FINGER IN THE PIE

Clearly the Trump gang has no intention of letting the FBI conduct a full and independent investigation of their Russia ties

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/white-house-asks-fbi-assure-reporters-theres-nothing-russia-story-they-refuse
Reince Priebus Asked the FBI to Assure Reporters There Was Nothing to the Russia Story. They Refused.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/priebus-asked-fbi-official-to-deny-trump-russia-stories
"The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers," said Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/white-house-asked-fbi-refute-trump-russia.html

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/24/trump-administration-wanted-fbi-to-throw-cold-water-on-russia-probe-report/
On Friday morning, Trump tweeted that the problem was, once again, that the CNN was able to report the information in the first place. . .

A timeline of the three Trump-Russia scandals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsOuSmSLGOs

Trump's "bad hombre"

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/24/meet-felix-sater-the-russian-bad-hombre-who-works-with-trump.html

Notice how often we are hearing the word "blackmail" in connection to the Trump gang's Russia ties

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/23/former-trump-campaign-manager-paul-manafort-was-blackmailed-over-russia-ties-after-being-hacked-report/

More: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/paul-manafort-blackmail-russia-trump-235275 

If there was anything reassuring about the first weeks of the Trump regime, it was that he nominated some relatively thoughtful, capable people to some Cabinet offices. Now those same people are being marginalized and cut out of the loop

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/23/14712408/secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-trump-israel-russia-nato
A picture is beginning to emerge of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first three weeks as America’s top diplomat. It isn’t pretty. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-travails-being-donald-trumps-secretary-state 

Not on the same page

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-says-deportation-enforcement-is-military-operation
Trump Says His Admin's Deportation Enforcement Is A 'Military Operation'

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kelly-vows-no-mass-deportations
Kelly Promises 'No Mass Deportations' And No Use Of Military In Immigration Operations

[NB: This is becoming pathological: Trump blurts out something ridiculous from his fevered mind, and then his staff have to correct him.]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sean-spicer-trump-was-using-military-as-an-adjective
Spicer: Trump Was Using 'Military' As An 'Adjective' To Describe Deportations

[NB: Yeah, right.]

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/23/nypd-commissioner-to-officers-disregard-trumps-immigrant-deportation-order/
The commissioner of the New York Police Department is resisting President Donald Trump. Police officers in New York City will not comply with any warrants issued by federal immigration officials, Police Commissioner James O’Neill wrote in an internal memo . . . “It is critical that everyone who comes into contact with the NYPD, regardless of their immigration status, be able to identify themselves or seek assistance without hesitation, anxiety or fear,” O’Neill wrote.  O’Neill added that the police department does not conduct civil immigration enforcement.

How demanding that Mexico pay for the wall (they won't) is just another example of Trump's dominance politics -- and why we should oppose it

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/abuser-in-chief

Oh, goody. Trump wants a new nuclear arms race

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/trump-stops-start-because-hes-idiot.html

Trump won because of strong white working class support. They're about to be disappointed

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/23/trump-will-likely-sell-out-his-working-class-white-base-heres-how/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.39da97a033bb

More false Trump claims about money and jobs saved

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/23/1636932/-Donald-Trump-s-mystery-billion-confuses-the-Air-Force 

Bannon, Miller, and now this clown

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/23/1636848/-Trump-aide-and-anti-Muslim-extremist-Sebastian-Gorka-goes-into-meltdown-over-Twitter-posts
Trump aide and anti-Muslim extremist Sebastian Gorka goes into meltdown over Twitter posts

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/sebastian-gorka-disagrees-with-official-terrorism-statistics.html
Sebastian Gorka Disagrees With His Own Government’s Terrorism Statistics

More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/23/alt-right-now-bannon-storms-cpac.html
Alt-Right Now: Steve Bannon Storms CPAC

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-wh-strategist-vows-a-daily-fight-for-deconstruction-of-the-administrative-state/2017/02/23/03f6b8da-f9ea-11e6-bf01-d47f8cf9b643_story.html?utm_term=.52e8bcd0b570
Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’

The Trumpians just can't give Obama credit for ANYTHING

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/mnuchin-obama-ruined-economy-economy-doing-great

Coming soon: a crackdown on marijuana use?

