Notations From the Grid (Special Friday Edition): On #Oman

Oman's Capital: Muscat 

Many in our World may not have heard of Oman--but it has played a pivotal role in the Middle East.  Our team released this late on Thursday in our Twitter Channel courtesy of the team at Sky News:

Sky Views: We should worry about Oman https://t.co/dqZ2vqTvAq

— DailyOutsider (@ordinaryfaces) July 21, 2017

What is critical to note is that Sultan Qabos--on the throne since 1970 and battling Cancer--has no heir and if he is no more, it will present a profound challenge to further complicate an already profound challenge in the Middle East.    This is as The Trump Administration v is taking an increasingly harsh tone towards Iran to eventually build up a case to withdraw from the Iran Deal or provoke Iran into doing So.     The Iranian President underscored how Iran needed to maintain its' cool in the midst of the increased harsh rhetoric from Washington.  Furthermore,  the diplomatic row between Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council continues to escalate--with Qatar directly accusing the United Arab Emirates of hacking Qatari websites.   What was also of note was the decision by Kuwait to downgrade relations with Iran by expelling Iran's Military Attache and Cultural Attache.

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): On @POTUS Watch

We just received this from the White House distribution which we wanted to report on :

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Yesterday, I met with Republican Senators at the White House and told them that now is the time for action. Obamacare was a big lie. “You can keep your doctor”—lie. “You can keep your plan”—lie. Now, people are hurting, and inaction is not an option. We must repeal and replace this disaster. The Senate should not leave for summer recess until it has passed a plan to give our people great healthcare. I’m ready to act; I have pen in hand. I’ll sign the legislation into law, and then we can celebrate for the American people.

- President Donald J. Trump

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President Trump Hosts Made in America Roundtable with American Companies
Yesterday, President Trump hosted a Made in America Roundtable with 20 American companies and 4 members of Congress. The discussions were focused on the importance of manufacturing products in American factories with American workers.
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President Trump Discusses Healthcare Plan with Members of Congress
President Trump hosted a lunch with members of Congress to discuss the problems with healthcare and to urge not only the repeal, but also the replacement of the disaster known as Obamacare. President Trump's new plan for healthcare will substantially lower premiums, repeal burdensome taxes, expand coverage options, protect preexisting condition coverage, improve medical outcomes for low income Americans, and redirect authority from Washington D.C. to the states so they can innovate and develop the best practices for the American people.
Watch the Discussion

Vice President Pence Leads First Meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity
Yesterday, Vice President Pence was joined by several elected officials at the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is designed to explore and fix vulnerabilities in the voting process to ensure the integrity of our system.
Watch the Video

PHOTO OF THE DAY

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence | July 19, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

POTUS AND VP TODAY

Today, President Trump and Vice President Pence will be making an announcement at the White House regarding a Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Initiative. 

COMING UP THIS WEEK

Tomorrow, President Trump will welcome the survivors of the USS Arizona to the White House. On Saturday, President Trump will travel to Norfolk, Virginia, to attend the commissioning of the USS Gerald R. Ford.

This is also as the Former Director of Government Ethics appeared on MSNBC Last Night with profound concerns on the Trump Administration :

Fmr ethics director: Trump setting wrong tone

Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, talks with Rachel Maddow about the appropriateness of A.G. Jeff Sessions' recusal from campaign-related investigations, and Donald Trump's inappropriateness in addressing his myriad conflicts. (Update:  This from the Time Magazine's Zeke Miller captures the true state of the Trump Presidency Today--these words are harsh on the true state of affairs: JULY 20, 2017By Zeke J. Miller Noon marks six months of President Trump's time in office, and with one-eighth of his term down, it's hard to overstate just how besieged he is. A taste of the headlines just today: his agenda is stalled, he's turning on his Cabinet members, he's ensnared in a growing Russia probe, top aides are expressing doubts about his strategy on domestic and international affairs, and members of his own party are losing patience with his antics. So many of these problems are self-inflicted, as he's never failed to choose the path of greatest resistance. On Russia, for instance, he denied that country's election hacking efforts for months, fired his FBI director over his oversight of the probe and then watched as his aides and family members failed to disclose their meetings with Russia officials during the campaign—all that before the president himself discussed classified matters with senior Russian officials and held a solo meeting with Vladimir Putin without telling anyone about it. Now, senior aides, including National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster are reportedly complaining about his judgement on these matters. On healthcare, he's thrown members of his own party under the bus time and again, and only appeared to engage in selling legislation that most of America is against Wednesday, when it appeared to already be dead. The confounding choices by the president is epitomized by his Wednesdayinterview with the New York Times in which he drew a "red line" for special counsel Robert Mueller, said he regretted selecting Jeff Sessions as his Attorney General and once again waded into the Russia scandal news. First off, this is "Made in America" message week at the White House, and Trump had already tried to drive headlines with a forceful defense of the Senate healthcare bill—he effectively wiped both off the news with his comments. Beyond that, the president demonstrated that not only is he intent on being his own strategist and spokesman, he wants to be his own attorney too—as he ignored the advice of counsel that he refrain from commenting publicly on the investigation and refocus on the task of governing. What is also clear is that despite winning the highest office in the land, the president is deeply frustrated with just about everyone and everything—after just six months. TIME reveals the Obama administration's secret plan to stop Russian hacking in 2016. Massimo Calabresi's report details the former White House's efforts to protect the U.S. voting system and the challenges in preventing the next hack. Trump's China honeymoon is over. Congressional Republicans' lament. And Trump's election commission has some preconceived notions about voting. Here are your must reads: MUST READS Inside the Secret Plan to Stop Vladimir Putin’s U.S. Election PlotTIME's Massimo Calabresi explores the efforts to protect the U.S. voting system and the challenges for the next hack attack Exclusive: Read the Previously Undisclosed Plan to Counter Russian Hacking on Election DayIn the case of a “significant incident” the White House had several “enhanced procedures” it was prepared to take [TIME] Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Hired SessionsAttacks Comey and fires warning shots at Rosenstein, Mueller in interview [New York Times] The GOP Faces a New CrossroadsThe party's precarious healthcare position [TIME] Trump Ends Covert CIA Program to Arm Ati-Assad Rebels in Syria, a Move Sought by MoscowProgram had faced questions about its efficacy [Washington Post] Trump's Honeymoon With China Ends as Dialogue Turns FrostyEconomic talks end with no joint statement from two countries [Bloomberg] Trump’s Embrace of Russia Making Top Advisers WaryMcMaster expressed his disapproval of Trump’s course to foreign officials [Associated Press] Republicans Lament an Agenda in 'Quicksand'GOP lawmakers’ mood is darkening as the August recess approaches and they’ve made little progress on their priorities [Politico] SOUND OFF “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else." — President Trump to the New York Times Wednesday "You know, we may never know the answer to that question." — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the vice chairman of Trump's election integrity commission, on whether Hillary Clinton truly won the popular vote—and whether Trump really won the electoral college vote BITS AND BITES President Trump Repeats Unfounded Voter Fraud Claims at Election Integrity Meeting [TIME] McCain's cancer, glioblastoma, described as 'very aggressive tumor' [Arizona Republic] 'Cancer Doesn't Know What It's Up Against': Leaders React to John McCain's Diagnosis [TIME] Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort Will Testify Before the Senate Judiciary Committee [TIME] Excerpts From The Times’s Interview With Trump [New York Times] Election commission's Kris Kobach: 'We may never know' who won 2016 popular vote [USA Today] Budget Office: GOP Obamacare Repeal Plan Would Increase Uninsured by 32 Million by 2026[Associated Press] Al Gore's climate movie sequel ignores political reality [Axios] Spring Regulatory Agenda Marks Start of Agency Deregulation [BNA] Trump nominees lose patience with lengthy vetting process [Politico] Supreme Court Allows Grandparents to Enter U.S. Under Travel Ban [Associated Press]

Watch Now

Notations On Our World (Special Mid-Week Edition): On @POTUS Watch (With Our Brief Thoughts on Senator #JohnMcCain)

The effort to repeal and replace has failed.   There is an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and have a two-year stay to come up with an alternative plan.   In the meantime, this is the latest out of the Congressional Budget Office:  

H.R. 1628, Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017 CBO and JCT estimate that enacting this legislation would reduce federal deficits by $473 billion over the coming decade and increase the number of people who are uninsured by 32 million in 2026 relative to current law.  It will be continue to be dramatic especially as we just got updates that Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort are scheduled to testify before Congress next week.  This is in addition to the following : Pence tries his best to keep unsaid what Trump then says about election integrity The president says what he wants. The vice president reads the stuff that goes on the teleprompter. By Philip Bump Sessions greenlights police to seize cash, property from people suspected of crimes but not charged The new policy from the attorney general reverses the Obama-era prohibition of seizures without warrants or criminal charges. By Sari Horwitz

(Update:  As there were a number of further late breaking political developments with the latest comments from President Trump and his interview with the New York Times about the Attorney General, we wanted to take a moment to note our sorrow at the news of Senator McCain's brain tumor.  We have joined The President, Former President Obama:

John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I've ever known. Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 20, 2017

 and many others leading lights of the political space by  noting that our thoughts and prayers are with him and the McCain family tonight as we are privileged to feature Meghan McCain, his daughter, heartfelt and beautiful Statement she released earlier today as we also salute his service to America:

Statement regarding my father @SenJohnMcCain: pic.twitter.com/SMte9Hkwkq

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 20, 2017

It is also of note one of the classiest things he did during the 2008 Presidential Campaign that must be noted: 

John McCain had the chance to jump on the birther lie. He instead defended Obama, his opponent. That's character. https://t.co/tIdwjFDn0K

— Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 20, 2017

Thought For the Week (Special Mid-Week Edition): On Dancing Lightly With Life....

Please enjoy this compilation courtesy of Jonathan Lockwood Huie as a token of our thanks:

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor.

It's to enjoy each step along the way.

- Wayne Dyer

Life may not be the party we hoped for,

but while we are here we might as well dance.

- Anonymous

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement

and the thrill of creative effort.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Dance like no one is watching,

love like you'll never be hurt.

Sing like no one is listening.

Live life like it's heaven on earth.

- Anonymous (various attributions and alternate phrasings)

An #Outsider Musical Interlude Special Edition: Coldplay From Global Citizen Festivual 2017

Embracing the possibilities!!

Notations On Our World (Special @POTUS watch Edition): A Snapshot of the "Resistance" On the Eve of the New Week

 
It has been quite a week as President Trump attended the Bastille Day Celebrations that President Macron hosted and returned to the United States to spend the weekend at his Golf Course in New Jersey.  The opposition to him is continuing as our team picked up the latest  courtesy of the team at the Guardian of London chronicling the so-called Resistance as the challenges in Washington Abound.    This is also as the CEO of JP Morgan Chase blasted the profound challenges in Washington noting, "...'It's almost an embarrassment being American ..."--This is from a man that turned down President Trump's offer to serve as Treasury Secretary: 

The Resistance Now: a healthy dose of reality

Republicans still can’t find enough votes for their healthcare bill as activists keep up pressure, while others target Trump Tower with the Impeach Trump! protest The Resistance Now on Facebook

Demonstrators from Arizona chant ‘kill the bill or lose your job’ while sitting on the floor outside the office of Senator Jeff Flake. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Adam Gabbatt  @adamgabbatt

We go again Senate Republicans have been sweating away over the latest version of their healthcare bill over the past week. Now they’ve come out and slapped it down on the table. Unluckily for the GOP… a) Activists are both energized and accustomed to thwarting ill-thought out healthcare legislation. b) It appears that some Republicans are unlikely to vote for it. On Monday, police arrested 80 people who were protesting the second Senate bill in Washington. There have been signs that protests, phone calls and letter-writing are having an impact.

