I TWEET, THEREFORE I AM
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY M. WARNER
MARCH 6, 2017

MOST OF THIS IS ABOUT TRUMP AND THE RUSSIANS, SESSIONS AND THE RUSSIANS AND OBAMA AND HIS ALLEGED SURVEILLANCE OF TRUMP TOWER. MUCH IS REPETITIVE. PICK THROUGH IT FOR WHAT INTERESTS YOU. DO LOOK AT THE VIDEO AND ARTICLE ON THE RISING TIDE CAR WASH, THOUGH. AUTISM IS A MUCH FEARED CONDITION, LIKE DOWNS SYNDROME, BUT IN BOTH OF THOSE PATIENT AND CREATIVE THERAPIES HAVE PRODUCED CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENT. PEOPLE IN THE PAST HAVE TENDED TO LUMP THEM TOGETHER IN A LARGE CATEGORY THAT WERE TERMED MENTALLY DISABLED, UNABLE TO LEARN, "CRAZY." THANK GOD FOR MODERN PSYCHOLOGY. AND IT DIDN'T START WITH LYING ON A COUCH AND RAMBLING ON AND ON, BUT WITH SKINNER BOXES AND PAVLOV. THE ACTUAL LIMITATIONS VARY WIDELY FROM PERSON TO PERSON. THERE IS, FOR INSTANCE, SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL MOVIE ACTORS WHO HAVE DOWNS SYNDROME, AND THE WELL-KNOWN MATHEMATICAL GENIUSES WHO ARE "ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM." SEVERE CASES OF EITHER ARE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLING. IT STILL IS FAR FROM HOPELESS, HOWEVER. WATCH THE GREAT MOVIE "RAIN MAN" WITH DUSTIN HOFFMAN AND TOM CRUISE. FOR MORE ABOUT THAT, GO TO WEBSITE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Man


https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/28817-msnbc-cnn-airing-ffrf-s-ron-reagan-endorsement-ad
MSNBC, CNN airing FFRF’s Ron Reagan endorsement ad
February 27, 2017
WATCH VIDEO.


TRUMP’S CLAIM THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA BUGGED HIS TRUMP TOWERS PHONE

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-accuses-obama-wiretapping-residence-during-campaign-n729056
NEWS MAR 4 2017, 3:43 PM ET
Obama Spokesman Disputes Trump’s Wiretapping Claim
by KASIE HUNT, KEN DILANIAN, EOGHAN MACGUIRE and PHIL MCCAUSLAND

President Donald Trump alleged in a tweet storm early Saturday that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower before his election win in November — an accusation that a senior U.S. official told NBC News is baseless.

Trump did not provide any evidence for the claims, which followed an interview on Fox News in which the allegation came up.

In response, Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis roundly rejected Trump's claims that the previous administration had ordered surveillance at his New York City residency.

Follow
Kevin Lewis ✔ @KLewis44
Neither @barackobama nor any WH official under Obama has ever ordered surveillance on any US Citizen. Any suggestion is unequivocally false pic.twitter.com/qF04X3NUvq
1:04 PM - 4 Mar 2017
715 715 Retweets 936 936 likes

"A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice," Lewis said. "As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false."

A senior U.S. official in a position to know told NBC News that Trump's allegations have no merit, and the president did not consult with people within the U.S. government who would know the validity of the charge before making claims on his favored communications platform.

"Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump wrote as part of a series of tweets Saturday morning.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
6:49 AM - 4 Mar 2017
28,388 28,388 Retweets 88,532 88,532 likes

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
7:02 AM - 4 Mar 2017
39,243 39,243 Retweets 111,134 111,134 likes

An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau would not comment on the tweets.

NBC News reached out to the White House for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security adviser to Obama, said in a tweet that presidents can't simply order wiretaps as Trump suggests.

Follow
Ben Rhodes ✔ @brhodes
No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/837989835818287106
9:25 AM - 4 Mar 2017
40,175 40,175 Retweets 68,373 68,373 likes

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Trump's tweets displaying a worrying trend.

"If there is something bad or sick going on, it is the willingness of the nation's chief executive to make the most outlandish and destructive claims without providing a scintilla of evidence to support them," Schiff said in a statement.

On Friday, Fox's Brett Baier asked House Speaker Paul Ryan whether he was concerned "that the Obama administration may have been surveilling members of the Trump campaign in a pretty detailed investigation during the election?"

Ryan responded by saying: "I don't think that's the case."

Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, frequently tweets about topics that have appeared in conservative media outlets.

