The Legislative Evil known Trumpcare is going forward in the Senate.
I will remind you, now, and always…
Trumpcare is a TAX CUT BILL MASQUERADING AS A HEALTHCARE PLAN.
THE TAX CUTS DECIMATING MEDICAID are the foundation to giving tax cuts to millionaires and bilionaires.
They want to cut 880 BILLION from Medicaid..then LIE that cutting 880 BILLION from a program WILL NOT MEAN CUTS IN SERVICE?
THE EVERLOVING PHUCK??!!?
They are going to STEAL HEALTHCARE FROM THE MOST VULNERABLE IN ORDER TO GIVE RICH PEOPLE A TAX CUT.
They are crafting Trumpcare in the Senate, in secret, with no hearings.
Senator Wyden on the comparison between Trumpcare and Obamacare.
https://twitter.com/RonWyden/status/873292678112444416/photo/1
Senator McCaskill on the lack of hearings for Trumpcare.
Went to my go-to people about what’s happening with Trumpcare, and this is what I found.
There was once fanfare & promise that the Senate would "start" AHCA over. Now it's much of the same.
Here's what is known. #ShowUsTheBill pic.twitter.com/NzOpzwUQH0
— Andy Slavitt 🇮🇱 🇺🇦 (@ASlavitt) June 9, 2017
Trumpcare is an Age Tax
For the poorest older people, health insurance would cost more than they make in most states under the GOP bill: https://t.co/JJgWIGw7sp pic.twitter.com/8i2YtcOtVo
— Jeffrey Young @jeffreyyoung.bsky.social (@JeffYoung) June 9, 2017
Don’t think you’re impacted by Trumpcare? Think again.
The Senate's three tools on health care? Sabotage, speed and secrecy | from @ASlavitt https://t.co/0TRzRyDlh4
— Steve Anderson (@EyeOnInsurance) June 11, 2017
So, how do we fight?
Call. Fax. Mail.
The cowards are not having Town Halls, but if you could drop by a local office and tell them about the evil known as Trumpcare, it would help.
Save the 202-224-3121 in your phone as a contact. Put it as a favorite. Say “Hey Siri, remind me to call Congress at 10am on weekdays.”
Here’s a great idea. We all know people that live in different states. Post on social media, you never know who is reading, and maybe they will pick up the phone to their Senator:
Save the 202-224-3121 in your phone as a contact. Put it as a favorite. Say "Hey Siri, remind me to call Congress at 10am on weekdays." 14/
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
Here is a list of those people assigned in the specific Senate Office for Healthcare. When you call, ask to speak to them.
Save the 202-224-3121 in your phone as a contact. Put it as a favorite. Say "Hey Siri, remind me to call Congress at 10am on weekdays." 14/
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
It's been a while since we talked about the original Guide, but it seems like a good time for some reminders for your #TrumpCare calls.
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
There are four local advocacy tactics that work when it comes to your members of Congress. We've seen them work. pic.twitter.com/kQm61W91Dd
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
Yes, town halls. But most Republicans have seen the news and aren't holding any (check out @townhallproject's amazing report on this). pic.twitter.com/1iBSsvr3sC
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
Local public events. That is, your Sen shouldn't be able to attend a little league game, kiss a baby, or eat a pancake at VFW without you.
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
Set up Google alerts, check local newspapers, check the Senator's Facebook page, and sign up for their eNews alerts to find these events.
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
They will have them. We promise. You can also check out fundraisers at https://t.co/lzE803U4eP.
— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) June 10, 2017
Never forget. The CBO says that there will be 51 MILLION AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTHCARE IF THIS GOES THROUGH.
They are willing to have 51 MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT HEALTHCARE
So that millionaires and billionaires can get a tax cut.
Sociopaths.
THE.ENTIRE.LOT.OF.THEM.
This is what the world is being treated to…this is what the supposedly ‘greatest’ country and democracy in the world has now been reduced to…
Try watching much of this again with the button on mute (I personally can’t bear to hear the words ‘President’, ‘White House’ etc. misused or attached to impostors)…cringeworthy, hilarious, disturbing, sad..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VyNJmyPWUrg
Then watch this…p.s; Charlie Rose here looks just as greasy and slimy as the buffoon and his oily attorney..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uuoRRDtdHbY
Watch, take note…and never ever forget these faces and voices..
And regardless of what’s been previously said by and about these ‘higly-principled’, ‘honorable’, ‘straightshooting’, ‘patriots’, they are nothing but desperately grasping, unearned power and access by any means necessary, soulless, shallow, shamelessly hollow, greedy, self-interested, self-serving, embarrassingly groveling, fickle, dishonorable, unpatriotic pr*cks…
There’s not an ounce of integrity to be cumulatively collected if these folks were squeezed to an inch of suffocation..
