Last week millions enjoyed wall to wall basketball for four days but Sunday afternoon brought an extra bonus for political junkies.
The icing on the March Madness cake was topped Sunday afternoon with this cherry of just desserts: a stake in the heart of the Democrats’ deluded illusion of Russian collusion.
For those who follow the news, the ending of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 675-day, $25 million-plus investigation shall forever be known as “Mueller’s March Madness.”
Mueller’s diary of supposed Trump collusion and obstruction findings was revised to an Attention Deficit Disorder-friendly four-page summary by Attorney General William Barr and emphasized what people who never watch CNN or MSNBC have known all along – there is no there there.
Shocked and stunned Democrats, the media mongrels that have fed this impeachment pablum to their duped audiences, and Hollyweird elitists who fantasized about playing a starring role in the made for TV movie about Trump’s removal from office, are suddenly left with nothing more than blubbery tears and impeachment fantasies.
Bette Midler was “sick at heart” with an “uncontrollable rage.” Cher remained in denial about Trump’s crime, corruption and ties to Russia. Actor Sean Astin mocked Mueller for his seeming inability “to indict a ham sandwich.”
How unhinged was Hollyweird’s reaction to the news? Rosie O’Donnell was reconsidering her earlier promise of getting a Mueller tattoo and Chelsea Handler confessed “my sexual attraction to him (Mueller) is in peril.”
No doubt Mueller is losing sleep at this news.
Media pundits suffered, too. Rachel Maddow interrupted her vacation to cry on air. Chris Matthews was livid. Bill Maher doubled down on Trump being a traitor and “a whiny bitch.”
CNN’s Chris Cillizza argued Mueller’s milestone “is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.”
This seems appropriate since liberals are already chasing their ridiculous impeachment tale in circles – like the mongrels they are.
But guess what? Democrat dyspepsia is about to get worse and here’s why: Trump now holds all the cards.
The president can declassify the FISA documents. He can go public with all the documents the Justice Department and FBI refused to release.
He can and should ignore congressional subpoenas and requests for testimony and documents already investigated by Mueller.
In short, he can now go on offense against all the swamp creatures that have hounded and persecuted him, his staff and his family members the past two years.
The hunted is now the hunter. There is nowhere those attempting a coup of a duly elected president can hide.
Trump knows it. His supporters know it.
Soon Deep State players like John Brennan and James Comey will know it too.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to all those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
Photo sources: newspunch.com, DC Statesman, Bustle
( TV ANNOUNCER) “One of these high level political insiders is sitting in the secret square, and the contestant who picks it first could win an all-expense paid trip to a special Caribbean hideaway to share with the insider of their choice! Which political insider is it?
“Is it…James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, Andrew McCabe, Bruce Ohr, Sally Yates, Peter Strozk, Lisa Page, or Robert Mueller?
Now here’s the Master of The D.C. Squares, Hot Rod Rothstein!”
ROTHSTEIN: “Good evening, and welcome to The D.C. Squares – America’s favorite Deep State game show! Hello insiders, how are you?” And welcome studio audience! Now let’s meet today’s contestants:
“On my left and representing zero – uh, sorry – I mean ‘O,’ is Attorney General Jeff Sessions. AG Sessions served as the U.S. Senator from Alabama for 20 years before being named the United States’ 84th Attorney General. Welcome, Mr. Attorney General.
“On my right and representing “X” is the current 45th president of the United States, President Donald J. Trump. President Trump had literally no political experience before beating out 17 veteran Republican politicians for the position he now currently holds. President Trump, welcome. Nice MAGA hat!
“Players, the object is to get three insiders in a row either, up, across or diagonally. It is up the player to decide if the insider is giving them a correct answer or making one up, that is how they win the square. Each square is worth $500 and if you successfully win the secret square, you and the insider of your choice will be treated to the Caribbean vacation surprise mentioned earlier.
“Players, if you’re ready, let’s begin: Attorney General Sessions, you won the coin flip held earlier off-camera. Which insider do you choose?”
SESSIONS: “Andrew McCabe”.
ROTHSTEIN: “I’m sorry Jeff, but you’ve recused yourself from the Russian Collusion investigation and are not allowed to ask questions of Andy McCabe. You also forfeit your turn. Donald, it’s your go.”