Play -- Donald Trump accuses Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower before election 3:19

NBC News has found no evidence to support Trump's claims about wiretapping, which appear to stem from conservative media outlets, such as Breitbart, and anonymously sourced reports in British blogs. According to those reports, U.S. officials obtained a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to investigate contacts between computers at a Russian bank and a server inside Trump's campaign headquarters at Trump Tower.

A FISA warrant would allow the FBI to intercept communications outside of the normal criminal process, but they would likely require the permission of a magistrate judge to extensively wiretap Trump Tower.

There have been reports that communications between Trump associates and Russians were picked up by intelligence agencies during the campaign as part of routine surveillance of the Russians. Trump and his aides have denied there were any improper contacts.

After a rowdy town hall in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said that if true, the allegations would be the "biggest political scandal since Watergate" and vowed to get to the bottom of Trump's claims.

He later told NBC News that there are three possibilities for what occurred: "It's all a misunderstanding, the Obama administration went way out of line or some judge somewhere said there's something to the idea of the Trump Russia ties," Graham said.

Trump's allegations about Obama were part of a flurry of early-morning tweets that also defended Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone.
6:42 AM - 4 Mar 2017
27,586 27,586 Retweets 83,581 83,581 likes

Sessions is under fire for not disclosing during his confirmation hearing that he met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Sessions was a senator at the time and an adviser to the Trump campaign.

"The first meeting Jeff Sessions had with the Russian Amb was set up by the Obama Administration under education program for 100 Ambs......"

"The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone," Trump tweeted.

News of the meetings drew fire from critics who said Sessions had misled the Judiciary Committee in his January confirmation hearings.

Sessions recused himself from overseeing any Justice Department investigation into alleged Russian election interference earlier this week.

On Friday, he said he would submit amended testimony and respond to senators' questions over his contacts with Russia's ambassador.

Sessions faces calls for his resignation over the issue but Trump has backed his attorney general, saying he did nothing wrong.

In recent days, Trump has swiped back at allegations about the communications between members of his team and Russian officials during and after the campaign.

He lashed out at Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Friday, tweeting a picture of Schumer meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2003.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite!
12:54 PM - 3 Mar 2017
50,955 50,955 Retweets 137,550 137,550 likes

He also retweeted a Politico article which revealed Pelosi had met the Russian ambassador in 2010 despite her claims to the contrary.

Trump said both Democrats should also be investigated for their ties to Russia.

Schumer responded on the social network: "Happily talk re: my contact w Mr. Putin & his associates, took place in '03 in full view of press & public under oath. Would you & your team?"

On Feb. 13, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned just after The Washington Post first reported that the Justice Department had informed the White House that Flynn could be subject to blackmail.

Trump acknowledged in January that Russia had a role in a series of cyberattacks on America, but says it didn't impact the election.


http://blackinamerica.com/content/319670/russian-s-travel-examined-for-ties-to-trump
Rachel Maddow 03/03/17
Russian’s travel examined for ties to Trump
Posted By: Deacon Ron Gray
Saturday, March 4th 2017 at 10:52AM
DCREPORT.ORG

David Cay Johnston, founder of DCReport.org, talks with Rachel Maddow about journalistic investigations into the coinciding travels of Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev and the Donald Trump campaign during the 2016 election. Duration: 4:02



LET'S NOT FORGET WHAT COMEY DID JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/fbi-not-cooperating-with-house-on-trump-russia-investigation-889114691514
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/2/17
FBI not cooperating with House on Trump Russia investigation

Congressman Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about the difficultly his committee is having getting answers out of FBI Director James Comey about the investigation into the Donald Trump campaign's ties to Russia. Duration: 6:02



LOOKS LIKE TRUMP IS HAVING A BAD DAY

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-claims-obama-tapped-trump-tower-offices-election/
Trump claims Obama tapped Trump Tower phones before election
CBS NEWS
March 4, 2017, 8:14 AM

Last Updated Mar 4, 2017 9:44 AM EST

President Trump woke up at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday morning firing off a tweetstorm claiming that President Obama essentially wiretapped, or bugged, Trump Tower offices before the election.

CBS News has been unable to confirm any of this new information.

But the president is clearly irritated.

In one tweet, Mr. Trump describes Mr. Obama as a “bad (or sick) guy.”

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
7:02 AM - 4 Mar 2017
20,696 20,696 Retweets 55,832 55,832 likes

This follows a week in which Mr. Trump mostly stayed on message as questions surrounding his team’s contacts with Russia persist, CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett reports.

Play VIDEO -- Philip Bump on controversy surrounding AG Sessions

Mr. Trump visited a fourth-grade class in Orlando, Florida, Friday as he tried to refocus attention on school-choice programs.

It caps a week of well-received speeches for the president, first to a joint session of Congress outlining his agenda and another address aboard a newly commissioned aircraft carrier promoting an expansion of the military.

