Carl Bernstein warns Trump against "trying to sabotage" Mueller investigation

The Hill
(Blog Briefing Room)
October 28, 2017


Veteran journalist Carl Bernstein suggested on Friday that President Trump has been trying to sabotage Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling.

"There are very serious allegations accepted by the intelligence leaders of the United States, including those under Donald Trump - The Russians interfered in our electoral process, and there is an investigation into whether Donald Trump and those around him had foreknowledge of those attempts, and what their relationships were with Russians, business relationships that might have made them vulnerable to Russian objectives," Bernstein told CNN's Don Lemon on "CNN's Tonight".

"That's what Mueller is investigating and he ought to be able to have the opportunity, without the President of the United States trying to sabotage his investigations, to follow through, he continued.

The charges are sealed under a federal Judge's order, with sources telling CNN that those charged could be taken into custody as soon as Monday.

Read more:
Google: "Bernstein Warns Trump Against 'Trying to Sabotage' Mueller Investigation"
or click on link in reply # 3

Your favorite scene from Borat?

There are so many to choose from, but I'll go with his chicken running loose on the subway.

Budget Vote Raises Red Flag for GOP on Tax Reform

The Hill
October 26, 2017
04:55 PM EDT


The tight 216-212 House vote Thursday to pass the GOP budget is raising a red flag for Republicans on tax reform.

The GOP barely scraped up enough votes to pass their proposed budget, as 20 on their side defected.

That included 11 lawmakers from New York and New Jersey who wanted to send a message about the need for their leaders to compromise on plans to eliminate the state and local tax deduction, which could hit their districts hard.

In reality, Republicans probably were always going to be able to pass the budget, a critical step toward tax reform since it unlocks rules that would protect the GOP legislation from a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

But a number of lawmakers held their votes until the end on Thursday telling leaders that they will have to deal with them on the tax bill if they want it to be approved.

More:
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/357403-budget-vote-raises-red-flag-for-gop-on-tax-reform

If link doesn't work, Google:
"Budget vote raises red flag for GOP on tax reform"

Trump's Tax Overhaul Would Give Billions to Trump & Cabinet While Sparking Global "Tax War"

Democracy Now
October 23, 2017


As the Senate narrowly passes a budget bill that clears the way for a historic tax reform, we'll look at how President Trump's proposed tax overhaul would shower billions of dollars in tax cuts upon the wealthiest Americans - including President Trump's family and members of his administration.

An analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund shows President Trump's family and Trump's Cabinet members would, combined, reap a $3.5 billion windfall from the proposed repeal of the estate tax alone.

Trump's plan would cap the tax rate on "pass-through-income" at 25 percent - a move that would also shower millions in savings among millionaires and billionaires.

We speak with economist James Henry of the Tax Justice Network and the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, whose latest piece is titled: "Nine Reasons Trump's Tax Plan Will Hurt You"

Watch full show - Read transcript:
http://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/23/trumps_proposed_tax_overhaul_would_give

If link doesn't work, Google:
"Trump's Proposed Tax Overhaul Would Give Billions to Trump & Cabinet While Sparking Global "Tax War"



(From last Thursday)
"51 GOP Senators Just Voted to Cut $1.5 Trillion from Medicare and Medicaid"
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029732484

An Al Kooper story

(The following is mostly from Wikipedia)


Al Kooper, (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt, February 5, 1944), in Brooklyn, is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, known for organizing "Blood, Sweat & Tears" and later working with Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965.

Kooper brought together Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to record the "Super Session" album.

He grew up in a Jewish family in Hollis Hills, Queens, New York.
His first musical success was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the "Royal Teens," best known for their 1958 ABC Records novelty 12-bar blues riff, "Short Shorts."
In 1960, he joined the songwriting team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine and with them wrote
"This Diamond Ring" which became a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

When he was 21, Kooper moved to Greenwich Village.

He joined the "Blues Project" in 1965 and left the band shortly before their gig at the
Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

He recorded "Super Session" with Bloomfield and Stills in 1968.

In 1975, Kooper produced the debut album by "The Tubes."

Kooper has played on hundreds of records, including ones by The Rolling Stones, B.B. King,
The Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alice Cooper and Cream.

In 1977, Kooper published a memoir, "Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties"
which was revised and published in 1988 as
"Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor"

Kooper's status as a published author enabled him to join the "Rock Bottom Remainders"
a band made up of writers, including Dave Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan, and Matt Groening.

