Four senators push resolution to halt Trump's border emergency

The Associated Press        DAVID SHARP        Feb 28th 2019
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Four Republican and Democratic senators are introducing a resolution to block President Donald Trump's emergency declaration to build a barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The measure comes from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, along with Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

It's identical to the House version that was approved 245-182 on Tuesday.

There may be enough Republican support in the Senate to pass a resolution blocking Trump's order, though the next steps are unclear. Trump has pledged to veto the House resolution, and it's unlikely that Congress can override him.

The senators say the proposal would terminate the national emergency and uphold the separation of powers in the Constitution.

Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of $3.6 billion from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift an additional $3.1 billion from Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets.

Trump said barriers are needed to stop drugs from Mexico from entering the U.S., though government figures show that 90 percent of drugs intercepted from Mexico are caught at ports of entry, not remote areas where barriers would be constructed.

The White House says the money would be used to build steel barriers up to 30 feet tall and other barriers for "law enforcement efforts."

The showdown has forced Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes, pitting their support for a president popular with GOP voters against their own fears that his use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise.

The White House, in a letter to lawmakers threatening to veto the House resolution, said blocking the declaration would "undermine the administration's ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis" at the border.

Witchy's opinion :
This is a very good time to see that some of our Congress have courage and grit to do the right thing for the majority of America. We cannot allow the 33% to dictate what they want and to follow a traitor and dictators words. Trump lives in 1960 with the cult and will stay there no matter what the facts support. We must move forward and stand tall until he is impeached or removed with the 25th Amendment.
If the resolution passes house & senate and Trump vetoes with no over ride, congress may as well hang it up & go home.  Trump will have the dictatorship he desires and there will no longer be a need for both houses.  He and future presidents will be free to do whatever they like!     What does the majority of the country call it???  JUST ANOTHER TRUMP LIE!  It seems that some more republican Senators are finally starting to have enough of Trump's lying, exaggerating, race-bating, and  ABUSE OF POWER.  Finally the Republicans are getting a backbone. After yesterday in the House Committee Republicans have to believe it time for Trump's end this crook and mob boss must go.  
THROW TRUMP OUT OF OFFICE AND THEN LOCK HIM UP ALONG WITH HIS CROOKED FAMILY ...LOCK TRUMP UP     LOCK TRUMP UP    LOCK TRUMP UP

Court records reveal a Mueller report right in plain view

The Associated Press      CHAD DAY AND ERIC TUCKER      Feb 23rd 2019 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was in full deflection mode.
The Democrats had blamed Russia for the hacking and release of damaging material on his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump wasn't buying it. But on July 27, 2016, midway through a news conference in Florida, Trump decided to entertain the thought for a moment.

"Russia, if you're listening," said Trump, looking directly into a television camera, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing" — messages Clinton was reported to have deleted from her private email server.

Actually, Russia was doing more than listening: It had been trying to help Republican Trump for months. That very day, hackers working with Russia's military intelligence tried to break into email accounts associated with Clinton's personal office.

It was just one small part of a sophisticated election interference operation carried out by the Kremlin — and meticulously chronicled by special counsel Robert Mueller.

We know this, though Mueller has made not a single public comment since his appointment in May 2017. We know this, though the full, final report on the investigation, believed to be in its final stages, may never be made public. It's up to Attorney General William Barr.

We know this because Mueller has spoken loudly, if indirectly, in court — indictment by indictment, guilty plea by guilty plea. In doing so, he tracked an elaborate Russian operation that injected chaos into a U.S. presidential election and tried to help Trump win the White House. He followed a GOP campaign that embraced the Kremlin's help and championed stolen material to hurt a political foe. And ultimately, he revealed layers of lies, deception, self-enrichment and hubris that followed.

Woven through thousands of court papers, the special counsel has made his public report. This is what it says.

RUSSIA, LOOKING TO INTERFERE

The plot began before Bernie Bros and "Lock Her Up," before MAGA hats and "Lyin' Ted," before there was even a thought of Trump versus Clinton in 2016. It started in 2014, in a drab, concrete building in St. Petersburg, Russia.

There, a group of tech-savvy Russian nationals, working at an organization called the Internet Research Agency, prepared "information warfare against the United States of America." The battleground would be the internet, and the target was the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Using a game plan honed on its own people, the troll farm prepared to pervert the social networks — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram — that Americans had come to depend on for news, entertainment, friendships and, most relevantly, political discourse.

It would use deception, disinformation and the expansive reach of the electronically connected world to spread "distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general." Ultimately, it would carry a budget in the millions, bankrolled, according to an indictment, by Yevgeny Prighozin, a man so close to the Russian president that he is known as Putin's chef. (Prighozin's company has denied the charges).

It was a long game. Starting in mid-2014, employees began studying American political groups to see which messages fell flat and which spread like wildfire across the internet. The organization surreptitiously dispatched employees to the U.S. — traveling through states such as Nevada, California and Colorado— to collect on-the-ground intelligence about an America that had become deeply divided on gun control, race and politics.

