Cleveland Sports Forum

It appears that the republican tax reform bill isn't the slam dunk that the republican party thought it was. A lot of disappointed citizens out there exercising their rights to protest and expressing their opinions. Don't underestimate the power of the American citizens. Democracy in action. More than I can say for the republican run senate. Things are getting pretty interesting.

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE WEIGHING PLANS FOR PRIVATE ARMY OF SPIES ?????

Kinda explains why Trump and his team are gutting the State Department. Now our Intelligence Agencies?????

The spies would be “off the books,” sidestepping official U.S. intelligence agencies and would report directly to CIA Director Mike Pompeo, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials, the Intercept reported.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official with knowledge of the proposals told the Intercept that Pompeo doesn’t trust the “CIA bureaucracy,” so a global spy network is necessary to collect intelligence that is not shared with the intelligence community.

“Pompeo can’t trust the CIA bureaucracy, so we need to create this thing that reports just directly to him,” the source told the news outlet. “It is a direct-action arm, totally off the books.”

Would This Be A Clear And Present Danger ?

10 Ways to Tell if Your President Is a Dictator

Is Trump taking us down the road to a Dictatorship??
(Just a Question - Some of the symptoms are curiously present)

1. Systematic efforts to intimidate the media.
2. Building an official pro-Trump media network. (FOX ???)
3. Politicizing the civil service, military, National Guard, or the domestic security agencies.
4. Using government surveillance against domestic political opponents.
5. Using state power to reward corporate backers and punish opponents.
6. Stacking the Supreme Court. (Or other court systems - Judicial - Unqualified nominees ??)
7. Enforcing the law for only one side.
8. Really rigging the system. (Gerrymandering ???)
9. Fearmongering.
10. Demonizing the opposition.

Trump slashed Utah national monuments by 2 million acres.
BEARS EARS

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GRAND STAIRCASE ESCALANTE

Our National Monuments Depend on You

The Department of the Interior is soliciting public input on the 27 monuments Trump ordered to review. Now’s your chance to speak up about what happens to them.

Can’t make it to Utah this week for U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s four-day “listening tour” regarding the controversial Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments? You can still make your opinion heard about the future of those monuments—and two dozen others—that are now under review, thanks to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, an order that could result in shrinking them, or perhaps trying to abolish them altogether.

President Trump’s order last month directed Sec. Zinke to conduct a review of all national monuments, or expansions, that are larger than 100,000 acres made since 1996 using the act. The order captures 27 monuments, from the new 1.3 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument and Nevada’s Basin and Range National monument (established by then-President Barack Obama at the end of his second term); to the Pacific Ocean’s Papahanaumokuakea National Monument, today the world’s largest protected area, established by George W. Bush but greatly enlarged by Obama. But the order also reaches back to include the 1.9-million-acre Grand-Staircase-Escalante, established in 1996 by then-President Bill Clinton.

The order also explicitly targets the new Katahdin Woods and Waters monument in Maine by directing Zinke to examine any situations in which a designation was made “without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders.” That monument was made by a land donation given by the owner of Burt’s Bees cosmetics.

Comments may be submitted online after May 12. Go to Regulations.gov and enter “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search.” Comments also can be mailed to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted within 15 days of publication of that notice in the Federal Register. Written comments relating to all other designations subject to Trump’s Executive Order 13792 must be submitted within 60 days of that date.

Hillbilly,

I apologize for forgetting that you didn't like the Bushes. Was it because they were not far enough right? That is a serious question based in part on your adamant support for Trump now and your reference to Rinos.

But, you are every bit as wrong in calling me a far-lefty, and I made that clear in my recent posts. I am a moderate Democrat. I am opposed to most far-left stuff and agree with moderate views (Republican and Democrat) on many subjects. Also, I was not anti-Bush Sr. when he was elected. He was not my first choice, but he was reasonable. I liked Colin Powell too, until he made his weak-ass presentation to justify a war. The evidence he cited clearly did not warrant starting that war. I have no doubt that he is smart enough to have known he was playing a baseless, party-line position in claiming there was proof of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I was hugely disappointed in him for selling the country out in that presentation in favor of acting like a car salesman in his advocating of military action that Bush 2 was hell-bent on taking, regardless of the actual state of the evidence.

I agree that illegal immigration should be controlled, and I am not keen of sanctuary cities. But I think Trump's border wall is a bad idea and that his pandering about getting Mexico to pay for it was fraudulent and insulting to our neighboring countries and to American voters.

