Beltway Insider: Trump/GOP Tout SCOTUS Win; Deceptive Jobs Report; Lindsey Graham; WaPo Journo Missing

Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post, Saudi born, American educated Journalist critical of the Trump Administration and current Saudi government has gone missing in Istanbul after entering the Saudi Consulate to secure necessary documents, one week ago.

According to Gallup, President Trump job approval, over the past week, increased by two percentage points to 42% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President decreased by three percentage points to 53%.

Trump/GOP Celebrate SCOTUS Victory

After 85days and a contentious final week, of political wrangling and sordid revelations, Senators, elected into office by the people of each state, voted on the issue of Supreme Court of the United States nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In what was expected to be a razor thin victory, the former frat boy and outed sexual predator, who as the nation has been informed has a track record of too much alcohol and an inflated view of himself and his ability to push the boundaries and escape. Obviously the latter is true as the justice was approved by a 50-48 victory.


Beltway Insider: Trump/Kavanaugh Hearings; G7 Conflict; Cybersecurity; Indonesia Disaster; ISIS; Elon Musk; Bill Cosby


Kavanaugh, whom we have seen is passionate about his reputation, explaining how tarnished and irreparable it had become and like Senator Lindsay Graham stated, Kavanaugh had become the "slut, whore, drunk" in these revelatory proceedings. The mirror is a challenge for everyone. Acceptance is the beginning of change.

Traitors to the Cause

Brett Kavanaugh had a tough road even before the revelations of alleged sexual assault, rape and indecent exposure, drunken collegiate times so memorable that while he came up blank, he, like so many drinking attorneys, was "the man" to the many others who remembered.

Once the initial anonymous letter appeared, and quite honestly as precedent has shown a singular individual presenting testimony of alleged behavior is a stumbling block and not a derailment on the road to the highest legal bench in the nation.

Of course, when The New Yorker, the slayer of titans, revealed repeated behavioral patterns and aggressive sexual violations, the hearings took on a partisan feel with tempers flaring and tensions rising.

With crowds increasing each day outside the capital, the American people, who appeared to be tired of investing their vote in those who refuse to maintain allegiance and refuse to hear what the constituency is saying, were faced with arrests daily and many agreed to be arrested and others who were determined to stop Donald Trump's realignment of government.

Three Deciding Votes – Collins, Manchin, Murkowski

When it came down to the vote, Senator Susan Collins, (R-MA), agreed to cast a "yes" vote. After which she stated her opinion indicting while she believed the allegations from Christine Baisley Ford, she didn't believe Kavanaugh was the attacker. Organizers are already planning to stage a campaign which is expected to oust the Senator in 2020.

Her vote for Brett Kavanaugh which has been blasted across the board from both liberal and oddly conservative media ended up costing the senator $3million dollars which was raised over the course of her 45 minute speech, defending her decision to cast the deciding vote, by opponents determined to unseat her.

Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who has been criticized throughout her career has "aggressive" with little tact or decorum when dealing with nations clearly supportive of terrorism. She was also served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Her years of actual government employment, knowledge of foreign policy and homeland security would serve the constituents of Maine well.

A twitter war has begun as Susan Collins will now spend much of her time defending her position, we can expect messaging across the micro-messaging platform twitter to echo the aggressive combative short blasts of the president as the embattled senator takes on the yet to be formally declared candidate.

Senator Joe Manchin

Sen Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va) also made history with less at stake and voted against party lines, thus alienating himself from the rest of his party, and cast a "yes" vote for confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh.

Machin, up for reelection this fall, will likely skirt any fallout over his vote and is expected to handily win his seat as he already leads his opponent by nine percentage points.

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator Lisa Murkowski, (R-AK) also made history by voting against her party and casting a "no" vote in the combative supreme court battle.

While she has reserved her opinions on the allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive alcoholic consumption she simply said she believed "Judge Kavanaugh to be a good man just not the right man for the court right now."

Kavanaugh Confirmed

The final vote of Justice Kavanaugh came Saturday and after 85 days of dark secrets, aggressive questioning, political wrangling, deep revelations, a thorough and exhaustive weeklong FBI investigation (every criminal hopes to be treated equally under the law) the vote went before the senate and as expected Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

US Political Rift Widens

Polarized politics, the deep chasm of political division, within the United States is nothing new even as the Kavanaugh hearings prove a deepening divide within the nation. What is new are the number of citizens choosing to stand up and be counted.

The 2016 election of Donald Trump, who did not win the popular vote and the subsequent inauguration, followed by the Women's March that brought out more activists then at any other time in history has shown it is a movement that will continue to raise its united, collective voice to advocate for change.

The next global Women's March is scheduled for January 19, 2019. Please show up after casting a vote in November that shows the world we are taking back the course of our nation.

Cast your vote for those who stand for you and will stand, not simply provide fair weather, lip service politics.

Deceptive Jobless Report Masked As Unemployment Falls to 50 Year Low

Once again the White House is touting the recent Unemployment Report, the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics report that provides a compliation of all industruies and agencies that detail the overall economic health of the nations workforce. The numbers presented by the President are factual and align with the BLS report.

However even with the facts and figures, the truth remains that the economy is deceptively healthy, really unhealthy,  even as the indicators point to a healthy employment heartbeat.

The amount of jobs added, 270,000 is correct with six million still unemployed. Even during the height of the great recession employment grew and if it had not been for the efforts and coalition of the previous White House the economy Trump inherited would be obviously unhealthy instead of deceptively healthy.

Jobs are available and nearly every industry showed signs of growth. The issue is the jobs that are available are minimum wage and depending on the geographical location securing a living wage may be easier for some than for others. The West Coast is progressive in its efforts to secure a higher minimum wage for workers.

The entry level and mid-level employment which many overly qualified workers secured during the recession has done little to replace the loss in retirement wages, 401K and other long term savings as tough times called for tough choices.

Many workers who are counted as part of the labor force are underemployed creating a deceptively healthy economy.

Qualified, skilled, highly trained and educated upper management and executives with inflating student loan debt are now working in employment positions that don't provide many of the employment perks such as health care, matching 401K's and even now student loan repayment assistance.

So while the BLS is accurate and the unemployment rate is at a 50 year low, so essentially are the availability of solid, well-paying upper management and executive level employment opportunities.

Grandstanding Lindsey Graham

If the Kavanaugh hearings prove anything it's that Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has a longing for the lights, camera, action of film and stage theatrics!

His recent grandstanding over the "delay" of now confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, shouting his beliefs that the Democrats wanted to stonewall the nomination until the 2020 Presidential election, which is a just over 24months from now.

His grandstanding antics and strategy was taken right from the GOP playbook of stonewall tactics sharpened during former President Obama's administration. Little did most know the Senior senator was shouting opinions based upon the GOP's successful effort to stop what would have been the third Obama appointee, United States Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland.

Former President Obama has two successful appointment to the court, Justice Sonya Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan. Merrick was nominated after the untimely death of Justice Antonio Scalia. His nomination expired on January 3, 2017 when the administration changed.

The Republicans, led by South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, stonewalled the nomination of Justice Merrick for more than 275 days securing a Republican victory for the court. The very thing he was accusing the democrats of trying to do during the Kavanaugh hearings.

Running for re-election during what will definitely prove to be a contentious 2020 presidential race, Graham's grandstanding and support over the sexual predator and heavy drinker gives way to concern that his moral compass may be bankrupt and his senatorial seat up for grabs.


Undercover Cops Break Facebook Rules To Track Protesters, Ensnare Criminals


Tropical Depression Headed for Carolinas

With Hurricane Florence barely a memory, the North and South Carolina are directly in the path of expected Tropical Depression that should add significant rainfall totals, beginning Thursday and into Friday, to the already saturated states.

The Weather Channel report Tropical Depression Fourteen, will make landfall somewhere between Jacksonville, Florida and Mobile, Alabama by mid-week. Unfortunately, the storm will not break up when it makes landfall but will continue, according to the cone modules, dumping rain in its path as it curves to the east.

Maximum expected rain totals at this early stage are difficult to pinpoint although experts have indicated Tropical Depression 14 totals should be nowhere near the catastrophic 40inches brought by Hurricane Florence.

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Missing

Washington Post columnist and Saudi Journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, 59, an internationally respected journalist, and critic of the Saudi government, was reportedly brutally murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey after entering to obtain a divorce certificate.

The Washington Post, whom Khashoggi regularly appeared as a columnist, blanked out the space usually reserved for the dissident voice with a headline, "A Missing Voice." The newspaper has attempted to secure information and is admittingly "worried" as Khashoggi has been missing now for five days.

His finance, known only as Hatice told reporters he had given her his phone and instructions according to the BBC to "call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he did not return."

Unconfirmed reports from Al Jazeera news, Wikipedia and other major media outlets, indicate he was detained on October 2, 2018, within the consulate until a special 15 member murder squad arrived and violently and viciously beat, murdered and dismembered the Saudi born American educated Khashoggi, and removed the dismembered parts.

Allegedly a heat seeking drone has picked up images from within the embassy that show a body tied by the wrists to a chair. The body had been decapitated. The image also shows two to three others in the room. The body was sitting in front of a conference type table. If the reports are substantiated one could expect that Khashoggi's severed head would be delivered to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to Al Jazeera news, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has given permission for the Turkish authorities to search the embassy "to prove he {Khashoggi} is not being held.

His fiancé, who he had wait outside the embassy, reported him missing after he failed to exit the embassy. The Turkish government, local police through Al Jazeera news said, "people don't vanish into thin air." Khashoggi entered the embassy and did not exit.

Khashoggi was critical of President Trump and according to Wikipedia had been banned by the Saudi's from further publishing on then President elect Trump. He was also known for his interviews with Osama bin Laden, whom he met on several occasions.

For more information on President Donald Trump: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

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