As they gathered the research, the trolls began planning an elaborate deception.

They bought server space and other computer infrastructure in the U.S. to conceal the true origin of the disinformation they planned to pump into America's social media blood stream. They began preparing networks of fake accounts they would use like sock puppets to masquerade as U.S. citizens.

The Russian trolls set up accounts that appeared to be associated with Black Lives Matter, the Tennessee GOP, Muslim and Christian groups and the American South. By late 2015, as Clinton sparred with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic nomination, and as American media still saw Trump as a longshot to emerge from a crowded Republican field, the Internet Research Agency began secretly buying online ads to promote its social media groups.

By February 2016, they were ready. A memo circulated internally. Post content about "politics in the USA," they wrote, according to court papers, and "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump— we support them)."

As disinformation scrolled across American computer screens, an entirely different Russian operation readied its own volley.

In March 2016, as Clinton and Trump began to emerge as the leaders of their respective parties, Russian military intelligence officers began setting a trap.

Hackers in Russia's military intelligence, known as the GRU, started sending dozens of malicious emails to people affiliated with Clinton's campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.

Like Watergate, it was a break-in. But this time, the burglary tools were emails disguised to fool people into sharing their passwords and in turn provide hackers unfettered access to their emails. The goal was to collect as many damaging documents as possible that could be released online and damage Clinton's candidacy.

In a few short weeks, the hackers had penetrated their targets and hit the motherlode: the private Gmail account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
Stay tune :   As The Stomach Turns 

Here's  Witchy:

This is an excellent article by the Associated Press.  Now is the time for people of all political persuasions to decide if they love America enough to see justice done, and rid the country of the enemies within.That doesn't make Trump any less innocent if proven to be involved.I don't know why anyone would ever vote republican for prez ever again. You cons are highly unqualified, unfit, unethical, lack valor and honor! You gave us Nixon and now the first KGB agent. I blame you cons for this. I don't know how anyone could claim to be a republican today unless you live your life as crooked and criminal as Trump!
 Anyone that works with Trump will soon be soiled and ruined for life. Just ask Sessions, Manafort, Flynn, Cohen, Gates, Stone, Sarah Huckabee and more! I blame you cons for putting the first ever KGB agent in our WH. 
You cons need to raise your standards for who can run for prez in the GOP. A person should be able to pass a background check, show their taxes, tell the truth, have ethics, integrity, honor, valor, read, write, complete a sentence and represent all Americans!
I support Truth, Justice and the American Way! It's time to get this criminal out of our WH! Justice will be served when this criminal is Impeached and locked up! 
All of Trump's friends have turned on Trump. Many are indicted and going to jail. Trump probably ask himself why did he ever run for president? What a huge mistake! Now this traitor is systematically shut down our government from within, Homeland Security included.  Just what the traitor wants.
Now Trump is turning on Generals! Who is next? Looks like it is Rod! America is in trouble at the hand of Trump and Republican leadership! Why are the Republicans destroying the US? Putin loves his handpicked Mafia Boss!
Nuff sez     Hehe

Pope calls four day summit to tackle sexual abuse

 

 

 

Pope Francis has summoned nearly 200 bishops and other Roman Catholic Church leaders to the Vatican for a 4-day summit on protecting minors in the Church.  They have been summoned from 130 countries around the world. Ordered to the Vatican by the Pope, to address "the protection of minors in the Church," not to address the punishment and defrocking of guilty priests, at a major conference starting Thursday. 

To critics, that's a benign way of referring to the systemic sexual abuse by priests and other Roman Catholic clergy of tens of thousands of children around the world over the past four decades — and its subsequent cover-up.
The Pope's top Canadian at the Vatican said the Church made mistakes. That 25 years ago, there was a belief that with some psychological therapy a pedophile could be healed and returned to the ministry, but it knows now that this is not true.
In an interview with CBC News from Rome, Cardinal Marc Ouellet said the Church was also not aware back then of "the depth of the pain and the consequences of these abuses on children."
"In fact, we've learned it was much more serious than we expected."

 

 

Quebec-born Cardinal Marc Ouellet told CBC News the Vatican summit represents a moment of hope. (Stephanie Jenzer/CBC News)

While there is hope both in and outside the Church that this summit will mark a turning point from the ugly history of sexual abuse, others feel it will offer more of what has been seen and done before.
"Various other popes were involved in this kind of thing [in the past]," said David Deane, associate professor at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. "And it led to probably what this kind of event can lead to, which is very low level apologies, handwringing, admitting of guilt."

Instead of a meeting at the Vatican, some theologians want an independent investigation into decades of abuse. Not likely to happen. Victims and critics want more than talk on sex abuse in the Church. But hopes are not high that any positive action will take place. The bishops who run the Vatican want to protect the power of the Catholic Church not tear it down. And they wish to protect the institution of Catholicism.

