Teacher leaves gun in Pennsylvania Christian school bathroom, where it is found by students.

Courtesy of CBS News:

A teacher at a Pennsylvania Christian school accidently left her loaded pistol in a bathroom, where elementary school children found it, Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday. 

Beth Jean Dixon, 63, put her holstered pistol on a toilet tank when she used the unisex, one-toilet bathroom Aug. 25 at Cumberland Christian School, in Chambersburg, police said. They said she forgot about it and left. 

Four children, ages 6 to 8, used the bathroom while the gun was on the toilet. One child told his parent, who told a teacher. 

Dixon informed administrators what happened and immediately resigned from the school about 55 miles southwest of Harrisburg, police said. 

No one was injured.

We talked just yesterday about a scenario where school children might find a loaded gun.

Fortunately for everybody concerned here the students were far more responsible than the teacher and and nobody was hurt.

Once again, guns do NOT keep us safe.

They introduce a deadly force into an environment which literally anybody could wield it to take a life or cause grievous bodily injury. 

Judge rules that AR-15's and other assualt weapons "fall outside the scope of the 2nd Amendment."

#BREAKING Court upholds our enforcement of the Massachusetts assault weapons ban. Declares that the AR-15 and other assault weapons "fall outside the scope of the Second Amendment and may be banned." https://t.co/H3ed25UPqo pic.twitter.com/YPG3MWLC0x

— Maura Healey (@MassAGO) April 6, 2018

Courtesy of CBS News:  

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts' ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, saying in a ruling released Friday that the weapons fall beyond the reach of the Second Amendment. U.S. District Judge William Young said assault weapons are military firearms and aren't protected by the constitutional right to "bear arms." Regulation of the weapons is a matter of policy, not for the courts, he said. 

"Other states are equally free to leave them unregulated and available to their law-abiding citizens," Young said. "These policy matters are simply not of constitutional moment. Americans are not afraid of bumptious, raucous and robust debate about these matters. We call it democracy." 

Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey said the ruling "vindicates the right of the people of Massachusetts to protect themselves from these weapons of war." 

"Strong gun laws save lives, and we will not be intimidated by the gun lobby in our efforts to end the sale of assault weapons and protect our communities and schools," she said in a statement. "Families across the country should take heart in this victory," she said.

Look at that, common sense does still actually exist in this debate over guns.

I think that gun policy in this country is finally going to get a much needed makeover.

One that is long overdue.

New reporting suggests that Trump is preparing to kick both National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, and Chief of Staff John Kelly to the curb.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

President Trump has decided to remove H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser and is actively discussing potential replacements, according to five people with knowledge of the plans, preparing to deliver yet another jolt to the senior ranks of his administration. 

Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take time executing the move because he wants to ensure both that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that there is a strong successor lined up, these people said. 

The turbulence is part of a broader potential shake-up under consideration by Trump that is likely to include senior officials at the White House, where staffers are gripped by fear and un­certainty as they await the next move from an impulsive president who enjoys stoking conflict. 

For all of the evident disorder, Trump feels emboldened, advisers said — buoyed by what he views as triumphant decisions last week to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum and to agree to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The president is enjoying the process of assessing his team and making changes, tightening his inner circle to those he considers survivors and who respect his unconventional style, one senior White House official said.

When this news hit the airwaves Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded with a tweet. 

Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster - contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) March 16, 2018

Essentially this is how you know a story is accurate, when Sanders denies it is accurate.

You may recall that in the past the White House has also denied that Reince Priebus, Steven Bannon, and Rex Tillerson were about to be fired.

But don't think the drama stops there.

Courtesy of CBS News: 

The man brought in last summer to impose order in the White House, chief of staff John Kelly, may also be on the way out, according to congressional and administration sources. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has not yet had the chance to deny/confirm this news yet, but it is pretty clear that Trump wants to do away with anybody with an ounce of competence in his administration, so I think this news is likely pretty accurate.

I wonder which Fox News talking head he will tap to replace him?  

80 percent of mass shooters showed no interest in video games.

