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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Multiple Sources Corroborate Trump ‘Pee-Pee’ Tape — Additional Tapes Alleged
Many critics of the dossier, who claim that it’s filled with lies and inaccuracies, use these nearly unbelievable allegations as a way to discredit the entire 35-page document. New information, however, coming from The Spectator, seems to further legitimize the existence of such a tape.

Paul Wood from The Spectator, has claimed to have heard from two separate sources that Russia does in fact have kompromat on the President. Wood also goes on to state:


“There are, though, reports of witnesses in the hotel who corroborate Steele’s reporting. These include an American who’s said to have seen a row with the hotel security over whether the hookers would be allowed up to Trump’s suite. The dossier’s account of hookers in a Moscow hotel room was the subject of gossip among politicians and intelligence people for months before it was published.”

Wood then goes on to claim that the urination tape that the Russians allegedly have of Trump and several prostitutes, is not the only or most extreme tape in existence.

“Now claims are circulating of more tapes showing more extreme behavior. Expect these allegations to emerge in due course,” Wood continued.

For those unfamiliar with Paul Wood, he’s an incredibly well respected and trusted international journalist. He has reported from some of the most war-torn areas on the planet, including Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Chechnya, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. He has won multiple awards and is respected around the world.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Michael Flynn Worked With Foreign Cyberweapons Group That Sold Spyware Used Against Political Dissidents
While serving as a top campaign adviser to Donald Trump, Flynn worked with firms linked to NSO Group -- which develops spyware and sells it to governments.
While serving as a top campaign aide to Donald Trump, former national security adviser Michael Flynn made tens of thousands of dollars on the side advising a company that sold surveillance technology that repressive governments used to monitor activists and journalists.


Flynn, who resigned in February after mischaracterizing his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., has already come under scrutiny for taking money from foreign outfits. Federal investigators began probing Flynn’s lobbying efforts on behalf of a Dutch company led by a businessman with ties to the Turkish government earlier this year. Flynn’s moonlighting wasn’t typical: Most people at the top level of major presidential campaigns do not simultaneously lobby for any entity, especially not foreign governments. It’s also unusual for former U.S. intelligence officials to work with foreign cybersecurity outfits.


Nor was Flynn’s work with foreign entities while he was advising Trump limited to his Ankara deal. He earned nearly $1.5 million last year as a consultant, adviser, board member, or speaker for more than three dozen companies and individuals, according to financial disclosure forms released earlier this year.


Two of those entities are directly linked to NSO Group, a secretive Israeli cyberweapons dealer founded by Omri Lavie and Shalev Hulio, who are rumored to have served in Unit 8200, the Israeli equivalent of the National Security Agency.


Flynn received $40,280 last year as an advisory board member for OSY Technologies, an NSO Group offshoot based in Luxembourg, a favorite tax haven for major corporations. OSY Technologies is part of a corporate structure that runs from Israel, where NSO Group is located, through Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S.

Flynn also worked as a consultant last year for Francisco Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm that owns NSO Group, but he did not disclose how much he was paid. At least two Francisco Partners executives have sat on OSY’s board.

Flynn’s financial disclosure forms do not specify the work he did for companies linked to NSO Group, and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. Former colleagues at Flynn’s consulting firm declined to discuss Flynn’s work with NSO Group. Executives at Francisco Partners who also sit on the OSY Technologies board did not respond to emails. Lavie, the NSO Group co-founder, told HuffPost he is “not interested in speaking to the press” and referred questions to a spokesman, who did not respond to queries.

Many government and military officials have moved through the revolving door between government agencies and private cybersecurity companies. The major players in the cybersecurity contracting world ― SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI Federal and KeyW Corporation ― all have former top government officials in leadership roles or on their boards, or have former top executives working in government.

But it’s less common for former U.S. intelligence officials to work with foreign cybersecurity outfits. “There is a lot of opportunity in the U.S. to do this kind of work,” said Ben Johnson, a former NSA employee and the co-founder of Obsidian Security. “It’s a little bit unexpected going overseas, especially when you combine that with the fact that they’re doing things that might end up in hands of enemies of the U.S. government. It does seem questionable.”

What is clear is that during the time Flynn was working for NSO’s Luxembourg affiliate, one of the company’s main products — a spy software sold exclusively to governments and marketed as a tool for law enforcement officials to monitor suspected criminals and terrorists — was being used to surveil political dissidents, reporters, activists, and government officials. The software, called Pegasus, allowed users to remotely break into a target’s cellular phone if the target responded to a text message.

Last year, several people targeted by the spyware contacted Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research team based out of the University of Toronto. With the help of experts at the computer security firm Lookout, Citizen Lab researchers were able to trace the spyware hidden in the texts back to NSO Group spyware. After Citizen Lab publicized its findings, Apple introduced patches to fix the vulnerability. It is not known how many activists in other countries were targeted and failed to report it to experts.

NSO Group told Forbes in a statement last year that it complies with strict export control laws and only sells to authorized government agencies. “The company does NOT operate any of its systems; it is strictly a technology company,” NSO Group told Forbes.

But once a sale is complete, foreign governments are free to do what they like with the technology.

“The government buys [the technology] and can use it however they want,” Bill Marczak, one of the Citizen Lab researchers, told HuffPost. “They’re basically digital arms merchants.”

The month before Flynn joined the advisory board of OSY Technologies, NSO Group opened up a new arm called WestBridge Technologies, Inc., in the D.C. region. (The company was originally registered in Delaware in 2014, but formed in Maryland in April 2016.) Led by NSO Group co-founder Lavie, WestBridge is vying for federal government contracts for NSO Group’s products. Hiring Flynn would provide NSO Group with a well-connected figure in Washington, to help get its foot in the door of the notoriously insular world of secret intelligence budgeting.

“When you’re trying to build up your business, you need someone who has connections, someone who is seen as an authority and a legitimate presence,” Johnson said. Hiring someone with Flynn’s background in intelligence would “open up doors that they wouldn’t have had access to,” Johnson said.

Throughout 2016, Flynn worked for a number of cybersecurity firms personally and through his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group. In addition to his advisory board seat at OSY Technologies, he sat on the board of Adobe Systems, a large software company with Pentagon contracts, and the boards of the cybersecurity companies GreenZone Systems and HALO Privacy. (Though Flynn described himself as an Adobe advisory board member in his financial disclosure paperwork, the group said in a statement that he provided only “periodic counsel to Adobe’s public sector team.”)

It’s a little bit unexpected going overseas, especially when you combine that with the fact that they’re doing things that might end up in hands of enemies of the U.S. government.Ben Johnson, former NSA employee
Prominent human rights activists and political dissidents have reported being targeted by NSO’s technology. On August 10, 2016, Ahmed Mansoor, an internationally recognized Emirati human rights activist, received a text message prompting him to click a link to read “new secrets” about detainees abused in UAE prisons. He got a similar text the next day. But Mansoor, who had already been repeatedly targeted by hackers, knew better than to click the links. Instead, he forwarded the messages to Citizen Lab.

Citizen Lab soon determined that NSO Group’s malware exploited an undisclosed mobile phone vulnerability, known as a zero-day exploit, that enabled its customers ― that is, foreign governments ― to surveil a target’s phone after the target clicked the link included in the phishing text message. If Mansoor had clicked that link, his “phone would have become a digital spy in his pocket, capable of employing his phone camera and microphone to snoop on activity in the vicinity of the device, recording his WhatsApp and Viber calls, logging messages sent in mobile chat apps, and tracking his movements,” Citizen Lab wrote in a report.

Across the globe in Mexico, where Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were working to repeal a tax on sodas imposed in 2014, two activists and a government-employed scientist, all of whom supported the soda tax, received a series of suspicious text messages. The texts, which became increasingly aggressive and threatening, came as the scientist and the activists were preparing a public relations campaign in support of raising the soda tax and promoting awareness of the health risks linked to sugary beverages.

Dr. Simón Barquera, researcher at Mexico’s National Institute for Public Health, received a text on July 11, 2016, inviting him to click a link the sender said would lead him to a detailed investigation of his clinic. When Barquera didn’t follow through, the texts escalated. On the 12th, he got a text with a link to a purported court document, which the sender claimed mentioned Barquera by name. On the 13th, yet another text included a link that supposedly contained information about a funeral. The day after that, the sender wrote, “You are an asshole Simon, while you are working I’m fucking your old lady here is a photo.” The final text Barquera received in August said that his daughter was in “grave condition” after an accident, and included a link that would supposedly tell him where she was being treated.

Alejandro Calvillo, director of the consumer rights nonprofit El Poder del Consumidor, received a text with a link claiming to be from a man who wanted to know if Calvillo could attend the man’s father’s funeral. Another text sent to Calvillo included a link that the sender said was a viral news story that mentioned him. The final target, Luis Encarnación, a coordinator for the obesity prevention group Coalicion ContraPESO, also received a text with a link claiming that he was named in a news article.

The targets quickly got in touch with Citizen Lab and forwarded their text messages to the researchers. In February 2017, Citizen Lab released a new report linking NSO Group’s technology to the phishing attempts targeting the pro-soda tax campaigners.

Citizen Lab researchers have also identified texts sent last summer to Mexican journalist Rafael Cabrera that they believe were an attempt to infect his phone with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Cabrera, who now works for BuzzFeed Mexico, was targeted by hackers after he broke a story revealing a potential conflict of interest with the Mexican first family and a Chinese company.

Citizen Lab believes NSO Group may have also sold its mobile phone spying technology to many governments, including those of Kenya, Mozambique, Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Morocco, Hungary, Nigeria and Bahrain.

Working with repressive regimes is standard practice in the cyberweapons industry. The Italian surveillance malware firm Hacking Team has worked with dozens of countries known to jail dissidents, according to emails uploaded to WikiLeaks. The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency were among the company’s customers, according to the documents.

Despite recent scrutiny over Mansoor’s case, NSO Group’s value has exploded in recent years. Francisco Partners bought the cyberweapons dealer in 2014 for $120 million. It is now reportedly valued at over $1 billion.

The human rights activists targeted with the company’s software haven’t fared as well. Mansoor was arrested in the UAE in March after he signed a letter calling for the release of political prisoners. He remains behind bars.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Adobe.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said that Ahmed Mansoor is a human rights attorney. He is a human rights activist.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Congressman wants to shut down Trump investigation, but investigate everyone else
Congressman wants to shut down Trump investigation, but investigate everyone else
Ron DeSantis has demanded probes into Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said this week he would propose new limits to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into “Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters.” On Friday, he joined Breitbart News Daily and explained that his proposed amendment would limit the scope of the investigation and put a six-month limit on Mueller’s work.

“My amendment sets a limit of only matters since Trump’s campaign started,” he explained. “And then If you don’t have anything after 6 months after announcement. That will be almost two years [if you include the FBI’s investigation that started in 2016]… If you have hard facts produce them.”
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DeSantis complained that, according to leaks, it appears that the investigation is focusing on “unrelated’ possible crimes by former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other “tangential” figures.

“That’s not a good use of resources and diverts our attention on Capitol Hill away from on the core issues that American people want us to address,” he added. “Is this being done because we want to answer this question about ‘were there crimes committed by members of a presidential campaign working in cahoots with the Russians?’ Yes or no? And if there weren’t, then go on. All the stuff we’re hearing are things that really are unrelated to that.”




It is not uncommon for prosecutors to bring charges for unrelated crimes discovered in the course of an investigation, especially as a tactic to gain cooperation from smaller fish who might provide information about larger crimes. But even more importantly, if the Trump campaign’s chairman had a longstanding prior relationship with Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, that could be directly relevant to examining Russian involvement in the Trump 2016 effort.

While DeSantis is eager to put a premature end to an investigation into Trump and his campaign, his approach has been very different when it comes to those on the other side of the political aisle.

In 2016, he repeatedly demanded a special counsel be appointed to investigate Hillary Clinton’s email server, even after the attorney general determined that one was not required. In one such demand, he asked rhetorically, “Aren’t the current extraordinary circumstances involving the investigation of former Secretary of State Clinton’s private email server the precise reason the special counsel option exists?”

When news reports suggested that the Department of Justice may have turned down a request to investigate Clinton’s foundation, he publicly accused the attorney general of having “demonstrated her contempt for the American people by prioritizing politics over the pursuit of justice.”

He also led an unsuccessful effort that year to impeach the IRS commissioner, an Obama appointee, who he said had “violated the public trust, breached his fiduciary obligations and demonstrated his unfitness to serve.” At the time he saidCongress must act to get to the truth and because, “We are supposed to be the people’s representatives, we are supposed to be able to do justice for them when the government is not acting appropriately… [There is] no excuse for our failure to discharge our basic constitutional duties.”

And just weeks ago, DeSantis called for a Congressional investigation of his fellow Florida representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), after a former information technology employee of employed by Wasserman Schultz and several other Congressional Democrats was arrested on charges of filing a fraudulent home loan application — hardly the sort of direct connection he now demands Mueller demonstrate.

Perhaps ironically, DeSantis proposed in January that Congress should enact a Trump-inspired “Drain the Swamp Act,” to “roaden the scope of the existing federal ban on foreign nationals contributing money to federal, state, or local elections; political parties; or electioneering communications to include a federal ban on foreign nationals from soliciting money for such contributions.”

DeSantis is not the first Trump ally to push to end Mueller’s investigation. But if his amendment were to become law, it could significantly impair the Department of Justice’s ability to provide the “thorough investigation” that Trump himself endorsed in May.
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View: https://twitter.com/briantashman/status/903633133920243712
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Pitbull3744 said:
I have to agree here. Either find shit or move on, this is taking way too long.
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Close the Trump investigation because it is taking too long but ramp up the Hillary investigation? Interesting logic used by Desantis. Hillary's shit is even further in the past.
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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How Republicans, Democrats And The Business World Are Reacting To Trump's DACA Decision
http://digg.com/2017/republican-daca-reactions-mccain-ryan-flake
Despite urging President Trump not to rescind DACA on Friday, Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan issued a statement supporting the decision, but urging Congress to act to replace it:

Congress writes laws, not the president, and ending this program fulfills a promise that President Trump made to restore the proper role of the executive and legislative branches... At the heart of this issue are young people who came to this country through no fault of their own... It is my hope that the House and Senate... will be able to find consensus on a permanent legislative solution that includes ensuring that those who have done nothing wrong can still contribute as a valued part of this great country.

Senator John McCain of Arizona condemned the decision in a statement:

President Trump’s decision to eliminate DACA is the wrong approach to immigration policy... I strongly believe that children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know... The federal government has a responsibility to defend and secure our borders, but we must do so in a way that upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.

Senator Jeff Flake, also of Arizona, took Ryan's approach — supporting the decision on legal grounds, but urging Congress to pass a replacement:

View: https://twitter.com/JeffFlake/status/905089190496489473


View: https://twitter.com/JeffFlake/status/905089490578018308


View: https://twitter.com/JeffFlake/status/905089708853780481


The Republican Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker tweeted that Trump made "the wrong decision":

View: https://twitter.com/MassGovernor/status/905098755090903040


Nevada Governor and Republican Brian Sandoval issued a statement highlighting his support of DACA and hope that Congress would pass a replacement:

View: https://twitter.com/HenryJGomez/status/905118777876021248


Republican Congressman Dave Reichert of Washington issued a statement supporting congressional action, saying:

Children who were brought here by no fault of their own see America as their country and their home... Punishing these individuals who have contributed so much to our communities and for a crime they did not commit is not in the American DNA.

Florida Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen both condemned the decision over Twitter:

View: https://twitter.com/MarioDB/status/905087206880157699


View: https://twitter.com/RosLehtinen/status/905096024129228800


California congressman Jeff Denham told Poppy Harlow that without a congressional fix, the decision to end DACA will hurt the economy:

View: https://twitter.com/PoppyHarlowCNN/status/905084057305792512
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Democrats
Democrats, who have been leading the charge for progressive immigration reform for years, were predictably upset by Trump's decision. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont dug into Trump in his statement:

[T]he President has revealed he is as heartless as he is uninformed... Trump is targeting yet another exemplary group of people who enrich the fabric of our society... [Trump's] action, with the complicity of Attorney General Session, is petty and malicious, and it is harmful in so many ways.

Similarly, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts condemned the decision, and called on Congress to replace DACA:

View: https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/905090742699339778


View: https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/905090977462964225


View: https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/905091279817728000


Business Leaders
Leaders in business are speaking out against the decision as well. Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted shortly after the decision that Congress needs to act to replace DACA:

View: https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/905090271494365186


In a Facebook post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the decision "wrong" and "cruel," and urged Congress to act:

View: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104016069261801


Box CEO Aaron Levie tweeted that replacing DACA should be Congress' first priority:

View: https://twitter.com/levie/status/905087421204668416


The conservative lobbying group the US Chamber of Commerce issued a statement saying that reversing course on DACA ran counter to the best interests of the country:

View: https://twitter.com/alexburnsNYT/status/905088995973095425


The head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Javier Palomarez, responded the decision by resigning from Trump's National Diversity Council, telling HLN:

I tried to work as hard as I could with this administration on this issue and I continue to want to work with them on other issues, like tax reform, like health care reform, and so many other important things... But I really don't see the logic in doing what we're doing right now.

