Steve Thomas

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/us/tennessee-tiger-spotted-trnd/index.html “Authorities in Knoxville, Tennessee, are conducting an all-out search for a tiger that was spotted on Wednesday night in an industrial park. A Knox County Sheriff's Office deputy saw the animal at the Forks of the River Industrial Park on the east side of the city, according to a news release. Sheriff's patrol units and AirWatch are searching for the tiger along with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), and Knoxville Police Department's Animal Control, the Sheriff's Office said. It's not known where the tiger came from. The Sheriff's Office is urging residents to contact them if they see the tiger.” Steve Thomas

St. Louis Post Dispatch By Jamie Gangel, Jeremy Herb and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/coronavirus/play-it-down-trump-admits-to-concealing-the-true-threat-of-coronavirus-in-new-woodward/article_633021d0-9148-5541-9b73-be5082a4299f.html “In a January 28 (2020) top secret intelligence briefing, national security adviser Robert O'Brien gave Trump a "jarring" warning about the virus, telling the President it would be the "biggest national security threat" of his presidency. Trump's head "popped up," Woodward writes. O'Brien's deputy, Matt Pottinger, concurred, telling Trump it could be as bad as the influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including 675,000 Americans.” https://nationalsecurityaction.org/newsroom/trump-russian-hoax Late January/Early February 2020: Afghanistan’s national intelligence service raids the home and affiliated offices of Rahmatullah Azizi, the suspected middleman between the Taliban and Russian government. U.S. intelligence officials believe Azizi was using a complex network of international wire transfers to route as much as $100,000 per slain American soldier to Taliban militias. It is believed that Azizi has since fled to Russia for protection. February 2020: Information about the Russian bounty program once again makes its way to the National Security Counci after new intelligence emerges from the interrogation of detainees in Afghanistan. February 2020: Defense Secretary Mark Esper receives an intelligence briefing about Russian payments to the Taliban. February 27, 2020: President Trump is provided information about the Russian bounty program again in his PDB. Trump didn't do anything about either one. Steve Thomas

Why Jared Kushner suggests reading 'Alice in Wonderland' if you want to understand Trump By Jamie Gangel and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN Wed September 9, 2020 https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/jared-kushner-trump-rage-book/index.html "Jared Kushner gives surprising insight into his father-in-law in legendary journalist Bob Woodward's new book "Rage." Kushner says one of the best ways to understand President Donald Trump is to study the Cheshire Cat from "Alice in Wonderland." Woodward quotes Kushner paraphrasing the Cheshire Cat as a way of making sense of Trump's chaotic style of management, saying, "If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there."" “It was clear to Woodward that none of this was meant to criticize Trump, just as a way to help understand him. That said, Woodward was surprised and writes, "when combined, Kushner's four texts painted President Trump as crazy, aimless, stubborn and manipulative. I could hardly believe anyone would recommend these as ways to understand their father-in-law, much less the president they believed in and served."” Steve Thomas

John, I don't know who identified this hat as belonging to John Connally, but I don't think it's his. Here's a picture of Connally. Notice how the sides of his hat curve upwards. I'm pretty sure the hat shown in your picture belonged to one of the members of Will Fritz's Homicide Bureau. Steve Thomas

Oh, well, if it's just going to be jazz players... Hope the police like Miles Davis. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpkins-are-losing-their-mind-over-occupy-wall-streets-faux-plans-for-a-white-house-siege?ref=home “Now the coverage from the right has resulted in a wave of death threats towards Adbusters; it left Adbusters editor Kalle Lasn considering whether the “siege” language and related promotional materials—including a photo illustration of the White House engulfed in smoke—were too intense. “We’ve sort of changed our mind a little bit, and now we are going for a more benign, sort of a ‘play jazz’ type of strategy,” Lasn said. “My dream actually is to have thousands of jazz musicians all over America turning up and playing jazz all over the country for the next 50 days.”” Kind of reminds me of the days of the Yippies. Steve Thomas

Jim, Read Rage by Bob Woodward instead. Steve Thomas

‘The potential for chaos is palpable’: CNN reporter warns of Trump encouraging supporters to watch polls https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/the-potential-for-chaos-is-palpable-cnn-reporter-warns-of-trump-encouraging-supporters-to-watch-polls/ "President Donald Trump on Tuesday night asked his fans at a North Carolina rally to work as poll watchers to prevent Democrats from supposedly “stealing” the 2020 presidential election. “Be poll watchers when you go there,” Trump told his supporters. “Watch all the thieving and stealing and robbing they do.” CNN White House correspondent John Harwood on Wednesday warned that the president’s encouragement could spell trouble for polling sites on election day — especially if some of his fans decide to show up armed with guns. “You could imagine, for example, that in the same way that vigilantes have entered scenes of protest in Oregon, in Wisconsin, where two people ended up getting killed and one of the supporters… has been charged with homicide, you can see people trying to intervene at election polling sites,” he said. “He’s suggested, of course, that people show up having cast an absentee ballot and try to verify that their ballot was cast or vote again.” The bottom line, said Harwood, is that “the potential for chaos is palpable." I'm voting early. Steve Thomas

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https://www.tmz.com/2020/09/08/trump-bible-signed-autographed-for-sale-st-johns-church-photo-op/ “Here's a shocker for 54 percent of the country ... President Trump opened a Bible (that's not the shocker), signed his name in it, and now the good book could now be worth nearly $40k. There it is. Yes, as Trump would almost certainly put it, you can now buy your "favorite President's" favorite book ... which our sources tell us he autographed during a very turbulent week in the nation, and particularly in Washington, D.C. We're told he signed it at the White House during the first week of June, just a couple of days after he'd ordered federal law enforcement to fire pepper spray and rubber bullets at peaceful George Floyd protesters ... just to clear a path for him to St. John's Episcopal Church. You'll recall he posed there for a now-infamous photo op with a Bible ... although that's not the one he signed. The autographed Bible is going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments In Time -- and they're hawking this slice of Trump history for a cool $37,500.” Kellyanne Conway 2/9/17 “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff is what I would tell you,” Conway said.“I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody.” Steve Thomas

- Donald Trump - “The Real Polls are starting to look GREAT! We will be having an even bigger victory than that of 2016. The Radical Left Anarchists, Agitators, Looters, and just plain Lunatics, will not be happy, but they will behave!” Spiro Agnew had his Nattering Nabobs of Negativity Donald Trump has his Left and Looters and Lunatics In any event, you will Behave! Steve Thomas

7 details from a new report expose financial turmoil — and bitter backstabbing — inside the Trump campaign By Cody Fenwick, AlterNet September 7, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/7-details-from-a-new-report-expose-financial-turmoil-and-bitter-backstabbing-inside-the-trump-campaign/ 1. The big takeaway: Trump has poured $800 million down the drain with little to show for it 7. Much of the money remains mysteriously unaccounted for What a surprise. Steve Thomas

- Donald Trump 09/07/20 - "I'm not saying the military's in love with me. The soldiers are. The top people in the Pentagon probably aren't because they want to do nothing but fight wars, so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy" Is Trump setting up the average soldier to ignore their chain of command, and take orders only from him? I don't know how far he will get with calling them losers and suckers and everything, but I have read that he's pissed because no top generals have risen to dispute the allegations that have come out. He'll probably say that the average grunts are suckers for following all those military-industrial war mongers. Steve Thomas

A Trump campaign staffer mocked Joe Biden for visiting his son's grave. https://twitter.com/scottycatt/status/1302731179091587072 scottycatt @scottycatt 5:11 PM · Sep 6, 2020 Replying to @michs_usa @PattyArquette and @FrancisBrennan "These MAGATS can always go lower. Count on it." Steve Thomas

What does Arlington National Cemetery make you think of? From Donald Trump, Jr.’s new book: "Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us." "Meanwhile, it also took two months for me to realize the enormity of what my father had accomplished, and the weight of the job that he’d won. It was the day before the inauguration, and we were driving into Arlington National Cemetery, where he was to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I rarely get emotional, if ever. I guess you’d call me hyper-rational, stoic. Yet, as we drove past the rows of white grave markers, in the gravity of the moment, I had a deep sense of the importance of the presidency and a love of our country. I was never prouder of my father than when I watched as he stood before the tomb, his hand over his heart, while the Army bugler played 'Taps.' "In that moment, I also thought of all the attacks we’d already suffered as a family, and about all the sacrifices we’d have to make to help my father succeed—voluntarily giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals to avoid the appearance that we were 'profiting off the office.'" Steve Thomas

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Military officials are discussing ‘disobeying unlawful’ orders over fears of what Trump might do: ex-Marine lawmaker By Tom Boggioni September 6, 2020 https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/military-officials-are-discussing-disobeying-unlawful-orders-over-fears-of-what-trump-might-do-ex-marine-lawmaker/ “Speaking remotely with MSNBC’s Alex Witt, Rep. Seth Mouton (D) — who served in Iraq as a Marine — criticized Donald Trump for his comments calling U.S. servicepeople “losers and suckers” and said dissatisfaction with the president is pervasive within the armed forces. Asked by the host how past and present U.S. military members view the president, the moderate Massachusetts lawmaker was blunt. “What have you heard from troops? ” host Witt asked. “Those that are your constituent, veterans that have come home or those who you’re in contact?” “Well, I’m not going to speak for every veteran, but I can’t tell you how many have reached out to me and said that they have discussions now in the military about what it means to disobey unlawful orders, because they fully expect them from the commander in chief,” Mouton replied. “There are a lot of people, even inside the White House, who believe that he’s going to try to get the military to keep him in power after he loses this election to Joe Biden.”” Steve Thomas

"Hello Dispatcher"? I'd like to report a metaphor for the Trump campaign at Travis Lake." Steve Thomas

