BULLY PULPIT

He just can't stop himself, he has to be the Dominant Male

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/14/donald-trump-shares-a-stage-and-some-advice-with-paul-ryan-if-he-ever-goes-against-me/?utm_term=.c84498b6cc65
“Oh, no. I have come to appreciate him,” Trump said, quelling the crowd's boos at the mention of their home state politician (an anti-establishment sentiment Trump himself helped stir up during the campaign). “Speaker Paul Ryan. Where is the speaker? Where is he? He has been, I tell you, he has been terrific. And you know, honestly, he is like a fine wine. Every day goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more. Now, if he ever goes against me I'm not going to say that, okay?”

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/his-embrace-trump-paul-ryans-sellout-complete
With his embrace of Trump, Paul Ryan’s sellout is complete

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/14/1610913/-Paul-Ryan-s-stance-on-Trump-continues-to-give-weasels-a-bad-name
Paul Ryan's stance on Trump continues to give weasels a bad name

Poser

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/14/a-paul-ryan-super-pac-used-russian-hacked-emails/
Speaker Ryan can make all of the meaningless statements he wants to about how it is unacceptable for a foreign government to interfere in our elections. But before those words have any actual meaning, he needs to answer some very real questions about how his own political organization knowingly participated with that interference. [read on!]

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-leaders-russia-hacking_us_58513cb2e4b0e411bfd47270
GOP Leaders Ignored Repeated Requests To Go Further In Condemning Russia’s Hacking 

BREAKING NEWS: Russian hacking of the election was personally directed by Putin

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/officials-say-putin-personally-involved

[NB: I think this is pretty huge, not only because it makes the nexus with helping Trump all the more clear, but because this growing scandal is exhibiting the drip-drip-drip of new information coming out. If there is any evidence of actual collusion or coordination with the Trump campaign, then we will see a real deluge.]

It's good that GOPers are signing on to the need to investigate Russian hacking. But they are being very careful at this stage to say they are concerned about the general interference with the election, not whether it was designed to help Trump or not

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/sen-bob-corker-wants-a-limited-probe-into-russias-involvement-in-hacking-democrats/ 

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/gop-senator-russians-hacked-my-campaign
 
More: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/14/13922104/congress-investigation-russia
The specifics of how Congress “investigates” Russian hacking will make a huge difference 

Uh yeah, sure, great idea

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/gop-congressman-urges-everyone-move
GOP Congressman Urges Everyone To Move On From Russian Hacks, Unite Behind Trump 

Wow. People had a very negative view of Putin -- but once Trump started flirting with him, suddenly he became not so bad (if you were a Republican)!

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/chart-day-republicans-sure-are-warming-vladimir-putin

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/9/12865678/trump-putin-polls-republican 

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/putin-had-motive-helping-put-trump-the-white-house
Putin had a motive for helping put Trump in the White House 

The Cesspool

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/donald-trump-jr-is-interviewing-interior-secretary-choices-while-helping-run-the-trump-business/
Donald Trump Jr. is interviewing Interior secretary choices while helping run the Trump business 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gsa-democratic-lawmakers-warn-trump-must-give-up-dc-hotel
Federal Agency Warns Trump He Must Give Up DC Hotel Before Inauguration

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-children-cabinet-selection

Is this going to be the new line of defense for Trump's conflicts of interest: We know about them, so they're okay?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/spicer-conflicts-of-interest-dont-exist-if-were-transparent

More signs that Trump has no intention of keeping distance from his kids who are running his business

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/14/no-blind-trust-in-sight/
No Blind Trust in Sight
 
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/role-ivanka-trump-administration-ethical-conflicts-precedent
CNN added another dash of gasoline in a Wednesday tweet citing a transition source who claimed that Ivanka Trump would receive an office in the space traditionally reserved for the first lady . . .

