“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
RE: Sec Nav Looking for input from our members who are current/former military. What do YOU think? Your opinion is far more valuable than a layperson. We’ve never seen such a firestorm of public comments.
From Sec. of Defense Esper’s point of view: Hmmmm, so it looks like Sec of Defense, Esper, fired Sec Nav for lying to him and for attempting to cut a deal behind his back. Telling the WH one thing and telling Esper something else. Valid reason to toss Sec Nav. Sec Nav Spencer’s fight is not with the President – his problem is not being forthright with his boss, Esper.
From the President’s Point of View: President unhappy with Sec Nav over Gallagher and the corruption in the JAG corps. He’s really mad about the 900 million dollar screw up on the new USS Gerald Ford over the electric catapult system replacing the steam system which was prevalent on other carriers. The new system has bugs in it and has been a disaster. Not sure that’s necessarily Sec Nav’s decision or “fault” cuz it takes a while to design/build a carrier. Nonetheless, the USS Gerald Ford is 2.4 BILLION over budget.
On the charge of “Taking a photo with dead ISIS member” Is it a HUGE problem with the charge of “photo being taken with a dead ISIS fighter”. Does it rise to the level of a war crime? WW2 photos, Vietnam photos, Balkan photos, were all BRUTAL. Did the policy start during Obama Admin or during Bush Admin?
Was the policy of “winning hearts and minds” a failure?
How do we win a war…. by being nice?
Why do we ask our soldiers to go and kill our enemies, but don’t hurt their feelings?
OR – is it more important to have a voter base, at home and far removed, who never see the reality of warfare?
Bigger question, by putting what is effectively a “news block” on dead ISIS photos, did we prolong the war? By trying to be nice?
Or is this about superiors behind a desk, attempting to micromanage from afar, second guessing the soldiers in the field?
All opinions welcome.
Latest interview with Eddie Gallagher.
More info on the problems of the USS Gerald Ford:
The dyspeptic performance comes as Secretary Spencer, who bet his job on the USS Ford, faces accountability over his wager with the President on the USS Ford’s broken advanced weapons elevators. Last year, Secretary Spencer proudly highlighted his bet with President Donald J. Trump, saying “I asked him to stick his hand out; he stuck his hand out. I said, ‘Let’s do this like Corporate America.’ I shook his hand and said, ‘The elevators will be ready to go when she pulls out or you can fire me.’ ” But that bet is now lost. After an extended 15-month refit, the USS Ford pulled out of Norfolk, Virginia, for sea trials on Friday, October 25, 2019. Only four elevators were fully operational. A few others were “moving” but have yet to meet exacting Navy standards.
I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy. He was treated very badly but, despite this, was completely exonerated on all major charges. I then restored Eddie’s rank. Likewise, large cost overruns from past administration’s…..
….honors that he has earned, including his Trident Pin. Admiral and now Ambassador to Norway Ken Braithwaite will be nominated by me to be the new Secretary of the Navy. A man of great achievement and success, I know Ken will do an outstanding job!
Getting ready for Thanksgiving, son coming home from college, and I asked him what favorite food he wanted. His answer, “Rappie Pie”, a special food which harks back to a Nova Scotia vacation we took when he was a kid. Here’s the recipe: https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/rappie-pie
Grab a cup of coffee and take a trip with me. Been meaning to write this story for a while and today, with Impeachment Hearings droning in the background, seemed like a good day.
We’re going to Nova Scotia!
It was the late summer of 2004. Big T and I were a new item, dating, and Gunner and I were spending the summer in Boston. It was our first summer together as a couple, and we were still getting the house settled. We made it through July 4th, then, out of left field, Democrats descended on the city for their Presidential Convention. Big T was foul. The city was a big parking lot, every night a fundraiser for Kerry, and the news was impossible. We were at a neighborhood bar, eating pizza, and Big T was wishing we could bug out of town. We were both in the midst of long an arduous divorces however, and watching our pennies. Out of the corner of his eye, one of his clients (Paul), pulled a keychain out of pocket, ripped off a key, threw it to Big T, and said, “Here, you guys can use my family house in Nova Scotia for a little vacation.”
Well, I had never been to Nova Scotia. Have you? Big T looked at me. I shrugged, “Sure.” Gunner was about 5yrs old, “I want to go!!” And off we went to Nova Scotia…. the next day.
In order to get to Nova Scotia, we had to take a mini-cruise ship/ferry, with our car, out of Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Okay, sounds great, right?
Understand, Big T is normally a nervous wreck on a trip, lots of schedules and plans (baggage from ex-wife). I really don’t care and everything is an adventure to me. We travel well together. I had never been up the Maine Coast before, so I was hanging out of the window, looking at everything “new” to my southern eyes. We hit super traffic at Kennebunkport, I wanted to stop and shop, he refused, I hopped out of the car, bought antique naval maps at a shop, and caught back up with him, still in traffic. Those prints hang in the Cabana today. We stopped again at Gap outlet and outfitted Gunner for school – whole new wardrobe at rock bottom prices. So far, this trip was great.
We made it to Portland, and gosh, the Maine Coastline is spectacular in late July. What a treat. Everything in field of view is sharper, crisper, and the air is magnificent. We were in the car line, waiting to board the ferry and struck up a conversation with the people next to us. He was my uncle’s business partner from Illinois………. small world, eh?
We boarded the ship and Gunner was beside himself. Great adventure for a little boy. The islands of Maine slipped away to open sea by nightfall. We had a stateroom for sleeping, but Gunner wanted to explore. There was a disco on the ship (hardly anyone there and extraordinarily family friendly). My five year old danced at the disco until past midnight. Great day.
In the morning, we arrived in Yarmouth, a lone bagpiper on the bluff to welcome the ship. How cool is that?
We drove off the ship and to the house in Yarmouth. On the drive into the little fishing village, I kept noticing the mailboxes….. everyone had the same last name as Big T’s client. It was foggy so I couldn’t tell very well. Was everyone in the town was related to each other?
We got to the house and it wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned. Big T was mortified but he was expecting a swank vacation home, and he usually stays at the Four Seasons when he travels. It was about 4 steps down from my old grandparents farm house… and in a strange way, comfortable and familiar. Built in the 1930’s and not renovated since then. It was quaint. Cold, with lots of quilts and a big fireplace. He was ready to leave, worried about impressing me. I didn’t care. I liked it. Gunner was bounding around outside, convinced he would see a Canadian bear.
After getting settled and unpacked, we took off into town for groceries, liquor store, a few supplies. We were going to be there for 10 days. Came home, made dinner, slept like lambs. Next day, up again, Big T and Gunner fishing off the dock…… no real luck. Not happy. Bored. I was back at the house, cleaning and organizing a few things. A family member stopped by with a pie to welcome us. How wonderful she was. We chatted for hours while the guys were fishing, and she invited us into town for dinner the next day.
We poked around town a little bit, not much there, but it was a fishing village. We played board games at the house, still foggy outside. In fact, Gunner and Big T went outside to play catch and the fog was so bad, they had a hard time seeing each other.
At dinner, Gunner hit a growth spurt. He decided he liked “Rappie Pie”, kind of like a Shepards Pie, and ate three full orders. He’s 22yrs old now and if I ask him for his favorite meal, he still says “Rappie Pie”. The relatives were an older couple and thrilled with the idea of a hungry “grandson”. “Sweet and genuine”, I thought, we were instantly welcomed into their family. I casually asked our dinner guests about the fog. She remarked, “Oh, it’s good this year. Last year we had 31 days straight.” My eyes went wide, “31 days straight?” “Yes,”, she replied, “but it’s not that bad at all this year.”
I don’t have seasonal affect disorder or anything close to it, but gheez, if we have three days of rain in Mississippi, people start to snipe at each other. I would never make it through 10 days of heavy fog. You couldn’t even see the top of the house. I started getting itchy, and the more I thought about it, the more itchy I got. Didn’t want Big T to think I was weird, but we were going to have to find a way to see the sun again. I started planning and bought a map.
Next morning, me to Big T, “Hey honey, I was thinking, since we were here and you’ve paid for this whole trip, it might be nice for me to make a contribution for a side trip adventure.” He nodded and Gunner’s eyes were bright. I continued, “I was thinking we should go see the whales in the Bay of Fundy. I can squeeze that one into the budget. What do you think?” Gunner was already all over it, “WHALES?” Off we went to Digby.