Not a single principled, dignified, honorable, patriot in sight..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LeTyqaehshQ
This is a member of the pretend-Cabinet …and wife of the current Senate Majority Leader, kissing the considerable fat, lumpy b*tt of the treasonous buffoon …and folks are actually hoping that republicans are going to suddenly wake up …somehow miraculously have a stab of conscience and a sense of decency and patriotism…be so enraged by the treasonous actions of a vacant, self-serving, greedy megalomaniac buffoon in collusion with a known hostile foreign government to destroy our democracy…
Sure…🙄😏😒🙄 Goodluck with that…👍🏻✌🏻
https://youtu.be/YLZNj_9sPgI?t=18m18s
I posted this video from the point where Elaine Chao aka Mrs McConnell starts to speak…You may actually move the time dot back and watch the entire 20+ minute video in full to hear what each of these ‘great’, ‘principled’ ‘patriots’ actually say in their shameless public groveling…
More importantly, watch the various interesting facial expressions and general reactions of the alt-right back-benchers seated behind…Bannon, Jared, Kelly-Anne, Stephen Miller etc…You’ll also see a shrunken McMaster relegated to a corner…and Gary Cohn who though independently wealthy, has clearly sold his formerly sometimes ‘Democratic’ soul to the devil and become hooked on the various White House perks ‘loyal’ buffoon insiders get to enjoy…like the delicious meatloaf and ice cream scoop courtesy of the great chefs that come with the hallowed address…and the on-demand Diet Coke via special buttons and drinks and refills butler service..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KdRPJOSyenA
http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/66366/large/NetNeutrality-facepalm.jpg
LOL
https://twitter.com/jaybookmanajc/status/874246723253800960?
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/874423521170137088?
https://twitter.com/fordm/status/874234381484929024
Newt desperately craves, and has been very busy ‘loyalty’-auditioning loudly for the buffoon he actually disdains and is contemptuous of….But he’s singing and jigging hard for that taxpayer-funded extended luxury stay in Italy…courtesy of his saintly 3rd wife and Tiffany-splurge bankrupting, adulterous accomplice and collaborator …suddenly turned ‘respectable’, front-row choir-singing, and in the making buffoon-appointed, pretend-Ambassador to the Vatican…
Newt whose unpaid campaign debt from his failed presidential run, and outstanding $500,000 Tiffany debt for the choker he splurged on for his 3rd wife and accessory to adultery, is dreaming of more Amalfi coast vacations…this time more luxurious and on the tax-payer dime…
And who knows if Arianna Huffington and Barbra Walters are dreaming too of joining the happy couple again … this time on a tax-payer Amalfi coast luxury yatching junket..
http://images.gawker.com/18k2z1s4jgguujpg/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_470.jpg
https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/874341554080673792?
https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/874433147537989632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefault%26f%3Dpragmaticobots%26t_i%3D60389%2520http%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252F%253Fp%253D60389%26t_u%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252Fmonday-evening-thread-one-day-down-wind-down%252F%26t_e%3DMonday%2520Evening%2520Thread%253A%2520One%2520Day%2520Down%2520Wind%2520Down%26t_d%3DMonday%2520Evening%2520Thread%253A%2520One%2520Day%2520Down%2520Wind%2520Down%26t_t%3DMonday%2520Evening%2520Thread%253A%2520One%2520Day%2520Down%2520Wind%2520Down%26s_o%3Ddefault%26l%3D%23version%3Dada7db00a441de7cf13c6c7128baea27
https://twitter.com/HouseJudDems/status/874406705014222848
So the fraud in the Oval Office is considering firing Robert Mueller? He is nothing but a straight thug who has taken over our government.
https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/874414120572903425?
https://youtu.be/tcndQxpTosU?t=3m11s
So, apparently, according to the buffoon’s oily pal and owner of the right-wing rag NewsMax, Mueller was in the running to replace Comey as FBI Director…and had met with the impostor …And now the buffoon fears that Mueller ‘knows his thoughts’ on the Russian investigation…and may potentially use information gleaned from that earlier meeting..
And the beat goes on..
https://twitter.com/ppppolls/status/874360988291788800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheobamadiary.com%2F2017%2F06%2F12%2Fwe-remember%2F
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/874389838916669440?
https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/status/874272511512506368?
LOL..
https://twitter.com/byrdinator/status/874350295882530817?
https://twitter.com/BBCOne/status/874281706425110528?
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/874188775513096193?
Thanks for this informative article, rikyrah. I haven’t been up-to-date on this situation. What started this tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia?
Combination of things…A suddenly publicly emboldened Saudi Arabia looking to assert its new-found strength and power over the region, under a dubious, twisted new version of pay to play alliance with and strategic manipulation and buy-in control of the corrupt, greedy, incurious, uninformed Putin-owned blob currently installed in our People’s House, and fake news once again disseminated by Russia to wreak havoc in the region..
“….An investigation by the FBI has concluded that Russian hackers were responsible for sending out fake messages from the Qatari government, sparking the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in decades.
It is believed that the Russian government was not involved in the hacks; instead, freelance hackers were paid to undertake the work on behalf of some other state or individual. Some observers have claimed privately that Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates may have commissioned the hackers.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain launched an unprecedented campaign to isolate Qatar diplomatically and economically over links to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Iran. All four countries withdrew their ambassadors. They also launched an economic blockade, including denial of airspace, leading to panic-buying in the capital, Doha.
In a further tightening of the diplomatic screws on Wednesday, Qataris were banned from landing at any airports in the UAE, even to transfer to another international flight. The UAE has also banned its citizens from using social media to express views sympathetic to Qatar.
Turkey’s parliament passed a resolution on Wednesday allowing the deployment of troops to Qatar, adding another complication to a delicate diplomatic crisis.
