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As Tax Scam Turns One, Critics Say Law Is 'One of the Biggest Transfers of Wealth to Richest 1% in US History'
Massive corporations are "flush with leftover cash" and Wall Street banks are raking in enormous profits. CEOs and the wealthiest Americans are getting even richer. Average workers are seeing crumbs.
Wisconsin Republicans Defiantly Move to Limit the Power of Incoming Democrats
MADISON, Wis. — When Wisconsin Republicans pushed through a sweeping set of bills Wednesday to limit the power of the state’s newly elected Democrats, it was another hardball maneuver by a man who has played a key role in driving the state sharply to the right.
Fake, misleading social media posts exploding globally, Oxford study finds
Russia’s social media blitz to influence the 2016 U.S.
78 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump
Since his first days in office, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority.
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Nudge nudge, think think
IN 2010 the Conservative-led government established a team—known affectionately as the “nudge unit”—to investigate how behavioural economics could be used to improve policy.
Koch Brothers Are Cities' New Obstacle to Building Broadband
The three Republican commissioners now in power at the FCC voted this week to erase the agency's legal authority over high-speed Internet providers.
Ryan Zinke spent his first year in office selling off rights to our public lands
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants the world to know when he’s in the building. And so now, at Zinke’s behest, the department’s Washington headquarters flies a secretarial flag when Zinke arrives for the day and lowers it when he leaves.
229 Republicans Voted Last Night to Prevent You from Ever Seeing Donald Trump's Tax Returns
House Republicans have blocked an attempt by Democrats to force President Donald Trump to release his tax returns to Congress. Democratic Rep.
Sinclair definitely doesn't want anyone to think that Trump's White House is in a state of crisis
Boris Epshteyn, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s chief political analyst and a former Trump administration aide, would like you to know that everything is fine at the Trump White House -- and if you hear otherwise, blame the media.
Georgia Legislature Punishes Delta for Cutting Ties With the NRA
Delta Airlines just revealed that cutting ties with the NRA has affected a very small number of people. The airline revealed that only 13 people have ever purchased a ticket using the discount.
With patience, and a lot of money, Kochs sow conservatism on campuses
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Two Wellesley College students took the stage here at the Koch brothers’ winter retreat and described a lefty campus hostile to the conservative and libertarian ideas that the Kochs and their wealthy allies hold dear.
The tricks propagandists use to beat science
Back in the 1950s, health professionals became concerned that smoking was causing cancer. Then, in 1952, the popular magazine Reader’s Digest published “Cancer by the Carton,” an article about the increasing body of evidence that proved it.
Fedex Has Had Secret Deal With NRA & Gun Manufacturers to Ship Guns
Earlier this week, in response to repeated calls to sever its ties to the NRA, FedEx told Business Insider that “the NRA uses UPS and not FedEx” for shipping from its online store.
Politics is Failing Mass Transit
When Elon Musk asserted, at a recent tech conference, that public transport “sucks” and might invite encounters with serial killers, it prompted an uproar among urban planners and advocates.
Damning New Study Helps Explain Why Pentagon Will No Longer Release Afghan War Updates
As the Pentagon is rebuked for withholding from the public information about the U.S. military's activities in Afghanistan, new reporting reveals that—more 16 years after the U.S.
Huge Military Budgets Make Us Broke, Not Safe
We’re all tense. Hearing about our fellow citizens in Hawaii scrambling around, looking for a place to hide from a nuclear bomb, will do that to you. So will contests between two unstable world leaders over the size of their nuclear buttons.
The death of Christianity in the U.S.
Christianity has died in the hands of Evangelicals. Evangelicalism ceased being a religious faith tradition following Jesus’ teachings concerning justice for the betterment of humanity when it made a Faustian bargain for the sake of political influence.
Koch network to spend $400 million during 2018 midterm election cycle
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The network of groups affiliated with billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch will spend more than $400 million on conservative causes and candidates in the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Facebook to Let Users Rank Credibility of News
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook said on Friday that it planned to prioritize high-quality news on the social network by allowing its users to rank news sources that they see as the most credible and trustworthy.
Trump ICE Chief Wants To Prosecute Politicians Who Won't Lock Up More Immigrants
As for Homan’s insistence on Tuesday that “more citizens are going to die” if places like California adopt sanctuary policies, he was echoing comments that Trump has made ever since the 2016 campaign. But there isn’t much data available to support that assertion.
Sessions terminates US policy that let legal pot flourish
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration threw the burgeoning movement to legalize marijuana into uncertainty Thursday as it lifted an Obama-era policy that kept federal authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal.
Arctic Refuge Just the Start of Trump’s Move to Unlock Alaska Oil
Drilling for crude in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge may be just the start as President Donald Trump seeks to revive Alaska’s beleaguered oil industry.
The Republican Tax Bill Will Devastate Science
In any household, how you budget is an indication of your priorities. And as many of us know, the earlier you start investing, the more it pays off. The same is true for the federal government.’The Republican tax bill passed by Congress this week is estimated to cost our country, at best, $1.
Oh, Cool: Big Telecom Got a Massive Break from the GOP Tax Bill, and It's Raising Prices
Christmas came early for Big Telecom this year. Along with the repeal of net neutrality by the Federal Communications Commission, these companies will also receive some of the biggest tax breaks under the new GOP legislation. Oh, and many of them are raising prices for customers too.
Taibbi: Bob Corker, Corrupt? What a Surprise
So Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is in trouble now, because he flip-flopped to vote for Donald Trump's tax bill after a provision was included that reportedly helps him personally. Color me not shocked.
‘I hope I can quit working in a few years’: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
TULSA — Tom Coomer has retired twice: once when he was 65, and then several years ago. Each time he realized that with just a Social Security check, "You can hardly make it these days." So here he is at 79, working full-time at Walmart.
The Alt-Right Created a Parallel Internet. It’s an Unholy Mess.
If you’ve lost sleep worrying about the growing power of the alt-right — that shadowy coalition that includes white nationalists, anti-feminists, far-right reactionaries and meme-sharing trolls — I may have found a cure for your anxiety. Just try using its websites.
Wells Fargo Accidentally Admits the Truth: The Republican Tax Bill Has No Connection to its $15 Minimum Wage
Sucking up to Donald Trump is tricky business. On Wednesday Wells Fargo announced that it was raising its minimum wage thanks to the passage of the Republican tax bill: That press release is a little vague.
7 ways rich people can game the Republican tax plan, explained by a tax expert
Outside contributors' opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture. The Republican-controlled Congress is poised to pass a tax bill riddled with ambiguities, loopholes, and giveaways.
How Voter Suppression in Alabama Works, and How It Could Change
In the breath following the December 12 special election that voted an Alabama Democrat into the United States Senate for the first time in a quarter of a century, an array of election experts, exit poll Tweeters and cable news pundits pounced into action to explain the upset.
Right-wing Groups Plan to Spend Millions to Convince Americans GOP Tax Scam Is Actually Good for Them
While recent polling indicates that the majority of Americans oppose the GOP tax plan signed by President Donald Trump early Friday, Politico reports right-wing groups are planning a multimillion-dollar campaign to promote the deeply unpopular new law.
The Trojan Horse in the Tax Bill
Congressional Republicans have finally done it: Both the House and Senate passed tax legislation. The bill has now headed to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Most dissection of the plan has focused, for obvious reasons, on the way it changes our tax bills.
Poverty in America is a moral outrage. The soul of our nation is at stake
If we are to save the soul of this country from the poverty that is killing us, we must act, we must agitate, we must cause some righteous trouble In March of 1968, as part of a tour of US cities to shine a light on poverty and drum up support for the recently-launched Poor People’s Campa
You Cannot Be Too Cynical About the Republican Tax Bill
The rush to enact the tax bill was designed to mask — as a break for the middle class — what is in fact a $1.4 trillion package of benefits for key donors and lobbyists, the richest members of Congress, President Trump, his family and other families like his.
Rick Perry’s fake grid crisis just got undermined by more grid experts
Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants to bail out coal and nuclear plants. He says the US energy grid is experiencing an urgent crisis — that its reliability and resilience are in immediate danger unless those power plants are saved.
Why GOP tax plan could mean cuts in state and local services
It's a tax provision that could prove costly for schools, police forces, drug treatment centers and other state and local public services.
House Gives Final Approval to Sweeping Tax Overhaul
WASHINGTON — The House, forced to vote a second time on the $1.5 trillion tax bill, moved swiftly to pass the final version on Wednesday, clearing the way for President Trump to sign into law the most sweeping tax overhaul in decades.
Only 24 percent of Americans think the GOP tax plan is a good idea, NBC/WSJ poll says
Congressional Republicans are fulfilling President Donald Trump's wish for a pre-Christmas tax-cut in the face of strong public resistance, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has found.
Outnumbered Over Jerusalem, Haley Tells World That US Will Be "Taking Names" During UN Vote
As United Nations members prepare for an emergency session to discuss the status of Jerusalem, President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to cut aid to countries that vote against his decision to disregard international law and recognize the ancient city as the capitol of Israel.
The Republican tax bill is a disaster for income inequality
Republicans have managed to take a tax plan that was already tilted heavily toward corporations and the wealthiest Americans and shift the balance even further in favor of the rich.
The Tax Bill; Making America More Unequal Than Ever
“While most other nations, and all of the major international institutions…have acknowledged that extreme inequalities in wealth and income are economically inefficient and socially damaging, the tax reform package is essentially a bid to make the U.S.
'Government for Sale': In Dead of Night, Senate GOP Passes Tax Bill Only Their Donors Can Love
Following months of relentless lobbying, backroom scheming, self-dealing, and brazen lying, Senate Republicans finally rammed through their $1.5 trillion tax bill by a party-line vote of 51-48 in the dead of night Wednesday, all but clearing the legislation's path to President Donald Trump's desk.
The FCC's Next Stunt: Reclassifying Cell Phone Data Service as 'Broadband Internet'
The Federal Communications Commission’s decision last week to repeal net neutrality was a major blow to internet freedom, but it’s only the first in a long line of actions that the FCC will take to tell itself that America’s broadband situation is better than it actually is.
Republican Tax Bill Passes Senate in 51-48 Vote
WASHINGTON — Republicans took a critical step toward notching their first significant legislative victory since assuming full political control, as the House and Senate voted along party lines on Tuesday and into early Wednesday to pass the most sweeping rewrite of the tax code in decades.
Yes, America, There is a Class War, and You Just Lost It
The Republican Party did not just overhaul the tax code and they did not cut “your” taxes. They engineered a coup against the middle and working classes and they threw enormous amounts of public money to private billionaires and multi-millionaires.
The GOP Tax Bill and the Crisis of American Democracy
It just so happened that during the week that Republicans rammed a $1.5 trillion tax bill through Congress without a single Democratic vote, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was finishing up a fact-finding mission to the United States.
Home Depot just showed who will gain the most from corporate tax cuts
With unemployment low and demand for new homes high, a company like Home Depot could be spending most of its surplus billions on raises for workers or the rollout of new stores.
Donald Trump’s Holiday Gift to America: A Fundamental Crisis
In a commencement speech years ago, author David Foster Wallace told this story: Two young fish are swimming along, and they pass an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” The two young fish swim on for a while.
The Tax Bill Shows the G.O.P.’s Contempt for Democracy
The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is notably generous to corporations, high earners, inheritors of large estates and the owners of private jets. Taken as a whole, the bill will add about $1.
The 10 Step Scheme for One-Sided Class War
1. Scream about the debt and deficit. 2. Shrink revenue by slashing taxes for the already palatial elite. Summarily dismiss all concerns about the debt and deficit, because, well, the debt and deficit don't really matter. Plus, tax cuts for the rich grow the economy anyway. Or maybe not.
How Republicans misled the American public on their tax bill
Republicans have made a lot of promises on their tax bill. They’ve said their bill will simplify the tax code by having American taxpayers file their taxes on a postcard, and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves, unleash corporate investment, and spark unprecedented economic growth.
Tax Bill: A Nightmare Before Christmas?
The GOP tax bill sailed through the House today with 227 members of Congress voting yes and 203 voting against the bill. Every single Democrat voted no and 12 Republicans crossed the aisle to join them. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill later today, where it’s expected to pass as well.
Late Add To Tax Bill Benefits Real Estate Investors
Back in September, Donald Trump asked Americans to “believe me” when he said he wouldn’t benefit from the tax bill. You didn’t believe him, did you? Hope not because Donald Trump is about to make out like a bandit. Why? For one, a tax deduction was preserved for owners of golf courses.
Warren and Sanders: Who Is Congress Really Serving?
WASHINGTON — Over the past year, Republicans have made their priorities clear. Their effort to repeal Obamacare would have left tens of millions of people without health insurance.
Why Republicans are ignoring public attitudes on the tax plan
At this point, the debate over whether the American mainstream supports the Republicans’ regressive tax plan is over. Surveys have been consistent for months: the public just isn’t buying what the GOP is selling.
Donald Trump to drop climate change from list of national security threats
Donald Trump is to remove climate change from the global threats listed in his National Security Strategy, due to be released on Monday.
Trump budget slashes federal aid for rail, long-distance Amtrak routes
President Trump’s transportation budget slashes federal aid to the nation’s rail systems by cutting funding for long-distance Amtrak service and severely limiting money to help expand transit lines and build new ones. The $16.
Populist Plutocracy and the Future of America
Trump has consistently sold out the blue-collar, socially conservative whites who brought him to power, while pursuing policies to enrich his fellow plutocrats. What might he do to keep the "base" on his side? President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Pensacola Bay Center on Dec.
Internal FCC Report Shows Republican Net Neutrality Narrative Is False
A core Republican talking point during the net neutrality battle was that, in 2015, President Obama led a government takeover of the internet, and Obama illegally bullied the independent Federal Communications Commission into adopting the rules.
Top Republicans are already talking about cutting Medicare and Social Security next
Having passed their tax bill, top Republican leaders have already identified the next frontier for 2018: a push to enact sweeping budget cuts on programs the poorest Americans depend on.
The Media Must Stop Normalizing Nazis
It’s déjà vu all over again. Every column I write in the Trump era somehow needs to begin with some version of the question “Can this really be happening?” It’s only the “this” that keeps changing.
The Republican tax bill got worse: now the top 1% gets 83% of the gains
By 2027, more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — would pay more in taxes under the tax bill agreed to by House and Senate Republicans, a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center finds. That year, 82.8 percent of the bill’s benefit would go to the top 1 percent, up from 62.
The Republican Tax Bill Codifies a New Gilded Age
The Republican tax bill is a throwback to the Gilded Age. Since the Reagan administration, economic policy in the United States has been gradually regressing to the age of robber barons.
The Triumph of the Oligarchs
The Republican tax plan to be voted on this week is likely to pass. “The American people have waited 31 long years to see our broken tax code overhauled,” the leaders of the Koch’s political network insisted in a letter to members of Congress, urging swift approval. Please.
Puerto Rico governor vows to make Florida Republicans pay for supporting tax bill
For weeks, Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and his associates tried to play the Washington game, meeting with politicians and lobbyists across Capitol Hill to argue against provisions in the tax overhaul bill that treat the U.S. territory like a foreign country.
This Tax Bill Is a Trillion-Dollar Blunder
Last month a Wall Street Journal editor asked a room full of CEOs to raise their hands if the corporate tax cut being considered in Congress would lead them to invest more. Very few hands went up. Attending was Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump's economic adviser and a friend of mine.
The Republican tax bill is an American betrayal
According to a poll from Public Policy Polling, 57 percent of Americans now approve of the Affordable Care Act. Only 29 percent approve of the GOP’s tax cuts. Reflect on those numbers for a moment. Republicans have managed to make tax cuts less popular than Obamacare. It’s impressive.
Corker’s controversial flip on tax plan raises awkward questions
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had been consistent throughout the debate over the Republican tax plan: if the GOP proposal added to the deficit, he couldn’t vote for it.
Trump’s voter fraud panel has gone dark. Members don’t know why.
No one seems to know what's going on lately with President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission — not even its own members. Alan King, another Democrat serving on the commission, said he can't even get his emails answered.
Nikki Haley Is Not Good At Foreign Policy
Nikki Haley is not good at foreign policy. With few discernible achievements to speak of after one year as America’s envoy to the UN, her most noteworthy moments have been two incoherent diatribes on Iran.
The Trump Administration Word Ban Extends to Other Federal Agencies. Its Ongoing Assault on Science Is Much Worse.
A word ban extends beyond the CDC, the Washington Post reported last night, including at another, unnamed HHS agency that was told how to talk about the Affordable Care Act, presumably to discourage people from signing up for health care.
Tax Bill: John Cornyn Says Tax Cut Potentially Benefiting Bob Corker Was Part Of Effort To Secure Votes For Passage
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the majority whip, on Sunday said a tax provision, which could personally enrich key Republican lawmakers, was added to the final tax bill as part of an effort to “cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.
Study: Fracking Can Stunt the Growth of Your Baby
The practice of drilling into the ground to release natural gas—known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking—first made national headlines in 2011 when drinking water taps in fracking towns in Pennsylvania began catching fire because flammable methane was seeping into water supplies.
“It just seems wrong.” GOP rep admits tax scam he voted for rips off working people
There’s not much to like about the GOP tax scheme. The bill, drafted hurriedly and under the cover of darkness, is wildly unpopular among the American people and economists alike, with little to offer other than corporate giveaways and tax cuts for the rich.
GOP’s List of Economists Backing Tax Cut Includes Ghosts, Office Assistants, Ex-Felons, and a Sprinkling of Real Economists
Touting support for their tax cut legislation, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, released a letter this week signed by 137 economists who say they strongly endorse the Republican legislation before Congress.
Trump’s Censorship of Science Will Kill People
Do you want your medical treatment to be based on science? The Trump administration doesn’t. Prominent public health advocates have expressed outrage about these measures. For example, Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, tweeted, “This is astonishing.
'You Better Learn Our Lesson'
The regretful Republicans of Kansas have a message for the tax-cutting Republicans of Congress: Don’t follow our lead.
Colorado home-sellers could see a big bill as the result of a lesser-known change in GOP tax proposals
Years of rapid home price appreciation along the northern Front Range will leave homeowners in the region more vulnerable to changes in the tax code now before Congress.
More than 100 Million Americans Can Only Get Internet Service from Companies That Have Violated Net Neutrality
When I moved to New York City from Toronto, I was shocked to learn that there was only one internet service provider serving my Manhattan neighborhood. Back in Toronto, I had three or four options, depending on where I lived, which meant I could shop around and get the best deal.
Net Neutrality Ruling Could Block Your Bank
In a landmark ruling yesterday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Ajit Pai, voted to end net neutrality — the requirement for internet service providers to treat all the content they carry equally regarding access, price, and speed/quality of delivery.
Trump hosted the NRA at the White House on the anniversary of Sandy Hook massacre
Trump thumbs his nose at the victims of the Connecticut school killing spree and enjoys quiet time at the White House with NRA gun boss.
Sessions orders Justice Dept. to end forensic science commission, suspend review policy
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will end a Justice Department partnership with independent scientists to raise forensic science standards and has suspended an expanded review of FBI testimony across several techniques that have come under question, saying a new strategy will be set by an in-house tea
Lawmakers backed by donations from Big Cable cheered on the FCC’s vote to kill net neutrality
The leading voices cheering on the FCC took the most money from ISPs. What a coincidence! On Wednesday, 107 members of Congress signed a letter to FCC Chair Ajit Pai in support of his efforts to kill net neutrality.
Poll: Majority think Trump tried to obstruct the Russia investigation
The poll finds that 63 percent of Americans say that Trump has tried to "impede or obstruct" the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as possible ties between Moscow and his campaign, while 35 percent disagree with that characterization.
World Bank to end financial support for oil and gas extraction
Bank announces in Paris it ‘will no longer finance upstream oil and gas’ after 2019 in response to threat posed by climate change The World Bank will end its financial support for oil and gas extraction within the next two years in response to the growing threat posed by climate change.
At Home and Abroad, Trump Moves To Broaden Abortion Fight
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to restrict access to abortion. As president, he’s started doing just that – and more, pursuing a far-reaching strategy to reshape the federal government’s position on reproductive rights.
The United States of Petroleum
To ensure a steady flow of fuel, petroleum executives met regularly with federal officials in Standard Oil’s oak-paneled boardroom on Wall Street. The same industry broken up as an illegal monopoly in 1911 had become a quasi-arm of government.
Trump’s USDA to Withdraw Organic Animal Welfare Rule
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced plans to withdraw a regulation that would have set animal welfare standards in organic agriculture.
Lawsuit says two immigrant teens in U.S. custody can’t get abortions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is blocking two pregnant teens in the country illegally and being held in federal custody from obtaining abortions, the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday, a repeat of the situation that led to a high-profile court fi
Commuters lose transit, parking, biking benefits in tax bill
WASHINGTON — Count commuters among the losers in the Republican tax bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on next week.
Zinke reprimanded park head after climate tweets
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‘A different dimension of loss’: inside the great insect die-off
Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them. By The Earth is ridiculously, burstingly full of life.
Final GOP tax bill would allow Arctic refuge drilling
A tax cut compromise reached Wednesday by GOP negotiators contains a plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Sen.
If Trump Fires Mueller, We Must Impeach
Walter Shaub, the former director of the US Office of Government Ethics who now serves as a senior director focusing on ethics issues for the Campaign Legal Center, wants the Trump administration, its surrogates, and its allies to back off from what the center refers to as “their attempt to un
Hard Times in Trump Country
Jamie Stewart voted for Donald Trump, but she thinks the president is a “jackass.” She doesn’t really love to talk about what he’s doing or why she voted for him. MASON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA“They should take his phone away from him,” she says. “He posts stupid shit all the time.
Schumer promises a Senate vote on overturning FCC's net neutrality repeal
Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerAmerica isn't ready to let Sessions off his leash Schumer celebrates New York Giants firing head coach: ‘About time’ GOP should reject the left's pessimism and the deficit trigger MORE (D-N.Y.
Man Explains The Actual Dangers Of Net Neutrality Being Killed Off In Detailed Twitter Rant
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to overturn net neutrality laws. The vote was split along party lines.
Everything you need to know about the GOP’s final tax plan in 3 charts
Rarely, maybe once or twice in most presidencies, do bills like this come along: one that could profoundly affect every American person and business for decades. On Friday evening, Republicans released what they say is the final version of their “Tax Cut and Jobs Act.
THE POPE'S LONG CN
On a Saturday afternoon at the fellowship hall, the stereo blares Southern rock anthems for a flock of Harley riders in leather vests. Banners on the wall honor veterans, and flags commemorate the Confederacy.
CDC gets list of forbidden words: Fetus, transgender, diversity
The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation's top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including "fetus" and "transgender" — in official documents being prepared for next year's budget.
On tax vote eve, pro-GOP group to make 1 million robocalls
A group closely aligned with House leadership is helping with the closing argument on the Republican tax bill, making 1 million robocalls to urge House Republicans to vote for the bill, McClatchy has learned.
How Do Politicians Get Away With Cutting Taxes for the Rich?
A substantial majority of Americans believe that rich people ought to pay more taxes. For example, consider public opinion about the “Buffett rule,” named after its most prominent backer, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Scam I Am: Why Is the G.O.P. Rushing This Tax Abomination?
So, it seems that Republicans are responding to the devastating defeat in Alabama – which is part of a sustained pattern of underperformance in special elections, demonstrating that bad polls reflect reality, not bad polling, by … doubling down on a massively unpopular tax plan, whose main focus
With Billions at Stake in Tax Debate, Lobbyists Played Hardball
WASHINGTON — As the largest tax rewrite in decades powered through Congress, lobbyists found themselves sprinting to keep up and find ways to persuade, influence or cajole the small group of lawmakers empowered to tweak language in the final version of the joint Senate and House bill.
Do Republicans Believe Their Own Lies?
In early 2010, Republican Scott Brown unexpectedly won a special election for a Senate seat in Massachusetts. Even though this put passage of Obamacare in mortal danger, President Obama urged Congress not to move ahead until Brown had been seated. They didn’t.
Republican officials say targeting welfare programs will help spur economic growth
Some House Republicans believe that Congress should cut Americans off government anti-poverty programs in part to help grow the national economy. “For us to achieve 3 percent GDP growth over the next 10 years from tax reform, we have to have welfare reform.
New, Major Evidence That Fracking Harms Human Health
Updated on December 13 at 6:30 p.m. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, may pose a significant—but very local—harm to human health, a new study finds.
Alabama Election Confirms What Now Counts for White Evangelicals in Politics
There is growing evidence that what drives partisanship in the US is not a love for one’s own party, but a hatred of the other party. The unlikely victory of Democrat Doug Jones over Republican Roy Moore in the rollercoaster Senate election in deep-red Alabama was remarkable for several reasons.
Alt-Right Hyped Sexual Harassment Hoax to Attack Schumer
A forged document accusing the top Democrat in the Senate of sexual harassment copied language verbatim from a real sexual-harassment complaint filed against Rep. John Conyers.
Sessions Wrong About Drugged Driving
Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimed that more car accidents were “caused” by drugs than alcohol for the first time in 2016. But the report his office cited as support didn’t show that.
Fearing 2018 Democratic Wave, Right-Wing Lobbyists Are Mobilizing Against a $15 Minimum Wage Push
Even before Democrat Doug Jones’s unlikely win in the race for an Alabama Senate seat, Republicans were worried: There could be a wave of Democratic victories ahead, a backlash against President Donald Trump, in next year’s elections.
https://www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-sandy-hook?utm_campaign=vox.social&utm_content=voxdotcom&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
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Doubting the intelligence, Trump pursues Putin and leaves a Russian threat unchecked
In the final days before Donald Trump was sworn in as president, members of his inner circle pleaded with him to acknowledge publicly what U.S. intelligence agencies had already concluded — that Russia’s interference in the 2016 election was real.
The FCC just voted to repeal its net neutrality rules, in a sweeping act of deregulation
Federal regulators voted Thursday to allow Internet providers to speed up service for websites they favor — and block or slow down others — in a decision repealing landmark Obama-era regulations overseeing broadband companies such as AT&T and Verizon.
The Republican Tax Bill Provides Huge Benefits to People Who Don’t Work. But Only if They’re Rich.
President Donald Trump, with Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, right, at a White House tax meeting on Wednesday. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP After decades of chastising the idle, Republicans are pushing a tax bill that specifically advantages rich people who don’t work.
“An orgy of serious policy discussion” with Paul Krugman
On October 24, 2016, in the final days of the presidential election, Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, tweeted: When this election is finally over, I'm planning to celebrate with an orgy of ... serious policy discussion.
Mitch McConnell Vows Not To Seat Democratically Elected Doug Jones Until After Tax Vote
Earlier this afternoon, Bloomberg reporter Sahil Kapur revealed that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has decided that no matter the result of the election between Trump-endorsed, pro-slavery child molester Roy Moore and Birmingham bomber prosecutor Doug Jones that fill-in “Senato
Rise of the Roypublicans
If Alabama voters on Tuesday elect Roy Moore to the Senate, the Donald Trump-diseased party once known as the Republicans may as well call themselves Roypublicans. There will be no way to shake the stench of this homophobic, Islamophobic, sexist, racist apologist and accused pedophile.
Standing Rock Protest Groups Sued by Dakota Access Pipeline Company
If you want to experience 2017 in a nutshell, check out the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by an oil and gas company against Greenpeace and other environmental groups for their roles in the Standing Rock protests.
A grad student spent 12 months undercover in Europe's alt-right movement
That’s what Patrik Hermansson, a Swedish graduate student who spent twelve months undercover in the European alt-right movement, told me. Hermansson was part of Hope Not Hate, a UK-based organization established in 2004.
The US Military Is the Biggest ''Big Government'' Entitlement Program on the Planet
(Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout) Grassroots, not-for-profit news is rare -- and Truthout's very existence depends on donations from readers. Will you help us publish more stories like this one? Make a one-time or monthly donation by clicking here. The US economy is caught in a trap.
Crookita on Twitter
Roy Moore speaks Russian and says "Maybe Putin is right." From an interview with @guardian - the end of this 1 min excerpt is chilling. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/09/roy-moore-praise-putin-russia-alabama …
The three ultra-rich families battling for control of the Republican party
This week, the House and Senate will work to reconcile their different versions of the tax bill into something that president Donald Trump can sign into law. As they do, dozens of protests and rallies against the bill are being planned from California to Chicago to Staten Island, New York.
A Survivor’s Defense of Al Franken
I feel exploited. And I feel sick. I’m sick of pedophiles. I’m sick of rapists. I’m sick of sexual violence and sexual predators.
Trump says country 'can't afford' to let Roy Moore lose
In a rally reliving the 2016 campaign, the president backs the Alabama Republican's bid for Senate. PENSACOLA, Fla.
What About the Girls Roy Never Molested, Asks Roy Moore’s Spokesperson
The biased liberal news media has focused enormous attention on women who claim to have been hit on (or worse) as teenagers by Roy Moore, excavating their evidence in grim detail.
The richest 1 percent now owns more of the country’s wealth than at any time in the past 50 years
The wealthiest 1 percent of American households own 40 percent of the country's wealth, according to a new paper by economist Edward N. Wolff. That share is higher than it has been at any point since at least 1962, according to Wolff's data, which comes from the federal Survey of Consumer Finances.
Trump responds to 'lock her up' chants, cites 'rigged system'
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump responded to chants of "lock her up" by citing the "rigged system," while speaking at a rally in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday night.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trumps-richest-friends-are-asking-about-changes-to-gop-tax-bill-and-hes-listening/2017/12/07/49d70e1a-db65-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.d0146be9aca8
Sorry, Pocket didn't save an excerpt for this link.
Inside the bubble: why Roy Moore has conservative media on his side
It has, somehow, been a terrific week for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. Sure, one of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct shared new evidence of their relationship, which she says began when she was 17.
Roy Moore: America “was great at the time when families were united — even though we had slavery”
Alabama’s Republican candidate for Senate, Roy Moore, says America needs to be a bit more like it was when it had slaves. This is not a joke or exaggeration.
The Republican War on Children
Let me ask you a question; take your time in answering it. Would you be willing to take health care away from a thousand children with the bad luck to have been born into low-income families so that you could give millions of extra dollars to just one wealthy heir?
The G.O.P. Is Rotting
A lot of good, honorable Republicans used to believe there was a safe middle ground. You didn’t have to tie yourself hip to hip with Donald Trump, but you didn’t have to go all the way to the other extreme and commit political suicide like the dissident Jeff Flake, either.
Strength Through Unity
How To Spot Fascism Before It’s Too Late
Ronald Reagan tried deep corporate-tax cuts before. They didn’t work
Will sweeping corporate-tax cuts succeed in juicing the US economy and buoying middle-class wage growth? Most assuredly, says the Trump administration, with Congress poised to pass the Republican tax bill. History, however, suggests the opposite.
U.S. pulls out of a global pact on the treatment of migrants. Here’s why
The U.S. is stepping away from a U.N. agreement aimed at addressing the needs of migrants, saying it could “undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders,” according to the State Department. The U.S.
Republican Senators Scribbled Personal Perks Into Tax Bill
Representative Paul Tonko (D-New York) is furious about a secret addition to the Senate approved tax bill, and he is not alone.
RNC to support Roy Moore in Senate race in Alabama, weeks after cutting ties with his campaign
President Trump led an aggressive charge Monday on behalf of embattled Senate nominee Roy Moore, with the Republican National Committee rejoining Moore’s side in Alabama weeks after cutting ties with him following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Woman shares new evidence of relationship with Roy Moore when she was 17
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Debbie Wesson Gibson was in her attic hauling out boxes of Christmas decorations last week when she noticed a storage bin she said she had forgotten about.
Trump White House Weighing Plans for Private Spies to Counter “Deep State” Enemies
The Trump administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy net
Déjà Voodoo … Economics
Republicans’ proposed tax reform is a bigger gift to corporations and the ultra-rich than most had anticipated.
White House Says Cutting Meals on Wheels Is ‘Compassionate’
President Trump’s new budget would increase defense spending by $54 billion — while slashing funding for medical research, climate science, public housing, education, aid to the indigent, infrastructure, and many, many other things.
The Senate GOP Accidentally Killed Some of Its Donors’ Favorite Tax Breaks
On Friday, Senate Republicans rewrote the American tax code over lunch — and passed their (partially handwritten) legislation around 2 a.m. the following morning. Mitch McConnell never subjected his blueprint for restructuring the world’s largest economy to a single hearing.
It’s More Than Just a Monument
Trump’s decision to cut more than 1 million acres from Bears Ears could permanently crimp the presidency’s ability to protect public land. They are known, in almost every local indigenous language, as “Bears Ears,” and when you look at photos, you can see why.
'Plan A Protest, Lose Your House' Bill, SB 1142, Killed by Arizona House
Some good news from the Arizona Legislature: SB 1142, the bill that would have allowed protest organizers to be prosecuted for racketeering if a demonstration turned violent, is effectively dead. House Speaker J.D.
Author of GOP Tax Plan Says Children’s Health Insurance Program Is Held Up “Because We Don’t Have Money Anymore”
The lead author of the Senate Republican tax plan, Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch of Utah, said the federal government no longer has the money to fund the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. CHIP is an $8 billion program.
Sen. Rob Portman is wrong on GOP tax bill - it will hurt Ohioans: editorial
Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio has been talking up the GOP tax plan like crazy. Too bad he's got his talking points all wrong. The bill will hurt Ohioans and particularly middle-class Ohioans. No talking points can alter that.
The GOP Has Become A Dangerous Cult
On the night of March 23, 1997, Marshall Applewhite prepared to achieve his life’s mission. He had already supervised the successful “evacuation” of several followers.
The AARP Just Hit the GOP with a Crippling Blow, It’s On!
The last group the GOP wants to make enemies with is the far-reaching AARP. Republicans are currently working on their disastrous tax bill that the CBO says could add $1.4 trillion to the deficit and slam poor Americans.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/a-congressional-assault-on-graduate-education/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content&utm_term=policy_blog_&sf175078294=1
Sorry, Pocket didn't save an excerpt for this link.
GOP senator says it’s hard to fund $14 billion children’s health care program — then advocates for $1 trillion tax cut
This week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) helped push a tax bill through the Senate that will cost about $1 trillion.
The Republican tax bill will exacerbate income inequality in America
America’s rich have gotten richer for decades, while the middle class and poor have seen meager gains. Since the mid-20th century, the top 1 percent have more than doubled their share of the nation’s income, from less than 10 percent to more than 20 percent.
Republicans Did the Same Thing in Oklahoma They Want to Do Nationally, and Democrats Swept Special Elections as a Result
If you’re a Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma, you’re used to having pretty good job security. More than 70 out of 101 seats in the House of Representatives are controlled by the GOP; of the Senate’s 48 members, all but nine are Republicans.
GOP higher ed plan would limit student loan forgiveness in repayment program, overhaul federal financial aid
House Republicans on Friday proposed a sweeping overhaul of a federal law that governs almost every aspect of higher education, a plan that would eliminate some popular student aid programs and impose restrictions on others.
Heading Toward Tax Victory, Republicans Eye Next Step: Cut Spending
As the tax cut legislation passed by the Senate early Saturday hurtles toward final approval, Republicans are preparing to use the swelling deficits made worse by the package as a rationale to pursue their long-held vision: undoing the entitlements of the New Deal and Great Society, leaving governme
Special Giveaways in Tax Cut Bill Benefit Family Members and Colleagues of Key GOP Senators
The tax plan before Congress, though sold as broad legislation to reduce rates and end favoritism in the tax code, contains targeted provisions designed to benefit special interest groups, many of which maintain close ties to senior Republican lawmakers.
Trump transition official in email: Russia 'has just thrown the U.S.A election'
President Trump's former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland told a friend in an email when she was on Trump's transition team that Russia "threw" the U.S. election to Trump, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Republicans Only Circulated Their 500-Page Tax Bill Hours Before the Vote. Read It Here.
On Friday, Republican lawmakers spent hours scrambling to rewrite its sweeping overhaul of the tax code. Now, it appears that the new 479-page bill is finally circulating, nevermind that it’s just hours before the Senate is expected to vote on it.
Republicans Will Cut Social Security and Medicare After Tax Plan Passes, Says Marco Rubio
Update | Florida Senator Marco Rubio admits that the Republican tax cut plan, which benefits corporations and the wealthy, will require cuts to Social Security and Medicare to pay for it.
McConnell To Dem Senator: No One Is Allowed To Read The Tax Cut Bill Until After It Passes
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell told Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Oregon) that he would have time to read the bill after it passes the Senate.
Why the UN is investigating extreme poverty … in America, the world's richest nation
The United Nations monitor on extreme poverty and human rights has embarked on a coast-to-coast tour of the US to hold the world’s richest nation – and its president – to account for the hardships endured by America’s most vulnerable citizens.
UPS Imposes 70-Hour Week
UPS has imposed new work rules that could force exhausted drivers to work up to 70 hours a week during peak. Drivers deserve a strong union response, not another Hoffa surrender. UPSers are already working brutal peak season hours and delivering record volume.
This Isn't Tax Policy. It's A Shakedown By The Monied Interests
I have seen a lot in my life, but I don’t recall ever seeing anything like this. It’s a rushed hack job just to give the President and the GOP big donors a “win” when tens of millions of Americans stand to lose in the form of higher taxes.
Breitbart Writer Exposed as Admin of White Supremacist Facebook Group
A writer for Breitbart, the far-right news website run by former White House chief counsel Steve Bannon, has been exposed as the administrator of a far-right Facebook group featuring "virulently racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic content," the progressive news website ThinkProgress reported on Monday.