Digby is a long peninsula. We did our whale trip, orange suits, plastic boat with two 900HP Kodiak motors, German couple as a match to us who adopted GUnar, whale bumps and sightings, 60′ tidal surge in the Bay of Fundy. It was thrilling. Still a little foggy.
We went down to the end of the peninsula, Brier Island, and it was breathtaking. Kids rolling in the summer heather and a landscape which looked like the moon. Warm sunshine, had an early dinner and home by 10pm……. to heavy fog.
At dinner the night before, I learned about a spot a few miles up, where the seals came to bask in the sun. My ears perked up, “sun”. Thought that might be a good adventure for the next day. Off we went.
The “spot” was only about 20 miles up the interstate but then another 20 miles down small roads. Never forget it…. We stopped at the “Nature Station”. I was wearing a pair of red shorts, cute little espadrille shoes, blue and white shirt. The female “Ranger” looked me up and down and said, “You’ll never make it out there.” She disapproved of me. Apparently, it was a two mile hike to the Seal Point and rather rugged. I was insulted but yeah, not wearing the right shoes. As an afterthought, she suggested another place, “more suitable” for someone like me…… which was 2 exits up, “Carter’s Beach”. I looked on the map, no such thing. “Oh, it’s there”, she assured me.
My men were rather disappointed in me. Pretty shoes stopped their fun. They looked at me with the evil eye, and I timidly suggested we try to find “Carter’s Beach”. Disapproving nods, back in the car, up twenty miles, over twenty miles back off the interstate again…. into a neighborhood. We were hopelessly lost and stopped at a quickshop….. well, more like a mini-store in the bottom of a two story house. I asked about the Beach, and the lady behind the counter knew all about it. “Go down this road until it ends and take a left”, she said.
We bought sodas and a few snacks. I asked for a bag of ice. She pointed to a chest freezer and told me to “crack off what you need”. I opened the chest, filled with blue ice cube trays, took what I needed and we left. Yeah, I liked Nova Scotia.
Down a narrow two lane road we went, past house after house. Big T, deeply skeptical, we had to drive slowly, he thought we were on a wild goose chase. Gunner, antsy in the back seat. We drove for thirty minutes, to the absolute end of the road. A few broken down cars, makeshift, at the very end. There was nothing. Zero. I was defeated.
I got out of the car. We hadn’t taken any turns and the lady in the story was so sure and kind. Where the heck were we? We were off the map by that point. We walked around a little bit. I looked over the roof of the Montero at Big T, when Gunner disappeared behind a tree-line and started yelling. We followed him… down a narrow and shrub covered pathway, to the most beautiful beach we’ve ever seen.
The beach, top 50 in the world on a few lists, is actually three separate mile-long crescents, at the tips are spruce trees or a lighthouse, and it’s the home of the biggest sand dunes in North America. It’s practically deserted, a hidden treasure. On that day, only one other family, with two little Russian girls. Kids played in the warm tidal flow and we basked in the sun. It was only about 20 miles from our foggy house. What a difference. Spectacular Canadian beauty.
We learned the meeting of the tall ships was cancelled in Boston and had moved to Halifax. Guess we followed the tall ships. Of course, we had to go. We spent a day or so in Halifax, stayed in a hotel, saw the ships and spent the afternoon at the Citadel……..
As the end of trip was drawing near, we had to make a decision as to how we would spend the last few days. We all agreed. Days at Carter’s Beach and dinners with Rappie Pie and the “family”.
One of the best vacations we’ve ever had. All done on a very tight, shoestring budget. Not at all what we expected, and it was exactly what we needed.
Lesson learned. Even when times are tight, or during personal upheaval, it important to get away and adjust the mindset. We get involved in a trap, thinking the world or business cannot live without us. No, maybe we’re not that important. Especially when we have little kids, there are only so many summers before they are grown and gone. Make the memories while we can.
How are you guys feeling about this by now? Have we had enough? It’s Fiona Hill on the box today. Please check prior posts for links.
