Donald J. Trump wins Presidency

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-24/jordan-releases-footage-green-berets-killed-while-secret-cia-syria-mission

Jordan has just released the previously suppressed CCTV video footage of last year's heinous attack on 3 Green Berets by a Jordanian soldier and ISIS-sympathizer as they entered a desert facility to conduct training operations as part of a CIA secret program aimed at regime change in Syria.

'Heinous attack'? They were training terrorists to overthrow the elected government of a sovereign state when one of their pet headchoppers turned on them.

Karma.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-26/moscow-warns-painful-response-us-sanctions-eu-ready-retaliate-matter-days

In a statement on Wednesday morning, EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said that "the US bill could have unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU's energy security interests. This is why the Commission concluded today that if our concerns are not taken into account sufficiently we stand ready to act appropriately with a matter of days"

"America first can not mean that Europe's interests come last"

Finally, the German foreign ministry also chimed in when with its spokesman saying that the "US does not have the right to tell German companies how they should act with foreign business partners."

And so, as we explained a month ago when the various conflicting tensions first emerged, Trump is trapped: unable to veto the bill, as he would be seen as promoting a pro-Russian agenda in a rather "sensitive" time, signing the bill will promptly lead to a deterioration of relations with Europe, whose own relations with Russia appear to have been far more important than the continent let on...

How about the rest of the planet sanctioning the US, as the country appears to have lost its collective mind?

Speaking of.....

Senate Chaos Returns: Six Hours After Major GOP Victory, "Repeal And Replace" Is Voted Down


Jul 26, 2017 7:57 AM
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If this is what passes for a legislative victory in the Trump administration, the president may be in trouble.

Less than a day after the Senate GOP leadership mustered the minimum number of Republican votes necessary to begin debate on a bill to repeal Obamacare (and even then thanks only to a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence), the Republican campaign to kill the legislation remains in chaos.

IMO, the US is in danger of falling into the same abyss the Soviet Union did, with the pointless spending on unwinnable wars, while everything falls apart domestically.

Trump Bans Transgender People Serving in the Military.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a ban on transgender people serving in the military, reversing U.S. policy in a series of tweets.

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," Trump wrote in a trio of consecutive tweets.

The abrupt policy shift will affect thousands of transgender troops in the military.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
....Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
3:08 PM - 26 Jul 2017

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a ban on transgender people serving in the military, reversing U.S. policy in a series of tweets.

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you," Trump wrote in a trio of consecutive tweets.

The abrupt policy shift will affect thousands of transgender troops in the military.

Trump’s announcement came just over one year after former President Barack Obama’s then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter lifted a ban on transgender military service — a move that allowed active-duty troops to come out of the closet as transgender people.

In the year since the ban was repealed, roughly 250 service members have applied to change their gender in the military's personnel system, Pentagon officials told the Associated Press in June.   More at link.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-announces-ban-transgender-people-serving-military-n786621

That'll start a HUGE row, and distract from the rest of the shambles.

Overnight offerings on Trumper's latest shenanigans.    LL

Trump Threw Trans Soldiers Under The Bus Just To Distract From GOP Health Care Grift.

Trump’s reasoning for banning Trans military members is not only outdated, but it also makes zero financial sense.

Donald Trump, unlike that “Crooked Hillary,” is a total friend to the LGBT community. After all, he said so, on many different occasions. He’ll even let Caitlyn Jenner use any bathroom she wants in Trump Tower. How brave!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-threw-trans-soldiers-under-the-bus-just-to-distract_us_5978efa6e4b09982b73761ad
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Trump emboldens friendly foreign leaders, leaves foes wary.

Are you a friend or foe? That seems to be uppermost in President Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy in the first six months of office.

The probe at home into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election continues to be a thorn in his side, bedeviling Trump's apparent desire to have warm relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the initial "bromance" with China's Xi Jinping also buckled under geopolitical and economic disagreements. But there are others who have been lavished with the president's favor.

Who is in the friend camp is clear from the president's foreign travels, actions and statements. To varying degrees, his support has emboldened favored countries to carry out contentious regional or domestic policies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-emboldens-friendly-foreign-leaders-leaves-foes-wary-050409872.html
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Trump's anti-Sessions tweets dismay Alabama's Republicans.

President Donald Trump finds some of his strongest support in blood-red Alabama, but his public flogging of Attorney General Jeff Sessions is dismaying Republicans who consider the conservative stalwart to be a home state hero.

Trump's near-daily Twitter humiliation of Sessions, an apparent effort to force him to quit, is putting party members in awkward positions. With only weeks left before a special primary election for the U.S. Senate seat Sessions vacated to become the nation's top law enforcer, the harmony of simultaneous cheers for the president and Alabama's native son is sounding off-key.

"You just don't treat people like this," Joe Akin, a 79-year-old engineer and Trump voter in Birmingham, said after turning off his TV in frustration.

"If you want to have a discussion with someone, you do it across the conference table, you don't get on Facebook or whatever," Akin said. "There's an awful lot of things I like about Trump, but he's got to learn he's not running his own business."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trumps-anti-sessions-tweets-dismay-alabamas-republicans-48871364
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Is Breitbart about to turn on Donald Trump?

The ‘alt-right’ website is not happy with the president’s recent attacks on Jeff Sessions – perhaps a sign that it senses a betrayal of its nationalist agenda.

If anything has been predictable in the chaos of the early Trump presidency, it’s the unstinting support he has received from Breitbart News.

Until now.

In recent days, Trump has attacked the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on Twitter and in an interview with the New York Times over his recusal from oversight of the investigation into Trump’s possible Russian connections. As a result, there has been widespread speculation that Trump might fire his attorney general, or that, faced with an untenable position, Sessions might resign.
Analysis Why did Donald Trump turn on attorney general Jeff Sessions?
Analysis: The president’s public anger at one of his early supporters is rooted in Sessions’ recusal from the Russia investigation – to Trump, a personal betrayal
Read more

Trump’s public attacks on Sessions seem to be alienating the website that gave him his chief strategist Steve Bannon, and helped him into the White House.

And on Tuesday, Breitbart bit back.
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2017/jul/26/breitbart-news-donald-trump-jeff-sessions-white-nationalism

Donald Trump's approval rating has plummeted in 11 US states he won in the election.

Donald Trump's approval rating has slipped below 50 per cent in more than a third of the states that voted for him in last year's election.

A majority of people in 11 Republican-voting states believe he is performing poorly, according to polls carried out by Gallup since the President's inauguration.

Less than half of people in 33 states nationwide think he is doing a good job, the research found.

Those include Texas and Indiana, where Mr Trump comfortably beat Hillary Clinton in November's election, as well as states where he achieved slimmer margins of victory, such as Arizona and North Carolina.

He was given a 40 per cent average approval rating by the 81,000 Americans polled by Gallup between his inauguration and June 30.

The President's worst rating was 26 per cent in Vermont, followed by 29 per cent in Massachusetts. Six in 10 people surveyed in West Virginia and 59 per cent in North Dakota said he was doing a good job, his best ratings.

Mr Trump polled 46 per cent of the nationwide vote in the 2016 election, winning in 30 states.

His first six months in the White House have been dogged by controversies, including allegations of Russian meddling in the election. He has also struggled to push through key policy pledges, such as the repeal of ObamaCare.

Mr Trump had the worst six-month approval rating of any US President since surveys began, a poll for the Washington Post and ABC News found earlier this month.

He later insisted the 36 per cent rating was "not bad at this time", while also claiming the survey was "just about the most inaccurate poll".
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-apos-approval-rating-095256732.html
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Donald Trump threatens to isolate Alaska after Republican senator votes against Obamacare repeal bill.

Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly threatened to isolate Alaska after a senator from the state voted against the President’s health care motion.

Senator Lisa Murkowski was one of seven Republicans who rejected the measure to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, one of Mr Trump’s key policy pledges, during a vote on Tuesday.

The President reacted angrily to the news, writing on Twitter: “Senator Lisa Murkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad!”

Later in the day Ms Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, the other Republican senator for Alaska, allegedly received calls from the Department of the Interior warning them that the state’s future was now under consideration.

The messages, which came directly from the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, were “troubling”, Mr Sullivan told Alaska Dispatch News.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-threatens-isolate-alaska-093409943.html
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Trump announces $10 billion Foxconn plant in Wisconsin.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says that electronics giant Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin that's expected to initially create 3,000 jobs, the largest economic development project in state history.

The announcement Wednesday comes at a critical juncture for a Trump administration that pledged to generate manufacturing jobs but has struggled to deliver results as quickly as the president promised. Trump's plans for health care and tax cuts face a murky future in Congress, while his administration is bogged down by an investigation into Russia's possible ties with his presidential campaign.

In a White House speech, Trump said the financial commitment by Foxconn CEO Terry Gou was a direct result of his electoral win.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national-govt--politics/trump-announces-billion-foxconn-plant-wisconsin/Lsi5Q5is7KiQOl0EFX9ixO/
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Trump Family Values.

Jeff Sessions thought he was on the Trump team, but he was sadly mistaken.

For President Donald Trump, the world breaks down into three neat categories — there’s family, who are part of the charmed Trump circle by blood or marriage; there are “winners,” who have earned Trump’s regard by making lots of money (often at Goldman Sachs); and then there’s everyone else, who are adornments to be cast aside as Trump finds convenient.

Sessions is emphatically in the latter category. If the former Alabama senator wanted to be securely ensconced in Trump world, he should have had the foresight to marry Ivanka. Nothing else — not endorsing early, not lending candidate Trump staff and policy expertise, not carrying water in trying circumstances — will ever make him anything more than some guy who happens to be attorney general of the United States.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/26/donald-trump-jeff-sessions-family-215426

Trump is rapidly turning into Nero.

bb1 wrote:Trump is rapidly turning into Nero.

He's always been a cross between Nero and Caligula!!    If  he keeps this up ....    LL

Thing is, people will tolerate leaders being a bit despotic if they are competent - but not if they are causing chaos

bb1 wrote:Thing is, people will tolerate leaders being a bit despotic if they are competent - but not if they are causing chaos

Even his political affiliations are muddled, to put it mildly!

Party affiliation: Independent politician (2011-2012), Democratic Party (until 1987, 2001–2009), Reform (1999-2001), Republican (1987-1989, 2009-2011, 2012-present)

All he wanted was to be Top Dog and the Republicans obliged!!!! LL

Donald Trump jokes about being added to Mount Rushmore - the internet answers.


Donald Trump told a joke at a rally about being added among the US presidents on Mount Rushmore.

His remarks got a mixed reaction as people imagined the current President on the mountain alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Mr Trump made the comment during a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he said that "every president on Mount Rushmore believed in protecting American industry.” More plus cartoons at link.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mount-trump-social-media-reacts-082434302.html

Russia sanctions bill exposes Trump's legislative tug of war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is likely to sign a tough new sanctions bill that includes proposed measures targeting Russia — a remarkable concession that the president has yet to sell his party on his hopes for forging a warmer relationship with Moscow.

Trump's vow to extend a hand of cooperation to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been met with resistance as skeptical lawmakers look to limit the executive power's leeway to go easy on Moscow over its meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The House this week passed the legislation, 419-3, to enact new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, clearing the far-reaching measure for action by the Senate, where its future is less certain. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., had said he wants to re-examine the bill's North Korea portion, potentially delaying it before legislators take their August recess. But late Wednesday he announced that he sees "a path forward on legislation to sanction Iran, Russia and North Korea" following "very productive discussions."

The proposed measures target Russia's energy sector as part of legislation that prevents Trump from easing sanctions on Moscow without congressional approval. Two administration officials say that Trump is likely to sign the bill, despite ongoing wrangling over language and bureaucracy. Faced with near-unanimous bipartisan support for the bill in both the House and Senate, the president finds his hands are tied, according to two administration officials and two advisers with knowledge of the discussions. More at link.
https://www.mail.com/int/news/us/5389846-russia-sanctions-bill-exposes-trumps-legislative-t.html#.1258-stage-hero1-4
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'Fired by tweet:' Troops, veterans react to transgender ban

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former U.S. naval combat-tested officer said she feels angry that President Donald Trump is saying transgender veterans like her should be considered unfit to serve. Another transgender service member said he will not be kicked out without a fight.

Transgender veterans and active-duty troops spoke Wednesday about Trump's Twitter pronouncement banning transgender people from military service. Here are their stories:

OFFENSIVE TO MILITARY VALUES

Paula M. Neira, who left the Navy in 1991 and transitioned to female after leaving active duty, said she was angry at Trump's announcement. It brought up bad memories for the naval officer, who served on Sept. 11, 2001.

She said the commander in chief is sending the message that the country does not want transgender troops.

"Nobody who is willing to volunteer to defend our country should ever be told that they're not fit because of other people's prejudice, and not because of any military necessity," she said.

VOWING TO FIGHT

Rudy Akbarian, 26, said he will not leave the armed forces without a fight.

"I'm just serving as a soldier just like anybody else," Akbarian said.

His chain-of-command was supportive of him as he transitioned from female to male.

"Everybody is hurt. Everybody is scared," he said. "This is people's lives we're talking about. People who enlisted nearly 20 years ago and now 18 or 19 years in, now that's being taken away and they don't get to retire?"

'HEARTBREAK'

Alaina Kupec, a Navy intelligence officer from 1992 until 1995, said she felt "heartbreak" after she heard about Trump's tweet. The 48-year-old transitioned to life as a woman in 2013.

"It just really saddened me for the transgender sailors and soldiers who are serving around the world today and are selflessly giving themselves to protect our country," said Kupec, who lives in Orange, New Jersey.

'FORCED BACK INTO THE CLOSET'

Air Force veteran Vanessa Sheridan said transgender people have always served in the military but now they are going to have to hide their identities if there is a new policy.

"My biggest concern now is going to be that transgender people are going to be forced back into the closet," said Sheridan, who is director of transgender relations and community engagement at Center on Halsted in Chicago.

'FIRED BY TWEET'

Capt. Jacob Eleazer, 31, who serves in the Kentucky Army National Guard, took the day off from his job as a therapist in Lexington to figure out the situation.

"Fired by tweet. It was honestly pretty shocking," he said.

FEAR OF THE FUTURE

Combat veteran Shane Ortega, a transgender man in Los Angeles who served in the Army and Marines for more than a decade, said troops who are forced out may get a bad conduct discharge for being transgender, jeopardizing their VA benefits and future.

"That's the equivalent of being a convicted felon in American society," said Ortega, 30, who transitioned to a male in 2009, seven years before leaving the military after serving multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "They will not get gainful employment."
'PEOPLE KNOW WHO WE ARE NOW'

Blake Dremann, a transgender, active-duty Navy lieutenant commander in Washington, said he will continue to serve "regardless of what was said today."

"Trans service members are continuing to do our jobs," said Dremann 36, president of SPARTA a trans advocacy group. "People know who we are now and it becomes personal, especially when you've got families that are going to be affected by this."

WHAT MATTERS MOST

Emma Shinn, 41, a transgender woman who served in the Marine Corps for 20 years before retiring in 2014, said it was incredibly stressful to work under the military's previous policy that banned LGBT service members.

"It creates a gulf between the service member and his or her fellow Marines," said Shinn, who lives in Castle Rock, Colorado.

What matters most is if "you have my back in a firefight," Shinn said.

LL

Scaramucci in vulgar tirade against White House colleague Priebus.

The new communications director for US President Donald Trump has launched a strongly-worded attack on the White House chief of staff.

Anthony Scaramucci was scathing about "paranoid schizophrenic" Reince Priebus, in a phone conversation with a reporter from The New Yorker magazine.

He was upset that the reporter, Ryan Lizza, had tweeted about who Mr Scaramucci was dining with.

The former Wall Street financier also attacked Trump aide Steve Bannon.

The conversation with Mr Lizza was littered with profanity-laced insults directed at Mr Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.

Mr Scaramucci later tweeted his regret at the "colourful language". He did not deny the nature of the conversation as it was reported.

He has spent much of his first week in the White House railing against "leakers" and hinted in interviews that he thinks the chief of staff is one of them.
More at link.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40735613

Transgender UK officer warns Trump of 'litigation firestorm'.

President Trump faces a "firestorm of litigation" over his proposed ban on transgender US military personnel, a British transgender officer says.

Abigail Austen told Channel 4 no employment tribunal would support President Trump's proposed ban.

Mr Trump said transgender personnel would burden the US military with "tremendous medical costs and disruption".

Ms Austen is Britain's first transgender Army officer.

She said: "When you're sat there in a foxhole, what you really want to know is if the person next to you has got your back.

"That doesn't matter... whether you're a man, woman or a giraffe - it's whether you have the talent to do the job." More at link.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40746105

Russia sanctions: Trump's hand forced by Senate vote.

The United States Senate has voted 98-2 to impose new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, despite objections from the White House.

The House of Representatives approved the bill earlier this week, also by an overwhelming majority.

Having passed through both chambers, it will be sent to President Trump to sign into law.

But Mr Trump has sought closer ties with Russia, and has the power to veto the bill despite its political support.

A presidential veto can, in turn, be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate - where just a handful of politicians voted against the bill.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40748684

Senate rejects plan to repeal Obamacare without replacement.

The US Senate has failed to pass a Republican proposal to repeal President Barack Obama's signature healthcare policy without replacing it.

The 45-55 vote marks the second defeat for Republicans aiming to pass a bill this week to undo the health policy.

The vote came a day after the Senate rejected a plan to repeal and replace the health law with a Republican plan.

Senators will now consider a "skinny" repeal, which would scale back some of the more controversial provisions.

The "skinny" plan would eliminate unpopular parts of Obamacare - the Affordable Care Act - including the individual mandate requiring all Americans to have health insurance coverage as well as a tax on medical devices.

If that measure passes, the Senate and House of Representatives would then be tasked with finalising a bill that could still change during negotiations.

If successful, the full House and Senate would again have to approve the measure.
More at link.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40736025

Russia orders US to cut embassy staff in retaliation for sanctions.

Russia has retaliated for new US sanctions, telling the US to cut diplomatic staff to 455 and barring the use of some properties.

The new US embassy staffing level would be the same as at Russia's embassy in Washington.

The Russian foreign ministry also said it was seizing holiday properties and a warehouse used by US diplomats.

The new US sanctions were drawn up in part to punish Russia further for annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia sanctions bill heads to Trump, Moscow retaliates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is sending a package of stiff financial sanctions against Russia to President Donald Trump to sign after the bill received overwhelming support in Congress. Moscow has already responded, ordering a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomats in Russia and closing the U.S. embassy's recreation retreat.

Trump's likelihood of supporting the measure is a remarkable concession that the president has yet to sell his party on his hopes for forging a warmer relationship with Moscow. Trump's vow to extend a hand of cooperation to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been met with resistance as skeptical lawmakers look to limit the executive power's leeway to go easy on Moscow over its meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The Senate passed the bill, 98-2, two days after the House pushed the measure through by an overwhelming margin, 419-3. Both are veto proof numbers as the White House has wavered on whether the president would sign the measure into law.

Never in doubt, however, was a cornerstone of the legislation that bars Trump from easing or waiving the additional penalties on Russia unless Congress agrees. The provisions were included to assuage concerns among lawmakers that the president's push for better relations with Moscow might lead him to relax the penalties without first securing concessions from the Kremlin.

The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad. It also imposes financial sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the bill's passage was long overdue, a jab at Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress. McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has called Putin a murderer and a thug.

"Over the last eight months what price has Russia paid for attacking our elections?" McCain asked. "Very little." Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday said it is ordering the U.S. Embassy in Russia to reduce the number of its diplomats by Sept. 1. Russia will also close down the embassy's recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow as well as warehouse facilities.

Meanwhile, some European countries expressed concerns that the measures targeting Russia's energy sector would harm its businesses involved in piping Russian natural gas. Germany's foreign minister said his country wouldn't accept the U.S. sanctions against Russia being applied to European companies.

A spokesman for the European Commission said Friday that European officials will be watching the U.S. effort closely, vowing to "remain vigilant." Trump had privately expressed frustration over Congress' ability to limit or override the power of the president on national security matters, according to Trump administration officials and advisers. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

But faced with heavy bipartisan support for the bill in the House and Senate, the president has little choice but to sign the bill into law. Trump's communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, suggested earlier Thursday on CNN's New Day that Trump might veto the bill and "negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians."

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said that would be a serious mistake and called Scaramucci's remark an "off-handed comment." If Trump rejected the bill, Corker said, Congress would overrule him. "I cannot imagine anybody is seriously thinking about vetoing this bill," said Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "It's not good for any president — and most governors don't like to veto things that are going to be overridden. It shows a diminishment of their authority. I just don't think that's a good way to start off as president."

Still, signing a bill that penalizes Russia's election interference would mark a significant shift for Trump. He's repeatedly cast doubt on the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia sought to tip the election in his favor. And he's blasted as a "witch hunt" investigations into the extent of Russia's interference and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.

The 184-page bill seeks to hit Putin and the oligarchs close to him by targeting Russian corruption, human rights abusers, and crucial sectors of the Russian economy, including weapons sales and energy exports.

The bill underwent revisions to address concerns voiced by American oil and natural gas companies that sanctions specific to Russia's energy sector could backfire on them to Moscow's benefit. The bill raised the threshold for when U.S. firms would be prohibited from being part of energy projects that also included Russian businesses.

Lawmakers said they also made adjustments so the sanctions on Russia's energy sector didn't undercut the ability of U.S. allies in Europe to get access to oil and gas resources outside of Russia. The North Korea sanctions are intended to thwart Pyongyang's ambition for nuclear weapons by cutting off access to the cash the reclusive nation needs to follow through with its plans. The bill prohibits ships owned by North Korea or by countries that refuse to comply with U.N. resolutions against it from operating in American waters or docking at U.S. ports. Goods produced by North Korea's forced labor would be prohibited from entering the United States, according to the bill.

The sanctions package imposes mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. The measure would apply terrorism sanctions to the country's Revolutionary Guards and enforce an arms embargo.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the sanctions bill.

Awesome chaos and

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/07/28/watch_the_moment_john_mccain_killed_trumpcare.html

On Tuesday, Sen. John McCain returned to the Senate a week removed from his brain cancer diagnosis to cast the decisive vote on the motion to proceed to advance Trumpcare to the Senate floor. In so doing, he made what at the time seemed like an incongruous speech, calling for senators to "trust each other" and to "return to regular order” while voting to advance a bill that had not yet even been crafted. “We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them it’s better than nothing, asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition," McCain said. "I don’t think that is going to work in the end. And it probably shouldn’t.”

In the early hours of Friday morning, during the decisive vote for the Senate's "skinny repeal" proposal, a bill that would have left 16 million additional people without health care and driven premiums up by 20 percent annually, McCain approached the front of the Senate chamber, held his right palm face down, then pointed his thumb down as he said a single word: “No.” He then walked away as Democrats gasped and burst into applause.

I don't like McCain, but I have to admit, that was the most exquisite revenge, after Trump's insults. As well as helping millions of Americans.

Trump Wish of Russian Detente Dies as Putin Expels Diplomats.

Donald Trump’s first meeting with Vladimir Putin this month seemed to give the U.S. president everything he wanted. The two appeared to get along. There was a modest cease-fire deal on Syria. Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election was raised, but both leaders were eager to move on.

Three weeks later, relations between the U.S. and Russia are at their lowest since the Cold War, with no clear path out.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-28/trump-s-dream-of-russian-detente-dies-as-putin-expels-diplomats
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Donald Trump Slumps To His Weakest Position Yet.

WASHINGTON ― In the wee hours of Friday, while most Americans were sleeping, Donald Trump suffered the biggest political defeat of his presidency.

Senate Republicans failed to repeal Obamacare ― again ― and this time, at least for now, they appear ready to throw in the towel. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) looked stunned as the vote went down, and set up a vote for a judicial nominee next week before gaveling out. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) issued a statement saying he’s moving onto what he’s wanted to do all along ― tax reform.

It leaves Trump in his weakest position yet. Six months into the job, he has failed to unify his party, at a time when the GOP controls all of government, to pass their No. 1-priority issue. He’s proven to be a terrible dealmaker. He’s demonstrated that his grand promises to his base about repealing President Barack Obama’s signature law were empty, and that he’s more interested in showmanship than substance.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-slumps-weakest-position-185334580.html
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Trump to Sign Bill Imposing New Sanctions on Russia, White House Says.

President Donald Trump intends to sign a bill passed by Congress this week that would impose new sanctions on Russia, the White House said Friday.

The bill was passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and House by veto-proof margins. It passed in the Senate on Thursday 98-2 and in the House on Tuesday by 419-3.

The bill targets Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Syria, citing corruption, human rights abuses and weapons sales. The bill would also add sanctions against North Korea and Iran. The measure also includes a provision that would limit Trump's authority to lift the sanctions unilaterally.

The White House said in a statement that Trump has reviewed the final version of the bill and "approves the bill and intends to sign it."
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-sign-bill-imposing-new-sanctions-russia-white-house-says-n787706
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Trump names Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly new White House chief of staff.

President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that John F. Kelly would take over as White House chief of staff, replacing the beleaguered Reince Priebus.

Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, has been serving as Homeland Security secretary.

Priebus, 45, became a target of Trump's ire shortly into his term as White House chief of staff.

Trump has consistently applied pressure on Priebus and reportedly given him various deadlines to get a tumultuous White House in order.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/john-kelly-to-replace-priebus-as-white-house-chief-of-staff-trump-tweet.html
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Trump sweeps GOP pros out of the White House.

WASHINGTON

Donald Trump is sweeping the political and party professionals out of his White House after seven months of legislative failure that has infuriated the president and frustrated his supporters.

The latest victim was Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, the former Republican National Committee chairman whose allies throughout the GOP spent months defending his handling of the 2016 contest and then his service at the White House.

That makes three Republican Party insiders now out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in just a week — Sean Spicer said he was leaving his post as press secretary after a tumultuous period that saw him ridiculed on comedy shows and then sidelined by the president, and assistant press secretary Michael Short resigned after hearing he would be fired.

Now, after Trump communication director Anthony Scaramucci told a reporter he was prepared to fire everyone in the press shop, White House aides who are more closely associated with the party than with Trump world are worried about who is next.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/article164272507.html