 

The Vatican itself has sought to set the bar low ahead of the four-day summit, saying it will be about reflection and discussion. Pope Francis himself has called the meeting the "beginning of a dialogue."
He did not heed a call from childhood sexual abuse victims in Rome ahead of the summit opening to speak with them. They met instead with Vatican officials. 
On Thursday, Francis stressed the importance of following through on what is discussed at the gathering of 190 leaders of bishops conferences and religious orders.
"Listen to the cry of the young, who want justice," he said. "The holy people of God are watching and expect not just simple and obvious condemnations, but efficient and concrete measures to be established."

 

Francis arrives at the Vatican Wednesday for his weekly general audience. He did not meet with childhood sexual abuse victims who hoped to speak with him ahead of the summit. (Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press)

Still, Ouellet calls the Church's will to change "a moment of hope."
"This conviction is now on the way," he said, "and will be deeply rooted." Change, he added, will be reflected in "measures and protocols" undertaken all over the world.                     
That kind of language concerns Deane, who is currently involved in a project looking at the Roman Catholic Church leadership's response to accusations of sexual abuse against priests.
"My fear is that what will come out of this summit is a further commitment to developing good protocols and procedures and another summit."
Deane believes what's needed instead of another summit is a full, transparent investigation of the church over the past 30 to 40 years, conducted by a diverse body of lay women and men, including people from outside the Catholic Church. No bishops, no pope.
"Only when that happens," he said, "is the Church viable as a church again."

 

 

Summit organizers met with a dozen survivor-activists who have come to Rome to protest the Catholic Church's response to date and demand an end to decades of cover-up by church leaders. (Luigi Navarra/Associated Press)

The problem right now, according to Deane, is that Pope Francis doesn't understand that. There is will to move forward, he said, not to look back.
"They are frightened. They don't want to become vulnerable … But they need right now to be Christ-like. And this involves risking everything, risking their reputation, risking their name, risking the future of the church in order to see justice done for the victims."

30 years of horrific cover-up

Ouellet said the Church has already learned from the past.
"The Church knows better now and is determined and has more tools to go forward, and really bring healing and understanding and correction for the future."
That's not enough for Deane. After 30 years of horrific cover-up, he said, only a full, transparent investigation of the past will suffice.
"My hope is that from speaking to victims, from hearing victims' stories, and from remembering the faith that obviously drove them at various stages of their life that they could do what needs to be done. Which is to potentially strip off the layers of protection and power and prestige and to be naked before God in the world and say, 'this is who we are. We have done terrible things. Sometimes through malice, most often through ignorance. And we need to reform

Howdy my precious friend

How you like Trump's crew ???
Sweetie , you have a short note on WAG .
Love NEE

The Wall : States sue over emergency declaration

The declaration of a national emergency triggered street protests

               

A coalition of 16 US states led by California is suing President Donald Trump's administration over his decision to declare an emergency to raise funds for a Mexican border wall. The lawsuit was filed in the court for the Northern District of California.

It comes days after Trump invoked emergency powers to bypass Congress and secure funding for the project - a key campaign pledge. Democrats have vowed to contest it "using every remedy available".
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said they were taking President Trump to court "to block his misuse of presidential power".

"We're suing President Trump to stop him from unilaterally robbing taxpayer funds lawfully set aside by Congress for the people of our states. For most of us, the office of the presidency is not a place for theatre," he added.

 

The lawsuit filed on Monday seeks a preliminary injunction that would stop Trump acting on his emergency declaration while a legal battle takes place in the courts, the Washington Post reported.
Mr Trump announced the plan after Congress refused funding for the wall. The first legal challenge followed swiftly on Friday. A liberal advocacy group, Public Citizen, sued on behalf of a nature reserve and three Texas landowners who have been told the wall may be constructed on their properties.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California dismissed the president's decision as "political theater" while New York state's Democratic attorney general, Letitia James, promised to "fight back with every legal tool at our disposal".
Joining California in the lawsuit were Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Michigan.
The states argue that President Trump's order to divert funds to pay for the wall would cost them millions of dollars, damaging their economies.

Making the announcement in the White House Rose Garden on Friday, the president said the emergency would allow him to get almost $8bn for the wall. This is still considerably short of the estimated $23bn cost of the wall along almost 2,000 miles (3,200km) of border. Mr Trump accepted that he would be sued for the move, and predicted that the emergency order would lead to legal action which was likely to end up in the Supreme Court

"We're going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border," he said.
"Everyone knows that walls work."
However, the president also said that he did not need to declare the emergency but did so in the hope of obtaining the funds for the wall more quickly, but analysts say these comments could undermine his legal arguments.

What is a real national emergency?

The National Emergencies Act is intended for times of national crisis, like a war. Mr Trump has claimed that there is a migration crisis at the nation's southern border - a claim strongly refuted by migration experts.

The largest number of illegal migrants settling in the US each year is those who stay in the country after their visas expire. Declaring a national emergency would give the president access to special powers that effectively allow him to bypass the usual political process, and he would be able to divert money from existing military or disaster relief budgets to pay for the wall.

Emergency declarations by previous presidents have been overwhelmingly used for addressing foreign policy crises - including blocking terrorism-linked entities from accessing funds or prohibiting investment in nations associated with human rights abuses.

Harsh Future for Manafort ... Oh, What a Tangled Web!

Donald Trump's former election campaign chief Paul Manafort breached his plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller by lying to prosecutors, a US judge says. US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Manafort "made multiple false statements" to the FBI, Mr Mueller's office and a grand jury.

Manafort was convicted of financial fraud in August. This related to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. Manafort, 69, then accepted a plea deal on other charges in return for co-operating with Mr Mueller's investigation.

 

In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Berman Jackson said there was evidence that showed Manafort had lied about - among other things - contacts he had with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian political consultant. Prosecutors claim Mr Kilimnik had ties to Russian intelligence. The judge also cleared Manafort of allegations that he lied on two other subjects.
The verdict means that Manafort - who has been held in a detention centre in Virginia since June - could now potentially face harsher sentences or have charges against him re-filed.
Last year, Mr Mueller said that Manafort lied "on a variety of subject matters" after signing the plea deal.
Last August, Manafort was convicted on eight counts of fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose bank accounts. A month later he pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy against the US and one charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice in a plea bargain with Mr Mueller. The agreement avoided a second trial on money laundering and other charges.
The plea deal meant Manafort would face up to 10 years in prison and would forfeit four of his properties and the contents of several bank accounts - but deadlocked charges from the previous trial would be dismissed.

It was the first criminal trial arising from the Department of Justice's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. However, the charges related only to Manafort's political consulting with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, largely pre-dating his role with the Trump campaign.
Manafort worked for the Trump presidential campaign for five months in 2016 and was in charge when Trump clinched the Republican party nomination. President Trump has insisted there was no collusion between his team and Russia.

Manafort was charged by Mueller, last October, of using 31 foreign bank accounts in three different countries to evade taxes on millions of dollars. Prosecutors presented evidence of Manafort's luxurious lifestyle, saying it was only possible because of his bank and tax fraud.
 Bye bye Manafort! You can stop lying now. Enjoy your incarceration.

US border deal reached to avert another gov't shutdown

The talks have been deadlocked on how to deal with undocumented migrants

 

Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement in principle over border security to fund the US government and avert another partial shutdown.

Lawmakers said the deal had been struck in a closed-door meeting in Washington.
No details have been released. Talks had stalled on the detention of undocumented migrants and funding for President Donald Trump's border wall.
Speaking late on Monday, he did not say whether he would back the deal. "We're building the wall anyway," he said.
He told supporters in El Paso, Texas, that he had had no time to study the agreement, but stressed that he would "never sign a bill that forces the mass release of violent criminals".

A bill must be approved by Friday when funding runs out for some federal agencies. The previous shutdown - the longest in US history - lasted 35 days. The shutdown's cost to the US economy was estimated at $11bn .

What is known about the deal?

It was clinched on Monday evening - after several hours of talks between Democratic and Republican negotiators. Emerging from the talks, Rep Senator Richard Shelby said all outstanding issues had been resolved.
"We got an agreement on all of it," he said. He added that staff members would work out the details later in the week. Reports say the deal includes $1.375bn in funding for physical barriers - far short of the $5.7bn President Trump has been demanding.
Democrats were also demanding to limit the number of undocumented migrants already in the US who can be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It was agreed to bring down that number to 40,250 from the current 49,057, reports say.

Why is there the risk of another shutdown?

On 25 January, President Trump agreed to a three-week spending deal to end the shutdown and allow Congress to reach an agreement. That funding ends at midnight on Friday.
Mr Trump made building a wall on the border with Mexico one of his key promises in the 2016 campaign.
The president has backed away from calls to make Mexico pay for a concrete wall but during his State of the Union speech last Tuesday - delayed because of the previous shutdown - he insisted on a "smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier
  He has previously threatened to declare a national emergency and fund the wall without Congress. But this idea is disliked even by some fellow Republicans, and Democrats are likely to challenge it in the courts.

The Real Highlights of the SOTU Speech

The Pelosi Clap

It is perhaps unsurprising that Nancy Pelosi became the subject of one of the most popular memes on the night.
The new House Speaker, de facto leader of the Democratic Party, sat behind President Trump during his address and is one of the most high-profile opponents of the president.
Many on social media thought this political rivalry was captured in a photo of Ms Pelosi applauding after Mr Trump called for compromise in politics.

The image, termed the "Pelosi clap", quickly went viral. It came after Mr Trump broke traditional protocol by not waiting for the customary introduction from the House speaker before beginning his speech.