Fiona Hill is from northern England only attended university in Scotland. She has a lot of opinions. She’s the one who said, Bolton said, “Drug deal that Mulvaney is cooking up”. She gave a stellar performance review to Vindman but also warned her replacement, Morrison, against Vindman – the leaker. Look for questions on that issue.
David Holmes worked at the Embassy in Ukraine. He will talk about the Saint of the State Dept, Marie Yovanovich. AND Holmes was at the dinner in Kiev, where he allegedly overheard the President talking to Sondland, “Big stuff” and “Bidens”.
Wheatie’s pies reminded us it is time for the annual Thanksgiving Recipe Thread. Please add your favorites and drop a few stories in from your favorite holiday get-togethers.
My Mother’s mother had a saying, “May I always have more guests, than I do dining room chairs.” Remember those who have no family and please, make room at your table.
The stories which come out of the family holidays are wonderful. Here’s a few from our house.
Story #1
I was a teenager. Dad was dating my soon-to-be stepmother and it was obvious the two would marry. We lived in New Orleans. We had been to her parents for weekends (Pensacola) and she had been to my grandparents for weekends (northern Mississippi), but the two sets of potential in-laws had not met. Thanksgiving at Grandma’s was the first meeting of the clans.
The Florida contingent arrived on Wednesday, scheduled to leave Friday morning, apprehensive, best to plan a short trip. On Wednesday, everyone was on their best behavior, no one drank too much, no one swore. My step-mother turns into an infant around her mother, different speech patterns, annoying. Lots of tension in the air. My grandmother was nervous and doing her best to make a good impression. I was cast out to sleep on the couch in the living room.
All the way through Thursday the tension grew. After a day of football, hors d’oeuvres, and afternoon drinks, it all came to a head as we were ready to serve dinner. Everyone was in the kitchen, trying to help Grandmother pull casseroles, ice in the glasses, pour the wine, and find serving pieces. She was trying to use the best china and insisted Grandpa carve, then place, the turkey onto a beautiful antique china platter. A bit of a scuffle ensued as we all organized dishes to the buffet.
Grandpa needed a bigger platter for the turkey. Grandma wanted to use the pretty platter. Finally, as they negotiated, Grandpa became frustrated, pointed his electric knife at my Grandmother and said, “It’s not big enough for a fuckin’ quail.”
The electric knife we only used once a year.
Silence. Grandpa dropped the F bomb. Time stood still. My eyes went wide as I looked around the room to gauge reaction. Grandma was clubbing Grandpa with a wooden spoon, using a distressed voice, “Ea—rl”, always two syllables for Earl. Ray, my step-grandfather was a former Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. He had a highball glass in his hand and spit out his bourbon all over the microwave. Tension broken. Everyone laughed. Grandpa and Ray became fast friends.
Story #2
Grandpa Ray, the Chief Petty Officer, lit up my world. I loved him. He took me everywhere and didn’t treat me like a kid. His wife was spoiled, nouveau riche, and spent money like water. Ray would give her envelopes filled with $100 bills so she and my step-mother could go shopping. I didn’t like it – seemed wrong. Ray had accumulated several little houses which he rented out to sailors. Ray drove a little pickup truck with a cab filled with house parts. He was the landlord and always fixing something. One Wednesday before Thanksgiving, he let me tag along on a housecall. Probably a leaky faucet, or so I thought.
First, we stopped at the grocery store. He insisted I grab a cart, and he had one, too. No explanation. We moved quietly through the aisles, tomato soup, boxed mac and cheese, saltines, canned vegetables, loaves of bread, hams, turkeys, ground meat, …… and then diapers, and baby formula….. and even dog food and cases of Budweiser beer. We had no babies or dogs. What was he up to? He paid the bill at checkout, over $400. I could barely swing my laden cart.
