Half a Loaf of Russiagate

Another full plate of political hash, starting with the "whistleblower." Apparently someone knows who it is, and as expected SHOCKER:

BREAKING: The whistleblower is a registered Democrat & CIA analyst who was detailed before the 2016 election to the Obama White House,where he worked on the NSC's Ukraine desk & met w anti-Trump Ukrainian officials before being sent packing by the Trump NSC & becoming disgruntled

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 4, 2019

Really no surprise. A good argument for the spoils system. Paywalled at DaCaller, It’s Looking More And More Like The Whistleblower Issue Was Stage-Managed By Dems And The CIA. Breitbart, Adam Schiff Hid CIA Whistleblower Concerns from Republicans on Intelligence Committee. I can't imagine why, can you? Also Breitbart, Adam Schiff Spox Denies Advance Notice of Deep State Complaint: ‘Regular Occurrence, but then, they've been caught lying so many times I would check if they said the sky was blue. Ace, Adam Schiff Lied Directly to the American Public and To Sam Stein's Face, But Sam Stein Says, It's Okay, Please Continue Believing My Democrat Ally Adam Schiff Anyway Or Else You're a Political "Hack"

But all good liberal operatives masquerading as "journalists" understand fully that this is another put-up job designed to assist with Democrat GOTV, so Sam Stein is saying, nevermind about Adam Schiff having no respect at all for me and lying right into my face. No one has respect for me. I don't have respect for me. I'm a worthless leftwing worm who should be put out to bake on the asphalt in the hot noon sun.

Rushbo,  Schiff Colluded with Leaker, Suggested He Become Whistleblower, well, yes. Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Schiff: Hey, Sorry For Fibbing About Not Being In Contact With The Whistleblower; Update: Pelosi Defends Schiff ‘Parody’

“We try not to confirm when people have come in. I was really thinking along the lines of wanting to get him to come in to testify,” Schiff told The Daily Beast. “I regret that I wasn’t much more clear.”

That wasn't not clear, that was the direct opposite of the truth. Front Page, Schiff’s Deep State Collusion. PJ Media, Donald Trump Jr. Blasts Adam Schiff: He Was Handpicked by George Soros and Should Resign in Disgrace Impeachable offense! DaFed, Americans Have Every Reason To Be Suspicious Of The Whistleblower Complaint

We’re supposed to accept that this is what happened, that what the anti-Trump whistleblower complaint describes is confirmed by the unredacted and publicly released transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky. We’re not supposed to question the veracity of the whistleblower’s complaint or the purity of the whistleblower’s motives. And we’re definitely not supposed to question why the standards for submitting whistleblower complaints were changed just last month to allow complaints based on secondhand information to be deemed credible.

In other words, we’re not supposed to question whether this whole thing has been a political hit job from the start.

CR, Levin explains why the whistleblower scandal is ‘the biggest nothing on the face of the Earth’



Sundance at CTH, Rudy Giuliani Rips Chairman Schiff and Committee Staff for Manufacturing Impeachment Evidence…



and Devin Nunes Discusses ‘Whistle-blower’ Construction and Manipulation by Adam Schiff…



Althouse, Pelosi wants "the American people to know what that phone call was about," which is, I think she's saying here, all Adam Schiff was doing with his ridiculous paraphrase.

Schiff's insidious satirical paraphrase was concocted out of Trump's Ukraine phone call: "The other thing, there's a lot of talk about Biden's son, Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me."

"The memorandum of Trump’s call with Zelensky appears remarkably different in speed and content from the full transcripts of calls between President Trump and foreign leaders..."

I'm enjoying the minutiae of interpreting this tiny evidence about words and punctuation. It's right in my zone, the kind of thing I'm very comfortable uploading into my head and musing about. But I think I'm not typical and suspect that most Americans — unless they're hellbent on getting Trump — will view this dispute as hopelessly into the the weeds. Trump probably sees that and will call everybody out into the sunlight where we don't have to worry about that fussy nonsense which is all the Dems have after they "died" when he surprised them with the transcript.

If they're objecting to the number of words in the transcript, they've admitted that the transcript has no useful evidence. Instapundit cites the paywalled WSJ, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIALIZES: The Whistleblower Executive. "Norms are for the little people."

The impeachment process is barely underway and already some constitutional norms are being trampled without a note of media notice or political concern. To wit, can a whistleblower inside the intelligence bureaucracy override a President’s right to executive privilege merely with an accusation?

Nice Deb at AmGreat, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Signs Resolution Censuring Adam Schiff For Fabricating Ukraine Phone Call. Good luck with that. I like Rudy's suit idea better.

Breitbart, State Department IG Has Been Sitting on ‘Urgent’ Ukraine Matter for 4 Months

The inspector general (IG) at the U.S. Department of State has requested to provide an “urgent” briefing related to Ukraine to congressional staffers on Wednesday afternoon on a matter that he was made aware of four months ago, Breitbart News has learned.

A Trump administration official told Breitbart News that Steve Linick, the IG at the State Department who began his tenure under former President Barack Obama in 2013, “has been sitting on the alleged ‘urgent’ matter for four months.”
. . .
Echoing ABC News, the administration official identified the subject of the briefing as Rudy Giuliani, U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and Ukraine.

