Worm-like Panamanian amphibian that burrows its head in the sand named after Donald Trump

The name was chosen in honour of the president's denial of global warming 
Chelsea Ritschel New York
A newly discovered blind amphibian has been named after President Trump in recognition of the president’s denial of climate change.

The worm-like creature's name, Dermophis donaldtrumpi, was chosen by sustainable building materials company EnviroBuild, which paid $25,000 to name the legless amphibian as part of a fundraiser for the Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

In a blog post, the group’s co-founder Aidan Bell explained the reasoning behind the name, by likening characteristics of the president and the squiggly caecilian that is native to Panama.

Bell compared the amphibian’s habit of burrowing its head in the sand to the president’s behaviour in regards to climate change.

“The amphibians live almost entirely underground, believed to have lost their limbs at least 60 million years ago, as an adaptation to burrowing. Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry,” the post reads.

According to Bell, the name is fitting because, as an amphibian, Dermophis donaldtrumpi is “particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesakes climate policies.”

In the blog, the organisation also insists that the name is not because it is an “overtly political organisation,” but rather because “we do feel very strongly that everyone should do everything they can to leave the world in a better way than they found it.”  

Donald Trump has been outspoken regarding his climate change denial - in November, he dismissed a study compiled by 13 federal agencies and more than 300 scientists on the subject because, as CNN reports, he told reporters: “I don’t believe it.”

BREAKING: New species of legless amphibian named after Donald Trump

The slimy little worm has limited vision and a skull adapted for burying its head in the ground at a moment’s notice.
Named in honour of Mr Trump’s short-sighted and sluggish approach to environmental issues, it’s hoped Dermophis donaldtrumpi will ensure Mr Trump’s presidency is rightfully remembered long after he leaves office.

Although the name of the blind worm will still have to undergo peer review before it is officially approved, this is not the first time an animal has been named after President Trump.

Mr Humble  sitting  in  for  Witchy :
Not  to worry folks  , Witchy will be  back soon  . The  doctor  granted  her  a  very  short vacation  stay  in  the  hosiptal  about  4 or  5  days  at the most .
Witchy  gonna  love  this (smiling).

Witchy  says  if  she  has  to stay  the  weekend  this  is what  she  will do  to me .
I do so love  you  'Baby.'     Big Boy 

How did DDT ( Dreaded Donald Trump) do in the first two years????

 

Thanx to the BBC
The first two years of the Trump White House have been eventful, to say the least. But let's ignore the drama and instead focus on the numbers.
We're tracking the president's progress on his agenda and how it is received by the American public and the wider world.
And there are interesting - and surprising - comparisons with some of his predecessors.
How are his approval ratings?

Donald Trump began his term as one of the most unpopular presidents in the modern era and he remains so.

His approval rating is just 37%, according to Gallup. Presidents Barack Obama (50%), George W Bush (58%) and Bill Clinton (54%) were all higher at this point.

                      

The only president in recent decades to have anything like Mr Trump's low rating at this stage was, perhaps surprisingly, Ronald Reagan, who was also languishing at 37% in 1983. His numbers slowly improved after that and he went on to win a second term as president.
 One upside for Mr Trump is that he still has the backing of Republican voters - 88% of them approve of his presidency. If that number stays high, it's unlikely he'll face a serious challenge to be the Republican candidate in 2020.

                      H

How has he run the White House?

President Trump's administration has repeatedly been branded as chaotic and dysfunctional by his critics. There is a long list of senior officials who have either quit, been fired or forced out of the White House - but has the turnover been worse than previous administrations?

                   

 

Well, yes, it has. Research by the Brookings Institution found that 65% of his senior-ranking advisers left their job in the within the two-year mark. That's considerably more than most of his recent predecessors.
Usually, a president's top team sticks together for the first year and then changes a little in the second - but for Mr Trump, the departures have been fairly regular since day one.

Has he kept his campaign promises?

The lack of stability in the White House has shown when it comes to measuring Mr Trump's success with policy. He has had trouble delivering in areas where he's needed to navigate the corridors of Congress, despite controlling both chambers until Democrats regained the House at the start of January.
On healthcare, for example, he failed on his promise to kill off President Obama's Affordable Care Act, which helped more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans get health coverage but suffered from rising premiums.
His main legislative success was passing a major tax reform bill, which saw corporation tax was reduced from 35% to 21%. However, individual cuts for families failed to help Republicans in the mid-term elections.
His other big success was getting two new Supreme Court judges confirmed, including Brett Kavanaugh, who faced allegations of sexual assault during his confirmation process.

 

 

Elsewhere, the president has used executive orders to meet symbolic policy goals like moving of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement. He has also moved to draw down troop levels overseas, including in Afghanistan and Syria.
But overall, independent fact-checking website Politifact says that President Trump has delivered on relatively few of his campaign promises, while almost half have been blocked or dropped.

Has he delivered on immigration reforms?

 

Building a border wall paid for by Mexico was President Trump's signature issue during the election campaign but it still appears unlikely to happen.
Congress has approved $1.7bn in funding for 124 miles of new and replacement barrier since Mr Trump entered the White House, but estimates for building the president's desired wall range from from $12bn to $70bn.
In December, after criticism over the lack of progress on the wall from some conservative commentators, President Trump triggered an unprecedented 35-day partial shutdown of the US government.

 

He had hoped to pressure Democrats into making a deal, but he was eventually forced into reopening the government without an agreement.

