The “Obama spied on Trump’ lie is back

Tucker Carlson said it and Trump tweets it.

“The Obama people did something that’s never been done…They spied on a rival presidential campaign. Would it be OK if Trump did it next? I am losing faith that our system is on the level. I’m beginning to think it is rotten & corrupt. Scary stuff Obama did.” @TuckerCarlson DOJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018

Here are the facts.

Preston Sturges

Born Today, August 29, in 1898, Writer/Director/Producer Preston Sturges –

Directed and wrote Christmas in July, The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero…https://t.co/WlXvov2AV1 pic.twitter.com/OGapZCzjtp
— Classic Movie Hub (@ClassicMovieHub) August 29, 2018

Sturges wrote and directed a great group of comedies in the early 1940s. My favorite is The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. His other early films are on DVDs in this box set.

The Palm Beach Story and Sullivan’s Travels are available on Blu-ray and DVD from Criterion.

Criterion also offers DVDs of The Lady Eve and the later Unfaithfully Yours.

Preston Sturges and Veronica Lake on the set of Sullivan's Travels (1941).#PrestonSturges #Botd pic.twitter.com/2YRi61Khe5
— Albert Galera (@AlbertGalera) August 29, 2018

"I never write down to my audiences. I respect honest sentiment and honest pratfalls." — Preston Sturges. #bornthisday pic.twitter.com/25gBP2RgCB
— MUBI (@mubi) August 29, 2018

The picture above is from the set of The Lady Eve.

One-sheet poster for “Sullivan’s Travels”. 1941. USA. Directed by Preston Sturges. Poster art direction by Maurice Kallis. pic.twitter.com/n2SfdPkw04
— Alex Lu (@aluneg2014) August 29, 2018

The brilliant PRESTON STURGES born this date (1898–1959). Here with his brilliant cast of the brilliant The Palm Beach Story. Some people overuse the word "brilliant", but not me. pic.twitter.com/wII5TvvYVI
— Patricia Nolan-Hall (@CaftanWoman) August 29, 2018

10 Best Preston Sturges Movies, Ranked

Preston Sturges presents “The Players”

Few Democrats want to abolish ICE

This poll shows that few Democrats want to abolish ICE. Many Democrats want to reform ICE but I have seen many headlines translate that to “abolish”.

Democrats don’t want open borders either.

What ICE does.

2018 elections update September 4, 2018

Projections on the House

Republicans have a 1 in 5 chance of keeping control of the House, while Democrats have about a 4 in 5 chance of winning control of the House. https://t.co/lyNh30TEIw pic.twitter.com/fq6g6kanCj

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) September 4, 2018

One sentence from @SteveSchmidtSES captures the #midterms:

"If you want to live in Trumpistan, vote for the Republicans, if you want to continue to live in America, a nation where rule of law, decency, civility matter, your only choice is to vote for the Democrats."

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 4, 2018

Is a so-called "blue wave" really coming for Democrats in the midterms? @SteveKornacki joined @NBCLeftField for a VR break-down of the data. https://t.co/9FUerfcdAc

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 4, 2018

Two polls released Tuesday show Democrats with a double-digit advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot two months ahead of the midterm elections https://t.co/b1NuwlZqaT pic.twitter.com/E9ClC8SOCo

— CNN (@CNN) September 4, 2018

Ahead of the 2018 midterms, there's been massive increases in Democratic primary turnout while often a minimal uptick — or even noticeable dip — in turnout among Republican voters. https://t.co/oPHttRkQl9

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) September 4, 2018

Donald Trump’s approval rating has plunged and so have Republicans’ midterm chances, new poll indicates https://t.co/g9HoMMe2Ep pic.twitter.com/VFkUtrEjsk

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 4, 2018

Have you ever wanted to break down the numbers like @SteveKornacki?

Try out some #TrackingKornacki analysis yourself with this new interactive map in the midterms race for the House –> https://t.co/XXI2FS7SPl pic.twitter.com/jkKNG6WQkI

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 4, 2018

Facebook's ex-security chief Alex Ramos says the election hacking threat has not improved and has, in fact, "intensified" going into the 2018 midterms. @LaurieSegallCNN spoke to him.

"We have the risk of turning our elections into the World Cup of information warfare…" pic.twitter.com/loDRUhU0Fz

— New Day (@NewDay) September 4, 2018

JUST IN: Democratic House candidates lead their Republican opponents nationally by 14 points among registered voters in a new @ABC News/Washington Post poll—their widest advantage in midterm election vote preferences since 2006. https://t.co/gW3J2BtAfG

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 4, 2018

Trump projects his own behavior on others

When you see “anonymous source,” stop reading the story, it is fiction!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018

He believes reporters lie and sources lie because he lies and did so when he was an "anonymous" source. https://t.co/kSl5kB5G8D

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 29, 2018

President Trump confirms anonymously sourced Axios report just an hour after Tweeting that anonymously sourced reports are fiction: https://t.co/y53Sp8WFds

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) August 29, 2018

The president was a longtime anonymous source for the New York Post, has called reporters not on-the-record as president and even surreptitiously acted as his own spokesman. https://t.co/QWD4BnspgZ

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) August 29, 2018

And, to be clear, often trying to make claims on background about himself with tenuous factual basis https://t.co/WBNBUEtUEH

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 29, 2018

Calling a lie a lie

The media has hesitated to call Trump’s false statements lies.

I think their cowardice really works to Trump’s advantage. If they don’t want to call it a lie the first time he says something false, that’s alright. However, Trump repeats false statements after they have publicly been corrected by the media. How are those not lies?

How can Pence say Democrats “resist and obstruct” after what Republicans did to Garland?

Hyprocrites!

…Justice Antonin Scalia was confirmed 98-0 and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received support of 96 Senators. If we lived in a more respectful time, Judge Brett Kavanaugh would be overwhelmingly confirmed by the United States Senate. #ConfirmKavanaugh

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) August 28, 2018

Former DHS employee planned social events with white nationalists

White nationalists like Trump

Just published: @RosieGray obtained emails showing former Homeland Security employee involved in planning social events with white nationalists. DHS response: "This type of radical ideology runs counter to the Department’s mission of keeping America safe." https://t.co/gZ94X5ZpjA

— Adrienne LaFrance (@AdrienneLaF) August 28, 2018

Trump is considering pardoning Manafort

Nobody can stop him and Republicans won’t object.

VF reports that Trump continues to raise the possibility of a Manafort pardon, which Don McGahn is reportedly against.

Trump has told people he's considering bringing in a new lawyer if McGahn won't draft a pardon. "He really at this point does not care." https://t.co/yt60eqKqcJ

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 27, 2018

White House aides think Trump will pardon Manafort: report https://t.co/mmd5Do5xeb pic.twitter.com/z1SHqTQ3SC

— The Hill (@thehill) August 25, 2018

The President’s lawyer admits recommending that a pardon of Manafort be put off until later because of the “optics”. Reward your friends (even if they’re crooks) and punish your enemies (even if innocent). The White House now acts like little more than a racketeering enterprise. https://t.co/PDT31FEs76

— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiffCA) August 23, 2018

Kushner family fined $210,000

New York City has fined the Kushner family real estate company $210,000 for filing 42 false applications for construction work on multiple buildings https://t.co/wOIakT924C

— Axios (@axios) August 27, 2018