My favorite Al Kooper story is how he came to be on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone"

Kooper had been invited to the sessions as an observer and hoped to be allowed to sit in on guitar, his primary instrument.
He uncased his guitar and began tuning it.
After hearing Mike Bloomfield, who was the hired session guitarist, warming up, Kooper concluded that Bloomfield was a much better guitarist, so he put his guitar aside and retreated into the control room.

As the recording sessions progressed, keyboardist Paul Griffin was moved from the Hammond organ to piano.
Kooper quickly suggested to producer Tom Wilson that he had a "great organ part" for the song (he later confessed that this was "pure bullshit&quot , and Wilson responded, "Al, you're not an organ player, you're a guitar player"..but Kooper stood his ground.
Before Wilson could explicitly say "No" to his suggestion, Wilson was interrupted by a phone call in the control room.
Kooper immediately went into the studio and sat down at the organ, though he had rarely played organ before the session.
When Wilson returned and saw Kooper at the organ, he said "Hey, what are you doing there?"
Kooper just sat there and laughed, and Wilson let the session continue.
Kooper, not knowing the music to Dylan's new song, ("Like a Rolling Stone&quot played an eighth note behind the other members of the band, to make sure he was playing the proper chords.
During a playback of tracks in the control room, Dylan said to Wilson, "Turn up the organ."
Wilson replied, "Man, that guy's not an organ player, he's a guitar player."
Dylan said, "I don't care what he is, turn the organ up!"

I consider "Like a Rolling Stone" to be one of Bob Dylan's best songs, and I especially love Al Kooper's "eighth note behind" organ playing on that song.

That day, Al Kooper became an organist, and after that session, many bands invited him to play organ for them in recording sessions.

Peas on Earth

A businessman was not feeling well, so he went to see the doctor about it.

The doctor tells him: "Well, it must be your diet..What sort of greens do you eat?"

The businessman replies: "Well, actually, I only eat peas..I hate all other green foods."

The doctor says: "Well, that's your problem..all those peas must be clogging up your system, you'll have to give them up."

The businessman replies: "For how long, I mean, I really like peas."

The doctor replies: "Forever, I'm afraid."

The businessman is quite shocked by this, but he gives it a go, and, sure enough, his condition improves, so he realizes that he will never eat a pea again.

Years later, he's at a business convention for his employer and afterwards goes to the bar and has a few drinks with a sales representative.

The sales rep. says: "I'd love to have a cigarette, but I gave up smoking...I haven't had a smoke in 2 years."

The bartender says: "Really?..I haven't had a game of golf in 3 years, because it cost me my first marriage."

The businessman says: "That's nothing...I haven't had a pea in nearly 4 years."

What's your favorite Donald Trump joke?

A Partial List of Trump's Atrocities

Truthout.org
October 17, 2017


The assaults from Donald Trump, now daily, are relentless.

Those in the U.S. who oppose his policies (a large majority of the country at this point, according to recent polls), are suffering a collective trauma because his administration is actively attacking our already-meager healthcare system, cutting funding for halfway houses, gutting the already compromised and weak EPA, placing corporate cronies and climate disruption deniers into powerful government positions, threatening thermonuclear war, actively destabilizing a Middle East that is already in flames...you get the idea.

Yet this is just a partial list of the litany of damage this narcissistic, mentally unstable president is causing.

In addition, his ongoing attacks against the media make it all too clear that the need for an independent press has never been so great.
Authoritarian regimes require silence and darkness within public consciousness to carry out their agendas.

The counterweight to this is a strong independent media.

http://www.truthout.org/

Your favorite living stand-up comedian?

What's your favorite episode of WKRP in Cincinnati?

WKRP in Cincinnati was a sit-com created by Hugh Wilson which aired on CBS from
September 1978 to April 1982.

The cast consisted of:
- Gordon Jump as Arthur Carlson, the station's manager
- Loni Anderson as the receptionist
- Gary Sandy as the program director
- Howard Hesseman as DJ Dr. Johnny Fever
- Tim Reid as DJ Venus Flytrap
- Jan Smithers as publicity assistant
- Frank Bonner as Herbert R. Tarlich Jr, sales manager
- Richard Sanders as Les Nessman, news director



There are several WKRP video clips up on You Tube, including one 31-second clip titled:
"WKRP LES NESSMAN CHI CHI RODRIGUEZ"