Cartoon of the Day: Casabufón

"We'll always have Pittsburgh"

(cartoon: Kim Warp, The New Yorker)

BONUS: A crowd of a couple of hundred Trumpers gather in D.C.'s Lafayette Square for a "Pittsburgh not Paris" rally, not noting the irony that Lafayette, the great hero of the American Revolution, was French. Meanwhile, a crowd five times that size marches blocks away in an anti-Trump "March for Truth."

BONUS II:

Yes, the park named for Lafayette, that famous yinzer and Steelers fan. https://t.co/bEOKrjgV9f

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) June 2, 2017

"Yinzer." Well done.

Unmasking A Villain

Following exposure of his shameful, bumbling attempt earlier this year to create a distraction around nitwit Donald "Rump" Trump's claim that he was "wire tapped" by President Obama, American villain Rep. Devin "Inspector Clouseau" Nunes (R- Trump's Pocket) was forced to recuse himself from the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russian interference in the election on behalf of Rump. But being the villain he is, he's still doing everything he can to muddy the waters (a.k.a., obstruct justice) on behalf of Rump. Last week, Nunes, acting on his own in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee and errand boy for Rump, issued three subpoenas -- though not to advance the Committee's investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal:

Nunes served subpoenas this week to the CIA, the NSA and the FBI asking for information about unmaskings requested by three former officials: national security adviser Susan E. Rice, CIA director John Brennan and U.N. ambassador Samantha Power.

In issuing his subpoenas, Nunes expressed his concern about "violations of Americans' civil liberties" via unmasking. As a good errand boy, Nunes was careful to coordinate his action with the Rump White (Supremacist) House, as evidenced by this contemporaneous tweet by the twit:

The big story is the "unmasking and surveillance" of people that took place during the Obama Administration.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017

It turns out, however, that Republicans' and Nunes' noble concern about "unmasking" seems to be a rather recent phenomenon:

The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee asked U.S. spy agencies late last year to reveal the names of U.S. individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, engaging in the same practice that President Trump has accused the Obama administration of abusing, current and former officials said. 

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), has since cast the practice of “unmasking” of U.S. individuals and organizations mentioned in classified reports as an abuse of surveillance powers by the outgoing Obama administration. (our emphasis)

Well, well. Hypocrisy thy name is you, Nunes. But we already knew that, didn't we?

Today's Washington Post editorial sums up the problem with Nunes' behavior, and what the "big story" is here, regardless of diversions and distractions:

The Nunes action seems unnecessary; if anything improper was done, the committee is capable of checking into it. This is not a separate matter from the Russia story, and Mr. Nunes’s recusal means he should keep his hands off it. Suspiciously, right after Mr. Nunes issued the subpoenas, Mr. Trump tweeted, “The big story is the ‘unmasking and surveillance’ of people that took place during the Obama Administration.” 

No, it is not. The “big story” is whether Russia brazenly attempted to tilt the U.S. election by damaging Hillary Clinton through a cyberattack and other means, thereby helping Mr. Trump to victory, and whether members of the Trump campaign colluded in that effort. It’s about Mr. Trump’s ill-explained and gratuitous attempts during the transition and since to do the bidding of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including trying to unwind the sanctions against Russia imposed by President Barack Obama after the election meddling was discovered. 

The “big story” is why Mr. Trump has frantically attempted to shut down the Russia investigations, including through the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey. It’s about getting an answer, once and for all, about Mr. Trump’s finances and any undisclosed links with Russia. The unmasking that’s important is the truth behind all this. Now it is in the hands of the investigators, and they must be left to do their work properly and without interference by Mr. Trump — or Mr. Nunes.

Every time this villainous clown tries to help his boss, he comes perilously close to obstructing an ongoing investigation. If his fellow party- before- country Republicans weren't also engaged in the same thing (albeit more subtly), Nunes would get censured. As it is, he'll probably get a pat on the back and a wink and a nod.

Climate Change, Handshakes And A Giant Toddler

The Age, Australia

The WH line is the president pulled out of a major climate change treaty without discussing or considering whether climate change is real.

