Today’s Poser

For what did Hunter Biden receive a $3.5 million wire transfer from the wife of the former mayor of Moscow, Russia?  (See: Newsweek Article). Quid pro quo anyone? Again, the poser ... what exactly was the quo?


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Headlines

TikTok-Oracle deal raises fresh privacy concerns

Nikola deputes fraud claims but acknowledges that truck wasn’t driving itself

Supposedly nonpartisan ‘Transition Integrity Project’ has ties to Hunter Biden

The return of Windman ... Trump ‘unwitting agent’ of Putin

Trump campaign changes strategy in mail-in ballot lawsuit against New Jersey

‘Now is not the time to worry’ about the fiscal deficit of the Fed’s balance sheet, Mnuchin says

Two LA deputies ambushed by gunman are in stable condition, expected to recover

Why the left is normalizing child porn ...

Former Trump economic adviser: ‘I honestly haven’t made up my mind’ on 2020 vote

Coronavirus live update: WHO reports record one-day spike in cases; Delta to raise $6.5 billion

President Trump rallies in Nevada, defying governor

Trump agrees to 4-hour debate moderated by Joe Rogan


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

Headlines

POLITICO’s election forecast: Trump, GOP Senate in trouble

Trump administration releases list of companies that received most money from small business loans

Soros set to double 2016 election spending this year

Nike won’t sell [Redskins] team gear until name changes

Federal judge orders Dakota Access pipeline to close

Electoral College voters can be forced to back state popular vote winners, Supreme Court says

Chinese firm removes Hunter Biden from board on company website, but he still owns 10% of company

Hundreds return to protest outside armed couple’s home in St. Louis

Trump criticizes NASCAR ban on Confederate flags, attacks black driver

Coronavirus hospitalizations grow in more than 20 states as Texas admissions soar to new record

Niagara Falls - area becomes ground zero of maijuana smuggling

Israel blew up nuclear site in Iran, official tells New York Times

Headlines

California may test state lawmakers before they return to Sacramento

Coronavirus live update: California launches meal delivery program for seniors, US death toll tops 50,000

CBO predicts 10.1% unemployment — through 2021 ...

“Thank you very much’ — Donald Trump leaves briefing without taking questions

Newsom executive order tests Constitutional bounds — and legislative goodwill

Trump tries to walk back speculation about injecting disinfectants to fight coronavirus

Poll: 48% believe gov’t covering up true number ...

Trump administration bars hedge funds and private equity from rescue loans

Deficit to soar to nearly $4T as economy buckles, CBO says

As working from home becomes more widespread, many say they don’t want to go back

The coming deurbanization of USA?

Peter Schweizer: Hunter Biden still owns ten percent of Chinese firm BHR

Headlines

Trump pushes forward conservative transformation of Medicaid

Trump impeachment trial: Senators ask final questions before critical witness vote

Republicans could move to quick acquittal vote ... claim momentum ...

Graham there are ‘53 Republican votes to call Hunter Biden’

Wilbur Ross says coronavirus could bring jobs back to the U.S. from China

GM resurrecting Hummer as ab all-electric ‘super truck’ with 1,000 horsepower

Mexican economy suffers first contraction in decade ...

Impeachment poll: 47% for removal, 48% against

U.S. economy grew at moderate 2.1% rate in fourth quarter

Economic growth looks even weaker this quarter virus now a wild card

Fed pumps another $82 billion ...

Netanyahu in Moscow to discuss Mideast peace plan

Headlines

Bolton upends Republican fight against witnesses

Coronavirus prompts automakers to evacuate workers from China, weigh production delays

USA warns against China travel

Report: FBI reviewing allegations that Ilhan Omar married her brother

Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce ‘public charge’ immigration rule

Hunter Biden agrees to pay child support to Arkansas woman, avoids contempt charges

Romney, Collins signal [impeachment trial] was witness support ...

NYT: Draft Bolton book says Trumps wanted to withhold aid for inquiries

Trump predicts Palestinians will buy into his Middle East peace plan

US Air Force plane crashes in central Afghanistan

FoxNews poll: 50% want Trump conviction and removal ...

Report: Alexander Vindman’s brother clears books by NSC officials

Resolutions

- Stop worrying about the looming ice age

- Make friends with Hunter Biden

- Memorize the Old Testament

- Visit Mar-a-Largo

- Read the Mueller Report and IG Horowitz’s FISA Report

- Walk around the block at least once a week

- Try to like Bernie Sanders

- Start a charitable family foundation to fund our vacations

-  Get Greta Thunberg an Exxon credit card

- Stop making New Year’s resolutions

Headlines

The Fed could face a possible ‘inflation scare’ in 2020 with commodity prices on the rise

3 years in, no sign of Trump’s replacement for Obamacare ...

Pete Buttigieg knocks Joe Biden’s support of the Iraq war

Bill De Blasio calls NYC ‘the safest big city in America’

The battery decade: How energy storage could revolutionize industries in the next 10 years

GALLUP: Obama, Trump tied as most admired man ...

Barack Obama picks his own documentary among favorite movies of 2019

Hunter Biden owed $113,000 in unpaid taxes for year he served on Burisma board

Ivanka Trump may not return to the White House if her father wins in 2020

Shooting at church in Texas ... Gunman shot dead by parishioner ...

Suspect arrested, drenched in blood, in Hanukkah machete attack ...

CBS reporter says Trump’s record with minorities is one ‘any president after 3 years would want to claim’

Headlines

Taliban council agrees to a ceasefire in Afghanistan

2019 US box office projected for $11.4 billion haul, second highest of all time

Zuckerberg’s personal wealth rose by $27 billion this year ...

Walter Williams warns Virginia about Gov. Northam’s gun registry plan

Joe Kennedy: Pelosi handling impeachment the right way

Wave of new laws to take effect in 2020: Electric cars, data privacy, pot & more

Biden leaves unclear if he would honor a Senate subpoena ...

Kennedy: If we question Hunter Biden, what about Trump’s children?

5 stabbed at rabbi’s house on Hanukkah, suspect in custody

It’s an election year, but don’t expect new fiscal stimulus, says Goldman

NYC bail reform setting suspects free after string of anti-semetic attacks ..

Suicide bomber slays at least 90 in Somalia attack

Headlines

Mike Lee is the quiet force to get Trump acquitted

Bloomberg campaign vendor used prison labor to make calls for 2020 presidential bid

$34.4 billion ... Biggest shopping day in history ...

Pollak: Pelosi’s delay, by itself, denies Trump a ‘fair trial’

China, Japan and South Korea meet as North Korea threat looms

Trump jokes that North Korea’s ‘Christmas gift’ may be  a ‘beautiful vase’ not a missile test

Multiple reports of object traveling ‘at 1,000mph’ over Vegas ...

88% of students agree ‘Merry Christmas’ is not offensive

House counsel suggests Trump could be impeached again

IPOs overall beat the market this year despite some ‘mega busts’

Laser-linked satellites could deliver worldwide ‘Internet from space’ ...

Private investigator claims Hunter Biden under criminal probe for Burisma-linked money laundering

Headlines

Trade rep: China will determine success of trade deal

With Xi’s backing China looks to become a world leader in blockchain as US policy is absent

USA secretly expels Chinese diplomats breached military base

Donald Trump: Nancy Pelosi’s teeth ‘falling out of her mouth’

Larry Kudlow: New trade deal will give economy 0.5% boost

Schumer proposes Bolton, Mulvaney testify in Senate impeachment trial

Trump: FoxNews will die ... calls Comcast ‘Commiecast’ ...

Six illegal aliens accused of sex trafficking underage girl

Trump hints at jail time after Comey says ‘I was wrong’ about FISA process

Lighthizer says phase-one trade deal is ‘totally done’ and will double exports to China in two years

Boeing weighs halting 737 Max production ...

Cruz: Investigating Hunter Biden ‘perfectly’ legal

Headlines

‘Combustible’: Trump’s pivotal moment with Iran

US wants trade deal but won’t turn blind eye to Hong Kong, Trump national security adviser says

Republicans skeptical Pelosi will go through with it [impeachment] ...

Report: GOP Senators seek ‘Suspicious Activity Reports’ on Ukraine and Hunter Biden

Top Dem says ethics investigation into Devin Nunes likely

China attacks US at G-20 as world’s biggest source of instability

Rev. Graham says opposition to president ‘demonic’ ...

Bernie Sanders ‘disgusted’ by Bloomberg’s $31 million ad buy

Bolton claims White House blocked access to his twitter account after departure

Giuliani associate willing to testify Nunes met with a Ukrainian, attorney says

Smugglers cut truck-size hole in border wall ...

Will Hurd holds fast with Republicans on impeachment, angering left

Headlines

Bloomberg makes ‘massive’ ad buy

US consumer sentiment comes in higher than expected in November

Warren left shaken after dozens of protesters storm rally ...

William Barr: Epstein’s death was a ‘perfect storm of screwups’

FCC votes to exclude Huawei, ZTE out of U.S. networks

Goldman sees a ‘baby bear’ bond market I 2020 in a year of risks

Trump: I want a [Senate] trial ...

Lindsey Graham launches Senate probe into Bidens’ Burisma actions

Buttigieg staffers join union

California court tosses law to require Trump to release tax returns to get on primary ballot

Obama to Dems: Chill out ...

Report: Hunter Biden-linked firm received $130M in [gov’t] bailout loans

Questionable

To me, there were at least five questionable elements in the first Impeachment Inquiry hearing yesterday:

1) Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff asserted repeatedly that he doesn’t know the identity of the whistleblower! He is clearly lying. For this to be true, Schiff either is not managing his staff ... or he is grossly incompetent. Neither can be true.

2) Before Ambassador Taylor accepted the top job in the Ukraine from SecState Pompeo, he testified he told Pompeo he would resign if we did not continue to support Kiev. If Trump had actually withheld such aid illegally, as Taylor has claimed, how come he didn’t resign? This failing clearly contradicts his testimony or sullies his character.

3) If Trump was forcing the president of the Ukraine into a quid pro quo, how come the president of this country did nothing to investigate its involvement in the 2016 American election ... or the Burisma use of Hunter Biden to influence our policy there? Nothing was done for over six weeks between the infamous phone call and the release of the aid, yet Trump’s supposed threat was not carried out.

4) Adam Schiff interrupted the Republicans at least twice in their questioning of the witnesses. He did not interrupt the Democrats at all. He also refused to hold a vote on calling the whistleblower to testify. Instead, he held a vote on tabling the motion on calling the whistleblower. Very shifty!

5) The Dems are now accusing Trump of (since it must be a high crime) bribery with his withholding of Ukrainian aid awaiting an investigation of 2016 election tampering and general corruption. Isn’t this backwards? Wouldn’t bribery require Trump to be bribed ... not he being the briber? Using this notion, wouldn’t all charity auctions be bribery? Anyway, it sure sounds evil ... and that's what counts.

Afterward ... see: Diplomad’s Comments.

Headlines

Trump impeachment  witnesses leave a trail of tantalizing clues

S&P 500 jumps to record high on strong earnings, trade-deal progress

Trump greeted by boos, chants of ‘lock him up’ at World Series game ...

Impeachment witness Bill Taylor led Ukraine delegation for group advised by Hunter Biden

Brown: California fires show ‘the horror’ world will face from climate change

Chart analysts say new record gives investors the green light to jump back into bull market

Russia ‘doubts’ it [Baghdadi takedown] took place ...

Report: Democrat [Rep.] Kate Hill to resign

Trump says phase one of China trade deal is ‘ahead of schedule’

Cramer on stock record: We need apologies from trade-war naysayers who said US would be damaged

Survey: 1 in 3 millennials see Communism as favorable ...  70% likely to vote socialist ...

FNC’s Wallace presses Pence: ‘Why didn’t the president notify’ Pelosi

Headlines

Castro blindsides Buttigieg over Chicago donation

The US and China made ‘substantial progress’ at trade talks, Chinese vice-premier says

Riots stun Chile ... Unrest around the world ...

Donald Trump fires back at ‘disaster ‘ Susan Rice

Clinton claims Russia grooming Gabbard to be a third-.party candidate

Scientists debate if lab+grown meat could exacerbate climate change

Hedge Fund King: ‘World in great sag’; echos 1930s ...

Tulsi Gabbard dubs Hillary Clinton ‘Queen of Warmongers’

U.K. Parliament votes to force Boris Johnson to seek a Brexit  extension

The yield-curve recession indicator is righting itself, but that does not mean we’re in the clear

38 people cited for violations in Clinton email probe ...

Report’ Obama administration ‘rebuffed’ efforts that Burisma was corrupt and linked to Hunter Biden

Headlines

Cruz denounces Trump’s call for China to probe Bidens

Hunter Biden resigns from Chinese board following Trump attacks

Dems discuss detaining White House  official who don’t testify ...

New York Post: Fox News ‘misrepresented’ impeachment poll

Germany’s Merkel tells Erdogan to halt Syrian offensive

Superstar German DJ ‘permanently banned’ from China after liking a ‘South Park’ tweet

Envoy who denied quid pro quo now says he isn’t certain ...

It’s on: Bernie breaks truce with Warren

ISIS supporters escape amid Turkish attack

Boeing CEO loses chairman role to focus on 737 Max crisis

Turkey deliberately ‘bracketing’ US forces with artillery fire in Syria ...

Schiff: Don’t need ‘quid pro quo’ to get impeach

Headlines

Another judge rules against Trump on border wall

Trump says US has come to a substantial phase one deal with China

Shep Smith out at Fox ... Trump critic exits

Report: More possible ‘whistleblowers’ are reaching out to lawmakers

Judge blocks Trump’s move to deny green cards to recipients of government benefits

US says China tariffs scheduled to rise on Tuesday suspended; no decision on other tariffs

Report: Turkey bombs US special forces in Syria ... ‘By mistake’ ...

Biden campaign warns Dem candidates: Do not repeat ‘discredited lies’ about Hunter

Trump threatens sanctions against Turkey amid Syria backlash

Trump says Fed should cut rates anyway even though US and China have agreed to a trade deal

LA wildfires rage ... 10,000 evacuated ...

Schweizer and McLeod: Hunter Biden helped China get ‘strategically sensitive assets’

Quid Pro Quo

Joe and Hunter Biden

               Vice President Joe Biden              President Donald Trump

Quid    Not withhold $1B Ukraine aid     Not delay $400M Ukraine aid

Type                   Explicit                                        Alleged Implicit

Evidence          Video tape                                 Phone call transcript

Quo    Fire prosecutor investigating        Investigate Biden’s previous
          Burisma corruption and then   threat and circumstances around
           appointing Hunter Biden as a    Burisma’s adding Hunter Biden
           Director at $50K per month     (with no experience) to its Board                 

Headlines

‘I think I’d take it’: Trump says he might not report foreign help to FBI in 2020

The price of apples is soaring in China, and Beijing is showing concern

What the hell is going on in Dominican Republic? MORE DEAD ...

Illegal immigration soars to Clinton era levels

California inmates can legally possess marijuana, court says

The price of oil jumps more than 3% on reports of oil tanker incident in Gulf of Oman off Iran

Federal deficit soars past $3T, Spending out of control

2020 poll: Joe Biden 53%, Donald Trump 40%

Warren leapfrogs Sanders in pair of 2020 polls

China’s Vice Premier Liu He calls for more measures to support economy

Hong Kong protests turn violent in standoff over China’s control ...

Hunter Biden secretly marries after split from brother’s widow