Ambassador to Panama resign citing inability to work with Trump.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

The US ambassador to Panama has resigned from his post on principle, writing in a resignation letter to the State Department that he can no longer serve the Trump administration, according to Reuters. 

The US State Department confirmed the departure of John D Feeley, saying he decided to "retire for personal reasons, as of 9 March this year". 

"As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the President and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies.

"My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honour-bound to resign. That time has come," Mr Feeley said.

According to The Independent Feeley made this decision before the recent "shithole" comments were made public.

I would assume that once he heard that it only made this decision easier.

Now we have to wonder how much longer other ambassadors will be willing remain on the job while carrying the shame of being associated with the Trump Administration?

Callista Gingrich will be chosen as the ambassador to the Vatican. That'll teach the Pope.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Callista Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is the preferred nominee to be the next ambassador to the Vatican. 

The White House hopes to announce her nomination before President Donald Trump meets with Pope Francis on May 24 in Rome. 

The decision to nominate Gingrich has been made, but the announcement has taken longer than expected pending approval from the Office of Government Ethics, an administration official said. 

The White House hopes to formally nominate Gingrich as soon as this week.

Well now we know what Trump offered to keep Newt kissing his ass for all this time.

Look I know that there has been some friction between Trump and the Pope, but at least you would think he might send an ambassador who looks like she was born on this planet.

When you keep getting mistaken for an actress made up to be an alien.

Callista's qualifications for the job include being Newt's third wife, having sex with him while his second wife was fighting cancer, and promoting the theory that all cancers were cured in 1925 but that the government is covering up the evidence.

Just another reminder that Trump is actively trying to destroy our reputation around the world.

Except for Russia that is, he so wants Daddy Putin to love him.

And another piece falls into place.

.@StevenTDennis-Kislyak says they are pushing trump to release Russian mobsters @PreetBharara convicted #trumprussiahttps://t.co/aBJ7Ej9CYz

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 12, 2017

Yep, just a giant coincidence that Preet Bharara was one of the federal prosecutors to suddenly lose his job the other day.

Bharara aslo hinted on Twitter that a possible reason he was fired was because he was investigating Trump himself.

By the way, now I know what the Moreland Commission must have felt like.

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 12, 2017

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

The Moreland Commission was established in July of 2013 by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and charged with rooting out corruption in the state government. However, the group was disbanded by the governor within a year because, Reuters said, it was coming too close to exposing Cuomo’s own shady dealings. 

“Wow,” tweeted David Corn of Mother Jones. “Moreland Commission was created by Cuomo to probe NYS corruption & then disbanded by him. Is Bharara implying he was probing Trump?”

It seems to me that there were a number of reasons that Trump and his Russian puppet masters would have wanted Bharara removed from office.

And what better way to hide the fact that he was the target but to fire ALL of the federal prosecutors appointed by President Obama at the same time?

Now confirmed that Sarah Palin will definitely NOT be the ambassador to Canada.

Courtesy of the Globe and Mail: 

The White House has assured Canada that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will not be appointed as U.S. ambassador to Canada. 

A Trudeau government official says that assurance was provided to Canadian officials during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the White House on Monday. 

“It isn’t Sarah Palin,” the official said. 

American officials have not yet made a decision on an ambassador but were leaning to appointing someone who raised money for the Trump campaign.

I swear that it must be Sarah Palin who floats these rumors as an attempt to stay relevant since her Cheeto stained boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her in a gutter.

And then time after time when they don't pan out she just looks more and more pathetic.

Certainly had some of the Canadians a little worried though.

#sarahpalin potential ambassador to Canada?! pic.twitter.com/PdZiqmsldK

— Naomi Elizabeth (@Naomi_Beth2) February 9, 2017

Sarah Palin as possible US ambassador to Canada?

FUCK.

THAT.

FUCKING.

BULLSHIT.

RIGHT.

FUCKING.

NOW.

— gio heart dio (@heyitsgordo) February 9, 2017

As one of the few people who actually had to suffer under Sarah Palin's leadership I cannot say that I blame our neighbors to the East.

However I have every confidence that WHOEVER Donald Trump inflicts upon Canada they will be able to handle just fine.

Just get a load of how easily their Prime Minister dealt with Trump's attempt to dominate their handshake.