I am opposed to quick-trigger tax increases in which people are too ready to mindlessly impose new or higher taxes that are not really necessary and that will be paid only by people or entities other than themselves.

I agree that there should be vetting against terrorists entering the United States, but there is no real evidence that terrorists are sneaking into the US rather than being radicalized here, in part because many find themselves discriminated against once here. I think Trump is making that risk worse when he takes religion-based stances on immigration. I don't like lying (which = knowing telling of untruths and/or an unwillingness to admit honest error once it is pointed out) by any party.

I am opposed to over-regulation that creates substantial burdens on companies for no good and proportionate reason. But I also know that capitalism too often allows companies to impose costs on other people in the form of pollution, etc., that should be considered in weighing what regulation is needed. Certainly, I do not trust corporations or the rich (as a group) to truly consider fairness to average folks and workers. History consistently shows both that businesses do not self-regulate in the long-term best interests of people, the country, or world as a whole and that Government is needed to achieve those kinds of goals. It also shows that State-level regulation also is often not the best answer because States, like businesses, often think about their own constituents (and often only powerful constituents) too. So, national and international law is needed too, but also must work in mostly moderate ways.


From everything I have seen and heard first-hand (and I have been paying loads of attention), Trump is a total jerk of a person, a virtually non-stop liar, and dangerously compulsive and ill-informed. More than anyone else I have seen (even in politics), he is about himself and himself alone. And he always has his finger to the wind to test how he thinks he should behave to best serve himself alone in the moment. He thus is totally feckless and regularly changes positions in a shameless way. Whether he does what you like or not, it is not genuinely done for you or for any consistent and well-principled reason. It is because, in the moment, he thinks it helps him. And, generally -- even to that limited end -- it is seldom well considered.

So, when people support him staunchly I have to admit that I lose a lot of respect for them. That is because they either are being duped or they operate from a set of core values that are totally foreign to my own Christian-based and Constitutionally-informed values. By that, I mean that I try to treat others like I would want to be treated, and I inform how that value should be carried out by government by looking to give the Bill of Rights the meaning and reach that those constitutional amendments were meant to have (which is often not the politicized meanings the Supreme Court attaches to them) and figure out what powers properly belong to the federal government, the States, and the people (ALL of the people). But, I also do not believe that the founding fathers knew all or that they intended the Constitution to be applied in a mechanical and entirely static way. Rather, they were setting forth some specifics and related principles of governance that need to be applied in a changing world that they could not possibly have foreseen in all important respects.

I thus try to take a wholistic view of issues and look for approaches that consider and meet the genuine concerns of all reasonably held views and concerns. I think doctrinaire and narrow world views are terrible qualities in any candidate for elected federal office. Trump is an instinctive bully, with no apparent genuine empathy or care for others. He is a self-claimed know-it-all who is appallingly ignorant and uninterested in doing the work to learn and understand. He is dangerous. He is divisive. He is a bigot and a masogynist. And he regularly takes the worst possible policy position on everything he touches. That is why I do not like him.

Peter! If you were running for president, I'd vote for you

In the meantime, the republicans headed by their boss keep embarrassing themselves nationally and globally.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry told he lacks 'fundamental understanding' of climate science

HERE'S ANOTHER UNQUALIFIED TRUMP PICK

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 1

During the 2013 Red State Gathering, Texas Governor Rick Perry made a speech from New Orleans, Louisiana, but mistakenly said that he was in Florida.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 2

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's campaign had a meltdown after one of the most humiliating debate performances in recent US political history. His chances of securing the Republican nomination slipped after one painful minute in which he could not recall the name of a government department he was planning to kill off. Perry reeled off two of the three departments he wanted to axe, but could not remember the third.

WELL....THAT DEPARTMENT WAS THE ONE HE NOW HEADS !

President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he had picked former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy was met with both mirth and alarm. During the 2011 presidential primaries, Perry not only declared that he would abolish the department if he got the opportunity, but he ― in a memorable gaffe ― forgot the department’s name.

“The Rick Perry choice is so perplexing,” former Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), told The New York Times last December. “I think very few people understand that the Energy Department, to a very substantial degree, is dealing with nuclear weapons. And Rick Perry suggested the agency should be abolished. That suggests he thinks it doesn’t have value.”

Science is at the heart of the DOE. The department has 17 national laboratories that focus on physics, chemistry and other sciences. As Tobey noted in his Foreign Policy piece, these labs operate at the highest level: “115 scientists associated with the department or its predecessors have won Nobel prizes. These laboratories are precious national resources that enhance American welfare, prosperity, and security.”