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/23/14717638/sean-spicer-trump-marijuana-legalization

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/jeff-sessions-rescinds-obama-order
Jeff Sessions Rescinds Obama Order Restricting Use Of Private Prisons

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/23/14718580/trump-justice-department-private-prisons
Last year’s memo by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates came after the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found serious problems and more frequent reports of violence at privately run, for-profit facilities compared with federal public prisons. . . .

I should have known better than to say anything decent about Betsy DeVos

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/02/23/betsy-devos-cpac-transgender-bathroom-bill.cnn

John Boehner lets out a dirty little secret

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/boehner-repeal-and-replace-not-going-to-happen
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner said Thursday that the idea that Congress would completely repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was “happy talk” and “not going to happen.” . . . "Republicans never ever agree on health care," he said. . . .

The House is bending over backwards NOT to investigate Trump

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/this-obscure-news-story-shows-how-trump-gets-away-with-it.html

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/23/house-republicans-are-putting-the-kibash-on-attempts-to-force-disclosure-on-russian-ties-conflicts-of-interest/

Not so secret

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/23/republican-lawmakers-go-negative-more-often-than-democrats-according-to-a-first-of-its-kind-analysis/?utm_term=.952ca90b90a5
Republican lawmakers ‘go negative’ more often than Democrats, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/pew-republicans-disagree-and-they-disagree-indignantly

How the press covered GOP obstruction against Obama, vs the Dems and Trump now

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/democrats-war-lets-compare-and-contrast-2009-and-2017

The Republicans, because they're Republicans, find a creative solution to dealing with protests. . . . make them illegal

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/23/1636892/-Arizona-Republicans-have-a-plan-to-make-protest-illegal
A bill attempting to criminalize protest has passed the Arizona Senate—supported entirely by Republicans, of course—and is headed to the state House. The bill claims to be aimed at “rioting,” but rioting is already illegal. This bill says that anyone who plans or attends a protest at which something the government chooses to define as rioting happens can be prosecuted . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/23/arizona-republicans-want-to-empower-the-police-to-arrest-peaceful-protestors/ 

Is there another Supreme Court vacancy coming?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-expects-another-supreme-court-vacancy

She's b-a-a-a-c-k!

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conway-classic-feminism-anti-male-pro-abortion
Conway: 'Classic' Feminism Seems 'Anti-Male' And 'Pro-Abortion'

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kellyanne-conway-to-protesters-come-up-with-your-own-solutions
Conway To Town Hall Protesters: 'Come Up With Your Own Solutions'

More: http://www.vox.com/identities/2017/2/23/14714236/kellyanne-conway-cpac-women-in-power-feminism
 
When satire can't keep up with reality

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/sean-spicer-does-melissa-mccarthy-doing-sean-spicer.html
Sean Spicer Does Melissa McCarthy Doing Sean Spicer 

Trump and the far right have a clear-cut favorite for DNC chair. Why should they care?

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/23/right-wing-favor-keith-ellison-in-the-dnc-race/

I like this kind of thinking

http://prospect.org/article/how-democrats-can-hijack-tax-reform-debate
How the Democrats Can Hijack the Tax Reform Debate

Bonus item: Scenes from the Resistance

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/open-thread-e-pluribus-unum

***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.***

EVERY DAY

What a record

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/trump-has-lied-every-day-his-presidency
Trump Has Lied Every Day Of His Presidency

According to a colleague, fewer than half the GOP senators think Trump will finish his term

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/watch-sen-sheldon-whitehouse-tells-salon-fewer-than-half-of-gop-senators-think-trump-makes-it-through-his-presidency/ 

Trump's big infrastructure promise may come to nothing. How many other promises can he break?

http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-infrastructure-idUSL1N1G61ER

What about tax reform?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/22/republicans-dream-of-tax-reform-is-in-big-trouble/?utm_term=.1a12cd3ea176
Republicans’ dream of tax reform is in big trouble

What about Obamacare?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/22/republicans-suddenly-realize-burning-down-health-system-might-not-be-a-great-idea/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.6f6b55895626
Republicans suddenly realize burning down the health-care system might not be a great idea

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/trump-were-writing-health-plan-tom-price-no-were-not.html
Trump: We’re Submitting a Health-Care Plan! Tom Price: No, We’re Not!

More: 

What about that wall?

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/donald-trump-is-struggling-to-keep-his-border-wall-promise/
Donald Trump is struggling to keep his border wall promise
 
What about that task force on voter fraud?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sean-spicer-trump-has-named-task-force-voter-fraud

Mike Pence was sent to Europe to reassure NATO and the EU that Trump really didn't mean his comments attacking them. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon is telling them "yes we did"

http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2017/02/22/pence-bannon-deliver-mixed-messages-about-eu-unity-labott-lead.cnn

Once again, Pence gets sent out to say things that Trump won't or can't say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/pence-visits-vandalized-jewish-cemetery-there-is-no-place-in-america-for-hatred/2017/02/22/ce0312dc-f944-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_video.html
Pence visits vandalized Jewish cemetery: ‘There is no place in America for hatred’
 
More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/22/what-the-jewish-cemetery-attack-and-trump-s-movement-have-in-common.html

Two Cabinet heads get sent to Mexico to undo damage caused by Trump -- it's becoming a pattern

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/22/1636655/-Just-when-you-thought-Trump-couldn-t-possibly-poison-relations-with-Mexico-any-more-he-does

I am very happy to see Steve Miller out in front as a spokesman for Trump policies. He can't resist giving away the secret: the Muslim ban is a Muslim ban, and all the legal kabuki is just a way of rewriting the policies to achieve that goal without explicitly saying so

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stephen-miller-new-executive-order-immigration
Trump Aide: New Immigration Order Will Produce 'Same Basic Policy Outcome'

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-immigration-order-delayed
Revised Trump Immigration Order Delayed Until Next Week 

Will Gen. McMaster undo some of the stupid changes to National Security rushed through by the Trump gang (some without Trump's knowledge)?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/hr-mcmaster-trump-foreign-policy.html?_r=0

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/nsc-military-intel-demotion-may-have-been-an-accident.html  

Trump rolls back transgender rights in schools. This leads to an interesting fight between two of his Cabinet members

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/transgender-high-school-students-lose-their-bathroom-privileges

Credit to Betsy DeVos, who fought the decision: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-issues-statement-new-title-ix-guidance

More Cabinet fights: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/trumps-understaffed-cabinet-is-being-micromanaged-by-the-white-house-leading-to-friction/

Looks like the Fed will raise interest rates. I expect Trump won't like it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/02/22/fed-officials-discussed-raising-interest-rates-soon-at-january-meeting/?utm_term=.146ffef98ed9 

Trump's fragile ego

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14658062/donald-trump-illiberalism-losing
Donald Trump is dangerous when he’s losing

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/trump-narcissistic-man-baby-whose-staff
Trump Is A Narcissistic Man-Baby Whose Staff Makes Sure He 'Sees Lots Of Praise'

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/staffers-plant-alternative-facts-to-stop-trump-from-tweeting.html
Media criticism makes Trump irrationally angry. . . .

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/heres-primer-how-keep-donald-trump-under-control

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-twitter-staffer-235263

Tip to the Trumpians: if you really care about anti-Semitism, best not to pick a fight with the Anne Frank Center

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/what-universe-are-these-people-living-in-anne-frank-center-blasts-sean-spicer-for-complaints-over-anti-semitism-whitewash/

Remember those emails we couldn't see before the vote for Scott Pruitt to head EPA?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/emails-pruitt-cozy-fossil-fuels
While serving as Oklahoma's attorney general, new Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt was in frequent contact with fossil fuel companies and special interest groups working to undermine federal efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions. . . .

Scenes from the Resistance

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/shame-on-mitch-republican-members-of-congress-are-being-met-by-vocal-and-angry-constituents/
Republican members of Congress are being met by vocal and angry constituents 

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14501376/town-halls-protests
Republican lawmakers are getting an earful from their home districts

A selection of confrontations: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/town-halls-republicans-boos-trump-obamacare

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/minnesota-goper-emmer-town-hall-protestors

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steve-womack-town-hall-investigate-trump-like-benghazi

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dave-brat-town-hall-grill

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/09/1631981/-Republican-congressman-preemptively-cancels-April-town-hall-event-to-avoid-constituents

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/21/1636338/-Constituents-erupt-as-Senator-Joni-Ernst-flees-town-hall-after-only-a-handful-of-questions

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14704812/tom-cotton-town-hall-angry-obamacare-insurance

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/gop-tries-techniques-avoid-town-hall
 
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/22/1636526/-Are-Republicans-town-hall-problems-because-they-can-t-answer-questions-or-just-don-t-want-to
Are Republicans' town hall problems because they can't answer questions, or just don't want to?

Trump tries to discredit the protests against him

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/annoyed-pushback-trump-takes-aim-progressive-activism
“The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!” [read on]

Can the Dems retake the House? Probably not, but. . . 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/22/can-trump-help-democrats-take-back-the-house-heres-a-big-thing-to-watch/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.963bd1747f6a

With the DNC chair fight so polarized, can a third alternative emerge?

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/meet-the-dnc-dark-horse-howard-dean-endorses-indiana-mayor-pete-buttigieg-in-party-chair-contest/

When, oh when, will we see Kellyanne on TV again?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-pushes-back-kellyanne-conway-not-sidelined-from-tv

Trump picked a fight with the media that he can't win

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/22/donald-trump-is-losing-his-war-with-the-media/?utm_term=.e19f1a82e1f2

Bonus item: Trump's Christmas tree ornament - was $149, now $99

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14533864/president-trump-fundraising-2020

Used to be $149: http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/307473-people-are-leaving-tons-of-fake-reviews-on-amazon-for-trumps

Extra bonus item: Seth Meyers on Trump's immigration and travel plans

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/23/seth-meyers-tears-into-trump-s-cruel-unnecessary-immigration-plan.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.***

SOME OF HIS BEST FRIENDS. . .

After a series of false starts, in which Trump has responded to questions about the rise of anti-Semitism with non sequiturs (“I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life”) or bizarre rants about the size of his electoral victory, Trump finally gets it more or less right: “Anti-Semitism is horrible. . . It's going to stop and it has to stop.” But we might take this more seriously if he hadn't been so willing to accept the support of anti-Semitic folks during the campaign

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/anti-semitism-is-horrible-president-trump-makes-first-public-denouncement-against-hate-crimes-against-jews/

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/anne-frank-center-trump-response
“The President’s sudden acknowledgement is a Band-Aid on the cancer of Antisemitism that has infected his own Administration,” a statement posted to the Anne Frank Center’s Facebook page read. “His statement today is a pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting Antisemitism, yet day after day have refused to apologize and correct the record. . . . The Antisemitism coming out of this Administration is the worst we have ever seen from any Administration . . .The White House repeatedly refused to mention Jews in its Holocaust remembrance. . .”

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/sean-spicer-attacks-trumps-actions-never
Sean Spicer Attacks Anne Frank Center: Trump's Actions 'Never Good Enough'

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/trump-falsely-claims-he-always-speaks-out
Trump Falsely Claims He 'Always' Speaks Out Against Anti-Semitism 

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/why-has-trump-been-so-slow-to-confront-anti-semitism-several-answers-suggest-themselves-none-of-them-good/
Why has Trump been so slow to confront anti-Semitism? Several answers suggest themselves, none of them good

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/02/donald_trump_s_disturbing_dalliance_with_anti_semitic_rhetoric.html
Donald Trump’s Jewish Problem

More: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/21/14685608/trump-anti-semitism-condemn

Trump finally finds time to visit the African American History Museum. He keeps saying he is "proud," as if he somehow deserves credit for it

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2017/02/21/Read-Trumps-full-remarks-at-African-American-museum/6741487695504/
[Feb 21, 2017] "I'm deeply proud that we now have a museum that honors the millions of African American men and women who built our national heritage"

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/01/remarks-president-trump-african-american-history-month-listening-session
[Feb 1, 2017] "I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Trump-African-American-Museum-proud/2016/09/24/id/749992/
[Sept 24, 2016] "We're all very proud of it." 

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/you-wont-believe-what-trump-said-african
You Won't Believe What Trump Said At African History Museum

Trump calls for mass deportations

http://www.vox.com/2017/2/21/14659652/memos-deportation-detention-asylum
The Department of Homeland Security is officially putting the sweeping executive orders that President Donald Trump signed his first week in office into practice — giving the federal government nearly free rein to arrest, detain, and deport unauthorized immigrants wherever it finds them. . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/21/1636225/-New-Homeland-Security-rules-outline-plan-for-Trump-s-deportation-force 

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/mass-deportation-is-coming-trumps-dhs-lays-out-game-plan-to-expel-large-numbers-of-immigrants/

Trump promises 4 per cent growth. That's not possible

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/22/you-just-cant-do-it-mathematically-experts-dont-share-president-trumps-rosy-predictions-for-economic-growth/
 
Trump's rules are already hurting the economy

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/trumps-immigration-policies-have-already-taken-a-toll-on-the-u-s-economy.html

Governing is HARD

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/21/1636180/-Donald-Trump-is-too-busy-showboating-to-do-the-hard-work-of-creating-jobs-and-rebuilding-America
Donald Trump is too busy showboating to do the hard work of creating jobs and rebuilding America 

More: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/21/14672984/trump-transition-slow
549 key positions in the administration need Senate confirmation. So far, Trump has filled 14.

What could go wrong?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/president-trump-signs-resolution-to-permit-mining-waste-dumping-in-waterways/2017/02/21/cde426aa-f84b-11e6-aa1e-5f735ee31334_video.html
Trump signs resolution to permit dumping mining waste into waterways

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/isn-t-just-trump-who-republicans-are

NSC staffer quits, trashes Trump

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/national-security-council-spokesman-quits-cia-writes-scathing-editorial-in-washington-post/
“The public outcry led the administration to reverse course and name the CIA director an NSC principal, but the White House’s inclination was clear,” Price wrote. “It has little need for intelligence professionals who, in speaking truth to power, might challenge the so-called ‘America First’ orthodoxy that sees Russia as an ally and Australia as a punching bag. That’s why the president’s trusted White House advisers, not career professionals, reportedly have final say over what intelligence reaches his desk.”

John McCain is a funny creature -- sometimes sounding like the principled maverick, other times the sell-out. He has emerged as Trump's biggest critic on the Republican side. But what will he DO?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/politics/john-mccain-donald-trump-critic.html
McCain has emerged as an outspoken defender of longstanding Republican verities on foreign policy and as one of his party’s most biting critics of the new commander in chief. . . .

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/john-mccain-takes-on-donald-trump.html
“The severity of this issue, the gravity of it, is so consequential because if you succeed in corrupting an election, then you’ve destroyed the foundation of democracy,” he told me later. “So I view it with the utmost seriousness. I view it more seriously than a physical attack. I view it more seriously than Orlando, or San Bernardino. As tragic as that was, the far-reaching consequences of an election hack are certainly far in excess of a single terrorist attack.”

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/20/1635900/-Hey-McCain-How-about-putting-your-votes-where-your-maverick-mouth-is
Hey, McCain! How about putting your votes where your 'maverick' mouth is?

As with most scandals, a key part of the Trump-Russia mess is to "follow the money"

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/deeper-and-darker-trumps-unknown-financial-connections-to-russia-may-hold-the-key-to-the-widening-scandal/

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/it-all-comes-down-to-trumps-foreign.html
It all comes down to Trump's foreign financial ties

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-2017-2
Trump's lawyer has told 4 different stories about the Russia-Ukraine 'peace plan' debacle

A thought experiment

http://prospect.org/article/impeachment-hillary-clinton
House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte announced today that the impeachment proceeding against President Hillary Clinton would proceed directly to a vote of the full House.  “We know everything we need to know,” said Goodlatte. “This woman belongs in prison, or worse, for the high crime of treason.”  House Speaker Paul Ryan added, “We knew Hillary Clinton was incompetent and we knew she was corrupt. But trading favors with Vladimir Putin to throw the election, and to enrich the Clinton business interests, is a new low, even for the Clintons.” . . . Several senior aides in the campaign were in regular contact with Russian intelligence. They signaled the Russian leadership that a Clinton administration would give the Russians a freer hand to pursue expansionary objectives. In return, the Russians hacked into the Trump campaign’s confidential internal communications. All this while the Clintons had extensive business interests in Russia. . . .[read on]

The "Southern White House" scam

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/21/14683940/trump-travel-cost-mar-a-lago
President Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago have cost taxpayers an estimated $10 million

[NB: And counting. .  .]

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/trump-wont-stop-visiting-mar-a-lago-and-his-neighbors-are-getting-annoyed/
Trump won’t stop visiting Mar-a-Lago — and his neighbors are getting annoyed 

Scenes from the Resistance

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/politics/town-hall-protests-obamacare.html
Republicans Return to Town Halls, and Protesters Follow

More: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/michael-moore-launches-website-devoted-to-stopping-president-trump/
[Michael Moore] “I’ve promised you a one-stop site, a clearinghouse of all actions — a RESISTANCE CALENDAR — where you can find every upcoming action, protest, march, sit-in, town hall, anti-Trump, pro-democracy event in all 50 states!” Moore proclaimed in a Facebook post on Monday. The website allows users to post their own anti-Trump events and locate other anti-Trump activities in their region. 

Alex Jones' Infowars and Fox News collaborate to put some really crazy anti-Obama conspiracy crap into circulation

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/get-ready-for-some-next-level-stupid.html

Spicy!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/21/sean-spicer-defends-trump-by-ignoring-what-the-president-actually-said/?utm_term=.6c215017481f
Sean Spicer defends Trump by ignoring what the president actually said

Bonus item: Seth Meyers on Trump's neediness

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/20/seth-meyers-trump-is-a-sad-buffoon-who-has-no-friends.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.***

CLEAN-UP JOB

This seems to be the new pattern in U.S. foreign policy: Trump tweets out some belligerent and ill-informed opinion on Twitter, then sends out his proxies to undo the damage and say that he really didn't mean it. This bad cop/good cop routine is going to wear thin

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/cleaning-up-after-trump-mattis-says-u-s-wont-steal-iraqi-oil.html
Cleaning Up After Trump, Mattis Says U.S. Won’t Steal Iraqi Oil

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pence-tries-to-reassure-europeans-on-nato-eu
Pence Tries To Reassure Europeans On US Support For NATO, EU

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pence-says-trump-white-house-supports-independent-press
Pence Tries To Clean Up After Trump, Says WH Supports 'Independent Press'

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/vp-mike-pence
Pence Goes To Brussels To Clean Up After Trump

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/administration-adopts-never-mind-what-trump-said-foreign-policy

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/cleaning-after-trump
Cleaning Up After Trump
 
Trump: still taking credit for things he didn't do . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/quote-day-donald-trump-saves-coal-mines

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/20/1635946/-Team-Trump-marks-a-month-of-policy-goofs-and-Florida-golf-games-with-a-celebratory-press-release

. . . and not talking about the things he promised but hasn't done

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/remember-when-trump-said-he-would-have
Remember When Trump Said He Would Have A 'Plan To Defeat ISIS Within 30 Days'? Time's Up, No Plan.

Corey Lewandowski, dependable Trump lapdog, is already rehearsing the excuse: maybe some overzealous staffers played footsie with the Russians, but Trump didn't know about it and never asked them to do it

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/20/politics/corey-lewandowski-axe-files/index.html

More: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2017/02/19/priebus-says-known-trump-related-contacts-with-russian-agents/n6bpk9bIBUEbWPAF3jFc2H/story.html

More on the very shady crew who brought Trump a proposal for lifting Russia sanctions

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/trump-pals-have-plan-lifting-sanctions-russia

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/02/20/trumps-soho-project-the-mob-and-russian-intelligence/

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-russia-scandal-takes-unexpected-turn

Russia prepares a psychological profile on Trump -- and leaks it

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/report-putins-psych-profile-of-trump-calls-him-nave.html
President Donald Trump likes risks, but can be naïve, according to a psychological profile being assembled for Russian president Vladimir Putin as he prepares for his first meeting with Trump. NBC News spoke with former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov, who provided details of the dossier, and suggested that Trump “doesn’t understand fully who is Mr. Putin.”

More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/nbc-news-putin-still-trying-figure-out-trumps-brain 

Trump's planned crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Remember when he only wanted to get rid of the criminals? Well, now they're all criminals

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/draft-homeland-security-guidelines-immigrants-living-in-us-illegally

http://www.salon.com/2017/02/21/trumps-plan-gets-worse-deport-to-mexico-immigrants-crossing-border-illegally-regardless-of-nationality_partner/

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/20/how-bad-are-trumps-mass-deportations-going-to-get-heres-a-big-thing-to-watch-for/?utm_source=rss_plum-line&utm_term=.7408f885807d
How bad will Trump’s mass deportations get?

Trump chooses Flynn's replacement -- another general

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/trump-picks-h-r-mcmaster-army-futurist-as-nsa.html

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/02/20/1635958/-General-H-R-McMaster-selected-to-replace-Michael-Flynn-as-National-Security-Advisor

http://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/20/14673862/hr-mcmaster-trump-national-security-adviser-pick-who

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/02/new_national_security_adviser_h_r_mcmaster_is_the_army_s_smartest_officer.html
In choosing Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser, President Trump has made his most imaginative decision to date. Now we will see whether he and his inner circle let McMaster do the job. McMaster is widely viewed as the Army’s smartest officer. . . .

Two really dangerous slogans from Trump defenders are that he should be taken "seriously, but not literally," and that we should "watch what he does, not what he says." These are silly excuses for minimizing the fact that Trump constantly says things that are just not true. THAT MATTERS, both for the impact these lies have, and for what they say about his sloppy, careless concern with the facts. A major problem for his spokespeople, as one weekend wag put it, is that they can never say, "The president misspoke," or "We would like to correct the error." Watch Trump: when challenged (as with the press conference comment that he had the biggest electoral victory since Reagan, or the nonexistent Swedish terrorist problem), he always, always doubles down. It is never his mistake. 

They even lie about the little things

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/white-house-forced-reverse-course-trumps-golfing
After initially saying Trump had only played a few holes, the White House reversed itself Monday after professional golfer Rory McIlroy posted on his website that he had played 18 holes with the president.  “As stated yesterday the President played golf. He intended to play a few holes and decided to play longer,” White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said Monday. [read on]

Yes, he said it

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/320168-trump-the-media-is-the-enemy-of-the-american-people
President Trump blasted the media as "the enemy of the American people" in a tweet Friday . . .

More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_people
The Soviet Union made extensive use of the term (Russian language: враг народа, "vrag naroda"), as it fit well with the idea that the people were in control . . . An enemy of the people could be imprisoned, expelled or executed, and lose their property to confiscation. Close relatives of enemies of the people were labeled as "traitor of Motherland family members" and prosecuted. . . . Being a friend of an enemy of the people automatically placed the person under suspicion. 

Scenes from Trump's Florida rally

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a53275/trump-melbourne-florida-rally/

Scenes from the Resistance

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/20/presidents-day-mass-crowds-say-donald-trump-not-my-president
"Not My President" Day

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/not-my-presidents-day-protests_us_58ab1f9ce4b07602ad56cece

Steve Bannon's Breitbart team

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/21/the-big-end-of-days-ideas-of-the-breitbart-intellectuals-thinking-for-trump.html

Where is Kellyanne?

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/where-world-kellyanne-conway

In other news . . .

Chris Christie snags a WH job?

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/watch-out-kellyanne-chris-christie-tells

Republicans love Trump, but he is losing independents

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/02/20/republicans-love-trump-independents-not-so-much/

Bonus item: John Oliver connects the Trump-Russia dots

http://crooksandliars.com/2017/02/must-see-john-oliver-connects-dots-putin

***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.***