TOM CLARK: Shroud / Winding-sheet

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 | by GC_Dean

Soon to be Shut Down Macy's Department Store. Minneapolis, Minnesota.: photo by Dean Terasaki, 11 March 2017

3rd Avenue near Osborn Road | by GC_Dean

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

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

Dusk and Dawn. Los Angeles, Ca.: photo by michaelj1998, 15 May 2017

Wind Turbines, Washington | by austin granger

Wind Turbines, Washington: photo by Austin Granger, 4 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

Winding-sheet

President Donald Trump speaks as he leaves the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 16, 2017, following a joint statement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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

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

Members of the USSS on the North Grounds of the White House. Possible fence jumper.: image via Doug Mills @dougmillsnyt, 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?

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

3 comments:

TC17 May 2017 at 02:34
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)
tpw17 May 2017 at 06:48
Beautiful, melancholy poem & post.
Trump's is the ugliest, sourest face in American history.
TC17 May 2017 at 09:05
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.

Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Shroud / Winding-sheet

3 comments: