Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Thursday, January 12, 2017

An American Coup D'etat?

This has gotten completely out of control. I never thought I would see our country's politics reduced to the degrading levels of a Banana Republic. Are we destined to become Honduras with rockets?

I had begun to write about Obama's last Presidential exercise in Super Narcissism, in other words his Farewell Address, and Rex Tillerson's excellent appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but all that has been overtaken by other events. I refer, of course, to the "fake news" put out by certain media outlets re a secret Russian dossier on Trump containing all sorts of blackmail useful information. I won't link to BuzzFeed and CNN, the two major outlets that ran with this insane story. I read the report and it is pure trash. The info in the "report" cannot be verified, and the whole thing stinks of a hatchet job.

Before going on, I would note that the purpose of blackmail is to have something secret and untoward on somebody; once it gets out, no more blackmail. When I first joined the State Department in the 1970s, we had active official discouragement of homosexuals in the ranks. Our security people feared that the Soviets and others could use an FSO's homosexuality against him (mostly men in those days) and extract state secrets in exchange for not ruining the FSO's career. Some smarter folks figured that it would prove best for homosexuals to admit their sexual preferences "in confidence" to the security folks; the idea, of course, being that then there could be no risk of blackmail since the officer's superiors already knew he was gay. That didn't work initially because the tendency was to fire anybody who admitted to being gay. So a gay FSO wouldn't be blackmailed, he would just be thanked for his honesty and fired. It would seem then that in the very, very off-chance that this report about Trump is true, the blackmail potential is gone now. But, of course, I digress.

I don't know the origins of this trash report. There are stories out there about an ex-MI6 man engaged by NeverTrumpers in the GOP to do "oppo" research. He, apparently, claimed to have anonymous well-placed sources in Moscow who provided him all sorts of lurid details of Trump's behavior while in Moscow for a beauty pageant and of Trump's alleged financial links to the Russians. Once Trump won the primary, this version goes, our intrepid Brit then flogged his story to the Dems, and even to some media. Another version has the story being made up out of whole cloth on a website and basically trolled to the Dems and the media. I don't know.

It does seem, however, that this "report" has been floating about since at least last October, that Mother Jones mentioned it in passingand the always more than slightly nuts Harry Reid and John McCain, separately, pushed the report onto the FBI. After that, it really gets even more murky. Did the intel agencies incorporate info in the report into the intel briefings they gave Obama and Trump? Did at least a couple of our highly politicized spy masters feed the story to the press, but this time with the implied imprimatur of "intelligence"?

Trump was rightfully furious at his January 11 presser. I thought he did a masterful job of taking charge of the press conference and dropping napalm on his tormentors. The exchange between Trump and a loud-mouthed, rude, and disrespectful CNN rep is a classic. This is truly "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" with a hefty dose of "Rambo" and "Crocodile Dundee" thrown in for good measure. Look it up. It's worth doing. Trump handled it.

I think Trump quashed this attack for now, but it demonstrates what is to come. I have never seen such a pile on as the one we are seeing with Trump. The press, the leftoid idiots on the street and in Hollywood are joined, of course, and most troubling, by at least some of our intel agencies which have allowed themselves pressed into the service of one political party.

We could be seeing nothing less than an attempted coup by the bureaucratic mandarins and their minions in our federal government against an incoming president.

It is not just political appointees at the top of key agencies who are involved. Let us not forget that in their long march the progressives have targeted such key institutions as the CIA, FBI, NSA, Homeland, and State for special attention. These agencies are now increasingly staffed from bottom to top by products of our progressive universities and are becoming full-time believers in the progressive vision of the world. In addition they see, thanks to Hillary Clinton, that mishandling classified information brings no penalty. They apparently have no reluctance to join efforts to subvert our electoral system. The long march has not yet completed its sweep of the military but has made significant inroads; if that happens . . . . .

The attack on Trump comes from all sides. The swamp is much more fetid, dismal and deep, and the bottom much more foggy than anybody could have imagined.

55 comments:

  1. I don't think this is an "attempted coup," which is stating it more than a little hyperbolically, but it's certainly a sign that the next four years will be rough going.

    If, as some of the overheated commentary of others has suggested, Trump is in bed with Moscow, then doesn't anyone think he would refrain from praising Putin -- in order to maintain his cover?

    Set aside for the moment that, in real life, Trump's praise of Putin is discomfiting. (His experience is probably that praising the guy across the table lubricates the chance of forging a successful deal -- although I think in this case it would be unwise to assume that.)

    We still have to deal with the probability, bordering on fact, that the Kremlin possesses the entirety of Hillary's deleted emails, concerning matters of far more importance to national security.