The US economy lost $11bn during the five-week period but about $8bn would be recouped as employees receive back pay, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
Throughout the shutdown, Mr Trump argued that the wall was needed to stem a "growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border", involving "thousands of illegal immigrants".
However, figures show that illegal border crossings have seen an overall decline since 2000.

 

 

How has the economy fared under Trump?

President Trump continues to press Congress to change US immigration laws, including ending the visa lottery system and "chain migration" that gives priority to relatives of existing legal US residents.

During the campaign, Mr Trump vowed to create 25 million jobs over 10 years and become "the greatest jobs president... ever".
He used to claim the actual unemployment rate was more than 40%. Now he's America's CEO, he's embracing the same jobless figures he once dismissed as "phony".

Those figures do show, though, that job creation under Mr Trump during his first two years in office fell slightly when compared to President Obama
The Supreme Court  also handed him a victory in June last year, when it upheld his ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries entering the US on grounds of national security.

 

However, the basic trajectory of the economy under President Trump remains the same as it was under President Obama - the unemployment rate is historically low and wages are growing at a faster rate in recent months.

But there are some concerns for Mr Trump. Global economic growth is down and his decision to start a trade war with China led to retaliatory tariffs on hundreds billions of dollars of US goods.
The president has been quick to take credit for booming stock markets over the past couple of years, but they have started to wobble in recent weeks.

How are things looking for 2020?

The next presidential election may be more than 18 months away, but the campaign has already kicked off.
Encouraged by a good set of mid-term election results, the Democrats are optimistic on retaking the White House.
Several candidates have already announced that they are standing for the Democratic nomination, with the two biggest hitters being senators - Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. Other potentials, like former Vice President Joe Biden, are still mulling a run.

 

 

 

But whoever the candidate turns out to be, the early signs are that President Trump is in for another tough battle.
A recent poll found that seven possible Democrat rivals are all outperforming the president in hypothetical head-to-heads. While that should be taken with a pinch of salt this far out from election day, it will make Republicans feel a little nervous.

And now for some reality

 

After Trump assaults Meg, Peter has a knock-down, drag-out fight with him.

Trump floats ending shutdown with a 'down payment' on wall, but Pelosi doesn't blink

Yahoo News          DAVID KNOWLES              Jan 24th 2019 
After the Senate failed Thursday to pass either of two bills that would have reopened the federal government, President Trump floated a compromise of sorts on his demand for $5.7 billion to build a barrier on the border with Mexico.

It didn’t win over the person it was intended to appeal to, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“One of the ideas suggested is they open it, they pay a sort of prorated down payment for the wall which, I think, people agree that you need. You need the wall. In fact, I see a lot of the Democrats, almost all of them are breaking saying, ‘Look, walls are good. Walls are good.'”

Trump’s remarks came as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., huddled on Capitol Hill seeking a deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Neither a Republican bill containing money for a wall nor a Democratic one that did not received the 60 votes needed for passage, although the Democratic bill, which attracted support from a handful of Republicans, came closer.

Hours earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that a short-term spending bill to reopen government “would only work if there is a large down payment on the wall.”

Neither Sanders nor the president offered any details about  how much money constituted a “large down payment.” In December, Trump scuttled a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through February because it didn’t have an appropriation for the wall.

When asked by reporters about Trump’s proposal for a large “prorated down payment,” Pelosi responded, “That is not a reasonable agreement.”

Trump also told White House reporters he would support a “reasonable agreement” between McConnell and Schumer, but was mum on specifics.

“If they come to a reasonable agreement, I would support it, yes,” Trump said.

Pelosi, however, made clear that she wasn’t interested in giving the president more money for a wall.

“The president just said that if they come to a reasonable agreement he would support it. I hope that that doesn’t mean some big down payment for the wall,” Pelosi said. Asked by reporters if she knew what Trump meant by a “large prorated down payment,” she said she didn’t. “I don’t know if he knows what he’s talking about,” she said. “Do you?”

The president has often referred to congressional funding for border security as a “down payment” for a border wall, his signature campaign promise. The $5.7 billion he is seeking now would pay for a wall extending only a fraction of the entire 2,000-mile border, or even the 1,000 miles he has said in the past would suffice.

Donald J. Trump   

@realDonaldTrump Much can be done with the $1.6 Billion given to building and fixing the border wall. It is just a down payment. Work will start immediately. The rest of the money will come - and remember DACA, the Democrats abandoned you (but we will not)!

Trump has also gone back and forth on the construction of the wall, variously concrete or steel slats, and how he would fulfill his campaign promise that Mexico would pay for it. The Mexican government has refused even to discuss the idea, and most recently Trump has said the funds would come indirectly from Mexico as a side effect of the new trade agreement he has negotiated to replace NAFTA. He has also claimed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill he signed on March 23 included “an initial downpayment” for his wall, but Pelosi had a different take.

“Democrats won explicit language restricting border construction to the same see-through fencing that was already authorized under current law,” Pelosi said.
Thanx Yahoo

Stay tuned   "As The Stomach Turns"

Wanna Wall  WITCHY :
Wall or no wall.  Trump needs the wall to save face and for his ego, no matter how many people he hurt. he only cares about his base and they are the ones who think a wall would be effective.   Down payment? This isn't a car payment. This is about You Opening Up the Government so that millions of Americans can get payed.   Trump  does not care about 800,000 American federal workers nor millions of Americans border security - he wants his useless wall as a monument to his useless presidency before he gets perp walked from office and locked up!!!  Trump's begging Nancy  Pelosi  for some kind of help to save him from abject humiliation....and she ain't budging...   How did we go from Mexico paying for the Wall to laying off 800,000 Americans until Americans pay for the Wall? Oh yea that makes sense.That's what Republicans do.  Get the middle class to cover the bill, ignoring the wishes of the majority of Americans, who want border security -for all areas of the country- but not a continuous wall. Certainly barriers are needed at strategic points, but Trump's wall is not the answer. We need a comprehensive immigration policy and sensible security, including ports of entry, visa over-stays, etc.      

If you give into Whiney Li'l  Trump , he'll shut down the government every time he wants a new toy.   5 People Shot And Killed Going To The Bank On A Wednesday Morning In Florida...... Just Going To The Bank

And Not A Word From Delusional  Trump  .What to know  why ?    Because they weren't shot by an illegal alien! That is all he cares about, fuel for the fire he likes to spread.    Pelosi is beating up Trump so bad he is almost unrecognizable  This shutdown is all about  Trump's ego.  He was moments away from signing a bill that had the support of both GOP houses when he got called out by his favorite TV show.  He's double-downed himself into a corner.  And before you kids start blaming the "obstructionist Dems", remember  Trump  took ownership of the shutdown weeks ago...it's on him.   Pelosi has offered $5.7 billion for 'BORDER SECURITY' which would cover the 'ENTIRE' border. Trump wants to waste it on a wall that would only cover 200 miles of that 1400 mile border.  His 'Vanity' wall would end up costing US $125 billion and would be useless. Trump has met his match and he doesn't know what to do!   Pelosi has Trump's  shriveled nuts in a vice grip!   People still do not understand that Trump promised the wall to a construction company that gave millions of dollars for his campaign. So simple!

What we have here is a president who refuses to accept anything short of that which is acceptable. Moreover, he also refuses to acknowledge that he no longer has control of congress. Couple that with never having to answer to a woman, especially one who's holding an empty sack where his balls used to be, and you've got a total disgrace trying to save face. He will NEVER win again if he doesn't get this thing resolved. No more babbling, 'Short of the Deal,' do it or die politically.
   Nancy Pelosi  got him where it Hurts and she is not letting go No Wall for you Trump.    She's got her stilettos on his balls. I love it.   


Support   Orange  Monkey's wall  Arnold  ???




NUFF SAID   HeHe                  

Trump's shutdown solution hangs in limbo

  The Associated Press         JILL COLVIN      AND
 LISA MASCARO             Jan 21st 2019
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's proposal to break through the budget deadlock appeared to be gaining little traction Monday, as another missed paycheck loomed for hundreds of thousands of workers and the partial federal shutdown stretched into its fifth week.

Despite the fanfare of the president's announcement, voting in Congress was not expected to unfold until later in the week. Even then it seemed doubtful that legislation based on Trump's plan had any chance of swiftly passing the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority but would need Democrats to reach the usual 60-vote threshold for bills to advance.

Not a single Democrat publicly expressed support for the deal in the 48 hours since Trump announced it. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer's office reiterated Monday they that are unwilling to negotiate any border security funding until Trump re-opens the government.

"Nothing has changed with the latest Republican offer," said Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman. "President Trump and Senate Republicans are still saying: 'Support my plan or the government stays shut.' That isn't a compromise or a negotiation — it's simply more hostage taking."

While the House and Senate are scheduled to be back in session Tuesday, no votes have been scheduled so far on Trump's plan. And senators, who will be given 24-hour notice ahead of voting, have yet to be recalled to Washington.

McConnell spokesman David Popp said Monday that the GOP leader "will move" to voting on consideration of the president's proposal "this week."

Trump, who on Sunday lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of acting "irrationally," continued to single her out on Twitter.

"If Nancy Pelosi thinks that Walls are "immoral," why isn't she requesting that we take down all of the existing Walls between the U.S. and Mexico," he wrote Monday. "Let millions of unchecked "strangers" just flow into the U.S."

House Democrats this week are pushing ahead with voting on their own legislation to re-open the government and add $1 billion for border security —including 75 more immigration judges and infrastructure improvements — but no funding for the wall.

Trump later tweeted: "Democrats are kidding themselves (they don't really believe it!) if they say you can stop Crime, Drugs, Human Trafficking and Caravans without a Wall or Steel Barrier. Stop playing games and give America the Security it deserves. A Humanitarian Crisis!"

Meanwhile, the impact of the shutdown — the longest ever — continued to ripple across the nation as it stretched into its 31st day.

The Transportation Security Administration said the percentage of its airport screeners missing work hit 10 percent on Sunday — up from 3.1 percent on the comparable Sunday a year ago.

The screeners, who have been working without pay, have been citing financial hardship as the reason they can't report to work. Even so, the agency said that it screened 1.78 million passengers Sunday with only 6.9 percent having to wait 15 minutes or longer to get through security.

The shutdown had also threatened to disrupt plans for an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day service at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the civil rights leader was co-pastor with his father from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. The site is run by the National Park Service and had been closed. But a grant from Delta Air Lines is keeping the church and associated sites, including the home where King was born, open through Feb. 3.

Trump on Saturday offered to extend temporary protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones for three years in exchange for $5.7 billion for his border wall. Democrats said the proposal for a three-year extension didn't go nearly far enough, and that Trump was using as leverage programs that he had targeted. Meanwhile, some on the right, including conservative commentator Ann Coulter, accused Trump of offering "amnesty."

"No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer," Trump tweeted Sunday, in response. He noted that he'd offered temporary protections for the immigrants in question, but added: "Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else."

