№ 706.1: EXTRA! EXTRA! Get Yer Fax Straight! EXTRA! EXTRA!

Mulvaney Says Holdup of Ukraine Aid Was Tied to Trump’s Demand for DNC Server (Paywall)

WASHINGTON—A top White House official for the first time linked President Trump’s decision to hold up aid to Ukraine to his desire for Kyiv to probe a Democratic National Committee server related to the 2016 election, then hours later issued a statement contradicting his own remarks.

The initial comments at a White House briefing by acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney caused alarm among senior White House aides and the president’s legal team. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied there was any quid pro quo related to the aid. Late Thursday afternoon, Mr. Mulvaney issued a statement, reviewed by Mr. Trump, reversing his remarks and saying there was no connection.

WHATISAIDWASNOTWHATISAID (October 17)

What part of absolute do you not understand?
What Donnie does is the law of the land.
God put him in office (we all agree)
so he could rule over us by decree.
If Congress and Courts do not go along. . .
well, let's just say, that won't be for long.
We do still insist this is a democracy.
You got a problem with this hypocrisy?
Were I in your place, I would not let that be known,
I would keep my head low and bow down to the throne.
Winner take all is how we play the game,
and you suckers lost. Ain't that a shame?

(And, please, gracious leader, do not have me shot
or say I'm a “great guy” and you “like me a lot”.
We know every time you utter those words,
the “great guy” gets gone. Just like the Kurds.)

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№ 702.1: EXTRA! And Kurds Bank Never Lent Me Money Either

Fact-checking Trump's claim that Kurds did not help the US in WWII and Normandy invasion

“As somebody wrote in a very very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the Second World War, they didn't help us with Normandy,” Trump said. . .

TRUMP CHECKING (October 10)

Not only the Kurds played hooky from Normandy,
there were no Israelis there either.
Germans were present, that can't be denied,
but I seem to recall they were the other side.
Finns and Italians were nowhere to be seen.
The Russians were , I think, occupied elsewhere.
Had Donnie been born and not been by bone spurs bed-ridden,
I am confident he'd have kept himself hidden.

№ 699: Is This Your Back I See Before Me? (my mistake, it's just my knife)

US to let Turkish forces move into Syria, dumping Kurdish allies

White House reveals policy shift following conversation between Trump and Erdoğan

The White House has given the green light to a Turkish offensive into northern Syria, moving US forces out of the area in an abrupt foreign policy change that will in effect abandon the Kurds, Washington’s longtime military partner.

BUTWHATHAVETHEYDONELATELYFORDONNIE (October 7)

Though there are more Kurds* than Norwegians plus Dutch,

the Kurds have never mattered that much.

So what does it matter whether you're heard,

Donnie declared, “To hell with the Kurds!”?

Kurds, a minority, wherever they are,

are ever ready for slaughter.

They yearn for a “Kurdistan”, but that doesn't matter:

it isn't a country, it hasn't border.

That said, Kurds, historically, are

fierce fighters and excellent allies.

Realists, too. When they're betrayed,

it never is a total surprise.

(That also applies to Donnie's wives.)

Betrayal is how Donnie does business.
It's his way of “keeping it real”.

Your back, his knife is how he does life.

A cut to the heart is his art of the deal.

[updated 10/9/2019, 1:55 pm]

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*After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. However, that promise was nullified three years later, when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey and made no such provision, leaving Kurds with minority status in their respective countries. This fact has led to numerous genocides and rebellions, along with the current ongoing armed guerrilla conflicts in Turkey, Iran, and Syria / Rojava. Although Kurds are the majority population in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, because of their statelessness, Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights, autonomy, and independence throughout Greater Kurdistan. — Wikipedia