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/trumps-kids-will-always-get-insider-access-and-trump-doesnt-care-who-knows-it
Trump's Kids Will Always Get Insider Access, and Trump Doesn't Care Who Knows It

We're starting to learn what a lousy, rushed job of vetting Trump is doing

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/no-senate-will-not-heavily-vet-trumps-cabinet-nominees
 
More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/5-fun-facts-about-how-trump-picked-his-secretary-of-state.html
5 Fun Facts About How Trump Picked His Secretary of State

Rex Tillerson, a gift from the heart

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/14/1610998/-Rex-Tillerson-A-Christmas-gift-to-the-Russian-people

All the Tillerson huffing and puffing aside, I think this is the cabinet nominee most likely to be rejected

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/14/1610932/-Trump-s-National-Security-Adviser-gave-secret-information-to-foreign-military-leaders
A secret U.S. military investigation in 2010 determined that Michael T. Flynn, the retired Army general tapped to serve as national security adviser in the Trump White House, “inappropriately shared” classified information with foreign military officers in Afghanistan . . . 

[NB: As the post explains, "Calm down. It’s not as if Michael Flynn missed seeing a letter ‘c’ embedded paragraphs into an email. Nothing that serious. It’s only that he shared classified military information during a conflict."]

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-security-advisor-faced-accusations-sharing-secrets

Now we know why Trump doesn't think he needs intelligence briefings -- Flynn tells him all he needs to know

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-getting-daily-intel-briefings-from-flynn

Because Flynn is an unimpeachable source of information: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-flynn-deletes-fake-news-clinton
Flynn Deletes Tweet About Clinton 'Sex Crimes With Children' Conspiracy Theory 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/14/1611013/-Trump-s-National-Security-Advisor-trying-to-cover-up-the-fake-news-he-spread-on-social-media
Trump's national security advisor trying to cover-up the fake news he spread on social media
 
"Trump's Ungovernment"

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/12/trump_is_building_an_ungovernment_and_his_supporters_won_t_care.html 

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/14/donald-trump-s-new-old-boys-club.html
Donald Trump’s New Old Boys’ Club

It was easy to guess this from the external clues, but I'm glad to have it confirmed

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/report-romney-refused-public-apologize-to-trump

Romney Refused To Apologize To Trump During Secretary Of State Bid

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/elusive-dignity-romney-forced-exit-the-stage-again 

Trump meets with Silicon Valley execs, but excludes Twitter. You won't believe why (well, yes you will)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/14/1611102/-Source-says-Trump-cut-Twitter-out-of-tech-meeting-because-they-didn-t-give-him-his-emoji
Source says Trump cut Twitter out of tech meeting because they didn't give him his emoji

More: http://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/12/14/13958550/trump-twitter-emoji-feud

http://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/12/14/13940716/silicon-valley-donald-trump
Silicon Valley has good reason to make nice with Donald Trump

Don't ask, don't tell

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stephen-miller-megyn-kelly-pruitt-climate-change?
Trump Spokesman Won't Say If EPA Nominee Believes In Climate Change

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/anthony-scaramucci-global-warming-flat-earth-theory
Trump Adviser: Global Warming Could Be Disproven Just Like Flat Earth Theory 

Newt gives a primer on how Trump manipulates the "idiots" in the media

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/14/13938456/newt-gingrich-donald-trump-manipulates-media

Oh, christ

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/14/13953528/trump-beautiful-sentences-linguists
Trump says the press mangles his “beautiful flowing sentences.” We asked linguists to weigh in.

Don't hold your breaths, but there continue to be rumblings among the electors

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/the-race-to-37-electoral-college-members-say-theyre-seeing-possible-defections/
The race to 37: Electoral College members say they’re seeing possible defections 

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/we-need-more-electors-texan-electoral 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/14/donald-trump-will-face-one-some-or-20-faithless-electors-depending-on-what-random-story-you-read/?utm_term=.c5695cf90278

We're all broken up about Trump's victory -- How the hell did this happen? How could we have been so wrong? What does this say about our country? How can we learn from this so it doesn't happen again? Kevin Drum argues that the Big Lessons people are trying to draw from this election are mostly illusory

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/stop-it-there-are-no-big-lessons-2016-election 
These have one element in common: All these people thought all these things before the election. Now they're trying to use the election to prove that they were right all along, dammit. But they weren't. This election turned on a few tiny electoral shifts and some wildly improbable outside events. There simply aren't any truly big lessons to be drawn from it. . . . [read on!] 