Courtesy of CBS News: 

President Trump met with video game industry representatives Thursday, after saying last month violent video games may play a role in mass shootings. 

The president met with parents like Melissa Henson. "The kind of messages and images that they are putting in their minds, I think they're nightly dress rehearsals for huge acts of violence," she said. 

But psychologist Patrick Markey's research shows 80 percent of mass shooters did not show an interest in violent video games.

"It seems like something that should make us safer so it's a totally understandable reaction," Markey said. "The problem is just the science, the data, does not back up that they actually have an effect."

Keep in mind that video games are popular all over the world, including first person shooters.

And yet the ONLY industrialized country that has to subject their children to school shooter drills, or seriously talks about arming teachers in the classroom, is America.

This is not a video game problem, this is a gun problem.

And until that is recognized and addressed with stringent gun control laws, this violence simply will not stop.

So Donald Trump is finally going to get his wall. Only it's going to be built between the Republicans and the Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.

You know what would make this all go smoother? A wall.

Courtesy of CBS News:

In a sign of increasing partisan hostilities, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee plan to construct a wall -- a physical partition -- separating Republican and Democratic staff members in the committee's secure spaces, according to multiple committee sources. It's expected to happen this spring. 

For now, some Republican committee members deny knowing anything about it, while strongly suggesting the division is the brainchild of the committee's chairman, Devin Nunes, R-California. 

"I'm not part of that decision," said Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas. "You've got to talk to Devin. I don't know what they're trying to do one way or the other." 

"I swear to God I didn't know that," said Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Florida, when asked about the plan. While acknowledging a wall might not be constructive for the committee's work, he said, "The level of trust and the level of everything down there is -- it's poison. It's absolute poison down there."

I don't even have a comment about this.

It is simply too surreal to be believed. 

It looks like Donald Trump just forced FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe out of his job. That is two, count them two, FBI agents kicked to the curb. Update!

Courtesy of NBC News:  

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who has been attacked by President Donald Trump, stepped down Monday, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. 

McCabe will remain on the FBI payroll until he is eligible to retire with full benefits in mid-March, the sources said. 

One source said McCabe was exercising his retirement eligibility and characterized his decision as "stepping aside."

McCabe has been at the center of ongoing tensions between the White House and the FBI and has reportedly been under pressure to quit from Trump, whose presidential campaign is being investigated for possible collusion with Russia. 

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, he met with McCabe in the Oval Office and asked him whom he had voted for in the 2016 election. 

Trump, the officials told The Post, also vented his anger at McCabe over hundreds of thousand dollars in donations that his wife, a Democrat, received for her failed 2015 Virginia state Senate bid from a political action committee controlled by a close friend of Hillary Clinton.

When reached for comment Trump had nothing to say on the matter, but this has his fingerprints all over it.

Trump has been attacking McCabe for months on Twitter, and of course also pressured Jeff Sessions to fire him as reported recently.

Oddly enough while NBC News was careful not to characterize this as a firing, Fox News just laid it on the line: 

Top FBI official Andrew McCabe has been "removed" from his post as deputy director, Fox News is told, leaving the bureau after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans including President Trump. 

A source confirmed to Fox News that McCabe is taking “terminal leave” – effectively taking vacation until he reaches his planned retirement in a matter of weeks. As such, he will not be reporting to work at the FBI anymore.

Other sources are also reporting that this was not McCabe's decision alone. 

#BREAKING: Andrew McCabe - one of three FBI officials who could corroborate Comey's account of Trump pressuring him to drop the Russia probe before firing him - was just "forced" to step down as FBI deputy director https://t.co/1cdKBwet7m

— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) January 29, 2018

Yes, as that tweet suggests Andrew McCabe was indeed one of Comey's backups in his story about Trump pressuring him to drop the Michael Flynn investigation.

And perhaps that, more than anything else, put a target on his back. 

Of course this "forcing out" changes absolutely nothing about that, as Mueller can still, and probably already has, interviewed Andrew McCabe.

However it does certainly add more fuel to that obstructionism fire, now doesn't it?