That statement led some to suggest that Trump might be open to including a potential pathway to citizenship for the young "Dreamer" immigrants in a future proposal to end the standoff.

Asked in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" whether Trump's Saturday proposal represented a "final offer," Vice President Mike Pence said the White House was willing to negotiate.

"Well, of course," Pence said. "The legislative process is a negotiation."
Stay tune   " AS the Stomach Turns"
                                          Witchy  sez :
Trump's proposal is not rational.  It is ego driven.  He does not have the well being of Federal workers in mind.  He just does not want to be perceived as a "loser", despite the fact that he is.  He needs to concede and open the government, then work out the border issues.  Sadly, he (like most politicians) can not be trusted.   If he did he wouldn't hire worker visa only at his golf course/country clubs for the uber rich. And he would have paid his employees and contractors at all of those casinos he bankrupted more than .30 cents on the dollar, if he paid them at all!  The reddest states Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Maine have exceptionally high poverty rates, and receive a disproportionately large share of federal dollars
Just so we are clear, the majority of "we the people" do not want "the wall" that your man crush promised us all  that Mexico would pay for, not "we the people!"    it should be rejected.  the government of the United States of America should never be a bargaining chip, for either political or pathological purposes.  open it back up, and keep it open, never to be closed again. and then negotiate for real.  Trump  is a v!le, tra!torous, lowl!fe lout that is destroying our democracy as a few sp!neless GoP Congressmen hide their heads in the sand as his disease !nfects our country.  Then there are the 35% that     k!ss his feet, blindly and without a clue to reality.    What the heck happened to the 13th Amendment? You know, the one that says, no involuntary servitude. Meaning how can people be ordered to work without getting paid?
Furthermore, some of these federal workers, working or not, are beginning to lose health care benefits as a result of no payment of premiums ordinarily taken from their paychecks.
Please Colter, Insanity and Limbo order   Trump  to end HIS mess!  A caring president would never use government employees as pawns. He is clueless to their plight and it is heartbreaking to see government WORKERS standing in line for food.   
This is all just smoke and mirrors to keep our eyes off the real story: Russia. And it is working. Trump just got sanctions lifted off oligarch Deripaska, MUCH to Putin's happiness.
NUFF  SAID                         HeHe

Super Blood Wolf Moon ... Skywatcher's delight

 

 

A lunar eclipse, which some are referring to as a "super blood wolf moon", has delighted skywatchers around the world.

During the spectacular event, the Earth's natural satellite turns a striking shade of red.
The entire eclipse was visible from North and South America, as well as parts of western Europe and north Africa.

What is a total lunar eclipse?

This kind of eclipse occurs when the Earth passes precisely between the Sun and the Moon.

In this situation, the Sun is behind the Earth, and the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow.

 

 

Will the moon appear red?

Yes. Some commentators are referring to the event as a "super blood wolf moon". The "super" part comes from the fact that the Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth - when it will be marginally bigger in the sky than usual. The "wolf" part comes from the name given to full moons in January - "wolf moons".
Walter Freeman, an assistant teaching professor at Syracuse University in New York state, said: "A little bit of sunlight is refracted by the Earth's atmosphere and reaches the Moon, bending around the edges of the Earth. This small amount of red light still illuminates the Moon enough for us to see.

The moon seen beside a quadriga on top of the Cinquantenaire arch in Brussels

 

Where was it visible?

The eclipse began at 02:35 GMT on Monday and ended at 07:49 GMT, but the point of greatest eclipse occurred at 05:12 GMT.
In the UK, the Moon was above the horizon throughout the eclipse, though from the extreme south-east of England the Sun had risen as the eclipse ended
This eclipse was also visible in north-western France, north-western Spain, Portugal, a small part of west Africa, almost the whole of North and South America, the eastern Pacific, and the north-eastern tip of Russia.

Was it safe to look at?

While solar eclipses are dangerous to view directly, the light from lunar eclipses is much fainter and so is completely safe to view without special equipment.

Why is it significant?

The event was the last chance for skywatchers to see a total lunar eclipse in its entirety until 2029 - weather permitting.

Thanx to BBC

Mr Trump...Get Your facts straight

 

A standoff over funding for President Donald Trump's long-promised border wall has resulted in the longest-ever shutdown of the US government. Mr Trump argues $5.7bn  is needed to address a "humanitarian and security crisis" at the southern border and has warned the shutdown will continue until he gets the cash.
Democrats say the wall is a waste of taxpayers' money and accuse the Trump administration of creating a "manufactured crisis".
Here are seven charts and maps that try to explain where we are with the wall and what the situation is like at the US-Mexico border.

1. Trump hasn't built very much of his wall. Before Mr Trump took office, there were 654 miles (just over 1,000km) of barrier along the southern border - made up of 354 miles of barriers to stop pedestrians and 300 miles of anti-vehicle fencing.

 
 

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump promised to build a wall along the border's entire 2,000-mile length. He later clarified that it would only cover half of that - with nature, such as mountains and rivers, helping to take care of the rest.
But, since Mr Trump entered the White House, although some of the already existing barriers have been replaced, no construction on any extension to the wall has yet been started. Overall, Congress has so far approved $1.7bn in funding for 124 miles of new and replacement barrier since Mr Trump entered the White House.
Just over 40 miles of replacement barriers have been built or begun. Construction is expected to start on 61 more miles of replacement barrier in 2019. This means just building replacement sections of about 15% of existing structures. The first construction on any extension to the existing structures will start in February in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The twin projects will cover a total of 14 miles - one barrier stretching six miles and the other eight miles.
Despite Mr Trump's continued determination to see a wall along the border, a survey this month by the Pew Research Center suggests the majority of Americans - 58% - oppose substantially expanding it, while 40% support it.

2. No-one really knows how much it would cost
A number of widely different estimates for a concrete wall have been put forward by official and unofficial bodies - ranging from $12bn to $70bn.

 

 

Mr Trump's initial price tag of between $8bn and $12bn and for a wall covering half the length of the border was widely disputed.
The 650 miles of fencing built under President George W Bush cost an estimated $7bn, and it could not be described as fulfilling Mr Trump's promises of a "tall, powerful, beautiful" barrier. However, Mr Trump is now asking for $5.7bn in addition to the $1.7bn already allocated for new and replacement barriers.
The Department of Homeland Security previously estimated a wall spanning half the border would cost up to $25m, but it has now said it is still looking at options to determine the price tag.
US Customs and Border Protection says that, on average, it costs approximately $6.5m per mile to construct a new border wall or replace existing legacy fence.

3. Trump wanted concrete, but is now talking about steel. Mr Trump has changed his view of what constitutes a wall. His promise to build a "big, beautiful wall" between the US and Mexico was a rallying cry throughout his election campaign. And early on, when he described it, he talked about concrete.
But once elected, he began talking about a barrier made of steel, so that border agents could see through it. And in October 2017, when the Trump administration revealed eight 30ft-tall wall prototypes - they were a combination of concrete and metal.

 

 

Since December, Mr Trump has said he does not want to build a concrete wall at all, but instead wants "artistically-designed steel slats". And just before the government shutdown, he tweeted an image of the design of his "steel slat barrier", which he said was "totally effective while at the same time beautiful.
 Officials at the US Customs and Border Protection agency have said none of the Trump administration prototypes tested in 2017 met its operational requirements.

4. The number of apprehensions at the southern border has declined over time. Mr Trump said in a national address in early January that a wall was needed to stem a "growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border", involving "thousands of illegal immigrants".
In exchanges with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Mr Trump also said that people were "pouring into our country". However, figures show that illegal border crossings have seen an overall decline since 2000

In 2000, 1.6 million people crossed the border illegally, while last year that number was just under 400,000. In 2017, Mr Trump's first year in office, they were the lowest they had been since 1971.
Every congressperson along southern border opposes the border wall, arguing it would not improve security.
"I think building a concrete structure sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security," said Republican Will Hurd, who represents more of the southern border than any other member of Congress.

Arrests and asylum requests went up in 2018.

 

Among these groups were a rising number of families fleeing violence in Central America and surrendering themselves to US authorities at the border. Many have told officials that they fear returning to their home countries.
Some have blamed the decision to slash the number of refugees allowed into the US under the Refugee Admissions Program for the rise in such claims for asylum at the border.
To apply for refugee status in the US, foreign nationals must obtain permission to enter the country before travelling, but those arriving at the US border are able to claim asylum "defensively" to prevent them from being deported back to a situation of "credible fear". Such claims are then referred to the Asylum Officers of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. And despite Mr Trump's claims, any new border barrier is unlikely to stop these migrants legally claiming asylum at a port of entry.

6. Most illegal immigration is from visa 'overstayers', not people crossing the border. Although Mr Trump has blamed the southern border for illegal immigration, most actually arises because people overstay their visas.
While almost 400,000 people were apprehended trying to cross the southern border illegally last year, more than 700,000 people who entered the US legally overstayed their expected departure date in 2018, according to the DHS.

 

Canadians were the highest group of overstayers, according to DHS figures, followed by Mexicans and Brazilians. Although the number of overstayers  dropped to around 420,000 in May 2018 - it was still more than the number of people arrested trying to enter illegally via the Mexico-US border.

 

7. The wall is unlikely to stop drugs coming into the US. Mr Trump has claimed 90% of heroin comes across the southern border and that a wall would help the fight against drugs. Nationwide heroin seizures reached 7,979kg in 2017, with 39% seized at the US-Mexico border.
While most of the heroin in the US does come from Mexico, the DEA says the majority of it is smuggled in through legal ports of entry, hidden in privately-owned vehicles or transporter trucks, mixed with other goods.

Only a small percentage of the heroin seizures were between entry points - where barriers exist or are proposed. In fact, there are already barriers in border patrol sectors with the highest volumes of heroin seizures. 
 Although Trump manufactures almost all his statistics. The real facts are available to anyone who is really interested in the truth.

Thanx to the BBC

Why not?? ...It's Funny



Trump says he'll make a 'major announcement' about the government shutdown on Saturday

Business Insider           DAVID CHOI           Jan 18th 2019 
President Donald Trump said he will make a "major announcement" regarding the US-Mexico border on Saturday afternoon.

The scheduled announcement will be held as the partial government shutdown nears the one-month mark.
Trump continues to face opposition against his plan to fund a barrier along part of the US-Mexico border by Democrats and some Republican lawmakers, culminating in the government shutdown that has affected about 800,000 federal and contract employees.

As the US government nears the one-month mark in partial shutdown mode, President Donald Trump said he would make a "major announcement" regarding the US-Mexico border on Saturday.

"I will be making a major announcement concerning the Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border, and the Shutdown, tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M., live from the [White House]," Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon.

Trump continues to face opposition against funding for a barrier along part of the US-Mexico border by Democrats and some Republican lawmakers. The debates culminated into the ongoing government shutdown that has affected around 800,000 federal and contracted employees.

But the feud between Trump and Congress escalated this week, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested he reschedule his State of the Union address due to security concerns. The next day, Trump canceled a congressional delegation trip to Afghanistan, which  Pelosi and other lawmakers were scheduled to attend. The military aircraft reserved for the lawmakers was pulled around an hour before they were scheduled to depart.

Trump has previously said he was considering declaring a national emergency to secure the over $5 billion for his border barrier, despite concerns from some Republicans. Critics have argued that Trump's characterization of a "crisis" at the border, including illegal immigration and crime rates, have been greatly exaggerated.

Trump's Republican colleagues have worried that a national-emergency declaration designed just to get Trump his desired border wall could set a troubling precedent that might affect disputes between Congress and future presidents.

Trump gave Putin the 'gift of the century' in plain sight while the FBI probed him as a Russian agent
Trump threatened to 'devastate' a NATO ally's economy, and his State Department has no idea that means
The Trump administration has been itching for a fight with Iran, but Mattis held it back. Now he's gone.
Democrats are calling for Trump's impeachment after bombshell report alleging he instructed Cohen to lie to Congress 
Melania Trump reportedly took a military plane to Florida, hours after Trump canceled Nancy Pelosi's flight because of the shutdown 
Ann Coulter doubles down: Trump will be 'dead in the water' if he doesn't build the wall
Stay tune  : As The Stomach Turns"
Thanx  David  Choi

Lets hear from Witchy 
This is what  Trump will announce. "I'm happy to announce that "I" am issuing an order to open up the government, no thanks to Nancy Pelosi and the democrats I might add, so that our great American federal workers can return to work by Tuesday so they can start getting paid again. We all want to earn a paycheck am I right??. I'm asking for all offices to open immediately so we can get our workers back to work. If the Democrats will not help our American citizens in need, then I'll do it to make sure our citizens are no longer struggling to live. Oh and I am great, I am the word, over and out".  Well he'll say something close to that anyway.
The Trumps have got to be the worse people who ever lived in the White House!  People are not getting paid for their work, no money for food and utilities, the House Majority Leader, cannot get a government plane to go to the war zone and see our troops--yet--the First Lady Melania, can get a government plane to fly her to Florida for the warm weather!  Unbelievable!  What will it take to get the low class, greedy, selfish Trumps out of our White House and back to where they belong!
This CON MAN is trying his best to DISTRACT, DEFLECT, DETRACT from the Muller probe and the report that is soon to be published. He is doing it at the EXPENSE & COST of over 800,000 hard working American workers & their families. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE WALL. IT'S ALL ABOUT HIS IMPENDING INDICTMENT & POSSIBLE IMPEACHMENT that his is PETRIFIED & SCARED STIFF.

" A NOTE TO MRS. PELOSI"
Mrs. Pelosi, there are reports that you have increased your offer for border security, I presume this responds to some backroom deal to get the Government reopened.   Now Mr. Trump says that he will make a big announcement tomorrow about the shutdown so it seems it is not a coincidence.   Trump owns this shutdown and the people know that him and the Republicans are solely responsible; there is no need to offer additional funds, there is also no need to consider a short term reopening.   He is digging his own grave and the public sentiment is turning frenetic.  There is no need to help him out.   We have demanded and insist that he be indicted with impeachment charges.   We feel that we  have a clear conscience in this shutdown and there is no need to try and appease this President.  Mrs. Pelosi, do not sell us out.
Nuff said   HeHe

Ex-Trump lawyer: Rigging polls 'was at the direction of' Trump

       

                                       Michael Cohen
THOMSON REUTERS               Jan 17th 2019 
WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Thursday he paid a firm to manipulate online polling data "at the direction of and for the sole benefit of" Trump.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen had paid the data firm Redfinch Solutions to manipulate two public opinion polls in favor of Trump before the 2016 presidential campaign.

"As for the @WSJ article on poll rigging," Cohen said on Twitter on Thursday, "what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it."

The attempts to influence the polls ultimately proved largely unsuccessful but does shed a light on the tactics of the Trump campaign and Cohen's role within it. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently referred to his polling numbers to help fuel his candidacy.

Last month Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in making illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump’s 2016 campaign and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia

The Journal said Cohen commissioned John Gauger, who runs RedFinch Solutions, to write a computer script to repeatedly vote for Trump in a February 2015 Drudge Report poll on potential Republican candidates. The move came as Trump was preparing to enter the 2016 presidential election race, the newspaper reported.

Trump ranked fifth in the Drudge Report poll, with about 24,000 votes or 5 percent of the total, according to the Journal .

Cohen also commissioned Gauger to do the same for a 2014 CNBC online poll identifying the country's top business leaders, although Trump was unable to break the top 100 candidates, the Journal reported.

"The president has no knowledge of the polls being rigged," Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in an interview with Reuters. RedFinch Solutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
Reporting by Makini Brice and Tim Ahmann; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Nathan Layne; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
Stay tune   "As The Stomach Turns"

Witchy's opinion :
The FBI seized all of Cohen's records and are in possession of that hard evidence.  Cohen was caught lying 'ON BEHALF' of trump. He has now agreed to cooperate and tell the truth which MUST be backed up by hard evidence.  'NO ONE' is just taking his "word" for anything. He stands to lose a lot if he is caught lying  , that's why trump was very upset that the FBI broke into his attorney's office. 
I hope he 'NEVER' stops tweeting.  He's so ridiculous and he just keeps digging himself deeper.  I honestly think he doesn't understand that every one of his tweets are official Presidential record.  Please, don't take his phone away.  It's hilarious. Trump is going down in flames along with his cult.  Expect criminal indictments and treason charges against the orange tyrant.  Putin is going to be very unhappy. Everybody knew that Trump rigged Primaries and General Election.

Nixon got away by resigning but most of the Trump family members are headed for prison . He's not man enough to admit when he's beaten. He's wrong on so many levels, but his ego can't accept the facts.
Trump will not survive 2019. The republicans are facing a daily onslaught of criminal and unethical behavior being exposed about Trump and his administration/election campaign.

Hey Rudy, how far you gonna ride the "he had no knowledge" defense. He either knew all (like I believe) or he is the most incompetent manager of a team I ever heard of. In either case, he shouldn't be President.  I've pointed out all along, everything Trump accuses his opponents of doing is what he himself has been doing all along just to take attention away from himself. He cries "FAKE NEWS" when he is the one lying. He declares "rigged election" when his campaign was working with Russia to impact the results. He spouts "fake polls" when... you guessed it... he was the one rigging the polls. I could go on, but why bother? 

Trump is a fraud and a disgrace.
Its going to take a lot of bleach to scrub the dirty, orange stain this "man" has left in the white house.

back soon with another  istallment  of As The Stomach  Turns  about the  Orange Monkey im the  White House .... HeHe

Theresa May's Brexit deal Rejected by record vote

 

 

After a marathon debate, where tempers frayed and emotions ran high, the prime minister's Brexit deal was backed by 202 MPs but 432 voted against it. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal has been rejected by 230 votes - the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.The deal sets out the terms of Britain's exit from the EU on 29 March.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now tabled a vote of no confidence in the government, which could trigger a general election. The confidence vote is expected to be held at about 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

The defeat is a huge blow for Mrs May, who has spent more than two years hammering out a deal with the EU.

The plan was aimed at bringing about an orderly departure from the EU on 29 March, and setting up a 21-month transition period to negotiate a free trade deal. The vote was originally due to take place in December, but Mrs May delayed it to try and win the support of more MPs.

The UK is still on course to leave on 29 March but the defeat throws the manner of that departure - and the timing of it - into further turmoil.

MPs who want either a further referendum, a softer version of the Brexit proposed by Mrs May, to stop Brexit altogether or to leave without a deal, will ramp up their efforts to get what they want, as a weakened PM offered to listen to their arguments.

History was made tonight with the scale of this defeat - a higher figure than the wildest of numbers that were  guessed at before the vote.

But the prime minister's dilemma is a more serious version of the same it's always been. She has no majority of her own in Parliament to make her moderate way through stick. And her many critics don't agree on the direction she should take - a more dramatic break with the EU, or a tighter, softer version.

Those two fundamental and clashing positions have always threatened to pull her and the government apart.

 

Theresa May was accused fudging the statistics she used to support her argument during Prime Minister's Questions

 

The Brexit debate has cut across traditional party lines.

Some 118 Conservative MPs - from both the Leave and Remain wings of her party - voted with the opposition parties against Mrs May's deal. And three Labour MPs supported the prime minister's deal: Ian Austin, Kevin Barron, and John Mann

The most controversial sticking point was the issue of the Northern Irish backstop - the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical border checks between the country and Ireland.

Mrs May had hoped new assurances from EU leaders this week, saying the backstop would be temporary and, if triggered, would last for "the shortest possible period", would help her garner more support.  But in the debate leading up to the vote, members from all sides of the House said the move did not go far enough.

In normal times, such a crushing defeat on a key piece of government legislation would be expected to be followed by a prime ministerial resignation. But Mrs May signalled her intention to carry on in a statement immediately after the vote.

"The House has spoken and this government will listen," she told MPs.

She offered cross-party talks to determine a way forward on Brexit, if she succeeded in winning the confidence vote.

 

 May reacts after her Brexit Plan is crushed by an overwhelming vote

 

Former foreign secretary and leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson said it was a "bigger defeat than people have been expecting" - and it meant Mrs May's deal was now "dead".

But he said it gave the prime minister a "massive mandate to go back to Brussels" to negotiate a better deal, without the controversial Northern Ireland backstop. And he said he would back Mrs May in Wednesday's confidence vote

Labour MP Chuka Umunna said that if his leader did not secure a general election, Mr Corbyn should do what the "overwhelming majority" of Labour members want and get behind a further EU referendum.

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who also wants a second referendum, said Mrs May's defeat was "the beginning of the end of Brexit" - but conceded that campaigners would not get one without Mr Corbyn's backing.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mrs May had suffered "a defeat of historic proportions" and called again for the Article 50 "clock to be stopped" in order for another referendum to take place.
"We have reached the point now where it would be unconscionable to kick the can any further down the road," she said.

However, government minister Rory Stewart said there was no majority in the Commons for any Brexit plan, including another referendum 

 

How a confidence motion works
Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, UK general elections are only supposed to happen every five years. The next one is due in 2022.
But a vote of no confidence lets MPs decide on whether they want the government to continue. The motion must be worded: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government."

If a majority of MPs vote for the motion then it starts a 14-day countdown. If during that time the current government, or any other alternative government cannot win a new vote of confidence, then an early general election would be called. That election cannot happen for at least 25 working days.

MPs are set to debate Labour's no confidence motion for about six hours following Prime Minister's Questions at 1200.  Mr Corbyn said it would allow the House of Commons to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government". But DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party, which keeps Mrs May in power, would be supporting her in Wednesday's confidence vote. She said that MPs had "acted in the best interests of the entire United Kingdom" by voting down the deal.
But she added: "We will give the government the space to set out a plan to secure a better deal.''

In her statement to MPs, Mrs May said she planned to return to the Commons next Monday with an alternative plan - if she survives the confidence vote.
She said she would explore any ideas from cross-party talks with the EU, but she remained committed to delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the risk of a disorderly Brexit had increased as a result of the deal being voted down.
He said the agreement was "the only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal" and that he and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, had "demonstrated goodwill" with additional clarifications this week to put MPs minds at rest.
"I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible," he said. "Time is almost up."
Mr Tusk said he regretted the outcome of the vote and later tweeted to ask "who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?"


Donald Tusk
✔ @eucopresident 

If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?
End of Twitter post by @eucopresident

A statement from the Irish government also said it regretted the decision and that it "continues to believe that ratification of this agreement is the best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK".
It also said it will "continue to intensify preparations" for a no deal Brexit.

Investigators sought to evaluate whether Trump was potential threat to national security

Thomson Reuters · Posted: Jan 13, 2019 1:21 PM ET

The New York Times reported that the FBI launched a probe days after U.S. President Donald Trump fired James Comey as FBI director in May 2017, and said the agency's counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether Trump's actions constituted a possible threat to national security.

U.S. President Donald Trump avoided directly answering when asked whether he "currently is or has ever worked for Russia" after a published report said law enforcement officials, concerned about his behaviour after he fired FBI director James Comey in 2017, had begun investigating that possibility.
Trump said it was the "most insulting" question he'd ever been asked, as he spoke to Fox News interviewer Jeanine Pirro, a personal friend, on Saturday night about a New York Times article published on Friday.
He never answered Pirro directly about working "for Russia," but went on to assert that no president has taken a harder stance against Russia than he has.
"I think it's the most insulting thing I've ever been asked," Trump said. "I think it's the most insulting article I've ever had written, and if you read the article you'll see that they found absolutely nothing."
"If you ask the folks in Russia, I've been tougher on Russia than anybody else, any other ... probably any other president, period, but certainly the last three or four presidents," he said.
Concerns reportedly led to investigation

A second prominent newspaper, the Washington Post, is also reporting that Trump had dealings with the Kremlin that raised suspicions. Both cite unidentified former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the allegations.

In a Post article published Sunday, the paper reported that Trump has gone to "extraordinary lengths" to keep the details about his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin under wraps.

The Post said Trump "took possession of the notes of his own interpreter" after meeting with Putin in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.

The Times reported on Friday that Trump was investigated after he fired Comey. Agents allegedly feared Trump was acting in the interests of Russia, and against the United States, in the early months of his presidency, and that gave federal law enforcement officials reason to begin an investigation.
Slow to implement sanctions, Democrat says
Trump's claim that he's been tougher on Russia than any recent president was disputed by the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin meet during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. The Washington Post has reported that Trump kept details of their conversation under wraps

 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says he'll force a vote in the coming days on the Treasury Department's decision to ease sanctions on three companies connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The Times reported that FBI agents and some top officials became suspicious of Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, but didn't open an investigation at that time because they weren't sure how to approach such a sensitive probe.
Mark Warner said almost all the sanctions on Russia arose not in the White House but in Congress, due to concerns by members of both parties about Moscow's actions. Warner accused the White House of being very slow to put in place the penalties.

In the inquiry, counterintelligence investigators sought to evaluate whether Trump was a potential threat to national security. They also sought to determine whether Trump was deliberately working for Russia or had unintentionally been influenced by Moscow. Trump's behaviour in the days around Comey's May 2017 firing helped trigger the counterintelligence part of the probe, according to the newspaper.
Trump tweeted early Saturday that the report showed that the FBI leadership "opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof" after he had fired Comey.

 

Donald J. Trump         ✔ @realDonaldTrump

Wow, just learned in the Failing New York Times that the corrupt former leaders of the FBI, almost all fired or forced to leave the agency for some very bad reasons, opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof, after I fired Lyin’ James Comey, a total sleaze!

122K

7:05 AM - Jan 12, 2019

Robert Mueller took over the investigation when he was appointed special counsel soon after Comey's firing. The overall investigation is looking into Russian election interference and whether Trump's campaign co-ordinated with the Russians, as well as possible obstruction of justice by Trump. The Times says it's unclear whether Mueller is still pursuing the counterintelligence angle.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said the report "may well suggest what it was that helped start this investigation in the first place."

He and other Democratic senators said this report and others within the past week questioning Trump's behaviour toward Russia give new urgency to the need for the Mueller investigation to be allowed to run its course.

House judiciary committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said his panel 'will take steps to better understand' Donald Trump's dealings with Russia in the first year of his presidency and the FBI's response to his behaviour. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

 

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani told the Times he had no knowledge of the inquiry but said that since it was opened a year and a half ago and they hadn't heard anything, indicating apparently "they found nothing."

Trump has also repeatedly and vociferously denied collusion with the Russians.
Warner spoke Sunday on CNN's State of the Union and Coons on Fox News Sunday.
Warner weighed in on the Trump-Putin summit last year in Helsinki, Finland, telling CNN, "The American government does not know what was discussed between Trump and Vladimir Putin in that frankly pathetic, embarrassing encounter where Trump was kowtowing on the world stage to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki."