An Unmistakable Pattern Gains Clarity . . . .

The Gadfly hopes you are all prepared for the coming constitutional crisis . . .






Well - that certainly explains why Drumpf has his hired goons in the GOP and right wing media gunning so hard for Rosenstein's head now.

James Comey refused to bow and kiss Comrade Donnie's ring and he was summarily fired.

Then they pushed Andrew McCabe out, suspicious of his allegiance as well.

And now news tonight that Rod Rosenstein had also refused Drumpf's omerta demand of blind obeisance and so the long knives actively seek the nape of his neck.

Oh -- and also earlier today (it's madness), it was reported that Drumpf's hand-picked head of the FBI, Christopher Wray, issued a public statement that saying that there was "grave concern" over the lack of transparency and accuracy in the Nunes' memo and advised against it's public release.  Nunes and the GOP have refused to allow the FBI to review the memo and respond accordingly.

The Gadfly surmises that they're going to have to make some additional room on that chopping block for Wray's head now too.  Nobody crosses El Gran Presidente Maximus Assholis Il Douche Drumpf and gets away with it.

You know who else demands personal loyalty oaths from their appointees and then purges them if they don't comply?

If your answer wasn't "fascist dictators," then perhaps you are not paying very good enough attention to this stuff dear readers.

The transformation of America, the world's greatest democracy, in to just another authoritarian, banana republic nation-state, with a tin-horn dictator as leader, is progressing apace.







----TFG

Let's Clear The Air Here Shall We? . . .

This post is aimed primarily at those folks whom The Gadfly knows personally - certain friends and family members who have openly (and still do) voiced their support of Donald Trump, although it can be applied just as equally to any of Trump's rabid supporters quite frankly.

Take these words and thoughts from The Gadfly and interpret them any way you damn well please:

There is this man.  This is a man, who during the middle of his Ivy League college studies in 1968, was motivated to join the United States Marine Corps after the death of his close friend and college lacrosse teammate, a Marine Corps first lieutenant, who was killed in battle in Vietnam.

In a 2002 interview, the man stated, “I have been very lucky. I always felt I should spend some time paying it back.  There were a number of us who felt we should follow [my friend's] example and at least go into the service. And it flows from there.”

The deceased friend's example of sacrifice and duty has shaped this man's view of leadership since. “One would have thought that the life of a Marine, and my friend’s death in Vietnam, would argue strongly against following in his footsteps. But many of us saw in him the person we wanted to be,” the man is quoted as saying in a 2012 interview.  In the same interview he said, “And a number of his friends, teammates, and associates joined the Marine Corps because of him, as did I… He taught us the true meaning of leadership. One teammate can change your life. And my friend changed mine.”

This man excelled through personal dedication and excellence and sailed through officer candidate school at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Army Ranger School, and Army jump school before he was shipped out to Vietnam. This man was appointed commander of a rifle platoon of the 3rd Marine Division. 

During combat action, he was a recipient of the Bronze Star with Valor, two Navy Commendation Medals, the Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.  His citation for the Bronze Star with Valor, his first decoration earned just weeks after arriving in Vietnam in December 1968, came after his platoon came under heavy fire in the Quang Tri Province, lauded the man’s “courage, aggressive initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty.”

The citation read, the lieutenant “fearlessly moved from one position to another, With complete disregard for his own safety, he then skillfully supervised the evacuation of (fellow U.S. Marines) casualties from the hazardous area and, on one occasion, personally led a fire team across the fire-swept area terrain to recover a mortally wounded Marine who had fallen in a position forward on the friendly lines."

Four months later in April 1969, when, as a second lieutenant, this same man led his platoon on a mission to rescue American troops pinned down under heavy fire from the Vietcong. Despite taking an AK-47 round through the thigh, the man held his position until the troops had safely retreated. The firefight earned him a Navy Commendation Medal and his Purple Heart; a month later, he was back on patrol in the jungles of Vietnam (“I thought I’d at least get to go to a hospital ship,” he reportedly quipped of his injuries.)

It is said by those who know this man that Vietnam was “intensely formative” for him, “forging his leadership skills literally under fire.” And he would have spent his life in the Marine Corps had his wife not convinced him to focus his energies and ethics toward a civilian career in law enforcement where he prosecuted mafia figures (like John Gotti) and international terrorists (Pan 103/Lockerbie bombers).

There is an old saying that says something to the effect that if you want an important job done and you want it done right, send in the United States Marines.

In case you haven't deduced it by now, the man that we are talking about here is Robert S. Mueller III.

The Gadfly is utterly certain that if anyone is going to bring some sense of law and order to the mobocracy that Donald Trump and his Russian ratfucking friends have brought to Washington, it’s a United States Marine.

The Gadfly will gladly state the following directly to any Trump supporter's face - whether you be a complete stranger, or a friend or family member.

The Gadfly will stack up Robert Mueller's character, his integrity, his honor, and his courage against Donald Fucking Trump every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

So let's summarize here.

The Gadfly, among a clear majority of Americans btw, unflinchingly supports Robert S. Mueller III, a highly decorated U.S. combat Marine veteran and hero, who volunteered to serve his country, did so with courage, and honor, and humility.  The Gadfly supports a patriotic American who has put his life on the line for his country, and who after leaving the military, then went on to a stellar, unblemished career in law enforcement and national security.

Now then - on the other side . . .

Here is the individual (The Gadfly refuses to call him a man) that conservative right wingers support:

1.  A trust fund baby whose daddy made him an instant millionaire after a mediocre college career.

2.  A coward who sought 5 Vietnam era draft deferments for "bone spurs."  Other American kids went to war in his place.

3.  He "worked" with his rich daddy in the real estate business where they were known for openly discriminating against minorities in their housing developments.

4.  Was mentored by the infamous New York mob attorney Roy Cohn and subsequently had many business dealings with mob figures over the years.

5.  Bankrupted 5 casinos - he made money off of the bankruptcies, and his employees and investors were left holding the bag.

6.  Has been sued hundreds of times for stiffing contractors and accountants and attorneys for services rendered on his development projects over the years.

7.  Set up a phony pyramid scheme called Trump University that ended up collapsing and eventually ended in a settlement payout of $25 million to the people that he swindled.

8.  Has had his own company charity shut down because it was suspected of being nothing more than a money laundering slush fund.

9.  Questioned Barack Obama's birth certificate, one time claiming that he had private investigators in Hawaii who had found amazing information re: the falsity of Obama's birth there.  When pressed to provide such evidence, none was forthcoming -- obviously.

10.  Three times married.  Cheated on all three of his wives.

11.  He is on tape claiming that his celebrity fame gives him the inherent right to sexually assault unsuspecting females by "grabbing" their vaginas.  He is also on tape stating that he enjoys trying to bed his acquaintances wives.

12.  He's been credibly accused by 19 women of sexual improprieties and outright sexual assault.

13.  His first wife claimed in a legal deposition that he raped her.

14.  He allegedly had an affair with a pornographic movie star, purportedly having unprotected sex with her, a year in to his 3rd marriage and just a few months after the birth of his youngest son.

15.   He has insulted Gold Star families.

16.  He has openly and embraced members of the racist alt-right and neo-Nazis and and a fellow Republican accused of child molesting (Roy Moore).

For brevity's sake, we won't delve in to all of Drumpf's Russian connections at this point, because to do so would require at least another dozen or more bullet items and The Gadfly just doesn't have the fucking energy to do it right now.

So to summarize all of this, here is what we have.

The Gadfly supports a United States Marine combat veteran and war hero of unimpeachable integrity and character.

Trump's fanatics support a serial lying, amoral piece of shit scumbag and con artist who apparently mirrors their very own "moral values," and, and whos personal loyalty extends no further than his own greasy hide and who does not give one flying fuck about the best interests of America or the American people.  And this guy is actively attempting to smear and slander the character and reputation of Robert S. Mueller III.  He's a scared, small-minded, vindictive weasel.

If you disagree with that assessment dear readers, the comments section on this blog has always been open to dissent.  Have at it.

“Humanity can be divided into madmen and cowards. My personal tragedy is in being born into a world where sanity is held to be a character flaw.”

 ― Mark Lawrence, Prince of Fools

----TFG

In The Meantime . . . .

Meanwhile, as a Tim Burton produced episode of All My Children plays out in Drumpf's Washington, two nations who will comprise the nexus of the next, would-be global empire, are spreading their fascism like this:

Milos Zeman, an outspoken immigration critic and admirer of Russia's Vladimir Putin, has won a second five-year term as president of the Czech Republic.

Zeman defeated political newcomer Jiri Drahos in the central European country's presidential runoff election that ended Saturday.

Zeman took 51.4 percent of the vote against Drahos' 48.6 percent, according to the Czech Statistical Office, with turnout at 66.6 percent.

It's a victory for advocates of closer ties between the Czech Republic and Russia and China. Drahos, 68, a chemist and academic, had advocated improving ties with the European Union and NATO.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/28/581384153/pro-russian-czech-president-milos-zeman-wins-second-term

Many scoff and say it can't happen here.

To which The Gadfly would dutifully respond that the following shouldn't have been able to happen here either:





First they came for the immigrants.  And I did not speak out, because I was not an immigrant. Then they came for the . . . . . . well, you get the meaning - hopefully.

The larger point that The Gadfly is clumsily trying to point out here is that China and Russia are currently America's two most powerful economic and military adversaries.  Sure - America has it's allies - for now.  But if people truly believe that America does not need every ally that it can get around the world, and keep on it's side, then perhaps you ought to consider emigrating to China or Russia at your earliest convenience - you know - just to get a good feel for what your future life will be like living as a comrade under either one of those regimes.



----TFG

The Choices We All Make . . . . . . . . . . .

Oh noes! . . . what's a poor, eastern European, gold-digging super-model, and Trump concubine to do?? . . . oh noes . . . .

MELANIA Trump has reportedly been staying at a posh hotel after allegations her husband Donald had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels emerged.

The First Lady, 47, has been left "humiliated" and spends "three to four days a week away from the White House" and travelled to West Palm Beach, Florida, yesterday.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5435737/melania-trump-spending-time-away-from-donald-at-posh-hotel-after-allegations-of-his-affair-with-porn-star-stormy-daniels/

On one level The Gadfly feels sympathy for Melania Trump - it's obvious to see that the poor woman is in some manner of distress - what with that haunting look in her eyes in recent photos.  It's painful for The Gadfly to see another human being suffering through that much personal misery.

But on another level, The Gadfly feels that if Melania is knowledgeable of some damning information about Drumpf, something that should she ever go public with, would simply stun his remaining supporters in to dumb fucking silence, then she owes it to the people of this country to say something - and the sooner, the better.

Melania has already made one very obvious bad choice in life -- will she make another?



---- TFG

The "Fake" Evidence of Obstruction Piles Up . . .

Oh dear . . . The "fake news" just keeps on getting worse for Team Drumpf:

President Donald Trump pressed senior aides last June to devise and carry out a campaign to discredit senior FBI officials after learning that those specific employees were likely to be witnesses against him as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.

In testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, recently fired FBI Director James Comey disclosed that he spoke contemporaneously with other senior bureau officials about potentially improper efforts by the president to curtail the FBI’s investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s efforts constituted obstruction of justice.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/01/26/trump-launched-campaign-to-discredit-potential-fbi-witnesses/

In politics, they say that the coverup is always worse than the original crime.  So if that is the case, then a coverup of the coverup would be, for all intent and purpose, something really, truly atrocious.

Listen - The Gadfly would be a more than willing party to the argument that the intelligence agencies in this country have not always capably served America's best interests, especially when it comes to our fabulous military intervention escapades abroad, but to just issue blanket condemnations and charges of corruption and conspiracy like Trump and the GOP are doing right now is the height of irresponsibility and malfeasance and it smacks of desperation with a wafting hint of collusion in the underlying misconduct.

Trump and his supporter's phony shtick of labeling the media enemies of the state has been kind of cute in a repulsive, oh look at the cranky dictator wannabe kind of way, but The Gadfly is fairly confident that they all (including the GOP lawmaker toadies who have hitched their teabagger cabooses to Drumpf's suicide train) are going to rue the day when they consciously chose to snidely j'accuse the FBI and the intelligence agencies of orchestrating a partisan political conspiracy to depose a sitting American president.

The vast majority of the people in those law enforcement and intelligence agencies who Trump and some Republicans are actively smearing put their lives on the line for American's and America's national and international security every goddamn day.  Also - let's keep in mind here that the CIA, FBI, NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence publicly issued a rare, joint statement confirming that their collective intelligence assessments demonstrating that the Russian government, at the direction of Vladimir Putin, did indeed deliberately, and with malice aforethought, attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election - and - that they did so with the primary goal of getting Donald Trump elected.

Being that as it may, The Gadfly, as does every American citizen, has a right to ask for, no - demand - that we find out the truth (yes, The Gadfly can handle the truth) as to the level of Donald Trump's and his aide's complicity in that treachery.

However, by all the presently available evidence, there appears to be a very coordinated, underhanded and possibly even criminal effort under way to subvert and/or outright sabotage the special counsel investigation that is seeking that truth in this matter, and Donald J. Trump is the head ratfucker in those efforts.  The Gadfly is certain that that fact is not lost on the very serious people who are diligently and fairly working on uncovering that truth.

And to have an amoral, arrogant, two-bit, chest thumping, "reality" tv show con-artist with delusions of totalitarian grandeur come along and take a steaming pile of shit on their nicely manicured lawn is the ultimate insult to the FBI, the DOJ and the intelligence community and it has only stiffened the resolve of Robert Mueller and his team to investigate every last line of inquiry in to Drumpf's playing of hide the treason salami with Putin and the Russians.

Robert Mueller is going to turn over every rock, scour every nook and cranny, and follow every credible lead - even if those leads take him right up and into Donald Trumps's tighty whities covered sphincter and he takes up permanent residence in Drumpf's lower colon.  And The Gadfly can almost guarantee you dear readers, that when the dust settles and the smoke clears and it's all done and said, little lord Donnie's high priced real estate and mafia attorneys will, in the end, have become nothing more than sacrificial cannon fodder for Mueller's onslaught and there is a fair chance Trump will be trading in his tighty whities for drab gray, prison issue boxers shorts.

That anticipatory end cannot happen soon enough for The Gadfly's impatient pleasure.

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”

― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

----TFG

Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! ... (it's not what you think)...

It just never ends with these fucking people . . . .

The prosecutor’s office in Big Horn County, Montana, has announced an “immediate crackdown” on any expectant mothers who use drugs or drink alcohol.

County Attorney Gerald “Jay” Harris said his office will seek civil restraining orders against those pregnant women. When there are “provable” violations of such orders, the county will ask for jail time in order to “incapacitate” the mothers, according to a Jan. 11 press release announcing the new policy.

Harris encouraged the public to report instances of mothers-to-be drinking or using drugs to the sheriff.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pregnant-women-big-horn-county-montana_us_5a674bf8e4b0e5630073b88c?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Let's get something clear right off the bat.  Nobody in their right mind, and The Gadfly would include his self in that group, advocates for women to abuse alcohol or drugs while pregnant.  Think about this - a woman would have to be in a very disturbed psychological state of mind to be doing such a thing to begin with and yes, it stands to reason that some form of intervention is imperative - for both the expectant mother's and her unborn baby's health in such cases, but knee-jerk imprisonment is about the stupidest fucking solution of all.

Which of course brings us to this Montana County Attorney Jay Harris asshole.

Mr. Harris has proposed one of those good old fashioned, conservative, lesson teaching solutions to a quite manageable social problem.

Lock 'em up.

Instead of sensible education and prevention methods, of which there is plenty of evidence of their efficacy (but a dearth of funding), this jackass just wants to toss these women in to a jail cell and then proclaim himself supreme savior of the zygotes.

And speaking of no funding for education, prevention and rehabilitation - just once The Gadfly would like to see a coherent, non-religious, non-bullshit explanation from these conservatives as to how it is that they can so zealously support tax cuts for billionaires, but never want to see any taxpayer funds utilized for social programs that have been proven to have positive results in dealing with issues like this, issues which they love to wrap their biblical "moral values" around to justify their draconian public policies and laws, but never really want to genuinely address.

But don't take The Gadfly's word as to why tossing these girls and women in to a jail cell is a cruel, numbnuts idea?  Here - listen to some much more intelligent and humane Americans explain it to you:

But research and experience show that treating pregnant women punitively can do more harm than good. An already vulnerable population of women may be discouraged from seeking prenatal care or help stopping their drug use. And abrupt discontinuation of opioids during pregnancy — as would happen when an expectant mother is jailed — can lead to preterm labor, fetal distress and even fetal death.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other major medical groups were quick to condemn Big Horn County’s proposed crackdown as “ineffective” and “harmful.”

“These kind of things come up periodically. People want to respond to the opioid crisis, or the problems related to drug use in pregnancy, with these kind of punitive responses, but there really is zero scientific evidence that this will work,” said Dr. Lauren Jansson, director of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center’s Center for Addiction and Pregnancy.