Update: FBI field agents were taken by surprise.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Appearing on CNN Monday, reporter Shimon Prokupecz said that he’s heard from leaders in FBI field offices across the country who say they and their teams are frustrated that they are first hearing about these resignations through news reports and not through official channels. 

“This comes as a surprise to many people,” Prokupecz said of McCabe’s departure. “Certainly the initial reaction from folks in the field — and these are the field agents and the field leaders at the field offices — is that people are pretty angry right now. They are hearing about FBI leadership moves from the news.” 

Prokupecz said that because news of McCabe’s departure broke in the news before it was announced internally, it has added to a sense of chaos engulfing the agency. 

“There is some concern among field leaders, among field agents among the FBI staff about what the hell is going on and who is running the FBI,” he explained, before noting that McCabe’s abrupt departure was very similar to the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

I think "What the hell is going?" on is a very reasonable question to be asking right about now. 

Donald Trump fudges the facts in Twitter fight with Jay-Z. That's right, the president of the United States is in a Twitter fight with a rapper.

Courtesy of CBS News:  

Jay-Z sat down for a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Van Jones on "The Van Jones Show" in which the two discussed the president's economic record among African-Americans and minorities. The unemployment rate among black Americans is 6.8 percent -- the lowest it has ever been, but far above the 3.7 percent rate among whites. 

Jones asked the rapper whether or not it was fair for Mr. Trump to "say terrible things but put money in our pockets." 

Jay-Z disputed that assessment, saying, "it's not about money at the end of the day. Money doesn't equate to happiness, it doesn't. That's missing the whole point." 

"You treat people like human beings. That's the main point," Jay-Z said. "It goes back to the whole thing -- 'treat me really bad and pay me well.' It's not going to lead to happiness, it's going to lead to, again, the same thing. Everyone's going to be sick."

Trump apparently missed that part where Jay-Z said the jobs did not make up for his blatant racism.

So he tweeted out this:

Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018

Once again that is the guy in the White House getting into a Twitter spat with a black entertainer.

But here's the thing, the black unemployment numbers were already rapidly going down BEFORE Trump took office.  

As you can see the both the black AND white unemployment numbers started to drop right around 2010, when PRESIDENT OBAMA'S policies kicked in.

If Trump had inherited a spike in unemployment, and then saw it reduce under his administration, he might have some legitimate bragging rights.

But this is like taking over the wheel from a captain who just steered the vessel safely through an enemy mine field, and then taking credit for a trouble free voyage.

Besides, exactly WHAT policies has Trump put into place that he could possibly credit for a reduction in the black unemployment rate?

No seriously, I'm asking.

While in Jerusalem Mike Pence calls Stormy Daniels allegations "baseless," and then goes on to defend Trump's "shithole" comments.

#ArtOfTheDeal pic.twitter.com/kUVEF2X0Vd

— BlueVotr (@BlueVotr) January 22, 2018

Courtesy of CBS News:  

Vice President Mike Pence says reports that an adult film star had an alleged affair with President Trump are "baseless allegations." 

Pence spoke to The Associated Press during a visit to Jerusalem on Monday. He said he was "not going to comment on the latest baseless allegations against the president."

Okay, has Mike Pence read the In Touch article yet?

I'm sorry what was I thinking? Has Mike Pence's wife read him the In Touch article while Pence gripped a Bible and muttered "Away with thee Satan" over and over again, yet?

And does he also know that Trump's attorney opened an LLC specifically to funnel money to Daniels in order to buy her silence right before the election?

Because once you know all that, it makes it VERY hard to call these allegations "baseless."

There are enough facts available for a watchdog group to feel they have sufficient evidence to launch a complaint with the federal elections committee that the payment to Daniels violated campaign finance law.

But clearly Pence is not going to let a little thing like facts stand in the way of his adoration of Donald Trump.

In that same interview, Pence also defended Mr. Trump over his disparaging comments about immigrants from Africa and Haiti. 

Pence told the AP that he "knows the president's heart." He says Mr. Trump is determined to implement a merit-based system that encourages immigration by those who will "contribute to a growing American economy and thriving communities" and one that does not take into account the immigrants' "race or creed."

Once again that is an absolute denial of what Trump has tweeted, stated publicly, or been quoted as saying in behind door meetings.

Besides it is too late for Pence's revisionist history, the American people already know exactly what is in Donald Trump's heart.

Stormy Daniels: “We had really good banter. He told me once that I was someone to be reckoned with, beautiful and smart just like his daughter.”  

Yes that, big dollops of McDonalds saturated fats, and overriding racism. Those are the things inside Donald Trump's heart.

Trump lawyer says that his client is "very eager" to speak to Robert Mueller, but expresses concern it might be a "perjury trap."

Courtesy of CBS News:  

President Trump's attorney Ty Cobb says the president is "very eager" to speak to special counsel Robert Mueller for his Russia investigation. In an interview with CBS News' chief White House correspondent Major Garrett on this week's "The Takeout" podcast, Cobb said Mr. Trump wants to put the matter to rest, and he told Garrett there are "active discussions" about a special counsel interview, but no formal request has yet been made. 

It is Cobb's belief that the Mueller investigation will ultimately be immaterial to Mr. Trump and his presidency. Cobb said he expects it to be wrapped up in 4-6 weeks. 

"There's a big difference between a shooting star and a planet," Cobb told Garrett, referring to the big headlines for the legal issues of Papadopoulos, Manafort and Flynn. Cobb said he believes these pleas and indictment will not impact the president. 

"I think it's more than appropriate for the Mueller people to explore anything they're interested in," Cobb said. Cobb said he is focused on "getting the facts out." 

But despite this, he said he considers the investigation to be a drag on the presidency. "It's very difficult for him to do anything other than to fight for his place in history," Cobb said. 

Cobb said if Mueller did interview Mr. Trump, it could be a perjury trap -- that is, a situation in which his story does not match the evidence -- something Cobb said "foolish" was not to consider. But Cobb said he has known Mueller for a long time, and doesn't believe that is his aim.

Interesting term "perjury trap."

Is it a "trap" to ask somebody a question to which they then provide a false answer?

Because the simple solution to that is to not fucking lie to the Special Counsel.

But apparently Cobb realizes that his client cannot be expected to do that, so of course he is worried that he will perjure himself.

And do you know what? He is undoubtedly correct.

"This White House can't even run a f*cking conference call."

I can't stop laughing at @jaxalemany's write up of a White House conference call gone wrong: https://t.co/pt1HSUboRb pic.twitter.com/LvzMpFMyCa

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 12, 2018

Courtesy of CBS News:  

It took the White House 22 minutes to figure out how to enable the "listening only" feature on a conference call on Thursday in which senior administration officials announced that President Trump would continue to waive nuclear program-related sanctions, keeping the deal intact. 

"This White House can't even run a f*cking conference call," a reporter on an unmuted phone line angrily exclaimed to the entire call. "They don't know how to mute their line." 

"It's the illegitimate media that doesn't know how to conduct themselves. They can't mute their f*cking phones," an unidentified official said. "Mute your phones." 

Another White House official repeatedly attempted to quiet the noisy line "so the people in charge" could talk. 

"I think if everyone had half a brain and common sense and muted their phones, this wouldn't be a problem," she yelled in an apparent fit of frustration. 

"Hello? Hello?," one reporter interjected, some 15 minutes after the slated start of the call. "Has the call started?" 

"This is Kim Jong Un calling for Donald Trump," another reporter joked as tensions flared. 

"All participants are now in listen-only mode," the operator finally announced, much to the relief of everyone on the call. The call began at 1:07 p.m. 

A State Department official announced at the end of the call that the technical difficulties prevented the senior administration officials from taking any questions from reporters. 

This may seem like a minor thing in the great scheme of things, but in fact it is indicative of the entire Trump White House operation. 

You may even remember that in the first months of the Trump presidency they were having meetings in the dark because they could not figure out how to turn the lights on in the White House. 

This may be the most incompetent administration in American history.

Once again, thank you deplorables.

United States one of only three nations to vote no on a UN resolution to condemn Nazism. Wait, what?

