With each passing day, the number of people who attended Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russian government representatives grows. First it was four. Then it was six. Now it’s eight, with the eighth and final person being identified only as a male and a U.S. citizen. But one may not have to look very far to find that individual’s identity: Reince Priebus, who is confirmed to have been in the building.
On the morning of the meeting in question, which is confirmed to have taken place at Trump Tower, an Associated Press reporter named Jonathan Lemire tweeted that he had just seen Reince Priebus walking into the building (link). This isn’t proof that Priebus was in the boardroom for the meeting, but it in confirmation that he was in Trump Tower for the meeting. There was no other reason for him to have shown up there. There was a RNC fundraiser in New York that day, but it was at a different building.
CNN is reporting tonight that Donald Trump Jr.’s attorney has coughed up some details about the eighth person at the meeting, insisting that the person was a “U.S. citizen” and was “not employed by the Russian government” while referring to the individual as having been a man (link). Junior’s attorney was attempting to make things sound more innocent by confirming that the eighth person wasn’t yet another Russian government representative. But instead, he ended up offering a description that just happens to fit Reince Priebus.
It’s important to note that during the time of this meeting, Priebus was still the Chair of the Republican National Committee, and he wasn’t working for the Donald Trump campaign in any way shape or form. So if he was in the meeting, it means the titular head of the Republican Party was officially in on the plot to conspire with the Russian government to rig the election on Donald Trump’s behalf. Look for proof soon that Priebus was not only in Trump Tower for the meeting, but physically in the meeting as well.
https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/887522017423044608
LOL…
Doit être magique..
How is Bernie on both MSNBC and CNN at the same time…
Ooooohhh…
“This is why you are seeing the confederate flag across Europe.”
https://twitter.com/blackvoices/status/885887926822981632
https://twitter.com/deray/status/886917398086987780
On July 18, 1969
https://twitter.com/Crystal1Johnson/status/887379490468265985
“Army Corps of Engineers says DAPL review ordered by judge could take until the end of the year.”
https://twitter.com/APCentralRegion/status/887377803636858882
Johnny Manziel: The NFL Owners’ ‘Good Boy’
In Colin Kaepernick, NFL owners see a threat. In Johnny Manziel, they see themselves.
By Dave ZirinTwitter YESTERDAY 5:30 PM
….
Both of these quarterbacks are currently out of work. For the uninitiated, Johnny Manziel has a record of physically assaulting women, substance abuse, and being a very poor NFL quarterback. His record as a starter over two seasons was 2-6. He threw for seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. His reputation as someone unwilling to listen to coaches or teammates and uninterested in simply putting in the work, is an open secret. He is, by any objective measure, a team deficit: a distraction worth nobody’s time.
Kaepernick was on the cover of Time magazine and named to the Time 100 after a year of community service and social protest that influenced millions and expanded our ongoing national conversation about police violence. During a maelstrom of a season, where he lived under a barrage of death threats and constant media attacks, Kaepernick threw for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, while also being the second leading rusher among NFL quarterbacks with the highest yards-per-carry average in the league. During his career, he has thrown for 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions and led the 49ers within one play of a Super Bowl championship in 2013. His teammates swear by him.
…
These are the facts: two quarterbacks. One is a dumpster fire who has polarized every locker room he has entered; the other is a role model, polarizing for everyone except the people who call him a teammate. One has had a train wreck of a career; the other has tasted glory.
Here’s another fact: One of these quarterbacks says he is getting calls and setting up meetings about returning to the NFL, and it’s not Colin Kaepernick.
…
We have moved so far beyond farce when it comes to the blackballing of Colin Kaepernick, we might as well call it what it is: a political persecution.
…
https://www.thenation.com/article/johnny-manziel-the-nfl-owners-good-boy/
https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/887423774697639936
https://twitter.com/CourtisWLWT/status/887361173460529156
Why aren’t we surprised..
That was the plan all along..
But, Karma…
https://twitter.com/ActionNewsJax/status/887410200839409664
She never killed anyone…and she hasn’t committed treason…Nor has she duped widows and pensioners of their savings via a fake ‘university’…nor has she shafted workers of on contracts for work done…or essentially stolen from banks by taking high-dollar loans and defaulting on them…again and again…And turning then to a hostile foreign entity for funding…and selling out the country in return for money…
We have a treasonous conman and criminal and his fraudulent klan, surrounded by a host of fraudulent individuals desecrating the People’s House…
And we have cold-blooded murderers in tax-payer-funded uniforms killing innocents for no reason – and getting off..
