Attack on Syria appears imminent, as Trump tweets threats at Putin and Assad as Mueller investigation closes in on 45….--Congress gave Trump funding without restrictions, only a few Democrats in Progressive Caucus raise any concerns
--Scott Ritter details two separate narratives on alleged chemical incident, but objects to military strikes before an investigation happens
--also at The American Conservative, filmmaker Ron Maxwell says Trump is being played by neocon hawks
--at The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald analyses Trump’s actions, concludes he’s more confrontational toward Russia than Obama was
--GOP Speaker Paul Ryan is stepping down, won’t run for re-election
--with Rand Paul opposing confirmation of Pompeo to State and Haspel to CIA, Dems could block both nominations…but will they?
--Xi Jinping says China will lower tariffs on auto imports, signaling that trade war may be averted
--Trump signs anti-sex trafficking bill, with serious side effects, and sex workers respond with new app called Switter, based in Australia
--insiders report Mueller will be fired, but that’s Mattias Mueller of Volkswagen
--NY Times reports that Trump made a second attempt to fire Bob Mueller in December
--bill intended to prevent Trump from sacking Mueller is stalled, may not cover all the bases
--in latest class war salvo, Trump signs order to require work for people who get what he calls “welfare”
--the Zuckerberg hearings got lots of coverage, but Zuck deflected most questions and appeared to be OK with new regulation
--Israel says its snipers should cheer after scoring a hit, but defends shooting unarmed Palestinians
--last November’s spill of Keystone pipeline was twice as bad as reported
--Yvonne Staples of the Staple Singers dies at age 80, here's a link to one of my favorite songs of theirs
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