TMZ talks to Congressman Gregory Meeks about Pence, Trump and Mueller.

Congressman Meeks says Pence is in prepare for the worst mode.

Video at link.

TMZ

Gov. Snyder appointee facing Flint water charges gets new job

LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder is out of office on Jan. 1, but a senior member of his administration is sticking around in a new job while she faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis.

The Flint Journal reports that Dr. Eden Wells, the state's medical executive, has been hired for a position in the Department of Health and Human Services. She'll be a public health adviser for $180,000 a year. The job also has civil service protections.

Senators push to shield Venezuelans from deportation from US

Top Senate Democrats and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio have joined forces on legislation that would allow Venezuelans to stay in the U.S. with temporary protection from deportation and work permits.

Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee; Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate minority whip; Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Judiciary Committee ranking member and Rubio of Florida, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; introduced a bill that would grant Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans.

The United Nations has said that more than 3 million Venezuelan refugees have fled the country’s economic and political turmoil. Colombia has taken in most of the refugees, followed by Peru. Venezuelans also have fled to Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

But the U.N. has warned that those countries’ “reception capacity is severely strained” and has called for more response from the rest of the world.

I seem to have come close to what some are calling ageist.

I didn’t see myself voting for a Presidential primary candidate over 70. I personally believe my reasons are sound but also understand that not all 70+ year olds are the same.

I was just looking up information about one of my all time favorites, John Kerry. I have always loved him and didn’t realize he was on the north side of his seventies. He has everything we need right now. I always wished he knew how to “dumb it down.” He just can’t do it. John Kerry is the total package for the situation we find ourselves in. Brilliant. Great understanding of the federal government. Respected around the world. Selfless public servant. Long and distinguished career and isn’t in anyone’s pockets.

I thought I was going to have to accept the label of being ageist. While I’m not stereotyping I am making a blanket statement about a group based on age. But I’ve now realized that John Kerry is my get out of jail free card. I’m currently not aware of anyone I would put over him. We are in dark times and he has the background that uniquely qualifies him over all others, in my opinion.

Thanks Kerry.

All of Robert Mueller's indictments and plea deals in the Russia investigation so far(Nov 29th)

1) George Papadopoulos
2) Paul Manafort
3) Rick Gates
4) Michael Flynn
5-20) 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies
21) Richard Pinedo
22) Alex van der Zwaan
23) Konstantin Kilimnik
24-35) 12 Russian GRU officers
36) Michael Cohen

Brief summary of each one at the link.

VOX

George H.W. Bush 'unsupportive' on gay rights, HIV/AIDS

Following the death of former President George H.W. Bush at age 94, the nation remembers him for his civil tone in contrast to President Trump and for helping bring the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union to a peaceful conclusion — but his legacy on LGBT rights and failure to confront the raging HIV/AIDS epidemic at the time remain a stain on his overall record.

Gay former Rep. Barney Frank, whose 32-year tenure in Congress included the George H.W. Bush administration from 1989 to 1992, told the Washington Blade in an interview Saturday the late former president “was bad” on LGBT rights and “wouldn’t do anything” to advance them.

“I asked him, for example, to rescind the Eisenhower rule that said we couldn’t get security clearances,” Frank said. “He refused to do it. Bill Clinton did a few years later.”

Frank also said Bush refused to roll back military’s ban on gay service members, which was administrative and not statutory in the days before the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law of 1993.

“Bush was simply unsupportive on any issue,” Frank added.

Forgiveness has always come easy for me.

I have been really hurt many times in my life. I'm talking serious harm where it often takes a considerable period of time to recover. The situations I'm referencing, in very general terms, were wrongs done by individuals with the purpose being harm or were displays of extreme selfishness.

Forgiveness is something I pride myself on. Some of those who have harmed me are good friends today. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. A part of it does mean not holding or using it against an individual.

I'm finding that I cannot forgive Trump voters. I just can't and it really bothers me. Some of these voters are people close to me and are generally very good people. How do I justify forgiveness? How can I call them good people and say they voted for Trump? Those two things do not compute. They haven't just harmed me. They have unleashed harm on the world.

