Lev Parnas tells the story of how Donald Trump fired ambassador Marie Yovanovitch at least "four or five times," and that they were afraid that he would "fire her with a tweet." This is not the first time we have heard from White House insiders that the president often gives irrational or stupid orders that his staff then ignores.

Which raises an interesting question: did he announce our withdrawal from Syria and stabbing the Kurds in the back on Twitter because his generals and people in the state department had told him that they wouldn't do it because it was a stupid and destructive idea? And how many other times that Trump has announced things on Twitter are the result of his aides refusing to execute idiotic orders? There might be some fascinating ore for enterprising reporters to mine here...

-Thom

Friday's Daily Stack

Article: "Trump impeachment defense team will include Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr and Jeffrey Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz" by Tucker Higgins, Brian Schwartz, Dan Mangan.

Article: "Alan Dershowitz Admits Massage At Epstein's But Says, 'Kept My Underwear On'" by Ellen.

Article: "Ken Starr resigns as Baylor's chancellor" by Tami Luhby.

Article: "Florida AG sought donation before nixing Trump University fraud case" by Tom LoBianco, Drew Griffin and Scott Zamost.

Tweet: "I guess Dracula and Hitler's Ghost were not available. https://t.co/w3vBMteFTw" by Roy Edroso.

Article: "Lev Parnas says Trump ordered Yovanovitch's firing 'at least 4, 5 times'" by Catherine Garcia.

Article: "Book by 'Anonymous' describes Trump as cruel, inept and a danger to the nation" by Philip Rucker.

Article: "Trump orders US troops out of Syria, declares victory over ISIS; senators slam action as mistake" by Tom Vanden Brook and David Jackson.

Tweet: "After historic victories against ISIS, it's time to bring our great young people home!" by Donald J. Trump.

Article: "'You're a bunch of dopes and babies': Inside Trump's stunning tirade against generals" by Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker.

Article: "The Trump administration has just declared war on Social Security" by Alex Lawson.

Article: "Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews; Extension of Comment Period" (Comments Close: 01/31/2020).

Article: "Threat from extreme mega-fires forces rethink on fighting blazes" by Leslie Hook.

Article: "Expert: Georgia election server showed signs of tampering" by Frank Bajak.

Article: "Trump Tax Cut Hands $32 Billion Windfall to America's Top Banks" by Yalman Onaran.

Article: "Government Accountability Office Finds That Trump White House Illegally Held Up Ukraine Aid" by Lachlan Markay.

Site: Free Speech TV

Article: "San Onofre" by Wikipedia.

Article: "11/29/2018: NRC admits San Onofre Holtec nuclear waste canisters are all damaged" by Donna Gilmore.

Law: "Nuclear Waste Policy Act" by Wikipedia.

Site: "San Onofre Safety".

Petition: San Onofre Nuclear Waste: RECALL Defective Holtec Storage System. It's a LEMON..

Article: "Two hours after filing period ends, Democrat Josh Mahony drops out of U.S. Senate race" by Hunter Field, John Moritz.

Article: "Amy Klobuchar just destroyed Bernie Sanders's 'pipe dream' healthcare plan" by David Freddoso.

Article: "Bush Pardons 6 in Iran Affair, Aborting a Weinberger Trial; Prosecutor Assails 'Cover-Up'" by David Johnston.

Article: "Essay; The Patsy Prosecutor" by William Safire.

Article: "The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back" by Thom Hartmann.

Case: "Bush v. Gore", 2000. "The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States"

Hour Two: Issues of the Day
- Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA, 17th District)

Article: "Trump fires Rex Tillerson as secretary of state" by BBC.

Article: "Fairness Doctrine" by Wikipedia.

Article: "100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment: PBS highlighting women with summer of programming" by AP.

Article: "Ocasio-Cortez defends decision not to pay dues to House Democratic campaign arm" by Max Greenwood.

Article: "Pocan Endorses Sanders, Giving Him a Boost in Wisconsin" by AP.

Article: "It was a blowout: Bernie Sanders won a whopping 99 percent of counties in the Wisconsin primary" by Ben Norton.

Article: "Ranked Choice Voting / Instant Runoff" (RCV) by FairVote.

Video: Lauren Leader on Women in Politics.

Article: "Trump Is Waging War on America's Diplomats" by Julia Ioffe.

Article: "Kevin McCarthy rejects new Parnas evidence: 'Lacks all credibility'" by Susan Ferrechio, Kerry Picket.

Article: "McCarthy will return money donated by indicted associates of Giuliani" by Marty Johnson.

Article: "Doug Collins Accuses Dems Of Being 'In Love With Terrorists' Over War Powers Vote" by Cristina Cabrera.

Article: "Pelosi accepts Collins's apology for saying Democrats are 'in love with terrorists'" by Juliegrace Brufke.

Article: "Trump administration migrant detentions" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Court Gives Trump the Okay to Spend $3.6 Billion in Military Funds on His Mexico Border Wall" by Sean Neumann.

Article: "HR 1: Democrats pass sweeping bill to get money out of politics" by Ella Nilsen.

Article: "Trump declares Puerto Rico quake disaster, ties strings to relief" by Andrew Hay.

Site: Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Article: "Congressional Progressive Caucus Members".

Article: "Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'd run for president if he could - after shunning Trump and taking The Donald's old job on The Apprentice" by Clemence Michallon.

Article: "House passes reworked North American trade deal in victory for Trump, Democrats" by Erica Werner.

Article: "11 U.S. troops evacuated from Iraq base after Trump claimed none 'were harmed'" by Quint Forgey.

Bill: "H.R.5543 - No War Against Iran Act" by Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17].

Bill: "H.R.2456 - To repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002." by Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13].

Article: "Pump and dump" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Wilbur Ross" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Steven Mnuchin" by Wikipedia.

Article: "New Details About Wilbur Ross' Business Point To Pattern Of Grifting" by Dan Alexander.

Article: "The Dakota" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Minimum wage in the United States" by Wikipedia.

Article: "'The View' co-hosts react to tense audio of Warren, Sanders exchange" by Joanne Rosa.

Law: "Glass-Steagall Act", 1933.

Law: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (1999) (Financial Services Modernization Act Of 1999).

Law: "Commodity Futures Modernization Act", 2000.

Article: "Financial crisis of 2007–08" by Wikipedia.

Book: The American Revolution of 1800: How Jefferson Rescued Democracy from Tyranny and Faction - and What This Means Today by Dan Sisson with Thom Hartmann

Article: "Report on the Subject of Manufactures" by Alexander Hamilton.

Article: "Court Tosses Landmark Youth Climate Change Lawsuit" by Chris D'Angelo.

Video: Climate Vengeance: A New Approach to Environmental Law (w/Guest Professor Marry Wood).

Video: Student Climate Strike Aims to End Global Warming Before It's Too Late (w/Guest Julia Olsen).

Book: The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America by Thom Hartmann.

Site: Poor People's Campaign.

Quote: "Less government in business and more business in government" - Warren Harding.

Article: "19th Amendment "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Article: "13th Amendment", December 6, 1865. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Article: "15th Amendment", February 3, 1870 "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

Event: Sat Jan 18: "Women's March 2020: When, Where & Everything Else You Need To Know About The Protest".

Article: "Hillary Clinton wins 2,864,974 more votes than Donald Trump, final US election count shows" by Jon Sharman.

Article: "Occupy Wall Street" by Wikipedia.

Quote: "I have thought for a long time now that if, some day, the increasing efficiency for the technique of destruction finally causes our species to disappear from the earth, it will not be cruelty that will be responsible for our extinction and still less, of course, the indignation that cruelty awakens and the reprisals and vengeance that it brings upon itself … but the docility, the lack of responsibility of the modern man, his base subservient acceptance of every common decree." - George Bernanos.

Book: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg.

Site: MoveOn.org

Site: Indivisible.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976

Case: "First National Bank Of Boston V. Bellotti", 1978

Article: "Hong Kong Express Airways sorry for making woman take pregnancy test" by BBC.

Coming up Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

Science Revolution: I'll be talking with Tia Schwab, Independent Journalist, contributor to Truthout & a former Stone Pier Press news fellow, who reports that Factory Farm Conditions Are Unhealthy for Animals and Bad for People, Too.

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

What Would Roosevelt Say To Trump?

Is America Under A Medical Apartheid?

Can We Survive Rollback Of Environmental Law? (w/ Jayson O'Neill)

Does Conservative Just Mean Sell Out?

Mon, Feb 17, 7:30pm PT: Berkeley Arts & Letter Series.

Wed, Feb 19, 7:30pm PT: Seattle Town Hall.

Sun, Feb 23, TBA: Blue State Ball.

Fri, Feb 28, 7:30pm PT: Powell's, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland.

Sun, Mar 1,TBA: Chicago Book Store - TBA.