Perry has a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas A&M — and, according to his college transcript, he graduated with a 1.88 GPA (D+) average in the science courses in his major.

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8 Reasons To Worry About Rick Perry Running The Department Of Energy

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ri ... a6cae559d6

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Why Trump's promise to move US Embassy to Jerusalem is so controversial

FOX NEWS

.......Millions of evangelical eyes were on Trump, waiting to see if he would keep his campaign promise to move the embassy, longtime Pastor John Hagee told Fox News ahead of the president's official announcement.

"I can assure you that 60 million evangelicals are watching this promise closely because if President Trump moves the embassy into Jerusalem, he will historically step into immortality," Hagee said. "He will be remembered for thousands of years for his act of courage to treat Israel like we already treat other nations."

"If he does not, he will be remembered as just another president who made a promise he failed to keep which would generate massive disappointment in that strong evangelical base that went to vote for him against Hillary Clinton," he added.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12 ... rsial.html

Senate Republicans Made a $289 Billion Mistake in the Handwritten Tax Bill They Passed at 2 a.m. Go Figure.

It appears that Senate Republicans managed to make a $289 billion or so mistake while furiously hand-scribbling edits onto the tax bill they passed in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The problem involves the corporate alternative minimum tax, which the GOP initially planned to repeal, but tossed back into their stew at the last second in order to raise some desperately needed revenue. The AMT is basically a parallel tax code meant to prevent companies from zeroing out their IRS bills. It doesn’t allow businesses to take as many tax breaks but, in theory, is also supposed to have a lower rate.......

https://slate.com/business/2017/12/sena ... -bill.html

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REUTERS WORLD NEWS HEADLINES

Israel hails Trump's 'historic' declaration, Palestinians condemn

Israel hailed U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as its capital on Wednesday, but the Palestinians condemned the move and said it diminished Washington's role as a peace mediator.

Arabs, Europe, U.N. reject Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.

Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, defying allies, foes

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed decades of U.S. policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperiling Middle East peace efforts and upsetting Washington's friends and foes alike.

Push by evangelicals helped set stage for Trump decision on Jerusalem

An intense and sustained push by U.S. evangelicals helped drive President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and eventually relocate the U.S. embassy there, activists said on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia condemns Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday condemned the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

CNN INTERNATIONAL BREAKING NEWS

Senior WH officials acknowledge Trump decision has derailed peace process

The derailment was a cost the administration was prepared to accept to fulfill Trump's campaign promise.

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital has temporarily derailed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, two senior White House officials acknowledged after Trump's speech.

The question now for those officials: For how long?
"We're prepared for derailment -- temporary, I hope. Pretty sure it will be temporary," said a senior White House official, who acknowledged that the President's peace team has not spoken with furious Palestinian officials since the Trump's announcement.

House passes bill to loosen concealed weapon restrictions

The House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday loosening gun regulations and allowing those with permits to carry concealed weapons to legally travel with those firearms to other states, a top priority of the National Rifle Association.

Whistleblower: Flynn told colleague Russia sanctions would be 'ripped up'

Washington (CNN) As President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural address, incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn texted his former business colleague about a plan to join Russia and build nuclear reactors in the Middle East: The project was "good to go," he told them, according to a summary of a whistleblower's account provided by a lawmaker.

The business colleague who texted with Flynn later recounted that he also suggested sanctions against Russia would be "ripped up" as one of the administration's first acts, according to the whistleblower.

Tapper: Why so many lies about Russia?

CNN's Jake Tapper looks at the continued fallout from the guilty plea of President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

HAMAS ENRAGED - RIOTS, US FLAGS BURN

"When a terrorist organization like Hamas is criticizing it (Jerusalem decision), then maybe he’s on the right track," Scalise said on Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria."

Peter C, Amen!!!

Like to add a Dilly, Dilly for Peter C.

Peter, I did not vote for Bushes but not because they were not far enough right. Again I say, I was a registered democrat from the time I was old enough to vote (88) until I moved to Montana in 2005.

My mother has always been a staunch republican. My father was a staunch democrat. I mentioned here before, I grew up attending many democratic fundraisers with my father. My favorite of which I got to meet and shake the hand of John Glenn. But I grew up hearing both sides of issues. I spent far more time with my dad working on the farm so I guess he won out.

My mother and father both loved Reagan though. So I grew up a Reagan democrat or Blue dog dem. Whatever you want to call it.