— Rick Klein (@rickklein) June 2, 2017

We're hearing that the firm handshake from French President Macron apparently damaged the fragile ego of unstable narcissist Donald "Rump" Trump enough to exit the Paris Climate Accord. No one in the White (Supremacist) House will even say whether or not Rump believes in climate change (whether he does or not, he has to stick with his denialist base). The pettiness and recklessness of this mentally unfit clown damages us as a nation every day.

Poll: Republicans Will Own Any Future Problems With Health Care Reform

From a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted from 5/16 - 5/22 (click on image to enlarge):



The cynical, sociopathic game Republicans have been playing with their Obamacare "repeal and replace" rhetoric, now enshrined in their abominable TrumpCare bill ("American Health Care Act"), is catching up to them. Whatever further damage they do, with the selfish aim of providing tax cuts for the wealthy while killing a key Democratic reform, will be brought down on their heads at the polls; it's a case even the most inept Democrat shouldn't be able to screw up, because it's already been made for them in the minds of most voters.

Today's Cartoon Threefer

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jeff Danziger, The Rutland Herald)


(Matt Wuerker, Politico)


(David Horsey, Los Angeles Times)

Weekend Top Music

The Four Tops were one of the premier soul/ R & B groups who helped establish the Motown sound in the 1960s. June 6 would have been lead vocalist Levi Stubbs' 81st birthday, so we're going to take a couple of Tops tunes and play them for you in his honor. "Walk Away Renee" was a 1968 cover of the Left Banke's 1967 hit; Stubbs' voice, the subtle change in phrasing ("you won't see me follow you back home") and orchestration with brass give the song its beautiful, soulful Tops touch. 1981's "When She Was My Girl" also features Stubbs' emotive baritone and was recorded nearly a decade after leaving the Motown label. It was the last top 20 hit for the Tops and was nominated for a Grammy for Best R & B song. Hope you enjoy.

Quote Of The Day - "He Didn't Take Civilization Seriously"

"It’s a stupid and reckless decision — our nation’s dumbest act since launching the war in Iraq. But it’s not stupid and reckless in the normal way. Instead, it amounts to a thorough repudiation of two of the civilizing forces on our planet: diplomacy and science. It undercuts our civilization’s chances of surviving global warming, but it also undercuts our civilization itself, since that civilization rests in large measure on those two forces... And so we will resist. As the federal government reneges on its commitments, the rest of us will double down on ours. Already cities and states are committing to 100 percent renewable energy. Atlanta was the latest to take the step. We will make sure that every leader who hesitates and waffles on climate will be seen as another Donald Trump, and we will make sure that history will judge that name with the contempt it deserves. Not just because he didn’t take climate change seriously, but also because he didn’t take civilization seriously."-- Bill McKibben in the New York Times, on Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

Trump's Reckless Response to Manila Shooting

Yesterday's botched robbery and mass shooting at a Manila casino and entertainment complex was turned into a "terrorist attack" by unstable and desperate con man Donald "Rump" Trump, without the benefit of, you know, the facts:

UPDATE: Pres. Trump declares Manila incident a "terrorist attack," but police say it appears to not be terrorism. https://t.co/lj6W3etOua

— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) June 1, 2017

Pres. Trump did not say how he determined the status of the attack, or if the US gov't supported the determination.

— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) June 1, 2017

US intel official: Pres. Trump "was freelancing" with the terrorism declaration and "a laugh went up in the Situation Room" when he made it.

— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) June 1, 2017

"A laugh went up" at Rump's statement. No one's bothering to disguise their contempt for this "freelancing" idiot.

Morning Reading

The Washington Post fact checkers had a field day with the firehose of lies that civilization destroyer Donald "Rump" Trump employed at his announcement withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord:

In his speech announcing his decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord on climate change, President Trump frequently relied on dubious facts and unbalanced claims to make his case that the agreement would hurt the U.S. economy. Notably, he only looked at one side of the scale — claiming the agreement left the United States at a competitive disadvantage, harming U.S. industries. But he often ignored the benefits that could come from tackling climate change, including potential green jobs. 

Trump also suggested that the United States was treated unfairly under the agreement. But each of the nations signing the agreement agreed to help lower emissions, based on plans they submitted. So the U.S. target was set by the Obama administration. 

The plans are not legally binding, but developing and developed countries are treated differently because developed countries, on a per capita basis, often produce more greenhouse gases than developing countries. For instance, on a per capita basis, the United States in 2015 produced more than double the carbon dioxide emissions of China — and eight times more than India.