    If she had been elected, any blackmail material would had been a matter to worry far more about. And I doubt that the news media would have been quite as eager to publicize that fact.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Churchill, once criticized for polite phrasing of the declaration of war with Japan, replied, "When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."
      Trump may believe that praise and courtesy, although he lacks it in many instances, is useful in disarming the opposition. Obama prefers empty bluster.

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    2. We barely have the vestiges of a constitutional republic now. That said, I remain unconvinced that Trump is even remotely as dangerous to it as a Hillary administration would have been.

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    3. Wait... somehow I got that under the wrong comment. My apologies. That was intended for dearieme below.

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  2. Can we call the CNN and BuzzFeed disclosures "yellow journalism"? And, assuming that Hellary and Podesta had this dirt before the election, I can't believe that they didn't use it ...

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    1. "Golden Journalism" is more appropriate..and not in a good way

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    2. They probably did have it but saw it for the disaster it was and walked away.
      Seeing what just happened to CNN's last vestige of any credibility, Imagine that kind of backlash towards Clinton Inc. Besides, she already KNEW she was going to win, so no need to play with fire. (oopps)

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  3. I have read that much of the report was made up on a 4chan forum and fed to #nevertrump Rick Wilson who in turn gave it to John McCain, and others. There is some documentation of 4chan threads indicating that could have occurred.

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    1. Here's a link:

      ​http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3513243/posts

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  4. I spent 13 years as an Intelligence officer in Whitehall. This period covered the liberation of the Falkland Islands and the liberation of Kuwait. One thing I learnt was that there is an incredible amount of stupidity around. Instead of rallying round their new president, the democrats and people like McCain, are trying to bring him down before he even takes office. They are stupid because what goes round comes round. If a democrat takes office in 2020, what do they expect to happen?

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    1. I asked Dipomad this question, but having now seen your post, I'll ask you too. If "intel community" really wants to bring Trump down, how does he stay alive?

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    2. Perhaps it is more likely that the heads of the intel community want to, as they see it, get Trump under control. They would have to know that Pence would be royally pissed and impossible to control if they did kill him. Then there is Mad Dog and..., you get the idea. Also, the heads won't want to get their hands dirty with 'wet work' and who could they really trust to order to do the deed. There is the little matter of the secret service to contend with as well.

      The Democrats, on the other hand do want him to fail, not die as that would make him a martyr / victim. Being a victim is a great good in their twisted world view so they would deny him that.

      Veseng

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. McCain, in his hubris, is dealing with Trump as though Trump is a politician playing by political rules. A huge error on the part of McCain. Trump isn't a politician, but an executive with a thin skin and a long memory. Trump knows full well that revenge is a dish best served cold, and I expect that, at the moment of his choosing, he will snap John McCain like a dry twig. That so many, including McCain, are treating Trump like a politician, and judging him by political standards, is a huge error in thinking.

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    1. McCain, who I supported and was a volunteer for in 2000, is a jerk. A personal friend of mine had a brief experience with him and learned this.

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    2. McCain also dealt with Obama as a politician, his fellow Senator, the Gentleman from Illinois.
      In the meantime Obama was approving of pictures depicting McCain drinking the blood of children.
      Obvious that McCain can't learn from his mistakes (errors) and I can't wait to see how Trump snaps him back.

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  7. Do you expect to have even the vestiges of a constitutional republic in four years time?

    I'm gloomy; if their coup fails they'll just have the chap shot. And no doubt they'll blame Putin for that too.

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    1. McCain's time as a POW led him to show integrity. His time in Congress as a Senator led him to dirty politics. That says something about our politics and government today that it beings out to worst even when compared to VC torture.

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    2. There are many places on the Web that argue that McCain didn't remotely show integrity in Vietnam, rather that he was a song-bird.

      They claim to have YouTubes to prove it. I wasn't surprised when I saw those allegations; he'd always seemed a wrong'un to me.

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    3. I refused to vote for McCain in 2008 (only the second time I didn't back the Republican candidate for president). I actually think a McCain administration would have been worse than a Hillary administration.

      People thought Bush was stupid - McCain really is stupid (bottom one percent of his class - that is hard to do), and McCain really does lack the temperament to be president (his outbursts are as legendary, if not more so, than Hillary's tantrums). Policies aside (although the differences between McCain's policies and Hillary's are less than people think), I would much rather have her finger on the nuclear button than his.

      Fortunately for the United States, though, neither one of them ended up in the Oval Office.

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  8. The fake report stated that Pres. & Mrs Obama had stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Moscow (and Trump "defiled" the bed they slept on).
    My initial thought was "WHY ON EARTH is the POTUS staying at a bugged hotel room?"