“I am calling for one of the largest defense spending increases in history,” Mr. Trump said.

But that’s all being overshadowed by questions surrounding the growing list of advisers who met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during and after the election.

Play VIDEO -- Russia turmoil undercuts AG Sessions' agenda

It includes Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and campaign advisers Carter Page and J.D. Gordon.

On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any of his agency’s investigations into Russian election interference because he met with Kislyak twice last year.

“I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign,” Sessions said.


Play VIDEO -- Moscow's man in Washington getting Trump associates in trouble

Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats want Sessions to testify under oath about those meetings.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Republican Chuck Grassley rejected the request. Sessions will reply on Monday in writing to Democrats’ questions.

In response, the president tweeted photos Friday showing Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, suggesting they be investigated.

Roger Stone, who was an informal adviser to the Trump campaign, denied any connection to Russia in an interview with CBS News.

Play VIDEO -- Trump friend and GOP operative Roger Stone speaks out on Russia

“It’s a witch hunt,” Stone told CBS News homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues. “I know it is.”

The president was asked directly last month if he was aware of contacts between his team and Russian officials.

“How many times do I have to answer this question -- Russia is a ruse,” Mr. Trump said.

The president’s Twitter feud with Schumer continued throughout Friday, with Schumer saying that he would happily discuss his contacts with Russia under oath and in front of the press. There’s been no Twitter response from the president on that just yet.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet with his National Security Council in Florida and dine with his newly appointed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.



ANOTHER TRUMP “TWEET STORM,” OR AS ONE WITTY COMMENTER BELOW SAID, “HIS MONTHLY PSYCHOTIC BREAK."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/this-is-nixonwatergate-trump-accuses-obama-of-wire-tapping-trump-tower-before-election-131755678.html

‘This is Nixon/Watergate’: Without evidence, Trump accuses Obama of wire tapping Trump Tower before election
Colin Campbell
March 4, 2017

Photograph -- President Trump. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

President Trump exploded on Twitter early Saturday morning, blasting former President Barack Obama for allegedly wire tapping his phones before the election. He provided no evidence to back up the claim.

“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” he declared.

“Is it legal for a sitting President to be ‘wire tapping’ a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!” he added.

It wasn’t clear what, exactly, Trump was referring to as he raged again his predecessor, whom he labeled a “bad (or sick) guy!” He also said a talented lawyer could make a “great case” out of the situation.

Obama’s post-presidency office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News on Trump’s accusation, and the White House did not immediately clarify from whom Trump had “just learned” this new information.

Trump has the authority to declassify almost any classified material, and could substantiate his accusations if he wanted to.

On Friday, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told MSNBC that he believed that the FBI possessed transcripts of conversations between top Trump campaign officials and Russian officials that could shed light on whether they worked together to affect the 2016 election. But Coons admitted that he had not seen the documents.

“There are transcripts that provide very helpful, very critical insights into whether or not Russian intelligence and senior Russian political leaders, including Vladimir Putin, were cooperating, were colluding with the Trump campaign at the highest levels to influence the outcome of our election,” Coons said. “I have not seen them, I believe they exist.”

Shortly after the election, then-President Obama shakes hands with then-President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The Saturday-morning Twitter storm was striking as Trump and Obama had largely appeared to paper over their differences — at least publicly — since the election. Trump called Obama a “very good man” shortly after his stunning November victory.

But Trump had started to increasingly blame Obama for his misfortunes, particularly an embarrassing and politically toxic string of leaks coming out of the federal government.

Trump has been particularly irked by reports linking his campaign and transition team to Russia.

The president fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, after it was revealed that the retired lieutenant general talked to Russia’s ambassador about Obama-era sanctions and then misled Vice President Mike Pence about them.

But Trump has stood behind Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who this week has weathered a firestorm over his own conversations with the Russian ambassador during the campaign. During his confirmation hearing, Sessions indicated under oath that he had no contact with Russian officials.

“Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.

Olivier Knox contributed to this report.
View Trump’s tweet blasting Obama below:

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
6:35 AM - 4 Mar 2017
17,181 17,181 Retweets

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
6:49 AM - 4 Mar 2017
11,667 11,667 Retweets 33,644 33,644 likes

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!
6:52 AM - 4 Mar 2017
12,340 12,340 Retweets 36,574 36,574 likes

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
7:02 AM - 4 Mar 2017
15,324 15,324 Retweets 40,596 40,596 likes

COMMENTS –

sbk85 45 minutes ago
Evidence that he was wire-tapped? None, of course. Republicans keep lowering the bar, just when you think it can't go past the basement.
Show replies (174) Reply 1359