I’m certainly not mad at Doris Payne..
Doris Payne is the very, very least of folks problems..
Leave Doris Payne alone I say…America has bigger fish to fry…starting with the treasonous crooks selling our country out and corrupting and holding our democracy hostage..
What and why on earth is Chris Christie still embarrassingly jigging for…
Why after being so clearly humiliated again and again by the buffoon and his inner circle, does Christie still have his lips firmly attached to the treasonous buffoon’s b*tt cheek..
Is he hoping for a ‘pardon’ of sorts for himself and his convicted bridge-gate aides….if the buffoon and his cohorts and their Russian benefactors manage to pull off this treasonous scam long-term…or is Christie gathering some sort of his version of oppo research for his own dubious purposes, by still ingratiating himself to the buffoon and having continued access and remaining ‘on the inside’…
Perhaps Christie is too hoping to score a big payday like Comey for a juicy tell-all..
There are no more patriots left…sad to say..
And even fewer real men to be found…no honor, no integrity..
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/887409854134071296
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/885317444247535616
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/887386911773523970
These people are both hypocritical and stupid. Stupid because their hypocrisy is so easy to verify but they proceed as though we are the ones too stupid to notice. SMH.
Valerie Plame BURNED him good!
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/887402108819038208
https://twitter.com/MufasaUK/status/887387467158081536
After Obamacare Repeal Fail, GOP Eyes New Health Care Program To Gut
Tierney Sneed, TPM
” On Tuesday morning, hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had pulled the plug on an Obamacare repeal bill that imposed a massive overhaul on Medicaid, the House Budget Committee unveiled a 10-year budget blueprint that would seek to transform and privatize Medicare. ”
Can’t take your eye off these mofos for a nanosecond.
WaPo headline- https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-suggests-republicans-will-let-aca-market-collapse-then-rewrite-health-law/2017/07/18/5e79a3ec-6bac-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.69e5c1649187&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1
GOP health-care effort suffers another setback, as three Republican senators come out against McConnell’s repeal-only idea
How about:
AMERICANS SUFFER ANOTHER ATTACK , As GOP & MCTURTLE CONTINUE TO REPEAL, STEAL, DENY HEALTH CARE TO MILLIONS
Collapse of the GOP health plan leaves House Republicans in a bind
07/18/17 12:41 PM
By Steve Benen
As the Republicans’ health care gambit unraveled last night, I thought about a quote Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) gave to the Washington Post after the far-right House plan passed in May, with his support.
As we’ve discussed, even at the time, this seemed more like wishful thinking than a credible legislative strategy.
But the political context matters. House Republican leaders went to Diaz-Balart and members like him with a specific message: let’s just keep the process moving. Vote for the flawed House bill, the argument went, and the Senate will make it better. Lawmakers will have more than one bite at this apple, and voting “no” would derail the entire initiative, years in the making.
The pitch worked, but just barely: 217 House Republicans linked arms and voted for a dreadful piece of health care legislation. Among the 217 were 33 members of the Tuesday Group, made up of “moderate” GOP lawmakers, who succumbed to party pressure, followed House Speaker Paul Ryan’s lead, and toed the party line.
Two months later, what do they have to show for it? After having stuck out their necks to support a regressive health care plan the American mainstream abhors, what’s their reward for their risk?
………………..
What’s more, far from getting a second bite at the apple, it appears Senate Republicans are poised to pass nothing. These 217 House Republicans, many of whom represent districts that will be competitive in next year’s midterms, will somehow have to defend voting for an ugly bill in exchange for nothing.
Former Harry Reid Aide Chortles Over McConnell’s Epic Fail
By NICOLE LAFOND
Published JULY 18, 2017 10:09 AM
The former deputy chief of staff for retired Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) took to Twitter to express his shock over news that two Senate Republicans announced they were opposed to the Obamacare repeal bill, calling the move an “unprecedented, full-blown rebellion by Republican senators against their leader” and called the stall a “humiliation” for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Adam Jentleson called reports about Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) accusing McConnell of a significant breach of trust a “harsh” assessment and said he was “shocked at how nasty Republicans are being towards” McConnell.