In other news . . . 

http://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/12/14/13956662/fed-interest-rate-hike
Interest rate hikes slow the economy. So why did the Fed just announce one?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/janet-yellen-raises-interest-rates-risks-riling-up-trump.html
Yellen Raises Interest Rates, Risks Riling Up Trump 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/us/politics/obama-administration-planned-parenthood.html
Obama Bars States From Denying Federal Money to Planned Parenthood
 
http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/labor-secretary-tom-perez-is-throwing-his-hat-into-the-dnc-chairmanship-ring/
Labor Secretary Tom Perez is throwing his hat into the DNC chairmanship ring 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-team-id-energy-staffers-not-authorized
Trump Team Disavows Request To ID Climate Staffers: 'Not Authorized'

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/nc-legislature-launches-special-session
NC Legislature Launches Special Session To Strip New Dem Governor Of Power

Bonus item: Semper Fidelis

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/not-one-d-c-high-school-marching-band-wants-to-play-donald-trumps-inauguration/

Not one D.C. high school marching band wants to play Donald Trump’s inauguration 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

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FAKE NEWS

I've been thinking about "fake news" and it seems to me to be comprising a set of different phenomena. One is actual propaganda, lies circulated into the political bloodstream that tell people what they want to hear and reinforce political loyalties. Another is the leveling effect of attacking legitimate (if imperfect) sources of news and information, pulling everything down to the level of biased opinion -- if the New York Times is just the same as Uncle Bob's Basement Newsletter, then there is no objective basis for credibility. 

Another is discrediting facts, because as soon as your opponents take advantage of them you reframe them as partisan; this is a Republican favorite. So if, for example, the Russians helped Trump win (fact!), you turn it into "The Democrats are trying to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's victory" (partisanship). Of course, what undermines the legitimacy of Trump's victory IS the fact, not that the Democrats are complaining about it. But then once the fact is defined as partisan you can demand equal time for your counter-factual, no matter how ridiculous it is -- and anyone who challenges your lie then gets positioned as taking a partisan stance with the other side, NOT WITH THE TRUTH

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/13/republicans-have-eroded-trust-in-the-media/

Trump has no idea how to handle his conflict of interest problems. All of his proposed solutions are ridiculous (notice that the words "blind trust" have now disappeared)

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-unnerving-evolution-trumps-conflict-interest-troubles

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/13/1610533/-Trump-s-sons-will-take-over-the-business-so-dad-can-pretend-he-s-not-presidenting-for-profit

http://www.vox.com/2016/12/13/13936404/trump-eric-donald-conflict-of-interest-business

Hey, this "cesspool" thing is catching on!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/12/13/trump-isnt-draining-the-swamp-hes-creating-his-own-cesspool/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.0869c1108a79
Trump isn’t draining the swamp. He’s creating his own cesspool.

Trump is already trying to bully NATO

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/13/1610609/-Trump-wastes-no-time-in-picking-fight-with-NATO
Two Trump transition sources told me that a representative of the transition team met late last month with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels and delivered a private but deliberate message: The incoming administration would like Stoltenberg to replace Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. . . . "This is not a national appointment, and the selection is made in a competition, based on merit," Lungescu said. "Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller enjoys the full support of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the North Atlantic Council."

Former Bush aide calls Trump's attacks on intelligence agencies "insanely dangerous"

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-maintains-insanely-dangerous-feud-intelligence-agencies

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-trump-briefings-flying-blind
Obama Hits Trump For Not Getting Daily Intel Briefings: He's 'Flying Blind' 

When we review the history of how Russia hacked the election, a big chunk of blame should go to . . . our own media

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/how-putin-got-his-pet-game-show-host-elected-president

Obama: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/president-obama-takes-gloves-off.html
“Keep in mind, when the DNC got hacked, we immediately assigned our intelligence community—our law enforcement—to investigate what had happened. And we determined—and announced—in October that it was the consensus of all the intelligence agencies in law enforcement that organizations affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for the hacking of the DNC materials that were being leaked. That was a month before the election. This was not a secret,” the president said. “I will say this, though, Trevor: None of this should be a big surprise,” he continued. “This was reported on before the election. I don’t think there was any doubt among anybody in the media or among members of Congress as to who was being advantaged or disadvantaged by the political gossip that was being put out in drip-drip-drip fashion leading up to the election.” . . .

“This was not a secret running up to the election!” exclaimed Obama. “The president-elect [Trump] in some of his political events specifically said to the Russians, ‘Hack Hillary’s emails so that we can finally find out what’s going on, and confirm our conspiracy theories.’ You had what was very clear relationships between members of the president-elect’s campaign team and Russians, and a professed shared view on a bunch of issues.” . . .

“The real question that I think we all have to reflect on is this: What has happened to our political system where some emails that were hacked and released ended up being the overwhelming story, and the constant source of coverage… that was depicted as somehow damning in all sorts of ways, when the truth of the matter was it was fairly routine stuff,” said Obama. “And the reason I saw that is, going forward, I worry that we don’t spend enough time on self-reflection about how our democracy’s working, how our campaign’s working, and how all of us have to do a better job at talking about what’s at stake.”

Trump defenders like to say that Russian hacking may have occurred but there isn't any proof that it was intended to help Trump. That's a load of B.S.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/russia-ran-most-epic-ratfucking-operation-history-year
The basic story here is simple: the Russians hacked, the media gave the revelations big play, and Republicans gleefully made use of the Russian agitprop. Altogether, the Russians released hacked documents from four different sources:     

• DNC     
• DCCC     
• The Clinton Foundation     
• John Podesta 

But nothing was ever released from any Republican sources—despite the fact that, according to the New York Times, the Russians had hacked the RNC and possibly other Republican accounts as well. If I had to guess, I'd say there's a good chance they hacked a few people at the Trump Organization too. So here's where we are:

• The Russians ran a very sophisticated operation designed to hack into both US government servers and the servers of US political organizations.
• They released only hacked documents from Democratic organizations. Republicans were left alone.
• The intelligence community told high-ranking leaders of both parties what was going on, but Republicans flatly opposed any public acknowledgment of what was happening.
• Republicans cheerfully made use of all the hacked material, even though they knew exactly where it came from. 

At this point, you need to be willfully blind to pretend this was anything other than what it was: a ratfucking operation on an epic scale aimed squarely at Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party. And while it was happening, Republicans were happy to play along.

The Senate is showing some encouraging signs of independence from Trump. The House? Not so much

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nunes-no-house-intelligence-investigation-russia

Who is the worst Trump Cabinet appointment? Let the debate begin!

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/christine-todd-whitman-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency
Bush EPA Chief Slams Trump's Pick As 'Disdainful Of The Agency'

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-taps-texas-rick-perry-agency-perry-vowed-eliminate
Trump taps Texas’ Rick Perry for agency Perry vowed to eliminate

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/13/another-fox-news-loon-joins-the-government-but-k-t-mcfarland-could-be-the-least-qualified-of-all/
Another Fox News loon joins the government — but K.T. McFarland could be the least qualified of all 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/opinion/betsy-devos-and-gods-plan-for-schools.html
Betsy DeVos and God’s Plan for Schools

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/12/06/donald-trumps-most-terrifying-appointment/?utm_term=.5c8520beab5c
Donald Trump’s most terrifying appointment

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/michael-flynns-second-in-command-is.html
Michael Flynn's second in command is just as nuts as he is

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/11/donald_trump_is_bringing_america_government_by_the_worst_men.html
Government by the Worst Men

The newest addition

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/trump-picks-freshman-congressman-to-run-interior-department.html
In a bit of a surprise, Donald Trump has offered (at least according to multiple reports) the job of secretary of the Interior to the least-experienced and least-well-known of three western Republican members of Congress who were under active consideration for the gig: freshman representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a long-time and much-decorated Navy SEAL who was first elected to office in 2014.  Most observers expected Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who is a member of leadership as chairman of the House Republican Conference, to get the nod. . . 

Rex Tillerson: what's good for Exxon, what's good for the U.S.?

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rex-tillerson-is-already-a-diplomat-for-exxon-mobils-shareholders/
Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia University journalism school, argued in his 2012 book on the company that Exxon has what amounts to its own foreign policy, complete with a security force that at times resembles a private army. The company’s interests aren’t always aligned with those of the U.S. “I’m not a U.S. company,” Tillerson’s predecessor, Lee Raymond, once told an industry colleague, according to an anecdote recounted in Coll’s book. “I don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the U.S.”  Tillerson is more, well, diplomatic than the brusque Raymond, and isn’t likely to get caught making such a statement. But he has been no less aggressive in pursuing Exxon’s interests, even when those interests differed from Washington’s.

More: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/12/rex_tillerson_secretary_of_state_what_s_good_for_exxon_is_bad_for_the_country.html
What’s Good for Exxon Is Bad for the Country

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/here-rex-tillersons-awesome-record-exxonmobil
But at least he's a great businessman, right? Here is ExxonMobil's performance over the past decade . . . 

Endorsements for Tillerson roll in from some very big names: Condi Rice, Robert Gates, Jim Baker. But they should come with an asterisk

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/this-is-very-weird
Notably, each of the three recommenders have business ties to Exxon and Tillerson.  . . .

More: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/13/politics/rex-tillerson-robert-gates-condoleezza-rice/

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/14/rex-tillersons-name-was-suggested-to-donald-trump-by-three-establishment-republicans-who-represented-him/ 

Is Trump getting a little worried that the electoral college might vote independently?

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/13/donald-trump-says-lawsuit-filed-by-two-faithless-electors-in-colorado-threatens-to-undermine-the-electoral-college/

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-colo-court-knocks-down-electoral-college-bid-to-deny-presidency-to-trump/2016/12/12/c4b01130-c0d7-11e6-897f-918837dae0ae_story.html?utm_term=.d1899ea3ae2d 

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/13/report-donald-trumps-campaign-is-threatening-political-reprisal-for-defecting-republican-electors/
Trump’s campaign is threatening “political reprisal” for defecting Republican electors 

Could Trump turn Voice of America into Trump TV?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610202/-Trump-TV-could-really-be-a-thing-on-the-government-s-dime

This explains SO much

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/13/quick-takes-trump-never-laughs
Trump Never Laughs 

Dissing Romney

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/13/im-glad-that-romney-didnt-get-the-job/
I’m Glad that Romney Didn’t Get the Job

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/13/mitt-romney-is-no-hero-hes-a-big-old-two-time-failure-and-donald-trump-is-partly-his-fault/
Mitt Romney is no hero

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mitt-romney-humiliated_us_585041d5e4b04c8e2bb23a4d

Why Obama doesn't like to say "that's racist" (even when it is)

http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/13/13935596/obama-race-black-president-daily-show

In other news . . . 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/energy-department-rejects-request-id-climate-staffers
Energy Dept. Rejects Trump Team's Request To ID Climate Staffers

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scientists-copying-climate-data-before-trump-assumes-office
Scientists Race To Copy Climate Data In Case It Disappears Under Trump

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/13/john-kasich-signs-strict-20-week-abortion-ban-applauded-for-vetoing-6-week-ban/
John Kasich signs strict 20-week abortion ban, but is lauded for vetoing 6-week ban 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/oklahoma-may-restrooms-anti-abortion
Oklahoma May Require Restroom Signs Discouraging Abortions

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/russia-also-meddled-key-congressional
BREAKING: Russia Also Tilted Key Congressional Races 

Bonus item: A-W-K-W-A-R-D!!! Kanye West visits Trump Tower

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-kanye-west-trump-tower-meeting

The Daily Show loves it: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/14/the-daily-show-rips-kanye-west-s-meeting-with-trump.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

HAVE A SEAT, MR. TRUMP

Pressure builds for a bipartisan investigation into Russia's role in Trump's victory. He's not even president yet, and he's already embroiled in his first major scandal

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/12/13919604/mitch-mcconnell-russia-trump
The Republican caucus is fracturing over how to respond to reports that the CIA believes the Russian government intervened in the American election to help Donald Trump — though an important Republican is now on board with looking into the matter.  Since the Washington Post’s bombshell story this weekend, at least five leading Republican senators — including John McCain and Lindsey Graham — have called for a congressional investigation into Russian hacking. Then on Monday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell became the most powerful Republican to call for an investigation.  McConnell said he wanted a “bipartisan” congressional investigation into Russian interference, ruling out a special committee and instead saying the Senate Intelligence Committee could proceed with the probe.  “The Russians are not our friends,” McConnell said at a news conference, embracing a probe. “I hope those in responsibility in the new administration share my view.” . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610117/-Will-any-more-Republicans-brave-Trump-s-wrath-to-sign-onto-bipartisan-call-for-Russia-hacking-probe
UPDATE: GOP members supporting investigation of Russian interference in election:
Sen Graham 
Sen McCain 
Sen Lankford 
Sen Corker 
Rep McCaul

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dispute-over-russia-reflects-growing-republican-resistance-to-trump/2016/12/12/55fd679c-bbf0-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.5bd33b343409
Dispute over Russia reflects growing Republican resistance to Trump

http://prospect.org/article/republican-sanity-caucus-awakens
It’s now clear that Donald Trump is far more severely impaired than even his worst critics imagined. And the cracks in his presumed governing coalition are starting to show, before he even takes office.  For starters, leading Republicans are pushing back on his insistence that he knows intelligence better than the CIA and challenging the idea that the U.S. should be a puppet of Vladimir Putin. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610099/-Paul-Ryan-calls-Russian-election-meddling-unacceptable-but-investigate-it-Let-s-not-be-hasty
Paul Ryan calls Russian election meddling 'unacceptable' but investigate it? Let's not be hasty

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/russian-efforts-boost-trump-campaign-jolt-political-world
Russian efforts to boost Trump campaign jolt political world

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/former-cia-acting-director-russian-hacks
The Former CIA Acting Director told Suzanne Kelly of the The Cipher Brief, that Russia's interference in our general election process was "an existential threat to our way of life " and is the "political equivalent of 9/11." . . .

There are little indications that there might be an important aspect to this story that hasn't come out yet

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/12/13928500/harry-reid-trump-russia

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/weaponizing-intelligence.html

What should Obama do?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/12/it-s-time-for-president-obama-to-talk-to-the-american-people-about-trump-and-putin.html
Many liberals I’ve spoken to since this story broke are livid that Obama didn’t say anything about all this back before the election, when the CIA first briefed the administration that its “consensus view” was that 1) the Russians did the hacking and 2) they were trying to help Trump. The president, as The Washington Post reported last Friday, wanted bipartisan cover for something so earth-shattering. When McConnell refused to grant it, Obama evidently decided against making it an issue before the vote. To exasperated liberals, this was just like the Obama of early 2009, still pleading with the Republicans to play patty-cake while they were sharpening their knives.  I think that in part we should respect Obama’s more civil instincts. Maybe he didn’t want to tear the country (farther) apart. Maybe this was one can of worms he didn’t particular want to open, since the United States may well dabble a bit in this sort of thing, too. He surely also figured, as just about everyone did, that Clinton would win, and we’d be able to skate past this grisly episode.  But she didn’t, or sort of didn’t, and here we are. Mr. President, what are you going to do?   . . . 

How perfect: for the ultimate conspiracy theorist, the ultimate conspiracy theory

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/the-conspiracy-on-behalf-of-conspiracy-theorist-donald-trump.html
The CIA had briefed lawmakers on its conclusion that Russia’s hacking of Democratic servers was intended to help Trump win the election. That Russia wanted Trump to win has been obvious for months. Its propaganda networks, both domestic and foreign, have spent months openly plumping for him. Intelligence experts both inside and outside of government have confirmed Russian involvement in the cyberattacks against Trump’s opponents.  Trump has lashed out at the reports with the mix of obvious lies and absurd illogic that is the uniform standard for his public discourse . . .
 
Except it isn't a THEORY any more: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/12/13919702/russian-hackers-donald-trump-2016

Trump doesn't want his intellgence briefings. Now he disses the CIA's investigation into Russian hacking. You might think that an incoming president would be very concerned to hear about a foreign power interfering in our elections, on whatever side. But what is clear is that Trump NEVER wants information that goes against his inclinations -- better not to have to hear it at all

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/lynn-sweet-trump-rejects-cia-intelligence-on-russia-daily-briefings/

"Stunning" http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/10/politics/donald-trump-response-russian-hacking/ 

Only in the era of Trump would you have to write an article with a headline like this

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/12/why-the-president-needs-intel-briefings/
Why the President Needs Intel Briefings

The Russians are giddy over what's happening over here

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/12/the-kremlin-gloats-over-trump-s-cia-tantrum.html
Authorities, who just a few weeks ago were busy training people to hide in bunkers in case the Americans dropped nuclear bombs, now applauded the U.S. president-elect and welcomed his incoming administration’s “a dream team.” [read on]

Trump lies again

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610090/-Trump-denies-that-the-subject-of-Russian-interference-ever-came-up-before-the-election
Trump denies that the subject of Russian interference ever came up before the election

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/donald-trump-puzzled-about-all-russia-hacking-stuff 

No, it isn't "fake news," it's propaganda. No, it isn't Trump's "worldview," it's lying

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/nope-you-re-lying-trump

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/opinion/truth-and-lies-in-the-age-of-trump.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/11/a-reflexive-liar-in-command-guidelines-for-the-media/508832/

Trump's ignorant, dangerous approach toward China

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/meanwhile-trump-moves-toward-wwiii.html

More: http://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/12/13919308/trump-taiwan-one-china

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/trump-provokes-china-into-show-of-force-in-south-china-sea.html
China Responds to Trump’s Provocations by Flying Nuclear Bomber Over South China Sea

Trump postpones the announcement of how he will deal with conflict of interest issues. Speculations about why abound -- apart from the obvious answer, he doesn't want to do it and doesn't think he has to

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-cancels-conflict-of-interest-press-conference

http://www.vox.com/2016/12/12/13929598/trump-conflicts-of-interest-press-conference
 
More: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/12/trump-invites-trouble-if-he-keeps-businesses-ethics-experts/
Donald Trump’s ethics powder keg: Experts say his conflicts could mean big trouble
Investigations and lawsuits could hobble Trump's administration 

Trump performs more policy by tweet, slams Lockheed Martin, and their stock plummets

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/trump-takes-shot-at-lockheed-martins-f-35-program.html

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/donald-trump-once-again-day-trader-chief

In Fox World, Trump is a populist, and the corporate CEO's he has appointed -- like Rex Tillerson, head of Exxon and former Goldman Sachs execs -- are populists too!