The Republican convention was an altar call at the Church of White Masculinity The RNC wasn't just a celebration of Trump — it was a religious revival meant to harken back to a lost golden age https://www.salon.com/2020/09/06/the-republican-convention-was-an-altar-call-at-the-church-of-white-masculinity/ By Eric McDaniel September 6, 2020 “This altar call is not much different from Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" or D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation," which both portrayed white men as the saviors of civilization.” “As ordained bishop of the church of white masculinity, President Trump has attempted to impose his masculinity by questioning the masculinity of his male opponents and showing disgust for his female adversaries.” On the opening night of the Republican Convention, Charlie Kirk, the young founder of the organization Turning Point USA, dubbed President Trump the “bodyguard of western civilization.” Steve Thomas

Joe, Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/10/the-changing-profile-of-the-u-s-military/ The changing profile of the U.S. military: "A look at the racial and ethnic profile of active duty service members shows that while the majority of the military is non-Hispanic white, black and Hispanic adults represent sizable and growing shares of the armed forces. In 2017, 57% of U.S. service members were white, 16% were black and 16% were Hispanic. Some 4% of all active duty personnel were Asian and an additional 6% identified as “other” or unknown. The share of racial and ethnic minorities in the military has grown steadily in recent decades. Hispanics, in particular, are the fastest growing minority population in the military – a shift that aligns with larger demographic trends in the United States. In 2004, 36% of active duty military were black, Hispanic, Asian or some other racial or ethnic group. Black service members made up about half of all racial and ethnic minorities at that time. By 2017, the share of active duty military who were non-Hispanic white had fallen, while racial and ethnic minorities made up 43% – and within that group, blacks dropped from 51% in 2004 to 39% in 2017 just as the share of Hispanics rose from 25% to 36%." Sorry, I should have said, "racial and ethnic minorities". Steve Thomas

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Bill, Yes, it is. You can also go here and read what Oswald was supposed to be doing in Irving while he is also supposed to be shooting a gun at the Sports Drome: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=40391#relPageId=286&tab=page Steve Thomas

To James DiEugenio Jim, Just as an aside, how about this for coincidence? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/49th_Armored_Division “In September 1961, an executive order alerted the division for mobilization at Dallas due to the 1961 Berlin Crisis.[1] On October 15, 1961, the division entered federal service, and it subsequently deployed to Fort Polk, LA. The division was to stay there ten months. In May 1962, the division staged the large-scale Exercise Iron Dragoon, still remembered among National Guard armor exercises. Also while at Fort Polk the division's missile unit became the first Army National Guard unit to fire the Honest John nuclear-tipped surface-to-surface missile. The 49th Armored Division reverted to Texas State control in August 1962.” http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/ryder.htm Mr. LIEBELER. Have you been in the military service? Mr. RYDER. Yes, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. What branch were you in? Mr. RYDER. Went in the National Guard. 49th Armored Division which I am still an active member. Mr. LIEBELER. Of the National Guard? Mr. RYDER. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. Where were you stationed while on active duty? Mr. RYDER. Fort Leonard Wood, Fort Knox for advanced individual training, and Fort Polk, La., with the 49th. Mr. LIEBELER. What kind of training did you receive? Mr. RYDER. Armored tank training. Mr. LIEBELER. You served as a tanker at Fort Polk? Mr. RYDER. Yes, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. What is your rank in the National Guard? Mr. RYDER. Now? Mr. LIEBELER. Yes. Mr. RYDER. Sergeant. Posted by Rosh Plumlee in the Education Forum 11/12/2004 http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/1972-felipe-vidal-santiago/?page=4 (In a response to Larry Hancock) “I too was in the Texas National Guard 49th Armord Div before I went into the regular Army in 1953 at Ft Bliss Texas... Capt Siewell was my CO officer at Love Field in 1954 until 1956... Do you have my military files? If so who signed off on my becoming a CPL in 1954? So am I lying? You say he resigned the Guard, true... but he actually transfered to the regular Army Reserve, the same as I did... MOS: WR Plumlee 1795, 3795 Tank Crew man Tk Comander, Sherman Tank. Cpl. Plumlee Mos 'Unknown; Unknown" Ft Bliss Texas; Texas National Guard; Unknown. OO Records at Office of Adjutant General State of Texas Camp Mabry, Texas. Texas National Guard; Texas Forth Army Reserve; Certified Copy of Available Document By; XXX referenced doc.” Steve Thomas

Jim, Ryder said, "Mr. LIEBELER. You did have quite a lot of work at this time mounting telescopic sights? Mr. RYDER. Yes; when they left, that's 2 weeks prior to the opening of the deer season here and I guess that 2 weeks I mounted 35, 40, maybe 50 scopes in that week..." There could have been any number of people named Oswald. The ticket that had the name Oswald on it was for drilling and tapping and boresighting. Out Oswald would not have needed that for a rifle he bought that already had a scope mounted on it. Steve Thomas

Jennifer Griffin @JenGriffinFNC National Security Correspondent for @FoxNews https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC Acccording to a former senior Trump administration official. is confirming everything that was in the Atlantic magazine concerning what Trump said about the military. Fox News. Oh my. Steve Thomas