Courtesy of CBS News:  

The United States says it was one of three countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism over freedom of speech issues and concerns that Russia was using it to carry out political attacks against its neighbors. 

The resolution entitled "Combating glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," was approved by the U.N.'s human rights committee on Friday with 131 in favor, 3 against with 48 abstentions. 

Ukraine and Palau were the other no votes. 

"We condemn without reservation all forms of religious and ethnic intolerance or hatred at home and around the world," said Deputy U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council Stefanie Amadeo, explaining the U.S. vote.

"However, due to this resolution's overly narrow scope and politicized nature, and because it calls for unacceptable limits on the fundamental freedom of expression, the United States cannot support it," Amadeo said.

Why didn't he just come out and say that Doanld Trump is cool with Nazis, and needs their support in the next election?

Well it's a good thing that Ukraine and Palau voted along with us or we might look like Nazi loving assholes.

Right?

The Pope denounces climate change deniers. "I denounce thee, I denounce thee, I denounce thee."

Courtesy of CBS News: 

Pope Francis denounced those who deny global warming and urged negotiators at climate talks in Germany to avoid falling prey to such "perverse attitudes" and instead accelerate efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 

Francis issued a message Thursday to the Bonn meeting, which is working to implement the 2015 Paris accord aimed at capping global emissions. 

In the message, Francis called climate change "one of the most worrisome phenomena that humanity is facing," and urged negotiators to ignore special interests and political or economic pressures and instead engage in an honest dialogue about the future of the planet. 

He denounced that such efforts are often frustrated by those who deny climate change, are indifferent to it, or think it can only be solved by technical solutions. 

Well good for the Pope!

I do not always agree with this Pope, but he is dead right to call these people out for clinging to a belief that is not backed up by the facts, and for which the opposite point of view is held by the smartest, most knowledgeable people on the planet.

Oh...wait.

P.S. Sorry, that may have seemed like a cheap shot, but let's face it faith that exists despite evidence to the contrary is the very foundation of both climate change deniers and religious folks.

They are kissing cousins at the very least, and at the very most one is a parasitic entity which could not exist without the other.

For those wondering why Hillary Clinton did not use the Christopher Steele dossier that her lawyer helped finance during the campaign, the answer is she did not know about it.

Courtesy of CBS News:  

Hillary Clinton only learned about the now-infamous "Trump dossier" after BuzzFeed News posted it, despite the fact that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund it, a source confirmed to CBS News. 

A former British spy, Christopher Steele, complied the explosive allegations in the 35-page dossier for Fusion GPS during the 2016 campaign. In January 2017, BuzzFeed News published the full dossier, though it contained unsubstantiated allegations.

That Clinton was unaware of the Trump dossier was first reported by The New York Times. 

Law firm Perkins Coie, which represented both the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and Clinton campaign lawyer Marc E. Elias confirmed Wednesday it had retained the firm Fusion GPS in April 2016 to "perform a variety of research services." 

I think that the fact that much of the dossier has still not been confirmed is why Elias did not notify Hillary about what it contained.

And if he HAD informed her there is no way that such a careful candidate would have allowed it do be used in campaign ads or mentioned by her surrogates.

To be honest. considering what we know now, it is unlikely that having it out there would have changed the outcome of the election anyhow.   

If the "grab them by the pussy" tape was not enough to turn these people off to that pig, it is highly unlikely that mention of the pee pee tape would have done the job either. 

The Trump campaign had embeds from Facebook helping them to utilize targeted advertising.

Courtesy of CBS: 

President Donald Trump talked on Twitter, but Facebook was the crucial tool that helped elect him, says the man who directed the digital aspects of the Trump campaign. Brad Parscale tells Lesley Stahl how he fine-tuned political ads posted on Facebook to directly reach voters with the exact messages they cared most about – infrastructure key among them -- and had handpicked Republican Facebook employees to guide him.

"Twitter is how [Trump] talked to the people, Facebook was going to be how he won," Parscale tells Stahl. Parscale says he used the majority of his digital ad budget on Facebook ads and explained how efficient they could be, particularly in reaching the rural vote. "So now Facebook lets you get to…15 people in the Florida Panhandle that I would never buy a TV commercial for," says Parscale. And people anywhere could be targeted with the messages they cared about. "Infrastructure…so I started making ads that showed the bridge crumbling…that's micro targeting…I can find the 1,500 people in one town that care about infrastructure. Now, that might be a voter that normally votes Democrat," he says. 

Parscale says the campaign would average 50-60,000 different ad versions every day, some days peaking at 100,000 separate iterations – changing design, colors, backgrounds and words – all in an effort to refine ads and engage users. Parscale received help utilizing Facebook's technology from Facebook employees provided by the company who showed up for work to his office multiple days a week. He says they had to be partisan and he questioned them to make sure. "I wanted people who supported Donald Trump." Parscale calls these Facebook employees "embeds" who could teach him every aspect of the technology. "I want to know everything you would tell Hillary's campaign plus some," he says he told them. 

Both campaigns used Facebook's advertising technology extensively to reach voters, but Parscale says the Clinton campaign didn't go as far as using "embeds." "I had heard that they did not accept any of [Facebook's] offers."

Okay now all of this is perfectly legal of course, but here's the thing, all of this time investigators have been wondering HOW the Russians knew so much about American politics that it allowed them to specifically target Facebook users who would be open to their manipulation.

It has been speculated that they may have had Americans helping them.

Well what better American help would they need than actual Facebook experts already helping the Trump campaign?

Think Progress offers examples of the Russian ads used to attack Hillary and garner support for Trump:

 That's pretty on the nose if you ask me, and it certainly demonstrates a deep understanding of the incredible partisan mistrust that exists in this country.

This of course does not prove collusion, but it must certainly open up a new field of inquiry for Robert Mueller and his team.

Donald Trump's approval numbers hit a new low, but the good news is that his disapproval numbers hit a new high.

#Trump Drops To New Low, Close To 2-1 Disapproval, National Poll Finds; 71 Percent Say President Is Not Levelheaded
https://t.co/jYLZddx1e7

— Quinnipiac Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) August 2, 2017

Courtesy of CBS News: 

A poll from Quinnipiac University found that only a third of American voters, 33 percent, approve of his performance in office, while 61 percent disapprove of it. This marks his lowest approval and highest disapproval number since he was inaugurated, Quinnipiac said. 

His latest approval rating is down 7 percentage points from the 40 percent approval rating Mr. Trump received in a similar survey in late June. 

Majorities of voters said that Mr. Trump is not honest, doesn't have good leadership skills, isn't a strong person, isn't intelligent, doesn't share their values and doesn't care about average Americans. Voters gave Mr. Trump negative approval ratings for handling key issues like foreign policy, the economy, immigration, health care and terrorism. 

More than half of voters also said that the president "has attempted to derail or obstruct the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election." Nearly two-thirds said that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. Thirty percent of voters said that the president did something illegal in dealing with Russia, with another 30 percent saying he did something unethical but not illegal and 32 percent saying he did nothing wrong.

Nate Silver also weighed in on this poll:

It's not just Rasmussen (or Quinnipiac). Trump approval numbers are at or near all-time lows in many polls lately. https://t.co/CPHJOG7sE6 pic.twitter.com/B3ZLoOLnNI

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 2, 2017

I swear some people are incredibly slow to figure shit out.

Still slowly Trump's supporters are starting to figure out what obvious to all of us with more than three brain cells to rub together figured out from the start.

Donald Trump is easily the WORST president that has ever, and I mean EVER, disgraced our White House.

He claims that the building is a real dump, but my response to that is "It sure wasn't when the last President lived there."

FCC may go after Stephen Colbert for suggesting that Donald Trump's mouth was Putin's "c**k holster."

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert’s controversial joke about President Trump drew the attention of the Federal Communications Commission. The agency received “a number” of complaints about Colbert’s commentary earlier in the week, according to the FCC’s chief. 

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai promised to “take the appropriate action” following a comprehensive investigation of Colbert’s remarks. 

The FCC's response will depend on whether Colbert’s remarks are considered “obscene.” 

“We are going to take the facts that we find and we are going to apply the law as it’s been set out by the Supreme Court and other courts and we’ll take the appropriate action,” he told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Thursday. 

“Traditionally, the agency has to decide, if it does find a violation, what the appropriate remedy should be,” he said. "A fine, of some sort, is typically what we do.”

Somehow I doubt that Colbert is going to sweat any FCC fine, since currently his show is enjoying its best ratings since it first went on the air: 

As conservative activists call on CBS to #FireColbert, the network reports that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has just scored its best overnight rating since the week the show premiere in September 2015. Thursday night's episode scored a 2.5 rating, far surpassing NBC's Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which came in at 1.9. According to CBS, this number marked a 19% increase from the previous Thursday and a 32% bump from the same night last year. 

By the way if you are one of the few people who have not yet seen the bit that caused all of his hullabaloo, well here's your chance to join the club.

And you're welcome.

Donald Trump personally involved in hunt for park service employee that pointed out small inaugural crowd size.

Courtesy of CBS: 

Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump was "directly involved" in the search for the person who, using the official National Park Service account, retweeted side-by-side comparisons of the crowds at Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony and former President Barack Obama's 2009 ceremony, CBS News has confirmed. 

The retweet was deleted soon after it was posted and the Twitter accounts of the National Park Service and other U.S. Interior Department agencies were briefly shut down. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told CBS News two days later in an email that the White House neither demanded the retweet be taken down, nor ordered the Interior Department accounts to be suspended. 

But emails released by the National Park Service in response to a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the new president was "concerned" about the retweet. 

"Obviously, this has become a very sensitive issue, especially since the President has gotten directly involved and contacted Acting Director Mike Reynolds concerned about one of the images that was retweeted," wrote Tim Cash, Chief of Digital Strategy at the National Park Service in a Jan. 21 email to Shaun Cavanaugh, the agency's Chief Information Security Officer.

You know if this idiot's skin were any thinner you could take his x-ray by holding him up in front of a bright light.

And his inability to let things go, or to take the high road, should terrify every person living in the country that he supposed to be leading.

Donald Trump gets visibly angry and ends interview after being asked for proof that Obama okayed illegal surveillance directed at him.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

President Donald Trump grew visibly angry and walked away from an interview with CBS News reporter John Dickerson after Dickerson pressed him for proof that former President Barack Obama had illegally wiretapped Trump Tower.

“He was very nice to me, but after that, we’ve had some difficulties,” said Trump. “So it doesn’t matter. You know, words are less important to me than deeds, and you saw what happened with surveillance.” 

Dickerson then asked Trump for evidence that Obama had illegally wiretapped him, but Trump wouldn’t offer any — while insisting that “our side has been proven very strongly.” 

Dickerson contradicted Trump, however, and pointed out that nothing had been proven. 

“I just wanted to find out,” Dickerson said. “You’re the president of the United States. You said [Obama] was sick and bad.” After some more attempts at getting Trump to present evidence, Trump simply said, “That’s enough, thank you,” and walked away from the interview.

I think "I don't stand by anything, you can take it the way you want" should be the take away quote from this exchange.

And good on John Dickerson for staying on it the way he did.

Trump does this pathetic double talk thing, that for some reason seems to work in a lot of situations to get him out of actually answering a question.

"Our side has been proven very strongly, and everybody's talking about it" is certainly NOT evidence of ANYTHING.

And Trump is such a baby that he simply cannot handle reporters who demand an actual answer to a question.

Chuck Todd refers to Donald Trump's "lame duck presidency." Trump fires up the Twitter machine in response.

Courtesy of Real Clear Politics:  

Friday on MSNBC, Chuck Todd said unless and until President Trump accepts "the fact that Russia interfered in this election," it will "plague him."

CHUCK TODD: You have a presidency right now that I think is, it's beyond saying it's in crisis mode, it's, you know, it's on the brink, the question is on the brink of what? Is it on the brink of collapse? Is it on the brink of being a temporary lame duck presidency? Maybe it feels lame-duckish temporarily right now. 

You've got a stalled agenda. Republicans who have no fear of this president right now. They don't think there's a political penalty to buck him.

As you might imagine this did not sit well with a certain stubby fingered vulgarian. 

When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and @NBCNews start talking about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia story?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017

It is the same Fake News Media that said there is "no path to victory for Trump" that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2017

Yeah according to CBS News that "total scam" has narrowed its focus a little: 

CBS News has learned that U.S. investigators are looking into whether Trump campaign representatives had a role in helping Russian intelligence as it carried out cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and other political targets in March 2016. 

This new information suggests that the FBI is going back further than originally reported to determine the extent of possible coordination. Sources say investigators are probing whether an individual or individuals connected to the campaign intentionally or unwittingly helped the Russians breach Democratic Party targets.

It would appear that everybody has a job to do.

The investigators are going to keep investigating, the journalists are going to keep reporting on those investigations, and Donald Trump is going to keep firing off desperate tweets to distract from those stories. 

New Trump budget slashes funds to EPA, guts State Department, kills Big Bird, but hands buckets of cash to Military Industrial Complex.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

On Thursday, the Trump administration released a preliminary 2018 budget proposal, which details many of the changes the president wants to make to the federal government’s spending. The proposal covers only discretionary, not mandatory, spending.

To pay for an increase in defense spending, a down payment on the border wall and school voucher programs, among other things, funding was cut from the discretionary budgets of other executive departments and agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Agriculture Department took the hardest hits. The proposal also completely defunded 19 agencies.

As you can see many of the budgets under the knife are for agencies who work to keep us safe, like the EPA, State Department, and DHHS.

But other programs will suffer also.

Courtesy of CBS News:  

Mr. Trump’s budget proposes the elimination of funding for the Community Development Block Grant program, which helps fund Meals on Wheels across the country, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The budget says that it would save $3 billion. The White House argues that the program, which has been around since the mid-1970s, “is not well-targeted to the poorest populations and has not demonstrated results.” In addition to providing meals and services to vulnerable communities, the program says it works to ensure affordable housing and to create jobs for people.

Yeah, let's not feed the elderly and housebound.  After all what use are they?

Courtesy of CNN:

If Congress supports Trump's proposal, it would cause "the collapse of the public media system itself and the end of this essential national service," Corporation for Public Broadcasting CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement Thursday morning. 

She emphasized that noncommercial stations offer educational shows for kids, historical documentaries, newscasts, and emergency alerts.

Well of course, who needs to waste money offering educational programming to children or warning people about emergencies?

Jimmy Kimmel mocked this budget cut on his program last night.

So on what exactly is Trump willing to spend taxpayer money?

Also courtesy of CNN:  

President Donald Trump proposed a $54 billion increase in defense spending Thursday as promised, a plan that the White House says will provide the necessary funding to ramp up the fight against ISIS, improve troop readiness and build new ships and planes.

That's right let's ignore that we just had our entire democracy undermined by cyber attacks, and instead focus on building new ships and planes.

Guess what else he wants to spend your money on.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

One of the central themes of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was to not only build a border wall, but to make Mexico pay for it. The claim didn’t just become an applause line for Trump on the campaign trail, it was a call-and-response rallying cry. 

But the Trump budget proposals revealed late Wednesday include $4.1 billion for the wall. Reuters reported that Trump was asking for $1.5 billion for the current fiscal year and another $2.6 billion for the 2018 budget year, which begins Oct. 1. 

The money will come from U.S. taxpayers and not Mexico, which has made it clear that it’s not paying for the wall. 

The former president of Mexico was quick to jump on this:

.@realDonaldTrump budget makes it official: AMERICANS is Paying For The #FuckingWall, Not Mexico. https://t.co/jbjpPGJBCJ

— Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) March 16, 2017

Yeah, you really cannot blame him for that tweet. After all he has been saying that Trump is full of shit even before the election.

Not only does this budget proposal gut programs that help the neediest of Americans, and put the safety of ALL Americans at risk, it also wastes our money on antiquated and unnecessary military equipment, and on a wall that any undocumented immigrant worth their salt could scale in a matter of seconds.

I can only imagine how pleased the Russians must be with his budget.