Senate and House rush to pass budget bill, after Pelosi’s 8-hour marathon attempting to re-link Dreamers to budget, it’s unpredictable….--in 2-year budget deal agreement by Senate leaders, Dems get funding for domestic programs in exchange for whopping Pentagon boost and no-shutdown promise
--Speaker Ryan responds to Pelosi’s filibuster with promise to pass immigration bill “that Trump will sign”, leaving Dreamers hostage to The Wall
--war in Syria escalates again, as Trump builds new incoherent policy on foundation of Obama’s incoherent policy
--veteran Mideast observer Charles Glass fears another long war is unfolding in Syria, with the US mired for years to come
--at Consortium News, Caitlin Johnstone blows the lid off the White Helmets, now a global phenomenon
--in neighboring Israel, Netanyahu attacks law enforcement as corruption indictments loom
--SEAL on SEAL murder in Africa last year leads to investigation of SEAL Team 6
--at TomDispatch, Nick Turse reveals the $500 million missing from AFRICOM
--as Rob Porter becomes 38th appointee to leave Trump White House, The Nation’s John Nichols says his boss, John Kelly, should be next to exit
--also at The Nation, Prof. Stephen Cohen recaps the big questions of Trump/Russia narrative, and asks, is it Russiagate or Intelgate?
--Caitlin Johnstone (again!) nails Rob Reiner and other liberals who now defend the liars in the intel community
--many lefty Facebook friends cited an expert on stolen elections to support Russian meddling claims, and that’s George W. Bush
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