TRUMP: “I’ll tell you what Rod. I know what a fan of mine he is, so let’s go with Peter Strozk.”
ROTHSTEIN: “Peter, true or false: Do Virginia Wal-Mart shoppers who supported President Trump smell – true or false?”
STROZK: “Depends upon how close to Saturday night it is, Rod. (Audience boos) “No, Virginia Wal-Mart shoppers don’t smell. At least, any more than those that shop Dollar General or Family Dollar.”
TRUMP: “I’m going to trust Peter this one time, Rod. True.”
ROTHSTEIN: “That would be right, Donald – “X” gets the square. Jeff, it’s your go.”
SESSIONS: “Jim Comey, please.”
ROTHSTEIN: “Oh, I am sorry Jeff, but Comey was also a key player in the Russian Collusion investigation. Hopefully you’ll get another go after the mid-terms – but we doubt it. Donald, it’s your turn.”
TRUMP: “Texting Queen Lisa Page, Rod.”
ROTHSTEIN: “Lisa, Hillary Clinton would have been the first president in presidential history to require Secret Service assistance for this?”
PAGE: “Oh, I once texted this to a friend – and no, it wasn’t who you might think. (Audience boos) The Secret Service would be in charge of transporting and ironing Preside-er, Mrs. Clinton’s pants suits. Although, let’s be clear – Hillary would always be the one wearing the pants in that relationship.”
TRUMP: I think Ms. Page is lying – again. Crooked Hillary’s presidential detail would have been required to carry her up and down stair steps, including on Air Force One, down to her personal Chardonnay wine cellar, and wherever on the White House grounds she planned to keep her unsecured email server.”
ROTHSTEIN: “That is right. Contrary to her supporters, Hillary not only can’t walk on water, but she navigates stair steps like a blind, peg-legged pirate marinated in rum-flavored Chardonnay. “X” gets the square. Jeff, it’s your go”.
SESSIONS: “Uh, er, ummm…are there any non-Russian questions, Rod? Maybe questions to do with marijuana or MS-13?”
ROTHSTEIN: “Let me see. How about an immigration question Jeff?”
SESSIONS: “Yes, that would be great. Sally Yates to block, please.”
ROTHSTEIN: “Sally, the Tsarnaev brothers’ parents immigrated here with their parents in 2002. The Tsarnaev brothers were a) Circus performers, b) Founders of a Brighton Beach restaurant chain, or c) the Boston Marathon bombers?”
YATES: “I remember seeing the Tsarnaev’s when they played Atlantic City a couple of summers ago. What a great show they put on! The Tsarnaev’s are circus performers.”
SESSIONS: “I disagree Rod. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar were charged with the Boston Marathon bombing, and Tamerlan was ki-”
ROTHSTEIN: “I’m sorry Jeff, but you recused yourself from anything involving Russian collusion.”
SESSIONS: “But they aren’t Russian! The Tsarnaev brothers were Kyrgyzstani-Americans! They were Muslims of Chechen descent!!”
ROTHSTEIN: “That’s right Jeff, but Russian intelligence sources did tip off the FBI about the Tsarnaev’s being a threat weeks before the bombing, and…”
SESSIONS: “I recused myself from anything involving Russia,” the Attorney General said, hanging his head.
ROTHSTEIN: I’m sorry folks, but that’s all the time we have left in today’s D.C. Squares show, but tune in…”
TRUMP: “No, I’m sorry Rod, but that’s all the time you and all the Deep State insiders have because I’ve decided to declassify all the emails, texts and FISA application records you have refused to turn over to Congress for more than a year. You can expect that declassification order soon…very soon.
“Johnny, or whatever your name is announcer guy, tell Rod and all the insiders of the Deep State Squares what they’ve won.”
ANNOUNCER: “Yes sir, Mr. President. Our Deep State insiders have all won an all-expense paid trip of a lifetime – for a lifetime, to… Guantanamo Bay, Cuba!”
STUDIO AUDIENCE: Widespread applause and foot stomping.
TRUMP: “See, we’re keeping our promise to Make America Great Again and drain the swamp – one D.C. swamp critter square at a time. Thank you all for your continued support, and stay tuned for our upcoming prime time declassification special: DC Non-Confidential!”
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
Do you hear that? Listen closely. Do you hear it now?
Slowly but surely, President Donald Trump is fulfilling yet another campaign promise. He’s draining the swamp of its swamp creatures and parasitic power suckers.
Exhibit A: On August 13 the public learned that Peter Strozk, the former FBI counterintelligence agent, texting fiend and wife cheater, had been dismissed the Friday before.
FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich overturned an earlier decision by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (a misnomer if I ever heard one) to allow Strozk continued employment with the FBI after a 60-day suspension.
A mere 60-day suspension for falsifying charges against a presidential candidate and scheming to overthrow a duly elected president would be the equivalent of taking away a teenager’s car keys and Internet privileges for bombing their school.
Strozk’s attorney warned that his client’s termination “should be deeply troubling to all Americans.”
Yeah, right. I’ve been sleeping like a baby all week knowing that the smug and snarky Strozk was getting his comeuppance – with the promise of more to come.
Exhibit B: On August 15 White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders read a statement from the president announcing he was revoking the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan.
Brennan was a disastrous CIA director with a security clearance. If his “trumped” up Russian collusion narrative was true, why didn’t he stop it? Because it wasn’t. That makes him a liar rather than incompetent, but either way this guy shouldn’t be within 10 miles of classified information.
Naturally MSM types immediately commenced with their usual histrionics: “Trump’s suppressing free speech;” “he’s punishing his critics;” “he’s working from an enemies list,” and a personal favorite – “what he’s doing is Nixonian.”
If only the Deep State’s efforts to illegally influence an election, and weaponize government agencies in order to unjustly frame a duly elected president was as quaint as Watergate.
What the Deep State cabal has been doing the past two years makes the Watergate burglary look Rockwellian by comparison.
Progressive media types say Trump has assumed dictatorial powers by revoking Brennan’s security clearance, but Huckabee-Sanders said the president has a constitutional responsibility to protect classified information – hence Brennan’s firing was legitimate.
But wait…it gets better.
Washington’s “Steel Magnolia” press secretary added that several other former and current Obama administration officials are being considered for having their clearances revoked: James Clapper, James Comey, Susan Rice, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr and others.
If the media thinks a few Obamaites losing their security clearances, and others being demoted and terminated is the end of this sordid D.C. soap opera, they need to stay tuned…this show is only getting started.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
MANHATTAN, NY Last Friday the Democrat National Committee filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging a conspiracy by the Trump campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks to sabotage nominee Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chances in favor of Donald Trump.
The complaint accused top Trump campaign officials of colluding with Russia to force Clinton to take naps, overindulge in Chardonnay and forego campaigning in key battleground states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency,” Democrat National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said.
On Monday Perez surprised Republicans again when he filed a second suit in the same Manhattan court, this one announcing the DNC’s plan to sue themselves – specifically 2016 Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
“We’d been considering this for several weeks, but the deciding factor was when Congressman Nunes (House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman R-California), suggested if we really wanted to get to the bottom of Russian collusion ‘we ought to be suing ourselves,’” Perez told gathered reporters.
“Even though Nunes is a Republican, he’s better versed on the Russian collusion narrative than Democrats are – even though we helped pay for it,” Perez admitted candidly.
When asked on Sunday by ABC’s George Stephanopolous if the two lawsuits might distract Democrats from the 2018 elections, Perez calmly reached for a stick of gum.
“One of the reasons we’re winning is because people believe that we should stand up for our democracy. That’s what we’re doing in this lawsuit, George. We can walk and chew gum – see,” Perez demonstrated by walking repeatedly in a tight circle while chomping gum.
According to the court papers filed Monday, the DNC claims in their lawsuit:
• After getting the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton failed to campaign as vigorously as she should have when Russian agents surreptitiously replaced her Napa Valley wine with Molotov cocktails;
• Clinton rigged the Democratic nomination by stealing votes from primary opponent Bernie Sanders through manipulation of the super delegate process. She also was charged with bribing Sanders with a third home on Lake Champlain and a free lifetime supply of Ben and Jerry’s;
• Clinton was also charged with misappropriating millions of dollars in DNC donated funds, channeling those to her own campaign and a state-of-the-art email server that would wipe itself – with a cloth.
The Republican National Committee had no comment, although anonymous sources did confirm lots of hooting and guffawing whenever the lawsuit was mentioned.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
On Thursday the White House announced that two-time New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani was joining the president’s legal team, along with Marty and Jane Raskin of the Florida-based law firm Raskin & Raskin.
Today Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office followed suit with a surprise announcement of its own.
Mueller spokesman Peter Carr announced two late additions to Mueller’s legal team: J. Quincy Magoo and French legal legend Jacques Clouseau.
Magoo is known as a flighty but tenacious prosecutor who has enjoyed uncanny luck throughout his storied career.
He has proven experience in maneuvering around all kinds of obstacles and his seemingly random meanderings often provide unique perspectives that have helped him ferret out details others miss.
Clouseau is a legend in his native France. He has been in professional law enforcement since the late 1960’s and has a storied reputation for his unorthodox methods.
As an inspector for the French Sûreté, his greatest notoriety occurred when he single-handedly solved a string of high profile thefts involving some of that country’s most influential and wealthiest families.
When asked why Mueller was seeking the services of the famed French law enforcement legend, Carr replied that the two met by happenstance last month when Inspector Clouseau’s water skis got entangled with Mueller’s Russian collusion fishing expedition off the coast of Seychelles.
According to Carr, Magoo was hired a week later after wandering into Mueller’s office mumbling about President Trump’s tweets and Russian caviar. Mueller took that as an omen that Magoo was perfect for his team.
Mueller said through Carr that his team was elated to welcome the legendary pair to his team.
“We are thrilled to have Quincy and Jacques join us in this endeavor,” Mueller said. “We’re confident their unique experience will help us connect the dots in proving Trump’s Russian collusion once and for all.”
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
I’d read the media reports about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s latest episode clambering down the Trump-Russian collusion rabbit hole – halfway across the world no less – but decided to check things out for myself.
Two days later I found Mueller and a small team of lawyers aboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Seychelles. At least I assume they were lawyers. Most were wearing loosened Brooks Brothers suit ties with their swim trunks and sunglasses.
Apparently his Special Counselness appreciated the time away as I found him jovial and receptive to my questions.
How’s the fishing?
“Worth the trip! We’ve had some promising nibbles of corruption and Russian cronyism since anchoring here. It may look like we’re casting too wide a net here on the east coast of Africa looking for Trump’s Russian collusion, but it’s out there – we just know it!”
So you’re fishing for collusion?
“Oh yeah! That’s what taxpayers are paying us for. Don’t let the rumors we’ve gathered no proof the past year fool you. The facts that the Russians tried to influence the last presidential campaign by bribing Trump and his campaign team is as plain as the fact Hillary would have won if it weren’t for some illegal leaking of classified information.”
Speaking of leaks, don’t you have that problem yourself?
“We’re leaking?! Omigosh, where’s the life preservers?!”
I was speaking about the leaks coming from your legal team. And isn’t it true that your hiring was based on your pal Jim Comey leaking classified information to a friend who in turn leaked to the New York Times?
“Look here. We’ve got some excellent leads on Trump-Russian collusion that led us here to this remote island location far away from boring grand juries and Fox News. Trust me; the president’s house of cards will be coming down as soon as we connect those dots our witnesses left us like bread crumbs on these pristine waters. Caviar?”
We know you are looking at Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s involvement with a United Arab Emirates contact. Prince never held a formal role in the Trump campaign, transition team or the administration. What gives?
“We’re merely following the evidence where it leads, and specifically whether the UAE was trying to buy political influence by supporting the Trump campaign. Vodka?”
You mean like Hillary Clinton was doing with donations to the Clinton Foundation?
“That’s not in our purview. Our mandate is to prove collusion between Russia and Trump to unduly influence our election. And we won’t quit our first class worldwide jet-setting, nosing in 20-year-old business deals and spending the taxpayers’ money until we do! And that’s a promise you can take to the Clinton Foundation bank!”
So you’re trying to prove the president is guilty of what Hillary did, even though there’s plenty of evidence of Hillary’s complicity and absolutely none with Trump?
“Exactly! Everyone knows Hillary’s guilty and the Clinton Foundation was a cash cow for her and Bill, so there’s no need for lawyers to prove any of that. The money to be had in that case is proving their innocence and frankly, who wants that job?!”
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
Everyone’s favorite ground hog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this month and you know what that means: six more months of Democrats bellyaching about Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.
Random thoughts about this Democrat Russian collusion riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, or as I like to think of it, the Democrat farce wrapped in a deluded delusion, inside a conundrum of crap.
1) FACT: The infamous dossier written by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and political opposition research firm Fusion GPS was paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democrat National Committee. Remember reading about that in the mainstream media before the release of the Nunes memo? Neither do I.
Reportedly Steele paid former Russian contacts for dirt on candidate Trump, including some working in the Kremlin.
Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was paid through a conduit, the international law firm Perkins Coie who represented the Clinton presidential campaign.
The FBI also reportedly paid Steele by compensating him for expenses although they’ve been reluctant to admit it – probably because they paid him from loose change found between former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s couch cushions.
In other words, there’s more evidence of Steele, Fusion GPS and the FBI colluding with the Russians than any member of the Trump campaign.
If that’s not enough Russian collusion for you, Fusion GPS had done work for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin comrades in an effort to undermine the Magnitsky Act, a U.S. law that sanctioned Russian officials for the murder of one of Putin’s enemies.
Pravda has reported on this extensively for more than a year in their series on American collusion in Russia’s thriving character assassination industry.
2) FACT: Last week it was revealed that Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, got punked by a pair of Russian comedians promising “compromising” dirt on Trump in a 2017 phone call.
The prank definitely left the California representative schiff faced.
During the 8-minute call the radio pranksters posed as a fake Ukrainian politician who promised Schiff nude photos of Trump and a Russian model cavorting after a 2013 Miss Universe pageant.
Is anyone else disturbed by the left’s obsession with naked images of Trump? Sigmund Freud would schiff a load of bricks at their obsession.
Anyway, it’s obvious Schiff doesn’t know schiff about real Russian collusion. He not only promised he’d pass the information on to the proper “authorities,” his staff unsuccessfully attempted to correspond with the fake Ukrainian afterwards to try to obtain the promised materials.
3) FACT: February 8 Fox News’ Ed Henry reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat, Mark Warner, had extensive contact in 2017 with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch in an effort to, you’ll never guess, obtain incriminating information on President Trump.
Warner was trying to connect with dossier author Steele, according to text messages obtained by Fox News. The story reported that Warner was trying to meet with Steele through a lobbyist representing – wait for it – Russian oligarch billionaire Oleg V. Deripaska.
Senator Warner had extensive contact last year with lobbyist Adam Waldman in an effort to connnect with Steele, who if he isn’t already, may be the most famous dossier author in history.
According to the text messages Warner was trying to connect with Steele “on the sly” because he didn’t “want to leave a paper trail” of his plans.
Over the four month period from February through May 2017 Warner was also trying to connect with Deripaska to see about having him testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but the billionaire knew a bad business deal when he saw it and told Warner, “Nyet, nyet.”
4) FACT: Uranium One is about a 2010 deal in which a Kremlin-connected entity obtained 20 percent of America’s uranium production by acquiring Canada-based Uranium One.
It sounds like the premise of a Tom Clancy novel that was discarded for being too unrealistic.
The deal had to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States due to national security concerns since uranium is a dual-purpose fuel that can be used for nuclear energy to produce electricity or nuclear weapons.
Clinton was never concerned with America’s national security as first lady or U.S. senator, so why would she worry about it as Secretary of State?
One of the concerns with the Uranium One deal was the Foreign Investment board was never advised that the FBI had been investigating ARMZ, part of Rosatom, a Russian-owned nuclear energy company, since 2004.
Anyone that followed Hillary’s work as Secretary of State knew that ‘what they don’t know can’t hurt them’ was a staple of her management philosophy.
In April, 2015 the New York Times reported that the Clinton Foundation got millions from Uranium One investors from 2005 through 2011 but tch, tch, the foundation didn’t disclose any of those donations.
Around that same time former president Bill Clinton collected a $500,000 speaking fee in Moscow. Hopefully no naked photos of Bill Clinton will surface from that trip.
Doubly so for any naked pictures of Hillary.
Critics of the deal have been asking the same two questions the past three years: were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder aware of the FBI investigation into Russian collusion in the Uranium One deal, and if so, why did they allow the deal to go forward? If they weren’t aware of the deal, how could they have been so stupid?
We’ll be learning much more about this ticking time bomb of Russian bribery and intimidation since FBI undercover agent Douglas Campbell recently testified before three separate congressional committees. Fox News is already reporting that Campbell said that Russian executives told him Moscow was spending millions in lobbying fees to influence the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton.
And all this was before Obama was caught on an open mic telling former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev he’d have more flexibility in his second term.
The evidence Campbell collected while working undercover for four years will be a “bombshell” in confirming long held suspicions about Obama and Clinton corruption concerning Russia.
5) FACT: We now know from the Devin Nunes memo released Feb 2 that the Steele dossier was the primary source used by the FBI to acquire the initial FISA warrant and to renew it every 90 days. But did you know:
The only part of the dossier verified by the FBI before presentation to the FISA court was Trump campaign worker Carter Page’s trip to Moscow;
The dossier was used for the first time in history as an excuse to wiretap Americans and a political opponent’s campaign;
FBI sources leaked portions of the dossier to the media to hamper the Trump campaign and later while the president-elect worked to assemble his staff and Cabinet;
The Mueller investigation into Trump was initiated by former FBI director Jim Comey’s illegal leaks and the investigation itself is built on a dossier chockfull of Russian disinformation.
Bottom line: Democrats have wasted over a year and millions of dollars in taxpayer money looking for the orange-colored collusion needle in the Russian haystack, and so far the only collusion they’ve uncovered is their own side playing footsie with the Russians.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
Welcome to Dean Riffs’ Week in Review. Every weekday our panel of non-partisan judges (me) pick two or three weekday news items on which to comment – after careful pontification, of course. We riff responsibly here.
MONDAY, JANUARY 8
Dead white poet Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal,” and after Oprah Winfrey’s powerful speech at the Golden Globes Sunday night, many liberals are hopeful that “Hoprah” will lead Democrats out of the political wilderness.
Winfrey was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award and in her speech mentioned civil rights, the faddish #MeToo movement and led the Hollyweird faithful in a rousing chant of, “Their time is up!”
Oprah and Harvey Weinstein
She ended her emotional speech (with progressives it’s always about feelings) with this sage observation: “A new day is on the horizon.”
Meh. Last I checked new days come and go daily – regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. It has something to do with earth’s rotation and the sun.
Naturally the political left went gaga over her address and immediately Twitter was atwitter with hashtags like #Oprah2020 and #OprahforPresident. No wonder the country has an Oprah-oid crisis!
I can hear it now. If she is the Democrats’ nominee in 2020, those opposing her will not only be racist, but sexist as well.
I’m hoping the Dems will one day nominate a one-legged, transgender, bi-sexual, pro-abortion, Islamic vegan so I can hear that I’m a special needs hater, gender phobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-vegan, anti-choice, knuckle-dragging troglodyte.
Also on Monday, fallout continued from the fire and fury from author Michael Wolff’s book, The Fire and the Fury. Naturally those who hate Trump love the book, and according to Amazon customer reviews many of them bought it just because the President tried to have his legal team block its publication.
Here’s the interesting takeaway: Wolff acknowledges that several of his sources were lying to him, but he included their comments anyway “allowing the reader to judge” whether the sources’ claims are true.
In other parts of his salacious tell-all he used his “journalistic judgment” and research to describe “a version of events I believe to be true.” He also admitted in subsequent interviews that he did not interview a single White House Cabinet official.
Well gee, who wouldn’t plunk down money for a book written by a guy that admittedly doesn’t believe his own sources and questions his own conclusions but insists readers buy the book to decide for themselves about Trump’s mental acuity.
In an interview in Monday’s London Daily Mail, Wolff was quoted as saying, “100 percent of the people around Trump question his intelligence and fitness for office.”
So in addition to writing a trashy, gossip-filled book full of unchecked facts, half-truths and imaginary occurrences, apparently Mr. Wolff can’t do math either.
In sports, the Alabama Crimson Tide rallied from a 13-point second half deficit in the College Football Playoff National Championship game to beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 26-23 in overtime. Monday’s win was Alabama’s fifth national title in nine seasons.
No player for either team was seen taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem, despite the overt presence of the President. In another example of white privilege, Alabama head coach Nick Saban took home his sixth national title with Monday’s win, but Alabamians of all colors didn’t seem to mind.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 9
Today’s top news story concerns work towards “a bill of love” that the president was calling for in a rare 55-minute televised DACA meeting held with both Republican and Democrat congressional leaders.
Just the thought of Democrats working with Republicans to craft a bipartisan immigration reform bill was enough to bring a tear to the eye of many “Dreamers” – specifically those idealistic dreamers who naively believe that the Democrats would ever agree to enhanced border security involving a wall, ending chain migration, the diversity lottery program and implementing E-verify.
Even more disturbing was watching the president say, “I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with.” And there was this gem: “If they come to me with things I’m not in love with, I’m going to do it.”
Giving the president the benefit of the doubt, let’s hope this is just a negotiating ploy. As a “the glass is half full guy,” I’m adopting a wait-and-see approach to see how this all plays out. However, Laura Ingraham summarized the concern of many conservatives on her show The Ingraham Angle:
*Today we also learned that Google has added vetting for conservative publications in its search results. NOTE: the fact checks seem to apply almost exclusively to conservative sites under a heading titled “Reviewed Claims.”
Conservative publications like The Daily Caller, Breitbart, The Conservative Treehouse, World Net Daily and The Daily Wire are tattooed with the Reviewed Claims display but liberal websites like Daily Kos, Salon, Vox, Slate and Mother Jones are not fact checked for accuracy in their content.
Apparently in addition to “fake news” and Michael Wolff’s fake book, now thanks to Google we also have fake vetting and fake fact checking.
* UPDATE One weekafter we reported Google’s vetting seemed to target conservative publications almost exclusively, Google suspended its controversial new “fact-check” feature after the facts seemed to point to their own company’s bias and questionable objectivity.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10
The One, aka, Barry Soetoro, aka, Barack Obama, famous former grass-roots organizer on Chicago’s south side, continues to scale back plans for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago after local residents objected to the original plan.
Grass-roots activists, conservationists and academics in Chicago have all expressed reservations to the Obama Foundation about the center, and academics at Obama’s own stomping grounds at the University of Chicago have called it “socially regressive.”
Charles Lipton, a political science professor at the university, says Obama is “indulging himself” by “building a monument along the lakefront.”
Obama’s Monument to Self
Complaints have ranged from locating the Obama Presidential Center on Lake Michigan as opposed to the Southside, to annexing 20 acres of Jackson Park, a popular urban city park on the National Register of Historic Places, to plans for a 450-space above ground parking garage.
The above ground garage is the latest part of the project to be shelved, when earlier this week the Obama Foundation agreed to move the garage underground so as not to take up an additional five acres on the historic Midway Plaisance.
Heck, I say scrap the center entirely and just build the garage. An empty underground parking lot would be the ideal symbol of the 44th president’s two terms – just saying.
Also on Wednesday an estimated 100 U.S. immigration agents invaded dozens of 7-Eleven stores across the country searching for foreign invaders. Here’s footage from one of the raids:
Just kidding. Agents did target about 100 stores nationwide in what portends a sharp expansion of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
“This is what we’re gearing up for this year and what you’re going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters,” Derek Benner told the Associated Press.
“It’s not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small,” he said. “It’s going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there.”
Works for me. Liberals always whine about the need to be inclusive so there you go.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 11
Thursday some conservative media outlets were confirming what many have suspected: the FBI used the fake Russian dossier to obtain FISA warrants that allowed them to spy on the Trump campaign and the president-elect and his team.
This is huge news, and is the latest domino to fall in the fake Russian collusion narrative. Check it out:
1) Last fall we learned that it was the Clinton campaign and the DNC that hired the firm Fusion GPS to create the dossier.
2) Much of the information gleaned from the dossier originated from Russian disinformation created in the Kremlin.
3) FBI Assistant Attorney General Andrew McCabe confirmed in testimony last month before two congressional committees that the only part of the dossier the FBI had actually confirmed was a trip to Moscow by Carter Page, an unpaid and informal advisor to the Trump campaign.
4) The FBI is believed to have either paid for the dossier or reimbursed expenses for dossier author Christopher Steele.
5) Subpoenaed bank records have shown that Fusion GPS paid certain members of the media to promote and publish some of the dossier’s unproven allegations to help create chaos for the Trump administration. Their names and employers will be named soon.
