 1 “Well, we are protecting pre-existing conditions. And it'll be every good — bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.” (The bill weakens protections for people with pre-existing conditions.)  MAY 1 “The F-35 fighter jet — I saved — I got involved in the negotiation. It's 2,500 jets. I negotiated for 90 planes, lot 10. I got $725 million off the price.” (Much of the price cuts were planned before Trump.)  MAY 1 “First of all, since I started running, they haven't increased their — you know, they have not manipulated their currency. I think that was out of respect to me and the campaign.” (China stopped years ago.)  MAY 2 “I love buying those planes at a reduced price. I have been really — I have cut billions — I have to tell you this, and they can check, right, Martha? I have cut billions and billions of dollars off plane contracts sitting here.” (Much of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)  MAY 4 “Number two, they’re actually not a currency [manipulator]. You know, since I’ve been talking about currency manipulation with respect to them and other countries, they stopped.” (China stopped years ago.)  MAY 4 “We’re the highest-taxed nation in the world.” (We're not.)  MAY 4 “Nobody cares about my tax return except for the reporters.” (Polls show most Americans do care.)  MAY 8 “You know we’ve gotten billions of dollars more in NATO than we’re getting. All because of me.” (The deal was struck in 2014.)  MAY 8 “But when I did his show, which by the way was very highly rated. It was high — highest rating. The highest rating he’s ever had.” (Colbert's Late Show debut had nearly two million more viewers.)  MAY 8 “Director Clapper reiterated what everybody, including the fake media already knows — there is ‘no evidence’ of collusion w/ Russia and Trump.” (Clapper only said he wasn't aware of an investigation.)  MAY 12 “Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election.” (The F.B.I. was investigating before the election.)  MAY 12 “When James Clapper himself, and virtually everyone else with knowledge of the witch hunt, says there is no collusion, when does it end?” (Clapper said he wouldn't have been told of an investigation into collusion.)  MAY 13 “I'm cutting the price of airplanes with Lockheed.” (The cost cuts were planned before he became president.)  MAY 26 “Just arrived in Italy for the G7. Trip has been very successful. We made and saved the USA many billions of dollars and millions of jobs.” (He's referencing an arms deal that's not enacted and other apparent deals that weren't announced on the trip.)  JUNE 1 “China will be allowed to build hundreds of additional coal plants. So, we can’t build the plants, but they can, according to this agreement. India will be allowed to double its coal production by 2020.” (The agreement doesn’t allow or disallow building coal plants.)  JUNE 1 “I’ve just returned from a trip overseas where we concluded nearly $350 billion of military and economic development for the United States, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.” (Trump’s figures are inflated and premature.)  JUNE 4 “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” (The mayor was specifically talking about the enlarged police presence on the streets.)  JUNE 5 “The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.” (Trump signed this version of the travel ban, not the Justice Department.)  JUNE 20 “Well, the Special Elections are over and those that want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN are 5 and O!” (Republicans have won four special elections this year, while a Democrat won one.)  JUNE 21 “They all say it's 'nonbinding.' Like hell it's nonbinding.” (The Paris climate agreement is nonbinding — and Trump said so in his speech announcing the withdrawal.)  JUNE 21 “Right now, we are one of the highest-taxed nations in the world.” (We're not.)  JUNE 21 “You have a gang called MS-13. ... We are moving them out of the country by the thousands, by the thousands.” (The real number of deportations is smaller.)  JUNE 21 “Your insurance companies have all fled the state of Iowa.” (They haven't.)  JUNE 21 “If [farmers] have a puddle in the middle of their field ... it's considered a lake and you can't touch it. ... We got rid of that one, too, OK?” (The Obama environmental rule to limit pollution in the country’s waters explicitly excludes puddles.)  JUNE 21 “Gary Cohn just paid $200 million in tax in order to take this job, by the way.” (Cohn sold Goldman Sachs stock worth $220 million.)  JUNE 21 “We’re 5 and 0.” (Republicans have won four special elections this year, while a Democrat won one.)  JUNE 22 “Former Homeland Security Advisor Jeh Johnson is latest top intelligence official to state there was no grand scheme between Trump & Russia.” (Johnson, who had a different title, didn't say that.)  JUNE 23 “We are 5 and 0 ... in these special elections.” (Republicans have won four special elections this year, while a Democrat won one.)  JUNE 27 “Ratings way down!” (CNN's ratings were at a five-year high at the time.)  JUNE 28 “Democrats purposely misstated Medicaid under new Senate bill — actually goes up.” (Senate bill would have cut the program deeply.)  JUNE 29 “General Kelly and his whole group — they’ve gotten rid of 6,000 so far.” (The real number of gang members deported is smaller.)  JULY 6 “As a result of this insistence, billions of dollars more have begun to pour into NATO.” (NATO countries agreed to meet defense spending requirements in 2014.)  JULY 17 “We’ve signed more bills — and I’m talking about through the legislature — than any president, ever.” (Clinton, Carter, Truman and F.D.R. had signed more at the same point.)

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (and WOMEN)

                                      "AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY"

STARRING:

SEAN SPICER:White House Press Secretary and Communications Director

Sean Spicer was communications director of the RNC from 2011 to 2017 and it's chief strategist from 2015-2017 until he accepted the job in #45's administration. During his tenure at RNC  Spicer was critical of candidate Trump's comments regarding Mexican immigrants being involved in crimes as wells comments made about John McCain.

Things did NOT go well on Day 1 of his new gig when he was criticized for making false claims regarding the crowd numbers at the inauguration. He has gotten better in front of the press corps but is best represented in a SNL skit where he is portrayed by Melissa McCarthey.

KellyAnne (Fitzpatrick) Conway: CHIEF ADVISOR to the President

Formerly the President/CEO of THE POLLING COMPANY,Inc, Ms. Conway served as a GOP strategist, pollster and campaign manager who endorsed Ted Cruz in the GOP primaries and was critical of candidate Donald Trump. When Cruz dropped out Conway jumped ship being named Trump's senior campaign advisor before being named campaign manager a few weeks later. Her distinction is being the first woman to successfully run a presidential campaign. In December of 2016, President-Elect Trump appointed Conway as Counselor to the President.

"ALTERNATIVE FACTS?"  Alternative facts" is a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. When pressed during the interview with Chuck Todd to explain why Spicer "utter[ed] a provable falsehood", Conway stated that Spicer was giving "alternative facts." Todd responded, "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."

Mike Pompeo- CIA Director-On January 23, 2017, the Senate confirmed Rep. Mike Pompeo, a Republican (Tea Party) congressman from Kansas, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Pompeo, 53, has served in the House of Representatives since 2011. He succeeds a 25-year veteran of the CIA, John Brennan, who's served as the agency's chief since 2013.

Pompeo is a graduate (#1 of his class ) at The U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Mechanical Engineering,) served in the Regular Army 1986-1991, received his J.D. from Harvard Law where he was editor of Harvard Law Review.

James Comey- (Retained as )FBI Director (only for me to ask the question "WHY?")

NEWSWEEK Nov 7,2016James Comey should not simply be fired as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He must be barred forever from any form of public service. There's a stinging comment from NEWSWEEK, not a good endorsement by any means.Yet, after screwing up the e-mail investigations a few moments before the electorate hit the polls may or may not have swayed public opinion of Hillary Clinton but needless to say this guy should have stepped down BUT NO, he is retained by #45, probably for a job well done.

Rex Tillerson  Secretary of State. U.S. senators grilled former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson about his past dealings with Russia at his recent confirmation hearing. One was about his receiving Putin's (Russia's) ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP to which even Senator LINDSEY GRAHAN (R-SC) called "unnerving".Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asked Tillerson whether he thought Vladimir Putin was a war criminal (Tillerson's answer: "I would not use that term"), while Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pressed him on Exxon opposing sanctions against Russia.    At his confirmation hearing on Jan. 11, 2017, Tillerson rejected the assertion that he ever tried to scuttle sanctions."I have never lobbied against sanctions personally," Tillerson said. "To my knowledge, Exxon never directly lobbied against sanctions."That’s an artfully crafted answer that’s pretty misleading and raises my suspicions.