Depends on your definition of "urgent" I suppose. So now, onto the Russiagate mess. Stacy McCain, ‘DEEP STATE’ BOMBSHELL: Rosenstein Was Part of Anti-Trump Coup Plot "What was widely suspected is now conclusively proven:" EBL, echos Deep State's Mole Rod Rosenstein. Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.03.19 (Evening Edition), Nice Deb at AmGreat, Newly Released Judicial Watch Docs Paint Rosenstein as Active Participant in Deep State Coup. I'm still inclined to give Rod the benefit of the doubt. After all, Mueller tried hard, but he could find or create a crime by Trump.

Ace, John Brennan: I Don't Understand Why People Would Want to Investigate My Attempted Coup

"I'm supposedly going to be interviewed by Mr. Durham as part of this non-investigation... I don't understand the predication of this worldwide effort to try to uncover dirt... that would discredit that investigation in 2016" - @JohnBrennan w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/FqDbIW9P41

— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) October 2, 2019

also, Rush Limbaugh: FoxNews is just the "Fake News NeverTrumper Network" I do think Fox has schizophrenia over this.

He started by pointing out that virtually no one on Fox would just say that Trump is permitted to ask Ukraine to investigate a matter -- "Russia interference" -- which the leftwing media and also leftwing NeverTrumpers told us was literally the most important scandal in all of human history.

But it was only important enough for Democrats and Bill Kristol's allies to collect information from corrupt Ukrainian operatives. It's not important enough to investigate the connections between the DNC and corrupt Ukrainian operatives.

Thomas Farnan at AmGreat, Trump’s Worldwide Dragnet to Catch the Hoaxers

Buried somewhere in recent impeachment reporting was the real news that federal prosecutors are conducting an international dragnet to find the perpetrators of the Russia hoax. Last week, the Justice Department issued a statement. . .

PJ Media, Trump Pondering 'Major Lawsuit' in Response to Mueller Investigation

“We’ve been investigating on a personal basis, through Rudy [Giuliani] and others, lawyers, corruption in the 2016 election. We’ve been investigating corruption because I probably will, I was going to definitely, but I probably will be bringing a lot of litigation against a lot of people having to do with the corrupt investigation having to do with the 2016 election,” Trump said during a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

“I’ve been looking at that long and hard for a long period of time, how it started, why it started, it should never happen to another president, ever, but I’ve been talking about it from the standpoint of bringing a major lawsuit, and I’ve been talking about it for a long time,” he added.

Take it out in trade. But make sure you declare it on your taxes. John Sexton, Hot Air  Michael Avenatti: Stormy Daniels Owes Me $2 Million For My Excellent Legal Work

Avenatti never complained about the money back when he was appearing on CNN and MSNBC once or twice a day for months on end. If you could add up the value of all that media time it would surely exceed $2 million. But, alas, Avenatti has fallen on hard times. In March he was arrested and charged with attempting to extort $25 million from Nike. Then in April he was hit with a 36-count indictment in California which accused him of embezzling money from a settlement paid to a disabled client. In May there were reports that he was about to be charged for embezzling $300k from Stormy Daniels. And in June the California State Bar moved to suspend his law license.

As a result of all of this, the poor man has lost his Ferrari and his private jet. This is really a sad story, I guess. And yet, somehow I don’t feel bad about any of it.

Ima gonna stop here, and finish with Biden/Ukraine and Impeachment follies later.

Fish Pic Friday - Alysha Aratari

If you ask anyone in the Florida Keys to name you a “Must Know” female angler, there is a good chance you will hear the name Alysha Aratari.

And with her 22,000+ Instagram followers, Alysha was another no-brainer to make this female anglers list.

Also, Twitter

She has been fishing since she was a young girl, and she now lives down in the Florida Keys full time where everyone knows her as a fisherwoman”.

The Wombat snuck Rule 5 Monday: Chris Noel in a day late.

Hooray for New, New, New Math

Woke Math In Seattle

In the future, historians will look back upon the suicide of our civilization and will see this poison for what it is. In Seattle, the city’s public schools have decided that everything, even mathematics, has to be seen through the lens of oppression and racism. Below are actual screenshots from the guidelines for math education there:

Click to enlarge.

I'm sure students taught such math will be excellent workers in the high tech industry there.

Severn River Not Dead Yet

Severn River, MD

From the Severna Park Voice, Severn River Isn’t Dead Yet, Let’s Keep It That Way

In mid-September, the Severn River Association – which claims to be America’s oldest river group - shared some unsettling news. A large dead zone had overtaken a huge stretch of the Severn River between April and August.

After regularly navigating and systematically testing various points throughout the river, the SRA teams identified that the dead zone area of water - with very low oxygen - covered more than five square miles, reaching from just above the Severn River Bridge (Route 50) all the way up to the narrows near Arden-on-the-Severn.

“Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from human activities cause dead zones, or areas with low amounts of oxygen,” according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “With little or no oxygen, fish, crabs, oysters and other aquatic animals literally suffocate.”

Mackenzie Miller, an SRA summer intern and field investigator from Duquesne University, worked alongside a team of volunteers to collect and review water quality data using a protocol approved by the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative, which is a division of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

In 2018, the region received nearly double the amount of rain than a typical year. The more than 70 inches of precipitation, combined with unrelenting development, overwhelmed waterways like the Severn River with stormwater runoff.

“All of the impervious surfaces around our area are killing the river,” said Tom Guay, SRA secretary. “Clearcutting trees for more homes and townhomes, highways, roads, roofing - it’s flushing everything directly into the river.”