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/12/waking-up-to-the-con-job/

What Trump doesn't understand about the economy

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/12/13878864/donald-trump-stimulus
Donald Trump’s fiscal stimulus probably won’t work

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/12/12/donald-trump-still-does-not-understand-the-unemployment-rate/?utm_term=.c79f40879162
Donald Trump still does not understand the unemployment rate

Perfect, really perfect

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/report-trump-pick-rick-perry-for-energy-secretary.html
Trump Reportedly Picks Rick Perry to Head Energy Department, Agency He Forgot the Name Of
 
No, I don't expect Electoral College members to reconsider their votes for Trump now that they know he was the handpicked choice of the Kremlin. But . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610207/-Clinton-campaign-backs-call-for-intelligence-briefing-ahead-of-electoral-college-vote
On Monday, 10 members of the Electoral College—nine Democrats and one Republican—sent a letter to the Director of National Intelligence to request a briefing on “whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election.” . . . 

What would Alexander Hamilton want? http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/12/what-alexander-hamilton-would-want/

Hoo boy, Kellyanne Conway's got a lot on her plate right now

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/12/kellyanne-conway-downplays-rex-tillersons-ties-to-russia-it-is-not-like-he-is-pounding-down-vodka-with-vladimir-putin/
Kellyanne Conway downplays Rex Tillerson’s ties to Russia: “It’s not like he’s pounding down vodka with Vladimir Putin” 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kellyanne-conway-trump-russia-hacking
Conway Defends Trump: 'People Are Trying To Politicize Our Intelligence'

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-comes-so-easily
COOPER: Congressman Adam Schiff tweeted today saying "If trump was as smart as he claims to be, he'd understand how little he knows and how much he'll come to defend on the Intel community. " Why doesn't -- 

CONWAY: Wow. People are really bold on Twitter. We have a Democratic congressman referring to the next president of the United States as not that smart? I think that's unfortunate. He should rethink that. At the same time, the president-elect has access to all types of information and avails himself of that including the intelligence briefings. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/11/kellyanne-conway-calls-cia-report-on-russian-election-meddling-laughable-and-ridiculous/?utm_term=.57d7e4273399
Conway calls CIA report on Russian election meddling ‘laughable and ridiculous’

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kellyanne-conway-turns-down-press-secretary
Conway Confirms She Turned Down Offer To Be Trump's Press Secretary

You want numbers? Here are numbers

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/how-did-trump-win-fbi-and-russians
Sam Wang has crunched the data from polls released in October to judge the effect of FBI Director James Comey's letter on the election . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/12/nate-silver-harry-reid-agree-hillary-clinton-isnt-president-because-of-james-comeys-letters/
It appears that Hillary Clinton is not alone in attributing her loss to Donald Trump on FBI Director James Comey’s meddling. Nate Silver, the statistical guru who runs fivethirtyeight.com, said in a series of tweets on Sunday morning that Clinton’s hunch was right . . .

Trump trickster Roger Stone tells us Trump was toying with Mitt to torment him

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/12/donald-trump-interviewed-mitt-romney-to-torture-him-roger-stone-says.html

Now that the election is over the House Benghazi committee finally announces that their work is done (mission accomplished!)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/12/1610257/-Shocker-House-Benghazi-committee-is-done

In other news. . .

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/12/13875124/stand-your-ground-castle-doctrine-law
What “stand your ground laws” actually do

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/12/trump-attacked-this-union-leader-on-twitter-then-the-real-fight-began/?utm_term=.7fbc3e27ec38
Trump attacked this union leader on Twitter. Then the real fight began.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-victory-wisconsin-recount
Republican Donald Trump's victory in Wisconsin was reaffirmed Monday following a recount that showed him defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000 votes. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/13/1610030/-Trump-supporters-and-white-supremacists-demand-a-boycott-of-Star-Wars
Trump supporters and white supremacists demand a boycott of 'Star Wars'

Bonus item: Sam Bee on "identity politics"

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/12/samantha-bee-shatters-phony-identity

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