So that leads us to:

Michael Flynn National Security Advisor. National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials. Flynn's communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election. Vice President Mike Pence did not know that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn may have spoken about sanctions with the Russian Ambassador in January pre-inauguration, and believes "it's a problem," a senior White House adviser told CNN Friday.  Three administration officials said Pence only knew what Flynn told him -- that he had not talked about sanctions -- before Pence stood before cameras last month and vouched for Flynn. One official said Pence was trying to "get to the bottom of it."Flynn cannot rule out that he spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about sanctions, an aide close to the National Security Adviser said Friday.Flynn, the aide said, has "no recollection of discussing sanctions," but added that the National Security Adviser "couldn't be certain that the topic never came up."Flynn has avoided making firm commitments about maintaining US sanctions on Russia, according to US and European officials familiar with his meetings in recent weeks.

Officials said ­Flynn’s references to the election-related sanctions were explicit. Two of those officials went further, saying that Flynn urged Russia not to overreact to the penalties being imposed by President Barack Obama, making clear that the two sides would be in position to review the matter after Trump was sworn in as president.

“Kislyak was left with the impression that the sanctions would be revisited at a later time,” said a former official.

JEFF SESSIONS: ATTORNEY GENERAL

This was a bitter and racially charged nomination battle to which Senator Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass) was silenced.In a party-line vote, 49 to 43, senators  forced Ms. Warren into silence, at least on the Senate floor, until the showdown over Mr. Sessions’s nomination is complete. 

Mr. Sessions, an Alabama Republican, survived a near-party-line vote, 52 to 47, in the latest sign of the extreme partisanship at play as Mr. Trump strains to install his cabinet. No Republicans broke ranks in their support of a colleague who will become the nation’s top law enforcement official after two decades in the Senate.

TOM PRICE: Dept of Health and Services  Mr. Price is the first doctor to lead the department since Dr. Louis W. Sullivan stepped down at the end of the first Bush administration in January 1993.

Tom Price will lead President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. 

Steven T. Mnuchin- Treasury Secretary has vowed that “there would be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” 

But under the tax overhaul that House Republicans are pushing, or under similar proposals that Mr. Trump has offered, the guarantee looks impossible to fulfill.

And Featuring:

Mick Mulvaney as BUDGET DIRECTOR

Wilbur Ross as COMMERCE SECRETARY

and Linda E. McMahon as DIRECTOR OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

What The Hell Did They Do Today? #45....Our Tweeter In-Chief

And the hits just keep on coming. How do you spell IMPEACHMENT?

President Trump’s official counselor, Kellyanne Conway, was“counseled” after she told TV audiences to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” the White House said Thursday. Legal experts said Conway had broken a "key ethics law" banning federal employees from using their public office to endorse products. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that Conway “has been counseled,” but offered no other comment. What did you expect?

President Trump's own Supreme Court nominee rebuking him Wednesday, calling his comments attacking judges and the judicial system “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” So it's no surprise Trump would hit back at Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) for publicizing Gorsuch's comments on the matter. But Trump's complaint simply doesn't make much sense — nor does White House press secretary Sean Spicer's attempt to explain it.

Here's what the TWEETER IN CHIEF had to tweet...."Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?"
WTF is he referring to, misrepresents what?

Senator Jeff Sessions was confirmed on Wednesday as President Trump’s attorney general, capping a bitter and racially charged nomination battle that crested with the procedural silencing of a leading Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren. Mr. Sessions, an Alabama Republican, survived a near-party-line vote, 52 to 47, in the latest sign of the extreme partisanship at play as Mr. Trump strains to install his cabinet. No Republicans broke ranks in their support of a colleague who will become the nation’s top law enforcement official after two decades in the Senate.
While #45 did NOT actually do any grave error here, the fact that his candidate is a racist, well.

Can't wait for tomorrow.

#45: TEACHES HISTORY

Recently, I heard a young gentleman state, "I should have paid better attention in my History 101 class. What's with all these terms?". Well young man you are in luck.

In just the few short months since the primaries and caucuses, the Nominating Conventions, the Presidential Election of 2016, followed by the Inauguration of #45 , all those terms from History 101 have come alive.  Each news cycle the vocabulary and terms of 101 are used, sometimes to the confusion of not only the constituents but the actual politicians and the press reporting.So here's a review of 101.

Let's start with the GENERAL ELECTION. This year, as we do every four (4) years the major and minor political parties nominate candidates who best represent the ideals and principles of their party for PRESIDENT and for the office of Vice President of The UNITED STATES. This planned change  of leadership every four years seemed like a good idea to our forefathers.It was not a number of years randomly selected but rather hotly debated during the drafting of The Constitution.
The Framers determined the number of years a given term could be, anywhere from3 to 20 were debated, before deciding on the number four. It was best thought that that period of time (4 years) was NOT long enough to risk any HARM to the public safety, yet gives the President  enough time to accomplish goals.

[The President] shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years....
ARTICLE II, SECTION 1, CLAUSE 1

Our first President, #1, George Washington, set precedence after serving two consecutive terms, by NOT seeking re-election. All subsequent presidents up to FDR followed that unwritten custom.The 22nd Amendment, enacted after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president for the fourth time, imposes a two-term limit on presidential candidates and was established to formalize a tradition George Washington started by refusing to run for a third term in 1796.

So, #44 was destined to leave office, January 2017. In his last few months (Election Day to Inauguration) he is, as others serving out their days in office, given the designation of a LAME DUCK.

ELECTORAL COLLEGE: We all heard that term almost every single night on the news. So what is this ELECTORAL COLLEGE?.
Seems our forefathers didn't necessarily trust the electorate, US, the citizens, to actually elect our Supreme Leader  and others didn't want the Legislative branch to choose our leaders so a compromise was devised.They invented something called the ELECTORAL COLLEGE to actually elect the President.The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
Using todays numbers regarding the Electoral College: 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 representatives and 100 senators, plus the three electors the District of Columbia. 
A candidate must receive an absolute majority of electoral votes (currently 270) to win the presidency or the vice presidency. If no candidate receives a majority in the election for president or vice president, the election is determined via a contingency procedure established by the Twelfth Amendment. In such a situation, the House chooses one of the top three presidential electoral vote-winners as the president, while the Senate chooses one of the top two vice presidential electoral vote-winners as vice president.

POPULAR VOTE: Or, DOES IT REALLY MATTER? Last election,NO, the majority of the popular vote was  won by the candidate who did NOT win the majority of 270 electoral votes. Hence, that candidate lost the Election of 2016.

So now you are elected President. 
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH: (Taken directly from WhiteHouse.gov)

The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.

The PresidentThe President is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Under Article II of the Constitution, the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. Fifteen executive departments — each led by an appointed member of the President's Cabinet — carry out the day-to-day administration of the federal government. They are joined in this by other executive agencies such as the CIA and Environmental Protection Agency, the heads of which are not part of the Cabinet, but who are under the full authority of the President. The President also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent federal commissions, such as the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as federal judges, ambassadors, and other federal offices. The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff to the President, along with entities such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The President has the power either to sign legislation into law or to veto bills enacted by Congress, although Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Executive Branch conducts diplomacy with other nations, and the President has the power to negotiate and sign treaties, which also must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. The President can issue executive orders, which direct executive officers or clarify and further existing laws. The President also has unlimited power to extend pardons and clemencies for federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment.