Healthcare activists protest behind an angry police officer on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Susan Collins of Maine opposed the first bill and has already said she she will vote no on the second. Rob Portman of Ohio – a particular focus for activists – also appears to be wavering. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia isn’t keen either. A Huffington Post/YouGov survey released on Thursday found that healthcare is the issue most Americans are most concerned about right now: 47% of respondents said healthcare was one of the two issues they were worried about, with the economy at 37%. Just 12% of respondents put Russia in their top two. Battle for an open internet Tech giants joined forces with online activists and free speech groups on Wednesday for a day of protest against Trump administration plans to roll back net neutrality rules. Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and other tech giants all highlighted their opposition to the plans. Activist group Fight for the Future said the day of protest resulted in more than 3.45m emails being sent to Congress, while the Federal Communications Commission received more than 1.6m comments – a record for a single day. In May, the FCC voted 2-1 to start the formal process of dismantling rules that prevent ISPs from creating fast or slow lanes to favor one user over another and potentially allow them to choose winners and losers online.

PRESS RELEASE: Still in progress historic day of action for #NetNeutrality is breaking records, reaching millions: https://t.co/JNUwsFsy6H pic.twitter.com/I0jrWG9OH0 — Fight for the Future (@fightfortheftr) July 12, 2017

Impeach Trump?

Unimpeachable? Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

More than 3,000 people are expected to gather in New York City on Saturdayfor an Impeach Trump! national day of protest. Protesters will gather outside Trump Tower for the event, which is organized by Refuse Fascism. The rather optimistic title – the event was initially called the Trump Impeachment Party – came to be because it was created “with the mindset that Trump would be impeached within a matter of weeks since his election”, said organiser Mohammad Hamad, adding that he and others will try to turn the march into something broader in the coming months. “We’ll continue to fight the Trump-Pence regime because they’ve already made their agenda clear and it will have a generational impact on Americans (and the world) if they get away with it,” Hamad said. Progressivism can work everywhere Matt Yglesias has a fascinating piece at Vox on how a progressive message can appeal in affluent suburbs – such as in Atlanta’s sixth congressional district, where Jon Ossoff lost on a more centrist platform in June. It’s because the GOP’s proposed tax cuts will only benefit the fabled 1%, Yglesias says. “The reality is that even the richest GOP-held congressional district in the country, Virginia’s 10th, has a median household income of ‘only’ $110,000 – far too low for most voters to benefit from the GOP’s proposed top rate cut, or even from … repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s taxes, which fall on households earning more than $250,000 a year.”

Rich people. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Merde There were fewer anti-Trump protesters than expected in Paris, and those who did try to protest were kept “far from any of the locations Trump visited”, we reported. A few hardcore demonstrators persisted.

https://translate.google.com/ Photograph: Owen Franken/Corbis via Getty Images

Notations From the Grid (Special Edition): On the Eve of The Week-end

It has been quite a week in our World.  We begin by joining all in wishing President Carter a speedy recovery after he was hospitalized in Winnipeg, Manitoba while on a Habitat for Humanity Project building a house in Canada:

Statement from #HabitatforHumanity CEO Jonathan Reckford on Jimmy Carter from #HabitatCWP. pic.twitter.com/u0KxTtm3I3

— Habitat for Humanity (@Habitat_org) July 13, 2017

We join all and express our appreciation to Habitat for Humanity for this update over Twitter as we wish President Carter a speedy recovery--he's an inspiration as he continues onward with his commitment to service at the age of 93 with former First lady Rosalyn Carter. 

We hope all enjoy the periodic updates on our Twitter Channel throughout the weekend and our properties as we leave you all with this "Thought 4 the week"  that our editor released on his personal Twitter Feed earlier tonight which we are pleased to lend our support to: 

Remembering a Courageous Soul: Liu Xiaobo

While in jail, Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. An empty chair was left for him at the ceremony (Source: BBC News)

Admiral Hasley has a famous saying:  There are no extraordinary men... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with. .  One ordinary man was Liu Xiaobo who died of Liver Cancer today under Police Guard in China.    He was imprisoned in 2009 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his courage to stand up for human rights and the right of free expression.   We join many around the world in paying tribute to him as we remember him and as we present his Nobel Lecture that he was not able to accept in person:

lLiu Xiaobo - Statement: I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement