Beltway Insider: Trump/Tariffs, Media Bashing, Sex Abuse Cover Up, Hurricane Dorian, Valerie Harper

President Trump moved to Camp David this weekend, to monitor Hurricane Dorian response teams, sending Vice President Mike Pence to Poland as European Nations observe the day, 80 years ago, that marked the beginning of World War II.

According to Gallup, President Trump's job approval rating, which was tracked for the two week time period ending August 5, 2019, decreased one percentage points to 41% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased one percentage points to 54%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated bi-monthly.

Trump/China Tariffs

President Trump spoke with reporters before his departure to Camp David on recent developments in regarding China's trade practices and the additional tariff expected to take effect today, September 1, 2019.

With meetings schedule for September, President Trump has continued to press against the unfair trade practices that virtually went unchecked for decades. His incremental Tariff increases include the mandatory order that US companies leave China. Many are relocating to Asian nations within the region.


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"We've taken in billions of dollars from those tariffs.  We're having conversations with China.  Meetings are scheduled.  Calls are being made   I guess the meeting in September continues to be on.  It hasn't been cancelled.  And we'll see what happens. But China has lost a lot of companies.  A lot of companies.  A lot of companies have left China and a lot more are leaving.  And they are not doing well.  They are having the worst year they've had, I understand, in 61 years," President Trump said.

Madeleine Westerhout Terminated Over Confidentiality Violations

President Trump's long-time personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, whom he describes as "a very good person" resigned this week after what has been described "an uncharacteristically unguarded moment" In which she violated her very enforceable confidentiality agreement.

Vanity Fair, also provided a brief accounting of the event stated, "A Politico source familiar with the dinner added, "[Westerhout] had a couple drinks and in an uncharacteristically unguarded moment, she opened up to the reporters."

President Trump described the scenario to reporters stating, "She said she was drinking a little bit.  And she was with reporters, and everything she said was off the record.  That still doesn't really cover for her.  She mentioned a couple of things about my children. But she's a very good person.  I thought, I always felt she did a good job.  She's very down.  In all fairness, it was an off-the-record.  Of course, the press breaks off-the-records all the time because they are very dishonorable.  Many of them.  Not all of you, but many of them are very dishonorable.  But nevertheless, you don't say certain things."

Trump Media Bashing Has Little Effect on Trust Factor

Current polling by the Gallup, the explain, indicates that despite the President's continual bashing of media outlets, the trust factor among Americans in Internet News Sources has continue to rise.

"Many more Americans trust news on the internet than did so in 1998, when only a small fraction of Americans got their news this way. Currently, 40% of Americans say they trust online news, up from 25% in 1998, the last time Gallup measured opinions on the subject. Since 1998, Americans' use of the internet as a news source has grown more than five times compared with what it was, Gallup reports."

The survey went on to detail the findings of the August 22, 2019 poll which indicated an overwhelmingly majority of Americans trust their local affiliates to bring an honest account of news with local television topping the list at 74%, local newspapers followed at 67%, and local radio at 65%.

The trust factor took a serious hit when Americans were asked, according to Gallup, to rate their trust in national newspapers including such storied and respected dailies as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and the list, although not presented as complete in the Gallup Poll and did not name specific or recognizable newspapers indicated only 49%, less than half of all Americans trust the reporting and news they receive from a national newspaper.

The poll did indicate CNN rated higher at 48% than Fox News at 43%. Online news overall rated considerably less at 40% and radio talk shows slightly less at 38%, and the trust factor continues to fall with television talk shows rating 33%. Entertainment news programming came in last at 29%.

The single most important factor in the poll saw all three political affiliations, Democrats, Republicans and Independent have a solid trust in local TV news, separated by a twelve point spread with Independents at 70%, GOP at 72% and Democrats at 82% the local affiliates carry greater responsibility to the constituents than any other media.

Data provided by Gallup

Nothing New as New York Times, Other Media, Cover Up Sex Abuse Scandals

Media outlets, including Vanity Fair and The New York Times, have been mentioned this past week in Facebook postings as party to the blanket shut down which allowed convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to continue his abuse.

The allegations, which were informal and spoken by two different sources, resonated beyond the Epstein case and an unnamed "corrupt New York law firm." Without even a cursory investigation one can add to this list every recent toppled Hollywood Industry executive including Harvey Weinstein and former CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves published by the New Yorker magazine authored by Ronan Farrow.

Before The New Yorker began to see the commercial value in "outing" prominent and privileged individuals, a media blackout was pervasive when allegations of sexual assault and abuse were presented against anyone who had the financial means, and or the accompanying power, to secure the silence.

More than two decades passed since two sisters Marie and Anne Farmer, who may have been two of Epstein's earliest victims, were assaulted and reported the then successful Wall Street financier, to the FBI, The New York Police Department and after being shut down approached the national recognized magazine Vanity Fair with the same details. They were repeatedly and systematically shut down.


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This is not new. Rose McGowen, the actress at the center of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, faced the exact modus operatis during her lengthy battle to receive justice and the account of which was detailed in a November 2017 article published by The New York Times, "Reports Details Weinstein's Covert Attempt to Halt Publication of Accusations," authored by Jim Rutenberg.

"Through his lawyer, David Boies, Weinstein at one point hired the private intelligence agency Black Cube to spy on McGowan and to stop outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker from reporting their investigations on Harvey Weinstein. Boies' law firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, had provided The Times with legal counsel over the course of the previous decade, including on one libel case. Upon learning that the firm was working to hinder its reporting on Weinstein while simultaneously representing them in other matters, The Times published a stern rebuke of the firm, calling their actions "intolerable conduct, a grave betrayal of trust, and a breach of the basic professional standards that all lawyers are required to observe" Wikipedia lists as an accounting of the matter.

These cases are by no means representative of the countless victims who have met the same brick wall. A complete and systemic shutdown of the judicial system, injustice at every turn, which is a tactic to stop victims from pursuing justice and attempting to expose the perpetrator and hopefully causing suicide, which results in a total silencing of the story.

The Boston Globe, the center character of the Academy Award winning film, Spotlight, for decades buried any story that came close to revealing the pervasive and shocking amount of pedophile priests reported to the Boston Police. After a team of reporters broke the story similar investigations detailing systemic abuse were discovered throughout nearly every parish affiliated with the Archdioceses.

"Widespread abuse has been exposed in Europe, Australia, Chile and the United States reflecting worldwide patterns of long-term abuse as well as the Church's hierarchy's pattern of regularly covering up the reports of abuse," Wikipedia stated in the account of the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases.

An off the record source stated two members of New York local television media were overheard discussing the "corrupt unnamed law firm" case and said, "there's a lot of money to be made here." To which another replied, "This story will ever see the light of day."

Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults, a two piece investigative series written by Haute-Lifestyle.com Publisher, Janet Walker, and published on 12/12/2006 in the now defunct USAVoice.org, detailed an identical pattern as the victim reported the crimes to the local police, the FBI, the New York Times, all three New York local television affiliates was shit down and mocked by the Sexual Assault detectives, squeezed out and forced to relocate.

Walled Cities Lock Down The Gates Prepared to Defend Their Own

The list continues. The Penn State Pedophile Jerry Sandusky, a hero to many as part of one of the most celebrated teams in College history, was convicted of rape and sexual abuse which occurred over a fifteen year period during which he was gainfully employed at Penn State.

The US Girls Gymnastic Sex Abuse scandal, "over the past two decades, in which over 368 individuals have been sexually assaulted "by gym owners, coaches, and staff working for gymnastics programs across the country".[1][2] Particularly, longtime USA Gymnastics (USAG) national team doctor Larry Nassar has been named in hundreds of lawsuits filed by athletes who said that Nassar engaged in sexual abuse under the pretense of providing medical treatment for at least 14 years," Wikipedia stated in the accounting of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal.

Ohio State University, at Columbus, also a Top Ten School, is currently in negotiations to reach a financial settlement to more than 300 men who were abused decades ago by team Physician Richard Strauss. The settlement value is expected to be close to the $425 million presented by University of Michigan in response to the Larry Nassar Girls Gymnastic victims compensation settlement.

The Boy Scouts of America is the most recent organization rocked by pervasive and shocking sexual abuse allegations.  Lawsuits recently filed indicate more than 8,000 Scout Leaders have been accused of sexual abuse since 1944 and not until April of 2019 did the story received any substantial news coverage.


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"The Boy Scouts have kept such files since just after World War I. She [Janet Warren, Professor and expert at the University of Virginia] reviewed 72 years' worth of documents, from 1944 to 2016, and said they contained the names of 7,819 "perpetrators." She said there had been 12,254 victims in that time," The New York Times stated.

Shutting down the victim to stop the revelation of the story happens all the time. Epstein's net worth allowed him to live the pedophile lifestyle in plain sight. Jerry Sandusky's winning football record and Penn State's football program valued at $518.8million ranking third as the most valuable football programs in the Big Ten second to only Ohio State and Michigan, allowed him the same.

The Vatican's wealth, 10 to 15 billion. A winning University Gymnastic Club producing Olympians? University of Michigan's home to Team physician Larry Nassar, is also a Big Ten School and home of the Michigan Wolverines.  What is the dollar value? To the University, it can one winning Olympic gymnast can equate to a decade or more of prospective gymnastic students at 40,000 per student in tuition cost and spare the reputation of other programs.

The net worth of these organization, money, religious affiliation, reputation, all worked to created a walled city of protection around these individuals making them, for a season, untouchable.

Each one of these organization use the same playbook. In order to continue the life of crime, these pedophiles and predators needed to strategically build a network of individuals who could do provide favors, markers, chips for a later date.

Decades went by allowing predators to continue in the pattern of abuse. Typically, Epstein and other like him needed high level markers to stop well-meaning and loyal detectives, police or others who might live the oath they've taken. The faithful must be managed by the bought.

The abuse and systematic shut down was systemic from the brass who made the decision not to follow through on police investigations, the D.A. who only saw dollar signs, the system that destroyed evidence, negated the trauma, treating the victims as if they were guilty or lying,  heaping injustice on injustice, and the media refusing to investigate and print stories which damage or appear to "target" particular affiliations or accepting incentives to seal any media attention.

Hurricane Dorian Intensifies

Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts up to 220mph, made landfall in the Bahamas, dealing a battering blow to the little island of Abaco. The slow-moving rain maker, is curving west at 8mph is likely to produce catastrophic flooding, and possibly reshaping the island eroding the beaches.

Early images from residents and media who stayed on the island, just south of Grand Bahama Island, and 197 southwest from Florida's east coast, have shown intensive wind damage and devastation.

Vehicles, tossed, battered and flipped landing on their roofs, were shown on one street. The video shown on ABC.com also zoomed in on downed power lines poles snapped into pieces. Panning across the horizon the video reveled sheered treetops, shattered windows, battered homes, roofs and awnings stripped off.

Other media have shown catastrophic flooding with water reaching window levels on vehicles. The destruction estimates are early and expected to be in the billions.

Hurricanes Dorian's expected track has it buffeting the eastern US coastline with Hurricane 4 winds of 130-156mph in Florida and possibly Georgia. Hurricane 4 force winds which according to the Saffir -Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale will cause, "Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted, and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months."


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Hurricane 2 force winds associated with a direct hit of 96-110mph in the Carolina's, which according to the Saffir -Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale the damage from Hurricane two force winds will be "Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage. Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads. Near-total power loss is expected with outages that could last from several days to weeks"

Valerie Harper, Television Star of 1970s, Dies

Valeria Harper, star of the long running sit-com The Mary Tyler Moore Show, passed away this week from complications from cancer. She was 80.

Harper, who won the hearts of American audiences as the whimsical Rhoda Morgenstern, a single, free-spirited, bohemian opposite the more conservative Mary Richards, played by Mary Tyler Moore, in the sit com of the same name. Her child of the sixties style, a mix of hippie chic became a trendy and the early precursor to Boho style which is celebrated in cultures everywhere.

Harper won four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe for her work on the Mary Tyler Moore show, which ran from 1970 through 1977 and spawned a series titled Rhoda, from 1974-78 which celebrated beloved character. She remained active in the industry working in television films and supporting causes including Equal Rights and the Women's Liberation Movement.

Ms. Harper had been diagnosed with an incurable brain cancer in 12013 and given three months to live. She aggressively fought the disease and on numerous occasions went into remission. Recently the cancer came back and the medicines and chemotherapy needed to combat the diseases proved too much. She passed away August 30, 2019. She was 80.

For more information on President Donald Trump www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: whitehouse.gov.

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