TWO HOUSES: Aka THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: I probably should have started with ARTICLE 1 of The Constitution. Live and learn:

ARTICLE 1:

Section 1 : Two Houses:

All legislative Powers are vested in a CONGRESS which consists of two bodies, The SENATE and THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Section 2: The House of Representatives:

Chosen every two years, (even numbered years plus 0) The House is considered the LOWER chamber of The United States Congress. It consists of 435 members, a number fixed by law. Each member is elected by POPULAR vote chosen by the electors of their Congressional Districts. These 435 seats are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population measured by the U.S. Census.

 The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. In addition to this basic power, the House has certain exclusive powers of which include the power to initiate all bills related to revenue, the impeachment of federal officers, who are sent to trial in the Senate, and in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for President, the duty falls upon the House to elect one of the top three recipients of electors for that office, with one vote given to each state for that purpose.

The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other floor leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences, depending on whichever party has more voting members.

The House of Representatives  have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3: THE SENATE

The SENATE of the United States , considered the UPPER chamber of Congress, consists of 100 members, two from each state, serving for six year terms. The seats are vacated and up for reelection on  a rotation so that 1/3 of the body is chosen every two years. The VICE PRESIDENT of the United States is the PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE and shall have NO vote, except to break a 50/50 tie.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH:
The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress. The number of Associate Justices is currently fixed at eight (28 U. S. C. §1). Power to nominate the Justices is vested in the President of the United States, and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. Article III, §1, of the Constitution further provides that "[t]he Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."

We'll be back...

#45: Heading in to Week 2

Geez, what a two weeks it has been. Some days it seems like I've awaken from a bad dream. What did HE do while I was asleep? The claims by the press today include that #45 is leaving the public and his party in the dark while his advisors try out different ideas and tactics.

First there are the Executive Orders (EO) which are not really executive orders. Then those executive orders that are not executive orders are dismissed by a judge. then those dismissed orders which are not orders are reinstated  by #45 only to be declared void by another judge in Federal Court. AND that's only one issue at hand. Visa, illegals, green carders and refugees are all lumped together in a huge pot with no defining who by the grace of our illustrious #45 will be allowed to enter the Pearly Gates of the United States of America. Heaven forbid you were a fringe candidate with a bit of question on your resume and you left the USA , Visa intact, for a long weekend in the Middle East. You are possible stranded in a state of limbo.

Then there is the Cabinet and various post which are still to be filled being delayed by those damn Democrats, cursed out by the GOP for using the same tactics the GOP used to stop #44 from getting the Supreme Court position filled. How dare those Democrats!

To date only 6 nominees have been approved. More than 2 dozen are filled with interims or left vacant . These include the vitally important  Dept of Energy, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Health and Welfare Services, etc. etc. The Democrats vow to continue their foot dragging in the proposed appointments so this could go on for quite some time.Or new guy, #45 has 4100 administrative positions to fill including 1240 that REQUIRE Senate confirmation. Only 3 dozen have been ANNOUNCED.

Now the GOP wants to REPAIR not Repeal OBAMACARE.I question my memory. Wasn't this one of his key running points? To immediately REPEAL the disaster known as OBAMACARE, oh yeah, and build the Wall Day 1. Funny how there in NO talk of the WALL this week.

The other morn #45 had a meeting with some of the "swamp" folks who he was ridding us of. They all got nice recognition as the "Best and Brightest". Now they are his economic advisors. The same folks who bankrupted us in 2007. Who can forget Jaime Dimon and the others for what they did to the economy and the young folks holding mortgages. Thanks guys for a job well done. Let's see how well they will protect the little man again in 2017. First item discussed was taking steps to undo banking restraints. Yippee. Dump DODD-FRANK Regulations. We are screwed.

New Sanctions on IRAN. Last Friday the Iranians fired a few missiles.We threw out a few words of caution. Iran didn't like that or our ban on their travel here so the Iraians banned us from going there. Hence, #45 issues mote sanctions.And now they know the "true" face of The United States.

Israel, his buddy, the country he vowed to protect is now on the back burner for attempting to build 2100 homes in an occupied area. #45 like it, was advised against liking it so he re-upped Obama's plan following UN Sanctions.

What a week!

