Chip Bok posted:

In a WSJ op-ed, Mark Duowitz and Ray Takeyh describe the current uprising in Iran. They say it differs from the Green Revolution which was about election fraud. This one began “over economic grievances and quickly transformed into a rejection of theocracy.”

The protesters are angry that $100 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen by the Obama administration haven’t trickled down to the people. Instead the money has gone to support militias in the Middle East and energy and weapons for Bashar Assad in Syria.

So, instead of chanting “Death to America” they now shout “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to Rouhani!”

The White House narrative on Iran has changed too. The Trump administration is supporting the protesters and ignoring the “moderate leadership.”

Chip Bok posted:

Steve Bannon called Trump’s son “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”. The quotes appear in Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury.

This didn’t sit well with President Trump. Trump tweeted that Bannon “lost his mind” when he fired him. The Avenging Donald then sicced his lawyers on Wolff – guaranteeing best seller status for the book .

CNN’s Brian Stetler claims Wolff’s book “suggests Trump is unstable and raises alarms about his fitness for office.”

But CNN also reports that Secretary of State Tillerson, once accused of calling Trump a moron, never questioned the president’s mental health. And the White House deputy press secretary called Wolff a fake news, crackpot fantasy fiction writer.

Wolff agrees! A note in the front of his book says some of his sources definitely lied to him.

Whatever. If it’s stability you want, the Dow steadily rose above the 25,000 mark.

Stock analyst Paul Gambles is terrified about that too.

Chip Bok posted:

Kim Jong Un told the world he has a button. It’s on his desk and within his reach. And with it, he claims his missiles can reach anywhere in the U.S. And that’s how he plans to have his way.

For some reason Kim’s threat reminded me of President Obama. He said he had a phone and a pen. And he would use them to get his way.

It wasn’t all button rattling though. Kim also reached out to Seoul. He wants North Korea to participate in the 2018 Olympics.

Still, it was all too much for our own current Dear Leader. President Trump tweeted that his button is bigger and it works. I thought it was funny, in a Trump sort of way.

But the WSJ editors were not amused. They say Trump’s tweet explains his low poll numbers despite his first year successes.

Chip Bok posted:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has “trampled the will of the voters.” At least that’s the way Republican senator Cory Gardner of Colorado sees it.

Gardner’s state has a thriving pot industry. It’s legal under Colorado law. But, it’s illegal under the federal marijuana tax act of 1937. And Sessions says it’s his job to enforce federal law.

On the other hand weed was kind of legalized during the Obama administration. Deputy A.G. James Cole wrote a memo directing prosecutors to ignore pot stores in states that authorize them.

Senator Gardner says Sessions promised him he would submit to the Cole memo. And now Gardner says he’ll hold up “every single nomination from the Department of Justice” until Sessions sticks to his word.

A WSJ editorial says Sessions is being cast as the “uncool parent” who’s forcing a debate on the rule of law that Congress should settle.

Chip Bok posted:

It looks like we might not have corrupt campaign funding to kick around anymore. The 2020 presidential field is filling up with billionaire celebrities who can fund their own campaign corruption. And that’s not to mention the free publicity they’ll get.

Oprah gave a speech at the Golden Globes setting off speculation she wants to be president. Her celebrity colleagues went wild. Presumably she’ll run as a Democrat.

And Mark Cuban, the celebrity billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has long been considering throwing his NBA championship ring in the ring. If he does so, he says he’ll run as a Republican. Though, as of November he said there’s only a 10% chance he’ll do it.

Maybe Oprah will inspire him.

Chip Bok posted:

Morning Joe counsels that President Trump is demented. And Yale psychiatrist Dr. Bandy Lee agrees. She warned that “the president’s mental health might lead to the extinction of the human species.”

At the very least, Michael Wolff cautioned that “something is grievously amiss.”

Nurse Ratched was unavailable for comment.

Nevertheless, the president reassured everyone -“I’m a very stable genius.”

Chip Bok posted:

The Dow hit another record high yesterday. Unemployment is at a record low. Though The Hill says the 4.1% rate is more like 8% when you include the underemployed. At any rate over half of those polled by CNBC rated the economy as “good” or “excellent.

Yet life expectancy declined in the U.S. from 76.3 to 76.1 years for men. The rate for women held steady at 81.1 years. The Washington Post reported that 63,632 people died of overdoses in 2016 and 42,000 of those were from opioids.

National Review’s David French notes that more people died from overdoses last year than in the entire Vietnam war.

Chip Bok posted:

When I read the paper yesterday morning I knew we were in for a MSM s***storm. That’s because on page A4, in a story headlined Trump Vulgarity Roils DACA Deal, The Wall Street Journal said “shithole.”

As in:

“President Donald Trump questioned why the U.S. would admit people from “shithole countries…”

And that was in the lead sentence. Then they did it again in the third sentence. And again in this morning’s paper:

The fate of young undocumented immigrants was in doubt and the odds of a government shutdown appeared to be growing in the wake of President Donald Trump’s dismissal of “shithole countries” in Africa and his rejection of a bipartisan proposal to aid the so-called Dreamers.

Trump also wanted to know why we don’t import people from Norway instead of Haiti. Norway, for its part, said it didn’t want to come here.

I haven’t been to Haiti so I can’t say if Trump’s assessment is accurate. But one man’s s***hole can be another man’s money pot. That is if you’re the Clinton Foundation doing good deeds in Haiti.

I have been to Djibouti, Africa and the president may be on to something there.

Trump made his colorful comments during a closed bipartisan meeting to work out a DACA agreement. The day before he held a televised bipartisan meeting and uttered many nice words. In that meeting he said he’d sign any bill brought to his desk.

But back to the bad words. CNN would not be outdone. Gateway Pundit which apparently is an avid watcher, says CNN said S***hole 36 times on Thursday night.

Pussyhat, on the other hand, long ago entered the media vernacular. Right around the time Madonna pondered blowing up the White House.

And it took Bess Truman 25 years to get Harry to say manure.

Apple Pie Hubbub posted:

Where's Horsey's Stormy Daniels cartoon?

Sandpuppy posted:

Chip Bok posted:

Thanks to tax reform and deregulation the economy is booming and the stock markets are soaring. Apple is returning billions to the U.S. And other companies are offering pay raises and bonuses.

So Trump celebrated by slapping 30% tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines.

On Friday he speaks to the global ruling class in Davos Switzerland. Maybe I should have had the new Davos Man blowing “America First.” Or “Trade War.”