In addition to public figures, people around America are protesting the decision. In New York, a dozen people have already been arrested in front of Trump Tower. In Denver, student walked out of class in protest.
 
Pitbull9

Pitbull9

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Jan 28, 2015
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MC Gusto said:
Close the Trump investigation because it is taking too long but ramp up the Hillary investigation? Interesting logic used by Desantis. Hillary's shit is even further in the past.
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I didnt say anything about Hilary, I also want her to be done and stop hearing her and Obamas name. I was just saying either find shit on trump already or move on.
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Pitbull3744 said:
I didnt say anything about Hilary, I also want her to be done and stop hearing her and Obamas name. I was just saying either find shit on trump already or move on.
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The article and comments by the senator you were agreeing with stated a time limit should be installed on the Trump investigation so they can direct more resources towards the Hillary investigation.
 
jason73

jason73

Auslander Raus
First 100
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Pitbull3744 said:
I didnt say anything about Hilary, I also want her to be done and stop hearing her and Obamas name. I was just saying either find shit on trump already or move on.
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The fbi has been looking for 2 years already.there is nothing there
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Betsy DeVos Expected To Make Major Title IX Announcement
Adding to an already tense campus climate around America, education secretary Betsy DeVos is planning to make a major announcement concerning Title IX (the law that is meant to protect gender equality on campuses) on Thursday. BuzzFeed news reports that insiders expect the announcement to pertain to President Obama's directives on campus rape, which have focused scrutiny on the topic around campuses in recent years, and directed reform.


Trump Agrees To Increased Weapons Sales To South Korea
In the face of increasing threats by North Korea, President Trump has agreed to billions more in weapons sales to South Korea, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, UN representative Nikki Haley urged the UN Monday to impose more sanctions on the country, saying North Korea was "begging for war." In particular, the Trump Administration is attempting to convince China to impose fuel sanctions on the dictatorship.

Special Investigator Fights Congressional Committees For Intelligence
Special investigator Robert Mueller is facing new challenges in his investigation of the Trump campaign's interactions with Russia. CNN reports that Mueller has struggled to obtain the transcript of Congress' closed-door interview with former Trump campaign chiefPaul Manafort, with Manafort's attorneys claiming Mueller isn't authorized to access the transcript. The battle shows what will likely become a more frequent struggle as different investigations into the Trump campaign's interactions with Russia proceed.

Departure Of Top Trump Aide Rattles White House
President Trump's former bodyguard and aide Keith Schiller is departing Trump's side after working with him for two decades. Schiller is leaving to pursue private security, which will be far more lucrative and less time-consuming than his current public position. Trump, who reportedly has a deep trust in Schiller and considers him a close friend, was reportedly "crushed" by the decision. Schiller performed a myriad of duties for Trump in the White House, serving as a gatekeeper, protecter, and "wing man" — even personally delivering the news of James Comey's firing to the FBI.
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Trump Wants To Tax Your Retirement Account To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich and Corporations
One of the proposals being floated by the Trump White House on tax reform is to tax the retirement plan contributions of workers upfront to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

Politico reported in August, “One idea quietly being discussed would be taxing the money that workers place into their 401(k) savings plans up front: an idea that would raise billions of dollars in the short-term and is pulled from the Camp plan. This policy idea is widely disliked by budget hawks, who consider it a gimmick; the financial services industry that handles retirement savings; and nonprofits that try to encourage Americans to save.”

Americans already don’t save enough money for retirement, so taxing retirement account contributions is an idea that is certain to make the problem worse, but Republicans don’t care if American workers can ever afford to retire. The scheme is all about making the numbers work on paper, so that the wealthy and corporations, a.k.a. people just like Donald Trump can get the tax cut that they don’t need.

Republicans have learned nothing. They are still trying to sell a big tax cut to the wealthy and corporations as a tool for economic development. History and the data both show that tax cuts for the wealthy don’t grow the economy. Trickle down economics doesn’t work. Republicans are going to blow up the deficit and take money out of the economy with tax cuts for the top, and then feign ignorance when the inevitable economic recession occurs.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Trump gets millions from golf members. CEOs and lobbyists get access to president
Dozens of lobbyists, contractors and others who make their living influencing the government pay President Trump’s companies for membership in his private golf clubs, a status that can put them in close contact with the president, a USA TODAY investigation found.

Members of the clubs Trump has visited most often as president — in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia — include at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there, according to scores they posted online.
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Facebook Sold Ads To Russian Troll Farm During 2016 Election
The Washington Post reports that Facebook has told congressional investigators that it sold $100,000 worth of ads (3,300 units) to a Russian "troll farm" with a history of pushing Kremlin propaganda. Some of the ads specifically mentioned Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and were targeted to people based on their interests in political pages pertaining to the LGBT community, black social issues, the Second Amendment and immigration.

The spread of fake news through targeted advertising on social media has long been suspected as a primary form of political interference used by the Russian government to affect the 2016 US election. Facebook has largely attempted to wipe its hands of any responsibility for the election, while introducing tools to combat fake news.

Trump Sides With Democrats To Avoid Shutdown
After a bi-partisan meeting that included Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer announced that they had made a deal with President Trump to pass Harvey relief along with an increase to the debt-ceiling and a funding bill that would keep the government working until mid-December. The announcement aligns Trump with Democrats on the issue, who are in favor of continuing to increase the debt ceiling to fund the government. Many Republicans have oppose growing the national debt.

In the face of growing Republican opposition to the proposition of such a package deal, Trump was expected to make a statement today arguing for the legislation.

Earlier today, The House has passed a Harvey relief bill of $7.85 billion that does not include an increase to the debt ceiling.

Political Operatives Joining Trump Golf Clubs For Access
USA Today reports that at least 50 executives whose companies have federal contracts and 21 lobbyists have joined one of Trump's golf clubs and two-thirds have played on one of the days when Trump is there. Members pay up to $100,000 for initiation, and thousands more every year for their dues. The money will eventually go to Trump when he is no longer president.

Betsy DeVos Ends Agreement To Enforce Student Loan Fraud
Education secretary Betsy DeVos has ended the department's agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to patrol student loan fraud. The department claims that the Bureau violated the agreement by handling complaints themselves rather than referring them to the department of education. The bureau says they have never heard these complaints from the department of education.

Trump Properties Threatened By Hurricane Irma
The Washington Post reports that multiple Trump properties are in the path of destruction of Hurricane Irma. One of Trump's properties, Plum Bay, is on the waterfront of St. Martin, where officials say their "most solid buildings" have been destroyed. In south Florida, where the hurricane is expected to make landfall on Sunday, lies Trump's notorious Mar-A-Lago club.
 
Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

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Trump Says Ivanka Asked Him 'Daddy Can I Go With You?' to North Dakota
President Donald Trump invited a surprise guest to the podium during his speech on tax reform in North Dakota — his daughter Ivanka Trump, whom he credited with softening his image.

"Everybody loves Ivanka," he said, motioning his daughter up to the stage. "Sometimes they'll say you know he can't be that bad a guy, look at Ivanka."


The President, who was in North Dakota to tout his tax reform initiative, also explained why his daughter was accompanying him, despite the fact that she is a Senior aide in the West Wing and is working on a childcare tax credit as part of the reform initiative.

"She's so good she wanted to make the trip. She actually said "Daddy can I go with you?'" he said of his 35-year-old daughter, who is also an adviser to the President, adding that she had expressed her fondness for the state.
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Freeloading Rusty

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Betsy DeVos To Revamp Obama-Era Sexual Assault Guidance
Education secretary Betsy DeVos announced Thursday that the Department of Education would revamp President Obama's guidance on sexual assault policies, saying "Schools have been compelled by Washington to enforce ambiguous and incredibly broad definitions of assault and harassment." President Obama's Dear Colleague letter, instructed colleges to clamp down on sexual assault on campus, using Title IX to pursue accused rapists and assaulters.

Trump Apologizes To GOP After Siding With Democrats On Debt Ceiling Increase
According to Politico, President Trumpreportedly apologized to Republicans in Congress after siding with Democrats on a plan to increase the debt ceiling and extend funding for three months, along with passing Hurricane Harvey relief. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell begrudgingly said he will support the bill. Other Congressional Republicans are upset, however, saying that combining the debt ceiling increase and funding extension with Harvey relief torches two key points of leverage they could use in future negotiations with Democrats.

Update, 2:37 PM: The Senate has passed the spending package that includes an increase to the debt ceiling.

Trump Tweets Reassurance To DREAMers At Urging Of Democratic Leader
Thursday morning, President Trump tweeted a reassurance to DACA beneficiaries: that their protected status was secure for six months until DACA is officially rescinded.
 
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