  

A photo of Nancy Pelosi clapping after Mr Trump's address has gone viral
 

  The Women in White

 

Women on both sides of the house made a powerful political statement by wearing white to celebrate the centenary of women's right to vote in the US.

 

House Democrat Women, wearing suffragette white, continue the fight for equality at the SOTU.

 

The female representatives sat stony-faced as President Trump said "no-one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women".

 

All of the new Congresswomen standing up to take a bow when Trump tried to take credit for women getting new jobs, is the greatest thing that’s ever happened in the history of the SOTU

 

 

If you weren't sure why the women of Congress wore white last night to the SOTU, it was to commemorate the 19th amendment being ratified, which allowed women the right to vote in 1920.

 

   The original suffragettes wore white

 

Trump noted there are more women in the workforce and more women in Congress. He is literally the reason there are more Dem women in Congress. His presidency is what prompted these women - many of whom were never involved in politics - to run for office.

While many suggested that Mr Trump didn't intend for his comments on female employment to be associated with the electoral success of Democratic congresswomen, the president did go on to praise the influx of female lawmakers.

 

JOSHUA TRUMP RULES

 

President Trump and First Lady Melania invited 11-year-old Joshua Trump from Wilmington, Delaware, who has been bullied at school because of his surname. Photos appearing to show the boy, who is not related to President Trump, dozing off during the speech earned him some fans on Twitter.

His parents pulled him out of school as they said his classmates had called him an "idiot" and "stupid" for sharing the same name as the president.

Eline, the girl sitting next to him, has been treated for brain cancer. She seemed to enjoy the evening a lot more.

 

Not everyone was exactly gripped by the speech

 

Wonky neckwear

The State of the Union is an opportunity for the president to inform the nation of his goals for the year ahead. But some were distracted by less weighty issues - the position of his tie. Many took to social media to point out that the president's trademark red tie was off-centre.
 

 

What is Pelosi Reading? 

During the almost 90-minute address, the longest SOTU in 17 years, many social media users seemed preoccupied by trying to guess what Nancy Pelosi was reading. The pages do look kinda blank. 

 

 

Yes, he was long winded and congratulated himself  for a  list of things he had no right to claim he was responsible for. The economy has been steadily rising for the last eight years and so has employment. The programs Obama put in place took root and just kept growing.

 

What Trump is responsible for:

 -Wrecking NAFTA

-Pissing off China

-Pissing off all USA's allies

-Pulling out of Climate Accord

-Pissing off NATO

-Starting trade wars

-F*****g up Iran Nuclear Agreement

-Trying to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan on the lie that ISIS is beaten

-Giving tax breaks to billionaires

-Winning election by collusion and obstruction

-Making deals with enemy ( Russia)
-Pulling out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty with Russia, triggering fears of a new arms race between Washington and Moscow.
-Appointing would-be rapists to Supreme Court

-lying, lying, lying

-and so much more

Take another bow Mr. Trump!

 

Trump calls for end of resistance politics in State of Union

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS      Feb 5th 2019 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a divided Congress for the first time, President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Washington to reject "the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution." He warned emboldened Democrats that "ridiculous partisan investigations" into his administration and businesses could hamper a surging American economy.

Trump's appeals for bipartisanship in his State of the Union address clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation's capital — as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his agenda during his next two years in office. Their opposition was on vivid display as Democratic congresswomen in the audience formed a sea of white in a nod to early 20th-century suffragettes.

Trump spoke at a critical moment in his presidency, staring down a two-year stretch that will determine whether he is re-elected or leaves office in defeat. His speech sought to shore up Republican support that had eroded slightly during the recent government shutdown and previewed a fresh defense against Democrats as they ready a round of investigations into every aspect of his administration.

"If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation," he declared. Lawmakers in the cavernous House chamber sat largely silent.

Looming over the president's address was a fast-approaching Feb. 15 deadline to fund the government and avoid another shutdown. Democrats have refused to acquiesce to his demands for a border wall, and Republicans are increasingly unwilling to shut down the government to help him fulfill his signature campaign pledge. Nor does the GOP support the president's plan to declare a national emergency if Congress won't fund the wall.

Wary of publicly highlighting those intraparty divisions, Trump made no mention of an emergency declaration in his remarks. He did offer a lengthy defense of his call for a border wall, declaring: "I will build it." But he delivered no ultimatums about what it would take for him to sign legislation to keep the government open.

"I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country," he said, painting a dark and foreboding picture of the risks posed to Americans by illegal immigration.

Throughout his remarks, the 72-year-old Trump harkened back to moments of American greatness, celebrating the moon landing as astronaut Buzz Aldrin looked on from the audience and heralding the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. He led the House chamber in singing happy birthday to a Holocaust survivor sitting with first lady Melania Trump.

The president ticked through a litany of issues with crossover appeal, including boosting infrastructure, lowering prescription drug costs and combating childhood cancer. But he also appealed to his political base, both with his harsh rhetoric on immigration and a call for Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the "late-term abortion of children."