In fact, incarcerating expectant moms could ultimately contribute to the health problems the policy aims to resolve, she told HuffPost.

“Any time you try and separate the well-being of the fetus from the well-being of the mother, you get into a kind of slippery slope,” the doctor said. “The fetus relies on stable maternal physiology to properly develop, and if you put a woman with an addiction disorder under constant stress — if you put them in jail, if you deny them treatment, if you deny them medication — that’s not going to be optimal for the fetus.”

Addiction experts warn that a prosecutorial approach also perpetuates the idea that addiction is a moral failing or a bad choice. Jansson balked at the notion of a prosecutor’s office urging other citizens to report on pregnant women, likening it to the attitudes behind the Salem witch trials.

If any of you dear readers ever wonder why it is that The Gadfly is so vocal with his views about this modern strain of American conservatism, it is precisely because of neanderthal goons like this district attorney who have demonstrated to The Gadfly over and over again that they are the ones, much more so than the targets of their conservative piety, whose good standing membership in the human race needs be seriously and persistently reevaluated.




----TFG

The Destiny of Manifest Poutiness . . .

[ click pic to enlarge ]

This is a pretty interesting and darkly humorous article about the relationship that has developed between dear leader Drumpf and British Prime Minister Teresa May since America lost it's collective fucking mind and elected a pussy-grabbing, serial lying, double-dealing, backstabbing, two-penny con man and fascism fetishist to be the nation's "leader."

This snippet caught The Gadfly's cranky old, discerning eye:

In one phone conversation during 2017, Trump complained to May over the criticism he’d been getting in British newspapers. Amid warnings that Trump would face protests in the streets when he arrived, he told the prime minister he would not be coming to the U.K. until she could promise him a warm welcome.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-01-24/inside-the-dysfunctional-relationship-of-donald-trump-and-theresa-may

O M F G !!

Trump actually whined to - probably America's most important - allied leader - that he was not going to go and visit their country - UNLESS... SNIFF...-- UNLESS... - that leader could - PROMISE... SNIFF... -- PROMISE... - he, Donald Trump, that her people would give him a - WARM... -- WARM... - welcome.

And as that was the U.K., America's staunchest ally, that Trump was behaving like a whiny brat to and making demands for them to force their people to be nice to him, The Gadfly simply cannot, nor does not want to imagine what kind of bitchy simpering he was doing with the other allied leaders.

Do any of you conservatives truly understand just how much damage Trump and his Traveling Poo-Flinging Monkey Show are doing to the United States of America's prestige and reputation around the world - not just among our democratic allies -- but also with developing democracies?  This country is supposed to be the hopeful beacon of democracy to the world, but we are steadily devolving in to hybrid amalgam of the early 1900's robber baron era America, pre-World War II Germany and Putin's current Russia, of which nothing good will ever come of for We The People.

Our long standing allies and these developing democracies are looking to America to be the champion of democratic values and societal benevolence and justice and fairness and human rights and economic prosperity for all and all that other (mostly bullshit right now) American Dream stuff.

And then Supreme Emperor Trump and his hideous entourage of political bloodsuckers and alt-right sycophants came along.

And now our allies and these emerging democracies are second guessing their associations with America.  How can that be a good thing for Americans and our national security - to have our allies reassessing their loyalty to us?  How can it be in our national interest to have emerging democracies see what is going on in this country right now and having them to question the wisdom of forging trade and security alliances with us??  Can one fucking conservative coherently and truthfully answer those goddam questions without a stupid fucking smirk on their face??


It doesn't have to be this way.  There's another choice.  It's called sanity.

However -- if modern-day conservatism is so dutifully intent on deluding it's movement into ambling blindly into fringe political oblivion under Trump's banner, then The Gadfly, being quite the genial fellow, is only all too willing and happy to assist them on their cathartic journey.




----TFG

A Glimmer of Hope in Hopelessly Cultish Times . . .

The Gadfly was at his place of work today and something fairly extraordinary occurred that sent a shiver (the good kind) down The Gadfly's spine.

The Gadfly was in a medical facility, waiting to perform some technical troubleshooting on a reported IT problem in a patient exam room.  The room was occupied and one of the nurses advised The Gadfly that the room would be available in a few minutes.  So The Gadfly took up station outside in the waiting area and patiently waited for the room to be vacated.

The waiting area outside of the exam room was fairly small and there were a few folks sitting there and one of them was an elderly gentleman whom The Gadfly noted was gazing up at the wall mounted television, and he appeared to be the only one doing so.  The Gadfly strained his ears, as he was not directly facing the television, to see if he could catch the audio and without even looking at the screen, it became immediately clear that the set was tuned to the Fox "news" channel (that's how blatantly biased they are).

The Gadfly could make out the voices of a couple of talking heads, a male and female and they were just yammering on and on about wonderful dear leader Donald Trump's fabulous trip to Davos, Switzerland to hang out with the elite oligarchs of the world and they were gushing about how presidential and great Trump was showing himself to be on this trip, and how he was demonstrating to all of the leaders of the world how great America was and he was making friends all over the planet and this pathetic knob polishing just went on and on and on.

After a few minutes of this insufferable drivel, the elderly gentleman sitting there, whom The Gadfly figured to be a Trump admirer, because he seemed to be intently paying attention to the broadcast, got up from his chair, sauntered over to the nearest nurse and politely and firmly said to her (and this is verbatim), "could you please turn the tv channel ma'am?  The last thing I feel like listening to right now is a bunch of lying horseshit about Donald Trump."  The nurse dutifully complied with the man's request and changed the channel to some local news station.

And The Gadfly's heart nearly leapt out of his chest at the joy of hearing a fellow citizen, with senses tethered to reality, openly state the obvious about Rupert Murdoch's Ministry of Propaganda network and like a shot of adrenaline, it gave The Gadfly a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe - we will emerge from the darkness of this Drumpf saga still intact as a world-class nation and democracy and get on with the business of truly making America great again.

Fox has morphed in to Pravda on the Potomac.  Just listening to them for 5 minutes is enough for any rational, well educated adult to realize just how deep down the propaganda rabbit hole they have clambered.

Conservative (one of the sane ones) Russian/American author and military historian Max Boot wrote an article a few months ago sounding the alarm over just how overt Fox's propaganda has become.  Boot wrote:

While other networks are covering Trump’s myriad setbacks and scandals, Fox presents an alternative reality in which the bumbling president is close to infallible (except when he splits with fellow populist Jeff Sessions), his critics are “snowflakes,” and the biggest threat facing America is, depending on the day of the week, either the Hillary Clinton email scandal, “the war on Christmas,” or “political correctness.” It’s all too reminiscent of the Soviet-era TV stations that ran stories about record grain harvests even as grocery shelves were bare.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/08/fox-news-has-completed-its-transformation-into-trump-tv/

Fox basically has become the "Baghdad Bob" of American cable television news.

Boot went on to note:

A vicious feedback loop has developed. Fox airs implausible claims, e.g., speculating that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that was guilty of interference in the U.S. election, or asserting that Russia was really rooting for Hillary Clinton to win. (So Putin helped Trump because he secretly wanted him to lose? Got it!) An inveterate TV watcher, Trump echoes Fox’s fantasies in his own tweets and remarks. Fox, in turn, cites the president as confirmation for its made-up stories. As Dartmouth professor Brendan Nyhan notes, it’s a “perpetual motion machine of bullshit.”

And he sums it up thusly . . .

This is how bad it’s gotten: Fox, a TV network that purports to offer “fair and balanced” reporting, has become a flagrantly unfair and mentally unbalanced mouthpiece for a populist demagogue in the White House and his best friend in the Kremlin. One can only hope that its ratings diminish along with Trump’s popular support, but, sadly, it doesn’t take many dupes to keep this con game afloat.

And of course just this week we have Fox on-air personalities playing hide the propaganda salami with some Republicans in claiming that the Mueller investigation is tainted because purportedly (with no evidence at all presented) that there is a "secret society" of Trump haters who are deeply and secretly ensconced in the FBI, and who are having secret meetings and who are secretly plotting secretive things to destroy Donald Trump, and all of this very secrety stuff is being perpetrated at the secret behest of the dreaded Hillary beast.

Fucking sigh . . . .

The Gadfly hopes more of his fellow citizens make the decision to take a stand and speak up against the Fox bullshit like the elderly fellow that The Gadfly witnessed do today.  It is imperative for anyone who cares about the future of our democratic society to do so now.



----TFG

The Authoritarianism Is Strong In This One Obi Wan . . .

Their lies are beginning to take on an immutable, cartoonish stature:

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s defenders are brushing off reports that he asked his acting FBI director how he voted in the presidential election as simply Trump’s way of “getting to know people.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-andrew-mccabe-fbi_us_5a6887cce4b0dc592a0e4220?section=us_politics

Right - so after having already sacked one FBI director who refused to bow and kiss his ring, and pledge personal loyalty, Trump's querying of the new director Andrew McCabe about who he voted for in the election was just his way of "getting to know" him.

Listen - it's a given that all politicians lie to some extent or another.  But these Trump people -- they have created a whole new paradigm of unflinching lying and bullshit that transcends anything, at least in this country's history, that has ever been seen before.  It's fucking scary.

They lie about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g - significant and insignificant - and you just have to wonder as to what variety of catastrophe (not like the stark reality of their being in power isn't already one) their lies will eventually lead this nation to.



----TFG

Trapped in the Jaws of a Stormy Conundrum . . . .

Lol - - oh dear lord . . . .

Among the more head-scratching claims adult film star Stormy Daniels reportedly made about her alleged sexual affair with Donald Trump in her 2011 interview with In Touch magazine is that the now-president is “terrified” of sharks.

Daniels, 38, says she learned about the former Celebrity Apprentice host’s fear of the fish during a dinner with him at his Beverly Hills Hotel room — months after allegedly meeting him and sleeping together at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in July 2006.

“The strangest thing about that night … [is] you could see the television from the little dining room table [that] he was watching Shark Week,” she claimed, added that the special was about one of the worst shark attacks in history.

“He is obsessed with sharks. Terrified of sharks,” Daniels claimed. “He was like, ‘I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.’ He was like riveted.”

http://people.com/politics/stormy-daniels-donald-trump-shark-fears/

The Gadfly just placed an order for a new shirt to wear to a Trump rally should one roll around . . . . .

[ click pic to enlarge ]

----TFG

Riding The Stormy Out . . .

The Gadfly is certain people are going to be shocked when ALL OF THE TRUTH comes out about their pResident . . . . . oh - and The Gadfly talked about this very same subject in a previous post:

Judd Legum Jan 17, 2018, 12:43 pm

There are credible allegations that the President of the United States engaged in an affair with an adult film actress, paid her over $100,000 to keep quiet about it weeks before the election, and is now actively engaged in an elaborate cover-up.

According to reports, Daniels was able to extract a $130,000 payment to keep quiet about her affair with Trump. How many other women have stories about Trump that he does not want told? This is potentially a very dangerous predicament for a sitting president. In the unverified Steele dossier, there is an allegation that Russian officials have information about Trump’s interactions with sex workers in Moscow that Russian agents are using as leverage. There is not evidence that this is true (although Trump’s bodyguard confirmed he was offered the sexual attention of prostitutes) but Daniels’ story suggests similar circumstances may be possible. Trump, reportedly, has things to hide and is willing to go to substantial lengths to hide them.

https://thinkprogress.org/why-the-stormy-daniels-story-matters-3aa5c9a5ac64/

Just saying dear readers . . . just saying.........