Though not a threat to humans, the conditions can be deadly to fish and crabs if they cannot escape the area. Unresolved, a dead zone can have long-lasting negative impacts on waterways and ecosystems.

False Dark Mussels 

While the vast dead zone is disheartening, Guay pointed out that it’s not all bad in the Severn River. Though fish, crabs and oysters won’t inhabit the low-oxygen waters, dark false mussels have thrived.

“Some of our oyster cages were weighing close to 80 pounds,” Guay said. “The little guys have covered the cages and the ropes in a massive scale.”

These tiny shellfish are native to the area and aren’t much larger than a fingernail. In spite of their small size, they can have a big impact as filters for the river.

“These dark false mussels show up and filter the water,” explained Guay. “We’ve seen these all the way up the river, which has contributed to the clarity that we’ve seen this summer, which has led to more grass growth throughout the Severn.”

In my many years of watching the Bay, I've seen several examples where a single species of filter feeder has an exceptionally good year, and seems to be the answer to pollution in one area or another. But my friends in the ecological community could never explain exactly how it happened, and the effects always faded in a subsequent year.

Russiagate - Barr Chases Mifsud, Schiff In Prior Contact with Whistleblower

There are a few new interesting developments in the "Spygate" subheading. Stacy McCain thinks some of it is evidence of Demonic Forces on the Rise? "How else to explain Adam Schiff?"

But seriously folks, sundance at CTH think that memos released by FOIA show Rod Rosenstein in on the plot, FOIA Release Highlights Rosenstein White House Visit With Mueller as a Target Interview…. He might be a little far out on his skis here; of course there are emails showing Rod contacting Comey and Mueller, but that doesn't necessarily imply bad intent. I still haven't made up my mind about Rod.

Sundance, Inspector General Identifies DC U.S. Attorney Leaking Grand Jury Evidence…
…"Unfortunately, “criminal prosecution” for leaking grand jury material “was declined”. Ace, Hmmm: Assistant US Attorney Found to Have Illegally Leaked Grand Jury Information, but DOJ Declines to Prosecute (Again); - Coincidentally, the Assistant US Attorney who Prosecuted Michael Flynn Resigns

DOJ National Security Section Deputy Chief Deborah Curtis is leaving the DOJ effective 9/28/19.

She had been assigned to the Flynn case.

Reason for her departure currently unknown... pic.twitter.com/hCh88pvCfm

— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) September 27, 2019

Weird, huh? Well, if she shows up as a CNN correspondent, it will be confirmed. Meanwhile, the DOJ continues to stonewall Flynn and his lawyers on discovery, Prosecution Responds to Flynn Discovery Motion – Government Refuses to Provide Any Additional Evidence…

The DOJ responds today to the Flynn motion for additional evidence; ie. Brady material requested by Flynn’s defense. In the governments’ response filing (full pdf below), the DOJ rejects any additional efforts to provide evidence, and requests Judge Emmet Sullivan proceed directly to sentencing . . . Additionally, the government filed a weird appendix, intended to highlight the amount of Brady material the prosecution has turned over to the defense team.  However, it is notable the appendix is full of “summaries of” instead of the raw underlying evidence.

Meanwhile, it's been widely speculated that Attorney General William Barr's recent visit to Italy concerned the Mysterious Mr Mifsud and the Italians role in Spygate. The Guardian, US attorney general 'met Italian officials to discuss Russiagate', Da Beast, Barr Went to Rome to Hear a Secret Tape From Joseph Mifsud, the Professor Who Helped Ignite the Russia Probe,  Elizabeth Vaughn at Red State, The Reason For Barr And Durham’s Trip To Rome Last Week? To Hear A Secret Tape From The Mysterious Mr. Mifsud, and sundance, Confirmation – Bill Barr and John Durham Listened to Mifsud Audio-Tape Deposition in Italy… "If accurate, well, there’s the motive for the latest “CIA whistle-blower” approach." Ace, Confirmed: Barr Is In Italy to Meet With Man the Mueller Report Falsely Brands a "Russian Agent," Joseph Misfud

Remember, it's good and proper for the Deep State to employ this western agent to entrap US citizens, but it's illegal and impeachable for the US Attorney General to ask this western agent who put him up to the job of entrapping a US citizen.

At NR, Andy McCarthy writes Do Republicans See the Strategy to Discredit the Barr Investigation?

Virtually all mainstream-media reporting and Democratic commentary on the [Trump Zelensky] conversation now fits this pattern. It is noted that Trump, immediately after the “quid pro quo” set-up — “I would like you to do us a favor though” — invoked the attorney general, the nation’s top federal law-enforcement official. Studiously omitted is the context of this invocation: a wholly appropriate request by the president, to the head of state of a country in possession of relevant evidence, for cooperation with a legitimate investigation being conducted by our country’s Justice Department.

Instead, the coverage skips a few hundred words. It cuts directly to Trump’s suggestion that Zelensky look into whether there was any impropriety in former vice president Biden’s having purportedly “stopped the prosecution” that might have arisen out of a Ukrainian investigation involving his son.

