monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Almost immediately after Donald Trump met with U.S. intelligence officials on the Russian hacking scandal, the president-elect issued a written statement that claimed, among other things, that he'd learned "there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election."

The next morning, Trump was even more explicit about the point he wants to emphasize, arguing that the intelligence he received "stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results."

As Rachel explained on the show, Donald Trump clearly lied.
"Here's what's actually in the report: 'We did not make an assessment of the impact Russian activities had on the outcome of the election.'

"So, our president-elect is lying to us. He says this report concluded that Russian hacking had no impact on the election. This report did not conclude that -- and now we know because we can read it ourselves."
Note the series of events: Trump lied on Friday in his written statement, got called out for his public deception, and then repeated the identical lie on Saturday morning.

On Sunday, Kellyanne Conway, who'll soon be a senior advisor in the Trump White House, elaborated on the same lie, telling CNN's Jake Tapper, "If you read the full report, [U.S. intelligence officials] make very clear -- Mr. Clapper in his testimony made very clear on Thursday under oath -- that any attempt, any aspiration to influence our elections failed."

Postscript: Trump’s written statement on Friday added, “There were attempts to hack the Republican National Committee, but the RNC had strong hacking defenses and the hackers were unsuccessful.” There’s ample reason to believe this is a lie, too.

In fact, the unclassified report released soon after Trump’s press release specifically said, “Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign.”

This is consistent with previous reports that said Russia did hack the RNC, but instead of releasing the data, Moscow kept the stolen materials under wraps. After all, Vladimir Putin’s purported goal was to help Republicans and hurt Democrats. Using the Democrats’ materials as the basis for a propaganda campaign advanced Russia’s interests, using the Republican documents the same way would not.

But according to Ruhr Nachrichten, almost nothing Breitbart reported is true. While Breitbart claimed that a mob set the church roof on fire, the reality was that while more than 1,000 people were gathered to celebrate the New Year, some set off fireworks and one firework started a small fire on the netting around the church's scaffolding; the fire was quickly extinguished.

Because she had something bad to say about President (elect) Trump.

Well, lets be honest here, despite her politics, Streep is far better known than your neighbor. Her talent gives her fame which gives her influence over segments of our culture.

But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart, not because it was good, it was – there’s nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh and show their teeth.

It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege and power and the capacity to fight back. It, it kind of broke my heart when I saw it and I still can’t get it out my head because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.

Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a.....
3:27 AM - 9 Jan 2017
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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never "mocked" a disabled reporter (would never do that)...

Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes speech Sunday night was a disappointment, incoming counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Monday morning, offering a divisive message indicative of Hollywood's "self-pity" instead of a unifying one.

...“She sounds like 2014. The election is over. She lost,”

...Conway accused Streep of “inciting people's worst instincts” with her Sunday night speech.

Trump’s impersonations of a flustered reporter several months ago was turned into a left-wing and Establishment GOP narrative whereby Trump somehow hates the disabled. This despite the fact that Trump has given millions to charities that help the disabled including raising nearly six million dollars for Wounded Warriors just recently, a million of which was his own money.

....... Conway is maintaining the "there was no consequence for the election" as somehow a conclusion of the intel community, I guess, as she continues to insist this is a known fact. Of course it isn't. She's lying.
Neither of them are mentioning Putin. Neither are indicting Putin (or leadership figures in Russia). Like Trump, they are trying to run cover for Putin.
The other thing they are saying as with Priebus' statement that the DNC was a "sitting duck" has an obvious purpose. That's to suggest that it was mere opportunity that led the hackers to hack/release DNC documents but not RNC related docs. And/or to suggest the target was damaging Clinton, not advancing Trump. And toss in the notion that Dems are weak on security while Republicans are strong.

This isn't insanity: it's comedy. Your hyper pseudo indignation only adds to it.

It's telling that, at least to this point, Trump is not the one talking even though this idiocy came from him. He is not saying, "I was wrong". I don't expect him to say it at any point. I also don't expect Priebus and Conway to speak to the findings on Putin/leadership as prime agents here. Honesty isn't the game they are playing.

This statement surely arises simply because it had become apparent after the revelations of Friday that Trump's prior statements were beginning to look insane or corrupt.