Trump devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, another area where Republicans have increasingly distanced themselves from the White House. He announced details of a second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, outlining a Feb. 27-28 summit in Vietnam. The two met last summer in Singapore, though it garnered only a vaguely worded commitment by the North to denuclearize.

As he condemned political turmoil in Venezuela, Trump declared that "America will never be a socialist country" — a remark that may also have been targeted at high-profile Democrats who identify as socialists.  

The president was surrounded by symbols of his emboldened political opposition. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was praised by Democrats for her hard-line negotiating during the shutdown, sat behind Trump as he spoke. And several senators running for president were also in the audience, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Another Democratic star, Stacey Abrams, delivered the party's response to Trump. Abrams narrowly lost her bid in November to become America's first black female governor, and party leaders are aggressively recruiting her to run for U.S. Senate from Georgia.

Speaking from Atlanta, Abrams calls the shutdown a political stunt that "defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people, but our values."

Trump's address amounted to an opening argument for his re-election campaign. Polls show he has work to do, with his approval rating falling to just 34 percent after the shutdown, according to a recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

One bright spot for the president has been the economy, which has added jobs for 100 straight months.

"The only thing that can stop it," he said, "are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations" — an apparent swipe at the special counsel investigation into ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign, as well as the upcoming congressional investigations.

The diverse Democratic caucus, which includes a bevy of women, sat silently for much of Trump's speech. But they leapt to their feet when he noted there are "more women in the workforce than ever before."

The increase is due to population growth — and not something Trump can credit to any of his policies.

The president also defended his decisions to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan over the opposition from national security officials and many Republican lawmakers.

"Great nations do not fight endless wars," he said, adding that the U.S. is working with allies to "destroy the remnants" of the Islamic State group and that he has "accelerated" efforts to reach a settlement in Afghanistan. 

IS militants have lost territory since Trump's surprise announcement in December that he was pulling U.S. forces out, but military officials warn the fighters could regroup within six months to a year of the Americans leaving. Several leading GOP lawmakers have sharply criticized his plans to withdraw from Syria, as well as from Afghanistan.

Trump's guests for the speech included Anna Marie Johnson, a woman whose life sentence for drug offenses was commuted by the president, and Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Delaware, who has been bullied over his last name. They sat with Mrs. Trump during the address.

Stay tuned : As The Stomach Turns

Witchy sez :
 Look at this  'FOOL'  
I knew  Trump wouldn’t give a real unity speech but would use the forum to attack Democrats and throw a temper tantrum and he apparently did. He’s just a nasty, evil, and miserable old man and that will never change.   "... urging Washington to govern "not as two parties, but as one nation."  Yes, Trump, that would be ideal. It MUST START WITH YOU!     Trump  is giving praise to veterans —that preserved the American way of life, values, and  defeated evil empires—but yet-we have a President who bows down to Putin.    What a hypocrite, fraud, liar and narcissist. He is just a pustule and despicable human being. I loathe him and wish him the worst in days to come (as long as it doesn't effect our country).  
 To hear this man use words like heart and soul ,when he has none....makes me want to puke!
Trump  uses the word "socialists" to scare people. Does he know that democratic socialism a totally different form of government? It already exists in our country. Fire protection, police protection, public schools etc are supported thru democratic socialistic process. It is voting as to how we spend our tax money - VOTING! We vote on fire and police protection budgets -etc. Using the word to incite and scare people is typical of how he approaches things that do not suit him. Call someone a name and go from there. History is going to be really fascinating on how this "super star" is viewed.
When Trump started talking about the children, it was hypocritical.  He has nearly 2000 children that he kidnapped and now has no way of getting them back to their parents.  Some were taken from the custody  and were walked away from the holding facility to whereabouts unknown.  It still appears to be a child trafficking and slavery ring.  Trump knows his days as president are truly numbered...never to exceed 4 years.  Trump can give all the great speeches in the world and it still won't matter...he is a lying, racist criminal and 'WILL' get what is coming to him.  
Trump's full of it. Some love for your country, Trump, our country you shut down. You are abusive, and never will you have my vote. We will not be fooled by you, and we will always resist you. He has lied over and over again, and has created chaos everywhere he goes, and that is within our own 'White House' too. He hires crooks and has a paper trail to prove it.  He is a traitor to our country and does not stand up like a man to Putin. He has his own agenda, and it isn't for the goal of protecting America. Stay sober folks, and stay awake, this man is a con. A sweet little speech will never wash over the corruption he represents.
WOW... Donald Trump REALLY embarrassed himself and the United States tonight. 'SAD'
Nuff sez      HeHe

Trump said 'you have to get rid of' the Russia probe and parroted a Kremlin talking point in a wide-ranging interview

