BloggeRhythms

Today’s another wherein one has to wonder what the leftist dream for the nation actually is. Because, as the U.S. picture becomes continually brighter, Democrats maintain their fruitless quest to unseat the POTUS. Despite having not an iota of evidence supporting that effort.   

On the bright side, Kaya Yurieff reported @money.cnn.com that yesterday tech giant Amazon “reported record sales for its third annual Prime Day, beating out its numbers for previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping periods. In fact, Prime Day sales were higher than both shopping holidays combined in 2016.”

Sales increased 60% compared to last year while the company also added more Prime members in one day than ever before. 

“While it didn't give specific figures, Amazon said "tens of millions" of Prime members bought something on Prime Day this year, up more than 50% than last year.”

What's more, while consumer confidence seems to rise quite strongly, other data adds credence to further economic growth expectations.    

Regarding the banking industry, marketwatch.com reports that J.P. Morgan beat expectations on both revenue and profit while both Wells Fargo & Co. and Citicorp reported second-quarter results that were better than expected, as well. 

At the same time, the consumer-price index, or cost of living, was unchanged last month, largely due to lower gasoline prices.

While news reports continue showing domestic economic improvement, Stephen Collinson reported @CNN.com that in France: “Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron just didn't want to let one another go."

Although the two are opposites in many ways, they “put on an extravagant show of friendship Friday on Bastille Day on the Champs-Élysées.

“The highlight of a chummy two-day visit was an extraordinary, on-the-walk handshake across the cobblestones, that included multiple mutual pats on the back of the hand and shoulder taps. At one point, the 30-second embrace drew in Macron's wife, Brigitte, leaving first lady Melania Trump standing slightly awkwardly to the side."

In Collinson’s opinion: “The unusual show of personal chemistry in Paris might just mean Macron, 39, and Trump, 71, just got along famously.

“It reflects the French leader's desire to ensure the United States does not totally divorce itself from the rest of the West. 

“And the charm offensive is the latest sign that some world leaders think the best way to get to Trump is not to rebuke or lecture him, but to flatter him and show him respect.”

Most interesting was Collinson’s thought that it was most likely far better for anyone wishing to “get to” Trump to show him respect. Because it highlights the fact that Democrats have no intention whatsoever of ever dealing with him in any way, shape, manner or form.    

For Democrats its far more preferable to keep hammering at their only issue, Russian collusion. Yet, all the mounting evidence shows it was their leadership that bears all the guilt.  

As reported by Brooke Singman @FoxNews.com this morning: “The Russian attorney whose campaign-season meeting with Donald Trump Jr. has caused headaches for the White House was cleared to enter the U.S. at the time of the visit by the Obama State Department, officials confirmed to Fox News late Thursday.

“A brief timeline released overnight helps to resolve questions over how Natalia Veselnitskaya even had legal permission to be in the U.S. And it also shows multiple Obama agencies were involved on multiple occasions in granting access to the lawyer after she was initially denied a visa.

“According to the timeline released by the Department of Homeland Security, the Obama Justice and Homeland Security departments granted her a special type of “parole” to be in the U.S. from September 2015 through February 2016 to work on a court case in New York. After that expired, according to DHS, the State Department issued her a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa in June 2016, according to DHS, just in time for her meeting with Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.”

While considerable additional detail regards specifics of the case, another article provides broader background. Kristina Wong @breitbart.com writes: “The revelation that Donald Trump Jr. met for 20 minutes at Trump Tower with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 has skyrocketed her to mainstream news media notoriety.

“Although she has been painted by Democrats as a Russian government official, numerous reports and photos show she has a long record of working with U.S. political figures, including many Democrats.

For example, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group revealed on Wednesday that California Rep. Ron Dellums was a hired lobbyist for Veselnitskaya.

“According to a Washington Post story, she worked for years on a case with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, a firm that produced a widely discredited dossier against Trump.

“She also worked with Christopher Cooper, the founder and CEO of Potomac Square Group, which has had Democratic clients including California Government Jerry Brown, Democratic presidential nominee Howard Dean, and Joe Trippi, according to the Daily Caller.

“And it was Obama’s Attorney General Loretta Lynch that granted her an extension in late 2015 to stay in the U.S. after her visa was due to expire, under “extraordinary circumstances” related to defending a case in New York, according to The Hill. She was granted an extension through January, but it’s not yet clear how she was able to be in the U.S. in June 2016, when she met with Trump Jr., and again January 2017.”

Considerable detail is included in the Breitbart article. Here’s a link: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/07/13/russian-lawyer-who-met-with-donald-trump-jr-worked-with-democrats-for-years/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

The POTUS himself told Reuters yesterday “that he was unaware of Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer until a “couple days ago,” and did not fault his son for accepting the meeting.

“It was a 20-minute meeting, I guess, from what I’m hearing,” Trump said. “Many people, and many political pros, said everybody would do that.”

And then, in another supporting effort toward Trump: “Wednesday on Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz dismissed accusations of treason aimed at Donald Trump, Jr., as a New York Times op-ed suggested, for his meeting with a Russian lawyer offering opposition research on his father’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

“Dershowitz pointed to The New York Times publishing of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, noting that it was protected by the First Amendment.

“[T]here’s really no difference under the First Amendment between a campaigner using information he obtained illegally, from somebody who obtained it illegally, and a newspaper doing it,” he said. “So I think this is conduct that would be covered by the First Amendment. It’s also not prohibited by law. There’s been so much overwrought claim. There are people who are talking about treason. I can’t believe The New York Times had an op-ed yesterday in which treason was mentioned without even looking at the definition.”

Reader oldswimcoach offered an accurate summary: “Dershowitz's commentaries through this whole "Fake News" "Fake Scandal" have been amazingly on point. Don't agree with his politics at all, but he is objective in how he interprets the legal issues - not right or left. The democrats must be going crazy seeing him blow up their fantasy Trump/Russia conspiracies every time he does an interview.”

Fox reader yoncy commented following their article above: “I am SO sick and tired of this elementary school mentality of our American political system I could puke!  Russia!!!  For Christ's sake, give it a rest will you?? 

“What about the number of jobs?  Or the record setting stock market?  Can you imagine these headlines if a democrat was in office?  But if one was, you wouldn't be seeing those number either.  

“How about national defense?  Build the wall? And, God forbid, healthcare?” 

Which brings us right back to what was discussed at the start of today’s entry once more. 

That’s it for today folks.

Adios