The Republican tax bill is not just immoral. It is an act of violence
Extremist leaders are proposing to give billions in tax breaks to the wealthy – by raising taxes for poor people, write the co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign Donald Trump and leaders in Congress are on the verge of enacting one of the most immoral pieces of legislation in our nati
A Historic Tax Heist
With barely a vote to spare early Saturday morning, the Senate passed a tax bill confirming that the Republican leaders’ primary goal is to enrich the country’s elite at the expense of everybody else, including future generations who will end up bearing the cost.
Senators’ pet projects added at last-minute into tax bill
WASHINGTON — In last-minute changes to the Republican tax bill, an array of senators’ wish-lists were added to the bill, including a unique tax exemption for a small Christian college in Michigan and a carve-out for cruise ships docking in Alaska.
Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal
For years, Comcast has been promising that it won't violate the principles of net neutrality, regardless of whether the government imposes any net neutrality rules.
This City Hall, brought to you by Amazon
There’s rising worry that corporations are taking over America. But after reviewing a slew of the bids by cities and states wooing Amazon’s massive second headquarters, I don’t think “takeover” quite captures what’s going on.
Big Money Rules
I grew up in the 1950s, an era when many believed that our society would inevitably progress toward ever greater economic equality.
Four-star general: “I have wasted 40 years of my life” if Trump’s lies represent “who we are”
Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on the free press, and on the very of notions of truth and facts, are thoroughly antithetical to the principles of our democracy. And as one four-star general noted plainly and disturbingly, they call into question who we even are overall as a nation.
The Biggest Tax Scam in History
Donald Trump likes to declare that every good thing that happens while he’s in office — job growth, rising stock prices, whatever — is the biggest, greatest, best ever. Then the fact-checkers weigh in and quickly determine that the claim is false.
Odds Are, Russia Owns Trump
Three months ago, The Washington Post reported that even as Donald Trump ran for president, he pursued plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears to be part of undercover sting operation.
A woman who falsely claimed to The Washington Post that Roy Moore, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama, impregnated her as a teenager appears to work with an organization that uses deceptive tactics to secretly record conversations in an effort to embarrass its targets.
While honoring Native American veterans, Trump lobs his favorite Native American insult
The “code talkers” were Native American soldiers who were deployed during the world wars to send messages between units using a nearly uncrackable code: their native languages.
Senate Republican tax plan hurts the poor while cutting taxes for the rich, CBO finds
The Senate Republican tax plan would harm the poor while slashing taxes for the rich, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published Sunday. The CBO found that negative impact for Americans earning less than $30,000 a year begin as soon as 2019.
‘Nobody’s got to use the Internet’: A GOP lawmaker’s response to concerns about Web privacy
A Wisconsin congressman told a town hall attendee who was concerned about the elimination of online privacy protections that using the Internet is a choice — a statement that has since drawn criticism on social media.
Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds
The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The US Department of the Interior’s new four-year strategic plan calls for maximizing fossil fuel extraction from public lands
A leaked draft of the US Department of Interior’s four-year strategic plan calls for massive fossil fuel extraction from public lands, with no mention of climate change impacts. The document was leaked to Adam Federman, a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.
If Roy Moore Isn't Rock Bottom for Republicans, What the Hell Is?
When the news that Alabama Senate candidate and longtime conservative raconteur Roy Moore was accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl when he was 32, we braced for the inevitable pushback from those on the right who would defend him.
So Do Outcomes Matter More than Rhetoric?
Get ready, because I am about to use a concept from Basic Calculus to reveal to you Americans out there a lie that you’ve been taught to believe - almost all of you. No matter which party you support, you “know” one thing about their attitudes and behavior...
Disruption games: why are libertarians lining up with autocrats to undermine democracy?
At a time when strange alliances are disrupting previously stable democracies, the Catalan independence referendum was a perfect reflection of a weird age.
Time Inc. Sells Itself to Meredith Corp., Backed by Koch Brothers
The Meredith Corporation — the owner of Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens and AllRecipes — agreed to purchase Time Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at nearly $3 billion. The deal was made possible, in part, by an infusion of $650 million from the private equity arm of Charles G.
Ku Klux Klambakes
Most of us who grow up in the United States learn a reassuring narrative of ever-expanding tolerance. Yes, the country’s birth was tainted with the original sin of slavery, but Lincoln freed the slaves, the Supreme Court desegregated schools, and we finally elected a black president.
Russia hackers pursued Putin foes, not just US Democrats
WASHINGTON (AP) — It wasn't just Hillary Clinton's emails they went after. The hackers who disrupted the U.S. presidential election last year had ambitions that stretched across the globe, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian opposition figures, U.S.
How Jeff Sessions Plans to End Medical Marijuana Before the Year Is Over
Tears streamed down Claudia Jendron's face this year as her doctor patted her hand and told her, after eight years of failed pain treatments for her spinal fusion-gone-wrong, "This is going to work, Claudia." She was talking about medical marijuana.
Republicans Are Laser-Targeting Enemies in Their Tax Bill
The plan would impose a 1.4 percent excise tax on college endowments at private universities….double the standard individual tax deduction, meaning much weaker incentives for charitable contributions to colleges….end student loan interest rate deductions….
How bad is income inequality? Millennials may be the new peasants.
Unless you're one of a fortunate handful of people, it may surprise you to learn that the world's economy has not only recovered from the global financial meltdown of 2008, but has grown 27% since then, to $280 trillion, according to a new report from Credit Suisse Research Institute.
Exclusive: What Trump Really Told Kislyak After Comey Was Canned
On a dark night at the tail end of last winter, just a month after the inauguration of the new American president, an evening when only a sickle moon hung in the Levantine sky, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters flew low across Jordan and then, staying under the radar, veered north toward the tw
Why We Need to Confront the Billionaires’ Paradise
It’s time to “strike back” against the undemocratic and unequal state of our own country and the Western world. Boats and yachts sit in the water as houses dot the hillside along Hamilton Harbour on Nov. 8, 2017 in Hamilton, Bermuda.
While eyes are on Russia, Sessions dramatically reshapes the Justice Department
For more than five hours, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sat in a hearing room on Capitol Hill this month, fending off inquiries on Washington’s two favorite topics: President Trump and Russia.
The Nationalist's Delusion
Trump’s supporters backed a time-honored American political tradition, disavowing racism while promising to enact a broad agenda of discrimination. THIRTY YEARS AGO, nearly half of Louisiana voted for a Klansman, and the media struggled to explain why.
Poll: Economists Unanimous That Debt Would Balloon Under GOP Tax Plan
Republicans have been selling their tax overhaul plan as a major booster for the U.S. economy. In fact, they have argued that it would grow the economy so much that cuts would largely pay for themselves. But on both counts, top economists are doubtful.
Everything Must Go
Economic growth will destroy everything. There’s no way of greening it – we need a new system. Everyone wants everything – how is that going to work? The promise of economic growth is that the poor can live like the rich and the rich can live like the oligarchs.
Op-Ed: I’m on the FCC. Please stop us from killing net neutrality
Most Americans overwhelmingly want the FCC to keep net neutrality. (Nov. 28, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR) Right now, you can go online and connect with friends, watch videos and read the news.
Investigation of fake net neutrality foes has been stymied by the FCC, New York attorney general says
The reports started trickling out in May, in the weeks after the Federal Communications Commission had begun soliciting public comments on a proposal to repeal net neutrality rules that govern the flow of information on the Internet.
President Trump has visited a Trump property on 34 out of his 45 weekends in office
President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up well wishers as he arrives at the 72nd U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, July 16, 2017. President Trump is spending this Thanksgiving weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
The GOP tax plan just got another brutal review
The new analysis from the Urban Institute's and Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center found that by 2027, 28% of Americans would see an increase in their tax burden due to the tax code overhaul proposed in the TCJA.
How American politics went batshit crazy, starting with Newt Gingrich
There are numerous reasons American politics went off the rails, but there are at least six seminal events in the past 24 years that steered us here. Sound smart: Politics is growing more personal, polarized and pugnacious. This dynamic is particularly acute on the right.
The Nationalist's Delusion
Trump’s supporters backed a time-honored American political tradition, disavowing racism while promising to enact a broad agenda of discrimination. THIRTY YEARS AGO, nearly half of Louisiana voted for a Klansman, and the media struggled to explain why.
Trump blasts Franken, but stays silent on Moore
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump, who has largely stayed mum on the allegations of sexual misconduct against Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore, blasted Democratic Sen. Al Franken Thursday night after a woman said he groped and kissed her without her consent.
US to allow imports of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe, Zambia
(CNN)US authorities will remove restrictions on importing African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks
Just before the stroke of midnight on September 20, 2016, at the height of last year’s presidential election, the WikiLeaks Twitter account sent a private direct message to Donald Trump Jr., the Republican nominee’s oldest son and campaign surrogate. “A PAC run anti-Trump site putintrump.
Trump Is Rapidly Reshaping the Judiciary. Here’s How.
WASHINGTON — In the weeks before Donald J. Trump took office, lawyers joining his administration gathered at a law firm near the Capitol, where Donald F.
For elites, politics is driven by ideology. For voters, it’s not.
You are weird. I am very weird. And the worst part is, we don’t really recognize how weird we are. That’s the basic argument of Donald Kinder and Nathan Kalmoe’s Neither Liberal nor Conservative: Ideological Innocence in the American Public.
Supporters defend Roy Moore: “Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter”
Republican senators have called for Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore to “step aside” amid accusations that he pursued a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32 — if, many qualified, those allegations are true.
House Republican: my donors told me to pass the tax bill “or don’t ever call me again”
The House Republican tax overhaul has already made a lot of enemies.
Possible issue of race in Toledo election results is debated
Incumbent Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson handily won Toledo’s predominantly black central-city wards in Tuesday’s election, but the African-American candidate and endorsed Democrat was swamped by much higher turnout in outer ring wards where voters are more likely to be white and politically indepen
North Carolina Republicans duel over who’s most loyal to Trump
It’s as though Tuesday’s Democratic surge didn’t happen —- in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district, Republicans are slugging it out over who’s more loyal to President Donald Trump. Incumbent Rep.
What Carter Page's Testimony Revealed
The former Trump aide’s appearance before the House Intelligence Committee suggests a man deeply connected in Russia—and in way over his head.
Ripping Off Young America: The College-Loan Scandal
On May 31st, president Barack Obama strolled into the bright sunlight of the Rose Garden, covered from head to toe in the slime and ooze of the Benghazi and IRS scandals. In a Karl Rove-ian masterstroke, he simply pretended they weren't there and changed the subject. The topic? Student loans.
The Great College Loan Swindle
On a wind-swept, frigid night in February 2009, a 37-year-old schoolteacher named Scott Nailor parked his rusted '92 Toyota Tercel in the parking lot of a Fireside Inn in Auburn, Maine. He picked this spot to have a final reckoning with himself. He was going to end his life.
Two popular conservative Twitter personalities were just outed as Russian trolls
Jenna Abrams and Pamela Moore wrote tweets that were widely shared by mainstream media outlets during the 2016 election. Turns out they were really Russian trolls.
Trump’s Likely Pick to Empower Women Is Mad That Disney Movies Don’t Feature Enough Strong Male Leads
It’s hard to imagine a more ironic choice for America’s next ambassador-at-large for women’s issues. The position is tasked with overseeing State Department programs to end gender-based violence and empower women and girls around the world.
America is facing an epistemic crisis
Over at the Gothamist, Jake Offenhartz has an astounding and richly symbolic story about the latest bit of “fake news” burped up by the alt-right. At Columbia University on Monday, alt-right self-promoter Mike Cernovich gave a speech to College Republicans. Other students showed up to protest.
I've spent months covering Republican tax policy. This bill is way worse than I expected.
I’m not the target audience for the Republican tax bill.
Congressional Republicans are helping Trump with a big cover-up
For nearly a year now, congressional Republicans have been helping Donald Trump cover up something shady in his personal finances and doing so without having any real idea what it is that’s being covered up.
Historians respond to John F. Kelly's Civil War remarks: 'Strange,' 'sad,' 'wrong'
White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly was the guest for the premiere of Laura Ingraham’s new show on Fox News Channel on Monday night.
The Myth of the Kindly General Lee
The legend of the Confederate leader’s heroism and decency is based in the fiction of a person who never existed. The strangest part about the continued personality cult of Robert E. Lee is how few of the qualities his admirers profess to see in him he actually possessed.
Trump Is Already Guilty of Aiding Putin’s Attack on America
The Trump-Russia scandal is the subject of multiple investigations that may or may not unearth new revelations, but this much is already certain: Donald Trump is guilty.
Trump’s former campaign head was indicted and Fox News talked about cheeseburger emojis
News like the indictment of the former campaign head of the president of the United States is typically treated by outlets as an all-hands-on-deck effort, demanding the attention of the full newsroom to get the story to readers and viewers.
Congress quietly passed a budget outline with $1.8 trillion in health care cuts
The budget resolution adopted by the US Senate last week, and by the House of Representatives on Thursday, is not a law. It cannot be signed or vetoed by the president, and the policies it recommends are just that — recommendations. But it still matters.
This is the nightmare scenario for the Children’s Health Insurance Program
This is the web version of VoxCare, a daily newsletter from Vox on the latest twists and turns in America’s health care debate. Like what you’re reading? Sign up to get VoxCare in your inbox here. This was the worst-case scenario for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Why Harvey Weinstein is disgraced but Donald Trump is president
The story, by now, reads as familiar. Summer Zervos got her big break appearing on a network television show. This was 2007, and Zervos was a young woman from Orange County, California, eager to take the next step in her career. But then her role on the show ended.
Nurses returning from Puerto Rico accuse the federal government of leaving people to die
The nation's largest nurses union condemned the federal government's emergency response in Puerto Rico on Thursday for "delaying necessary humanitarian aide to its own citizens and leaving them to die.
Jeff Flake Just Delivered the Most Impassioned Rebuke of Donald Trump
In an impassioned speech announcing his decision not to seek re-election, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Monday forcefully denounced President Donald Trump’s “daily sundering of the country” and blasted Republican lawmakers for failing to stand up to the president.
Russian spies targeted Hillary Clinton’s State Department, FBI files show
Even as federal investigators continue to look into alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, recently released FBI documents detail how Russian spies worked to get close to Hillary Clinton.
Ready for Trump TV? Inside Sinclair Broadcasting’s Plot to Take Over Your Local News
One evening in July, David Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, strolled into the newsroom at WJLA, the ABC affiliate for Washington, DC, and the crown jewel of his company’s 193-station empire. Smith lacks the name recognition of Rupert Murdoch or the late Roger Ailes.
First on CNN: Security costs skyrocket at 'lightning rod' EPA
Washington (CNN)The Environmental Protection Agency is beefing up security measures surrounding Administrator Scott Pruitt to an unprecedented level, CNN has learned, as members of Congress are asking if the costs are a "potential waste or abuse of taxpayer dollars.
These Obscure Officials Are Rolling Back Americans’ Right to Vote
In most states, the power to expand or curtail the right to vote is largely in the hands of an obscure official, the secretary of state. Thirty-one of these secretaries are currently Republicans or aligned with the GOP. And four of them have gone to extraordinary lengths to make it harder to vote.
23 tweets from @TEN_GOP, one Russian-run Twitter account mentioned in Mueller’s new indictment
“Tennessee GOP,” or @TEN_GOP, was a popular Twitter account claiming to be run by, well, Republicans in Tennessee. Tweeting out a mix of pro-Trump cheerleading, ordinary partisan content, Islamophobia, racism, and conspiracy theories, the account amassed at least 136,000 followers.
An Indiana county just halted a lifesaving needle exchange program, citing the Bible
That’s how Chris Abert of the Indiana Recovery Alliance described the consequences of an Indiana county’s decision to stop a needle exchange program, which provides clean syringes to drug users in an effort to stop the spread of infectious blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
REPORT: Trump Would Be Much Richer If He Left Inheritance Alone
Donald Trump has boasted about his business acumen for as long as he’s been running the Trump Organization.
Republicans say they can’t figure out how to not cut taxes for the rich
Both as a candidate for president and again as recently as mid-September, Donald Trump promised that his tax program wouldn’t help rich people “at all.” His Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin vowed as much in January.
Emoluments Hearing Hints At What May Be At Stake: Trump's Tax Returns
If there's one thing President Trump's critics want from him, and he refuses to give up, it's his tax returns. The returns didn't come up during Wednesday's hearing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
Rigged: How Voter Suppression Threw Wisconsin to Trump
You can’t say Andrea Anthony didn’t try. A 37-year-old African American woman with an infectious smile, Anthony had voted in every major election since she was 18.
Tom Price's wife asks about 'legally' quarantining HIV patients
Betty Price (center) is pictured between Vice President Pence (right) and her husband Tom Price (left) as Tom Price gets sworn in as the Health and Human Services secretary earlier this year. Tom Price later resigned in wake of a travel spending scandal.
Tax-cutting House Republicans suddenly worry about the deficit when Puerto Rico needs help
A full-blown humanitarian crisis is still underway in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island last month. More than 80 percent of the island is still without electricity, there’s a daily shortage of 1.
29 states have legal pot. Jeff Sessions wants to stamp it out, and he's closer than you think
The 85 words almost seemed an afterthought when Congress hurriedly crammed them into a massive budget bill late in the Obama administration, as if lawmakers wanted to acknowledge America’s outlook on marijuana had changed, but not make a big deal of it.
Why Trump cited the 2010 death of John Kelly’s son in Afghanistan to criticize Obama
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had to endure every parent’s worst nightmare when his son, 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan in 2010 and died.
Inside the ‘adult day-care center’: How aides try to control and coerce Trump
During the campaign, when President Trump's advisers wanted him to stop talking about an issue — such as when he attacked a Gold Star military family — they sometimes presented him with polls demonstrating how the controversy was harming his candidacy.
The Koch brothers (and their friends) want President Trump’s tax cut. Very badly.
NEW YORK — The message from the billionaire-led Koch network of donors to President Trump and the Republican Congress it helped to shape couldn’t be more clear: Pass a tax overhaul, or else. As the donors mixed and mingled for a policy summit at the St.
https://medium.com/m/global-identity?redirectUrl=https://politicsmeanspolitics.com/how-to-stay-sane-if-trump-is-driving-you-insane-advice-from-a-therapist-42e982195e22
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'We tried nice guys': conservative hardliners stay in a trance for Trump
At the Values Voter Summit, as speeches hammered gays, gun control and the GOP old guard, attendees clung to a rose-tinted view of their unlikely champion 07.00 EDT Last modified on Sunday 15 October 2017 07.
Trump says he spoke to US Virgin Islands' 'president' -- which is him
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump accidentally referred to the US Virgin Islands' governor as their President during a speech Friday -- even though he is technically their President.
Halt In Subsidies For Health Insurers Expected To Drive Up Costs For Middle Class
Updated at 11:29 a.m. ET President Trump's decision Thursday to end subsidy payments to health insurance companies is expected to raise premiums for middle-class families and cost the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars.
Trump’s Wharton Professor: “Trump Was the Dumbest Goddamn Student I Ever Had”
On the heels of his IQ test challenge to his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, one of Trump’s former professor’s words from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Finance has come back to haunt him. The late Professor William T.
Mayoral candidate takes in-kind office space from Land Bank recipient
After receiving two downtown buildings and more than $270,000 from the Lucas County Land Bank, a government agency chaired by Toledo mayoral candidate Wade Kapszukiewicz, downtown developer Dave Ball offered free office space to the candidate’s campaign. Mr. Kapszukiewicz and Mr.
Trump Just Blew Off a Deadline for Implementing Russian Sanctions He Approved
The White House has blown by an October 1 deadline for beginning to implement new sanctions targeting Russia, drawing concern in Congress that President Donald Trump is planning to ignore parts of a bill he grudgingly signed in August.
Association health plans: Trump’s attack on Obamacare, explained
With the failure by Republicans in Congress to repeal Obamacare this year, President Trump took matters into his own hands this fall, signing an executive order in October that targets the health care law.
Editor Lists All the Women Who Said President Trump Sexually Assaulted Them
In the wake of allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein, some on the right are trying to minimize the allegations against President Trump, implying that Weinstein's offenses are much worse. 1.
EPA reversed salmon protection after CEO meeting
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NowThis Politics
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The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
The optics were good. About 100 Carrier factory workers in Indianapolis sat in folding chairs awaiting President-elect Donald Trump, who had announced, via Twitter, he'd saved their jobs.
So Few Americans Understand What the Second Amendment Is Really About—or Its Dark History
With the crazed assault in Las Vegas that killed over 50 and wounded hundreds as only the most recent example, America’s gun violence problem has reached a breaking point.
Trump Administration Guts Obamacare Birth Control Rule
The Trump administration officially issued a new rule Friday that weakens the Affordable Care Act’s mandate requiring employers to provide free birth control as part of health insurance plans. The final rule resembles a draft that was leaked back in May.
Birth control: Trump expands opt-out for workplace insurance
President Donald Trump is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious or moral objections, issuing new rules Friday that take another step in rolling back the Obama health care law.
Trump Administration Set to Roll Back Birth Control Mandate
Update: The Trump administration has rolled back the birth control coverage mandate. Find more coverage here.
America’s unique gun violence problem, explained in 16 maps and charts
After mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, Americans are confronting the country’s unique relationship with guns. America is certainly an exceptional country when it comes to firearms.
10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down
By cutting off federal funding for research and stymieing data collection and sharing, the National Rifle Association has tried to do to the study of gun violence what climate deniers have done to the science of global warming.
Partisan Gerrymandering Got the Sotomayor Treatment
Throughout Tuesday’s oral arguments in Gill v. Whitford, Justice Anthony Kennedy and the Supreme Court’s left-leaning justices grilled Wisconsin’s attorneys with tough questions that suggest a majority of the court is prepared to impose constitutional limits on political redistricting.
E.P.A. Chief’s Calendar: A Stream of Industry Meetings and Trips Home
WASHINGTON — For lunch on April 26, Scott Pruitt, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, dined with top executives from Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest coal-burning electric utilities, at Equinox, a white-tablecloth favorite of Washington power brokers.
Trump's Puerto Rico event was way worse than his tweets
President Donald Trump faced a major test on Tuesday as he traveled to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico: Show the American citizens struggling for survival on the island that he understood their plight, sympathized with them and was doing everything in his power to make it better as quickly as he could.
Exclusive: Jared Kushner's personal email moved to Trump Organization computers amid public scrutiny
President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump moved their personal email accounts to computers run by the Trump Organization as public scrutiny intensified over their use of private emails to conduct White House business, internet registration records show.
Trump's Puerto Rico Visit Is a Political Disaster
Updated on October 3 at 2:36 p.m. Making his first appearance in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico since Maria’s landfall, President Trump offered a hearty round of congratulations to federal relief efforts and thanked the island’s governor.
America’s unique gun violence problem, explained in 16 maps and charts
After mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, Americans are confronting the country’s unique relationship with guns. America is certainly an exceptional country when it comes to firearms.
The large parts of America left behind by today's economy
Economic prosperity is concentrated in America's elite zip codes, but economic stability outside of those communities is rapidly deteriorating. What that means: U.S. geographical economic inequality is growing, meaning your economic opportunity is more tied to your location than ever before.
Anti-pop-tax hired guns pay $11 an hour for workers to 'educate' Cook County voters on repeal
Nestled between a hair weave shop and Chinese fast-food joint in a South Side shopping center is a narrow storefront with a cardboard placard inside a glass door.
Roy Moore’s Alabama victory sparks talk of a Republican insurrection
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Trump Is Ignoring Puerto Rico’s Suffering
When it struck the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico six days ago, Hurricane Maria was the strongest storm to hit the American territories in 80 years.
At Least 6 White House Advisers Used Private Email Accounts
WASHINGTON — At least six of President Trump’s closest advisers occasionally used private email addresses to discuss White House matters, current and former officials said on Monday.
The Madness of Donald Trump
Evening, August 22nd, 2017, a convention center in Phoenix. It's Donald Trump's true coming-out party as an insane person.
Facebook Faces a New World as Officials Rein In a Wild Web
On a muggy, late spring evening, Tuan Pham awoke to the police storming his house in Hanoi, Vietnam. They marched him to a police station and made their demand: Hand over your Facebook password. Mr.
Donald Trump's unpresidential presidency keeps hitting new lows
Washington (CNN)On the eve of a critical week of foreign policy challenges, Donald Trump started his Sunday by retweeting an edited video of him hitting a golf ball into Hillary Clinton's back -- and her falling over from the impact.
Taxpayers billed $1,092 for an official’s two-night stay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club
The bedroom suites at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, available only to members and their guests, feature hand-painted Moorish ceilings, antique Spanish-tiled mosaics and sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Racist Map Wins
On Tuesday evening, the Supreme Court blocked two rulings by a federal district court that would have required Texas to redraw its state and federal congressional districts.
Trump Election Commissioner Sought to Exclude Democrats and “Mainstream Republicans”
Months before the Trump administration announced the creation of a controversial commission to examine the country’s voting systems, one future commissioner sent an email that was forwarded to Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending that the commission exclude Democrats and “mainstream Re
The Steele Report, Revisited
This piece was originally published on Just Security. Recent revelations of Trump campaign connections to Russia have revived interest in the Steele dossier.
EPA chief on Irma: The time to talk climate change isn't now
Washington (CNN)Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt told CNN in an interview about Hurricane Irma on Thursday that the time to talk about climate change isn't now. CNN's Greg Wallace and Rene Marsh contributed to this report.
As Scott Pruitt Denies, People Die
At the moment, Hurricane Irma is poised to come right up the center of Florida like a big old rusty catheter. Out on the ocean blue, Jose has beefed up to Category 4 status and, in the Gulf of Mexico, Katia, the runt of the current litter, is up to a Category 2 her own self.
A stunning new study shows that Fox News is more powerful than we ever imagined
Fox News is, by far, America’s dominant TV news channel; in the second quarter of 2017, Fox posted 2.35 million total viewers in primetime versus 1.64 million for MSNBC and 1.06 million for CNN.
In major Supreme Court case, Justice Dept. sides with baker who refused to make wedding cake for gay couple
In a major upcoming Supreme Court case that weighs equal rights with religious liberty, the Trump administration on Thursday sided with a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Trump Jr. Says He Wanted Russian Dirt to Determine Clinton’s ‘Fitness’ for Office
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators on Thursday that he set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because he was intrigued that she might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, saying it was important to learn about Mrs.
Donald Trump 'wasn't aware what scrapping DACA would mean' before deciding fate of 800,000 people
Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City.
Dude tweets 'Nazis were socialist,' gets hilariously schooled by historian.
Fact: The Nazis were as good at branding as they were at murder and conquest. The full name of the Nazi Party was "Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei," aka the National Socialist German Worker's Party, even though their politics were not actually socialist.
Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election
Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that the social network has discovered that it sold ads during the U.S. presidential campaign to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters, according to several people familiar with the company's findings.
Microsoft President To Trump: To Deport A DREAMer, You'll Have To Go Through Us
America's business leaders are speaking out against President Trump's move to end DACA. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, took a notable stand.
Obama Slams Trump’s “Cruel” Decision to End DACA
Former President Barack Obama released a statement Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy, and people of goodwill…
4 lies Jeff Sessions told to justify ending DACA
On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions officially announced the Trump administration will rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields nearly 800,000 young, unauthorized immigrants from deportation.
Trump Moves to End DACA and Calls on Congress to Act
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday ordered an end to the Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation, calling it an “amnesty-first approach” and urging Congress to pass a replacement before he begins phasing out its protections in six months.
Russian Election Hacking Efforts, Wider Than Previously Known, Draw Little Scrutiny
The calls started flooding in from hundreds of irate North Carolina voters just after 7 a.m. on Election Day last November. Dozens were told they were ineligible to vote and were turned away at the polls, even when they displayed current registration cards.
Exclusive: Read the Inauguration Day letter Obama left for Trump
During his final moments in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama folded into thirds a handwritten letter to Donald Trump, slid it into an envelope, and in neat capital letters addressed it to "Mr. President."
The Curious Link Between Trump’s Moscow Tower Deal and a Ukraine “Peace Plan”
A pair of Trump associates, Michael Cohen and Felix Sater, appear to be gaining significance in the Trump-Russia investigation. News broke this week that during the presidential campaign the two sought a deal for the construction of a Trump Tower in Moscow.
How the Left Can Stop Arguing and Beat Trump
At the same moment neo-Nazis with torches were marching on Charlottesville earlier this month, some of the most prominent activists and organizers in the progressive movement were gathered in Atlanta at the Netroots Nation conference to strategize about how Democrats should define themselve
Top Trump Organization executive asked Putin aide for help on business deal
A top executive from Donald Trump’s real estate company emailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal spokesman during the U.S.
Trump addresses Hurricane Harvey victims in Corpus Christi: “what a crowd, what a turnout”
After surveying Hurricane Harvey damage in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, President Donald Trump addressed victims of the storm and praised those who had gathered to hear his remarks, “What a crowd, what a turn out.
Republicans Will Let America Burn While Holding Out for Tax Cuts
Some prominent Republicans are getting more vocal in their criticism of Donald Trump. Yet from the other side of their mouths, they continue to push for tax "reform" amid the growing chaos.
Quote of the Day: “I Will Get Putin on This Program and We Will Get Donald Elected”
Last night, the Washington Post reported that Donald Trump was actively trying to put together a deal for Trump Tower Moscow while campaigning for the presidency in 2015.
The Arpaio Pardon Is a Bad Sign for the Mueller Investigation
When President Donald Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday, he tweeted that the sheriff was an “American patriot” who “kept Arizona safe!” His pardon was, in one sense, narrow: Arpaio was not convicted for his relentless and well-documented brutality, but for criminal contempt a
I’m a White Man. Hear Me Out.
I’m a white man, so you should listen to absolutely nothing I say, at least on matters of social justice. I have no standing. No way to relate. My color and gender nullify me, and it gets worse: I grew up in the suburbs. Dad made six figures. We had a backyard pool.
The Media Is the Villain – for Creating a World Dumb Enough for Trump
The craziest part of Donald Trump's 77-minute loon-a-thon in Phoenix earlier this week came when he rehashed his shtick about the networks turning off live coverage of his speech.
Trump’s big mistake on health care was not realizing Republicans were lying
Donald Trump is wrong about a lot of things. But in his ongoing war of words with congressional Republicans, he’s right about one big thing — the failure of Affordable Care Act repeal efforts is fundamentally the failure of the Republican Party’s House and Senate leaders.
Trump Has No One in Charge of FEMA or the NOAA, Just in Time for Hurricane Season
While you were watching the President of the United States shirk his nation's responsibility to lead on the fundamental moral issue of our time, there was an interesting development: Hurricane season kicked off.
Democrats’ 2018 gerrymandering problem is really bad
If elections for the US House of Representatives were held today, polling averages suggest Democrats would get a little bit over 54 percent of the vote. That would be a big win. For context, Barack Obama won just under 53 percent of the vote in 2008, and George H.W.
Pittenger asks: Why aren’t liberals condemning Black Lives Matter and others?
Rep. Robert Pittenger, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, said Tuesday President Donald Trump is getting unfairly blasted for his comments about the deadly Charlottesville rally, arguing that liberals haven’t condemned Black Lives Matter and other groups for their “hate and violence.
The strange story of a 'Blacks for Trump' guy standing behind the president at his Phoenix rally
At a number of political rallies over the last two years, a character calling himself "Michael the Black Man" has appeared in the crowd directly behind Donald Trump, impossible to miss and possibly planted. Almost always, he plugs his wild website, Gods2.com, across his chest.
I Have No More Patience for Trump Supporters
At least, old Ted Agnew had the late William Safire writing his stuff for him. "Nattering nabobs of negativism." "Pusillanimous pussyfooters." I mean, that's the top-shelf brand right there. It's an honor to have such invective thrown in your direction.
Donald Trump’s Rally in Phoenix Was an Unhinged Nightmare. Here Are the Lowlights.
That’s all for now, folks. Tomorrow, Trump heads to Reno, Nevada to speak at the American Legion Convention. After Trump’s rally, the scene outside the Phoenix Convention Center quickly devolved, with police reportedly deploying tear gas on protesters.
'No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!' Protesters chant before Trump rally in Phoenix
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Why Trump Can't Quit the Alt-Right
Well, it's over now – right? He may have three and a half years left in office, but Donald Trump is finished. The Charlottesville tragedy was the final stake through the Grinch-heart of his presidency. If he didn't deserve it so enormously much, it would be sad.
A Former White Supremacist Condemns Trump: "He Is the Leader They've Been Waiting For"
The imagery out of Charlottesville wasn't shocking to me, because I've seen those flags and those faces, heard those chants and screamed them myself. I have attended Klan rallies; I know what that anger feels like.
Donald Trump Says He Owns One of the Largest Wineries in the U.S. He Doesn't.
At Tuesday's news conference at Trump Tower, the president was asked about the weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump Asks, ‘What About the Alt-Left?’ Here’s an Answer
President Trump defended his belated condemnation of white supremacists who engaged in violence in Charlottesville, Va., by arguing that he was exercising caution in casting blame. Then he returned to his original position that there was ample fault on both sides.
A Trump meltdown for the ages
CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
In 1939, I didn’t hear war coming. Now its thundering approach can’t be ignored
As a teenager I would just laugh at newsreels of Hitler and other fascists. I hope what happened next is not witnessed again by my grandchildren’s generation A chill of remembrance has come over me during this August month.
Trump’s voting commission asked states to hand over election data. Some are pushing back.
President Trump’s voting commission stumbled into public view this week, issuing a sweeping request for nationwide voter data that drew sharp condemnation from election experts and resistance from more than two dozen states that said they cannot or will not hand over all of the data.
There Is Only One Side to the Story of Charlottesville
“Heil Trump,” the white supremacists chanted as they marched past me, turning my beloved hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, into a rallying point for fascists, white supremacists, and their preppy enablers in the so-called alt-right.
New Outcry as Trump Rebukes Charlottesville Racists 2 Days Later
WASHINGTON — The crisis in Charlottesville, Va., presented President Trump with a choice between adopting the unifying tone of a traditional president or doubling down on the go-it-alone approach that got him elected in 2016. On Monday, Mr.
The New Legislation Targeting Protesters
Political protests are often designed to provoke a response from elected officials. But in some states, the reaction from state legislators is turning hostile. The proposed measures come amid a revival of disruptive protests.
Dar only person to apply for Toledo's assistant COO position
The newly hired assistant chief operating officer in Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson’s administration was the only applicant for the $88,000 per year job, a city spokesman said.
Trump Thanks Putin for Expelling US Diplomats
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after a security briefing at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday.
You're not imagining it: the rich really are hoarding economic growth
If you’ve read an article or two about economic inequality in the United States at any point in the past decade, chances are you’ve come across a chart like this: The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute has been producing that graphic, and ones like it, for years now.
Errors cost Toledo chance at $1.1M grant for job training
Toledo’s onetime grant writer was demoted to the city’s water department with a substantial pay cut after a snafu that cost the city and the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority any chance of landing a $1.1 million grant to start a jobs training program.
Those Calls to Trump? White House Admits They Didn’t Happen
WASHINGTON — Has President Trump told you about the time the head of the Boy Scouts called to say his was the best speech ever delivered to the more than century-old organization? What about when the president of Mexico picked up the telephone to let him know that his tough enforcement efforts at
White House officials tricked by email prankster
(CNN)A self-described "email prankster" in the UK fooled a number of White House officials into thinking he was other officials, including an episode where he convinced the White House official tasked with cyber security that he was Jared Kushner and received that official's private email address
Trump Removes Anthony Scaramucci From Communications Director Role - NYTime
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“Diversity is a strength”: a retired admiral tweets against Trump’s proposed trans ban
When President Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that he would ban transgender people from serving in the US military, Democrats, and even some Republican members of Congress, shared their opposition on Twitter. Now a prominent retired Navy admiral, John Kirby, is speaking out against the ban.
The Anthony Scaramucci Era Will Be Freakish, Embarrassing and All Too Short
I already miss Anthony Scaramucci. Of course, he hasn't officially been fired yet (checks Twitter), or committed suicide by jumping into boiling steak fat at his Gotti-esque Hunt and Fish Club restaurant in Manhattan (checks Twitter again). But it sure seems like he's not long for this earth.
The Mooch: "I'm Not Steve Bannon, I'm Not Trying to Suck My Own Cock."
Today, the Mooch truly became the Trump administration's communications director.
Republicans’ Obamacare repeal drive has revealed a political system where words have no meaning
The health care debate has revealed a political system unmoored and in crisis. Part of it is the recklessness of the legislation under consideration. Putting all policy arguments aside, no one — including congressional Republicans — believes these bills to be carefully drafted.
The White House Communications Director Just Gave This Unhinged, Profanity-Laden Interview
The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza just published an explosive, profanity-laden account of a phone call he received from the new White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. The call was part of Scaramucci’s increasingly public campaign against alleged leakers in the West Wing.
President Trump's 35 most eye-popping quotes in his interview with the New York Times
(CNN)President Donald Trump sat down for a nearly hour-long interview with The New York Times -- you know, the one he has repeatedly called "failing" -- on Wednesday. And he went off on, well, everything.
The 2 most popular critiques of basic income are both wrong
At first blush, basic income — a proposal where every American gets a regular stipend from the government, just for being alive — sounds like a radical, even absurd, idea.
Trump has no idea how much health insurance costs
But Trump’s answers to other questions betrayed how little he knows about health policy. As Ezra Klein wrote yesterday, this has become a major stumbling block in Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates
The box of prescription drugs had been forgotten in a back closet of a retail pharmacy for so long that some of the pills predated the 1969 moon landing. Most were 30 to 40 years past their expiration dates—possibly toxic, probably worthless.
Late Is Enough: On Thomas Friedman's New Book
"The folksiness will irk some critics ... But criticizing Friedman for humanizing and boiling down big topics is like complaining that Mick Jagger used sex to sell songs: It is what he does well." –John Micklethwait, review of Thank You for Being Late, in The New York TimesWith apologies to Mr.