----TFG

Bush Was The MBA President . . . Now We Have The First NDA President...

Simply fucking amazing:

Marlow Stern

Aurora Snow

01.13.18 12:46 PM ET

The Daily Beast was informed late Friday that porn star Jessica Drake is not allowed to discuss President Donald J. Trump on account of a non-disclosure agreement she signed barring her from any such talk. NDAs are often deployed as part of settlements to silence accusers. 

“Jessica’s NDA blankets any and every mention of Trump, so she’s legally unable to comment,” her publicist, Josh Ortiz, informed The Daily Beast. “Jessica signed a non-disclosure agreement after her allegations of misconduct, and she can’t do as much as peep his name publicly.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-accuser-jessica-drake-has-an-nda-preventing-her-from-talking-about-donald-trump

He's Just A Gigolo . . . . . . .




The Gadfly would wager good, honestly earned, lower middle-class, non-exempt paycheck money that there are dozens of these Drumpf NDA's (non-disclosure agreements) floating around out there that have absolutely fucking nothing to do with real estate nor any other aspect of legitimate business world transactions (yes - The Gadfly knows - insert Trump as a businessman joke here).

If you've ever listened to any of Howard Stern's radio shows, there are myriad instances, over many years, of Dashing Donny musing on-air about his lustful tendencies and insatiable appetite for young, nubile wenches.  His dalliances with porn stars is ho-hum not-news to people like The Gadfly who have actually followed Donald Trump's very public "career"and heard him boasting of his mighty sexual conquests all over the globe.

Listen - please, once and for all - you few remaining, possibly reasonable Trump supporters.  Donald Trump is a grifter and con artist.  He's a litigious backstabbing "businessman" who feels much more comfortable sitting around a boardroom table with mafia crime bosses than he does with legitimate American corporate business leaders.  He surrounds himself with emotionally prepubescent political groupies, fawning yes men and women, and no evidence at all exists that he is capable of humbly seeking counsel from people who are mature, intelligent and possess natural leadership skills and experiences.

He lies incessantly, and is a comically obtuse narcissist.  He has the disposition of a pit viper and the moral verisimilitude and humanity of Simon Legree.

Oh -- and it cannot be pointed out nearly fucking enough that the July, 2006 alleged "Tighty Whities" hotel/porn star incident took place a mere couple of months after his son Barron was born to him and his wife of 16 months, Melania.

And that is what prompted the Gadfly's explicit "amazing" admonition at the opening of this post.

It is practically impossible for The Gadfly to fathom how conservative, God fearing America would be reacting to news stories that might have come out a year in to Barack Obama's first term, that entailed accusations that Obama had paid off some porn starlets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in doing so, secured legal agreements from these porn starlets sealing their silence -- and that at least one of the dalliances occurred shortly after the birth of a child with a new, young wife.

Can you imagine dear readers -- the hew and the cry, hither and yonder, that would have been belched forth by "real" American, religious conservatives, who are now Trump's base,  should such a story have ever shown up in The Wall Street Journal about Barack Hussain Obama??  O. M. F. G.

It's the primary reason that The Gadfly does not ever . . . FUCKING EVER! . . . ever, ever, ever again -- care at all to hear any religious conservatives preaching on the subject of "moral values."  It is quite apparent that an unfortunate majority of those conservatives simply have none --moral values that is -- or at least do not have any that are borne of intrinsic human honesty and decency.

You "morals values" spouting conservatives really do need to coherently explain how it is that you can refer to yourself as a moral person and still support a moral monster like Donald John Trump.  And you can delude (lie to) yourself all that you can, but that would only underscore just how far you have lowered the bar on your own morals --- because, for all intent and purpose at that point, the bar is lying flat on the ground - it cannot get any lower than that.

The Gadfly is more than ready to have that conversation with evangelical conservatives, however, if their intransigence to date on coming clean over their hypocrisy on this situation is any indication, The Gadfly will not be wasting any of his valuable personal time waiting for that cathartic moment to come to pass.




----TFG

A Very Stable Genius Walks in to a Bar Wearing Tighty Whities . . . Oh - What's the Use?...

 
This is just much too priceless:
 

President Trump pushed back against damning reports Friday that he paid $130,000 to a porn star one month before the 2016 election in exchange for her keeping mum about a sexual encounter they allegedly had over a decade ago.

The porn star, Stormy Daniels, has stayed silent on the salacious claims, except for a statement of denial supposedly signed by her and circulated by Trump's personal attorney.

But on Friday night, another porn star, Alana Evans, shed some light on the matter, telling the Daily Beast that Daniels told her one day after the alleged tryst that Trump had chased her around a hotel room "in his tighty-whities."

"All I'm going to say is: I ended up with Donald in his hotel room. Picture him chasing me around his hotel room in his tighty-whities," Evans said her fellow porn star told her the morning after she supposedly had sex with Trump in July 2006.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/porn-star-claims-trump-daniels-invited-hotel-room-article-1.3754209

"Tighty-whities?"  wtf . . .

 The Gadfly cannot imagine how the rest of the world views our nation right now.

The Gadfly made a sincere attempt to put himself in the shoes of our allies - looking in from the outside on America.  Dunno' - perhaps the methodology is all wrong, but all that The Gadfly could see is a country that, in all of it's majestic wisdom, has elected a soulless, 72 year old man-child who possesses the sexually deviant lifestyle of Charlie Sheen, has the business scruples of John Gotti, the intellectual capacity of Elmer Fudd (sorry Elmer) and the behavioral temperament of Joan Crawford , as the leader of the free world.

"Tighty-whities?"  Say what??