Pres. Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House https://t.co/DYel2taCiV pic.twitter.com/F8OVvXDyEm

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 13, 2017

Damn! Trudeau was not playing.

He looked like he was ready to body slam Trump if he tried any of his pussy grabbing tactics on him.

Here is how Trump typically uses handshakes to dominate others.

But fucking Trudeau was having none of it.

Smart man. Way too smart to ever allow Sarah Palin to take up residence in his country.

So are the rumors about Sarah Palin becoming the ambassador to Canada true? Who knows, anything is possible these days.

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Much of her life has played out like a Canadian stereotype: from her favourite food of moose stew to extolling the virtues of hockey moms and her love of snowmobiling. 

But after a White House spokesman refused to rule out the possibility that Sarah Palin could be the next US ambassador to Ottawa, few in Canada seemed to be embracing the prospect of the former Alaska governor taking up the role.

“Sarah Palin as ambassador?” New Democrat MP Charlie Angus asked on Twitter. “Well that would show how little Steve Bannon and his pal @realDonaldTrump think of Canada.” 

Others dismissed the idea as simply fake news or alternative facts, while some wondered if this was an early April Fools joke from the White House. 

“Appointing Sarah Palin as the US ambassador to Canada is, like, ultimate trolling,” noted one. “If he makes Sarah Palin the US Ambassador to Canada. I say we keep our oil and hockey players. BTW … does she speak Canadian?” Asked another.

Oh good Canadians have a sense of humor.

Well if Sarah Palin actually becomes the ambassador to their country they are going to need it.

So do I think this might be an actual possibility?

Sure. After all Donald Trump clearly has not let ignorance, racism, or mental illness disqualify any of his administration picks so far.

And would Sarah Palin be willing to take the job?

What other choices does she have right now?

But there is really nothing to worry about even if she does.

Ambassadors have virtually NO power, and as for embarrassing the United States, what more could she really do in that area that Donald Trump is not already doing?

So let Trump appoint her if that is what he wants.  It would just once again put her in a position to be mocked by the worldwide media and who does not enjoy that?

Ted Cruz suggests that Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson would make a good UN ambassador.

Courtesy of CNN:

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz made an unusual suggestion for U.N. ambassador at a rally on Friday: "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson. 

"How much would you pay to see the Russian ambassador's face when Phil says, 'What is wrong with you people?'" Cruz joked to an applauding crowd in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 

"You know there's a reason he terrifies the mainstream media. He says the things you're not supposed to say," Cruz said at Friday's rally. "He actually remembers who we are as Americans and just speaks it with a joy, not with an anger, not with a hatred, with a joy in who we are."

Yeah, I don't think that the media is "terrified" of Phil Robertson. They're just horrified by his insance ramblings.

Speaking of insane ramblings, here is part of his speech at the very same rally where Cruz suggested his ambassadorship.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

“The strength of this nation will not be this Constitution, but the laws of God that the Constitution is based on. You get rid of God, you get him out and keep him from being your anchor — when you start allowing men to determine what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is evil. You let men do it and they do not vet it with through this book,” he thundered, “Our founding fathers warned us over and over again, what you will end up doing is saying, ‘Well, now I know it sounds like a violation of commandment number six, which says do not murder, but we’re just going to go ahead and tell these ladies — ladies in America — they can kill their children.” 

During the 13-minute speech he barely mentioned the candidate before leaving the crowd with his final words: “Vote godly.”

My question right now would be "Is there anybody sane still supporting these Republican front runners?"
 

Fox News contributor uses upcoming Hillary Clinton biopic as excuse to smear her by claiming she lied about Benghazi.

Courtesy of Media Matters: 

Fox & Friends covered the announcement that NBC's entertainment division is planning to air a new mini-series focused on Hillary Clinton's "life as a wife, mother, politician and cabinet member" sometime before 2015. Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich used the segment as an opportunity to smear Clinton, saying: 

PAVLICH: "Although Diane Lane is a fantastic actress, I doubt she can act as well as Hillary Clinton did when she lied about that YouTube video in front of flag-draped caskets of Americans as they came home from being killed in Benghazi. So it's going to be really hard for her to top that performance."

But in her remarks, Clinton mentioned the wave of protests at U.S. embassies in the region, which repeated news reports said were in response to an anti-Islam video that was posted on YouTube. From Clinton's remarks: 

"In the days since the attack, so many Libyans - including the Ambassador from Libya to the United States, who is with us today - have expressed their sorrow and solidarity. One young woman, her head covered and her eyes haunted with sadness, held up a handwritten sign that said "Thugs and killers don't represent Benghazi nor Islam." The President of the Palestinian Authority, who worked closely with Chris when he served in Jerusalem, sent me a letter remembering his energy and integrity, and deploring - and I quote - "an act of ugly terror." Many others from across the Middle East and North Africa have offered similar sentiments."

"This has been a difficult week for the State Department and for our country. We've seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with. It is hard for the American people to make sense of that because it is senseless, and it is totally unacceptable."

As we can see Clinton was mentioning the video as being an added problem in various areas within the Middle East, NOT blaming it for the attack in Benghazi.

We knew this was coming, and of course Fox can hardly WAIT to start trotting out the anti-Hillary ammunition that they were unable to use in 2008.

However having THIS blonde bimbo going after a woman of Hillary's stature is especially infuriating as it is obvious that she knows NOTHING about what she is talking about except what the producers pounded into her tiny skull right before she came out and sat in that chair.

If that bimbo were forced to confront Hillary herself, and make those allegations in person, she would be bathed in flop sweat and more than likely fighting the urge not to bolt out of the room or wet her pants.

However it was Steve Doocy who wins the award for unwitting irony after claiming that NBC is "one of the biggest and most biased networks."  Okay Doocy-bag do you even watch your cable "news" shows?

Well if these idiots want to take out Hillary they are going to have to do a much better job then throwing ignorant blonde bimbos at her. And that goes for the chick too.

Chris Matthews, Andrea Mitchell, and Michael O'Hanlon provide the best breakdown of the just released Benghazi inquiry report that I have seen so far.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Apparently this report is rather convoluted but essentially it dispels the notion that the Ambassador's request for additional security measures was ignored, refutes that there was more that could have been done after the attack began to protect him, and lays most of the responsibility for the “grossly inadequate” security arrangements solely at the feet of the State Department. Which has resulted in the resignation of three officials.

I am sure that the Right Wing will do their utmost to find something damning to use against the President and Hillary Clinton in the report but as of right now it appears their talking points lack credibility and will ultimately fall on deaf ears.

Rachel Maddow puts her finger on the REAL reason for the constant GOP attacks on Ambassador Susan Rice.

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I had already been convinced that this desire to get their hands on John Kerry's Senate seat had to be the underlying reason for this bizarre fake outrage over the talking points that Susan Rice shared on those Sunday morning news shows right after the Benghazi attacks.

Yesterday Rachel only confirmed that theory for me.

And then today Susan Rice met with Republican Senator Susan Collins, who then brought up a whole new set of reasons for NOT supporting Rice's appointment as Secretary of State: 

Collins also noted that Rice was working at the State Department in 1998 — and was the assistant secretary for African Affairs — when U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed. Requests for additional security at both outposts had been denied and Collins said she asked Rice on Wednesday whether she had been involved in those decisions. 

“She [Rice] said she would have to refresh her memory, but that she was not directly involved in turning down the request,” Collins said. But the senator said Rice must have been aware of the requests.

So to be clear, now that they are losing traction with the Benghazi excuse for questioning Susan Rice's qualifications, they are now going ALL the way back to 1998 to find a reason.

Seriously?

And if that were not enough of a tell, then Collins followed that statement up with this:

"I think John Kerry would be an excellent appointment and will be easily confirmed by his colleagues."

And there you have it. The argument now is that Susan Rice is a deeply flawed candidate, for a number of evolving hard to define reasons, but damn that John Kerry, who the Republicans have NEVER supported for ANYTHING, sure makes a fine choice for Secretary of State. And what a coinky dink, his appointment also opens up a very valuable Senate seat.

Give me a fucking break!  This could not be more obvious if they had "We want John Kerry's Senate seat!" tattooed on their foreheads.

To save face Fox News claims that journalist who outed them during interview as a "wing of the Republican party" apologized afterward. Journalist: "I don't remember any such apology."

Courtesy of  TPM:  

Fox News Channel executive vice president Michael Clemente on Monday responded to the much-discussed interview with Tom Ricks, claiming that the Pulitizer Prize winner apologized privately for criticizing the network's coverage of the September attack in Benghazi, Libya. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Clemente accused Ricks of using the interview to generate publicity for his new book, The Generals. Clemente also seemed to take exception to the lack of public contrition from Ricks. 

“When Mr. Ricks ignored the anchor’s question, it became clear that his goal was to bring attention to himself -- and his book," Clemente told THR via email. "He apologized in our offices afterward but doesn’t have the strength of character to do that publicly." 

But that's news to Ricks, who told THR in his own email that he never offered an apology to Fox — privately or publicly. 

"Please ask Mr. Clemente what the words of my supposed apology were. I'd be interested to know," Ricks said. "Frankly, I don't remember any such apology."

Oh, snap! That is going to leave mark!

Update: Mr. Ricks provided more information to Politico:

“Clemente is making it up, and it is sloppy of Hollywood Reporter to not ask him for specifics — what exactly am I alleged to have said? — and also to seek a response from me,” Ricks wrote in an e-mail. “Why are they doing this? Because their MO is that when the facts aren’t on their side, they attack the person.” 

However don't think this clearly coordinated attack against Susan Rice is over. Just a little while ago Ambassador Rice met with Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte.

This was their response afterward:Three Republican senators who met Tuesday with U.N.

Ambassador Susan Rice say they are more troubled now over her initial explanations about the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya.

Let's face it these people are still butt hurt that Obama won the election, and THEIR candidate and policies were rejected. The only hope they have left, considering how squeaky clean Obama has been during his first term, is to manufacture some distracting scandal they can use to turn the public's attention away from their own failures and inability to compromise for the benefit of the American people.

Personally I believe that the ONLY way you would still consider this Benghazi thing to be a scandal is that all of your information comes solely from Fox News and Right Wing radio.

AL Sharpton wants to know, "What in the world is going on with John McCain?" Good question!

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Now I am not always Reverend Sharpton's biggest fan, but I thought that this John McCain smack down on his show was probably the best one of the day.

And of course it certainly did not hurt that he had the beautiful Rula Jebreal on either. And SHE is the one to bring up the Lunatic from lake Lucille as a slam against McCain's ability to judge somebody's intelligence or capabilities?

Actually everybody on the panel used Palin to pound away at McCain's credibility, and considering his statements it is the perfect opportunity to do so.

President's Press Conference today.

I thought the President did a good job of addressing the most pressing questions, though he was careful NOT to say anything that would complicate the ongoing investigation in the Petraeus scandal.

However one of the things he DID address was the Right Wing attacks on Ambassador Susan Rice, which clearly angered the President and he addressed them in the following manner (At 28:14 in the video):

Jonathan Karl. 

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham both said today that they want to have Watergate-style hearings on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and said that if you nominate Susan Rice to be secretary of state, they will do everything in their power to block her nomination. As Senator Graham said, he simply doesn’t trust Ambassador Rice after what she said about Benghazi. I’d like your reaction to that. And would those threats deter you from making a nomination like that? 

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, I’m not going to comment at this point on various nominations that I’ll put forward to fill out my Cabinet for the second term. Those are things that are still being discussed. 

But let me say specifically about Susan Rice, she has done exemplary work. She has represented the United States and our interests in the United Nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace. As I’ve said before, she made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. And I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. 

And you know, we’re after an election now. I think it is important for us to find out exactly what happened in Benghazi, and I’m happy to cooperate in any ways that Congress wants. We have provided every bit of information that we have, and we will continue to provide information. And we’ve got a full-blown investigation, and all that information will be disgorged to Congress. 

And I don’t think there’s any debate in this country that when you have four Americans killed, that’s a problem. And we’ve got to get to the bottom of it, and there needs to be accountability. We’ve got to bring those who carried it out to justice. They won’t get any debate from me on that. 

But when they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me.And should I choose — if I think that she would be the best person to serve America in the capacity — the State Department, then I will nominate her. That’s not a determination that I’ve made yet. 

In other words, FUCK YOU John McCain!

I don't know about everybody else but I really appreciated the way that the President stood up for Susan Rice who has been vilified by these craven assholes simply to score political points.

He demonstrated to me at least that he is done playing Mr. Nice Guy with these douchbags and is ready for the fight if they want to bring it on.

And THAT certainly give me hope for what can be accomplished in this second term.

Now perhaps somebody should go on that bewigged banshee's Facebook page and ask her how she likes THOSE apples!

P.S. You can click here to read the entire transcript.

Father of slain Ambassador would like people to stop using his son's death as a "campaign issue."

Ambassador Christoper Stevens.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail:

 The father of Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya who was murdered in a terrorist attack in Benghazi last month, has said it would be 'abhorrent' to turn his son's death into political fodder in the battle for the White House. 

'It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue,' said Jan Stevens, 77. 'The security matters are being adequately investigated. 

'We don’t pretend to be experts in security. It has to be objectively examined. That’s where it belongs. It does not belong in the campaign arena.' 

Christopher Steven's father is right of course, and if this were not a campaign season perhaps an investigation could go forward without people jumping to politically convenient conclusions in order to attack the President. The Republicans have been using this terrible incident to make the ridiculous case that President Obama is soft on defense, or wanted to hide the fact that this was a terrorist attack, almost literally since the day that it happened. Which of course compelled the Democrats to fire back that the Republicans actually cut funding for embassy security.

Of course as I have already pointed out even IF there had been increased security it most likely would NOT have saved the Ambassador's life. However that is simply a little thing we call "facts" and THOSE do not seem to be of any interest to the modern Republican party.

But right now none of that should even be the issue.

This man lost his son, and others lost their loved ones as well.

Perhaps it is time to put political opportunism on the back burner and let these people learn the truth about what happened on that terrible September 11 after all of the evidence has been examined thoroughly, and NOT simply make up scenarios in order to score political points against one side or the other.

Just a reminder that Ambassador Stevens was killed by terrorists NOT Muslims.

You can find more here.

This is NOT the time to condemn any one religion or another, but I do think it is appropriate to remember that when religious fervor supersedes logical thinking it can only lead to a bad result.

I have no problem with people who worship their Gods in the privacy of their synagogues, churches, temples, or the privacy of their homes. But when it is so easily used to manipulate a group of people toward violence, or, as is becoming more apparent in this case, provides cover for a more sinister reason for violent actions, it is time for adherents of that religion to take a good hard look at their faith and the impact it is having on their lives.

I doubt seriously that will happen any time soon, but perhaps it is not too late for the NEXT generation of young people to make a healthier and more intellectual choice. It is already happening here in America, so hopefully through the use of social media it will spread throughout the world.

Just imagine.

Maybe there IS a job in politics for Sarah Palin. Okay stop shaking your head and just read the post. Sheesh!

Right after Palin was plucked from the wilds of Wasilla and deposited lipstick first into the whirlwind of presidential politics there was a lot of criticism about her lack of experience with foreign leaders.  So in typical GOP style she was offered up to a number of foreign dignitaries in a kind of diplomatic speed dating.

One of the dignitaries she met was newly elected Pakinstani President Ali Zardari who simply could NOT contain his excitement at meeting the person who would soon be Alaska's biggest embarrassment.

Here watch the meeting for yourself:



Wow! Just look at how uncomfortable Palin was in that clip!  She looked like she wanted to get away from the Pakistani President just as fast as her skinny little legs would carry her.

So here is my idea.  Why doesn't Obama appoint her as our ambassador to Pakistan?

It would finally give her a REAL job so she could stop milking the old ladies and shut ins that keep contributing to SarahPAC AND she could finally get out of the country and start working on her foreign relations experience. You betcha!

Plus Zardari would be so infatuated with her that he would agree to just about ANYTHING we asked him to do.

Yeah I know what you are thinking "Gryph she could sabotage the President's plans by using her charms to seduce Zardari into ignoring Obama and instead attacking Iran or something!"

Highly doubtful.  Sarah doesn't even let TODD touch her anymore. I really don't think she would let the Pakistani President play with her Mama Grizzly teats just to derail Obama's hopes for establishing peace in the Middle East. Plus she would be working under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and in a conflict between the two of them who do YOU really believe would come out ahead?

Personally I think the idea is brilliant!

Well okay, maybe not brilliant.