#TreasonSummit

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Helsinki Summit

If you were watching the press conference with Trump and Putin earlier and thought your hearing went, yes Trump just threw our intelligence community and our country under the bus. Here’s what he said after being asked if he believes our U.S. intelligence or Putin.

Let me just say that we have two thoughts. You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server. Why haven’t they taken the server? Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for months and months. And I’ve been tweeting it out and calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know, where is the server and what is the server saying? With that being said, all I can do is ask the question. My people came to me, Dan Coates came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be. But I really do want to see the server. But I have, uh, I have confidence in both parties. I really believe that this will probably go on for a while, but I don’t think it can go on without finding what happened to the server. What happened to the servers of the Pakistani gentleman that worked on the DNC? Where are those servers? They’re missing. Where are they? What happened to Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 emails? So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, and what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that’s an incredible offer. OK? Thank you.

Kind of gives you a sinking (nauseous) feeling in the pit of your stomach as you wonder what Trump and Putin discussed in 2 hour closed door meeting. You know it’s bad when journalists from Fox News slam his performance. Brit Hume tweeted:

Trump, when finally asked whom he believes on Russia interference, gives a vague and rambling non-answer, with renewed complaints about Hillary’s server. Says he trusts US intel but made clear he takes Putin’s denials seriously. Lame response to say the least.

And Fox Business anchor Neil Cavuto had this to say in response to his guest saying that now was the time to warn Putin against interfering in another US election.

But he didn’t. And that’s what made it disgusting, that’s what made his performance disgusting. I’m sorry, it’s the only way I feel. It’s not a right or left thing to me, it’s just wrong.

Fellow Fox News Business anchor, Trish Regan tweeted:

Horrible performance from our President today. Pretty ugly when u give a pass to a nation that is undermining our democracy.

And finally, here’s a statement from Republican Senator John McCain just released on Twitter.

Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naïveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.

It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout—as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violations of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.

Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct toward our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.

No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.

Well, I know I’ve used this gif before but right now it’s the only thing making me feel better.

 

The Future Will Be BS Free, by Will McIntosh ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Coming-of-age stories, Dystopian Fiction, Humor, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s  for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: July 24th, 2018

352 Pages

Synopsis: In this terrifyingly timely tale for fans of The Eye of Minds, a teen and his group of friends find themselves on the run after using a genius lie-detector contraption to expose their corrupt government.

In a Putin-esque near-future America, the gifted and talented high school has just been eliminated, and Sam and his friends have been using their unexpected free time to work on a tiny, undetectable, utterly reliable lie detector. They’re all in it for the money—except Theo, their visionary. For Theo, it’s about crafting a better world. A BS-free world, where no one can lie, and the honest will thrive.

Just when they finish the prototype and turn down an offer to sell their brainchild to a huge corporation, Theo is found dead. Greedy companies, corrupt privatized police, and even the president herself will stop at nothing to steal the Truth App. Sam sets his sights on exposing all the lies and holding everyone accountable. 

But he and his friends quickly realize the costs of a  S-free world: the lives of loved ones, and political and economic stability. They now face a difficult question: Is the world capable of operating without lies, or are lies what hold it together?

I enjoyed Will McIntosh’s Burning Midnight, so I knew I had to request  The Future Will Be BS Free as soon as I spied it on NetGalley, especially after reading that intriguing premise. While I didn’t like it as much as the previous book, there is much to recommend about it.

First, before contemplating reading this, please bear in mind that Sam, the main character, is a sexually frustrated seventeen-year-old. He comes from a poor background, his mother is disabled, and the girl he’s in love with, (who happens to also be his best friend), doesn’t return his feelings. He does some horrible things, but given his background his actions are somewhat understandable. Throughout the book he demonstrably grows and matures and by the end of the book I actually liked him.

The story itself is credible, as are the diverse characters, both teens and adults. And, I was kept on my toes regarding how it was going to end which is always a good thing. 

Overall, The Future Will Be BS Free, is a fast-paced, and thought-provoking YA novel that successfully combines dystopian fiction with a coming-of-age story. It also scarily echoes much of what is happening in our world today. While there are some cringeworthy moments in the romantic subplot that I didn’t think was necessary, I think this would be a great choice for high school book discussion groups.