 Christ -- our long standing ally the U.K. (Britain) -- an ally that has stood steadfastly by America's side through two world wars, the cold war and just about every military venture since, publicly conveyed their relief this past week when Trump declared that he was cancelling his trip to London.

The Brits stated that they were relieved and that they believed that their own people's vocal opposition to the current American President's presence in their country is what scared Daring Donny away.  Does not anyone else find it disturbingly un-fucking-believable that America's staunchest ally doesn't want to be seen palling around with the likes of the American President?

Alright -- hold it right there ...... before we proceed any further . . . The Gadfly just has to know - what the fuck are "tightie-whities???" . .

tighty whities

A synonym for briefs . They are underwear worn for there support purposes, antonym of boxers. The pros of tighty whities are support in gym class and hiding an erection. The disadvantages are that if you are pantsed then your penis will appear smaller, and that they might strangle your penis.

Because of incidents in which prison inmates trousers started to fall down, many teenagers believe baggy pants are cool. Because of that, it became the cool thing to wear boxers instead of old fashioned tighty whities.

 Urban Dictionary: tighty whities

Oh . . .

Thank you Trump supporters.  Thank you so mother fucking much you fucking lunatics.

----TFG

A Very Cluelessly Stable Dissembling Genius . . . .

Jeebus, this fucking guy . . .

During a press briefing today, as Trump read off a prepared list of what he believes his incredible presidential accomplishments are, like he always does, Trump claimed he received letters of high praise from a lot of news anchors over yesterday's open immigration meeting.

Trump said, "Yesterday, we had a bipartisan meeting with House members and Senators on immigration reform, something they've been talking about for many, many years, but we brought them together in this room, and it was a tremendous meeting."

The media was incredibly impressed that the cameras were allowed so much time during their meeting.

He continued, "Actually, it was reported as incredibly good, and my performance - some of them called it a performance, I consider it work, but it got great reviews by everybody other than two networks, who were phenomenal for about two hours."

Donald claims network bosses told them to cut out his praise.

"Then after that, they were called by their bosses who said, 'oh, wait a minute.' Unfortunately, a lot of those anchors sent us letters saying that was one of the greatest meetings they've ever witnessed. And they were great."

"They probably wished they didn't send us those letters of congratulations," Trump said.

He then went on to proclaim that his ratings keep the networks from going out of business.

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/01/trump-claims-news-anchors-sent-him-letters

Sigh ...

Is there not one single individual in Drumpf's sphere of influence who is capable of explaining to this cultural cripple of a president what "slow clapping" is?? Hmmmm?? . . . .







The Gadfly has to seriously question whether there honestly exists any other social or cultural aspects of reality - at all, aside from the collective, sadistic id of his hard core followers - that the mind of this "very stable genius" of a world leader is coherently attuned to.

Oh, and not that it matters much, to some apparently, but this daft sonofabitch has got the fucking nuclear codes.



----TFG

The Inherent Danger in the Fanaticism and Desperation of Cornered Rats . . .

Over the holidays I was at a family member's home and watching a CNN special about a trio of journalists who went to North Korea and for two weeks were allowed to go (with some measure of surveillance of course) among the North Korean people and ask them questions about their lives, their country and their dear leader.  Here's an online excerpt:

We go down another, windy, road, and reach a site North Koreans consider sacred: the cabin where North Korea says Gen. Kim Jong Il was born. Our guide tells us the story of Kim’s supposedly mystical birth.

“It was really cold and the weather was not normal. But somehow on that day the strong wind stopped all of a sudden, the sun began shining through. Everything was bright and a quiet calm took over. The flowers bloomed and in the sky was a particularly bright star,” our guide tells us.

“Is that a legend or did it actually happen?” I ask.

She insists it actually happened.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/09/asia/north-korea-secret-state/

It was pretty fascinating.  It was also a frightening parallel window in to the Trump fanatic's world view because a lot of the behaviors and the level of credulity and demonically possessed devotion that the North Koreans exhibit towards their dear leader Kim Jong Un and his father Kim Jong Il, is comparably mirrored by that of many of the most hard core of Trump's supporters.

And with the release this past week of Michael Wolff's incredible, hair-raising book "Fire and Fury" documenting his time wandering around the Trump White House for several months after that traveling freak show that we have come to know as the Trump administration took up residence, we clearly see now the reality that most sane people already knew, and that others are slowly coming to see the horror of, namely that this country has a bunch of self-interested, Peter Principle political hyenas and psychotic sycophants running our government.

Just take a look at this clip of CNN's Jake Tapper interviewing Trump's current favorite spokestoad Stephen Miller yesterday.  It is a jaw dropping demonstration of the sort of delusional mind fuckery and intellectual flatulence of which only the North Korean people themselves could truly appreciate:





Tapper, vainly attempting to speak calmly over the manic screeching of Miller, finally had to tell him in politically correct terms, that he was full of the proverbial bull's shit and wasn't going to subject CNN's viewers to it.  Tapper then nonchalantly directs the camera off of Miller in mid-screech, and cuts off his microphone.  ** [Note to other network and cable tv news outlets -- this is the absolutely correct way to deal with these lying weasels - as soon as they start in with the bullshit lying, tell them to their faces that they are full of shit and cut their microphones off.]

Anyhow, follow up reporting from today says that after Tapper cut to a commercial, he requested Miller please leave the studio.  Miller, still ranting and screeching about the greatness of his dear leader Drumpf, refused to do so and security people were summarily called and they physically escorted his propaganda spewing ass off of the premises.

Now dear readers --- please explain to The Gadfly how Stephen Miller's behavior in that clip is any different than that of the North Korean tour guide exclaiming Kim Jong Il's celestial eminence and swearing by all that is known of it's veracity?