The main thing that seems to be hanging me up in the forgiveness department is that it was blatantly clear who Trump was before the election. It was clear he was a sick and perverse man who goes against the teachings of mainstream Christianity, was proud of his ability to foment hatred among Americans, views people as less than simply because of background or the color of their skin or gender, was a complete fraud since his teenage years, was open to taking assistance from hostile foreign powers in order to achieve power himself, screwed tens of thousand of Americans out of their pay and fraudulent took their money under false pretense.... The list goes on and all of this was extremely clear before the first vote was cast.

I didn't expect a number of the people I know to vote for Clinton. I did expect them to leave that spot blank on the ballot or do a protest vote. Instead many of them flat out supported the monster. Some still do today, some don't.

Maybe I can't find forgiveness for them because they have harmed others far more than myself. It's easier for me to forgive when I am the only party harmed. Do I have the right to forgive someone who has unleashed harm on others?

I sit here today as someone who is holding a grudge against close family, friends and strangers. I can't find forgiveness for them. I don't like who I currently am. Forgiveness is important to me. It's necessary in order to move forward in productive relationships.

My apologies for the poor grammar and abuse of past and present tense. I try to make my words clear but am not the best of writers. Thanks for reading my ramble.

The non-stop Presidential campaign cycle has started.

This will change everything and give the incumbent an even larger advantage moving forward.

I'm not sure what the laws surrounding these funds are. For example, what happens to them if Don the Con is impeached or imprisoned?


Donald Trump's 2020 fundraising haul is totally and completely unprecedented

CNN

President Trump raises more than $100 million for 2020 re-election

CNN

Trump received approval last year to build a wall to protect his course from rising sea levels.

I was reading some articles about Trump properties and their revenues. Earlier articles were referencing how three of his overseas golf clubs increased revenues, one of them even doubling revenues from the previous year. They mention how the Trump organization said they should turn a profit but the public wouldn't know until the Organization filed British and Irish reports closer to the end of the year that also included expenses. (Bullet No 2 at the link)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-three-biggest-surprises-in-the-trump-organizations-financial-filings/2018/05/21/db2f0420-5c94-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.324c16c2276c

So I then went to see how those reports went. Not as rosy at Trump thought they were going to be considering the increase in revenues at the three clubs.

https://www.fox19.com/2018/11/21/trump-irish-resort-loses-money-fourth-consecutive-year/

All that said, and my interest in looking at these things, sometimes it's a simple line I read that leaves me shaking my head. Yes, the subject line of this op is included at the Fox19 link.

"Trump received approval last year to build a wall to protect his course from rising sea levels."

Ironic on multiple levels.

DNC ramps up 2020 cyber protections, NRCC falls victim to hackers

TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL — The Democratic National Committee wants to significantly expand and improve its cybersecurity program in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, and its top security officials are considering everything from simulated cyberattacks on the Democratic ecosystem to enhanced training for DNC staffers who want to work with the party’s outside vendors and sister committees. “The question is, how are we going to take what we did and supersize it?” DNC Chief Security Officer Bob Lord told Eric for a story out today. Lord produced a short cybersecurity checklist for midterm campaigns, and he recently met with former campaign staffers to gather feedback about improving it.

The midterms didn’t see massive cyberattacks like the 2016 campaign, which meant that many of the DNC’s procedures weren’t tested. But DNC Chief Technology Officer Raffi Krikorian did notice one problem on Election Day: too many people jumping in whenever they saw suspicious cyber activity. “We were all trying to swarm around the soccer ball [and] being like, ‘I can help with that, too!’” said Krikorian. The need to clarify roles and responsibilities is one reason why Krikorian wants to convene tabletop exercises before 2020. Simulations are “definitely not something we did in preparation for this cycle,” he said, “but that would be a clear opportunity moving forward.”

From improving Lord’s checklist to planning these simulations, cybersecurity preparations for 2020 are already well underway at the DNC. Committee staffers recently met with cybersecurity experts from Democratic campaigns during an event at Microsoft’s D.C. office. Those discussions will help guide Krikorian and Lord as they refine the DNC’s security work. “When you build a technical system, first you’ve got to get all the humans working correctly,” Krikorian said, “and then you build tech stuff on top of it to automate it and make it move faster.” Pros can read Eric’s story here.

MEANWHILE, THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT — POLITICO scored the scoop Tuesday about the National Republican Congressional Committee getting hacked in the spring. You’ll recall President Donald Trump said the DNC “should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked” in 2016, even though the Republican National Committee also had been hacked at one point.