Turkey signed a deal with Qatar in 2016 to establish Ankara’s first military base in the Arabian peninsula, and part of the agreement entailed the deployment of Turkish troops to the base. Officials had said earlier in the day that they would fast-track the approval of the troop deployment, in light of the crisis in the Gulf…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/07/russian-hackers-qatar-crisis-fbi-inquiry-saudi-arabia-uae
“…The US state and defence departments have scrambled to limit the diplomatic damage done by Donald Trump’s morning tweets lambasting Qatar, which is the hub for US military air operations across the Middle East.
Trump started the day by taking sides in a bitter row among the Gulf monarchies, in which Saudi Arabia and its allies have sought to isolate Qatar.
The US president visited the region last month and claimed to have helped bring unity to the Islamic world in the battle against extremism.
While in Riyadh, Trump met regional leaders, including the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He said the US and Qatar had been “friends for a long time” and that the two leaders discussed the Qatari purchase of “lots of beautiful military equipment”.
Just more than two weeks later, however, after Riyadh cut ties with Qatar, Trump tweeted support for the move, claiming that when it came to funding radical ideology, “leaders point to Qatar”.
US relations with Qatar have long been complicated by Doha’s promotion of a conservative and austere form of Sunni Islam, Wahhabism, from which many extremist groups claim to draw inspiration, and its backing of extremist groups elsewhere in the region.
However, the same issues have clouded the relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, the al-Udeid base outside Doha is the centre for US air operations over Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan. It will be critical for the assault on the Isis stronghold Raqqa, which was launched on Tuesday.
“It’s unlikely (to say the least) that Donald Trump realised we are running the entire air war out of Qatar prior to his tweet,” said Andrew Exum, a deputy assistant secretary of defence for Middle East policy in the Obama administration.
In a cycle that has become a daily norm in Washington, government agencies on Tuesday sought to mitigate the impact of the president’s declarations, restating existing policy and playing down the significance of the tweets.
The defence department praised Qatar for hosting US forces and its “enduring commitment to regional security”…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/06/donald-trump-qatar-tweets-us-diplomatic-damage
Thanks, Eliihass, for these very helpful articles.
You’re welcome Yahtzee..
Sorry folks…that wasn’t 44’s Official Portrait.
But, I do love it, and wish that it was.
Here’s the story:
https://twitter.com/thegarance/status/874379770959720448?
White House presidential and First Lady portraits are typically kept secret and officially unveiled during a formal ceremony at the White House about 4 years after they leave office..
The quality of this portrait …rushed, pedestrian technique and cheap material… and general all around mediocre quality, would fall incredibly and embarrassingly and way, wat short of the exceptional, highly-skilled, superior work usually done by the seasoned and reputable artists typically commissioned by each retired First Couple to create their artistic version of likeness that will hang for posterity and viewed for generations in the White House …
I expect the Obamas who are passionate, educated, knowledgeable and great supporters of the arts – and who have trusted acquaintances and allies in the art and museum world, to pick a renowned, accomplished, respected and discreet professional and artist of highest repute, to entrust with this ultimate assignment and honor of creating their portraits…
I only pray that they don’t have to have their portraits unveiling ceremony with the Russian-owned impostors still in residence holding the People’s House hostage …It will be nothing short of heartbreaking..
“…CEO of Newsmax Media, Christopher Ruddy, said on PBS’ NewsHour that he thinks President Trump is considering terminating special counsel Robert Mueller. White House correspondent ..”
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/06/12/donald-trump-robert-mueller-christopher-ruddy-sot-erin.cnn
Besides the obvious overeach and serious obstruction of justice issues inherent – and essentially, a move that signals an admission of guilt…the idea that this bit of slick and twisted dubious ‘breaking news’ is courtesy of the buffoon’s best pal, the oily, dubious CEO of the original alt-right/faux-news rag NewsMax, and in an interview with of all people, Judy Woodruff, on of all places, PBS – whose federal-funding is on the chopping block thanks to the bufffoon and sleazy, twisted right-wingers like Ruddy…is all still playing out like some twisted dystopian nightmare sitcom spin-off in what is now a full-on, multiple-screenings, never-ending, ultra-twisted, ultra-crazy dystopian nightmare on steroids …
Republicans know their health care bill is super unpopular and so are trying to shield it from public scrutiny. https://t.co/LfTKnWjtnM
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 12, 2017
The Senate’s three tools on health care: Sabotage, speed and secrecy https://t.co/c6V9yvzzmb by @ASlavitt
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 12, 2017
Spicer now says that when Trump said he’d be willing to testify under oath, he was referring to Mueller, *not* Congress. (via @MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/WClzjdDUQT
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 12, 2017
LOOK! ARREST WARRANT OF MILDRED LOVING….
https://twitter.com/USNatArchives/status/874317598275588096
Yep, this is America, land of free & home of the brave, unless…..
$1,000 for marrying a man you love. It proves you can NEVER LEGISLATE MORALS, ETHICS, OR A LOVING HEART. Either folks have SOULS, and conviction to see their evil, wicked ways, or they don’t.
We call them out at every turn.
https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/874317609432469505
This mad me gag! I had to mute my tv…
https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/874293744442408960
This is so beyond the pale. It’s absolutely crazy!!
