monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Move on for goodness sake.

No fewer than 62 Phoenix venues have turned down the opportunity to host Milo Yiannopolous, the Internet provocateur known for his cozy ties to white nationalists, for a “Free Speech Arizona” event, the Phoenix New Times reported Thursday. His visit to the southwestern city has been canceled as a result.

Such a pity.

Quote:

No fewer than 62 Phoenix venues have turned down the opportunity to host Milo Yiannopolous, the Internet provocateur known for his cozy ties to white nationalists, for a “Free Speech Arizona” event, the Phoenix New Times reported Thursday. His visit to the southwestern city has been canceled as a result.

TPM

When an eight-year-old on the playground responds to an accusation with “I know you are but what am I?”, even the other children know how lame a retort it is. But when the Republican Party says the same thing, it’s much more than a desperate attempt to flummox their opponents and confuse any onlookers.

It’s a careful, coordinated, and comprehensive strategy.

That’s what Republicans are doing right now with regard to the question of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which it is more than clear was 1) comprehensive, involving hacking, propaganda, and outreach to Trump representatives; and 2) clearly intended to help Donald Trump win the election, or at the very least wound Hillary Clinton should she become president.

What’s happening now is an audacious effort on the part of Republicans to convince everyone that not only did Trump and his campaign not work with Russia, in fact it was Hillary Clinton who did so, and Vladimir Putin (whose hatred of Clinton burns with the fire of a thousand suns) actually wanted her to win and tried to help her.

Natalia V. Veselnitskaya arrived at a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 hoping to interest top Trump campaign officials in the contents of a memo she believed contained information damaging to the Democratic Party and, by extension, Hillary Clinton. The material was the fruit of her research as a private lawyer, she has repeatedly said, and any suggestion that she was acting at the Kremlin’s behest that day is anti-Russia “hysteria.”

But interviews and records show that in the months before the meeting, Ms. Veselnitskaya had discussed the allegations with one of Russia’s most powerful officials, the prosecutor general, Yuri Y. Chaika. And the memo she brought with her closely followed a document that Mr. Chaika’s office had given to an American congressman two months earlier, incorporating some paragraphs verbatim.

(...)

In no event shall PREPA, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the FEMA Administrator, the comprtoller general of the United States, or any of their authorized representatives have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements of the labor rates specified herein.

Whitefish Energy, the two-person, office-free company that landed a $300 million contract to repair the 2,400 miles of Puerto Rico’s electric lines, got more than just a big check, they got a very nice clause in their contract. A leaked copy of the contract includes a section on just who has access to the records kept by Whitefish in carrying out the work. That list includes:

"PREPA, The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the FEMA Administrator, the comptroller general of the United States, or any of their authorized agents …"

"A former Republican state Senate candidate from Standish has become the fourth woman to say she was groped by former President George H.W. Bush."

Lawyers for the conservative publication Washington Free Beacon informed the House Intelligence Committee Friday that the organization was the original funder for the anti-Trump opposition research project with Fusion GPS.

Sorry, can't watch fiction and she ain't good at it!

Breaking: First charges filed in the Mueller probe. Sealed as of yet, so no names attached yet. Stay tuned...