Take A Knee

The big news about town is that two teachers at our local high school took a knee last Friday morning during the Pledge of Allegiance, this being on the morn of #45's inauguration. The rumor of the alleged incident spread quickly on social media and at times viciously, with some community members calling for "their heads", wishing them ill will, and/or that they should lose their jobs.Very few thought this to be a good idea or teaching tool.

I thought about the incident long and hard. The quandary was, Why would two respected  history teachers get together and "protest" #45 by taking a knee in front of students? Was it there attempt to make a political statement? OR Might it have been a teaching moment to display to their students that they, the students, have Freedom of Speech according to the First Amendment?

One would need to ask: What was their motivation? Was it in their lesson plans? How would this lesson be evaluated? And if it was to be a teaching experience AKA a lesson, Who approved this?

Then it was discovered that these two "history" did NOT do this as a teaching experience. Nor did they do this in their own classroom in the presence of their own students. Rather then pulling this stunt in the safety and comfort of their own classroom with their students who understand them they choose the classroom of a "non-tenured" teacher, a possible future colleague, in unfamiliar grounds with students basically unknown to them and they to them.

The TWO, as I will refer to them, did not have a class scheduled at that time and as a matter of fact it was determined by reviewing their teaching assignments both have a rather cushy schedule of Advanced Placement classes. The best of the best. To make this situation even stranger, one of the TWO is CHAIRPERSON of the department, that is, a supervisor of the other member of the TWO, and potential boss of the non tenured teacher.

Investigation has shown that the TWO have been previously quite outspoken in opposition to the election of #45 while praising the graces and accomplishments of President #44. They also had planned to attend the inauguration if their chosen candidate had won. It was also learned that during the last two inaugurations these TWO hosted students in classrooms and the cafeteria to view #44 taking the Oath of Office. However, on Friday these same TV's were nowhere to be found for #45. Confusing? You bet. It gets better.

My thought are with the principal, blindsided by all this, as he must sift through what actually occurred and with the aid of Central Office, The Board of Education, as well as The Constitution of The United States, determine his next step as well as making a statement to the community. Being thrust into an ill light is never taught in Administration 101.

Legally there is little he/they can do as the First Amendment guarantees FREE SPEECH, even in the work place. I say little legally can be done however...payback can be a bitch. You might be able to slip a few days suspension with pay out but...ACLU will be on that in a second.So what to do?

A "counseling memo" could be offered, instructing the TWO about your respecting their rights to protest but your utter disappointment on "where" they did it (not their classroom) and their jeopardizing the non-tenured teachers reputation in the community by choosing to do it in his classroom. Also that their place of protest (not their room, not their students, why not the main hallway, faculty room,outside in the rain) could have (did) jeopardize those student who might have been conflicted. "Should I continue to stand or join in?" These TWO put the students, again NOT theirs, in a precarious situation. Their otherwise good judgement displayed in years past was today clouded by their desire to make a political statement.Or was it?

Geez, that poor principal probably spent his weekend on the phone or in the school working with the powers that be sorting through this situation, determining their response, and preparing for the Board of Education meeting scheduled (regularly) for Monday night, but I am sure by that time a few more questions will be asked by the community who are expected to pack said meeting.

Due to a N'easter the meeting was postponed until the following Friday. The brouhaha in the community calmed a bit yet those who started to post in the latter days leading up to the rescheduled meeting came out in favor of the teachers and their RIGHT to freedom of speech. The teachers were named by some and more jumped on the bandwagon defending The Two, restating over and over again as to their teaching abilities and love for there students and subject matter. An apology was offered to the community and Board of Education by the Two during the interim to the meeting.

I did not attend the meeting but from the TV coverage and my conversations with those there cooler heads prevailed. As with all personnel matters nothing was or could be revealed to the community to the dismay of some. But life goes on.

And it will as more information was revealed as to "how" the two were brought to notoriety. Could it have been another teacher? One who proudly states "LET'S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN"? Could it be the same teacher in the same department as the two, who has a huge TRUMP/PENCE banner hanging over his desk?

Think it's time for a change....