CaptDuke 44 minutes ago
The insanity continues. This man is a danger to all.
Show replies (64) Reply 1195


NoPain 43 minutes ago
Trump having his monthly psychotic breakdown, when will the Putin puppet Russian trolls come out of the woodwork?
Show replies (18) Reply 696

Ham C 44 minutes ago
Poor guy needs help
Show replies (27) Reply 741


SumYunGuy 42 minutes ago
Nixon was pillar of stability compared to this clown!
Show replies (10) Reply 520

Avatar
Steve 43 minutes ago
And Trump's brief flirtation with "acting presidential" ends today. These are the typical accusations of an insane, paranoid conspiracy theorist.
Show replies (16) Reply 512

yvonne 48 minutes ago
If nothing was found how does he know he was tapped? Unless the FBI was following the Russian connection. Sad but on MSN trump followers actually believe trumps accusations. Wonder what is happening that trump need a major distraction today?
Show replies (15) Reply 260

murrayh 48 minutes ago
At what point is one committed?
Show replies (6) Reply 221

Neal Callaway 47 minutes ago
How pathetic! I'm wondering how Trump doesn't bump into walls when he bumbles cluelessly around the White House. I am sure, however, that he would find a way to blame his collisions on Obama...THAT is for sure. SAD
Show replies (3) Reply 210


RISING TIDE CAR WASH

https://www.facebook.com/nbcnightlynews/photos/a.10150723335088689.453290.114288853688/10155158214868689/?type=1&theater
Inspiring America: Car Wash, Which Employs Adults with Autism, is Growing
FRI, MAR 03 · CLIP 1 of 9

John D’Eri started Rising Tide Car Wash so his son Andrew, who’s autistic, could have a job. He ended up with a staff primarily comprised of people on the autism spectrum -- and business is booming.


http://abcnews.go.com/Health/family-car-wash-changed-lives-people-autism/story?id=28842659
How a Family Car Wash Has Changed the Lives of People With Autism
By SYDNEY LUPKIN
Feb 10, 2015, 3:25 AM ET

Like many people with autism, Andrew D'Eri had a hard time finding a job.

Then, his father, a veteran entrepreneur, and older brother, who had recently finished business school, had an idea: What if they opened business employed mostly by people with autism?

"We wanted to build ... an example big and bold and out there that other companies could go ahead and want to emulate," Andrew's brother Tom D'Eri, 25, told ABC News, adding that they wanted to find a business that would educate the community by putting autistic employees in front of the customers.

Disney Characters Help Autistic Child Emerge From Lonely Autism
How a Now-Retracted Autism Study Went Viral -- Again
Autism Speaks Urges Parents to Vaccinate Children

First, the D'Eris did their research, and determined that unemployment is common among people with autism not because they lack skills but because society views autistic individuals as people to be sympathetic toward rather than valuable people with different skills. About 1 in 68 people has autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Typically people with autism are really good at structured tasks, following processes, attention to detail,” Tom D’Eri said in video on YouTube. “So we saw that they’re really important skills that people with autism have that make them, in some case, the best employees you can have.”

PHOTO: Employees at work at Rising Tide Car Wash.Rising Tide Car Wash
Employees at work at Rising Tide Car Wash.
They opened the Rising Tide Car Wash in Parkland, Florida, in 2013, and today they employ 35 autistic men and women, D'Eri said.


It was Andrew's first job, and though he didn't like it at first, D'Eri said he started noticing positive changes three weeks later. Andrew, 24, had issues with empathy and trying new things in the past, but when his father offered him a bite of a new food -- his father's chicken and portobello mushroom sandwich -- he tried it and then courteously asked to split it when his dad offered him the whole sandwich.

"Typically, that wouldn't happen," Tom D'Eri said, adding that Andrew also helped people with bags on a plane for the first time after starting work. "There were noticeable differences in his behavior. He was willing to try new things, wanting to empathize more. These are things any family with an autistic child will say, those are really rare things."

PHOTO: Employees of Rising Tide Car Wash pose for a photo.Rising Tide Car Wash
Employees of Rising Tide Car Wash pose for a photo.
And since many autistic people are bullied in high school, he said working at the car wash helped them build confidence.

"They come to us with very little purpose and very little hope for their future," D'Eri said in the video. "But once they start working with us they start getting positive reinforcement of doing a good job, a customer being happy, getting a tip, that really starts to open them up."

PHOTO: A car gets washed at Rising Tide Car Wash.Rising Tide Car Wash
A car gets washed at Rising Tide Car Wash.
PHOTO: The DEri family poses for a photo at Rising Tide Car Wash.Rising Tide Car Wash
The D'Eri family poses for a photo at Rising Tide Car Wash.