    I have acquaintances who have stayed there and actually found the surveillance bugs.

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  9. Questions to Diplomad

    How are we sure that the leak came from intel agencies not W.H? (Or political appointee told by W.H. to leak.)

    How do we have "17" intel agencies concerned with Russian hacking of political parties/involvement in elections? Yes, lots of specialized federal agencies might have intel branches, e.g., DEA and ATF. But intel agencies that would be involved in this? CIA, NSA, DHS, FBI, State's agency, maybe something in Treasury which follows money. I assume DIA and NR not involved. What other agencies? What "17" supposedly concurred?

    Next question: If intel community really wants to bring Trump down, how does he stay alive?

    Last question: how does McCain manage to keep getting elected?

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    1. I wish I knew the answers to your questions. They're good ones.

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    2. "If intel community really wants to bring Trump down, how does he stay alive?"

      Seems he has already figured that out. Sunlight, peering deep into the "intelligence" agencies, and calling out the fake news early and often.

      Trump knows what is coming. It should be clear that not only will he fight back, he does so effectively.

      Barry

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    3. And people keep insisting Trump has no experience in politics. Unbelievable.

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    4. I've said from day one that anyone who did the deals he's done would have excellent political. skills and knowledge. Plus know exactly whose bent and how.

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    5. I saw a couple of articles on friction between Trump's private security detail and the secret service.
      I would have considered this to be a 'non-issue', except in the last eight or so years, the secret service has had pretty much non-stop scandal. Very good chance this comes from poor leadership at the top.

      - reader #1482

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    6. Ask Indira Gandhi and security details. Trump is wise to have his own there.

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    7. "Let us not forget that in their long march the progressives have targeted such key institutions as the CIA, FBI, NSA, Homeland, and State for special attention."

      Sorry Sir you've left (perhaps) the more powerful IC "family" off your inclusion.

      You'll remember Lois Lerner? She of the 'investigator of those with a conservative bent?'

      ***

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    8. "If intel community really wants to bring Trump down, how does he stay alive?"

      On election night PE Trump escorted his family to the podium for his victory speech. The one thing that stood out to me was his wife. Far from being liquid with joy, she looked wooden. The thought occured that this was not someone with the vacuous look of a catwalk model, rather a woman whose intuition told her her husband was now a target.
      The left is demented, and there's no shortage of imbiciles deranged enough to have a crack at him.

      May they be prevented.

      Mick

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  10. Re the "plotters", hubris often results in poor judgement and poor execution.

    PE Trump is on alert now. As are some of the American people. The "media" and the pitifuls participating in some of our "intelligence" agencies should not take this lightly.

    Thankfully, as some of us are aware, not all those working in the intelligence community are, in fact, "intelligent".

    That said, this is a danger to the Republic. I hope that this exposure results in as much corrective action throughout the agencies as possible.

    Also, if Jared Kushner is to be granted a role as Adviser then he and Mr. Trump would be well served to replace Jamie Gorelick as Kushner's attorney.



    pmc

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    1. Good God ... Jamie Gorelick seems to turn up every time someone turns over a rock!!

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    2. And was appointed by Bill Clinton and is a Democrat...bad choice there.

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    3. Doesn't that raise huge questions about Jared? Not just anyone has Gorelick as their atty. I knew he and Ivanka were big time liberals. (They threw a fund-raiser for Cory Booker last year.) But being on intimate terms with Gorelick raises their commitment to the lib side to a whole new level.They cannot possibly be aboard the Trump agenda. Will they simply seek to influence him, or will they actively or even inadvertently sabotage it? We already see Ivanka siding with Al Gore on climate change (And Tillerson telling Senate he favors a carbon tax??????) I now want him and her nowhere near the White House. The Gorelick info is the first thing that has deeply disturbed me about Trump and set off huge alarms.

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    4. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

      Veseng

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    5. Kushner was plenty critical of Trump in his paper before he married Ivanka, but (no surprise) has been quite supportive since then.

      I tend to think he is (was) more non-ideological, and just sort of went with the flow (which obviously, does not lean right in the New York area).

      He probably (as much as anyone) helped get Trump elected. See:

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2016/11/22/exclusive-interview-how-jared-kushner-won-trump-the-white-house/

      I do feel confident that he is supportive of enough of Trump's agenda to play a vital role in the administration. I could obviously be proven wrong, but of all of the (inevitable) disappointments coming down the road after Trump takes office, Kushner undermining him is not one of my concerns.

