Who Paid for the ‘Trump Dossier’?
Democrats don’t want you to find out—and that ought to be a scandal of its own.
Kim Strassel - WSJ. (Click the X in the subscriber box to access.)
Saturday, July 29, 2017
85 years ago today - The "Bonus Army War" in D.C.
Wikipedia
History.net
Federal Troops under Douglas MacArthur, Patton and Eisenhower Rout WWI Veteran Bonus Marchers from D.C. Camp
Source ArticeFollowing World War I, the U.S. federal government anticipated that its war-risk insurance plan would adequately protect American soldiers and sailors who had served during the war, and that there would be no demand for compensation to those who had suffered no injury during their service in the army or navy. In 1924, however, Congress enacted a law, over the veto of President Calvin Coolidge, providing for a system of adjusted compensation based on length of service, with a distinction made in favor of service overseas. Under this plan, veterans entitled to receive $50 or less were to be paid in cash; those entitled to receive more than $50 were to receive certificates maturing in 20 years.Veterans up to the rank of major with at least 60 days service each received a dollar for each day of domestic service up to $500 and $1.25 for each day of overseas service up to $625. The bond that each received in 1924 (in lieu of cash) would accumulate compound interest, resulting in an average payment of about $1,000 for each veteran in 1945.In order to meet full payment of these certificates when they matured in 1945, Congress provided that a trust fund be created through the appropriation of twenty annual installments of $ 112 million each. This would yield a total of $2.24 billion. Interest compounded annually would increase this sum approximately to the amount required to meet the face value of the certificates at maturity. By April 1932, there were 3,662,374 of those certificates outstanding, bearing an aggregate face value of $3.638 billion. By this time eight annual installments of $ 112 million had been paid into the fund by Congress, making a total of $896 million, and accrued interest had added $95 million, bringing the fund to $991 million.However, because of the national depression, in 1931 Congress expanded the privilege of borrowing with an amendment adopted over the veto of President Herbert Hoover, increasing the loan value of the certificates from 22 1/2 per cent to 50 per cent of face value.By April 1932, loans amounting to $1.248 billion were outstanding. The difference between this figure and the total face value of the certificates, $3.638 billion, was $2.390 billion. This was the additional sum which the veterans would receive if Congress, again over the President's veto, approved a new proposal for immediate redemption of the certificates at face value, thirteen years before maturity in 1945.This early redemption capability came to be referred to by members of Congress and veterans groups as a bonus, and during the early months of 1932 the bonus was a topic of ongoing discussion in the legislature. Because of the opposition of President Hoover and many senators and members of the House, due primarily to the fact that the country was trying to work its way out of the depression and this action would put a severe strain on the federal budget, veterans groups began to organize around the country with the idea of marching on Washington, D.C. to press their demands.Beginning in May, 1932, groups of World War I veterans began difficult journeys across the country, traveling in empty railroad freight cars, in the backs of trucks, in cars, on foot and by any other means that became available. By mid-June it was estimated that as many as 20,000 veterans and some family members had arrived in Washington, and were camping out, often in dirty, unsanitary conditions, in parks and military bases around the city, depending on donations of food from a variety of governments, churches and private citizens. On June 16, the House passed the bonus bill by a vote of 209-176, but on June 18, the Senate defeated the bill 62-18.At this point, the federal and district governments began to make arrangements to force the veterans to go home, but very few accepted the offer, vowing to stay until they received their bonus. Throughout July the veterans, known as the Bonus Expeditionary Force, continued to hold marches and rallies despite the fact that they were receiving ultimatums to leave, with the White House proposing use of troops to force an evacuation.Then on July 29, 1932, troops did storm several buildings that the veterans were occupying as well as their main camp, setting tents on fire and forcing an evacuation. When it was over, one veteran had been killed and about 50 veterans and Washington police had been injured in various confrontations. Over the next several months, a much smaller group of Bonus Expeditionary Force members continued to pressure Congress, and in May 1933 about 1,000 veterans marched again on Washington. Newly-elected President Franklin Roosevelt also opposed the bonus but demonstrated his concern for the unemployed veterans by issuing an executive order permitting the enrollment of 25,000 of them in the Citizens' Conservation Corps for work in forests. When the veterans realized that President Roosevelt would also veto the bonus bill but was offering an alternative solution they gradually backed away from their demands, and the issue of the veterans' bonus eventually faded from the news.
Wikipedia
History.net
50 years ago today
Audio
"Light my Fire" Hits #1 on Pop Charts
Audio
You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Friday, July 28, 2017
Joel Pollack
The Week the Russia Conspiracy Theory Fell Apart
Full ArticleThe Russia conspiracy theory so beloved by the media and the Democratic Party fell apart this week — though it was easy to miss, amidst the chaos at the White House and the collapse of Congress’s effort to repeal Obamacare.Investor William Browder testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Fusion GPS, the firm that had been responsible for creating and pushing the so-called “Russia dossier” against Donald Trump, had been paid by the Russian government to push for the repeal of the human rights sanctions in the Magnitsky Act of 2012. In other words, the Russian government may have been paying to smear Trump with false and salacious accusations.Until now, the media and the Democrats have proceeded under the assumption that Russia intervened in the 2016 election by hacking the email server of the Democratic National Committee, as well as the private email of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, and releasing their emails via Wikileaks. They have further claimed — with no evidence — that the Trump campaign may have colluded with the Russians in obtaining or releasing the emails.The entire theory rests on the ridiculous claim that Trump had invited Russia to hack Clinton and the Democrats when he joked last July about the Russians releasing the emails Clinton had deleted from her illicit private server. (The left-wing HuffPost observed Thursday as the anniversary that Trump “asked for Russian help in the election.”) That joke prompted then-CIA director John Brennan to convene an investigation of alleged Russian interference.In fact, it turns out that Russia may have been trying to undermine Trump. And it may have done so in collusion with the Democrats. The Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberly Strassel noted Thursday that Fusion GPS has ties to the Democrats — and will not reveal who paid it for the dossier. Strassel asked: “What if it was the Democratic National Committee or Hillary Clinton’s campaign?” The money could have passed through intermediaries, she added.That means the real story of collusion in the 2016 election could be that Democrats were working with Russia. And that would make sense, given their long history of appeasing the Russians, under both Clinton and Barack Obama.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Was this reported on CNN/MSNBC et al?
Intelligence chairman accuses Obama aides of hundreds of unmasking requests
More here from The HillThe chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is accusing top political aides of President Obama of making hundreds of requests during the 2016 presidential race to unmask the names of Americans in intelligence reports, including Trump transition officials.Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), in a letter to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, said the requests were made without specific justifications on why the information was needed.“We have found evidence that current and former government officials had easy access to U.S. person information and that it is possible that they used this information to achieve partisan political purposes, including the selective, anonymous leaking of such information,” Nunes wrote in the letter to Coats.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Obama: Those jobs are gone and aren't ever coming back.
13,000 future Wisconsin workers are happy Trump knows The Art of the Deal.
Remember this?
Monday, July 24, 2017
50 years ago today,
Althouse Blog
Althouse on Detroit Riot Day 2
Well worth the read and the video. Here's an excerpt:
And John Conyers — then as now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives — opposed federal troops and thought he could help by "driving along 12th Street with a loudspeaker asking people to return to their homes."Reportedly, Conyers stood on the hood of the car and shouted through a bullhorn, "We're with you! But, please! This is not the way to do things! Please go back to your homes!" But the crowd refused to listen. Conyers' car was pelted with rocks and bottles.Conyers joined the House of Representatives in 1965, and he is now the Dean of the United States House of Representatives, which means he's the longest-serving member of the house. He's been there 52 years, and he's 88.
Althouse Blog
How “Confident” are Intelligence Agencies that Russia Interfered with the Election?
Remember when all seventeen intelligence agencies agreed that Russia interfered with our elections?
Turns out it was only four.
Do you know how you get four agencies to agree on something of this nature? It’s easy. One publishes an opinion and the other three loyal agencies assume it is credible, so they support it. Do they all do independent investigations?
I kinda doubt it.
Based on my experience on this planet, probably one intelligence agency out of seventeen investigated and told the others they did a great job of it. Still, you can’t ignore even one intelligence agency that did an investigation and is totally positive Russian interfered with the election. That’s still credible information.
Wait, did I say “totally positive”? Here’s a quote from CIA Director Mike Pompeo from this past week: "I am confident that the Russians meddled in this election, as is the entire intelligence community.“
Is confident the same as totally positive? And are “the Russians” the same as Putin?
Personally, I use the word “confident” when I’m not 100% sure, when I think the evidence all points one way. Coincidentally, that is exactly what confirmation bias looks like too – all the signs point in the same direction. They just happen to be false signs. And it seems to me that a good non-Russian hacker could make a hack look like it came from anywhere.
More here on Dilbert Blog
Sunday, July 23, 2017
On this day in 1885,
On this day in 1885, General and President Ulysses S. Grant died.
Grant’s original name was Hiram Ulysses Grant but the congressman who wrote his recommendation to West Point mistakenly referred to him as Ulysses S. Grant. The new name stuck.
After serving successfully on the western front, Grant had about hit bottom in the business world before he resorted to asking his father for a job in Galena, Illinois. When the Civil War began, Grant wrote a letter offering his services to the War Department, but apparently no one bothered to read the letter and it was later found in a miscellaneous file cabinet. Grant then offered his services to General George McClellan but McClellan was too busy to talk to Grant. Finally, the governor of Illinois, somewhat desperate for a commander, gave Grant a regiment of volunteers to lead. As they say, the rest is history.
Grant died of throat cancer likely caused by his wartime habit of chain-smoking cigars, a habit he may have developed to kick his drinking habit. Thanks to a fraudulent investment scheme recommended by his son, Grant was virtually bankrupt the last months of his life. In order to provide income for his wife, Grant began working on an autobiography which his friend, Mark Twain, promised he would publish. Aided by regular use of cocaine, Grant finished working on his life story just a few days before he died.
Ulysses S. Grant Dies
Grant’s original name was Hiram Ulysses Grant but the congressman who wrote his recommendation to West Point mistakenly referred to him as Ulysses S. Grant. The new name stuck.
After serving successfully on the western front, Grant had about hit bottom in the business world before he resorted to asking his father for a job in Galena, Illinois. When the Civil War began, Grant wrote a letter offering his services to the War Department, but apparently no one bothered to read the letter and it was later found in a miscellaneous file cabinet. Grant then offered his services to General George McClellan but McClellan was too busy to talk to Grant. Finally, the governor of Illinois, somewhat desperate for a commander, gave Grant a regiment of volunteers to lead. As they say, the rest is history.
Grant died of throat cancer likely caused by his wartime habit of chain-smoking cigars, a habit he may have developed to kick his drinking habit. Thanks to a fraudulent investment scheme recommended by his son, Grant was virtually bankrupt the last months of his life. In order to provide income for his wife, Grant began working on an autobiography which his friend, Mark Twain, promised he would publish. Aided by regular use of cocaine, Grant finished working on his life story just a few days before he died.
50 Years Ago Today the Detroit Riot Started
50 years ago today, when I was only 19, the Detroit Riot started and became the third worst riot in American history (behind the 1863 New York Draft Riot and the 1992 L.A. Riot). Five days later, 7,000 people had been arrested, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned causing $50 million dollars of property damage, and 5,000 people were homeless. Some 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops, including paratroopers, patrolled the streets in tanks and armored carriers.
The riot started when police raided a “blind pig”, an illegal after-hours club. 85 patrons were inside to celebrate the return of two servicemen from Vietnam. A small crowd gathered as police began to herd the patrons into paddy wagons. Soon there was a crowd of 200 yelling at the police as they tried to maintain order.
Per the Detroit Free Press, the riot started when the owner of the club threw a bottle at the police – and missed:
William Walter Scott II, was the principal owner of the club, an illegal after-hours drinking and gambling joint. His older sister, Wilma, was a cook and waitress. The night was hot and sticky, and the crowd’s initial teasing of the arrestees devolved into raucous goading of police as they became more aggressive, pushing and twisting the arms of the women.
“You don’t have to treat them that way,” Bill Scott yelled. “They can walk. Let them walk, you white sons of bitches.”
By the time the wagons were full, the crowd had swelled, the taunts had grown more hostile and, though police manpower was thin early Sunday, several scout cars responded to the scene. Cops stood at the ready in the middle of 12th Street, billy clubs in hand, forcing the throng back on the sidewalk.
Scott, tall and lean, mounted a car and began to preach to a crowd long accustomed to the harsh tactics of the overwhelmingly white Detroit police in black neighborhoods: “Are we going to let these peckerwood motherf—— come down here any time they want and mess us around?”
“Hell, no!” people yelled back.
Scott walked into an alley and grabbed a bottle, seeking “the pleasure of hitting one in the head, maybe killing him,” he remembers thinking. Making his way into the middle of the crowd for cover, he threw the bottle at a sergeant standing in front of the door.
The missile missed, shattering on the sidewalk. A phalanx of police moved toward the crowd, then backed off. As the paddy wagons drove away, bottles, bricks and sticks flew through the air, smashing the windows of departing police cars. Bill Scott said he felt liberated.
“For the first time in our lives we felt free. Most important, we were right in what we did to the law.”
The rebellion was underway.
Looting and fires started soon thereafter. By the next morning, every Detroit police officer and firefighter was on duty, reinforced soon thereafter by the state police, the National Guard, and U.S. Army troops.
The city, which once had a population of million, would lose nearly 500,000 residents as people fled to the suburbs over the next few decades.
Some people believe the abandoned and destroyed building shown in the recent picture below is the location of the club where the riots started.
Schumer Rips Hillary: Don’t Blame Comey or Russia, ‘Blame Yourself’
“When you lose to somebody who has 40 percent popularity, you don’t blame other things — Comey, Russia — you blame yourself,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview previewing the new plan. “So what did we do wrong? People didn’t know what we stood for, just that we were against Trump. And still believe that.”WaPo
I know and you should know too
Byron York: Why are Republicans trouncing Democrats in fundraising?
A look inside the numbers is even worse for the DNC. Looking at collections from small donors — that is, those who contributed less than $200 — the RNC raised $10.5 million in the months of May and June. The DNC raised $5.3 million from small donors in the same time period.The RNC's money total is a record — more than was raised in any previous non-presidential election year. That is true for June, and for all of 2017 as well. The $75.4 million raised this year compares to $55.4 million for the same period in 2015; to $51.2 for the same period in 2014; to $41.1 million for the same period in 2013, and so on going back."It's definitely a reflection of support for President Trump," said RNC spokesman Ryan Mahoney. "Our small-dollar donors are giving at a record pace because they believe the RNC is supporting President Trump, and they like that."Washington Examiner
Brit Hume: Sleight of hand in a Sessions story - The Washington Post swings and misses at Jeff Sessions
The Post’s piece, by Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima, and Greg Miller is dishonest. It finds a contradiction where none exists by glossing over the distinction between discussing a “campaign-related issue” — which is any substantive issue raised by any candidate during the campaign season — and discussing the campaign.
Discussing hacking or “opposition research” research with the Russian ambassador would constitute discussing the campaign. Telling the ambassador how the campaign is going or what its strategy is would constitute discussing the campaign. Telling the ambassador — as President Obama told the Russian president — that the candidate would be more flexible with Russia after the campaign would probably be a borderline case.
Simply discussing Russia policy — past, present, or future — is not discussing the campaign.Brit Hume
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