monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

we worked a lot of hours to keep our 47's up and running.

Because of the sand?

Distrust in Trump’s White House spurs leaks, confusion
‘Trying to nail down who the leakers are is like trying to count the cockroaches under the couch,’ one longtime Trump adviser says.

A feeling of distrust has taken hold in the West Wing of Donald Trump's White House and beyond, as his aides view each other and officials across the federal government and on Capitol Hill with suspicion.

The result has been a stream of leaks flowing from the White House and federal agencies, and an attempt to lock down information and communication channels that could have serious consequences across the government and at the Capitol, where Trump tries to implement and advance his agenda...

Fox News reported Thursday that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Gen. John Kelly said that parts of President Donald Trump's border wall would be transparent.

Fox’s Catherine Herridge said that Kelly told her that the wall “will take a multi-layered approach. There will be the physical wall and then parts of the wall that you can see through because it will rely on sensors and other technology.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Thursday that he was “delighted” that so many people were confused by what President Donald Trump’s administration meant when it put Iran “on notice.”

In an interview with MSNBC’s Katy Tur, Barrasso was asked about National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn’s comment Wednesday that "we are officially putting Iran on notice," after it tested a ballistic missile. White House press secretary Sean Spicer failed to clarify the comment on Thursday in his press briefing.

“This is certainly not a red line, but I'm just a little confused, I think a lot of people are confused in the country about exactly what 'on notice' means,” Tur told Barrasso.

“I’m delighted you are confused and so many others are confused. I hope the Iranians are confused as well,” he said. “They don't know what it means, the Iranians don't know what it means so they’re going have to be more more careful in their belligerent actions than they were when Barack Obama was in the White House.”

Every year during Barack Obama's presidency, the Democrat would make an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he'd deliver pensive, thought-provoking remarks about the depths of his Christian faith. And nearly every year, conservatives would express their outrage over the ideas the president challenged them to consider.

Donald Trump is clearly a very different kind of president, and his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast captured an almost unrecognizable perspective.

For example, the Republican thought it'd be wise to reflect on his NBC reality show. "[W]e had tremendous success on 'The Apprentice,'" Trump said, adding, "And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went down the tubes. It's been a total disaster and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?"

Yes, the president used the National Prayer Breakfast to talk about television ratings for a reality show -- which he remains the executive producer of -- because everything at all times is about him and his career.

I heard that a quote from Bannon addressed "The Jewish Problem" OY

Confronted with talking to constituents about health care, these GOP lawmakers chose to hide
Members of Congress are fleeing from concerned constituents.
Polling shows that Obamacare is more popular than ever — according to a spate of recent polls, more Americans are now in favor of the health care law than opposed to it. That’s making things pretty awkward for congressional Republicans, who continue to push ahead with their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act now that Trump is in office.
Some members of Congress are even hiding from constituents trying to ask them questions about the future of their health care coverage.
On Tuesday, a small group of constituents went to Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R) office in Arkansas to try to meet with staff — and were met with a locked door and a staffer speaking through an intercom, saying that the senator’s staff wouldn’t be taking any meetings with constituents.
“They’ve turned off their telephones,” Sarah Scanlon, one of the constituents and the former national LGBTQ outreach director for Bernie Sanders’ campaign, told the Arkansas Times. “They’ve locked their doors, they’re not letting you in.”