Having spent countless hours listening to McConnell & years working with his office, I’d like to offer a few thoughts on tonight’s news. 1/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
First & foremost, what we’re witnessing is an unprecedented, full-blown rebellion by Republican senators against their leader, McConnell. 2/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
I worked for Reid for years. Democratic senators criticized him occasionally, although they’d usually joke about it.
Nothing like this. 3/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
Reid’s status as leader was based on a mixture of love & respect from the caucus.
McConnell’s, only on respect – very little love. 4/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
His fellow Rs did not like losing their individual power, but they were willing to abide it as long as McConnell delivered victories. 6/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
We’re seeing indications of that tonight. This sounds like trolling but I’m honestly shocked at how nasty Repuicans are being towards him 8/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
Accusing your leader of a “significant breach of trust” is about as harsh as it gets in Senate-speak. 9/ https://t.co/ZkDnh20kkK
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
Their problem now is that the tactics McConnell employed to accrue power undercut their ability to get things done.
Earth, scorched. 11/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
Their problem now is that the tactics McConnell employed to accrue power undercut their ability to get things done.
Earth, scorched. 11/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) July 18, 2017
LOL Better ask Eric Cantor, McTurtle!!!
Women save the day. https://t.co/FuDrtyKcx9
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 18, 2017
That’s at least three. GOP women step up–Capito, Collins, Murkowski
— Carl P. Leubsdorf (@CarlPLeubsdorf) July 18, 2017
Some good analysis in this blog post:
‘Trumpcare’ failure, and more to follow
Posted on July 18, 2017 by AZ BlueMeanie
http://blogforarizona.net/trumpcare-failure-and-more-to-follow/#more-56762
There should be no confusion what happens if the ACA is repealed as Trump and the Senate are proposing now.
Circulate. pic.twitter.com/d40d0NyQ6m
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 18, 2017
In January, this what Republicans were talking about: straight repeal but abandoned it because it became clear Americans wouldn’t allow it 1
— Angel Padilla (@AngelRafPadilla) July 18, 2017
It’s desperate. But it’s also dangerous, especially when it’s McConnell. Let’s recap what straight repeal would mean for Americans: 3
Straight repeal means an end to the subsidies that make health care coverage affordable for millions of hard working American families 4
Straight repeal ends Medicaid expansion, ripping healthcare from millions of Americans, some who got health insurance for the first time 5
It means eliminating the individual mandate (you know, that thing that makes it possible to protect people with pre-existing conditions) 6
Consequences would be devastating. According to CBO, it would take healthcare away from 18M people in the FIRST YEAR, and 32M by 2026 7
Premiums would spike by 25% in the first year, and DOUBLE by 2026. If Republicans care about reducing premiums, this isn’t the way 8
After Minneapolis officer in police shooting is named, Somali community braces for backlash
By Katie Mettler July 18 at 7:39 AM
He was the first Somali American officer to serve in Minneapolis’s fifth precinct and one of fewer than a dozen Somali American officers in the department. His presence on the squad brought Somali activists some pride and reassurance at a time of Islamophobia in America and nationwide racial tension stoked in part by shootings of black people by white police officers.
Now that same Somali community is bracing for a backlash against Noor that has already begun.
On Monday, multiple media outlets named Noor as the officer who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman in the city’s popular Fulton neighborhood over the weekend, an incident that has grabbed global attention and thrust Minneapolis into yet another uproar over police violence.
…
The Minneapolis Police Federation declined to comment and referred questions to Noor’s attorney. A spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department directed inquiries to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the agency investigating the shooting, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.
…
Witnesses at the scene Saturday night said that the officer who fired his gun appeared to be Somali, Jamal said, so he and others in the community began contacting all the Somalis in the department. They knew the shooting took place in the fifth precinct, where Noor is the only Somali officer.
…
The report stoked fear among Somalis in the Twin Cities, who have worked for decades to become part of the city’s fabric. There are now Somalis on the police force, the city council and in the Minnesota House of Representatives. But the largely Muslim population of Somali Americans in the region still face Islamophobia and innuendo about terrorism.
…
Already, hateful posts criticizing Islam and sharia law are filling social media in response to the police shooting. Several far-right blogs featured sensational headlines that blamed the officer’s ethnicity for the deadly use of force.
…
Noor joined the force in 2015 and completed his field training just over a year ago, according to a May 2016 city bulletin welcoming him to the fifth precinct. The officer graduated from Augsburg College, a Lutheran school in Minneapolis, with a degree in economics and business administration, according to the posting. He worked in real estate in Minneapolis and St. Louis before becoming an officer.
…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/07/18/after-media-identifies-officer-in-minneapolis-shooting-somali-community-braces-for-backlash/?utm_term=.da44af1e4cfe
Trump is demanding Rs vote on bill that would restore tax cuts for rich and roll back coverage for 32 million:https://t.co/6Z30ojjtpV
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 18, 2017
Liza, where are you?
Mitch McConnell Hospitalized with Low White-Vote Count
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was rushed to the hospital late Monday night with what doctors diagnosed as a low white-vote count.
Doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center said that when McConnell arrived at the facility his white-vote count had fallen below fifty and he had gone into shock.
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/mitch-mcconnell-hospitalized-with-low-white-vote-count?mbid=nl_071817%20Borowitz%20Newsletter%20(1)&CNDID=24441272&spMailingID=11500914&spUserID=MTMzMTgyNDUyMzAyS0&spJobID=1201632895&spReportId=MTIwMTYzMjg5NQS2
Ha ha, I hope it’s career ending…
Here he was all ready to get another hard on (pity his wife) from repealing Obamacare. He hasn’t had one since he stole the SCOTUS appointment.
BWA HA HA HA Liza, I see you… <>
bwa ha ha ha ha ha
I wish I could verbalize how much I loathe McConnell.
Senate Republicans Are Back to Repeal and Delay
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 18, 2017 10:00 AM
With announcements last night from Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) that they will not support the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was forced to concede that he doesn’t have the 50 votes to pass it.
……………………….
What McConnell is saying is that they will instead revive a bill that Republicans passed in 2015 to repeal Obamacare, but was vetoed by President Obama. Since that bill delayed implementation of the repeal for two years, we’re back to the idea put forward by some Republicans at the beginning of this process to “repeal and delay.” The rationale was that the prospect of a collapse of Obamacare would force Democrats to work with Republicans on a replacement. In other words, it is a renewed form of the hostage-taking we saw from Republicans repeatedly during the Obama presidency.
Most people are assuming that a repeal and delay vote will never pass the Senate. This revival of that strategy is merely a way for McConnell to give Republicans a way to tell their constituents that they voted “yes” on the bill to repeal Obamacare. But it also puts tremendous pressure on so-called “moderate Republicans” who would have to go on record voting “no” for a dangerous bluff from McConnell.
Because the 2015 bill’s revival would once again be subject to the rules of the budget reconciliation process in the Senate, it wouldn’t necessarily repeal all of Obamacare. Instead it would:
What wouldn’t be included are all of the regulations on health insurers that are part of Obamacare. They would stay in place. That includes things like the protections for people with pre-existing conditions, coverage for the list of essential benefits and what is known as “community rating,” which prevents health insurers from varying premiums within a geographic area based on age, gender, health status or other factors.
Kevin Drum points out that eliminating the funding mechanism while keeping the regulations in place would destroy not just Obamacare, but the entire individual insurance market. I suspect it would even go beyond that. The regulations that would stay in place affect all health insurance—even what is provided by employers. So the damage could extend beyond the individual market.
The brutality and cynicism of this play by McConnell is two-fold: (1) he’s counting on the probability that this repeal and delay bill won’t pass, and (2) even if it does, the prospect of this kind of havoc in health care would force Democrats to concede.
To recap, here are the steps McConnell has taken in this effort to repeal Obamacare:
House GOP Unveils Budget With Steep Medicare Cuts
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Published JULY 18, 2017 9:01 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a 10-year budget blueprint that would dramatically increase military spending while putting the GOP on record favoring Medicare cuts opposed by President Donald Trump.The GOP plan, authored by Budget Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., would also pave the way for overhauling the U.S. tax code this fall, and would pair that effort with cuts to benefit programs such as food stamps. The plan also lays out a plan to balance the budget inside a decade through deep cuts to a wide swath of domestic programs — though GOP leaders have no intention of actually carrying out the cuts.
