Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links to read the full articles/ op eds.

All this winning is getting hard to take:

North Korea’s main newspaper accused the United States on Sunday of staging military drills to prepare an invasion while at the same time pursuing dialogue with “a smile on its face.” 

Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the Workers’ Party of Korea, cited alleged U.S. troop movements in the region, which it called “extremely provocative and dangerous” and said they threatened to derail the dialogue between the United States and North Korea. 

The U.S. military called the accusation “far fetched.” 

The opinion piece came two days after President Trump canceled a planned trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing a lack of progress in getting North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons. 

Don't worry, though.  North Korea is "no longer a nuclear threat" according to a Very Stable Genius.

Republicans want you to know that if those wascally Demoncrats win the House, they're going to [checks notes] do the job Republicans should have been doing:

Congressional Republicans are getting ready for hell. Axios has obtained a spreadsheet that's circulated through Republican circles on and off Capitol Hill — including at least one leadership office — that meticulously previews the investigations Democrats will likely launch if they flip the House. [snip]

o President Trump’s tax returns 

o Trump family businesses — and whether they comply with the Constitution's emoluments clause, including the Chinese trademark grant to the Trump Organization 

o Trump's dealings with Russia, including the president's preparation for his meeting with Vladimir Putin 

o The payment to Stephanie Clifford — a.k.a. Stormy Daniels 

o James Comey's firing 

o Trump's firing of U.S. attorneys 

o Trump's proposed transgender ban for the military 

o Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's business dealings 

o White House staff's personal email use 

o Cabinet secretary travel, office expenses, and other misused perks  

The list goes on and on.  Sounds like a list that only the most rotted- out, corrupt party in recent memory would find objectionable, along with their base, of course.

It's in their DNA:

Fox News has disabled comments on YouTube videos about the death of John McCain following an outpouring of nastiness on the network's own website from its commenters.

It's the same over at über- right sites like spittle- flecked Free Republic.

The Trump regime has created hundreds of orphans in its border crackdown. The number is holding steady while the Trump regime passes the buck to the ACLU (found via Infidel 753):

As of last week, 565 migrant children who were separated from their parents by the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy remained separated and in U.S. custody. Late Thursday, the Trump administration told a federal court in San Diego that that number has barely budged, dropping to 528 nearly a month after the court’s deadline to reunite all of the separated children. Of the still-separated group, 23 are younger than 5 years old.

Of the children who remain separated, the Trump administration says 343 have a parent who was deported without them. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the parents in the federal class action lawsuit, has taken the lead on trying to find and contact those parents, its attorneys hope many of those cases can be swiftly resolved.

You'll find more links ranging a wide spectrum over at Infidel 753's link round up.  Be a well- rounded citizen and go browse.

John McCain, 1936-2018

After a long battle, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) died Saturday at the age of 81.  Despite our long list of issues with McCain, he had the courage to stand up for his beliefs (including casting the deciding vote to save the Affordable Care Act last year). Especially compared to the political and moral midgets in his caucus and the unstable Man Baby in the White (Supremacist) House, McCain was a giant.

His biography is well known. He served his country in the Navy, including as a severely wounded POW in Vietnam, during which time he was tortured but emerged a hero 5 1/2 years later.  He has represented Arizona, first as a Congressman then as a Senator, from 1983 until his death. He ran for president, first in 2000 (defeated in the primaries by George Bush), then in 2008, when he made the mistake of elevating Sarah Palin to the ticket and national prominence.

We'll let one of his biggest political rivals, President Barack Obama (who, along with Bush was asked by McCain to deliver eulogies at his funeral), speak for most Americans:

"John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics. But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher-the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed. We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible - and citizenship as our patriotic obligation to ensure it forever remains that way. 

"Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John's best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt. Michelle and I send our heartfelt condolences to Cindy and their family."

Rest in peace.

You can read more statements on McCain's passing here.