Words Matter, and So Does Silence

'I Do Not Support a Livable Wage'

Making Marie Antoinette sound generous.

Republican congressional candidate Karen Handel said one of those sentences that turn professional campaign consultants into alcoholics. She could have said something about opposing a minimum wage hike, which was the actual question, but Handel choose to say what was in her heart - that the poor should be worked to death for peanuts. 

Trump Cuts Our Throat in Middle East

America's Al Udeid air base in Qatar

When Donald Trump tweeted his attack on the nation of Qatar he was undermining the stability of the nation hosting the largest US military base in the Middle East. There are about 10,000 American military personnel stationed in Qatar, it is the forward base for US Central Command and the base for US anti-ISIS activities. Moments after Trump's tweet, Putin was on the phone to Qatari leaders offering Russia's support for Qatar against Saudi and American interference.

The Sound of Silence

ISIS attacked the parliament of a sovereign state, killing more innocent people than in the London Bridge attack yet there is utter and complete silence from Washington, no official comment nor even an semi-official tweet. The victim was the nation of Iran and there are suggestions that the ISIS attack was coordinated through Trump's friends in Saudi Arabia.

Taking the Fifth (sort of)

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers appeared before a Senate committee today and effectively took the Fifth Amendment, refusing to testify about any conversations they had with the President over stifling the Russia probe. They did say they didn't feel "pressured" to do anything illegal, which wasn't the question. Of course, they wouldn't have felt pressured if they had willingly agreed to obstruct the investigation.