Black announced a committee vote for Wednesday, but action by the entire House could be delayed by an ongoing quarrel between the GOP’s tea party and moderate factions over spending cuts.
Medicare is the second largest mandatory program after Social Security, and the House GOP plan again proposes to turn Medicare into a voucher-like program in which future retirees would receive a fixed benefit to purchase health insurance on the open market. Republicans have proposed the idea each year since taking back the House in 2011, but they’ve never tried to implement it — and that’s not going to change now, even with a Republican as president.
Capito is a “no” on repeal vote. With Portman talking it down, Collins unlikely to support, McCain still out, this should about do it pic.twitter.com/GzMr6yd87g
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) July 18, 2017
Free Talenti gelato at Millennium Park today
POSTED 7:23 AM, JUNE 27, 2017,
BY ANABEL MENDOZA, UPDATED AT 07:35AM, JUNE 27, 2017
CHICAGO – It wouldn’t be summertime without some free gelato. Talenti is giving away 15,000 free pints of delicious gelato in Millennium Park on Tuesday, June 27!
You can find your free pint west of the Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St. starting at noon according to DNAInfo.
The giveaway will happen before Millennium Park’s free showing of ‘Julie & Julia’ and feature some of Talenti’s popular flavors like cinnamon peach biscuit, vanilla chai, and double dark chocolate.
Sooner or later, they’ll all turn on each other…it’s only a matter of time…There is no honor among thieves…None whatsoever…But we are all infinitely less interested in these accounts that slyly try to downplay or outrightly cast some of these dubious complicit characters, including the principal, as not really in cahoots with the Russians..
“…According to Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency, by Bloomberg’s Joshua Green, Trump grew irate over an article published on Aug. 13, 2016, and confronted Manafort about the report’s contents.
“How can anybody allow an article that says your campaign is all f*cked up?” Trump demanded of Manafort.
The article, titled “Inside the Failing Mission to Tame Donald Trump’s Tongue,” described an irate and volatile candidate whom aides were afraid to approach in person.
“Am I like a baby to you?” he continued. “I sit there like a little baby and watch TV and you talk to me? Am I a f*cking baby, Paul?”
The following day, an article detailing Manafort’s $12.7 million payout from a pro-Russian party in the Ukraine dropped. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly approached Manafort and demanded his resignation.
‘”I can’t do that,” Manafort told Kushner, insisting if he resigned it would make him look guilty.
“At this Kushner’s demeanour hardened and he glanced at his watch,” Green writes in Devil’s Bargain.
“We’re putting out a press release at 9am that says you’ve resigned,” Kushner replied. “That’s in 30 seconds.”
Devil’s Bargain also details the moment Trump soured on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Reportedly, on election night, Christie sat down next to Trump as it dawned on the candidate that he was going to win—even as others in the room avoided congratulating the businessman.
Trump reportedly “flashed a look of annoyance, clearly resenting the intrusion,” as Christie informed him President Barack Obama would not be calling him directly.
“Hey Donald. The President talked to me earlier,” Christie told Trump, referring to Obama. “If you win he’s going to call my phone, and I’ll pass it over to you.”
“Hey Chris, you know my f*cking phone number,” Trump—a noted germaphobe—reportedly said. “Just give it to the President. I don’t want your f*cking phone.”..
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/am-i-a-fcking-baby-report-details-the-moment-trump-turned-on-ex-campaign-chairman-paul-manafort/?comments=disqus
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/887054367337140225
Can someone explain to me what happened with the Australian woman in Minneapolis? I’ve read the story, and it just doesn’t make sense. What I’m reading doesn’t get me to ‘cop logic’ about why his gun was pulled.
Story makes no sense..
Calls to report what she thinks is a sexual assault in the alleyway by her home…police shows up and shoots her to death in said alleyway…
Both police officers had on body cameras, but both were turned off…and the police squad car cameras didn’t capture the incident…
🤔😒
These stories are ALWAYS bullshyt, but this doesn’t even have the usual ‘Cop-ese’ explanation. I haven’t read any that makes any kind of sense….for the people who always look for one. Even those people don’t have anything that they can use in defense.
Welcome to the “MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE CLUB, Rik.
Well, the mayor of Minneapolis was on CNN this morning. She said that an independent investigation is required and this homicide is in now in the hands of the state of Minnesota.
This article is about the officer involved in the shooting:
WHO IS MOHAMED NOOR? OFFICER WHO SHOT AND KILLED AUSTRALIAN JUSTINE DAMOND HAD TWO COMPLAINTS AGAINST HIM
BY JANICE WILLIAMS ON 7/18/17 AT 10:25 AM
http://www.newsweek.com/mohamed-noor-minnesota-police-australian-638244
There’s no information available. All reporters know is that Justine Damond called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley near her home, two cops responded but no information on what happened next. At some point she is outside in her pajamas talking to the cop on the driver’s side of the squad car. The cop in the passenger seat shoots across the driver and hits her in the abdomen, a fatal shot.
Based on the Newsweek article, it sounds like she was waiting outside for the cops or waited for them to arrive and then went outside. Apparently, the sexual assault was over or never happened. Then, possibly she approached the squad car and the cops never actually got out of their car.
So, I guess the question is what did the cop think he saw? She had a cellphone, that’s all. Firing a gun in a vehicle across your partner’s head is pretty damn serious.
I don’t know. I guess we have to wait and see what both of the cops say.
Just in on AP:
https://twitter.com/AP/status/887456632019570688
90-year-old Ohio grandmother has knitted and delivered 2,252 hats for newborns to hospital across street from her. https://t.co/m57wcFgrLB pic.twitter.com/wcvcL5UVIj
— ABC News (@ABC) July 18, 2017
Please please please don’t call this “repeal, then replace.” They have PROVEN they can’t come up w a replacement. This is repeal. Full stop. https://t.co/4b1rgllRHH
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) July 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP/status/887314124014747648
“..The ‘president’ could use a win right about now…” said Andrea Mitchell-Greenspan to Chuck Todd ..
Instead of deconstructing the many ways the republicans death bill and tax-break for the wealthy buffoon version, was completely wrong …and all the potential for, and unnecessary harm it does to Americans re: repeal/replace ‘buffoon’ vanity plan…and pushing back hard with facts, they instead advocate for a ‘win’ for the buffoon, knowing full well that he’s probably watching, and will be wound up and proceed to demand said ‘win’ in the form of ‘repeal’, from Repub congress folks..
Much in the same way the bloviating buffoon set up an unwarranted and ridiculous Muslim ban and placed obstacles to visa/entry requirements…but then gets effusively praised by the media for ‘personally intervening’ to secure visas for, and bring to America, the young Afghan girls previously turned down for a visa to enter the US for a robotics competition..
And Stefanie Rule shamelessly gushes about how the ‘president’ personally intervened, and how his deputy Dina Powell had gone to get the girls….As if he and she weren’t to blame for the entire unnecessary, petty mess to begin with…
Create a chaos and a complete mess in your attempt to impose callous and unnecessary and unfair restrictions/regulations, then be hailed ‘compassionate’ and ‘hero’ – including by your victims…for temporarily ‘resolving’ a situation of your own callous creation and making – and one that never should have been…but then – even more bizarrely, be cast as ‘benevolent savior’ and ‘hero’ to the innocent victims of your callous evil scheme…for making one temporary exemption..
Yea..
*Create a chaotic and completely unnecessary mess…
Trump wonders ‘why legislators don’t seem to listen to him’
07/18/17 09:24 AM
By Steve Benen
…………………………………
Circling back to our coverage from several months ago, Trump won an improbable election victory in part based on his ability to persuade voters that he has a unique talen. “Deals are my art form,” the Republican bragged. “Other people paint beautifully or write poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks.”
The evidence to back up the boast was elusive – no one has ever been able to prove that Trump actually excels in negotiations or deal-making – but he kept talking about his expertise as a guy who knows, perhaps better than anyone in the world, how to seal a deal.
And then Trump decided he’d strike a deal on overhauling the American health care system. Given a chance to prove just how adept he is as a world-class negotiator and deal-maker, the Republican flunked the test spectaculalry. What emerged was a picture of a president who didn’t understand the issue, didn’t care to do his homework, showed no interest in policy or substantive details, wouldn’t help sell his preferred plan to the public, and couldn’t engage in meaningful negotiations because he simply didn’t know what he was talking about.
As the health care fight unfolded, Trump was at different times passive and impatient, ignorant and demanding. In the president’s mind, to lead on the issue meant barking vague orders to a separate branch of government, and then sitting back, waiting for a bill he wouldn’t read or understand to arrive in the Oval Office.
The president told TV preacher Pat Robertson last week, “I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me…. I’m sitting waiting for that bill to come to my desk.”
Rolling up his sleeves, opening some briefing books, and trying to do real, substantive work apparently never occurred to him.
They only need him for his dull, shallow, incurious mind – and even more importantly, his ‘working digits’ to sign off on all their pet causes and dream right-wing evil shenanigans…
The Republican health care gambit falls apart
07/18/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
………………………….
This is a story with a lot of moving parts, so let’s unpack the developments with some Q&A.
So, the Republican crusade is dead?
Sort of. The legislation Mitch McConnell unveiled last week clearly doesn’t have the votes to pass and GOP leaders don’t believe they’re in a position to twist a few arms and change a few minds. That legislation, at least for now, is dead.
Now what?
McConnell is now planning to hold a vote – “in the coming days,” according to a written statement from his office – on what’s known as “repeal and delay.” This entails repealing the Affordable Care Act now and creating a two-year window in which Congress would work on a Republican alternative.
This sounds familiar.
That’s because it was the original Republican plan after last year’s elections. GOP leaders settled on “repeal and delay” as the quickest and easiest way to achieve their political goals.
So why didn’t it pass?
Largely because Donald Trump and his White House team rejected the approach, insisting that Congress kill “Obamacare” and replace it with a Republican model simultaneously.
If implemented, how bad would “repeal and delay” be?
We don’t have to speculate: As regular readers may recall, the CBO found back in January that this approach would cause premiums to spike and would take health coverage from 32 million Americans over the next decade.
That sounds horrible. How worried should I be about this passing?
Not very. There’s no reason to believe this bill can get 50 votes. The less conservative Republican senators will almost certainly balk, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said last week this tack is “a non-starter.”
So why is this McConnell’s new plan?
A couple of reasons. First, the White House hasn’t given him much of a choice. Donald Trump and Mike Pence have both publicly pushed this approach – despite the White House saying the opposite earlier in the year – and the president reiterated his support for this plan overnight. McConnell isn’t in a position to blow off the wishes of his own party’s White House.
Second, Senate Republicans voted to pass this same plan in 2015, when they knew it’d face a presidential veto. McConnell will effectively turn to his members and say, “Well, you voted for it two years ago, so you should vote for it again now.”
So McConnell thinks it has a chance of success?
Not really. By all accounts, he wants to go through the motions, prove that he did his due diligence, and move on. Members who voted for this in 2015 knew there’d be no consequences for their actions, making it a hollow political exercise. This time, it would count – and the harm to Americans would be real.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
McConnell’s GOP health/tax bill attacked from all sides
Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell discuss the failure of Senator Mitch McConnell to assemble enough votes to pass his health care bill, and what this means for the Republican political landscape.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
Trump 2020 campaign donors paying for family’s lawyers
Rachel Maddow shares reporting on how Trump re-election campaign money is being used to pay for lawyers, including for Donald Trump Jr., and attempts to sort through some of the contradictory announcements made about changes in the Trump team’s legal representation.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
NY subpoenas records on huge Manafort loans from small bank: WSJ
Rachel Maddow relays a report from the Wall Street Journal that the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York has issued a subpoena to a Chicago bank run by a Trump adviser over $16 million in loans to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
Senator Murphy: GOP health bill a ‘train wreck,’ ‘monstrosity’
Senator Chris Murphy, member of the Senate Health Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about how big a failure the collapse of the Republican health/tax bill is and what next steps can be expected as Senator McConnell appears determined to avoid input from Democrats.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
Americans speaking out on health care see another battle won
Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, talks with Rachel Maddow about the energized activism of ordinary Americans that have kept the pressure on legislators to not ruin American health care options with an poor replacement for Obamacare.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/17/17
GOP health bill collapses on new rejections from Sens Lee, Moran
Frank Thorp, NBC News Capitol Hill producer, talks with Rachel Maddow about Senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran rejecting the Republican health bill, putting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell below the threshold he needs to pass the bill without working with Democrats.
!NEWS! Mitch McConnell to bring up a vote on straight repeal with a two-year trigger. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👇 https://t.co/2PCE9X8wyK
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) July 18, 2017
McConnell says his GOP health care bill `will not be successful.’ He’ll bring a repeal now, replace later vote to floor soon. pic.twitter.com/JX5C1bFTig
— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) July 18, 2017
If you didn’t like phasing out the Medicaid expansion starting in 2020, why would you like nuking it entirely in 2020?
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) July 18, 2017
Handy chart. The one in the middle, with 59M uninsured, is the score of the bill McConnell plans to vote on. 👇 https://t.co/NcVV46RwWi
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) July 18, 2017
The new Senate strategy of #RepealAndDelay will be scored w/ 10 million more in coverage losses than other bills – https://t.co/090lbBeRMQ pic.twitter.com/M13EtWL9k3
— Marc Goldwein (@MarcGoldwein) July 18, 2017
WATCH: A golden retriever noticed that a fawn was drowning. He jumped in to save it. What a good boy. pic.twitter.com/EaP43wtXOo
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 17, 2017
Update: Great news, the fawn is recovering in a rescue facility! By the way, this dog’s name is Storm. https://t.co/yGefVvSaw5?amp=1 https://t.co/bqcPV3wkHC
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 18, 2017
Trump’s Buddy Aras Agalarov in the Steele Dossier
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 18, 2017 8:00 AM
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Obviously the Trump’s and the Agalarov’s know each other and Goldstone is comfortable referring to them by their first names. That’s because Aras, the father, was responsible for talking the Trump’s into bringing the Miss Universe Pageant to Russia in 2013. Agalarov is one of those oligarchs Russia has become known for in recent years and has been referred to as “the Russian Trump.” His son, Emin, is a would-be pop star.
What we see from this email is that Aras and Emin have been involved in the Russian government’s support for Trump’s candidacy. It was a meeting between the top Russian prosecutor and Aras that led to the meeting with the members of Trump’s campaign team in order to provide them with documents and information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton.
Now, take a look at what is stated in the Steele dossier.
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There is no proof that “Source D” is Aras Agalarov. But obviously he is the one responsible for bringing Trump to Moscow in 2013 for the pageant. The date of June 2016 jumps off the page as the month Aras initiated a meeting between the Trump campaign team and Russian operatives for the purpose of feeding them valuable intelligence on his opponent.
Putin to Dolt45: Bytch, gimme my stuff back.
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Quick Takes: Putin Wants Trump to Pay Up
A roundup of news that caught my eye today.
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 17, 2017 6:05 PM
* In many ways, Putin has gotten exactly what he wanted from a Trump presidency: chaos and a weakened Western alliance. But he clearly wants those compounds back that Obama shut down in response to Russia’s meddling in our election.
When Republicans Tell the Truth About Their Health Care Bill
by Nancy LeTourneau
July 17, 2017 3:03 PM
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One way to answer that question is to take a look at what happens when Republicans actually tell the truth about their intentions with this bill. HHS Sec. Tom Price did that recently in this exchange with Jonathan Karl of ABC News.
What Price is suggesting is that all insurance companies have to do is go back to the days when they denied coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. That goes against what Trump and most Republicans in Congress promised when they talked about their plans to repeal Obamacare. The ban on denying people coverage for pre-existing conditions is something they have repeatedly promised to keep. Tom Price just told the truth. The current bill reneges on that promise.
But Britt Hume went even further than that on Fox News.
In a way, Hume gets it: “Once that idea is gone [guaranteeing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions], Obamacare essential remains.” That is precisely why Republicans are having such a hard time coming up with an alternative. They promised to keep the regulation about coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, but can’t do that without keeping major portions of Obamacare in place.
Nelson Mandela Song
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/887272261572546560
DA PHUQ?
Reince at that meeting?
Uh huh
Uh huh
Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄
Good Morning Rikyrah and Everyone :)
https://twitter.com/blackncoloured/status/887205679207002114
https://twitter.com/TAARCuk/status/887244731125686273
Good Morning, Rilyrah & Everyone!
Reince, Reince, Reince and REPEAT.