West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
Tatters [Venice, LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 13 May 2017
Shroud
When under a cloud
and under a shroud
describe the situation
with equal accuracy
you jump in the car
and follow the crowd
heading down to safeway
to pick up a couple of things
any things at all
just to keep your mind off it
for a few more minutes
no matter what
Shuttered mart [LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 15 May 2017
The whole thing. The Valley Merchandise store in Fresno.: photo by Jim Johnson, 10 May 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017
3rd Avenue near Osborn Road, Phoenix, Arizona. The trees are catching reflected light from a white foam roof. The building manager told me this was the apartment complex's original color scheme.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 2 April 2017
3rd Avenue near Osborn Road, Phoenix, Arizona. The trees are catching reflected light from a white foam roof. The building manager told me this was the apartment complex's original color scheme.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 2 April 2017
3rd Avenue near Osborn Road, Phoenix, Arizona. The trees are catching reflected light from a white foam roof. The building manager told me this was the apartment complex's original color scheme.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 2 April 2017
Fan palm sidewalk shelter [LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 15 May 2017
Keeping Her Dream Alive. An ever changing roadside memorial to a young girl who lost her life tragically about a year ago. [Stockton Blvd, Sacramento]: photo by Rick Ele, 14 May 2017
Keeping Her Dream Alive. An ever changing roadside memorial to a young girl who lost her life tragically about a year ago. [Stockton Blvd, Sacramento]: photo by Rick Ele, 14 May 2017
Keeping Her Dream Alive. An ever changing roadside memorial to a young girl who lost her life tragically about a year ago. [Stockton Blvd, Sacramento]: photo by Rick Ele, 14 May 2017
Los Angeles: photo by Andrew Murr, 13 May 2017
Chingon con Daytons de oro. Bad-ass 80s Chevy Monte Carlo found on the street in Sacramento.: photo by Rick Ele, 15 May 2017
Detroit iron [LA]: photo by Andrew Murr, 15 May 2017
Whale POV. Pismo Beach, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 19 April 2017
Whale POV. Pismo Beach, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 19 April 2017
Whale POV. Pismo Beach, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 19 April 2017
Dusk and Dawn. Los Angeles, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 15 May 2017
Dusk and Dawn. Los Angeles, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 15 May 2017
Dusk and Dawn. Los Angeles, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 15 May 2017
Wind Turbines, Washington: photo by Austin Granger, 4 May 2017
Wind Turbines, Washington: photo by Austin Granger, 4 May 2017
Wind Turbines, Washington: photo by Austin Granger, 4 May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
Trump. Donald Trump leaving a press conference in Central Park regarding the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai.: photo by David P, 23 June 2008
Trump Tower + sneakers. A woman going to the Trump Towers Marketing Centre on Bay St. beside the National Club of Toronto.: photo by jan, 6 April 2010
East McDowell Road, no.4. Phoenix, Arizona.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 31 March 2017
East McDowell Road, no.4. Phoenix, Arizona.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 31 March 2017
East McDowell Road, no.4. Phoenix, Arizona.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 31 March 2017
Winding-sheet
The report that President Donald Trump asked James Comey to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn follows months in which Trump has defended his former national security adviser.: photo by AP, 17 May 2017
White House rocked by allegation Trump tried to shut down FBI's Flynn probe:
James Comey wrote a memo detailing Trump's request, according to a
friend of the ousted FBI director: Matthew Nussbaum, Josh Dawsey, Elana
Schor and Sung Min Kim, Politico, 17 May 2017
President Donald Trump’s White
House was rocked on Tuesday night by allegations that Trump tried to
shut down an FBI investigation into one of his former aides, as the
administration struggled to manage a growing list of scandals.
Former FBI Director James Comey detailed in a memo that
Trump asked him in the Oval Office to drop the probe into former
national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to a friend of Comey,
a request that came just one day after Trump ousted Flynn for lying to
Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the Russian
ambassador.
The New York Times first reported the existence of the
memo, which appears to be one of many documents Comey drafted regarding
his conversations with Trump.
"It's very rich in detail and hopefully it will come out
soon,” the friend of Comey, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told
POLITICO. "There are other memos about his meetings too. He wrote down
every word Trump said to him as soon as he could."
The news sent shockwaves across Washington and adds to the
controversy overwhelming the White House, which was already dealing with
the fallout from Trump’s firing of Comey last week and Trump’s alleged
disclosure of highly classified information to Russian officials.
And on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have so far generally
backed Trump, a new mood was evident among members. Many expressed deep
concern about the latest revelations and demonstrated a new willingness
for congressional involvement — from House Oversight Chairman Jason
Chaffetz saying he will subpoena the memo to a chorus of voices calling
for Comey to testify publicly on the matter. The shift could represent
cracks in the bulwark that has, so far, insulated Trump from the most
severe scrutiny.
“While the President has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn. The President has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the President and Mr. Comey,” the White House said in a written statement.
But the accusation, which suggests Trump tried to interfere
in a federal investigation into one of his top associates, represents
one of the most serious allegations against Trump to date.
Such a revelation was expected by some.
“One thing I learned at DOJ about Comey: he leaves a
protective paper trail whenever he deems something inappropriate
happened. Stay tuned,” Matthew Miller, a former DOJ spokesperson, wrote
on Twitter last week.
The latest swell of controversy started last Tuesday, when
Trump abruptly fired Comey, despite the fact that the FBI has an ongoing
investigation into whether Trump’s campaign aides colluded with Russian
officials ahead of the election.
The White House gave varying justifications for the firing.
The initial explanation was that Trump fired Comey based on a
recommendation from top Justice Department officials, but Trump later
refuted this, saying he was going to fire Comey regardless and did it
with the Russia investigation in mind.
The New York Times then reported that Trump had asked him at
a dinner to pledge his loyalty to him, a request Comey declined. The
White House disputed that account as well.
Trump then fueled the controversy by suggesting he had his own documentation that could prove damning to Comey.
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our
conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump tweeted in
response to that story last Friday.
The White House has since refused to comment on whether
Trump is recording conversations in the Oval Office, and a number of
people close to him admitted they did not know.
Despite the evolving explanations, Trump’s decision to fire
Comey prompted questions from both Democrats and Republicans about
whether Trump was impeding an investigation into his own campaign.
Then, adding to the White House’s headaches, news broke on
Monday in the Washington Post that Trump had divulged classified
information to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian
ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The White House scrambled to contain the
fallout, alleging Trump had done nothing improper even while declining
to say whether he had in fact divulged confidential information.
The report that Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation
into Flynn follows months in which Trump has defended his former
national security adviser, even after asking for his resignation.
He said on Twitter that Flynn was right to ask for immunity
and blamed “fake media” for their treatment of Flynn — even though top
government officials have since corroborated media accounts.
For Democrats on the Hill, the memo provided further evidence that Trump’s actions need to be thoroughly investigated.
"Enough is enough. The Congress really needs to get to the
bottom of this,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House
intelligence committee, told reporters. "If true, this is yet another
disturbing allegation that the president may have engaged in some
interference or obstruction of the investigation."
Schiff said he wanted Comey to testify publicly on his conversations with Trump.
He may soon get his wish as Comey could soon be addressing
the matter himself. He was invited by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to
testify publicly at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to “tell his
side of the story,” Graham said Tuesday, before the Times story broke.
“On a day when we thought things couldn’t get any worse,
they have,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the
floor Tuesday, describing himself as “shaken” by the reported Comey
memo.
“The country is being tested in unprecedented ways. I say to all of my colleagues in the Senate: History is watching.”
Republican Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House
oversight committee, wrote on Twitter that his committee “is going to
get the Comey memo, if it exists.”
“I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready,” he added.
But some Republicans, who have so far resisted calls for a
special prosecutor to investigate Trump, continued to cast doubt on the
most recent developments.
“I think the burden is on the New York Times, if they’re reporting it and they’ve got somebody who’s got the document,” said Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.). “They need to get the document and get it released."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa),
whose committee has oversight of the FBI, noted that the bureau’s
acting director, Andrew McCabe, testified before lawmakers last week
that there had been no presidential interference into a larger probe
into Russia meddling in the election.
“All I’m pointing out to you is the conflict between two people,” Grassley said in a brief interview.
Democratic senators noted that either McCabe could have been
out of the loop in the conversations between Trump and Comey, or that
the former FBI director intercepted Trump’s attempts to halt the Flynn
probe, leaving no impact on the federal investigation.
“Obstruction of justice is what it looks like to anybody’s
who’s looking at it,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who has
been working with Graham to probe the FBI’s role in the federal Russia
investigation. “It’s not just me. This is about as lay down a case ...
as a prosecutor could imagine.”
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) urged Comey, who
turned down an invitation from the Senate Intelligence Committee to
speak to them in private, to testify in public about the matter.
“It’s stunning, breathtaking to think that a president of
the United States would consider reaching out to the head of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and ask them to stop the investigation on
anyone, particularly someone who was the national security adviser and
is facing allegations that he had undisclosed conversations with the
Russians,” Durbin said. “Each day as this unfolds, this pattern of
obstruction of justice grows.”
Other Republicans acknowledged the growing seriousness of the situation.
GOP Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) acknowledged that this latest revelation could be serious trouble.
"That would be a problem, if it's true. That would be a problem," Simpson said.
Asked if it was an impeachable offense, Simpson said, "I'm not ready to go there yet. But that would be a problem.”
GOP conference chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.)
said she was "still trying to figure out what happened," adding "I hope
there is transparency on this."
McMorris Rodgers said she would support having Comey testify
before Congress. "Yes, I would like to see that," McMorris Rodgers
said.
Still other Republicans were already pointing the finger at leakers — or waving a different finger.
So, #Dickweed @DarrellIssa flipped off a reporter tonight when asked about #Trump. Who peed in your Wheaties, Darrell?: image via Aunt Crabby @DearAuntCrabby, 16 May 2017
So, #Dickweed @DarrellIssa flipped off a reporter tonight when asked about #Trump. Who peed in your Wheaties, Darrell?: image via Aunt Crabby @DearAuntCrabby, 16 May 2017
Sooo, #Trump just stepped into it, he asked #Comey to shut down the #Flynn investigation, "obstruction of justice!" #russiagate #thehill: image via PKN @pkni, 16 May 2017
REVEALED: Trump made Sessions and Pence leave room before asking Comey to drop Flynn investigation: image via Raw Story @RawStory, 16 May 2017
According to a New York Times report, President Trump told James Comey that he should consider locking reporters up: image via CNN @CNN, 16 May 2017
Instead of charging the fence jumper guy with violating your owned space you ought to give him a medal America
Anybody who ignores the self protective commands of a society without a heart or a soul
Becomes in that moment a fearless enemy of the great and the mighty
A benefactor to the weak and the poor and weren't they also meant to be included in you?
A benefactor to the weak and the poor and weren't they also meant to be included in you?
From the outside it may seem there is no way for you to comprehend the fence jumper guy
He looks like an unpleasantly rough customer to you
From the inside he may look embittered scared without hope
But nobody wants to explore the feelings and motives of an unknown fence jumper guy and this includes you
The fence jumper guy isn't a mindless consumer of trash that makes people die
If he appears rude it's because he's ignoring the rules of the game
Which require him to climb back down off it right now! This is an order!
Jump in the car head out to Safeway pick up a couple things any things at all
And be subsumed back into the whole disastrous lie known
As America a sucking wound on the suffering body of creation
Trump and US secrets: cartoon by Dave Granlund via The Cagle Post, 15 May 2017
A New Goal for President Trump's First Foreign Trip: Damage Control - New York Times #trump #stocks: image via NewsEdge @YourNewsEdge, 16 May 2017
@jasoninthehouse requests any and all communications between Former FBI Director Comey and President Trump: image via Oversight Committee @GOPoversight, 16 May 2017
2017-105. Albany, CA.: photo by biosfear, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, May 2017
3 comments:
Talking of under a cloud/shroud... the penultimate photo (biosfear) is a picture of 2017 in our neighborhood (sort of). Between here and Safeway, nothing but rain clouds and shadows... and cars, of course.
Well... and pavement. We don't drive by the way.
Impressed yet?
So... will you be my neighbor?
Fred Rogers: Mitzi (A story about America)
Beautiful, melancholy poem & post.
Trump's is the ugliest, sourest face in American history.
Thanks very much, tpw. He is a beauty, and the closer you get, the more you're tempted to imagine what it will be like there in the Blue Room, a month hence, when his tender bride and child join him in quiet reflection, pondering the early death of Abe Lincoln's son beneath the newly installed wallsize plasm flatscreen, with Tivo. The historical ruminations then, lofty. With two scoops.
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