And that is why these Trump people scare the living shit out of The Gadfly -- much more so than a ragtag bunch of religious loons riding around in pick up trucks and living in caves in Pakistan.  It's because these asshats are already here within our borders - in large numbers - with many of them heavily armed -- and just as many willing to justify and defend their mindless hero worship of their dear leader through subterfuge of our civic institutions and constitutional laws, and in some cases, even with violence.

It is classic nationalism and fascism any way you look at it and should it come down to it, The Gadfly will unrepentantly tell all of you that he is not averse to seeing yet another historical outcome for it in the vein that Mussolini and Hitler experienced calamitous denouements to their own attempts at spreading such a cancerous ideology.  This disease simply must not be allowed to spread, and with the pincers of Robert Mueller's probe closing in, all bets are off as to how these very awful human beings are going to react.

“Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the things they are willing to do to support it.” 

― Mercedes Lackey, Changes

----TFG

Guess That Settles That . . . . Thanks For The Clarification Fredo...

Uh huh . . . .

President Trump insisted Saturday that he is "a very stable genius," following the recent publication of a book that raises questions about his mental state and fitness for office.

"Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart," Trump tweeted, noting: "I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star ... to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius ... and a very stable genius at that!"

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/06/576204103/a-very-stable-genius-trump-responds-to-renewed-criticism-of-his-mental-state

 . . . . .you don't say!? . . . please do go on . . . . .






There's going to be a whole new branch of psychiatry that will be created out of this hair-raising American experience with this delusional half-wit president and his equally delusional and stunningly dumb fucking supporters.


----TFG

Making America Duck and Cover Again . . . .

Gee - thanks Trumpies . . .

Last Updated Jan 5, 2018 5:02 PM EST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has scheduled a briefing for later this month to outline how the public can prepare for nuclear war . . .

. . . This comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. President Trump tweeted Tuesday night, boasting about the size of his "nuclear button" and how it's "much bigger & more powerful" than North Korea's.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-nuclear-blast-briefing-nuclear-war-emergency-preparation-north-korea-tensions/

The Gadfly doesn't suppose that electing a delusional narcissist with the worldview of a toddler and the social skill sets of a bonobo monkey might have anything to do with the fact that here we are, nearly two decades in to the 21st century, and we're talking about reliving the 1950's where we were teaching our school children how to huddle under a little wooden desk in the event a nuclear strike was imminent....





Maybe Bert the Turtle will save us . . . .





Want to have some real fun?  Here's an interactive map that you can play with to see what the effects of a nuclear detonation in your beloved town or city will be:  [ Interactive NUKEMAP ]



Good god - what horror have the idiot citizens among us wrought?



----TFG

Just Whose Fucking Side Are These Guys On? Inquiring Gadflies Want To Know...

This seriously changes the dynamics of all of this Russian election meddling shit and it begs a very obvious fucking question:

WASHINGTON — More than a year after Republican leaders promised to investigate Russian interference in the presidential election, two influential Republicans on Friday made the first known congressional criminal referral in connection with the meddling — against one of the people who sought to expose it.

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a senior committee member, told the Justice Department that they had reason to believe that a former British spy, Christopher Steele, lied to federal authorities about his contacts with reporters regarding information in a dossier, and they urged the department to investigate.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/christopher-steele-dossier-judiciary-committee.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Christopher Steele is a highly regarded, former British Intelligence agent with a stellar career working for Britain's vaunted Secret Intelligence Service MI6.  He has extensive experience in dealing with the Russians whom Britain, our ally remember, still considers a state enemy.

Steele played a vital role early in the Afghanistan conflict working with MI6 and allied Special Forces to target high level Taliban targets for capture and elimination.  He subsequently rose in rank within MI6 to become a highly valued senior intelligence officer, and eventually became head of MI6's Russia intelligence desk.

To put this not so gaddamn, motherfucking bluntly --- Christopher Steele is a fucking hero and a patriot to not just his home nation of Britain, but to Britain's allies (yeah - that includes America you stupid right wing fuckers) and to democracy itself.

And now the Republicans want to persecute him.  Why?  The Gadfly could provide you dear readers with a truckload of cynical, manufactured motives that right wing conservatives are already floating to the top of the turd bowls masquerading as their mouths as the justification for this sudden interest in seeking criminal referrals against Christopher Steele.  However, The Gadfly has no interest at this moment in wallowing in that pile of maggot-infested horse feces.

So why then?  Well -- all that The Gadfly has to say to you dear readers is that with this suspicious turn of events, the very first inquisitive thought that popped in to The Gadfly's mind was -- how deep?  How deep as in -- how deep does the treason with the Russians really go?  And specifically now - with Grassley's and Graham's actions - how deep within the Republican party and in Trump/Republican supporting, oligarch America does this Russian ratfucking appeasement shit go?

It all jibes as well with the increased intensity in the past few weeks of coordinated (Trump/GOP) public attacks on the integrity of the FBI, the DOJ and by proxy the rest of the American intelligence and federal law-enforcement community.

Ask yourselves this dear readers.

Can any one of you show The Gadfly a single video tape, of any one of the top GOP leaders, stating for the record, that Russia, as a state, is indeed an enemy of the United States, and that Vladimir Putin is a murderous, authoritarian tyrant who would love nothing more than to see the destruction of American democracy and see it's alliances with European democracies damaged or destroyed, to the benefit of his empire, and -- that any American working in conjunction with Putin's Russia to sabotage and even alter the outcome of an American presidential election should most certainly be charged with the highest form of treason??

Just one video tape of just one high ranking Republican stating that stark, unambiguous truth and reality??  Not one?? . . .






The Gadfly rests his case.

There is ample evidence, at this juncture, that all of this Russia election meddling shit, enabled by a nation of frighteningly dumb-ass citizens turning a blind eye to it, isn't going to turn out well for this country.  And people had better be prepared for when it doesn't.



----TFG