At the truck, he divided up what we bought, and we were ready to go. Back in the truck, he asked me to open the glove box. He had a stash of white envelopes there, the same white envelopes he gave his wife. He pulled a wad of bills out of his chest pocket. Each envelope was to contain 4-$20 bills and 20-$1 bills. He winked at me, “Sometimes, it’s hard to break a $20.” I nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
We were off again. Twelve stops, to “his men”. He whistled along the way. He was happy. At the first stop, I got out of the car and headed up the walkway to ring the bell. He stopped me, “Nonono, we’ll go around back.” I paused and waited for him. Each “delivery” was made to the back door, quietly, privately, as not to embarrass another man. He tucked the cash envelope into the screen door. Never said a word to the people who lived there. After the first delivery, I sat in the car and looked at him… differently, with tears in my eyes. He winked at me. He was having fun, “Gotta take care of your men.”
By the 3rd-4th visit, we were met at the backdoor by a guy with a gun. It was one of “his men”. He apologized profusely, broke into thanks and finally, tears. He hugged Ray tightly, and I could feel the tears sting my eyes. $100 was a lot of money back in the 70’s. Later on, we ran into another wife, three little ones at her knees, who immediately broke into tears. As we returned home, my step-mother and his wife returned from their shopping. They showed us all their new clothes, modeling for Ray. He nodded like nothing ever happened. I took my cue from him. Our trip was our secret.
Funny, that year, I don’t even remember what we ate for Thanksgiving Dinner.
Today, we don’t use as much cash, but every now and then, a $100 bill will cross my path, and I think of Ray. As a nod to Ray, when Gunner was little, in his Christmas stocking, I would roll up 20-$1bills with a little ribbon around each one. As a kid, he felt rich. When he was about 12yrs old, he asked me why I didn’t just use a $20 bill. He was annoyed with all the tiny ribbons. I explained the story of Ray and added, “Sometimes, it’s hard to break a $20.” Lesson learned. Be thankful, appreciative, humble, and “Gotta take care of your men”.
Are you ready? Only Gordon Sondland will testify today, and he is a key player in the whole Schiff Circus. He spoke to the President on 5 occasions, at least that is what we are being told. After yesterday, we can expect the Dems to try to make up some lost ground. Oh, and don’t spend all your energy here ——- there is a Dem Debate tonight.
Yesterday, ThinkThinkThink passed me this photo and it’s perfect for today. Members of the swamp, all having fun together.
Testimony will be streamed from same places as yesterday.
Thought I would take this opportunity to tell you a little more about Gordon Sondland, the US Ambassador to the EU.
“Power couple” Gordon Sondland and Katy Durant
Gordon Sondland was born in 1957, based in Portland Oregon, born in Seattle, founder of Provenance Hotels and co-Founder of Merchant Bank Aspen Capital. He’s a multi-multi-millionaire, if not a billionaire. Interesting – he dropped out of University of Washington to start the real estate biz —- he did well. His parents were Jewish and escaped the Nazis. He’s been married to Katherine (Katy) for decades and their charitable foundation, which supports families, has been active since 1999. Until 2016, Durant was the Chairperson of the Oregon Investment Council, the body that oversees the over $85 billion Public Employees Retirement System Fund.[68] They have two children, Max and Lucy.
Sondland has been enormously successful renovating older downtown buildings and turning them into fabulous gems from Denver to Seattle, to Los Angeles and back again. A project like The Old Post Office in DC, would have been Sondland’s dream come true. When he was appointed as Ambassador to the EU, his wife took his place as Chairman of the Hotel Company.
There is a lot of speculation about how loyal Sondland will be to President Trump. Let’s look at Sondland’s political history to see if we can discern how he “leans”.
Sondland was a member of the transition team for OregonDemocraticGovernorTed Kulongoski‘s administration and was appointed by Kulongoski to serve on the board of the Governor’s Office of Film & Television.
Sondland also served as Oregon liaison to the White House. (Under Bush)
April 2017, it was revealed that 4 companies registered to Sondland donated $1 million to the Donald Trump inaugural committee.
On March 12, 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump selected Sondland to be the next United States ambassador to the European Union. (Confirmed June 28th, 2018)
Both Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) testified in support of Sondland.[33] Sen. Wyden suggested that Sondland’s “family history is both fascinating and instructive as to why he has the experience and understanding to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the E.U.,” noting how his Jewish parents fled Nazi Germany before coming to the United States.
Sondland served as Co-chair raising funds for the George Bush Center.
