monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

He'd possibly knock a bit off that bill if he's allowed to recruit for his mercenary armies from American high schools. So there's a lot of money to be made. Go America!

Daniel Dale
‏
@ddale8
46s46 seconds ago

More Daniel Dale Retweeted Jack Smith IV

Now the white supremacist who claimed Cruz was a member of his group says he had been confused, since there are multiple Nicholases in his group and he hasn't been sleeping, and something something Jews.

President Trump's former chief adviser, Steve Bannon, has refused to answer a range of questions posed by a congressional committee.

He was being interviewed by the House intelligence committee, which is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Bannon would answer only 25 questions approved in advance by the White House, members said.

The committee is reportedly considering holding him in contempt.

"Steve Bannon stonewalled the intel committee today," Democratic member Joaquin Castro said in a tweet.

"Sure seems like he's covering up something(s). He should be held in contempt."

Adam Schiff, the panel's Democratic leader, called for contempt proceedings against Mr Bannon, according to Reuters news agency.

Republican Representative Mike Conaway said members of the panel were unhappy with Mr Bannon's responses.

"He did not answer all the questions we'd like answered, so there was frustration among committee members with respect to that," said Mr Conaway.

The hearing was a closed-door session, so full details have not yet emerged - instead being revealed by senior journalists with sources on the committee.

CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju tweeted that Mr Bannon had been advised by President Trump to invoke executive privilege, a prerogative allowing him to withhold information.

Mr Bannon - who was forced out of the White House in August - appeared following a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee.

He voluntarily met with the same committee in January but refused to answer any questions over a 10-hour period.

The committee then issued a subpoena compelling him to return for a second time.

According to the New York Times, he has also been subpoenaed by former FBI director Robert Mueller, the Justice Department special counsel who is leading a parallel inquiry into alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election campaign.

Mr Bannon is reportedly the first of Mr Trump's inner circle to be summoned to testify before a grand jury.

Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's office, indicating he's poised to cooperate in the investigation, according to sources familiar with the case.

Gates has already spoken to Mueller's team about his case and has been in plea negotiations for about a month. He's had what criminal lawyers call a "Queen for a Day" interview, in which a defendant answers any questions from the prosecutors' team, including about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed.

Not sure what point you are trying to make other than everything that happens in America is a sign of racism.

Given the meteoric rise of Donald Trump, and the ill-defined phenomenon known as Trumpism, it's vital that we understand the psychology that attracted Americans to the real estate mogul in the first place. Research suggests such voters are driven by a combination of racial resentment and authoritarianism.

Sociologist David Norman Smith cited both in a just-published paper, in which he argues hardcore Trump supporters "target minorities and women" and "favor domineering and intolerant leaders who are uninhibited about their biases."

And yet, there's something puzzling about that equation. If authoritarians, by definition, revere authority, why would they support an anti-establishment candidate like Trump? And why are they OK with his administration slandering bedrock American institutions as the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

A second recently published study provides an answer: There are different strains of authoritarian thinking. And support for Trump is associated with what is arguably the most toxic type: authoritarian aggression...

Most Trump voters cast their ballots for him with their eyes open, not despite his prejudices but because of them. Their partisanship, whether positive (toward Trump and the Republicans) or negative (against Clinton and the Democrats), is intense. This partisanship is anchored in anger and resentment among mild as well as strong Trump voters.

Anger, not fear, was the emotional key to the Tea Party, and that seems to be true for Trumpism as well. If so, the challenge for progressives is greater than many people have imagined. Hostility to minorities and women cannot be wished away; nor can the wish for domineering leaders.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/rick-gates-plea-deal-mueller-russia-investigation/index.html

Quote:

Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's office, indicating he's poised to cooperate in the investigation, according to sources familiar with the case.

Gates has already spoken to Mueller's team about his case and has been in plea negotiations for about a month. He's had what criminal lawyers call a "Queen for a Day" interview, in which a defendant answers any questions from the prosecutors' team, including about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed.

Quote:

Hostility to minorities and women

the people have spoken, and given the two choices, they made the right one.