Insane! I can’t believe these people actually did it. Wow!
https://twitter.com/HuffPost/status/874310838202634240
https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/874312023240306688
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/874313464977788928
It’s #45’s way of communicating, so yes, use every single tweet that POS creates to deliver his gibberish!
THAT BITCH IVANKA PLUGGING HER TRASHY BOOKS and FAKE CONCRERN FOR POOR, UNEDUCATED WHITE FOLKS & WOMEN.
GTFOH
Nobody cares. She’s ridiculous. Policy affects REAL PEOPLE. Nobody has time to pretend that you actually have ideas that matter.
“…On Tuesday morning, Ivanka Trump put on a navy turtleneck and heels that appeared to be from her own besieged collection, and accompanied her father to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“Ivanka is here right now — Hi, Ivanka,” President Trump said from a podium, gesturing toward his daughter, who stood on the masking-tape mark laid out for her. She clasped her hands in front of her, smiling and nodding at appropriate intervals, a poised act of filial duty.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C5TLKcEWYAATvtO?format=jpg
“She was very genuine,” said guest Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. The conversation made an impression: On Thursday, she tweeted a photo of herself at a meeting of an Urban League affiliate in Baltimore…
Um, not so fast Ametia…
If only it were just the ‘poor, uneducated white folks..’ as you say…But Marc Morial and his crew at the National Urban League, are very much part of the ‘find some foolish, thirsty ‘blacks’ to show ‘diversity’ in the normalization of the buffoon and brood’ swindle…
Mr. Morial hands stretched out, is very much part of the effort to normalize this silicone-filled dubious, corrupt extension of the buffoon… Anything for a buck…And it’s isn’t even a substantial amount…$100,000…and ‘yet to be paid’…in other words, ‘the max amount depending on actual sales’…and so much less since sales didn’t happen.. Embarrassing…
For every step we make, there’s always some greasy poortunistic coon like Marc Morial setting black folks back under some glaringly faux-altruistic guise..
“…Ivanka Trump said on Thursday that she would donate the unpaid portion of her advance for writing a book called “Women Who Work” to charitable groups that help children in urban areas. She also will forgo a book publicity tour to avoid using her government perch to promote her private product.
In announcing her plans to donate $100,000 each to the National Urban League and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ms. Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, released a statement calling the book part of a continuing effort to empower women that “has been central to my mission throughout my career.”
Ms. Trump said her book aims to supply advice and tips on leadership, entrepreneurship, juggling work and family “and building cultures where multidimensional women can thrive — now and in the future.”
“Like many other professional women, I have juggled the demands that come with growing my family and building my businesses, and I realize that I am more fortunate than most,” Ms. Trump said in the statement.
She said she has created the Ivanka M. Trump Charitable Fund for the unpaid portion of her advance and any future royalties to facilitate grants to charitable groups that “support the economic empowerment for women and girls.”
She said she chose to donate to the Urban League and the Boys & Girls Clubs because both have “made it a priority to promote entrepreneurship and educational opportunities for women and girls in underserved communities.”
The Urban League will launch a new women’s initiative with the money, while the Boys & Girls Club money will go to the group’s science, technology, engineering and math program…”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/us/politics/ivanka-trump-charity-women-who-work.html?_r=0
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C5TLKcEWYAATvtO.jpg
Trump faces constitutional questions over foreign payments
06/12/17 11:01 AM
By Steve Benen
The moment he took the oath of office as president, Donald Trump was already facing a serious legal dispute. The Constitution, which the Republican had just sworn to uphold, prevents U.S. officials from receiving payments from foreign governments – it’s generally known as the “Emoluments Clause” – but Trump, who refused to divest from his private-sector enterprises, continues to profit from businesses who receive payments from foreign governments.
There’s already some pending litigation challenging Trump’s current practices, but the Washington Post reports that the legal dispute will add a new dimension today.
Breaking News…
9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on #MuslimBan👉BLOCKED nationwide
Have a stadium FULL-O-SEATS, Ivanaka!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_J9mRI4t-c
This bitch wouldn’t come on MSNBC and spew that nonsense about “VISCIOUSNES,” unless it’s with Kelly & Sustern, two bleached blonde FAUX NOISE, ALUMNI
I just tweeted this. Gurllll, you finna get me beat up. LOL
LOL you can handle them, sG2!
Code of Silence
How private companies hide flaws in the software that governments use to decide who goes to prison and who gets out.
by Rebecca Wexler
One day in early January, a letter appeared on my desk marked DIN92A5501, an inmate’s identification number from the Eastern Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The author, Glenn Rodríguez, had drafted it in upright, even letters, perfectly aligned. Here, in broad strokes, is the story he told:
Rodríguez was just sixteen at the time of his arrest, and was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in an armed robbery of a car dealership that left an employee dead. Now, twenty-six years later, he was a model of rehabilitation. He had requested a transfer to Eastern, a maximum-security prison, in order to take college classes. He had spent four and a half years training service dogs for wounded veterans and eleven volunteering for a youth program. A job and a place to stay were waiting for him outside. And he had not had a single disciplinary infraction for the past decade.
Yet, last July, the parole board hit him with a denial. It might have turned out differently but, the board explained, a computer system called COMPAS had ranked him “high risk.” Neither he nor the board had any idea how this risk score was calculated; Northpointe, the for-profit company that sells COMPAS, considers that information to be a trade secret. But Rodríguez may have been stuck in prison because of it.