Sondland has served as Trump Admin lead for coraling EU nations for Iran Sanctions, the SPV vehicle which skirts US sanctions, and has been a vocal critic of the Nord Stream Pipeline.
Because Ukraine (allegedly) wants to enter the EU, Sondland would be the primary lead guy in charge of Ukraine policy. Bill Taylor would answer to Sondland. Volker would answer to Sondland. There are two text message exchanges we will probably see today. Here they are.
Ukraine Bill Taylor: [12:47:11 AM] Bill Taylor: “As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.” This was seen as the “set-up” text message. It came AFTER the Politico article was released, and Taylor already knew the premise was bogus. Yet, here, he is trying to trap Sondland.
It took Sondland approximately 5 hours to reply to Taylor’s text message (because Taylor sent the message a 1:00am in the damn morning), and it was later revealed that Sondland had called Trump prior to writing a response, in which the president repeated the phrase “no quid pro quo” several times. Sondland responds:
[9/9/2019, 5:19:35 AM] Gordon Sondland: Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised during his campaign I suggest we stop the back and forth by text If you still have concerns I recommend you give Lisa Kenna or S a call to discuss them directly. Thanks
Wiki
On November 5, the New York Times reported that Sondland had provided updated testimony stating that he did in fact view delivery of the aid package as contingent upon the Ukrainian government publicly opening an investigation of Trump’s political rivals as desired by the President. According to the testimony, he relayed this position to Ukrainian government officials. (note the phrasing from the NYTimes – it could be that the President merely wanted corruption from 2016 and Burisma and origins of the 2016 election investigated ——– which happen to be the Bidens)
Fiona Hill created the theme of “The Sondland Problem” whereby she chastised Sondland for pushing more investigations. “The Sondland Problem” was a trending topic on Twitter, yesterday.
The press has been after Sondland as well. They interviewed his general contractor who is renovating his personal residence. No kidding. And the press criticized Sondland for spending over $250K on the renovation of his kitchen. Word to the wise, if Big T was a billionaire – and as much as I love to cook – I could easily spend a MILLION dollars on our kitchen. Besides, it’s Sondland’s own money.
Here, we see Sondland standing next to Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry. Sondland has done a good job for the Trump Admin and probably NEVER expected this kind of scrutiny. The left will be desperate to disparage Sondland…. it’s there best chance for something substantive. Let’s hope he can withstand the barrage.
Sondland will only be available in the morning/early afternoon session. At 2:30pm Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs and David Hale, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. We’ll do a seperate thread for them.
Question: What was Alexander Vindman doing for the corrupt Ukrainian former regime that led them to consider him qualified enough that they begged him THREE TIMES to serve as the Minister of Defense of The Ukraine?… https://t.co/MMMtbp9QNf
Here is the thread for Testimony to Schiff’s Committee this morning. Vindman has enormous problems in his testimony and Williams, on staff for VP Pence, was on the call.
We’ll get this up and going and fill in.
PBS is covering the hearings:
Cspan Three getting ready to start up in a few minutes:
And I think this is the Fox link:
Impeachment hearings losing public support, according to Politico’s poll.
Today, 47 percent of independents oppose the impeachment inquiry, compared to 37 percent who said the same one week ago.” The survey, which has tracked support and opposition for the inquiry each week, support for the investigation inched down 2 points — to 48 percent from 50 percent — while opposition to the inquiry ticked up 3 points — to 45 percent from 42 percent.
While I have the numbers in my head ~ According to FOX, 13.5 million tuned in the first day and 12.1 million tuned in the second day —- as opposed to Comey’s testimony, where 19.5 million tuned in.
Note: SD from Conservative Treehouse has an extraordinary thread up about Vindman’s testimony, starting at page 50, where it looks like Vindman made an actual attempt to change the official read out of the President’s phone call. Follow the thread, here.
(1) Pg 50 Vindman Deposition: “As opposed to going into the standard communications system, it went into a different type, a different, more secure system"… pic.twitter.com/pmBGaVeeTK
From Vindman: ” “while i did have an account, it was not functioning properly, so i had to go analog and take a look at – get a hard copy of it -make some- annotate some changes to it”…
We’re being lied to by our media. Lutsenko, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, did NOT retract a statement about Yovanovich “She had a Do Not Prosecute List”, but it was an oral list, which Lutsenko wrote down…… and then he kicked her out of his office.
I had to magnify the pic from Glenn Beck’s video, searched and searched the internet. Finally, I found the author on Facebook, befriended her, and went back to the date of published article. Sure enough, once I translated the article, there it was. Here she is – Maria Zhartovskaya. She was a correspondent for Forbes, and it looks like she grew up in NYC https://m.facebook.com/zhartovska
Watch this video first to see how the media created the lie.
Okay, now here is the link to the actual source, which was twisted to create the lie.
The meeting [with the ambassador] was at the GPU, at this table (certificate- The interview was recorded in the Attorney General’s office., in January 2017.) It did not take place face to face. She was not alone, and I was not alone. Ms. Jovanovich was interested in the case of [former Deputy Attorney General] Vitaliy Kaska [whom the Kyiv prosecutor’s office suspected of fraud during the privatization of housing]. The fact that Mr Kasko registered a mother who had never left Lviv in an office apartment – these were signs of abuse. (certificate – In January 2017, the Kiev prosecutor’s office closed the case against Kask “for insufficient evidence.”.)
According to her, Casco was a prominent anti-corruption activist, and the criminal case [against him] discredited anti-corruption officials. I laid out the details [of the case] and explained that I could not open and close the proceedings at will. He called a number of so-called anti-corruption cases that are taking place in the cases. She said it was unacceptable, she said, undermining the credibility of anti-corruption activists. I took a leaflet, wrote down the names, and said, “dictate the list of untouchables.” She says, “No, you misunderstood me.” I say, “No, I understood you correctly; Previously, such lists were written by [the Presidential Administration] on the Bank, and you propose new lists from the Tank (certificate – The US Embassy in Ukraine is located on V. Sikorsky Street (former Tank) in Kiev.». The meeting is over. I’m afraid the emotions weren’t very good.
What’s the over/under on Marie breaking out into tears during testimony? Marie thinks President Trump was mean to her, implies she “feels threatened”. Really, Marie?
From President Zelinsky to President Trump: “……It was great that you were the first one who told me that she was a bad Ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.“
Background: Yovanovitch was born in 1958, in Canada. Her parents were Russian emmigrees, moved to Connecticut at age 3. Parents were professors, taught Russian. She grew up speaking Russian. Naturalized American citizen at age 18. Graduated Kent School in ’76, went to Princeton, BA in History and Russian Studies, entered foreign service. Posts in Canada, Moscow, London, Mogadishu, and Kyrgyzstan. Deputy Chief of Mission in Kiev, Ukraine from August 2001 to June 2004 (right up to the Orange Revolution). Then appointed Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Ambassador to Armenia. Back to State Dept in 2011, helped get rid of missiles in Poland (bad idea-Obama gave it away and got nothing in return). Announced as Amb to Ukraine on May 18, 2016 (note date), approved August 29th of 2016, just in time for US election.
Used her office as Hillary Clinton headquarters, working with Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS.
Yovanovich is also implicated in the Black Ledger docs which magically appeared (implied Manafort was receiving millions in cash payments) and were supplied to the prosecutors in Ukraine along with a simultaneous delivery to the New York Times.
May 2019, After Durham’s visit to Ukraine, Yovanovitch was fired and the evident outrage by the left was for good reason. This is where the Atlantic Council, AntAC, but more importantly Nellie Ohr and her mentor’s involvement in #crossfirehurricane, came to light.
Yovanovitch and Sergiy: As an Ambassador to the USA, worked with an MP in Parliament, Sergiy Leshchenko.
Leshchenko is a hard left fascist radical (used to be an investigative journalist) who leaked the Party of Regions docs on Manafort to the NYTimes. He was found GUILTY of the leak, convicted for meddling in a US Election of 2016. The conviction was overturned on “standing of suing party” and “statute of limitations” technicalies. No denying Sergiy did it – he’s proud of it. He doesn’t seem to understand he’s an MP now and not a rag reporter with journalist immunity to smear. Almost 100% consensus the documents were faked, provenance is sketchy, but the trick worked and Manafort was forced to resign the following day. https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/229471/ukrainian-mp-manafort-secrets
Yovanovitch and PRESIDENT Zelinsky: Zelinsky does not like Yovanovitch and implied she told him she preferred the previous President. I believe that’s from the phone call on July 25th – Again:
From President Zelinsky to President Trump: “……It was great that you were he first one who told me that she was a bad Ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.“
Yovanovitch and George Kent: In her testimony, Marie claims she never spoke to George about Burisma or Hunter Biden. Really? George Kent was her Deputy. George Kent complained about the appearance of conflict of interest for Hunter Biden, to the VP’s staff, directly…….. but he never spoke to Marie?
Yovanovitch and Giuliani: Judge for yourself.
Yovanovitch Surveillance of Americans:(Judicial Watch) Judicial Watch has obtained information indicating Yovanovitch may have violated laws and government regulations by ordering subordinates to target certain U.S. persons using State Department resources. Yovanovitch reportedly ordered monitoring keyed to the following search terms: Biden, Giuliani, Soros and Yovanovitch. Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the State Department and will continue gathering facts from government sources.
Prior to being recalled as ambassador to Ukraine in the spring Yovanovitch reportedly created a list of individuals who were to be monitored via social media and other means. Ukraine embassy staff made the request to the Washington D.C. headquarters office of the department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. After several days, Yovanovitch’s staff was informed that the request was illegal and the monitoring either ceased or was concealed via the State Department Global Engagement Center, which has looser restrictions on collecting information.
“This is not an obscure rule, everyone in public diplomacy or public affairs knows they can’t make lists and monitor U.S. citizens unless there is a major national security reason,” according to a senior State Department official. If the illicit operation occurred, it seems to indicate a clear political bias against the president and his supporters.
Hidden in the new law – Section 1287 – are the funding and guidelines necessary to establish a Global Engagement Center. The wording is sufficiently vague enough for the GEC to become a Ministry of Truth.
Section 1287, (a) Establishment, (2) Purpose: The purpose of the Center shall be to lead, synchronize, and coordinate efforts of the Federal Government to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining United States national security interests.
From 2017
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 into law last Friday while Americans were busy making their last minute Christmas preparations. The vote in the Senate on December 8th was 85-13 where its sponsor was John McCain. Only two Republicans voted against the final version before it was sent to President Obama to sign. It had passed the House a week earlier by a vote of 375-34 with no more than 5 Republicans voting against it. Paul Ryan wasn’t one of them.
Hidden in the new law – Section 1287 – are the funding and guidelines necessary to establish a Global Engagement Center.
Yovanovitch will play the victim.
State Dept has rallied around her
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: President-elect Donald Trump (C) and President Barack Obama (R) are greeted by members of the Congressional leadership including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as they arrive for Trump’s inauguration ceremony at the Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump became the 45th president of the United States. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite – Pool/Getty Images)
“……“bribery” as defined under the constitution for impeachment speaks to the President receiving cash or value to take an action for the benefit of a foreign power. [Pelosi has the entire thing reversed]…” SD
Welcome to the Open Thread!!!!!! Open Thread is very open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA / KAG! / KMAG world (KMAG being a bit of both MAGA and KAG!).
I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but the WH Official Christmas Ornament is out and it’s a copy of Marine One! Completely different than anything else. Love it.
You can say what you want, comment on what other people said, and so on.
Free Speech is practiced here. ENJOY IT. Use it or lose it.
Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. They tried to FORCE fake Orwellian civility on us. In response, we CHOOSE true civility to defend our precious FREEDOM from THEM.
Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, and one might say that we have RESTORED THE OLD REPUBLIC – the early high-interaction model of the Treehouse – except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways.
Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible. Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.
SPEAK THE FIVE WORDS BOLDLY TO OUR PRESIDENT!
“I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!
Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Aubergine’s Razor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brad Parscale is our beloved Campaign Manager and he is rewriting the rules.
WOW!
$3,144,257 RAISED YESTERDAY!@realDonaldTrump loves these huge numbers.
He knows that it isn’t enough to end this IMPEACHMENT SCAM. We're upping the goal to $5 MILLION!