The fact checkers then go on to debunk lie after lie. To the Rump regime, there's no such thing as science, facts or observable reality, especially if they stand in the way of carrying out their nihilist agenda. (Good to know the idiot is getting counsel from only the best.)

Former Bush speechwriter Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson asks a familiar set of questions regarding the civilization destroyer's curious affinity for all things Russian, and concludes with:

If Trump’s tax returns and financial information are exculpatory, why not release them? And how does this unwillingness relate to Donald Trump Jr.’s 2008 statement that Trump businesses “see a lot of money pouring in from Russia”? 

For Mueller, Trump is innocent until proved guilty. But citizens judge their president according to reasonable inferences. We are now at a point when it is reasonable to believe something disturbing is occurring. A point when it is reasonable for citizens to demand of Trump: Disclose, or confirm our worst fears. 

Yes. Follow. The. Money. At the end of the trail will be found the leverage that the Russians have over Rump, and why he's so eager to please his masters in the Kremlin with plans like this:

President Donald Trump’s administration moved quickly to try and lift economic sanctions on Russia and other punishments former President Barack Obama had put in place as soon as it took office in January, according to multiple sources who have spoken with Yahoo News. 

“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” according to Dan Fried, who retired in February as Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department.

It should be obvious to any sentient person that there's a scandal here greater than any other in this nation's history. It can't stay unrevealed for long.

Today's Cartoons - Trump Pulls U.S. Out Of Paris Accord

As we've noted, the shitgibbon officially pulled the plug on U.S. participation in the Paris climate accord. F*ck the fool.

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jeff Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)

Trump's Vile Decision To Quit Paris Accords

The profoundly ignorant and malicious decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords -- an agreement with flexible, voluntary goals -- by neo-fascist buffoon Donald "Rump" Trump will not only make the U.S. an international pariah on environmental issues, but it marks the end of U.S. global and diplomatic leadership and a retreat of decades on the environment. With the Rump regime's abdication of responsibility, we are on our own -- individual citizens, institutions, companies, states, cities and others -- to go beyond what is expected as far as reducing our carbon footprint, and to shame and avoid those that won't. We'll see how many of our major corporations follow the Paris Climate Accord's goals for carbon emissions voluntarily, and how many cities and states adopt their own earth-friendly standards and regulations, because this shameful regime in the White (Supremacist ) House won't.

Here's the graphic depiction of where we stand vis-a-vis the rest of the world:

Countries committed to the Paris Climate Accord shaded in blue, via @mashable pic.twitter.com/1RGVGjUUyu

— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) June 1, 2017

Rump's name will be cursed by future generations.

This reaction from Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune says it all (plus more reactions at the link):

Generations from now, Americans will look back at Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement as one of the most ignorant and dangerous actions ever taken by any President. Trump’s decision to ignore the vast majority of the American public and the scientific community will harm our country, costing us lives, jobs and our role as a world leader. Trump has isolated our country on the world stage, ceding our leadership position and our economic advantage on clean energy to India and China, and justifying it all by chanting a slogan from a baseball hat.

BONUS: Additional reactions here. And here.

BONUS II: What Steve Benen said --

We’ve taken great pride in the modern era of our president being the Leader of the Free World, and today effectively marked the end of a once-great era. Donald J. Trump has managed to betray the climate, the world, America’s standing, and his own legacy in one fell swoop. 

History will not be kind.

Tweets Of The Day - Compound Interest

Nothing to see here, move along!

This whole “Trump gives Russia its spy houses back in exchange for nothing” story makes it awfully hard to connect the dots.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 1, 2017

Russia explicitly threatened Trump a week ago: give us back the sites or else. Trump gives them back. That's called leverage. https://t.co/9xsGKxleU5

— Ken Gude (@KenGude) June 1, 2017

Looks a lot like the Rump regime is doubling down on its collusion with Russia (perhaps to provide more effective bases for an all- out disinformation campaign to save Rump's ass?).  Or is it because, as Ken Gude suggests, Rump has no choice?

Liars Gonna Lie, Grifters Gonna Grift

We don't pretend to be on top of all the ethical outrages occurring on practically a daily basis in the regime of un-indicted co-conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump. That would require, among other things, a stronger stomach that either of us possesses. Here, though, are a few examples from just the past 24 hours that define the moral and legal black hole that is Rump's regime:

-- Evil elf Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III finds perjury as natural as breathing:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now said to have had a third undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. 

During his confirmation proceedings, Sessions testified under oath that he “did not have any communications with the Russians.” 

Yet now CNN is reporting there was a third undisclosed meeting that occurred on April 27, 2016 at the famed Mayflower Hotel only blocks from the White House in Washington, DC. (our emphasis)

In addition to Congressional investigators, the FBI is also investigating the previously undisclosed meeting between Beauregard and Russian spy recruiter Kislyak. The two previously undisclosed meetings with Russian officials were uncovered in March:

Sessions made headlines in March after a Washington Post report said, citing Justice Department officials, the then-Alabama senator spoke to Kislyak in last July and September “at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race.” 

Following the Post report, the attorney general agreed to have been in touch with one Russian official a couple of times but maintained the meetings had nothing to with sharing of information.  (our emphasis)

At this juncture, the only thing that would keep Beauregard from being impeached and removed from office is the fact that Congress is controlled by sniveling party- before- country Republicans. Lying and hypocrisy are in their DNA.

-- In a regime that takes its cues from the kleptocratic family at its rotten head, it should come as no great surprise that they believe ethics rules are for losers:

President Donald Trump has granted ethics waivers to at least 17 of his top White House aides, including chief strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, in addition to four former lobbyists. 

The waivers, released by the White House late Wednesday but granted on various dates, undermine Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp” in Washington. 

They also reveal a president who is granting ethics waivers at an unusually rapid pace. The 17 senior White House appointees were all granted waivers in the past four months. His predecessor, Barack Obama, granted that same number of waivers to his top staff over the course of his eight years in office. 

The waivers allow those covered under them to be exempt from some of the restrictions imposed by Trump’s executive order on ethics, which he signed just days after taking office. Most involve allowing contact with former clients and employers.

Influence peddling, back room sweetheart deals, and generic grifting -- more elements in the DNA of Republicans and of this regime in particular. Government service is only seen as a pocket- lining exercise. The rubes that bought into the "draining the swamp" pitch? No worries! They can always be had with appeals to their bigotry and racism. In the meantime, the Government grift store is open for business.

Climate Change and The Trump Con

As sociopath and environment despoiler Donald "Rump" Trump nears the announcement that the U.S. is backing out of the Paris Climate Accord -- joining Syria and Nicaragua as environmental pariahs -- the question of motive remains. Saving jobs? The fading coal industry only employs 53,000, while the solar/renewable energy sector employs 374,000, more than the oil, natural gas and coal industries combined. With utilities and industrial plants having converted to other energy sources, coal won't be coming back as a major energy source. Also, major corporations have also lined up in support of the U.S. remaining in the accord. Fossil energy pressure? Yes, that's a big part of it, especially from the coal interests, but a number of major fossil energy companies (Exxon, BP, and Chevron) have voiced support of the Paris agreement. Our view: Rump's delusional and reactionary "nationalist" view that  America does best when it acts alone and looks to the past, coupled with his perverse desire to destroy the legacy of the first African-American President who will always overshadow him, are likely the motivations.

As Natasha Geiling notes at Think Progress, Rump's decision should also put to rest any remaining questions about first lady daughter Ivanka "Complicit" Trump's interest in climate change or her influence with her father. We hear "sources close to Ivanka" saying she's an advocate for protecting the climate from man-made carbon emissions, but have never heard her speak publicly about it. Either she's ineffective in persuading her father (despite having the world community, corporations, and overwhelming public opinion at her back), or her advocacy was a pretense geared toward preserving her "brand" with the majority of Americans who believe the climate science that we must reduce carbon emissions or doom the planet. We're going with the pretense option.

Weaponizing and Colluding Quote of the Day

“The Russians, in my opinion ... could not have known how best to weaponize that information unless they have been guided ... by Americans. I think it’s fair to ask, how did that actually influence the campaign, and how did they know what messages to deliver? Who told them? Who were they coordinating with, and colluding with?" (emphasis added)  -- Hillary Clinton, interviewed at the Code Conference in California on May 31. Good points: the pilfered e-mails, the fake news stories, and social media attacks were the "weapons," while the strategy and targeting was provided by Trump and his associates.