The first presidential election I voted was '92. And while I loved Reagan, I just simply did not trust HW Bush. I had a gut feeling about him, can't explain it. I still think to this day he was a shady character.

I voted for Bill Clinton, and remember thinking very highly of him all the way up to the funny business started, and the lies. My mother worked for the state in Human Services. She retired there. So my entire family loved his welfare reform.

But I would have taken a bullet to the head before I would have pulled the lever for his wife. She is a vile nasty woman, and have never trusted a politician less. 8 years of an administration thinking they were above the law was far too many. Didn't want any part of that. But in fairness, I have became far more conservative as I've gotten older so doubt I would have supported her regardless.

I absolutely positively would not support Ted Cruz this last primary for the exact same reason as HW Bush. Had many arguments with conservative friends out here about it too. If he had won the GOP nomination I would have absolutely wasted my vote on Gary Johnson. I just have a gut feeling about him. I think he's a shady character and do not trust him.

Montana does not require political party registration. When I first moved out here though I was switching more towards republican, but with a libertarian streak. I became a Ron Paul supporter and was initially a Rand Paul supporter in the last primary.

But now as I have gotten a little older, and wiser, I have become more conservative. So much so that I cannot stand the GOP anymore. Paul Ryan, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, I absolutely cannot stand them. I love how the republicans passed Obamacare repeal several times until they actually got a president that would sign it, then they hid. Dirty lying whores.

When Rand Paul dropped out fairly early on in primary I jumped on the Trump Train. For two reasons. One, immigration and jobs & the economy were my main two concerns. And I thought Trump was the best on both. (Immigration and border security is absolutely a national security issue and needs to be take more seriously)

I also think of all the candidates he was the most conservative on all the issues important to me. My wife and friends thought I was nuts at the time but they see now, I was absolutely right. Those RINO's in DC are dead in the water now. They've shown their stripes. Pretty much all my conservative friends see it now. Paul Ryan was a guy in GOP circles being seriously consider for a future White House bid. Hell, I don't think I know one conservative now that wants him to remain as speaker. They wouldn't vote for him for dog catcher.

You can say what you want about Trump's style and presentation, I won't argue with you. I know he's not prim or proper. I know he's antagonistic. But I, in a sick kind of way, love that about him. At the very least, after seeing Romney hide under his desk at attacks by his opponent and the left wing media I was ready for a fighter.

Congress passed a law in 1995 to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Not a president since has had the balls to do it. Trump strutted out there yesterday like a boss and did it in his first year.

There will be no more leading from behind for us now. We have a true leader.

Yes he says and tweets things he shouldn't. Even I shake my head some times. But I'll take the bad with the good.

Yes, he made that dumb ass comment to Billy Bush and has been a womanizer. But I find it laughable that a left wing media holds JFK to such high regard and wants to act like Trump is unfit for what he's done. I find it laughable that Ted Kennedy would be held in such high regard, "the lion of the senate", by liberals when he let a woman DIE, but somehow Trump is unfit. Liberals made the bed, I won't give a shit who Trump wants to sleep with in it. Just lead the country on the right path the other 20 hours of the day.

I will say I think the attacks on him for being a bigot are way out of line. There is a lot to pick on but those are uncalled for. He worked with Don King on ventures for years, King still thinks the world of him. He worked with Jesse Jackson on urban improvement and behind the scenes to raise money for minority causes for years, and did so anonymously. Minorities loved him. Till he ran for president as a republican. Then he was a bigot. It's ridiculous. A lot of stories out there about people he's helped, and did so anonymously, for anybody caring enough to see them. He's a good hearted man, I really believe that. Or else I would have voted for Gary Johnson, in a heartbeat.

I think this is the 4th time I have read such an article ... and liberals wonder why there are so many "climate deniers" and "anti-science" people out here... Maybe because junk science isn't science.

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Alarmist scientists have been caught red-handed tampering with raw data in order to exaggerate sea level rise.

The raw (unadjusted) data from three Indian Ocean gauges – Aden, Karachi and Mumbai – showed that local sea level trends in the last 140 years had been very gently rising, neutral or negative (ie sea levels had fallen).

But after the evidence had been adjusted by tidal records gatekeepers at the global databank Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) it suddenly showed a sharp and dramatic rise.

The whistle was blown by two Australian scientists Dr. Albert Parker and Dr. Clifford Ollier in a paper for Earth Systems and Environment.

The paper – Is the Sea Level Stable at Aden, Yemen? – examines the discrepancies between raw and adjusted sea level data in Aden, Karachi and Mumbai.

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Actual data as opposed to data after it was changed.