Add this all together and what does it spell? The Clinton campaign, the DNC and the FBI together worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election by using phony opposition research against first, a political opponent, and later, the president-elect of the United States.
If there was any collusion with the Russians going on, those pointing their fingers at Trump the past year were the ones doing it.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 12
Much of Indiana was in the throes of a winter storm warning this day, but it was President Donald Trump that was digging out from a s$#% storm of his own making a day after his latest Trumpian comment.
He managed to stir the PC pot yet again while meeting with senators about DACA when he reportedly asked why the United States would want people from “s$#%hole countries.” Not the most prudent use of language, but…is that any worse than what liberals routinely say about their fellow Americans?
– Last week Robert DeNiro referred to the President as a f@!#ing moron” and a f@!#ing fool on TV.
– Hillary Clinton referred to half the country as deplorables.
– Barack Obama decried those who “cling to their guns and their religion.”
– Black conservatives are frequently called Uncle Toms by liberals.
– Hillary Clinton routinely cursed at her Secret Service detail while First Lady and her security detail while Secretary of State.
– Last month liberal comedienne and talk show host Chelsea Handler referred to White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders as a harlot, a trollop and a whore. This past week she referred to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham as a homophobic slur.
– Former MSNBC talking head Ed Schultz referred to conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham as a right wing slut.
Geez, could Trump have been referring to the impoverished economic conditions, corruption and inept governance of countries like Haiti rather than the residents living in those countries? Of course he was, and those insisting otherwise are just creating a distraction from a booming economy, the successful passing of a tax plan that will put more money into the pocket of middle-class wage earners, and Trump’s increasing popularity.
The Democrats don’t want DACA to pass because that would cost them their most valuable campaign issue in November. It also means they would keep the status quo of illegals and their families pouring across our border while multiple immigration cases awaiting appeal weave their way through the courts.
Liberal hypocrisy is nothing if not consistent.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
The Bible says: “As you sow, so shall you reap.” For the more secular minded there’s the old adage: “What goes around, comes around.”
For those who mock Fox News and prefer their news coverage less fair and balanced there’s this video tutorial:
Considering the comedic boomerang effect experienced by those working to take down President Trump, here are five “what if’s” for your consideration. What if:
1. It was actually the Democrats who colluded with Russia by using a trumped up dossier based on uncorroborated testimony from Russian government officials.
Even worse, the fake dossier was paid for by Hillary’s campaign, the DNC, and probably the FBI.
2. The Russians and countless other foreign powers gained access to the DNC’s computer network through Hillary’s unsecured email server housed in her private residence.
Try as they might they can’t wipe out that possibility with a cloth or even bleachbit.
Democrats’ attempt to smear Trump
3. Multiple investigations reveal that it wasn’t Russia that leaked Democrats’ emails, but Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s IT guru Imran Awan. The Russian collusion story was partially concocted to cover that up and slow Trump’s agenda.
I believe Awan had a hand in some of this because the FBI has charged him with theft and cyber-security issues, and he had access to dozens of Democrat email accounts since he and various family members managed the email server housing those accounts.
In short, the guy hacking the Democrats’ emails wasn’t Russian, but an employee on their own payroll.
4. Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that has built its corporate reputation on anonymous leaks, was exposed itself when the criminal culpability of FBI and DOJ officials plotting against President Trump before and after the election was exposed by anonymous leaks.
We also know that Fusion GPS may have helped promote the fake Russian dossier by paying journalists to promote it.
5. Former FBI director James Comey’s fraudulent actions to impugn President Trump by illegally sharing information with a friend to leak to the press is himself in serious legal jeopardy.
Comey admitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee last summer that he asked Daniel C. Richman, a law professor at Columbia Law School, to share classified information with a reporter because that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.
I never attended law school but from what I hear from people that did that action alone is illegal.
The whole Russian collusion narrative seems like a bad novel, but considering how the charges leveled against Trump constantly boomerang on his accusers, a comic book may be a more appropriate analogy.
Thanks for reading Dean Riffs. Welcome to those who love American liberty, free enterprise, and who believe God has blessed our country. For those who believe in open borders, safe spaces, and who think free speech is hate speech, move on – there’s nothing here for you to see.