Proprietary algorithms are flooding the criminal justice system. Machine learning systems deploy police officers to “hot spot” neighborhoods. Crime labs use probabilistic software programs to analyze forensic evidence. And judges rely on automated “risk assessment instruments” to decide who should make bail, or even what sentence to impose.
Supporters claim that these tools help correct bias in human decisionmaking and can reduce incarceration without risking public safety by identifying prisoners who are unlikely to commit future crimes if released. But critics argue that the tools disproportionately harm minorities and entrench existing inequalities in criminal justice data under a veneer of scientific objectivity.
Even as this debate plays out, the tools come with a problem that is slipping into the system unnoticed: ownership. With rare exceptions, the government doesn’t develop its own criminal justice software; the private sector does. The developers of these new technologies often claim that the details about how they work are “proprietary” trade secrets and, as a result, cannot be disclosed in criminal cases. In other words, private companies increasingly purport to own the means by which the government decides what neighborhoods to police, whom to incarcerate, and for how long. And they refuse to reveal how these decisions are made—even to those whose life or liberty depends on them.
Black Teen Finds Photo of Herself Being Lynched Shared in Group Chat
Breanna Edwards
Today 8:58am
A 15-year-old California high school student discovered a shocking picture of herself with a noose drawn around her neck posted in a chemistry chat room for Los Angeles’ Palisades Charter High School.
“Oh, my God, it’s me being lynched,” Aina Adewunmi told CBSLA. “Looking at an image of yourself like that hurts.”
Aina is new to Palisades, having just transferred to the charter school in January. She said she’d mostly felt welcomed and accepted by students there, but three boys in particular started to use racial slurs.
“They added me to their group chat and then started using the n-word,” Aina said, according to the New York Daily News. “I said they can’t use the word, and that’s when I thought I set the boundary.”
the crackas have become emboldened
A debt-ceiling deadline adds a wrinkle to a challenging landscape
06/12/17 11:30 AM
By Steve Benen
The national political landscape isn’t exactly tranquil right now. The White House is facing crisis conditions; the president’s political operation is facing a counter-espionage investigation; the president himself may be facing obstruction-of-justice allegations; U.S. allies are giving up on American leadership in ways without modern precedent; and Congress’ agenda is in peril.
It’s against this backdrop that policymakers have to prepare to raise the debt ceiling.
Technically, the nation reached its limit in March, but at that point, the Treasury Department’s “extraordinary measures” kicked in, giving Congress a little breathing room. Nevertheless, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged lawmakers more than three months ago to raise the debt ceiling “at the first opportunity.”
Congress has so far ignored the appeal, prompting Mnuchin to announce on Friday that he has “plans and backup plans for funding the government” into at least September if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling before its August recess. The Washington Post reported:
…………………………
Federal tax receipts have been quite a bit lower than expected in recent months, which only accelerates the timeline for an inevitable debt-ceiling increase. Complicating matters, the Trump administration can’t seem to get its story straight: while Mnuchin has urged Congress to pass a clean bill, Trump’s far-right budget director, Mick Mulvaney, has said he wants lawmakers to tack on some conservative priorities in the legislation.
For now, the president said he’s taking Mnuchin’s side, but (a) Trump is also on record having argued the exact opposite before the election; (b) Gary Cohn, Trump’s National Economic Council director, has expressed support for Mulvaney’s argument; and (c) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer recently hedged when asked to back up Mnuchin’s call for a clean bill.
And while Trump World is divided against itself, congressional Republicans – the folks who’ll have to schedule and execute the increase – see raising the debt limit as a difficult and painful vote, largely because they themselves made these votes difficult and painful during the Obama era for reasons that never really made any sense.
House Freedom Caucus members last month “demanded” that any debt-ceiling increase be tied to assorted conservative goals that far-right lawmakers want, which all but guarantees that House GOP leaders will have to reach out to House Democrats to avoid a crisis.
‘Too Black and Militant’ – Critics Slam Marvel Comics for Black Panther Movie Poster
by Tosin
After just 24 hours for the release of the teaser trailer of Marvels new film, Black Panther, the media backlash has already started.
The powerful trailer featured actors Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Angela Bassett in a very strongly themed Marvel superhero movie that wove the storyline around the Fictitious Wakandan leader and ruler, T’Challa who also doubles as the Black Panther.
Following the release of the poster and teaser trailer yesterday, critics are claiming the new poster resembles Social Activist and Co-Founder of The Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton, who was seen as ‘too militant’ in the 1960’s.
Luther’s coming back for a 5th season!!!
Yeah!!!
Some more Idris :)
On a call this morning we got a report: the volume of calls going into the Senate is light. THIS WEEK IS A CODE R… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
—
Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) June 12, 2017
Make no mistake: Trumpcare will pass the Senate if we don’t dial up the pressure to maximum, unprecedented levels.… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…
—
Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) June 07, 2017
Russian state actors are posing as attractive young women on Facebook to friend service members & gather intel. https://t.co/eu5dQykR6V
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 12, 2017
With some of the alt-right, buffoon supporters, who are now suddenly great admirers of Russia and its Napoleon-complex leader, there might be no need to ‘pose’ at all..
