politicalowl

I could not agree more with this verdict on Trump in today's Times : "Donald Trump is a slob, a cheat, a lawbreaker, a bully, a careless liar, a cheap jingoist and a very dangerous politician indeed. He appeals to the dark side, the chaos in human nature. His presidency may prove a disaster for the United States and a threat to the free world."

Al Jolson Sings whilst Larry Parks lip synchs to April Showers from The Jolson Story

The people who put up their money on such things don't appear too worried about the latest round of Donald Trump horror stories. Betfair, the world's biggest market on political events, reckons Trump is less likely to be gone before the end of his first term than he was six months ago. These are the latest percentage chances according to Betfair: Trump to leave before end of first term Yes 34% No 66% Trump Exit Date 2018 10% 2019 16% 2020 or later 74%

Los Angeles Times - Trump’s Mueller meltdown Americans have become accustomed, if not resigned, to the spectacle of the president of the United States attacking his own attorney general and denouncing the investigation into possible collusion by his campaign with Russia as a “witch hunt.” But this week, after the FBI executed a search warrant on the office and hotel room of Michael Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, Donald Trump became even more unhinged, to the point of publicly speculating about firing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. ... It isn’t enough for Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to offer anodyne statements of support for Mueller’s right to “do his job.” They need to strenuously condemn Trump’s attacks on the special counsel’s investigation, vigorously support legislation to allow special counsels to appeal their dismissals in court and, last and most important, make it clear that firing Mueller will lead immediately...

The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2018 The spooks are a hard team to beat. They are specialists in the black arts. Which makes that tweet from US President Donald Trump this evening our time something to behold. It was provocative enough to authorise the publication of a Congressional committee report the FBI said should be kept secret. Tweeting that your nation's law-and-order chiefs are disloyal is a straight out declaration of war. I will be surprised if this commentary in The New York Times " In Trump vs. the F.B.I., Trump Will Lose " does not turn out to be true. Tim Weiner, a former national security correspondent for The New York Times who is the author of “ Enem...

Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump - Brookings Institution The public record contains substantial evidence that President Trump attempted to impede the investigations of Michael Flynn and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including by firing FBI Director James Comey. ...  The fact that the president has lawful authority to take a particular course of action does not immunize him if he takes that action with the unlawful intent of obstructing a proceeding for an improper purpose.  ... While the matter is not free from doubt, it is our view that neither the Constitution nor any other federal law grants the president immunity from prosecution.  How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics  - New York Times Wicked gambling firms exploit the weakest  - The Times, London Yes, People Still Throw Animals Into Volcanoes To Please The Gods  - Forbes Has Tony Abbott jumped the...

At the weekend Kellyanne Conway, one of the US President's attack dogs, went on television to argue that lies told by her boss Donald Trump are ok because ‘he doesn’t think he’s lying’.   Think Progress described the amazing interlude: On Sunday morning’s broadcast of CNN’s Reliable Sources, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway continued to wage war on the media—and CNN specifically—by arguing the network shouldn’t be so critical toward the president because Donald Trump simply doesn’t know any better. Conway took umbrage with the media’s insistence on covering such “non-stories” as the president of the United States continually lying to the American public. After host Brian Stelter argued that his network was committed to covering the many scandals emanating from the White House, an incredulous Conway pushed back, demanding to know what “scandals” Stelter was referring to. “The scandals are about the president’s lies,” replied Stelter. “About voter fraud; about wire-tappin...

Family comes first. That's one thing we now know about president elect Donald Trump. This report by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow s a bottler as she tells of the Trump son in laws' revenge. Watch it here .

We May Have Unlocked the Mystery of Trump's Orange Skin | Mother Jones : Why is Donald Trump so orange? This has been one of the mysteries of the 2016 presidential campaign. The internet is full of speculation, but the consensus is that Trump is an aficionado of bad spray tans or the tanning booth. (The white goggle lines are a dead giveaway.) He hasn't always been this shade. Fifteen years ago, Trump's pallor was almost normal. But something changed about 10 years ago and the internet hasn't fully explained why. There might be a strong clue: Trump's longtime friendship with the former CEO of a tanning company. 'via Blog this'

Is Donald Trump causing a Republican civil war?   - Donald Trump's persistent lead in opinion polls is creating a growing divide within the ranks of the Republican Party that threatens to turn into civil war. In just the past few days conservatives seem to be splitting into two camps - those who view Mr Trump as an existential threat to their ideological movement and others who seek to shape his views and harness the wave of support he has generated into greater political power. Top Republicans say Donald Trump’s real problem is that he’s too moderate  - It's like something out of a Marvel movie. Rich Lowry, the editor of the conservative National Review, assembles a squadron of writers from all over the world of conservatism -- religious figures, radio personalities, President Reagan's former aides. True, they might have had their differences in the past, but this time, they have all come together in one final effort to stop a powerful villain from destroying li...

A good read this morning from Bradford DeLong - one of my favourite bloggers NAIL 'EM UP!!!! : "Methinks it is time to go reread Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men again..." Just a sample from quite a long piece that's worth spending time on. First an extract from Molly Ball: How Sarah Palin Created Donald Trump : To find a home in the then-nascent organs of the GOP fever swamps, which, as McKay Coppins has noted, Trump savvily courted for years before launching the current campaign.... Palin’s people are Trump’s people. Now, as Trump and Cruz battle for the nomination, the right is split between its policy commitments and its attitudinal id. Palin has made her choice—and now she may finally get her chance to be Vice President... Then DeLong descibes a dinner with a very old, very good friend—one not born and raised in the United States, and not a political junkie . He asked me what he should think of American politics in view of the rise and d...

What's a campaign rally without a bit of song and dance? The Donald did it recently with three young girls —dubbed the "Freedom Kids"— singing lyrics straight out of his recent speeches.

Radio and television interviewers just can't help themselves. The temptation to try a basically meaningless question to catch a politician out is just too great. How much does a litre of milk cost? What would the GST be on that cake? What's the name of the leaders of Islamic State, Hezbollah, al Qaeda and its Nusra Front wing in Syria? That last one was what US right wing talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt wanted Donald Trump to tell him this week. And the Donald made a pretty good fist of replying when he didn't have a clue about the answers. As Reuters reported the exchange: "Do you know the players without a scorecard, yet, Donald Trump?" asked Hewitt, who will co-moderate the next official Republican presidential debate on Sept. 16 in California. "No, you know, I’ll tell you honestly, I think by the time we get to office, they’ll all be changed. They’ll be all gone," Trump replied. "You know, those are like history questions. 'Do you know this...