Notations On Our World (Special Edition): On the Status of the US Budget

The US Senate Majority Leader

As we are going to press right now,  The US Senate was in a late session having taken up what the House passed to fund operations of the United States Government.     The House Bill went down to defeat as Senators Mike Lee  and Rand Paul voted against it.   The minority objected to Amendments  as Government funding ends midnight Friday EST.   

The US Senate has just adjourned until 11 AM EST tomorrow.

Notations On Our World (Special #California Edition): On "New California"

Earlier this week, "New California" was declared.    We wanted to share this courtesy of USA Today. It is always fun, in our view, to see @ordinaryfaces in action exercising their Constitutional Rights--no matter how futile it  may be.

Notations From The Grid (Weekly Edition): On @POTUS Watch

It has been quite a week!!

Our team was on the prowl in the aftermath of #MLKDay 2018 with this: 

US Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona took to the US Senate Floor to denounce the President as there were a number of interesting headlines that were featured on the New York Times last week on the plight of the Democratic process, on Climate Change, the future and of course in the midst of it--companies still trying to survive: 

As we reflected upon the headlines from last week, what we noted below  from yesterday's New York Times was even more challenging to assess in light of the challenges with North Korea (although we are pleased to report that North and South Korea will field a joint team: 

Top News Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF and JOHN ISMAY It’s normal for American commanders to draw up combat plans. But recent exercises signal that the military wants to be ready for options on the Korean Peninsula. Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump’s Immigration Remarks By THOMAS KAPLAN, NOAH WEILAND and MICHAEL D. SHEAR Senator David Perdue, who attended the White House meeting, said Senator Richard J. Durbin’s account of President Trump’s language was a “gross misrepresentation.” In Montecito, Enclave of Wealth and Fame, Unimagined Tragedy By TIM ARANGO Mudslides left the coastal community of Montecito, Calif., in ruins, and rescuers were racing against time on Sunday to find four people still missing. For more top news, go to NYTimes.com »

Top News

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF and JOHN ISMAY It’s normal for American commanders to draw up combat plans. But recent exercises signal that the military wants to be ready for options on the Korean Peninsula.

Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump’s Immigration Remarks By THOMAS KAPLAN, NOAH WEILAND and MICHAEL D. SHEAR Senator David Perdue, who attended the White House meeting, said Senator Richard J. Durbin’s account of President Trump’s language was a “gross misrepresentation.”

In Montecito, Enclave of Wealth and Fame, Unimagined Tragedy By TIM ARANGO Mudslides left the coastal community of Montecito, Calif., in ruins, and rescuers were racing against time on Sunday to find four people still missing.

For more top news, go to NYTimes.com »

Top News

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF and JOHN ISMAY It’s normal for American commanders to draw up combat plans. But recent exercises signal that the military wants to be ready for options on the Korean Peninsula.

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea

By HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF and JOHN ISMAY

It’s normal for American commanders to draw up combat plans. But recent exercises signal that the military wants to be ready for options on the Korean Peninsula.

Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump’s Immigration Remarks By THOMAS KAPLAN, NOAH WEILAND and MICHAEL D. SHEAR Senator David Perdue, who attended the White House meeting, said Senator Richard J. Durbin’s account of President Trump’s language was a “gross misrepresentation.”

Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump’s Immigration Remarks

By THOMAS KAPLAN, NOAH WEILAND and MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Senator David Perdue, who attended the White House meeting, said Senator Richard J. Durbin’s account of President Trump’s language was a “gross misrepresentation.”

In Montecito, Enclave of Wealth and Fame, Unimagined Tragedy By TIM ARANGO Mudslides left the coastal community of Montecito, Calif., in ruins, and rescuers were racing against time on Sunday to find four people still missing.

In Montecito, Enclave of Wealth and Fame, Unimagined Tragedy

By TIM ARANGO

Mudslides left the coastal community of Montecito, Calif., in ruins, and rescuers were racing against time on Sunday to find four people still missing.

President Trump denied that he called Africa and Haiti "s...holes" as he professed that he was the least racist person he knows.  Eric Trump went on Fox & Friends to say that the President only saw one color: Green.     What was noted below was a sampling of the reaction to the President's Statement: 

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” This country’s greatness and true genius lies in its diversity.

— James Comey (@Comey) January 12, 2018 

I’ve traveled and worked in Haiti, and across Africa and Central America. The countries the president described with his epithet do not exist. Some thoughts as we remember those lost in Haiti eight years ago today: https://t.co/iXJwEAo2f6

— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) January 12, 2018

There is of course Iran--and what the President announced on it: 

Trump's policy & today’s announcement amount to desperate attempts to undermine a solid multilateral agreement, maliciously violating its paras 26, 28 & 29. JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -just like Iran.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 12, 2018

As our team assessed 2018 so far, what was reported by Government Executive was telling: 

Just One in Six Feds Say They're Excited to Implement Trump's Agenda // Eric Katz

Federal employees overwhelmingly believe President Trump does not respect them, according to a new survey, and a plurality think he has negatively affected their agencies' missions.

To read the entire story, click here.

This is as there is a partial US Government shutdown looming as we will continue to assess it all.  President Trump is slated to attend the World Economic Forum and our team at the Visions Property here in the Daily Outsider will be assessing it as we will be releasing a "Notation" shortly courtesy of the team at Bloomberg. 

Challenging times.....