White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer interviewed by Fox News Media Buzz host Howard Kurtz:

Spidey Sense Level remains elevated…

(Via Reuters)  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will make his first state visit to Washington during the first week of April at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Sunday.
The trip will be Sisi’s first U.S. state visit since being elected president in 2014 as former U.S. President Barack Obama had never extended an invitation.

(more…)

Everyone should try to skip the shiny things embedded within the story of a laptop theft from a Secret Service Agent Marie Argentieri.   The theft appears to have nothing to do with Trump Tower or Trump Tower floor plans.  The theft appears to have everything to do with Argentieri as a supportive investigator for Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Evidence of the specific targeting is transparent within the eye witness stories that a car pulled up, a passenger exited the vehicle – went directly to Agent Argentieri’s vehicle, broke in, took the back pack and walked away quickly.
The thief knew exactly what they were looking for, this wasn’t a random heist of convenience.

(New York) […]  The thief stepped out of a dark-colored car, possibly an Uber, and stole the laptop from Argentieri’s vehicle, a 2015 Bajaj, which was parked in the driveway of her Bath Beach home, sources said. Neighbors said the thief struck about 3 a.m.
The crook, a man dressed in black, didn’t get back in the car. He was seen on surveillance video walking away from the scene with a backpack holding the laptop, sources said.

(more…)

The modern fight for fiscal responsibility has been going on for over two decades.  However, after George W. Bush began spending us into oblivion the urgency increased rapidly; culminating in the uprising in 2008/2009 known as the Tea Party.
The past decade brought us: Bank-Bailouts(TARP,) Auto-Bailouts, Stimulus (ARRA) spending, Omnibus spending, Porkulous bills, Debt Ceiling increases, Continuing Resolutions, the FED buying debt (QE1, QE2), and beyond.

Finally, frustratingly, exhaustively… we arrive in 2017 and for the first time in modern presidential history we have a president proposing to curb the size, scope, scale and cost of government.
The Washington DC UniParty will fight back hard against any curtailment, so here’s some perspective for the upcoming battle:

• The last federal budget was signed into law in September 2007, for fiscal year 2008, by George W. Bush.
• It has been over a decade since the Federal Government operated with a budgetary law guiding spending.
• Because of the two previous points – Over two-thirds of Republican representatives, and over 50% of all reps in the House and Senate, have never held office during a year with a federal budget.
• Let that sink in.

Here’s the top-line overview of President Trump’s budget proposal by department: (more…)

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was created as an outcome of the 911 Commission Report to work as a hub of intelligence sharing amid all of the intelligence agencies.  The primary function of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is to ensure all agencies are working with the same information.
After a senate confirmation vote yesterday (85-12), today Senator Dan Coats accepted his commission; and with the swearing in by Vice-President Mike Pence, becomes President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.

AMERICA FIRST

Beginning a New Chapter of American Greatness

A MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people elected me to fight for their priorities in Washington, D.C. and deliver on my promise to protect our Nation.
I fully intend to keep that promise.
One of the most important ways the Federal Government sets priorities is through the Budget of the United States. Accordingly, I submit to the Congress this Budget Blueprint to reprioritize Federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people.
Our aim is to meet the simple, but crucial demand of our citizens—a Government that puts the needs of its own people first.
When we do that, we will set free the dreams of every American, and we will begin a new chapter of American greatness. A budget that puts America first must make the safety of our people its number one priority— because without safety, there can be no prosperity.
That is why I have instructed my Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, to craft a budget that emphasizes national security and public safety. That work is reflected in this Budget Blueprint. (more…)

A Morning Consult national online survey polled 1,983 registered voters from March 9th-13th and found overall optimism continues to increase, and with it the approval rating of President Trump.

(Poll and Data Link Details)

Tucked away from the attention of almost all of the Western media has been the quiet forward, front, visible and back channel communications playing out amid a very narrow pathway.   CTH continues to monitor these precarious -albeit optimistic- quiet steps because they are converging to form a very specific picture.  [Tweet Link]

(The Hill) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with an envoy from President Trump on Tuesday and told him that a peace deal is possible under the new president.
The meeting between Abbas and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, took place in Ramallah.
“President Abbas told Mr. Greenblatt that he believes that under President Trump’s leadership a historic peace deal is possible, and that it will enhance security throughout the region,” according to a statement from the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem.  (read more)

We have continued to express optimism for a confluence of events, people and activity that is happening quietly, and could stun the geo-political world.  The timing is right, because we view these activities through a different prism.  We review against the backdrop of President Obama’s mid-east failure, equitable misery.
(more…)

There are articles that are funny in their presentation, and then there are articles that are hilariously funny in their apoplectic protestations.  CNN writes a lengthy article about the upcoming President Trump budget.  The headline:

“Trump’s plan to dismember government“

Washington (CNN) – President Donald Trump plans to dismember government one dollar at a time.
His first budget — expected to be unveiled later this week — will mark Trump’s most significant attempt yet to remold national life and the relationship between federal and state power.
It would codify an assault on regulatory regimes over the environment, business and education bequeathed by former President Barack Obama, and attempt to halt decades of steadily growing government reach. (read more)

And, and… they say this like it’s a bad thing. (more…)

(link to tweet)

Publicity stunt – Criminal action, or Both?
UPDATE: 9:00pm Apparently the IRS documents Maddow has illegally taken possession of are from 2005.
Additionally, the White House responds: (more…)