Two for the Price of One

Alert.  Alert. This is a two fer alert,  A BOGO (buy one, get one free) alert.

Item # 1 -  Zero trust.  Zero Tolerence.

The trump administration prior to its inauguration and immediately after assuming office (and i do mean assume in its literal definition as well as the popular definition, nod nod, wink wink) has clearly demonstrated that they will be shutting out the legitimate press. Saturday, Sean Spicer, the White House press Secretary, trots himself into the press briefing room and announces that “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.”  He also continued by speaking very disrespectfully to the press corps that was gathered.   Nobody asked this clown anything about this inconsequential tripe.  He just decided he was going to come out, make a statement and not take any questions.

This was a set up.  It was designed to bait the press.  It was designed to create a story where there was none.  It was designed to distract.  It was designed to attempt to prove that trump's election was a populist 'movement'.

Then on Sunday, almost all, if not all of the 'talking heads' had kelly conway goebbels on.  You know, one of the goebbels twins (her twin brother is steve bannon goebbels).  They learned well from there grandfather, joseph goebbels the propaganda minister for hitler.  Their grandfather said that 'if you tell a lie often enough and loud enough, people will believe it'.  This is obviously how the twins plan to do 'business'.  I also think we should change kelly's first name to gracie.  You know, George Burns's wife Gracie.  Their whole shtick was for George to ask Gracie a question and she would go off for five to ten minutes about anything and everything except the question that George asked.  This was how kelly (from here on gracie) performed on the Sunday Morning shows.

THEN, on Monday spicer trots his little butt back in front of the press corps and said:

"We have to be honest with the American people.  I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts, but our intention is never to lie to you."

"The facts", so what does that mean?  Are there "alternative facts" (gracie goebbels 1/22/17))?

He also cried that "[t]he default narrative is always negative and that's demoralizing." 

WAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Why does he think the tone is negative?  Who does he think set that negative tone?  his boss demoralizes wide swaths of Americans right up to his inauguration and then he thinks he's going to come out in front of the press and cry that he and his fellow administrators are felling demoralized?  Who in hell does he think he's kidding?  Certainly not me!  

This is obviously going to be one of the games that the goebbels twins will have their lacky, spicer, employ.   Degrade the legitimate press, come out a day or two later and try to be conciliatory (but not really), brush with margarine and repeat.  What we are observing is the typical cycle of all abusers.  No matter what form of abuse, the abusers always act in the following cycle:  Abuse, apologize, abuse, apologize, etc.  What has been set in motion is abuse of power with the end result being the abuse of the press and therefore Americans.

Not that my advice means a darn thing, but I suggest that the legitimate press practice the following motto:  zero trust and zero tolerance!!!!!

Item # 2 - Emoluments

Here's a word that is getting a lot of traction lately, emoluments.  I did not know what it meant, although from the context it was being used in, I had a good idea.  Merriam Webster Dictionary defines emoluments as follows:

1: the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emolument

The key word here is "compensation".  You know ....... money.

The Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 (this is the Article that defines the Administrative  Branch of our government), reads as follows:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.

Yesterday, The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a suite in Manhattan Federal Court, with U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams claiming that trump is violating the so called Emoluments clause. Two of the lawyers represent the bi-partisan nature of this group; former Obama administration ethics lawyer Norman Eisen and former G.W. Bush administration ethics counsel Richard Painter.

I do not place a large amount of stock in the reporting in the Huffington Post, but I did note that in an article dated 1/23/17 that the case may not make it into the court room due to a legal concept known as 'lack of standing'. What this refers to is that the plaintiff must demonstrate, in this case, concrete injury by the president’s failure to sever business ties which violate the emoluments clause, which forbids accepting anything that may amount to a bribe from a foreign government.  It seems to me that if the person in the position of President does not comply with the Constitution, then there is "concrete injury" to each and every American citizen.  If Judge Abrams refuses to hear the case, then it should be marched right through the Federal Court system to the Supreme Court.  Period.