And somehow transcripts of Trump's calls with Australia and Mexico were made and leaked

Wiretaps.

WaPo, here on February 5th, in the "Style" section:

The breadth of the leaks has surprised — and, of course, delighted — journalists, who say it gives the public an unfiltered view of what those in power are thinking and doing. The leaks of Trump’s calls to Turnbull and Peña Nieto may have been the most surprising of all; it’s rare for transcripts of presidential phone calls or details of meetings with foreign leaders, especially potentially embarrassing exchanges, to leak so soon afterward.

And the White House examined a transcript of a wiretapped conversation of Michael Flynn

Someone in the US government was wiretapping all over the place, and the White House read all about it.

It doesn't matter that Comey at FBI denies he's doing it, or that the FISA court refused to allow wiretaps. Someone wiretapped Flynn during the transition, and Manafort during the campaign, which means at Trump Tower.

President Trump is not wrong.

The New York Times, February 13, 2017, here:

The White House had examined a transcript of a wiretapped conversation that Mr. Flynn had with Mr. Kislyak in December, according to administration officials. Mr. Flynn originally told Mr. Pence and others that the call was limited to small talk and holiday pleasantries.

But the conversation, according to officials who saw the transcript of the wiretap, also included a discussion about sanctions imposed on Russia after intelligence agencies determined that President Vladimir V. Putin’s government tried to interfere with the 2016 election on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Still, current and former administration officials familiar with the call said the transcript was ambiguous enough that Mr. Trump could have justified either firing or retaining Mr. Flynn. ...

Officials said classified information did not appear to have been discussed during the conversation between Mr. Flynn and the ambassador, which would have been a crime. The call was captured on a routine wiretap of diplomats’ calls, the officials said.

And when did the wiretapping of Trump Tower begin?

The same NY Times article told us when, here:

The F.B.I. investigation into Mr. Manafort began last spring, and was an outgrowth of a criminal investigation into his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and for the country’s former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. In August, The Times reported that Mr. Manafort’s name had surfaced in a secret ledger that showed he had been paid millions in undisclosed cash payments. The Associated Press has reported that his work for Ukraine included a secret lobbying effort in Washington aimed at influencing American news organizations and government officials.

New York Times in print version reported American wiretaps provided to Obama White House, now we're supposed to believe there weren't any?

Here, January 19, 2017, in "Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates":

The F.B.I. is leading the investigations, aided by the National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House. ... It is unclear which Russian officials are under investigation, or what particular conversations caught the attention of American eavesdroppers.

This editorial note appears in fine print at the bottom of the online story indicating that these "intercepted Russian communications" were really American wiretaps:

A version of this article appears in print on January 20, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Wiretapped Data Used in Inquiry of Trump Aides.

Total government spending is well past the point of adding value

Wayne Winegarden, here:

At one-third of the size of the economy, total government spending is well past the point where additional expenditures add value.

Actually, it's higher than one third, as I previously pointed out here. In 2016 total government spending hit 36.1% of GDP. 

Noted in passing: Publius Decius Mus is Michael Anton, appointed by Trump to the NSC

Reported here. Anton, no surprise, cops to being a devoted Straussian.

The best part about the interview is that he thought Bill Kristol was his friend, until Kristol insinuated that Anton was a Nazi.

Kristolnicht. The guy can't be all bad, then.

Michael Mukasey says Loretta Lynch ordered the surveillance of Trump

From the story here:

“I think he’s right in that there was surveillance and that it was conducted at the behest of the attorney general – at the Justice Department,” Mukasey told ABC’s “This Week.” 

Laura Ingraham on Friday interviewed Mukasey saying the same thing.

Trump's right: It was Obama who tried to sell-out the country to Russia and keep it a secret

Here.

Former Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch calls for more marching, more blood, more death in the streets

The "E" used to stand for "eats too much". In the current video she appears to have lost weight since leaving office.

The video ends showing that it's under the auspices of the Democrats in the US Senate, here. Democrats. The Party of Violence.

Watch gun sales soar again.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, climate update for February 2017

Average temperature was 34.7 degrees F in February 2017 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 10.3 degrees above normal, the warmest February on record, beating out 1998's 34.1.

Monthly lowest minimum was 4.0 F. The mean is -2.0.

The high was 66.0 F. The mean is 50.

Precipitation was 2.05 inches. The mean is 1.76.

February snowfall was 2.4 inches. The mean is 13.

Heating degree days came to 842. The mean is 1137.

Mark Levin: Obama's police state used intelligence services to spy on Trump campaign and leak the info

Here:

"We absolutely know this is true, the FBI did a preliminary criminal investigation based on a potential connection between a server in Trump Tower and a couple of Russian banks. That turned out to be a dry hole, but one of the most outrageous things I've ever seen... totally uncovered by the media. Instead of closing the investigation, the Obama administration tried to turn it into a FISA court investigation in June [2016]. Apparently the first application they submitted named Trump."

"Even the FISA court said no. There wasn't enough evidence to make out probable cause involving Donald Trump," he said. "In the middle of the campaign the administration was actively having Trump investigated."

Pelosi caught in lie just like McCaskill about meeting Russians

Black lefty, who once worked for Glenn Greenwald but was fired, arrested for threatening Jews nationwide

What, I thought Trump supporters were behind these bomb threats?!

Story here, where you'll discover he used the very same m/o which got him fired from The Intercept.

Flashback August 2015: 30 Senate Democrats meet with Russian and Chinese diplomats behind closed doors to discuss Iran nuclear deal

Two-faced lyin' hypocritical wankers.

Here:

"Other lawmakers attending the briefing included Sens. Al Franken . . .."

Obama actually has more flexibility now that he's out of office than after he was reelected

Now he can openly conspire against America as a private citizen without fear, with a little help from Valerie Jarrett, who is oddly moving in to the DC residence, and from a federal pension and a fat book contract for tens of millions of dollars.

Obama hated Great Britain, but he's going to take its tradition of shadow government and give it an, er, unAmerican twist, guarded by the Secret Service.

America still has cancer.

Story here. 

Ben Carson confirmed by Senate to HUD 58-41 and Rick Perry to Energy 62-37

"Carson and Perry are the 17th and 18th of Trump's 22 Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominations to win Senate approval."

Bravo Sen. Ted Cruz: Sen. Sessions meeting ambassador a nothing burger

Here:

Jeff was being asked about the Trump campaign communicating with the Russians. I think he understood that he was answering in that capacity. And that is perfectly understandable. 

Reuters/CNBC oil headline says Russian production cuts stall, when the truth is Russia is cheating

So who's working in sympathy with the Russians now, huh?

"US oil settles at $52.61 a barrel, down $1.22 after Russian output cuts stall" says the headline.

"Russia's February oil output was unchanged from January at 11.11 million barrels per day (bpd), energy ministry data showed, with cuts remaining at 100,000 bpd or just a third of the levels pledged by Moscow under the agreement with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries" says the story, here.

Headline should have read: "Russian oil output cuts fall 66% short of those promised two months in a row".

Bravo Sen. Joe Manchin: "We meet all the ambassadors"

Here.

Missouri should get a new senator to replace Claire McCaskill, who can't remember her own shit