The strategy here is obvious. The Democrats and their note-takers would like the public to believe that Barr’s investigation is an adjunct of the Trump 2020 campaign — and a grossly improper one at that. The misimpression they seek to create is that Barr is putting the nation’s law-enforcement powers in the service of Trump’s reelection campaign, in the absence of any public interest. The hope is that this will delegitimize not only any information that emerges from Ukraine but the whole of the Justice Department’s investigation of intelligence and law-enforcement abuses of power attendant to the 2016 election.
. . .
Democrats and their media friends are attempting to bleach away that context and paint the Barr investigation, in the public mind, as a corrupt extension of a down-and-dirty Trump 2020 political campaign. Republicans are not going to respond effectively unless they grasp this strategy.

The New Neo responds:

that might actually be one of the main motives for the “whistleblower” brouhaha and the impeachment inquiry as a whole. The timing suggests it, as well.

And to answer McCarthy’s question: I believe that Republicans are quite aware of this. We often call Republicans “the stupid party,” but I don’t think they are as stupid as that.

The strategy also applies to unfriendly journalists.  Grabien, John Solomon: Records Show that a DNC Contractor Came to the Ukranian Embassy to Ask for Help to Get Dirt on Trump. Unfortunately, an unembeddable video. Watch it. Zero Hedge, Solomon Hits Back With Receipts After MSM Denies DNC-Ukraine Collusion Attempt In 2016

As detailed in a 2017 Politico report that MSNBC's Katy Tur called Russian propaganda last week, DNC contractor and former Bill Clinton White House employee Alexandra Chalupa approached the Ukrainian embassy to solicit 'dirt' on the Trump campaign, and convince then-president Petro Poroshenko to help.

Mediaite, Putin Jokes About Election Interference: We’ll Do it Again in 2020, ‘Just Don’t Tell Anyone’ Of course he's having fun. He has the whole MSM helping to carry out his plot to discredit American elections.

Well, ordinarily, that would be plenty of Russiagate, but these aren't ordinary days. Now, on to the case of the mysterious CIA whistleblower. It seems the "whistleblower" shopped his info around and ended up giving it to Adam Schitt prior to submitting in to the IG. No wonder it's written in legalese with footnotes and all and sounds like a DNC operation. It was.  WaPoo, Whistleblower sought informal guidance from Schiff’s committee before filing complaint against Trump. Sundance, House Intelligence Committee Was Contacted By CIA ‘Whistle-blower’ Prior to Complaint Construction…

According to the report (written to defend the interests of Schiff et al), the CIA gossiper contacted the HPSCI after the top lawyer for the CIA would not advance his cause. We still suspect the ‘whistle-blower” is Michael Barry. Obviously the Times puts the customary spin on the information. . .

DaWire, BOMBSHELL: Schiff Knew About Whistleblower Allegations Well Before Complaint Filed, Well, not exactly a bombshell, but it explains a lot. Ace, Surprise! The Whistleblower Sent His Complaint to Adam Schiff First, Who Then Gave Him "Advice"

A source tells me that this probably means the whistleblower is not a whistleblower, but just a leaker. To be a whistleblower, you have to go through prescribed steps.

Running to the hyperpartisan Adam Schiff to preview your info op isn't one of those steps.
. . .
Well, there you go. It reads like it was written by a partisan Democrat legislative aide because it was written by a partisan Democrat legislative aide.

John Sexton, Hot Air,  Adam Schiff Learned About The Whistleblower Complaint In Advance (Update)

2/2 I think the answer is obvious. He knew how it would look. So he gave this answer, “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower.” If by “we” he meant only himself, he’s being slippery. If by “we” he meant himself and his staff, he lied.

— Brit Hume (@brithume) October 2, 2019

Adam Schitt lie? Twitchy, ‘So it was all a political stunt’? NYT: Adam Schiff got a heads-up about the whistleblower’s allegations before formal complaint was filed. Lots of luscious tweets. ET, Lawmakers Erupt After Report Reveals Schiff Knew of Whistleblower Complaint Before Filing: ‘This Explains a Lot’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) shared the report and wrote in a statement: “Chairman Adam Schiff just got caught orchestrating with the whistleblower before the complaint was ever filed. Democrats have rigged this process from the start.”

The NYT whines (through Hot Air), Was There Another Cover-Up In Response To The Whistleblower?

At DaFed, Sean Davis, who has done yeoman's work unraveling the changes in the the whistleblower regulations finds more:  Intel Community Admission Of Whistleblower Changes Raises Explosive New Questions. With the revelations that Schiff had the report before the rules changed, it makes it  clear why the rule were changed in order to make submission of the complaint possible:

In its press release, the ICIG also explicitly admitted it changed its policies because of the anti-Trump complaint, raising significant questions about whether the watchdog cooked its own books to justify its treatment of the anti-Trump complaint:

In the process of reviewing and clarifying those forms, and in response to recent press inquiries regarding the instant whistleblower complaint, the ICIG understood that certain language in those forms and, more specifically, the informational materials accompanying the forms, could be read — incorrectly — as suggesting that whistleblowers must possess first-hand information in order to file an urgent concern complaint with the congressional intelligence committees.

The ICIG’s claim that it would have been incorrect to perceive a requirement for firsthand information is bizarre considering the previous version of the form clearly stated in unambiguous language that firsthand evidence was required in order for “urgent concern” whistleblower complaints to be deemed credible. It said, in bold, underlined, all-caps text, “FIRST-HAND INFORMATION REQUIRED”:
. . .
Because the complaint did not allege wrongdoing against a member of the intelligence community (the president of the United States is an elected constitutional officer, not an employee of a statutory agency), did not allege wrongdoing with regard to an intelligence activity (a phone call between two elected world leaders is basic diplomacy, not the execution of a statutorily required intelligence activity), and relied primarily on hearsay rather than firsthand evidence, both the director of national intelligence (DNI) and the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel determined that the anti-Trump complaint was not an “urgent concern” under the law and was therefore not required to be transmitted to the relevant congressional committees. In spite of those determinations, the ICIG on its own and after revising its internal guidance and policies regarding firsthand evidence decided the complaint did qualify as an “urgent concern” and forwarded the anti-Trump complaint to Congress.

But wait, there's still more, On the topic of Biden and Ukraine, according to Flopping Aces Dr. John, What you were told about the Ukrainian prosecutor were lies. No shock there. But maybe they'll start to see from Capt. Ed, Hot Air, NBC’s Today: My, But Hunter Biden’s Business In China Is Interesting. Ace, Photo Emerges of Joe and Hunter Biden Playing Golf With Ukranian Gas Executive, Remember, Joe Biden has claimed he "never talked to [his son] about his overseas business dealings." Sundance, Epic Trump – President Trump Tweets Photograph of Biden, Exposing Ukraine Corruption… Twitchy, ‘LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH!’ Trump tweets video involving Biden, his son, Ukraine and Nickelback (and we’re officially DEAD). Video taken down for "copyright" reasons (actually Biden protection).

Ace again, Lee Smith: Democrats, Media (But I Repeat Myself) Have Ginned Up Ukraine Hoax to Pressure Barr Into Ending Russia Hoax Investigation

Instapundit calls it a "spoiling attack." Perhaps they're going on the offensive in order to get Barr and Trump to agree to a truce in which they don't get exposed, fired, and imprisoned. But the hell with that.

The Democrat/Media position is currently this dog's breakfast: It was good and proper for Obama to inveigle Australia to help frame George Papadoplous with Russia gossip that itself came from a US undercover operative, but it is illegal and impeachable for Trump or Barr to ask Australia about the details of the Obama frame-up of Papadopolous.
. . .
You can only ask foreign officials for dirt on Trump -- you can't ask them about who asked them to supply dirt on Trump.

Sundance, Disappointing State Department IG Meeting Deflates U.S. Media…

Well, the super-anticipated ‘closed door’ briefing was held today, and the IG handed out packets of information related to revelations of Democrats colluding with the Ukraine government. The exact opposite of what the media and the professional left anticipated.

MSN, Justice Dept. assures judge White House won’t destroy records of Trump calls, meetings with foreign leaders. Of course, but their not going to hand them over without a court fight either. And speaking of conspiracy theories, Odd markings, ellipses fuel doubts about the ‘rough transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine call. The Peacock, Giuliani turns on 'honest' Ukrainian prosecutor who says Bidens did nothing illegal. Capt. Ed, Giuliani: I Might Just Sue House Members For Conspiracy To Violate My Civil Rights. Sure, why not?

Host Laura Ingraham noted that Giuliani’s suggestion was “novel,” and that congressional immunity prevents House members from being sued for anything they say on the floor. But outside those parameters, Giuliani argued, they could be held liable for forming a “conspiracy” to deprive the president of his constitutional rights.

And FiveThirtyEight whines On Fox, Trump Is Not At The Center Of The Ukraine Story. Someone has to cover the Biden angle.

Impeachment? Really? Do I Have to? OK, let's just do links, though.

All Roads Lead to Mueller - WSJ

Instapundit » Blog Archive » IT’S GOING TO TURN OUT THAT TRUMP SET THIS WHOLE THING UP, ISN’T IT? Holman Jenkins: All Roads Lea…

The Morning Briefing: Twitter Outage and Outrage Edition | Trending

Impeachment isn’t futile for the left - Hot Air

Trump has disqualified himself from running in 2020 - Hot Air

Leftist Theory: Trump Is Using Impeachment To Deflect From Gun Control - Pirate's Cove

Impeachment rules say Senate must act, but its act might be a swift dismissal - Hot Air

Red-state Democrats worry impeachment may spin out of control - TheHill

Trump committed an impeachable offense just by threatening Adam Schiff- Da Week

Pelosi’s Impeachment by Innuendo Continues – Ukraine Narrative is The Vehicle… - The Last Refuge

Instapundit » Blog Archive » SEEN ON FACEBOOK: Hard to argue with!…

Doug Ross @ Journal: Based on their Hysterical Fundraising Emails, It Appears Pelosi and Schiff Just Realized they Screwed the Pooch

Moderate Democrats backing Donald Trump impeachment in GOP crosshairs - Washington Times

Thomas Massie on Twitter: "Don’t senators running for POTUS have a conflict of interest regarding possible impeachment of an opponent? Shouldn’t they recuse themselves if it came to the Senate? Wouldn’t anyone so positioned against a defendant be barred from serving as a judge or jury in a court of law?"

Tanlines Thursday

As I said before, the news isn't exactly teeing up many good opportunities.

The Wombat snuck Rule 5 Monday: Chris Noel in a day late.

A Hot Day at the Beach

It was 91 on Oct. 2 when Skye and I headed off to the beach under clear skies.

"I need a cooling break, Dad!"

But signs of fall coming.

Is it Oil, or Is It Iron?

The Pennsylvania Department of  Environmental Protection would like to remind you all that not all scum is pollution. Oil Sheens - All That Glitters ... Isn't Necessarily Pollution

One of the most visible and obvious signs of water pollution is an oil sheen. Seeing a shiny, translucent reflection on a pond or lake just looks wrong - but did you know that not all sheens are the result of pollution? Here is what you should know about sheens, how to tell the difference between naturally occurring sheens and those that are the result of pollution, and what you should do if you discover a sheen caused by pollution.

A sheen is "an iridescent appearance on the surface of the water." The iridescent, lustrous appearance could be caused by a petroleum spill finding its way into the water - or the sheen could be a naturally occurring result of iron bacteria. Iron bacteria are small living organisms which naturally occur in soil, shallow groundwater, and surface waters and are harmless to the environment. Petroleum sheens on the other hand are harmful to the environment and should be reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). But how can you tell the difference between the two and what should you do if you discover a sheen caused by pollution?

A very simple, yet very effective method to tell if an oil sheen is organic or the result of pollution, is to throw a rock into the sheen, or to break it apart with a stick. A bacterial sheen will typically break into small platelets when disturbed while a petroleum sheen will quickly reform. Another way to tell them apart is by smell. Natural sheens don't smell like petroleum.
. . .
Please remember, the next time that you see an oily sheen on surface water, do the rock test to determine if the sheen is organic or the result of pollution and report all pollution sheens to DEP. 

I take from this that Pennsylvania has a substantial number of false reports of oil pollution caused by iron bacteria. The effect can be exacerbated by mines, like, say coal mines that Pennsylvania has in abundance, that can bleed acid mine waste loaded with the reduced iron that iron bacteria grow on, and cause the film, thus being a sign of pollution, albeit a different type of pollution than oil.

Several different pieces of ironstone on the beach today

However, the process is, in fact natural in many places, and if it goes on long enough can produce a well known form of iron ore, bog iron, which Vikings exploited as iron ore.

The process is quite common around here, usually in drainage ditches. Moreover, we have lots of evidence for the process from the past, in the form of ironstone, a form of sandstone commonly found in the ground, and washed up on our beaches.

Another Russiagate Link Dump

Too much to snark my way through, and I don't feel much like it this morning.

Russiagate

Mollie on Twitter: "In fact, Mueller probe itself discredited the Russia collusion conspiracy theory, finding not a single American had conspired to steal 2016 election. Determining how that false narrative got spread and was weaponized is imperative even if it makes media, others look bad.… https://t.co/zrqdqhuGly"
Michael Goodwin: The Left Now Supports CIA Agents Spying On The President | Video | RealClearPolitics
Report: AG Barr Is Ramping Up His Probe Of CIA, FBI Activities In 2016 | The Daily Caller
Confirmed: AG Barr and U.S. Atty. John Durham Traveled to Italy to Question Officials About Russia Hoax – American Greatness
Giuliani: ‘Pretty Close To Overwhelming Evidence’ That Obama Ordered Hillary, Democrats To Dig Up Dirt In Ukraine On Trump | The Daily Wire

DOJ Will Start Releasing Hundreds Of Pages Of Mueller Probe Documents Each Month | The Daily Caller
Confirmed: PM Told Trump Australia Would Assist Probe Into Origins of Russia Probe
New Evidence Suggests Prosecutors Pressured Michael Flynn To Lie
Dems, media aim to squash Barr’s probe of Russia-collusion hoax
CNN Uses McCabe To Question Investigation Into McCabe
Stephen Miller: “The Deep State is Terrified of Being Exposed”… | The Last RefugeAustralia Offered Help Long Before NYT Claim: ‘Trump Pressed Australian Leader’

Whistleblower

No One Noticed When Clinton and Obama Abused Whistleblowers
ICIG Admission Of Whistleblower Changes Raises Explosive New Questions
Left Tries To Ignore Changes Letting Whistleblowers Weaponize Hearsay

Biden-Ukraine

Ukraine Mystery: Schiff Staffer Made August Visit for Think Tank Backed by Hunter Biden's Old Employer | Breitbart
Grassley: It's Time to Follow Up on My July 2017 Letter About the DNC and Ukraine
Inspector General’s Ties Suggest Ukraine ‘Scandal’ is Just More Collusion Hoax – American Greatness
Althouse: “The two new primary polls out this afternoon don't show any negative fallout for Biden in the D primary from the Ukraine story.”
2014 Photo Shows Joe And Hunter Biden Golfing With Ukraine Gas Co. Exec. | The Daily Caller
Adam Schiff's Office Denies Conflict of Interest for Staffer on Think Tank Backed by Ukraine Gas Company | Breitbart
What did China get out of Hunter Biden? Not his investment smarts
Democrats Subpoena Secretary Of State Pompeo Over Trump’s Ukraine Call, Pompeo Responds | The Daily Wire
Waters: If Pompeo Defies Subpoenas, I Hope 'We Can Drag Him in or We Can Arrest Him' | Breitbart
Ukraine: The Democratic Party’s effort to overthrow the elected government | Behind The Black
Liz Cheney: Trump-Ukraine call 'starting to seem like a political setup'
ANALYSIS: Hunter Biden tied to China firm with questionable dealings
Hillary Clinton questions Trump's decision to use secure server to store his calls - Sara A. Carter
White House ordered ultrasecret system upgraded to prevent leaks - POLITICO
Giuliani: Corrupt media ignore reports of Biden’s corruption in China, Ukraine | One America News Network

Impeachment

Bring On the Biggest Nothingburger of Them All – American Greatness
Althouse: “Were the collective nerve endings of the electorate not so frayed and numbed by now, we might be even more alive to the ugliness of this message from the White House.”
McConnell says he'd have 'no choice' but to take up impeachment articles if House approves them | Fox News
Jeff Flake Pens Op-Ed to Remind Everyone Why He Was Run out of Office
Trump cranks up grievance machine - POLITICO
Instapundit » Blog Archive » REPUBLICANS POUNCE! Trump cranks up grievance machine. “Trump’s campaign has turned impeachment in…
How Far Will the WaPo Go to Generate Clicks? Meet the Trump Georgia Butt Peach Story | VodkaPundit
Red State Democrats Worry Impeachment Might Cost Them the Senate
The Impeachment Theater Won’t Stop The Spygate Fallout
Jason Chaffetz: Trump's transparency is driving the left nuts (and messing up their impeachment dreams) | Fox News
Althouse: “As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the....”
Donald Trump: Impeachment Effort a 'Coup' to Take Power from the People
Rep. Ratcliffe: Democrats Trying to 'Undo One Election and...Influence the Next One'
Absolutely, Let’s Have an Impeachment Trial | The American Spectator
Trump Officials Braced For Impending Impeachment Talk With Counter-Offensive: Report | The Daily Caller
Presidential Inquisitions Might Yet Become Routine in a Country at War With Itself.
'Obstruction trap': Trio of GOP congressmen rips impeachment inquiry as effort to 'undermine' DOJ inquiry
Pompeo rejects Dem demands for officials' testimony | TheHill

In The Mailbox: 10.01.19 : The Other McCain brings the usually sensible Megan McArdle: Please Don’t Make It Too Hard for Republicans To Gate On The Impeachment Train and other links.

Need a First Aid Kit?

First Aid Kit, the band:

First Aid Kit is a Swedish folk duo that consists of the sisters Klara (vocals–guitar) and Johanna Söderberg (vocals–keyboards–autoharp–bass guitar). When performing live, the duo is accompanied by a drummer, a pedal steel guitarist and a keyboard player. In 2008, they became internationally known by their YouTube video cover of the Fleet Foxes's song "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" that gained some Internet popularity. Their song "Emmylou" was chosen by Rolling Stone magazine as the number 10 "Single of the Year" in 2012. They have released four albums, four EPs and a handful of singles. In 2015 they were nominated for a Brit Award as one of the five best international groups. They were nominated again in 2019

The Wombat snuck Rule 5 Monday: Chris Noel in a day late.

Back From Fishing

I answered a last minute call for a walk-on trip with Pete, for this morning. Daybreak found us out in the Chesapeake Bay outside of Solomons. Nothing on shore at Cedar Point, and too many boats at the lighthouse, so we headed south, where we shortly found Bluefish under birds in the main stem. We filled my limit with blues for the smoker, and headed on south where . . .

We found a pod of breaking fish under birds that were more Spanish Mackerel than blues, and stayed a while.

Once we were tired of that, we headed further south and across to South Marsh Island, from where we started to move north again, checking points and grass beds for Speckled Trout (specks) and stripers. Not much luck with stripers (lots of smalls), but at one grass bed we stopped at the Speckled Trout were remarkably thick. Between that, and a few more specks elsewhere we estimate we landed 40.

Guess who's having Speckled Trout and Spanish Mackerel for dinner. The blues are being brined for smoking.

Stale Russiagate

It's been sitting around all day, and, doing something more important, fishing, I haven't had time to add anything new. I've bolded a few for special attention.

Overall Russiagate

Barr personally asked foreign officials to aid inquiry into CIA, FBI activities in 2016 - The Washington Post
Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins
NYT: Trump asked Australian PM to help DOJ investigation into Russiagate probe
WaPo: Intelligence officials alarmed that AG Barr is taking a direct role in investigating ‘conspiracy theories’ – twitchy.com
Ace of Spades HQ Washington Post: Intelligence Community Increasingly Worried That Trump Is Investigating Insane "Conspiracy Theories" That They Ran Some Kind of Covert Op in the 2016 Election
Ace of Spades HQ AG Barr Travels to Italy on "Official Business;" Is He There to Interview Josef Misfud?
Asking Australia For Help In Investigating Russia Collusion Hoax Is Now Illegal, Say People Who Used Official US Spy Officials to Ask Australia for Help Concocting the Russia Collusion Hoax
David Marcus on Twitter: "Australia played a central role in the origins of the Mueller investigation. Why is it bad to ask for their cooperation in getting to the bottom of it?… https://t.co/NIDnqSEDu0"
Two GOP senators say Ukraine worked with DNC to undermine Trump campaign, want DOJ probe - Washington Times
Althouse: “President Trump is trying to hijack this election. We cannot let him get away with it.”
Dan Bongino calls the Russia investigation the biggest political scandal of our time | Fox News
John Brennan Engages In Sedition On Twitter - Gets Called Out For His Own Treason - The Washington Standard
EBL: Coup d'Trump 🤜
The long knives come out for The Hill's John Solomon
In The Mailbox: 09.30.19 : The Other McCain
Smart Move – Flynn Lawyer Tells Judge Motive Behind Why Flynn Took Guilty Plea… | The Last Refuge
Senator Lindsey Graham on Spygate: “I Know We’re Going To Find Out About That in Two Weeks”… | The Last Refuge
BREAKING: Australian Government Releases May 28th Letter Destroying New York Times Narrative… | The Last Refuge
FLASHBACK Chopper Presser May 24, 2019 – President Trump: “I hope Barr looks at the UK, and I hope he looks at Australia, and I hope he looks at Ukraine”… | The Last Refuge
Lawfare (Via WaPo) Enters Narrative Construction – Bill Barr Working With Foreign Governments on 2016 Election Investigation… | The Last Refuge

The Whistleblower

Did The Inspector General Help The ‘Whistleblower’ Try To Frame Trump?

GOP Shows Russian Trolls How It’s Done With Trump Inspector General Whistleblower Smear
Brennan Calls on Unlimited Number of Deep State Spies to Use New, Secretly Altered Whistleblower Complaint Form to 'Report Trump'
Gossip-Ridden 'Whistleblower' Complaint Follows Steele Dossier Template
Whistleblower’s Claim That Senior State Dept. Official Was on Trump–Ukraine Call Inaccurate: Report
Lindsey Graham: "Why Did They Change The Rules" Allowing Whistleblowers To Cite Hearsay? "This Thing Stinks" | Video | RealClearPolitics
Scott Pelley Leads 60 Minutes Impeachment Coverage With Lie: “Whistleblower Under Federal Protection”… | The Last Refuge
Did The Inspector General Help The ‘Whistleblower’ Try To Frame Trump?
"Resistance by Whistleblower" Was Part Of The Anti-Trump Plan From The Start
Joy Behar: Remember Linda Tripp? 'Irrelevant' If Whistleblower Is a Partisan!
Lindsey Graham: "We're not going to try the president of the United States based on hearsay"
Schiff May Have Oversold Whistleblower's Testimony - Victory Girls Blog
ICIG Michael Atkinson Attempts Four-Page Justification for Changing “Urgent Concern” Whistle-blower Guidelines… | The Last Refuge

Biden-Ukraine

Hunter Biden: The Most Comprehensive Timeline | National Review
Patterico's Pontifications » So Was Shokin Still Investigating Biden When He Was Fired, Or Not?
Ace of Spades HQ NeverTrump Love Object Jake Tapper: Stop Saying The Spectacularly Corrupt Hunter Biden Used His Name to Enrich Himself, Jim Jordan, Or I'll Attack You With Perkins-Coie's Smear of You
Ace of Spades HQ The Morning Rant
'Well, Son of a Bitch' : Ukraine Scandal Is About Biden
Gregg Jarrett: Ukraine is just the latest ploy in 'witch hunt' to drive Trump from White House | Fox News
Holy Cats – CBS Margaret Brennan Embarrassed Herself During Meltdown Debate With Rudy Giuliani Over Ukraine… | The Last Refuge
He Continues – Rudy Giuliani Wrecks ABC’s Narrative Engineer George Stephanopoulos… | The Last Refuge
Instapundit » Blog Archive » JAMES FREEMAN: Hillary Clinton and Ukraine: A letter released Monday raises questions beyond the B…
Instapundit » Blog Archive » BREAKING: CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL WORKS TO ENFORCE LAW: Attorney General Barr Personally As…
Joe diGenova: Fox News's report about me working on the Ukraine matter "off the books" was absolutely false
Rudy Giuliani Continues to Outline Biden Corruption and The “Compliant Crooked” Media… | The Last Refuge

Impeachment

Now Schiff wants all of Trump's calls with Putin
Republicans Begin Impeachment Investigation... | Ricochet
FLASHBACK: New York Times Opposed Impeachment Threats When They Thought Hillary Would Win | Trending
This stinks: A biased press is mauling Trump's TV defenders
Liz Peek: Democrats toss Biden aside in zeal to impeach — ensuring Trump's reelection | Fox News
Democrats see impeachment as landmine for Republican Senate - POLITICO
Impeach Clinton? Impeach Trump? What lawmakers said then, what they say now
Mukasey Op-ed Should Strike Fear in Democrats | Roger L. Simon
The Democrats Aren’t Wrong About Impeachment | Power Line
Trump & Ukraine: Why Trump Did Nothing Wrong in His Call with Zelensky | National Review
Why Nancy Pelosi Now Supports Impeachment Even Though It’s Insane
In Trump impeachment, 'no one is above the law' could backfire on Democrats
Adam Schiff's collusion with oligarch, Ukrainian arms dealer, exposed
Hey Democrats, Impeach This!
Impeachment? Bring it on. Trump can put the Dems on trial in the Senate
wretchardthecat on Twitter: "If politicians sincerely want to step back from the brink, now's the time. Otherwise your actions will at some point unleash a runaway train."
WaPo: Talk we must about the President Pelosi impeachment scenario
The U.S. Senate Has a Survival Interest in Supporting Impeachment Effort… | The Last Refuge

Gone Fishin'

But not like this:



Vicky Stark was a star of Fish Pic Friday. Maybe I'll get to Russiagate when I get back.

The Wombat snuck Rule 5 Monday: Chris Noel in a day late.

Tattoos for Tuesday

The news has not been fruitful:

The Wombat snuck Rule 5 Monday: Chris Noel in a day late.