We are now in a grave fight for our democracy and our very fragile union endangered daily by the buffoon and his treasonous cohorts…and lines of treason have suddenly become warpedly and crazily blurred with a vile, white supremacist, arrogant, racist and twisted, ignorant, defiant, deluded form of twisted alt-right definition of ‘patriotism’..
Why Democrats Need to Listen to Hillary Clinton
by Nancy LeTourneau
June 12, 2017 10:25 AM
Anger is a hot topic in politics these days. As a former therapist, I’ll admit that there is a lot of pop psychology out there that has been fueled by this idea that we all need to do a better job of expressing our feelings—especially anger. What my former profession hasn’t done a good job of, however, is teaching people that simply expressing anger isn’t enough.
I remember learning a real life lesson years ago when I worked in a group home that considered the expression of anger to be an important part of the healing process. One day during a staff meeting, two men got into a heated exchange over a disagreement. They were sitting at opposite ends of our conference table and eventually stood up and raised their voices in anger. As a young newbie to this kind of anger, it was pretty intimidating. But they also did something we don’t see very often. In the midst of their anger, they continued to listen to each other. In the end, they spontaneously reached out to shake hands across the table as a sign of respect, if not complete agreement.
I have never forgotten that moment because it was a rare glimpse into the possible. Actually listening to an opponent in the midst of anger doesn’t happen very often. What happens more often than not is that the actual disagreement gets lost as the arguments become more personal in an effort to shut the other side down.
That is precisely what I am seeing in the attempt by some pundits on the left these days who want Hillary Clinton to shut up and go away. As Paul Waldman recounts today, it has become a bit of a cottage industry. It is clear that some people are angry with Clinton. I don’t see any point in denying that anger. But almost none of them are engaged in discussing where the actual disagreements are rooted. It’s all pretty personal. And by suggesting that she needs to shut up and go away, it’s clear that these folks aren’t interested in listening to what she has to say.
There are some things Democrats need to talk about, like how to compete politically in a Citizens United era, how to move forward on universal health care, what good trade agreements should look like, what the role of government should be in combating income inequality, how best to combat the forces of xenophobia and what a 21st Century foreign policy should look like. In a party as diverse as Democrats, there are disagreements on a lot of those things. But when either side is defined in personal terms (i.e., corrupt), and therefore needs to be silenced, it simply means we don’t listen and the divide deepens.
I’m not sure what Hillary Clinton has to offer at this point. She’s engaged in writing her book about the election and I can understand why she would spend the rest of her life analyzing this. But for us, it isn’t helpful and it isn’t going to save the country.
Agreed! The Dems didn’t listen to PBO either. He won 2 terms, and each term, you had some of them running in the opposite direction.
Another Stunning Election In France As Macron’s Party Sweeps
June 12, 2017
5:01 AM ET
The brand new party of brand new French President Emmanuel Macron is poised to sweep parliamentary elections after a first round of legislative voting yesterday.
Official tallies show his party could wind up with more than 400 seats in the 577-seat French parliament after next week’s final round. French news media are likening a party that barely existed a year ago to a tidal wave sweeping everything in its path.
Macron’s party — Republic on the Move — received 32 percent of the vote, followed by the mainstream conservatives with 21 percent. The Socialists, party of former President François Hollande, didn’t even make 10 percent. Its number of seats will drop from nearly 300 to around 30.
“The left is being wiped out,” says Christophe Barbier, a columnist with L’Express. “And the right is in a huge ideological crisis because Macron has taken some of their best people for his government.”
Very few candidates received the 50 percent vote needed for a first-round victory. Most districts will see a runoff between the top two finishers next Sunday.
Russia Was Helped by ‘Treasonous’ Americans
June 12, 2017
By Taegan Goddard
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) told Politico that the Russians had “treasonous” guidance from Americans in hacking the 2016 presidential election.
Said McAuliffe: “Somebody had to give these people a roadmap. So I believe somewhere in this, somebody was directing the Russians on whose names to use, what impact these certain people sending a memo would have on the American electorate. I mean, they just didn’t sit over in some cubicle over there somewhere in Moscow and figure this out.”
The Official Portrait of 44.
I am all up in my feelings about this.😥😥
He is trolling them with the tan suit
😄😄😄😍😍
https://mobile.twitter.com/j_boyd_ii/status/874084311154270209/photo/1?
This is the second Democrat, by my count, to withdraw from a race due to death threats. Really, really worrying. https://t.co/FjJfAmCKwd
— Seth Millstein (@SethMillstein) June 12, 2017
And it’s only going to get worse the longer we allow this madness that’s taken over the People’s House.. and is holding it and the world hostage…and getting more and more emboldened and dug-in with each passing second that nothing is done …and the Republican congress and others empowered by our form of government and democracy, cowardly and corruptedly shirk their responsibilities to do their patriotic duty, and act responsibly and patriotically on behalf of this now endangered democracy and fragile union…
It’ll only get harder to rid the country and the world of this Putin-engineered crazy and installed treasonous buffoon, brood and alt-right cohorts …the longer and more settled in and comfortable the buffoon, brood and greedy, self-interested, corrupt cronies get in the People’s House…and the more adept they get at exploiting the many resources and tools available courtesy of that previously but now desecrated solemn space….And the more desperate, shallow, mediocre, opportunistic dolts in our media like Kristen Welker and others they can recruit to help out by being as reverent and beholden and kiss-arse in their shameless and embarrassing fluffing-up and active legitimization and normalization and elevation of the buffoon and his hollow, surgically-remade distraction Barbie-robots with silicon bits..
If this madness is not taken care of in the next few weeks…if nothing significant happens to actually stop this treasonous crazy by the next few weeks, it’s never happening…And the floodgates of corruption will burst open…and the end of our democracy as we know it, would be signaled in the most blatant of ways yet..
found at TOD:
New Tool:) Send messages to your reps/senators…..from your phone:) Boom!
It turns your texts into faxes and sends them to your elected persons….
https://resistbot.io/
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/10/17
Angry voters produce another suprprising election result
Dan Rather, president of News & Guts Media, talks with Rachel Maddow about broader lessons that can be drawn from the unexpected result of the UK snap election.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/9/17
Trump lawyer bullying of Comey could backfire
Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about whether Donald Trump’s lawyer’s threats against James Comey could backfire as witness intimidation.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/9/17
Rather: US suffers for Trump scandal spectacles
Dan Rather, president of News & Guts Media, talks with Rachel Maddow about current global political instability and the whether the instability of Donald Trump’s presidency is making the United States unstable and weak.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/9/17
Senate Judiciary Committee poised to probe Trump obstruction
Rachel Maddow reviews the latest developments in the Trump-Russia investigations, including indications that the Senate Judiciary Committee will issue subpoenas to investigate Donald Trump for obstruction of justice.
Trump’s Comey claims contradicted by president’s own son
06/12/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 06/12/17 08:05 AM
By Steve Benen
At a White House press conference last month, a reporter asked Donald Trump, “Did you at any time urge former FBI Director James Comey in any way, shape, or form to close or to back down the investigation into Michael Flynn?” Trump replied, “No. No. Next question.”
Comey, we now know, testified under oath that the president did talk to the then-FBI director about the Flynn case, encouraged him to back off the former White House National Security Advisor, and in the process, added weight to the allegations that the president may have obstructed justice.
By all accounts, there were two people in the Oval Office at the time, creating a “he said, he said” dynamic – at least at first blush. We obviously have Comey’s version of events, bolstered by a contemporaneous memo he prepared at the time. He also shared the details of his interactions with the president with FBI leaders at the time.
But about Trump’s denials? According to one of the president’s adult sons, who helps run Trump’s business and who plays a prominent role in promoting Trump’s political interests, Comey’s version of events may be the accurate one. The Washington Post reported over the weekend:
Ratings for Comey hearing reflect broader civic awakening
06/12/17 09:30 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump takes great pride in generating large television audiences, which is why he has yet another reason to be angry with James Comey right now. The New York Times reported:
Note, that 19.5 million figure is a low estimate. It doesn’t account for people who watched on PBS or C-SPAN, those who attended viewing parties, or those who tuned in online.
And given the fact that the hearing was at 10 a.m. (ET) on a weekday – a time when millions of Americans were already at work – it’s likely that the online audience was considerable.
We can only hope …and we can only hope it’s of the smart, informed sort..and not of the validating ignorance and demagoguery persuasion..
Trump faces ‘put up or shut up’ moment over possible secret tapes
06/12/17 09:00 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump didn’t just accuse James Comey of lying to the public the president also argued his new nemesis lied to Congress while under oath. That’s no small charge: when a sitting president effectively says the former director of the FBI committed perjury, it requires some follow-up.
More specifically, it requires that president to back up those allegations in some meaningful way. In this case, that means Trump could deliver his own sworn testimony, which the president has said he’s prepared to do. On CBS News’ “Face the Nation” yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “I would like to invite the president to testify before the Senate. I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public, with questions, with [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell.”
Trump could also, meanwhile, turn over White House recordings of the president’s conversations – if they exist. Asked about the possibility of such tapes, Trump told reporters on Friday, “Well, I’ll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future.” What that means is anybody’s guess. (A day earlier, a White House spokesperson, asked if such recordings have been made, replied, “I have no idea.”)
Congress is starting to take the possibility of such tapes quite seriously. Politico reported:
A case of the never-ending, clearly not actually happening wish-list of potential scenarios, scenarios, scenarios..
Senate Republicans inch closer to far-right health care overhaul
06/12/17 08:30 AM
By Steve Benen
About a week ago, health care advocates had reason to feel optimism. Senate Republicans publicly conceded that their efforts to craft their own health care blueprint weren’t going especially well.
Asked if there will be a Senate-passed version of the GOP health care plan by the end of the year, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) conceded, “I don’t think there will be. I just don’t think we can put it together among ourselves.” Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) added that he believed it’s “unlikely” a Republican bill would pass.
But while those comments offered hope to health care proponents, as the week progressed, the winds began to shift direction. Vox’s report on Friday afternoon is consistent with everything I’ve heard about the state of the debate.
A Populist Needs to Be Popular To Survive. Trump Isn’t.
by David Atkins
June 11, 2017 6:21 AM
A few days ago our own Martin Longman made a good case for why Donald Trump might well be impeached by his own party: put simply, Trump has become a such swelling liability to the GOP from both a public relations and legislative standpoint that they can’t live with him any more than they can live without him. Republicans bear no particularly love or loyalty for Trump: he’s only useful to them as long as he’s, well, useful.
Time seems to have flown this year, but it’s already mid-June 2017. The 2018 midterms will be upon us before we know it, and so far the only thing Republicans really have to show from Trump is a Supreme Court justice–and that was really Mitch McConnell’s doing, anyway.
So why not toss Trump overboard in favor of Pence, Hatch or Ryan? Well, in large part because it’s hard to say how many Republicans might go down with Trump, and because the intra-party damage from splitting into the Trump prosecutor and Trump defender factions might be irreparable. Primary battles would rage across the land.
But from another angle, all Trump really has to back him up are his legions of supporters. Trump ran as an anti-establishment populist with no friends in Washington. Without “the people”–or at least, his people–Trump has nothing.
So when polls show former FBI Director James Comey as 20 points more trustworthy than Trump in the central conflict that may determine his fate, that’s a big deal. When his approval rating is crating down to 38% just six months into his presidency, that’s a major problem.
Trump has no loyalty from his staff, no love from Congress, no respect from the bureaucracy or the military, no alliances in foreign policy. The best the Republican Party can say about him is that he creates a nice distraction while they try to pass unpopular bills, but so far the legislative agenda has been stuck in the mire.
But there sure are a myriad of folks who ought to know better, out there, actively engaged in the cover-up…and actively propping up and fluffing up the buffoon …even as he very blatantly and outrightly breaks laws, very arrogantly destroys our democratic institutions, and bungles again and again and again on everything, including the most basic of things..
For Democrats to Succeed, Both Pragmatists and Progressives Must Work Together
by David Atkins
June 11, 2017 8:50 PM
As the People’s Summit comes to a close in Chicago, the backlash from mainstream reporters is already coming in. Perhaps the best case in point comes in this New York Times piece by Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, which posits a clash between party leaders who “want to win” in tough districts, and militant base progressives who “want it all.”
As usual, the intramural battle on the left is being framed as one between intelligent pragmatists who want to win, and unrealistic ideologues who want to make themselves feel good.
But this is an overly simplistic and deeply misleading way of thinking about the schism within the Democratic Party and the left more generally. There are reasonable and unreasonable people on both sides of these battle lines, and some people who straddle the divide depending on the circumstances. Most important, the Democratic Party will need to channel the energies, talents and priorities of both the populist and pragmatist wings to make gains going forward.
Let’s examine the populist left. First, the establishment wing must be able to grant that many of the populist left’s premises have proven themselves over time. Clinton’s own SuperPAC did the research and discovered that the Obama-Trump switchers who made the difference in the election were driven by economic anxiety and a loss of faith in the Democratic Party to resolve their concerns. Sanders remains the most popular politician in America. And Jeremy Corbyn’s success in Britain shows that an invigorated populist left can indeed succeed despite the dire predictions of all the so-called serious people.
“…But this is an overly simplistic and deeply misleading way of thinking about the schism within the Democratic Party and the left more generally. There are reasonable and unreasonable people on both sides of these battle lines, and some people who straddle the divide depending on the circumstances…”
And there are also some Putin-sponsored agenda-driven spoilers and various other anarchists of different stripes, dubious loyalties and dubious agenda, looking to embed themselves within the party structure …under the guise of ‘staking their place and helping to rebuild the party to represent more voices and to win’…
They are taking advantage of the understandable and earned disgust and ire of many of us who were appalled by the shenanigans of a handful of then party heads like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz etc, …But these breed of dubious spoilers and anarchists that have sought to have voice in our process, and are looking to embed themselves within our party, have a completely different agenda…they are intent upon, and are already actively disrupting and sabotaging the party…and they are already actively undermining and sowing discord…actively courting and recruiting disgruntled and uninformed – and over-informed folks…especially minorities …black folks…to unwittingly and wittingly push their angle…
If Ossoff Loses, Forget About Impeaching Trump
by D.R. Tucker
June 12, 2017 5:00 AM
Pressed during the second debate on whether she believes human activity is a cause of climate change, [Karen] Handel demurred, saying: “I am not a scientist.”
[Jon] Ossoff shot back: “Well, neither of us are scientists. That’s why we have scientists. And 97 percent of scientists, as well as the military and the intelligence community, agree that climate change is a threat to our security and prosperity and that it’s driven in part by human activity.”
But Trump’s presence looms over both of them.
After Handel made it to the runoff, Trump came to Atlanta to raise $750,000 for her. “You better win,” he told her.
“Trump looms over Georgia special election, a proxy battle for 2018,” Washington Post, June 10, 2017
No wonder Trump said those words to Handel, the Republican contender in the June 20 special election to fill Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District seat, left vacant by Trump’s appointment of Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services. If Handel wins, she will have effectively saved his presidency.
If Jon Ossoff cannot take that seat away from the GOP (which has controlled it for 38 years), then no Republican member of the House or Senate anywhere in the country will be afraid of remaining deferential to Trump. A Handel win would mean that Republican voters are simply unwilling to switch sides under any circumstances, and will remain loyal to the GOP, no matter how corrupt or compromised the party is, simply to achieve partisan aims.
Here is the list of legislative employees for healthcare
https://mobile.twitter.com/benwikler/status/872923148357947392/photo/1
Thank you for the INFORMATION & FACT, Rikyrah.
Good Morning,Everyone😐😐😐