Business Insider      SONAM SHETH (SSHETH@BUSINESSINSIDER.COM)     Feb 3rd 2019
During a wide-ranging interview on CBS' "Face The Nation," President Donald Trump said "you have to get rid of the Russia investigation," parroted a Kremlin talking point, downplayed the crimes members of his inner circle pleaded guilty to, and suggested he may object to the release of a final report in the Russia probe.
He referred to the 12 Russian military intelligence officers and 13 Russian nationals aligned with the Kremlin who have been charged as "bloggers."
He also defended the longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone, who was recently arrested and charged with lying to Congress, obstruction, and witness tampering. Trump said he has "not thought about" pardoning Stone yet.
And while the president initially said it's up to the attorney general whether or not to release the special counsel Robert Mueller's final report, Trump walked his comment back, saying, "I don't know. It depends. I have no idea what it's going to say." 
President Donald Trump unleashed his frustration about the Russia investigation and the special counsel Robert Mueller during a wide-ranging interview on CBS' "Face The Nation" that aired Sunday.

Among other things, the president said "you have to get rid of the Russia witch hunt" and attempted to downplay the indictments and guilty pleas so far, many of which have come from members of his inner circle.

Thirty-four people have been charged as part of the investigation, which is examining Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Several people, including the former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the former campaign manager Paul Manafort, the former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, have pleaded guilty.

Asked to address the indictments and guilty pleas, Trump replied, " Of the 34 people, many of them were bloggers from Moscow or they were people that had nothing to do with me, had nothing to do with what they're talking about, or there were people that got caught telling a fib or telling a lie."

The "bloggers" the president referenced are 12 Russian military intelligence officers and 13 Russian nationals working for a troll farm supported by the Kremlin. By calling them bloggers, Trump appeared to be echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that many of the Russians who were indicted are merely independent hackers who are not aligned with the Kremlin. But US intelligence officials say the defense is a red herring because the Kremlin rarely carries out its own orders. Instead, Putin is known to use proxies to do his dirty work to maintain plausible deniability.

Meanwhile, Cohen, Manafort, Flynn, Gates, and the former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos all pleaded guilty to lying to Congress or the FBI — which is a felony — about their Russia contacts or business dealings involving Russia during the election. Manafort and Gates also pleaded guilty to other crimes including conspiracy and obstruction. All of them are currently cooperating or formerly cooperated with prosecutors.

"I think it's a terrible thing that's happened to this country because this investigation is a witch hunt," Trump told CBS' Margaret Brennan. "When you look at General Flynn where the FBI said he wasn't lying, but Robert Mueller said he was, and they took a man and destroyed his life. When you look at so many of the things that have happened — why didn't they go after Hillary Clinton for her emails? She had 33,000 emails that were deleted after receiving a subpoena from Congress."

Brennan interjected and asked Trump about the longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone, who was indicted in January for lying to Congress about his interactions involving WikiLeaks, obstruction, and witness tampering.

"First of all, Roger Stone didn't work on the campaign, except way, way at the beginning, long before we're talking about," Trump responded. "Roger is somebody that I've always liked, but a lot of people like Roger — some people probably don't like Roger — but Roger Stone's somebody I've always liked."

Stone was an informal adviser to the Trump campaign in the early stages of the race. Even after he stopped advising the campaign, Stone and Trump had frequent late-night phone calls. Both Stone and Trump have said they did not discuss WikiLeaks, Russia, or WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during their calls.

But prosecutors are said to be zeroing in on those calls, one of which took place in early August 2016, hours after Stone learned from his associate, Jerome Corsi, that WikiLeaks had obtained "damaging" information on the Clinton campaign and was planning on releasing it soon.

Prosecutors also dropped a bombshell when they revealed that a senior Trump campaign official "was directed" by someone else on the campaign to stay in touch with Stone about WikiLeaks' planned document dumps.

Stone pleaded not guilty to all the charges and struck a defiant tone following his arrest. He also went on a media blitz asserting his innocence, and he stacked his team with a well known First Amendment lawyer, indicating that he intends to fight a gag order if one is imposed on him.

"Would you pardon him?" Brennan asked Trump.

"I have not thought about it," Trump said. "It looks like he's defending himself very well. But you have to get rid of the Russia witch hunt."

Mueller dropped a huge bombshell in Roger Stone's indictment, and it's bad news for Trump

Mueller is said to be putting together a report of his key findings in the Russia investigation that will be submitted to deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. When a new attorney general — likely William Barr, a former White House lawyer in the George H.W. Bush administration who also served as attorney general — is confirmed, they would decide whether to release the report to Congress, which would in turn be able to release it to the public.

Asked whether he would elect to have the Mueller report made public, Trump initially said it was "totally up to the attorney general."

Later, he walked back his comments, saying, "I don't know. It depends. I have no idea what it's going to say."

'He's doing the enemy's job for them': Current and former officials compare Trump to a toddler and say his attacks on the intel community create a goldmine for foreign governments
THE RUSSIA RUNDOWN: Stone's indictment, Whitaker hints at the Mueller probe's timeline, and Cohen prepares to face Congress
Mueller's office was targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign in an effort to discredit the investigation
Stay tuned :  As The Stomach Turns

Witchy sez : I'm back !  Did you miss  me ?
Mueller has evidence. (YES, we WILL see it!)  Trump has denial.  Trump and his campaign have certainly been caught lying a LOT about all those contacts they "DIDN'T" have with Russians!
Trump wanting the Russia probe to go away is like Gotti and Capone wanting investigations of them to go away.  The investigation will go away after Trump is PUT AWAY!---Bigly!  Every time you shake the 'RUSSIA TREE ,' a Trump campaign member falls out!  That investigation is 'NOT GOING AWAY  TRUMP.'  Read the constitution (It's clear trump never did)  "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." But of course that's a real fact so you won't believe it like any good sheep.  
When the entire world can ascertain the insanity of Trump and his policies or lack thereof, then the United States of America has reached a new low. We deserve better than this mentally deficient fool. Time for Congress to finally do their job and impeach or 25th Amendment. He is indeed a danger to our country and democracy. Enough of this prolonged misery!!!!!     When we allow 33% or less of Americans to rule this great country with their lower than average IQ and the Piped Piper leading them over the cliff, we have become a nation of fools. Time for everyone to contact their representatives and demand an impeachment.   
Russia is not our friend .  Russia is a criminal empire trying to recapture land lost when it
was the Soviet Union.  They do not want NATO around, because they are the only one's
keeping them in check, as Trump refuses to recognize the theat Russia has for America. 
A bigger theat to America is the cash coming from Russia into our election process,
Cash from Russia has ended up in the campaign chests of many US politicians, Maybe this
is the reason they refuse to act on Trump.   Why is Herr Trumpe saying the Russian investigation needs to go away ?  Is it clouding his judgement so much that he can't get anything else done ?  Oh wait.....what has he really done ?  NOTHING !!   
People who dislike Donald: The entire Democratic party... Most Independents (myself included)… Any Republican with a brain (Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Roy Blunt etc)… All four living Presidents… The FBI… The CIA… The NFL…The NBA…. The entire media aside from Fox News... Pretty much everyone in the field of science… The Pope (and really ALL true Christians)… Justin Trudeau… Ani DiFranco… The Queen of England… Noam Chomsky... Most of Hollywood.... The vast majority of women... Bruce Springsteen... Billy Joel… The leaders of most European and Asian countries... Glenn Beck… Melania Trump… Most of his cabinet… And the list goes on!
People who like Donald: Vladimir Putin, Kanye West, Roseanne Barr and some ignorant hicks that the rest of the world is laughing at…
Which side are YOU on?     Muellers Investigation netted 6  Witches
Flynn.....GUILTY
Papadopoulas......Guilty
Manafort.......Guilty
Cohen.....Guilty
Gates......Guilty
Stone.......Arrested....7 Count
Funny how this witch hunt has found a lot of witches so far eh?
Nuff said              HeHe                                                                         

Trump: 'Good chance' he will declare emergency for wall money

Thomson Reuters    BY STEVE HOLLAND       Feb 1st 2019
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump edged closer on Friday to defying the power of the U.S. Congress by declaring a national emergency in an attempt to obtain funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, a step that would likely draw a court challenge from Democrats.

Trump said at a White House event that he might declare such an emergency because it did not appear that Democrats in Congress were moving toward a deal that would provide the money he wants to help fund the wall, which Democrats broadly oppose.

"We're not getting anywhere with them," Trump said during an event at the White House, citing what he called "tremendous obstruction by Democrats," who call their differences with the president a basic disagreement over immigration policy.

"I think there's a good chance that we'll have to do that," Trump added, referring to the possibility of an emergency.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress holds the national purse strings and approves major expenditures of taxpayer funds.

Trump has discussed possibly declaring an emergency and redirecting funds already allocated by Congress for other purposes, possibly at the Defense Department, to his wall.

His latest comments came a day after Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, told reporters, "There's not going to be any wall money" in legislation to fund border security for the rest of this year.

Pelosi said she was open to negotiating funding for more ports of entry or additional border security technology. She added that the 17 House and Senate negotiators working on legislation to fund homeland security for the year should decide components of border security.

Democratic negotiators unveiled a detailed opening position containing no money for additional physical barriers on the border to control the flow of undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs. Previously they had supported $1.3 billion for new fencing and improvements to existing barriers.

Congress launched a super committee on border security this week, the latest stage of a long debate over one of Trump's biggest 2016 campaign promises, a concrete border wall he once said Mexico would pay for. The super committee has a Feb. 15 deadline to craft a deal on border security satisfactory to both political parties and to Trump, who agreed last week to end a historic 35-day partial government shutdown and allow Congress to try again to find a way forward.

Negotiations within the super committee began on Monday. Lawmakers have adjourned for the weekend. (Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by David Alexander; editing by Tim Ahmann)

Trump calls the U.S. presidency 'one of the great losers of all time,' because he says he's not making more money .