Trumpled (Alternative Leading)

[Mav]

Trump's Russia problem won't go away.

General Flynn, his former National Security Advisor, has asked for immunity if he is to testify to Congress or talk to the FBI.  Wow!  Trump has racked up another first.  I don't think someone who had held a senior post as the head of the National Security Council has done that before, and we're only 70 days into Trump's term.  Unfortunately for Trump, Flynn is apparently bitter over being dumped and the criticisms made of him by White House staff.  Flynn may not mind dragging a few of them into the mud. He certainly would know where the bodies are buried - the question is whether he would testify candidly.

How ironic.  This is the same guy who said that Hillary's staffers who sought immunity in the email probe must have committed a crime as innocent people don't seek immunity.  The karma bus has hit him well and truly and is backing up over him for good measure.  This is the same guy who led chants of "Lock her up!" at the Republican Convention.

Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee is becoming a circus.  The Chairman, Devin Nunes, seems to have decided to use his position to kill its investigation.  At the last minute, he cancelled public hearings at which Sally Yates and the former CIA director were to testify.  The previous public hearing involved FBI Director Comey and this ended up badly for Trump.  The Republicans had tried to highlight leaking but instead the Dems extracted the stunning information that the FBI has been investigating Trump's team since last July.

Nunes has also allowed himself to be a stooge for the White House.  He marched down to see Trump in the Oval Office and then called a press conference and dropped a bombshell that he'd seen proof that Trump's team had been caught up in surveillance of foreigners.  He did this without taking that info to his own committee.  This appeared to be an attempt to justify Trump's tweet about Trump Tower phones being tapped.  But now Nunes is taking heavy fire.  It has now come out that Nunes actually went to the White House where he was shown documents by White House officials before then returning to the White House to tell Trump about this info he'd 'discovered'. What a sham! Nunes was on Trump's campaign team, surprise, surprise.

[LP]

Mav, the whole Whitehouse is looking like a Marx Brothers or Three Stooges movie!

[img width=450]http://i.imgur.com/Mgi0AwC.gif[/img]

[img width=450]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55811072e4b07ca0ea585c6d/t/589a1f128419c23981b02bfa/1486495518884/The+Marx+Brothers?format=1000w[/img]

[DJC]

)

I reckon Curly would have made a decent POTUS, particularly with Mo as Secretary of State and Larry as press secretary 

They could be worse than the clowns in the roles now. 

[Mav]

Wonder what all the Trump fanboys think now that the inevitable international crises are looming.  Whether he's good or bad for the US domestically is largely irrelevant for us. But international crises aren't. 

Are we happy that Trump's in charge now that Syria and North Korea look as if military interventions may be possible?

At least General McMaster has now consolidated his control of the situation room and Bannon has been punted.  McMaster seems to be impressive.  But Trump's sloth in filling important positions makes you wonder whether the US is well-placed to deal with the inevitable crises that inevitably confront new Presidents. 

[Lods]

As long as the Generals know what they're doing

If Donald looks like he's going to interfere give him something else to do that makes him happy.

[Mav]

Sad for Trump that he won't be able to persuade the Chinese Premier to play a round of golf with him at Maralago in the official visit that's happening now.  Le Kiqiang has banned party and government officials playing golf as an anti-corruption measure  :o

There's now been a missile strike on a Syrian airbase and Secretary Tillerson has condemned the Russians for failing to prevent further chemical weapons use by Assad.  How will Putin react?  If there really was any coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, maybe Wikileaks will release documentary evidence of it now.

The problem now is whether the Syrian situation will escalate and whether Trump is smart enough to prevent it doing so.   

[Thryleon]

Sad for Trump that he won't be able to persuade the Chinese Premier to play a round of golf with him at Maralago in the official visit that's happening now.  Le Kiqiang has banned party and government officials playing golf as an anti-corruption measure  :o

There's now been a missile strike on a Syrian airbase and Secretary Tillerson has condemned the Russians for failing to prevent further chemical weapons use by Assad.  How will Putin react?  If there really was any coordination between the Russians and the Trump campaign, maybe Wikileaks will release documentary evidence of it now.

The problem now is whether the Syrian situation will escalate and whether Trump is smart enough to prevent it doing so. 

Here lies the problem.

US backed rebels are reportedly the ones who dropped the chem weapons.

Not Assad.

This is a propaganda war as much as anything as no one really knows.

[Mav]

What reports? Only the Russian-backed Assad regime has air power in Syria.  How then could the rebels have "dropped" chemical weapons? 

Assad's regime claimed instead that they targetted chemical weapons stores or factories in rebel territory and that attack incidentally released chemicals.  That's pretty lame. 

PS: I'm asking about reports rather than conspiracy theories based on the assumption that Assad wouldn't be stupid enough to do this, so it must have been a false flag operation.

[madbluboy]

So much for Trump being in bed with Putin.

[Thryleon]

What reports? Only the Russian-backed Assad regime has air power in Syria.  How then could the rebels have "dropped" chemical weapons? 

Assad's regime claimed instead that they targetted chemical weapons stores or factories in rebel territory and that attack incidentally released chemicals.  That's pretty lame. 

PS: I'm asking about reports rather than conspiracy theories based on the assumption that Assad wouldn't be stupid enough to do this, so it must have been a false flag operation.

Better question, how do we know they were dropped by Syrians?

Very quick reaction by the US.

Either way, I think its deplorable.