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    6. Kushner has said, I think in the Forbes article, that traveling all over the country with the campaign and getting to know Americans from everywhere completely changed his outlook. To me that's credible, and I also trust DJT's judgement. I doubt he'll be pushed left by anyone.

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    7. My concern is not Kushner. It is Gorelick.




      pmc

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  11. I'm betting this 'dossier' is the sole evidence by which many of these agencies have been declaring their 'confidence' in their statements.
    Any takers?
    "Hey, I received this same dossier from five different sources, it MUST be legitimate!"

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  12. Has any of you seen the latest from Hollywood’s resident moron? She is now calling for martial law to be imposed to prevent Trump from taking office.

    “. . . with less than 10 days until Trump takes the oath of office, (Rosie) O’Donnell says that she’d support “martial law” in order to delay his inauguration."

    I realize that it is unlawful to place someone in a mental institution without a judgment, but I would be willing to make an exception in her case!

    Rosie! Just move out of the country like you promised, PLEASE!!

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-nemesis-rosie-odonnell-calls-for-martial-law-174454134.html

    John

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    1. Since military are overwhelmingly pro-Trump, what does poor Rosie think martial law would look like?

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    2. I would bet Rosie has no idea what martial law actually is.

      Veseng

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    3. Alright, who let her out of the feed lot?

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  13. Banana republic? Truly, the only thing lacking is a presidential sash covered with gold stars and other honors.

    So then our President receives a medal from the DOD last week and I'm thinking "yep, banana republic."

    And today he awards VP Biden the Presidential medal of freedom. These guys are truly reaching for banana republic status. Sheesh!

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  14. And did anyone notice the Sunday document dump from the FBI?

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/01/10/the-mysterious-fbi-sunday-document-dump-5-and-the-missing-clinton-seagate-hard-drive/

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  15. And did anyone notice the Sunday document dump from the FBI?

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/01/10/the-mysterious-fbi-sunday-document-dump-5-and-the-missing-clinton-seagate-hard-drive/

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  16. FIRE
    EVERY SINGLE
    DAMNED ONE
    OF THESE TRAITORS
    Every single one

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  17. M Mad, I don't agree with your opening sentence "This has gotten completely out of control". Someone is controlling it, or at least orchestrating it.

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  18. I believe the next week will possibly be the most dangerous ones in history. And following that, likewise.
    You see the Dems want Trump's head...but so do RINO's who would bring back all the old screw techniques with business as usual. Pence would be manipulated and turned in a Yankee minute back to doing what his colleagues wanted and the American people would see all proffered jobs melt in hot Texas sun very quickly.
    I cannot say that I have ever feared more for the country we live in and I have a group praying with me for God's protection.
    I was waiting to hear your take on all of this Dip....and you had once again, a really good one.....
    Blessings from E.Tex

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    1. It's almost like the Cold War never ended? Only the names and location have changed. The Soviets are no more, but their ideology lives on in the Democrat party. Obama outed them over the last 8 years, and Hillary's loss turned on all the lights and opened the curtains. We have to finish the Cold War right here in the USA where it was always going to end.

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  19. Assuming the Russians wished to encourage chaos in our government agencies, they may have succeeded.

    --- clippings follow ---

    "This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday," Mr Clapper said. "I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security."

    Kellyanne Conway told NBC's "Today" that Trump was very happy to get the call from Clapper. But she would not say Thursday whether Trump believes Clapper's claim the release came from outside the intelligence community.


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  20. There is an interesting theory best described by Wretchard, who writes the Belmont Club blog.
    "We may be living through an enormously important period: the possible collapse of Gramscianism in the West. If eastern socialism died with the Berlin wall in 1989, the western version may be crumbling now.
    The left marched through the institutions, gutted them and found they eaten the seed corn. The political storms sweeping through the world are the result of that realization. The left drank its way through the cellar and the last cask is broached.
    If this is correct the Left must reinvent itself or die. The process will be traumatic for everyone. For more than a 100 years the Left defined itself as the future. It was the religion of the 'enlightened classes', its substitute for transcendence. If the Gramscian march goes over the cliff we will miss it. For it was all that many generations knew and now it may be gone."

    He has posted on Gramsci before. https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2015/6/27/you-are-the-someone/

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  21. Do they teach the story of the Gracchi brothers in US schools? It's worth reflecting on.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracchi

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  22. "Trump is horrible for claiming that John Lewis doesn't serve his constituency well! Lewis was a civil rights HERO!!" - The Media

    Uhhh... this is the *2017* congress... why would the actions of 50 years ago (even if stipulated as good, right, and useful) somehow rescue a legislator for their constituency living out a daily disaster?

    - reader #1482

    ReplyDelete