The Larsen C Crack-Up in Antarctica: Why It Matters
So the moment is here. After months of teasing scientists who have been watching a widening crack in the ice of Antarctica via satellite cameras and surveillance aircraft, a 2,200-square-mile ice shelf known as the Larsen C has finally broken free and is now adrift in the Southern Ocean.
Exclusive: Video shows Trump with associates tied to email controversy
Washington (CNN)Video obtained exclusively by CNN offers a new look inside the web of relationships now at the center of allegations of collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
The Trump administration isn’t a farce. It’s a tragedy.
This must be what it was like to live through Watergate. The disorientation, the confusion, the half-truth, the shock, the dark humor. I think of something Elizabeth Drew, the author of one of my favorite books on the era, wrote — “Watergate was a time of low comedy and high fear.
The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here
Historians may look to 2015 as the year when shit really started hitting the fan. Some snapshots: In just the past few months, record-setting heat waves in Pakistan and India each killed more than 1,000 people.
Children of the Opioid Epidemic Are Flooding Foster Homes. America Is Turning a Blind Eye.
Long before the social workers showed up in his living room this March, Matt McLaughlin, a 16-year-old with diabetes, had taken to a wearying evening routine: trying to scrounge up enough spare change for food while his mom, Kelly, went to a neighbor’s house to use heroin.
Trump Administration’s Request for Extensive Voter Data Raises Fears of Suppression
President Donald Trump’s new election commission is seeking sensitive personal data on every registered voter in the country—including names, birth dates, party affiliations, and partial Social Security numbers—without any explanation for how it will be used or what security measures are be
House members want federal funds now to hire personal security
House of Representatives lawmakers want $25,000 each to hire private security right away to protect them in their home districts, an unusually quick, bipartisan response to the shooting of a Republican House leader and others at a baseball practice.
Supreme Court Breakfast Table
On Monday, Justice Neil Gorsuch revealed himself to be everything that liberals had most feared: pro-gun, pro–travel ban, anti-gay, anti–church/state separation. He is certainly more conservative than Justice Samuel Alito and possibly to the right of Justice Clarence Thomas.
Republican Health Bill Would Leave 22 Million More People Without Insurance, CBO Projects
The stats on the Senate health care bill are in: The Republicans’ new plan to repeal Obamacare would leave 22 million more people uninsured in 2026 than under current law.
Those who leave home, and those who stay
In the late 2000s, some researchers had a novel idea: They would "crash" a few dozen high school reunions and interview more than 300 people. The goal was to figure out why people returned to their rural hometowns after leaving for whatever reason.
Donald Trump Reports He’s Getting Rich as President
President Trump says he’s received tens of millions of dollars in income from the golf courses and resorts whose profile he boosted during frequent visits since taking office, according to filings released Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known
Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.
KING: Trump is scary, but his few remaining fans are even scarier
In the most recent Quinnipiac Poll, Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to an abysmal 34% — the lowest of his presidency. From every single angle of the poll, Trump's in trouble.
How cable news networks reacted to Comey’s hearing
Coverage of former FBI director James B. Comey’s testimony looked about the same across cable news channels. A closeup of a senator forming a question, a wide show of the room — there’s just not much to show on TV.
READ: James Comey's prepared testimony
Statement for the Record Senate Select Committee on Intelligence James B. Comey Chairman Burr, Ranking Member Warner, Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.
Trump Administration Warns That U.S. May Pull Out Of U.N. Human Rights Council
The Trump administration is warning that the U.S. might leave the U.N. Human Rights Council, arguing that it displays anti-Israel bias and ignores violations by certain countries. U.S.
No competition, no cost estimate as Kansas City firm picked for coveted VA contract
The Trump administration picked Kansas City-based Cerner Corp. for a coveted contract to modernize veterans health records, but the news came with a caveat: There will be no competition for the taxpayer-funded project.
“Show them a body”: Senate Republicans prepared to take a failed vote on Obamacare repeal
Senate Republicans are pushing desperately this week to find a health care plan they can coalesce around — but hopes are fading, even among lawmakers.
Trump Grows Discontented With Attorney General Jeff Sessions
WASHINGTON — Few Republicans were quicker to embrace President Trump’s campaign last year than Jeff Sessions, and his reward was one of the most prestigious jobs in America. But more than four months into his presidency, Mr. Trump has grown sour on Mr.
Most top Pentagon jobs are still empty, as Trump insists on absolute loyalty
Four months into his presidency, Donald Trump has filled only five of the 53 top jobs at the Pentagon – the slowest pace for nominations and confirmations in over half a century.
Trump vs. Planet Earth
"Did everyone yell 'Fuck Trump!' today?" a friend emailed shortly after hearing that the president intends to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. The answer to my friend's question is: Yes, pretty much.
Why you can’t blame mass incarceration on the war on drugs
There’s a “Standard Story” that many Americans, particularly on the left, believe about mass incarceration: During the 1970s and ’80s, the federal government dramatically escalated its war on drugs.
First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says
Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings he had last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, the Justice Department told CNN Wednesday. CNN's Brian Rokus and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
The Trump Organization Says It's 'Not Practical' to Comply With the Emoluments Clause
Days before taking office, Donald Trump said his company would donate all profits from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury, part of an effort to avoid even the appearance of a conflict with the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
The most devastating paragraph in the CBO report
This is the web version of VoxCare, a daily newsletter from Vox on the latest twists and turns in America’s health care debate. Like what you’re reading? Sign up to get VoxCare in your inbox here.
Republicans Focus on Protecting Trump at Russia Hearing
The Republicans still are not serious about investigating the Trump-Russia scandal. That message came through resoundingly when the House Intelligence Committee held a public hearing on Tuesday morning with former CIA chief John Brennan. (Actually, this was not officially a committee hearing.
This small business owner says he can’t survive a Republican plan to tax imports
Tee Miller’s clothing shop in Georgetown, South Carolina, survived the city’s worst fire since 1841, a massive blaze that received national media attention and nearly leveled an entire city block on the historic waterfront.
Donald Trump and the rise of tribal epistemology
Back in November 2009, as the Obama backlash was just gathering steam, Rush Limbaugh devoted a segment of his radio program to “Climategate.” That was the episode in which a climate research institute was hacked and the private emails of scientists were leaked.
The Latest Report on the White House's Education Budget Is Bleak
The White House is expected to make steep cuts to the Department of Education's budget in an effort to direct the money toward promoting school choice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The White House Is Weighing A Plan To Weaken The Special Prosecutor’s Investigation Into Trump’s Russia Scandal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is exploring whether it can use an obscure ethics rule to undermine the special counsel investigation into ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russia, two people familiar with White House thinking said on Friday.
Is There a Point to All This Cruelty?
While we're on the subject of bad hiring in the executive branch, let's not forget that Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, was the single most obviously unqualified Cabinet nominee—Grizzlies!—in the history of the republic.
Special counsel probe could reach into Trump’s business empire
The appointment of a special counsel empowered to probe ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign now brings the developer’s business empire into investigators’ cross hairs.
Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation
WASHINGTON — President Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office this month that firing the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, had relieved “great pressure” on him, according to a document summarizing the meeting. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr.
There's No Way Republicans Will Truly Confront Trump on His Scandals. It Would Destroy Their Party.
Following the explosive report that President Donald Trump leaned on then-FBI director James Comey to go easy on former national security adviser Michael Flynn—and the explosive report that Trump's transition team knew Flynn was under FBI investigation when Trump tapped him to be his top national
Why Trump Lies
This article is adapted from The Trouble With Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time. In 1985, critic and educator Neil Postman published Amusing Ourselves to Death, the most incisive, impassioned warning label ever issued on our media diet.
Trump claims to be victim of ‘witch hunt’ following appointment of special counsel in Russia case
President Trump described himself as the victim of a “witch hunt” Thursday morning, a day after the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to investigate possible collusion between Trump associates and the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump isn’t a toddler — he’s a product of America’s culture of impunity for the rich
Ross Douthat’s column arguing for the superiority of “25th Amendment remedies” to impeachment for Donald Trump’s various misdeeds is impressive in its ability to actually find something new and interesting to say about the president.
House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump
KIEV — A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the benefic
The Trump Presidency Falls Apart
After an extraordinary 10 days, the tenure of the chief executive may have deteriorated beyond his ability to repair it. After an astonishing week of revelations, Donald Trump’s presidency appears to be on the verge of collapse.
Trump's Immigration Police Have Already Arrested 41,000 Undocumented Immigrants
Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Wednesday morning what many immigrants already knew: President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has resulted in a surge of arrests.
Big Oil’s favorite Democrat? Texas lawmaker’s votes reflect industry interests
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, whose southern Texas congressional district sprawls across one of the nation’s largest potential sources of oil and natural gas, may be Big Oil’s favorite Democrat.
Trump’s War on the Press Has Always Been Real
It was hard for anyone to know, in the course of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, which of his pledges and threats to take seriously.
As Trump’s woes mount, congressional Republicans arrive at a moment of reckoning
As President Donald Trump has lurched from one crisis to another, Republicans have chosen a strategy of compartmentalization over confrontation, preferring to look away in hopes that the storm would pass.
Another Trump Bombshell Hits: New York Times Reports He Asked FBI Chief to Drop Flynn Investigation
President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to drop the FBI's investigation of former national security adviser Mike Flynn, according to a bombshell report published by the New York Times that was based on a memo Comey wrote following the conversation.
Donald Trump is in a 'downward spiral' following Russia leak report, says Republican senator
Donald Trump's administration is in "a downward spiral" after allegedly leaking classified information to Russian officials, a Republican senator has claimed, joining a chorus of condemnation in Washington.
Activist resigns after congressman writes letter to employer
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey woman who joined a group critical of a Republican congressman and President Donald Trump’s policies says she quit her job after the congressman referred to her in a fundraising letter to her employer.
The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures
The consequences of the president’s reported divulgence of top-secret codeword information to the Russians are only beginning.
Under Trump, inconvenient data is being sidelined
The Trump administration has removed or tucked away a wide variety of information that until recently was provided to the public, limiting access, for instance, to disclosures about workplace violations, energy efficiency and animal-welfare abuses.
This columnist received a tolerance award.Then trashed Trump in his acceptance speech.
New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow picked up an award for promoting dialogue and understanding Wednesday, then declared America at war over truth in a wide-ranging speech that ridiculed Donald J. Trump and lamented his presidency.
How the President Obstructed Justice
Since the news broke on Tuesday that Donald Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey, Harvard Law School’s Laurence Tribe has been arguing that the president’s conduct, in and of itself, is illegal and amounts to impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors.
White House ‘systems failed’ with Comey firing, but Trump pushed the buttons
In deciding to abruptly fire FBI Director James B. Comey, President Trump characteristically let himself be guided by his own instincts — fueled by his creeping anger and sense of victimhood about a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election that he considers a “witch hunt.”
Five Reasons the Comey Affair Is Worse Than Watergate
The tangled affair now known as Watergate began 45 years ago, before most of today’s U.S. population had even been born. (The median age of Americans is about 38, so most people in the country were born in 1979 or thereafter.
Watchdog group alleges Sessions violated recusal rule in firing of Comey
An ethics watchdog group filed a complaint against Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday alleging that his participation in the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey violated Justice Department rules and Sessions’s promise to recuse himself from matters involving Russia.
Aetna CEO in private meeting: “Single-payer, I think we should have that debate”
The chief executive of one of the country’s largest health insurance companies says he is open to having a single-payer debate. Bertolini spoke to a private meeting where Aetna employees could ask questions of their chief executive.
Donald Trump has no idea what health insurance costs
“In a short period of time,” President Trump recently told Time magazine in an interview about his first months in the White House, “I understood everything there was to know about health care.” Around the same time, Trump gave another interview, this one to the Economist.
What Congress can learn from Kansas’s failed tax experiment
If President Trump and his supporters want to know how his proposed tax cuts will play out, they should look at what’s happened in Kansas since 2012. That year, Gov. Sam Brownback pushed through aggressive tax cuts very similar to what Trump wants Congress to do.
White House furious after being trolled with Russia Oval Office photos
Washington (CNN)The White House did not anticipate that the Russian government would allow its state news agency to post photographs of an Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russia's ambassador to the US, a White House official said.
Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey
Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.
The Comey firing revealed what is real news and what is propaganda
To understand the challenges facing the media in the age of Donald Trump, consider how outlets have covered the sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey. Officially, the administration claims that the president lost faith in Comey over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe last year.
The firing of FBI director James Comey poses a question: Will the law answer to the president, or the president to the law?
Who can sincerely believe that President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for any reason other than to thwart an investigation of serious crimes? Which crimes—and how serious—we can only guess.
The many paths from Trump to Russia
This interactive has been updated to more accurately reflect computer activity relating to Spectrum Health, the Trump Organization, and Alfa Bank. Published May 8, 2017; Additional work by Ivory Sherman and John Coughlin; Photos: Getty Images.
37 top economists all say Trump's tax plan won't pay for itself
More than 35 American economists surveyed last week disagree with a basic element of President Trump’s proposed tax plan: whether it will pay for itself.
Got Asthma? That'll Cost You $4,000 Extra Under the Republican Plan
One of the most popular parts of Obamacare is that it guarantees you can't be denied coverage or charged higher premiums simply for having a preexisting medical condition.
Cruel Old Party
The Republican Party won control of government promising help. Help for the unemployed, help for the uninsured; help for the struggling, help for the anxious. But help isn't on its agenda. The plan, instead, is cruelty.
An $8 Billion Shot in the Arm for the GOP Health-Care Bill?
Republican leaders have flipped a pair of crucial defectors, Representatives Fred Upton and Billy Long, by adopting their amendment to modestly boost protections for people with preexisting conditions. Updated on May 3 at 11:37 a.m. ET
Child poverty in the US is a disgrace. Experts are embracing this simple plan to cut it.
Most rich countries besides the US have hit on a surprisingly simple approach to reducing child poverty: just giving parents money. This idea, known as a child benefit or child allowance, exists in almost every EU country as well as in Canada and Australia.
‘I was all set to terminate’: Inside Trump’s sudden shift on NAFTA
President Trump was set to announce Saturday, on the 100th day of his presidency, that he was withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement — the sort of disruptive proclamation that would upend both global and domestic politics and signal to his base that he was keeping his campaign pr
GOP shuts out doctors, experts, Democrats as they work on Obamacare repeal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and House Republicans, in their rush to resuscitate a bill rolling back the Affordable Care Act, are increasingly isolating themselves from outside input and rejecting entreaties to work collaboratively, according to multiple health care officials who ha
British Columbia has a plan to counter Trump’s tariffs with a blow to American coal
British Columbia’s premier, Christy Clark, has an idea for Canada to hit back at President Trump’s new softwood lumber tariffs in a way that microtargets his political base — banning thermal coal exports from her province’s ports.
State bill may preempt Toledo lead ordinance
A provision in the House Republicans’ budget bill would give the state sole authority on lead abatement activities, which some lead-safe advocates see as an attempt to preempt Toledo’s rental ordinance.
Unstrategic Impatience
North Korea is a knotty problem, but there’s no cause for the hysteria that President Trump and his aides have been pumping up in recent days, and it’s time to turn down the heat and the noise, before someone gets hurt.
Is Senate’s Trump-Russia probe going anywhere? This panel member is doubtful
A prominent member of the Senate panel that’s investigating Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election and possible links to the campaign of President Donald Trump is expressing “serious concerns” about the probe’s speed, transparency and direction.
Fake Working Class
The retail industry’s recent decline may have reached a “tipping point.” That was the conclusion of a recent report from the New York Times with potentially far-reaching consequences.
Trump holds secret meeting with Colombian opposition
President Donald Trump quietly met a pair of former Colombian presidents last weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, thrusting his administration into an ugly power struggle in Latin America that threatens to undermine the country’s controversial peace agreement with rebel leaders.
AG Sessions says he's 'amazed' a judge 'on an island in the Pacific' can block Trump's immigration order
Hey Jeff Sessions, this #IslandinthePacific has been the 50th state for going on 58 years. And we won't succumb to your dog whistle politics Hawaii was built on the strength of diversity & immigrant experiences- including my own. Jeff Sessions' comments are ignorant & dangerous
Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin mock Hillary Clinton portrait during White House trip
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Gerrymandering means Democrats are playing a rigged game — in Georgia and everywhere else
The Democratic Party is going all in on Georgia. More than $8 million in outside donations and 7,000 volunteers have come to the aid of Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is hoping to clear the 50 percent mark during Tuesday’s special election in the Atlanta suburbs. Liberals see a lot riding on the race.
Donald Trump Has a Conflict of Interest in Turkey. Just Ask Donald Trump
Several media outlets have slammed President Donald Trump for congratulating Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on winning a referendum that will bolster his autocratic power and weaken that nation's democracy.
Jeff Sessions Announces a New Crackdown on Immigrants and "Filth"
This morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions visited the US-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona to announce a new get-tough approach to immigration enforcement, directing federal prosecutors to pursue harsher charges against undocumented immigrants.
KING: Trump's Twitter fingers could spark World War III
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Twitter Has a Serious Problem—And It's Actually a Bigger Deal Than People Realize
On March 30, during the first Senate intelligence committee hearing on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, London-based cybersecurity expert Thomas Rid described how several groups became "unwitting agents" of Russian efforts to influence the American presidential electio
Kroger-backing plan commissioner now works for Toledo
The lone Toledo plan commission member who supported a controversial rezoning to allow a new Kroger store in West Toledo now has a consulting job with the city.
A Right-Wing Think Tank Is Trying to Bring Down the Indian Child Welfare Act. Why?
This story originally appeared in The Nation in partnership with InvestigateWest. On the wall above his desk, attorney Timothy Sandefur keeps a copy of The Liberator, a 186-year-old abolitionist newspaper that features an etching of a slave auction on its masthead.
Trump’s CIA Director Just Called WikiLeaks a “Hostile Intelligence Service”
Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo on Thursday denounced WikiLeaks as a “non-state hostile intelligence service,” and he singled out Russia as one of the anti-secrecy organization’s top collaborators.
Donald Trump Is Making the United States an Anti-Corruption Laughingstock
Jessica Tillipman, a dean at the George Washington University Law School and an expert on government ethics and compliance, was recently giving an anti-corruption training to a roomful of visiting government officials from Latin America when something odd happened.
Trump just announced he’s betraying his biggest campaign promise on China
For years, Donald Trump has been fixated on taking China to task for manipulating its currency in order to give its goods an edge over competitors in global markets.
City Council mulls candidates for vacant seat
The showdown for the vacant Toledo City Council at-large seat has begun with two men who both have history in city government and all four of the endorsed Democrats running in November for the post vying for the appointment.
The Senate may be developing an electoral college issue
Theoretically, a bill or nomination could pass out of the Senate with the support of senators representing only 16.2 percent of the population.
There's Racist. And Then There's Stunningly Racist. Then There's This GOP Fundraising Email.
Last week, a fundraising email was circulated in support of David Clarke, Milwaukee's infamous conservative sheriff. The email was made to look like it came from Rudy Giuliani.
Russia responsible for Syria chemical attack, UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has demanded Russia rein in Syrian dictator Bashar Assad claiming that Moscow is “responsible for every civilian death” that followed a chemical weapons attack in the country’s civil war.
The “Grand Bargain” at Risk: What’s at Stake When the President Alleges Politics in Intelligence
The U.S. intelligence community is on the verge of a crisis of confidence and legitimacy it has not experienced since the 1970s. Back then, the crisis was one of the community’s own behavior.
Trump has visited a Trump-branded property every 2.8 days of his presidency
This article has been updated. For the 10th weekend in a row, President Trump is visiting a Trump-branded property — every weekend except the first two after his inauguration.
UW professor: The information war is real, and we’re losing it
It started with the Boston marathon bombing, four years ago. University of Washington professor Kate Starbird was sifting through thousands of tweets sent in the aftermath and noticed something strange. Too strange for a university professor to take seriously.
A Federal Judge Just Ignored Jeff Sessions and Approved Baltimore's Police Reforms
Despite the opposition of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a federal judge in Baltimore on Friday locked in place a consent decree between the city's police force and the Department of Justice.
Republicans Just Went Nuclear. Neil Gorsuch Is Heading to the Supreme Court.
Senate Republicans on Thursday voted to kill the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, invoking the so-called "nuclear option" so that a minority party will no longer have the ability to block a vote for nominees to the nation's highest court.
Trump Just Defended Bill O'Reilly
Self-proclaimed pussy-grabber Donald Trump is coming to Bill O'Reilly's defense, telling the New York Times that the embattled Fox News host should not have settled the sexual harassment lawsuits against him. Why? Because "I don’t think Bill did anything wrong."
A birthday video call captures a telling moment in Trump’s Russia connections
Several businessmen and celebrities from the former Soviet Union gathered on the Turkish Riviera in June 2005 to celebrate the grand opening of what was billed then as the country’s most luxurious hotel.
In One Executive Order, Trump Revoked Years of Workplace Protections for Women
In 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order.
Trump can quietly draw money from trust whenever he wants, new documents show
Newly released records show the trust agreement that Donald Trump used to put his adult sons in charge of his company allows him to draw money from it upon his request, illustrating the thin divide between the president and his private fortune.
The Trump Administration Just Suffered a Defeat on Voting Rights
In a significant rebuke of the Trump administration Monday, a federal judge in Texas rejected the Department of Justice's request to halt a major voting rights case that had been filed during Obama administration.
The Washington Post Just Alleged the Founder of Blackwater Tried to Set Up Trump-Putin Back-Channel
The Washington Post just published a story that, if corroborated, could be a pretty big deal: The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-ch
Senators to Trump administration: your use of private prisons looks like a reward to campaign donors
In the barrage of news surrounding President Donald Trump, one of the things his administration quietly did over the past few months was reopen the federal prison system to private prison companies.
'Nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this trainwreck': Los Angeles Times editorial tears into Trump
But the editorial board's criticism went further in focusing on Trump personally.
Fox Host Tells Rep. Maxine Waters, "Step Away From The Crack Pipe"
Soon after Fox host Bill O’Reilly said he wouldn’t listen to California lawmaker Maxine Waters because of her hair, another insanely racist and derogatory Fox clip emerges showing Eric Bolling telling the Congresswoman, on air, to “step away from the crack pipe.” It gets worse.
Osborne’s huge tax giveaway starts for rich – as the poor are hit
Wealthy get 80% of rewards from tax and welfare changes introduced by George Osborne that begin to come into effect this week Wealthy get 80% of rewards from tax and welfare changes introduced by George Osborne that begin to come into effect this week The richest will reap 80% of the
Black and Hispanic Communities Are Spending Almost Half Their Incomes on Rent
Rents have been rising faster over the last several years, and as a result, a new study says the affordability of rental units has declined, with black and Hispanic communities hit particularly hard.
GOP Congress May Get Burned By Their Own Browser Histories
Two fundraising campaigns have so far raised more than $250,000 to purchase and reveal the browsing history of Republican lawmakers who backed S.J. Res. 34, a bill to repeal Obama-era privacy regulations for internet service providers.
Trump administration stops disclosing troop deployments in Iraq and Syria
Even as the U.S. military takes on a greater role in the warfare in Iraq and Syria, the Trump administration has stopped disclosing significant information about the size and nature of the U.S. commitment, including the number of U.S. troops deployed in either country.
Russians took Trump’s side in GOP primary, too, Senate testimony claims
Before Russian propaganda and fake news targeted Hillary Clinton, it went after Republican opponents of Donald Trump, including Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Lindsey Graham, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, according to a cyber security expert who testified before the Senate Thursday.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-russia-ties-20170323-htmlstory.html
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Why Trump Can’t Come Clean on Russia
There is an old chestnut that gets tossed out whenever a scandal hits: It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up. The saying traces back to Watergate. Sen.
Devin Nunes's botched effort to scuttle the Trump/Russia investigation, explained
If you’re the Republican chair of the House panel charged with leading the growing investigation into President Trump’s wiretapping allegations, it isn’t a good sign when a leading senator from your own party says you’ve lost all credibility and mockingly compares you to Inspector Clouseau.
Jared Kushner is now tasked with solving the opioid crisis as well as Middle East peace
Jared Kushner has been tasked with helping the federal government solve some of America’s most vexing public policy crises — from streamlining Veterans Affairs to fixing the opioid epidemic — by bringing the acumen of the business world to the White House.
I am an Arctic researcher. Donald Trump is deleting my citations
As an Arctic researcher, I’m used to gaps in data. Just over 1% of US Arctic waters have been surveyed to modern standards. In truth, some of the maps we use today haven’t been updated since the second world war.
How Right-Wing Media Saved Obamacare
As the Republican Party struggled and then failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, pulling a wildly unpopular bill from the House without even taking a vote, a flurry of insightful articles helped the public understand what exactly just happened.
The Theory That Explains The Anger Of Our Political Moment
Suddenly, people are more in favor of the Affordable Care Act than are against it. For the first time, more people believe Obamacare is a good idea than think it is a bad idea, as a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed.
New York City's Youngest Councilman Grew Up in the Projects. Now He's Defending Them Against Trump.
Long before he became the youngest elected member of the New York City Council, Ritchie Torres grew up in Throggs Neck Houses, a public housing project erected across the street from the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the East Bronx.
America is 'waking up to walking catastrophe' of Donald Trump, former Labor secretary says
America is "waking up" to the inadequacies of Donald Trump following his humiliating failure to repeal and replace Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, a former Secretary of Labor has claimed.
Nearly 1 out of every 3 days he has been president, Trump has visited a Trump property
This article has been updated. For the eighth weekend in a row, President Trump has visited a property that bears his name.
Pence says Trump will keep promise of overhauling Affordable Care Act
Vice President Pence said that President Trump intends to keep his promise to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, pledging that the legislation's collapse Friday was a setback that “won’t last very long.
RIP, Trumpcare: How the Health Care Bill Crashed and Burned
Without so much as a vote, the Republican crusade to repeal and replace Obamacare has failed. The House was supposed to vote Friday afternoon to advance Trumpcare to the Senate – where its fate was dodgy at best.
The Long, Twisted, and Bizarre History of the Trump-Russia Scandal
Carlo Allegri; Klimentyev Mikhail; Carlos Barria; Kevin Lamarque; Monterey Herald; Sergei Karpukhin; Jim Loscalzo (via ZUMA) The Trump-Russia scandal—with all its bizarre and troubling twists and turns—has become a controversy that is defining the Trump presidency.
Paul Ryan: “Obamacare is the law of the land”
It was an admission of defeat that House Speaker Paul Ryan probably didn’t expect to make just three months into a fully Republican government: “Obamacare is the law of the land. … We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”
The Media Have Finally Figured Out How to Cover Trump’s Lies
Donald Trump is not on the cover of Time this week, and that must gall him. The president is the subject of the magazine’s cover story, the promise of which apparently persuaded him to grant it an exclusive interview.
The Republicans Fold on Health Care
The House abandoned its legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, handing President Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan a major defeat. Updated on March 24 at 6:28 p.m. ET
Rep. Devin Nunes's latest stunt could make Trump's Russia problem worse
The chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, has spent the week trying to help President Trump deal with the aftermath of the collapse of Trump’s wiretapping allegations and the FBI’s formal confirmation that it’s probing the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
Donald Trump is extremely bad at making deals
President Donald Trump is supposed to be the dealmaker-in-chief. He’s supposed to get the deals his predecessors couldn’t get, the concessions they couldn’t make, the wins they couldn’t find.
The Republican Waterloo
Seven years and three days ago, the House of Representatives grumblingly voted to approve the Senate’s version of the Affordable Care Act. Democrats in the House were displeased by many of the changes introduced by Senate Democrats.
Sebastian Gorka and the White House's Questionable Vetting
Michael Flynn and Sebastian Gorka share a couple of things. Both men are rabidly anti-Islam, and both seem to have been insufficiently vetted by the Trump White House.
The failure of the Republican health care bill reveals a party unready to govern
Let’s be clear about what happened here. The American Health Care Act failed because it was a terrible piece of legislation. It would have thrown 24 million people off insurance and raised deductibles for millions more — and the savings would’ve gone to pay for tax cuts for millionaires.
Watch Trump Call Obamacare Repeal "So Easy"
After a week of emergency meetings and last-minute attempts to unify their party, Republican leaders pulled their Obamacare repeal bill from the House floor Friday when it became clear they didn't have enough support to pass.
Republicans are considering a deal that would make America’s drug addiction crisis worse
America is in the middle of its worst drug crisis ever. It’s an issue that has brought together both the left and right, with figures from Barack Obama to Donald Trump calling for more to be done to fight the opioid epidemic.
We Had a Good Run
WASHINGTON—Our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states is postponed until tomorrow morning so that we can bring you this update from Our Nation's Capital, where there is simply too much weird shit going on to be believed.
Government Official Who Negotiated Trump Hotel Deal Says Deal Is Fine
A top government official who negotiated a controversial deal to lease a historic Washington, DC, property to Donald Trump has announced that he sees no problem with the arrangement—despite a clause in Trump's contract that prohibits any elected officials from benefiting from the deal.
GOP Health Bill Changes Could Kill Protections For People With Preexisting Conditions
When House Speaker Paul Ryan says he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act so that people can buy insurance that's right for them, and not something created in Washington, part of what he's saying is that he wants to get rid of so-called essential health benefits.
Toronto schools will no longer allow student trips to US
CNN's AJ Willingham contributed to this report.
Trump Ultimatum For House GOP: Vote On Health Bill Or Affordable Care Act Stands
Updated at 9:48 p.m. ET The White House issued an ultimatum to House Republicans on Thursday: Vote for the current GOP health care replacement plan or leave the Affordable Care Act in place and suffer the political consequences.
A postponed health-care vote, a big GOP embarrassment and no good options ahead
Thursday was supposed to be a glorious anniversary for President Trump and the Republicans. Seven years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Republicans were poised to take the first concrete step toward repealing and replacing that law.
Republicans Delay Vote on Health Care Bill
In a major blow to President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the House vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which was slated for Thursday, has been postponed.
The health care bill could be Donald Trump’s Iraq War
If it passes, the American Health Care Act will be Donald Trump and Paul Ryan's Iraq War. It's been sold with lies. It's been pushed forward with a shock-and-awe legislative strategy. And its architects are woefully unprepared for the chaos it would unleash upon passage.
Donald Trump has lost the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board published a scathing criticism of President Trump, warning that “if he doesn't show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude he's a fake President.
Trump's son criticizes London mayor after attack
Washington (CNN)President's Trump's son is criticizing the mayor of London in the immediate aftermath of an attack in the city that killed three and wounded at least 20 on the grounds of the UK Parliament.
The Republican in Charge of the Trump-Russia Probe Just Pulled a Crazy Political Stunt
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.
Report: FBI evidence suggests Trump associates and Russians may have coordinated to sink Clinton
The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign, US officials told CNN. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this.
Trump’s EPA Chief May Face Discipline for Lying to Congress in Confirmation Hearings
An environmental watchdog group has paired with a law professor to file a formal complaint against Donald Trump’s EPA Director Scott Pruitt.
Kansas Republicans Are Finally Embracing Obamacare—Just as Trump Is Trying to Kill It
While Republicans in DC are pushing for massive cuts to Medicaid, John Eplee and other Republicans in one of the country’s most conservative states are fighting to expand the program.
Labor nominee Acosta cut deal with billionaire guilty in sex abuse case
There was once a time — before the investigations, before the sexual abuse conviction — when rich and famous men loved to hang around with Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire money manager who loved to party. They visited his mansion in Palm Beach, Fla.
FBI’s Russian-influence probe includes a look at Breitbart, InfoWars news sites
Federal investigators are examining whether far-right news sites played any role last year in a Russian cyber operation that dramatically widened the reach of news stories — some fictional — that favored Donald Trump’s presidential bid, two people familiar with the inquiry say.
Krugman: Republicans Love 'Personal Responsibility' Yet Won't Hold Trump Accountable
America is suffering from a national disease, Paul Krugman warns in Monday's column, and it's far beyond what current medicine can fix, unless Big Pharma is hiding the cure for narcissism.
What Will Happen to Americans Who Can't Afford an Attorney?
President Trump’s budget would eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, which helps low-income individuals obtain representation in civil proceedings. On the campaign trail, President Trump pledged “to bring hope to every forgotten stretch of this country.
President Trump faces his hardest truth: He was wrong
On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump. He was wrong.
Republican Congressman Leading Russia Probe Says He’s Never Heard of Key Figures in the Scandal
There were many intriguing and surprising moments at the House intelligence committee’s hearing on Monday on Russia’s election season hacks.
James Comey Fact Checks POTUS Tweet in Real Time
On Monday, FBI director James Comey confirmed the existence of ongoing investigations into possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government, as well as Russian efforts to meddle with the 2016 election process.
FBI Director Comey (Kind of) Calls Trump a Liar and Says Trump-Russia Links Still Being Probed
On Monday morning, hours before the House intelligence committee convened a hearing on Russian hacking during the 2016 campaign with star witness FBI chief James Comey, the president of the United States was tweeting furiously in an effort to preempt headlines that might emerge from the event.
Poll: Trump's approval rating sinks lower than Obama's
President Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a new low of 37% since he took office in January, according to the latest Gallup poll. While 37% of Americans approve of the job the President is doing, 58% disapprove. His approval rating stood at 45% last week, poll numbers showed.
We've lost sight of how appalling Trump's "Obama tapped my phones" accusation is
In the day-to-day crush of news, it’s easy to lose perspective. And this year especially, it’s easy for the abnormal to become normal.
Trump: Don’t Blame Me When I Quote Fox News
Donald Trump does not like taking responsibility for White House screwups. He’ll blame anyone else he can think of—even his friends at Fox News.
Paul Ryan says he’s been “dreaming” of Medicaid cuts since he was “drinking out of kegs”
Speaking to National Review editor Rich Lowry at an event hosted by the conservative magazine, House Speaker Paul Ryan made the case for the American Health Care Act by presenting it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cut Medicaid spending.
KING: Trump’s budget is destructive — and just what Bannon wants
It is so outrageously and universally cruel that it shocks the conscience that such a budget was actually created on purpose. At first, I aimed to write about it soon after it was released, but it honestly took me an additional 24 hours to wrap my mind around what we had seen.
Trump’s defense of his wiretapping claim is an incredible word salad
Forced to explain his allegation that President Barack Obama “wiretapped” Trump Tower, President Donald Trump misquoted the New York Times, said he “wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Twitter,” and talked about how much money Celebrity Apprentice made for NBC.
This Is the Ending Conservatives Always Wanted
Every year, during the run-up to Halloween, when Jim DeMint goes to Hell's mega-mall and sits on Satan's lap, he has a list of things he wants for the holiday. The parents of the assembled demons and imps behind him in line often get frustrated because the list is so long.
Trump's Proposal to Scrap the Agency Devoted to Developing Appalachia
The Appalachian Regional Commission distributes grants in states that voted for the president, and works to revitalize coal-mining communities.
The Executive Branch Is About to Be 'Reorganized' into Oblivion
This was ominous from the first tweet.
What Trump cut in his agency budgets
On May 23, the Trump administration released his full 2018 budget proposal, which details many of the changes the president wants to make to the federal government’s spending.
Report: Trump budget will slash the EPA, State Department, Amtrak, Meals on Wheels grants
President Trump's first budget blueprint would make deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department, and slash smaller but well-known programs like Amtrak and community grants, while increasing defense spending and immigration enforcement, according to a report by the Ne
Jeff Sessions Goes Full 'Reefer Madness' on Pot
Attorney General Jeff Sessions continued a personal campaign to demonize marijuana, calling cannabis a "life-wrecking dependency" that is "only slightly less awful" than heroin in a speech on violent crime in Richmond, Virginia, Wednesday. Sessions has no facts on his side.
Beyond the Bubble: White House leans on state Republicans to sell GOP health care plan
WASHINGTON/MIAMI/KANSAS CITY On this week’s episode of Beyond the Bubble, Republicans balk at their leadership’s plan to unwind the Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump preps a budget that Congress will toss in the trash and congressional races heat up nationwide as candidates place bets on the pr
Businesswoman Who Bought Trump Penthouse Is Connected to Chinese Intelligence Front Group
When a Chinese American businesswoman who sells access to powerful people recently purchased a $15.8 million penthouse in a building owned by President Donald Trump, the deal raised a key question.
The most interesting numbers in CBO’s score of the Republicans’ health care bill (and the policy and politics they imply)
Here are the findings that I found most revealing and relevant from the Congressional Budget Office’s score of the Republicans’ health care bill, followed by some brief thoughts on the policy and politics.
The CBO's other bombshell: the Affordable Care Act isn't imploding
Beyond its eye-popping findings on higher premiums and large-scale coverage loss, the Congressional Budget Office’s official score of the American Health Care Act also quietly demolishes the central publicly stated rationale for repealing the Affordable Care Act.
The CBO’s nonpartisan report on the Republican ACA replacement plan, explained in 6 charts
The Congressional Budget Office on Monday released its analysis of the American Health Care Act, the Republican bill that would replace Obamacare. But to understand who will become uninsured, first we have to understand whom Obamacare gave insurance to.
CBO: Republican health care bill raises premiums for older, poor Americans by more than 750%
The Republican-backed American Health Care Act would be totally devastating to older Americans who rely on the individual market for insurance, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
24 Million People Will Lose Insurance Thanks to Trumpcare
It's even worse than anyone had expected. On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released its report analyzing the GOP's plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, and it offers a bleak picture for the future for of access to health insurance for the country.
Kellyanne Conway suggests Barack Obama was spying on Donald Trump through a microwave
Donald Trump's senior aide Kellyanne Conway has suggested Barack Obama could have monitored the President through a microwave. When she was asked about Mr Trump's claims in an interview with USA Today, Ms Conway suggested the surveillance may have involved far more than wiretapping.
This Level of Corruption Is Unprecedented in the Modern History of the Presidency
The important part about dealing with epidemics is to deal with them early.
E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics
WASHINGTON — Days after the Senate confirmed him as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference and was asked about addressing a group that probably wanted to eliminate his agency. In the days since, Mr.
The Republican health care bill’s uninsured penalty punishes the poor way more than the rich
One group that will really lose out with the Republican health care bill to repeal and replace Obamacare: the poor. Consider the bill’s uninsured penalty.
A District Court Just Ruled That Texas Gerrymandering Violated the Voting Rights Act
Good evening! Hey y'all I know it's 9:30 on a Friday night but...um...the Federal court has filed a ruling on TX Congressional redistricting. So HEADS UP.
Trump transition was told of Flynn’s lobbying, congressman’s letter to Pence shows
The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform told then Vice President-elect Mike Pence in a November letter that the man Donald Trump had tapped to be his national security adviser was lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-democratic-party-doesn-unpopular-article-1.2993659
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Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper appeared on Meet the Press this past weekend to discuss the Trump-Russia scandal. Chuck Todd asked: Were there improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials?
The Dark Strategy at the Core of the GOP Health Care Plan
Paul Ryan and House Republicans have introduced a Trump-approved plan to overhaul Obamacare. But Tryancare – "our wonderful new Healthcare Bill," to quote the president – is not "repeal and replace." It is "cap and strangle."
The Republican health insurance plan slashes funding for vaccines and public health
Yesterday, House Republicans released their plan for replacing Obamacare, giving Americans a sense, at long last, of how their health care might change under the Trump administration.
Trump, Russian billionaire say they’ve never met, but their jets did — in Charlotte
Five days before the November election, a Russian billionaire’s jet wheeled to a stop at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Less than 90 minutes later, Donald Trump’s campaign jet arrived on the same tarmac for an afternoon campaign rally in nearby Concord.
The GOP health bill is a $600 billion tax cut — almost entirely for the wealthy
Most analysis of the American Health Care Act, the new House Republican plan for repealing and replacing Obamacare, has focused on the fact that it will take away health insurance from millions of Americans, including, eventually, millions of poor, elderly, and disabled Americans currently on Med
First Read
First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter Welcome to our post-truth presidency President Trump's assertion — without evidence — that Barack Obama wire-tapped Trump Tower during the 2016 elec
Trump’s split screen: A two-hour virtual conversation between the president and ‘Fox & Friends’
For several days, Trump's staff kept him away from television cameras.
A very conservative Supreme Court justice seems ready to stop police from taking your stuff
Right now, the police can legally take your stuff even if you haven’t committed a crime — through what’s widely known as “civil asset forfeiture.” On Monday, the conservative Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear he is very skeptical that this practice is constitutional.
“It won’t work.” Obamacare’s toughest critics are panning the GOP replacement bill.
Avik Roy, Phil Klein, and Bob Laszewski are the three Obamacare critics I follow most closely. Each of them represents a different pole of Obamacare skepticism.
Jason Chaffetz’s iPhone comment revives the ‘poverty is a choice’ argument
It’s much easier to deal with poverty if you can convince yourself that the impoverished brought it on themselves. Nearly everyone would concur that those who suffer from poverty through no fault of their own deserve support from others, either through nonprofit or public sector assistance.
The Republican health plan fixes a problem Paul Ryan feels passionately about
One feature of the American Health Care Act — Paul Ryan’s proposed alternative to the Affordable Care Act — is that, relative to Obamacare, it helps the poor less and the middle class more.
The New York Times
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https://mobile.nytimes.com/redirect?to-mobile=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/koch-brothers-affordable-care-act.html?referer=http://m.facebook.com
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A Trump hotel project seems to have involved a front for Iran's Revolutionary Guard
A lengthy new investigative story published by Adam Davidson in the New Yorker reveals that Donald Trump’s business dealings in Azerbaijan likely violated the Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act, and may have served as a conduit for money-laundering and other underhanded activities undertaken by the
Voting Records of the Parties
These bars show the percentage of the time legislators from each party have voted in support of the listed types of policies: The voting statistics above are based on votes in both the House and the Senate during 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Trump Scapegoats Unauthorized Immigrants for Crime
This story was updated on Wednesday, March 1 at 10:06 a.m. Donald Trump is worried about violence by unauthorized immigrants. When he spoke before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, he invited three relatives of people that unauthorized immigrants had killed to attend as his guests.
Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More
WASHINGTON — Giants in telecommunications, like Verizon and AT&T, will not have to take “reasonable measures” to ensure that their customers’ Social Security numbers, web browsing history and other personal information are not stolen or accidentally released.
Comey Asks Justice Dept. to Reject Trump’s Wiretapping Claim
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, asked the Justice Department this weekend to publicly reject President Trump’s assertion that President Barack Obama ordered the tapping of Mr. Trump’s phones, senior American officials said on Sunday. Mr.
Russian Whistleblowers Are Dropping Dead And Why You Should Care (Video)
There is still far too much information not known to the American people, not yet made public or simply highly classified, to know this for a fact, but the evidence seems overwhelming.
JUST IN: Trump’s Team REFUSED Ethics Meetings – THEY THINK THEY’RE ABOVE THE LAW!
President Donald Trump’s White House team refused to partake in a course that would have provided White House staff, cabinet nominees and other political appointees training on leadership skills, ethics and management, according to documents obtained by Politico.
ICE isn’t just detaining “bad hombres.” They’re scooping up anyone in their path.
President Donald Trump has promised the only immigrants being deported now that he’s in office are “bad hombres”: convicted criminals, threats to American safety and the national interest. News reports from across the country are making clear that’s not true.
A majority of Americans are embarrassed by President Trump
For those interested in seeking adulation and acclaim, it’s easy to see why running for president might hold appeal.
Trump Team’s Links to Russia Crisscross in Washington
WASHINGTON — During the 2016 campaign, Donald J. Trump’s second campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had regular communications with his longtime associate — a former Russian military translator in Kiev who has been investigated in Ukraine on suspicion of being a Russian intelligence agent.
Here’s The White Nationalist Site Trump Got His ‘Obama Wiretapped Me!’ Accusation From
On Trump’s sixth vacation weekend in a row, he woke up early to deliver a truly unhinged rant on Twitter. In short order he accused former President Obama of wiretapping his phones in Trump Tower. Called him “sick.” Claimed he may take him to court. And said it was as bad as Watergate.
While we were distracted by Trump, Republicans advanced these 9 terrifying bills
The Republican-led Congress is wasting no time forcing through the most horrendous bills seen in decades while America’s eyes are on Russia.
Donald Trump's father was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally, reports suggest
Donald Trump’s father was arrested after a Ku Klux Klan riot in the 1920s, news reports from the time suggest.
WSJ Investigation Shows White House Lied about Sessions’ Role
Attorney General Jeff Sessions used funds from his Senate reelection campaign to cover travel expenses at last year’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where he met with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The Next Step in the Trump-DeVos Plan to Send Taxpayer Money to Religious Schools
During his address before a joint session of Congress earlier this week, President Donald Trump paused to introduce Denisha Merriweather, a graduate student from Florida sitting with first lady Melania Trump. Merriweather "failed third grade twice" in Florida's public schools, Trump said.
From “Corrupt Clinton?” to “Nothing to See Here”: a tale of two Fox News email chyrons
The first image depicts one of the many scenes from Fox’s all-out coverage of the Hillary Clinton email scandal last year. Here it is:
Rep. Marcy Kaptur Financed Her First Congressional Race With Bake Sales
The statistics aren't good. According to recent estimates, women make up just under 20 percent of Congress and less than 25 percent of all state legislatures. Only six of our nation's governors are women. But we are 51 percent of the population.
The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia
In the most abstract sense, there is nothing noteworthy about a government official meeting with an ambassador from a foreign country.
Donald Trump criticised by veterans for wearing military style outfit despite 'dodging' Vietnam draft
Donald Trump has been criticised by veterans for donning a military style bomber jacket and cap while visiting a Navy ship, despite receiving five deferments to avoid serving in Vietnam.
America's 'Complacent Class': How Self-Segregation Is Leading To Stagnation
In a new book, The Complacent Class, economist Tyler Cowen argues that the United States is standing still. People have grown more risk averse and are reluctant to switch jobs or move to another state, he says, and the desire to innovate — to grow and change — has gone away.
Kansas Court Orders Governor to Fund Public Schools
The bad news keeps piling up for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and his radical budget-cutting experiment. The state Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Republican governor and state legislature had—yet again—failed to adequately fund public schools by hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Unfortunate Mike Pence tweet now used against him after private email revelations.
Vice President Mike Pence used a private email account to "conduct public business" while governor of Indiana, according to a report from the Indy Star published Thursday night.
The Trump-Russia scandals: a quick visual guide
President Donald Trump’s Russia scandals are deeply intertwined.
Bush ethics lawyer: Trump's Russia scandal so far is "much worse" than the early stages of Watergate
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday announced that he would recuse himself “from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns” for president in 2016.
Pence used personal email for state business — and was hacked
Vice President Mike Pence reportedly used a private email account to conduct public business, including homeland security matters, while he was governor of Indiana. Records of the emails were obtained by IndyStar through a public records request. Dwight Adams/IndyStar
A Who's Who of the Trump Campaign's Russia Connections
On October 7th, 2016, the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security released a statement on behalf of the nation's 17 intelligence agencies, declaring their confidence that the Russian government directed the hacking of emails at the Democratic National Committee and
Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says
WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, then Donald J.
Growing Chorus of Republicans Calls for Sessions to Recuse Himself From Russia Probe
Congressional Republicans are coming around to the idea that the Trump administration’s ties to Russia need to be investigated by someone other than Attorney General Jeff Sessions, following a Washington Post report that Sessions lied during his confirmation hearing about interactions w
Jeff Sessions Deals a Blow to Black Lives Matter
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a major policy change yesterday that will likely have broad and real consequences for people of color around the country.
Barring Reporters From Briefings: Does It Cross a Legal Line?
WASHINGTON — A ruling issued on Monday by a federal judge in Manhattan, in a case brought by a freelance journalist without a lawyer, may interest the White House.
Democrats now describe Trump’s unshared tax returns as a matter of national security
Congressional Democrats are hoping that growing concerns about Russian interference in American politics might get them a peek at President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Trump refused to release his tax returns during the campaign because, he said, he was undergoing an audit.
Sessions twice met with Russian ambassador in 2016 despite denial
Attorney General Jeff Sessions twice met with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the 2016 presidential election season, the Department of Justice confirmed, at a time when he was a close adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, and then did not disclose those discussions when questioned
How Carryn Owens ended up at Trump’s speech to Congress
The day after Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens was killed in a raid in Yemen on Jan. 29, President Donald Trump called Owens’ wife, Carryn, to offer his condolences and invite her and her three young children to the White House.
Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking
WASHINGTON — In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J.
Trump Signs Executive Order to Impose Additional Layer of Oversight on Regulations
President Donald Trump gives the pen he used to sign an executive order to Dow Chemical President, Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris, as other business leaders applaud in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 24.
Donald Trump met with loud groans in Congress after launching plan to publish weekly list of crimes by immigrants
Donald Trump was met with loud groans after he launched a plan to publish a weekly list of crimes by immigrants. The President was met with almost unanimous applause during his first speech to Congress, and a number of standing ovations, even for his most controversial policies.
Arizona leader kills protest bill after widespread criticism
The speaker of the Arizona House said Monday he won't hear a bill that makes participating in or helping organize a protest that turns into a riot an offense that could lead to criminal racketeering charges, a move prompted by widespread criticism that the legislation sought to limit First Amendmen
'The Sickness of This Man': Michael Moore Identifies the Most Revolting Moment from Trump's Big Speech
Appearing on a special post-speech edition of Hardball, filmmaker Michael Moore lambasted President Donald Trump for standing at the podium before Congress and boasting about getting a crowd to applaud long and hard for the widow of Navy seal as if he was going to win an Emmy for it.
Taxpayers fund a first-class congressional foreign travel boom
It turns out, members of Congress are flying around the globe a whole lot more. Veuer's Nick Cardona tells us just how much it's costing taxpayers. Buzz60
Trump Order Will Aim to Roll Back a Clean Water Rule
WASHINGTON — President Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at rolling back one of former President Barack Obama’s major environmental regulations, a clean water rule known as Waters of the United States. But on its own, Mr.
Fact check: Donald Trump's claims on jobs, Obamacare, immigration and more
THE FACTS: That's not exactly what that report says. It says immigrants "contribute to government finances by paying taxes and add expenditures by consuming public services."
The only groups that have majority approval of Trump? Republicans and whites without college degrees.
Most Americans don’t think that President Trump is doing a good job. I know, I know: You and your friends think he’s doing a great job, and this is more fake news. Or maybe: No one you know likes Trump at all. Or the classic: LOL all the polls were wrong last year, who cares what polls say.
If Obama Had Said What Trump Just Said, the GOP Would Have Impeached Him
Appearing on Fox & Friends Tuesday, President Trump appeared to put the blame for Navy SEAL William Ryan Owens' death in a raid in Yemen a few weeks ago squarely on the shoulders of the military. “This was a mission that was started before I got here.
Sessions Promises to Protect Civil Rights While Retreating From Key Voting Rights Case
Attorney General Jeff Sessions marked the final day of Black History Month on Tuesday by paying homage to the role of the Justice Department in ending the era of segregation.
Fact Check: Trump’s First Address to Congress
True, but somewhat misleading. F.B.I. crime statistics estimate that there were 15,696 murders in 2015, up 10 percent from 2014. (Last year's figures are not available yet.) The increase was largely driven by street crime in a handful of large cities, like Chicago and Baltimore.
How Democrats Are Trying to Corner GOPers on the Trump-Russia Scandal
When it comes to the Trump-Russia scandal, most congressional Republicans would rather run away from reporters than talk about this controversy, let alone take any action. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan routinely duck questions about the matter.
FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier
The former British spy who authored a controversial dossier on behalf of Donald Trump’s political opponents alleging ties between Trump and Russia reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work, according to several people familiar
Trump Just Sold a $15.8 Million Condo to a Consultant Who Peddles Access to Powerful People
Last week, Donald Trump's company sealed its first big post-inaugural real estate transaction, selling a $15.8 million penthouse to a Chinese-American business executive who runs a company that touts its ability to exploit connections with powerful people to broker business deals in China.
White House defends Yemen raid after slain Navy SEAL's dad speaks
WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the Trump administration's controversial raid in Yemen on Monday after the father of a Navy SEAL killed in the raid raised concerns about how it was conducted.
This New York Times correction shows what Trump’s war on the media actually looks like
Correction: February 25, 2017 Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to Sean Spicer’s upbringing. He was New England bred, having been raised in Rhode Island; he was not “New England born.” (Mr.
Fallen SEAL's dad slams Trump
Washington (CNN)Bill Owens, the father of the Navy SEAL killed in a late-January raid in Yemen, leveled biting criticism at the White House and called for an investigation into his son's death in a news story published Sunday. CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Water pollution bill makes broad changes sought by industry
A water pollution bill moving quickly through the Legislature would allow more toxic discharges to West Virginia’s rivers and streams and — with the support of Gov.
Robert Mercer: the big data billionaire waging war on mainstream media
Just over a week ago, Donald Trump gathered members of the world’s press before him and told them they were liars. “The press, honestly, is out of control,” he said. “The public doesn’t believe you any more.” CNN was described as “very fake news… story after story is bad”.
States' rights for bathrooms, but not for marijuana
Washington (CNN)The crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington erupted in applause Friday when Matt Schlapp, the organizer of the event, congratulated top White House staff on President Donald Trump's decision to roll back protections for transgender students in pub
Sessions’ tough on crime talk could lead to fuller prisons
WASHINGTON — The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend.
Rep. Peter King says he's refusing to do town halls because angry protesters 'diminish democracy'
(CNN)Rep. Peter King said Thursday that he won't do town hall meetings because he believes they would just devolve into a "screaming session," adding that angry town halls "trivialize" and "diminish" democracy.
Mike Pence Uses Wrong Flag In Israel Tweet, Becomes Instant International Laughingstock
Trump’s. White. House. Screws. Up. Every. Single. Thing. Even small things. In yet another blunder in a month chock full of them, Vice President Mike Pence showed the world that impeaching Trump wouldn’t immediately solve the incompetency problem in the White House.
Revealed: how US billionaire helped to back Brexit
The US billionaire who helped bankroll Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency played a key role in the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, the Observer has learned.
‘Absolutely False’: No Contact From Trump Administration, Archambault Says
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault II on Thursday blasted as “absolutely false” presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s assertion that the administration of President Donald Trump had consulted with the tribe about the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Alt-Right Facts
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—On Thursday, white nationalist Richard Spencer was thrown out of the Conservative Political Action Conference. As security escorted him to the door, a college junior in a blue blazer and fashy haircut followed him.
H.R. McMaster Breaks With Administration on Views of Islam
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser has told his staff that Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion, rejecting a key ideological view of other senior Trump advisers and signaling a potentially more moderate approach to the Islamic worl
Trump rejects DHS intelligence report on travel ban
Officials in President Trump’s administration Friday downplayed an intelligence report by the Homeland Security Department that contradicts the White House’s main arguement for implementing a travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries.
NRA Head Compares Anti-Trump Protester Violence to Terrorism
The head of the National Rifle Association painted anti-Donald Trump protesters as violent extremists and compared their disruptions to terrorism during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
Washington governor bans employees from helping Donald Trump's immigration crackdown
Jay Inslee signed an executive order that bars the state of Washington's agencies from denying services to people based on their citizenship or legal status and from helping detain immigrants for breaking civil rules.
In December, Spicer said barring media access is what a ‘dictatorship’ does. Today, he barred media access.
This post has been updated. White House press secretary Sean Spicer barred reporters from several large media outlets from participating in a scheduled press briefing Friday.
Trump Lashes Out at "Fake News Media" and Anonymous Sources at Conservative Gathering
President Donald Trump excoriated the "fake news media"—a category he has previously used to describe such outlets as the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post—during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday for reporting stories that portray his increasingly tu
Betsy DeVos just accused college professors of 'ominously' indoctrinating students
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attacked all university faculty, “from adjunct professors to deans,” of brainwashing college students.
Popular Domestic Programs Face Ax Under First Trump Budget
WASHINGTON — The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Legal Services Corporation, AmeriCorps and the National Endowm
Private prisons back Trump and could see big payoffs with new policies
Stock in some private prison companies soared in November following Donald Trump's win in the presidential election. USA TODAY
'Deconstruction of the administrative state' is the plan, Bannon tells conservatives
Stephen Bannon, President Trump's reclusive chief strategist and the intellectual force behind his nationalist agenda, said Thursday that the new administration is locked in an unending battle against the media and other globalist forces to "deconstruct" an outdated system of governance.
Making America great again apparently includes Cold War-era nuclear dominance
At the end of last year, after he won the election but before he was inaugurated, President-elect Donald Trump decided to proactively set U.S. nuclear policy via Twitter.
FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia stories
Washington (CNN)The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, multiple US officials briefed on the matter tell CNN.
The Department Of Justice Just Announced It Will Start Using Private Prisons Again
Last summer, the Obama Department of Justice announced that they would no longer use private prisons. Their stocks promptly tanked. But then in November this thing no one thought would happen happened and suddenly the private prison industry turned that frown upside down.
Why Kansas’ Fiscal Implosion Is Bad News for Trump
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback delivers his annual State of the State address on the floor of of the Kansas House of Representatives in January.Bo Rader/TNS/ZUMA
Conservative activists refuse to believe Trump is spending more on travel than Obama
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Sarah Chaulk says she remains “extremely bitter” about how much taxpayer money was spent on President Barack Obama’s travel and family vacations during his time in office.
Donald Trump’s Mystery $50 Million (or More) Loan
Among Donald Trump’s debts—the source of some of his most intractable conflicts of interest—is a mystery loan that Trump has not publicly explained. And this means that the president could have a secret creditor to whom he owes tens of millions of dollars.
Woman with dying husband confronts Tom Cotton: "What kind of insurance do you have?"
Republican lawmakers around the country are facing angry backlash from their constituents over Obamacare and other issues at packed town halls. But an event for Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton on Wednesday night got especially heated.
Lawmakers: Don't stop drivers for missing front plate
UC officials discuss the independent report on the Samuel DuBose killing. The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar COLUMBUS – Lawmakers want police to stop pulling over drivers for missing a front license plate – the reason a University of Cincinnati police officer gave for stopping Sam DuBose.
The Pruitt Emails: E.P.A. Chief Was Arm in Arm With Industry
WASHINGTON — As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Scott Pruitt, now the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, closely coordinated with major oil and gas producers, electric utilities and political groups with ties to the libertarian billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H.
Trump To Cut Funding For PBS While His Family’s Lavish Lifestyle Costs Taxpayers This Astronomical Sum
The widely-popular Federal programs account for less than 0.0625% of the total budget. Security for the Trumps in the White House, Trump Tower, and Mar-a-Lago is estimated to cost more than the entire proposed budget for the NEA in 2017.
Memos signed by DHS secretary describe sweeping new guidelines for deporting illegal immigrants
Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the United States and at the border.
The Private Prison Industry Is Licking Its Chops Over Trump's Deportation Plans
Immigration agents sparked panic across the country last week, when a series of high-profile operations made it clear that a new era of crackdowns on undocumented immigrants had begun.
When Did Compassion Become Partisan Politics?
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The left needs to take a leaf out of Jesus' book – and get angry
Being polite gets us nowhere. We should channel the righteous anger we feel at the mess America is in, and use it to change society
KING: Trump and Milo have turned the GOP into a party of perverts
For many of us who have been harassed and attacked directly by Milo Yiannopoulos over the past few years, we are well aware of his depravity. He openly embraces his role as a bigot and a troll who targets and ridicules whoever crosses his path.
It’s Bad
Right after Donald Trump was elected president, I interviewed Masha Gessen, the Russian dissident writer, for an essay I was thinking of calling “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Fascism.
White House confirms adviser reassigned after disagreeing with Trump
West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)A senior National Security Council adviser was reassigned to his old job at the National Defense University, a White House spokeswoman confirmed Sunday, after he criticized the Trump administration's Latin American policies.
A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates
A week before Michael T. Flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal was hand-delivered to his office, outlining a way for President Trump to lift sanctions against Russia. Mr.
Memos signed by DHS secretary describe sweeping new guidelines for deporting illegal immigrants
Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly has signed sweeping new guidelines that empower federal authorities to more aggressively detain and deport illegal immigrants inside the United States and at the border.
Trump, not ISIS, is America’s greatest existential threat
Who is more dangerous to the American way of life: ISIS or Donald Trump? The answer is obvious: Trump.
Protesters shut down street after ICE raid in Las Cruces
Disclosure: NMPolitics.net editor and publisher Heath Haussamen, who wrote this article, is dating CAFé executive director Sarah Silva, who led today’s protest. Read about how NMPolitics.net handles articles that involve CAFé and Silva here.
Congress takes aim at California law mandating retirement savings plans for low-income workers
An ambitious California law intended to help create retirement security for low-income workers is in the crosshairs of the Trump-era Congress, which is moving to block the state and others from launching programs to automatically enroll millions of people in IRA-type savings plans.
Nineteen of Donald Trump’s White House staff and advisors have been fired or resigned this week
When Donald Trump promised he’d drain the swamp, he didn’t tell us he meant he’d be getting rid of his own people.
Trump calls the media ‘the enemy of the American People’
WEST PALM BEACH. Fla. — President Trump further escalated his attacks on the news media Friday afternoon when he tweeted that outlets such as the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN are not his enemy but “the enemy of the American People.”
King: Trump's deportation plan mimics Nazis
Last week I said that Donald Trump’s immigration plans were frighteningly similar to Nazi Germany. To double down on the comparison, let's actually examine Trump's campaign decree that he would "round up" 11 million undocumented immigrants in 24 months and drop them off across the border.
In a month, the Trump family has cost taxpayers almost as much as the Obamas did in a year
Donald Trump’s family’s trips have cost taxpayers nearly as much in a month as Barack Obama’s cost in an entire year. The US President’s three visits to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida since his presidential inauguration, combined with his sons’ business trips, reportedly cost $11.3m (£9.
Cummings: ‘No idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today’
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings swatted away President Trump’s claim that the Baltimore Democrat wouldn’t meet with him after repeated calls from the White House.
Popular Domestic Programs Face Ax Under First Trump Budget
WASHINGTON — The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Legal Services Corporation, AmeriCorps and the National Endowm
Senate Confirms Scott Pruitt as E.P.A. Head
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt on Friday to run the Environmental Protection Agency, putting a seasoned legal opponent of the agency at the helm of President Trump’s efforts to dismantle major regulations on climate change and clean water — and to cut the size and authority of
Harward says no to national security adviser role
(CNN)Ret. Vice Adm. Bob Harward turned down President Donald Trump's offer to be national security adviser Thursday, depriving the administration of a top candidate for a critical foreign policy post days after Trump fired Michael Flynn.
Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign
CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
18 WTF Moments From Trump's Unhinged Press Conference
Donald Trump took questions from the media on Thursday afternoon. The hastily called press conference came as a surprise to reporters, who would typically have had a briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during that time.
Donald Trump’s combative, grievance-filled news conference, annotated
A solemn President Trump turned his Thursday afternoon announcement of a new labor secretary nominee into a screed against the media and large-scale defense of his first four weeks as president. It was remarkable. Trump hit all the usual points: the polls, the electoral college, the media, etc.
Trump Launches Tirade Against Media, Claiming White House Is "Running Like a Fine-Tuned Machine"
President Donald Trump intensified his attack on the media in a wild press conference Thursday, once again characterizing the press as "dishonest" in response to recent reports that have depicted an administration increasingly in turmoil.
Donald Trump’s Russian Watergate: Michael Flynn resigns, and Sally Yates took him down
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has resigned late tonight, a full four days after Donald Trump’s White House and the American public were made aware that Flynn had colluded with the Russian ambassador before and after election day.
Trump's White House is falling apart
Losing a national security adviser to scandal within the first month of a new presidency, with Michael Flynn resigning late Monday, isn't just unprecedented; it's one of those events that would have Spock telling Kirk that the readings are off the charts and make no sense.
Every Night There's Going to Be Another Bombshell About the Trump Presidency
Late Wednesday night, the Wall Street Journal published a big story alleging that, according to "current and former [intelligence] officials," US spies have been withholding sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump.
This Emoluments Thing Isn’t Going Away
When last we checked in on President Trump and his assorted emoluments issues, a lawsuit had been filed and there was some question of whether the plaintiffs had any standing to proceed.
If Trump Gets His Way, These Will Be the First Places to Ban Abortion
Like many Democrats, State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, who is now in her 12th term representing Illinois' 12th district, didn't expect Donald Trump to win the presidency.
Is Michael Flynn the First Domino to Fall in Kremlingate?
Donald Trump's national security advisor, Michael Flynn, has resigned in disgrace after barely three weeks on the job.
Trump searches for Michael Flynn's replacement -- and faces questions
WASHINGTON — Less than a month after taking office, President Trump must find a new national security adviser after Michael Flynn resigned for lying about his talks with a Russian ambassador — and face questions about what the White House knew about the situation.
Kellyanne Conway's White Nationalist Retweet Is No Mistake
Late Monday, coming off a long evening of responding to Gen. Mike Flynn's resignation as national security adviser, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway found solace in a tweet from a user named Lib Hypocrisy:
Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence
WASHINGTON — Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials.
Kellyanne Conway's White Nationalist Retweet Is No Mistake
Late Monday, coming off a long evening of responding to Gen. Mike Flynn's resignation as national security adviser, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway found solace in a tweet from a user named Lib Hypocrisy:
Why Flynn's Resignation Matters
A senior American official was compromised by his relationship with a foreign government. Who else has ties to the Russian state? Stop talking about the Logan Act.
Michael Flynn last July: “If I did a tenth of what [Hillary Clinton] did, I would be in jail”
Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has resigned just weeks after the new president took office.
Top GOP investigators on the Hill say they won’t investigate Michael Flynn
House Republicans are not eager to investigate Michael Flynn. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz said his committee will not investigate Flynn’s contact with the Russian government, or the extent of his communications with White House officials.
Reporter claims Omarosa Manigault 'physically' threatened her
A White House reporter claims a senior President Trump official “physically intimidated” and verbally threatened her outside the Oval Office last week, according to a report.
KING: Stephen Miller is the latest insufferable liar and bigot on Team Trump
Over the past few months, the nation has come to know Stephen Bannon, who serves as the Chief Strategist of Donald Trump's White House, as a conniving, crass bigot who made a single hop from the leader of Breitbart, the nation's most bigoted mainstream website to bullying his way into the highest of
From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open
WASHINGTON — President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr.
Trump Sons Forge Ahead Without Father, Expanding and Navigating Conflicts
President Trump’s old office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower in Manhattan sits unoccupied now, unofficial storage space for the gathering trove of memorabilia that his two oldest sons say they hope will eventually be turned over to their father’s presidential library.
Trump ran a campaign based on intelligence security. That’s not how he’s governing.
Close observers of the 2016 election will remember that, on occasion, President Trump liked to draw attention to his opponent’s security practices as a way of criticism. There was, you may recall, something about an email server.
Paul Krugman Issues a Warning About What We All Know Is Coming
In September of 2001 the Administration of George W. Bush was running into trouble.
EPA Officials Yanked From Alaska Event as Trump Team Weighs In
Just three days before this week’s environment conference in Alaska, the top Environmental Protection Agency official in Anchorage called the organizer with some news: The agency had been instructed by the White House to slash the number of EPA staffers who could attend.
Website for disabled kids disappears as DeVos takes office
A U.S. Department of Education website, empowering families of students with disabilities, has disappeared -- and already embattled Trump education chief Betsy DeVos may be to blame. U.S. Sens.
Japanese prime minister’s stay at Mar-a-Lago will be a gift from President Trump
President Donald Trump is personally paying the tab for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump's Indonesian Business Partner Brags About His Access
Donald Trump's Indonesian business partner is touting his relationship with the president, telling a Jakarta-based magazine that he still has ready access to the man in the Oval Office.
Federal Judge Calls Into Question 'Legitimacy' of Donald Trump's Presidency
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster called into question the “legitimacy” of Donald Trump’s presidency this week after the president suggested that a federal judge who ruled against him was illegitimate.
As Trump Fears Fraud, GOP Eliminates Election Commission
A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote.
Richard Rorty’s prescient warnings for the American left
A prescient passage from a forgotten book has been making the rounds since Donald Trump’s election. It’s plucked from a 1998 book titled Achieving our Country. The author is Richard Rorty, a liberal philosopher who died in 2007.
Jeff Sessions, Trump’s attorney general, will be a massive setback for civil rights
If there was ever any doubt on where President Donald Trump will take the country on issues like civil rights, criminal justice, and immigration, Alabama Sen.
Backing Into World War III
Think of two significant trend lines in the world today. One is the increasing ambition and activism of the two great revisionist powers, Russia and China.
Pot backers fear worst as vote nears on marijuana foe Sessions for attorney general
Marijuana legalization backers fear the worst for their fast-growing industry as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote Wednesday to approve a longtime pot opponent, Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, as the nation’s next attorney general.
California and President Trump are going to war with each other
President Trump had harsh words for one of his most fervent opponents during the pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly that aired Sunday. Not President Vladimir Putin, mind you, whose alleged unpleasant habit of murdering journalists met with a shrug from the president.
150 participants protest President in downtown Toledo
For U.S. citizen Phung Vo, a refugee who came to America from Vietnam in 1975, a Saturday protest was the chance to speak against irrational fear. There is a baseless belief American officials do not fully vet Syrian refugees and they are dangerous, said Ms. Vo, 69, of Sylvania Township.
President Trump's messy, leaky, fire-y past 24 hours, explained
Donald Trump’s second Monday as president ended with a bang, as he decided to fire acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to defend his sweeping immigration order in court.
Veterans still angry at Trump’s treatment of Iraqis who served U.S. war effort
Wherever you are, Akmal, Scott Cooper remembers you. Akmal, an Iraqi and Scott’s friend, wanted to visit America some day and connect with his friends from the U.S. Marine Corps on their home territory, said Cooper, a former lieutenant colonel.
Not just 'bad hombres': Trump is targeting up to 8 million people for deportation
When President Trump ordered a vast overhaul of immigration law enforcement during his first week in office, he stripped away most restrictions on who should be deported, opening the door for roundups and detentions on a scale not seen in nearly a decade.
Donald Trump sexism tracker: Every offensive comment in one place
Fat. Pig. Dog. Slob. Disgusting animal. These are just some of the names that Donald Trump has called women. The President of the United States has been widely called out for his objectification of women - he has a tendency to criticise them for their looks - and sexist remarks.
Four in 10 Americans want Trump impeached, five in 10 wish Obama was still president, poll says
Another poll has reaffirmed what most people already believed: Donald Trump is among the most polarizing presidents in modern political history.
Documents confirm Trump still benefiting from his business
Before taking office, President Trump promised to place his assets in a trust designed to erect a wall between him and the businesses that made him wealthy.
Black History Month speech transcripts: Trump vs. Obama
President Donald J. Trump on Feb. 1, 2017: Well, the election, it came out really well. Next time we'll triple the number or quadruple it. We want to get it over 51, right? At least 51.
The Snake
There is a story Donald Trump liked to tell on the campaign trail. The story of the snake. The fable goes like this. A “tender-hearted” woman finds a wounded snake on the road. She takes it in and nurses it back to health. The snake, revived, bites her. The woman, dying, asks why.
Black History Month speech transcripts: Trump vs. Obama
President Donald J. Trump on Feb. 1, 2017: Well, the election, it came out really well. Next time we'll triple the number or quadruple it. We want to get it over 51, right? At least 51.
His mother’s huge early ’80s EPA scandal taints Judge Neil Gorsuch’s name
Gorsuch hasn’t been a household name in the nation’s capital for more than 30 years, not since the late Anne Gorsuch Burford stood at the center of the worst scandal in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://usuncut.com/politics/psychologists-explain-what-trumps-constant-lying-does-to-our-brains/
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The awkward TV exchange that prompted Trump’s latest tweet on ‘illegal voting’
When President Trump tweets something out of the blue, one can generally safely assume what prompted it: television. Multiple times since he won the presidency, Trump has taken to Twitter to weigh in on something he saw on morning news programs, which, even now, he fits into his busy schedule.
Trump administration instructs federal agencies to cease communicating with the public
Trump administration officials have instructed employees at multiple agencies in recent days to cease communicating with the public through news releases, official social-media accounts and correspondence, raising concerns that federal employees will be able to convey only information that supports
http://usuncut.com/politics/harvard-doctors-obamacare-repeal/
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Trump, in CIA visit, attacks media for coverage of his inaugural crowds
On his first full day in office, President Trump visited the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters to express his gratitude for the intelligence community, which he had repeatedly railed against and recently likened to Nazis.
On a largely ceremonial day, Trump revamps the White House website and takes a few executive actions
Just moments after President Trump took the oath of office Friday, the official White House website was transformed into a set of policy pledges -- and absence of them -- that offered the broad contours of the Trump administration's top priorities, including fierce support for law enforcement and
The America Donald Trump Is Inheriting, By The Numbers
When he takes the oath of office on Friday, President Trump will inherit a far different country than President Obama did eight years ago. It's a nation that is far more solid in some ways (economics) and shakier in others (terrorist attacks).
Comparing presidential administrations by arrests and convictions: A warning for Trump appointees
In May 2015, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks mentioned on PBS’s Newshour that the Obama administration has been remarkably scandal-free:“President Obama has run an amazingly scandal-free administration, not only he himself, but the people around him.
CIA Concludes Russian Interference Aimed To Elect Trump
Updated at 1:49 p.m. ET Saturday with confirmation from the U.S. official and comments from Sen. Ron Wyden Updated at 3:20 p.m. ET Saturday with comments from Sen. Angus King
House opens door for transfer of federal lands: Will Trump play ball?
Emboldened by the change of administration, GOP lawmakers are quietly making moves that would permit a potentially vast transfer of federal land to states and other entities. President-elect Donald Trump and his pick for Interior secretary, Rep.
Trump’s DC Hotel Tagged With $5 Million in Unpaid Worker Liens
Donald Trump’s new Washington hotel, located just blocks from the White House, owes electricians, wood workers and a plumbing and heating business more than $5 million for unpaid labor, according to liens filed against the property with the District of Columbia.
Brace Yourselves for an Onslaught of Anti-LGBT Proposals in 2017
In 2016, state legislatures across the country proposed more anti-LGBT measures than they had in almost a decade, and activists anticipate more of the same in 2017. There was some good news last year: There was a dramatic jump in proposed pro-LGBT rights bills. And in North Carolina, Gov.
Campus Identity Politics Is Dooming Liberal Causes, a Professor Charges
Rage over racial, gender, and sexual identity has no sense of proportion and creates a damaging spectacle, says Mark Lilla, a professor of humanities at Columbia University.
11 Charts That Show Income Inequality Isn’t Getting Better Anytime Soon
It’s no secret that the United States has a glaring—and growing—problem with inequality. The Great Recession made things worse, and the recent economic recovery remains uneven, and unevenly distributed.
http://www.anti-politics.org/distro/2009/practicalsecurity-read.pdf
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The dirty deplorables: Who’s who on Trump’s team
What do Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and advisors think about climate change and other sustainability issues? As you would expect, it’s not looking good for those of us concerned about a habitable climate and livable cities.
North Carolina’s GOP Is Closing Ranks
After the Supreme Court struck down key portions of the Voting Rights Act, an almost uncontested North Carolina GOP—with firm control of the governor’s office and legislature following the 2010 and 2012 elections—clamped down on voting rights in the state.
House conservatives' sweeping plan for Trump's first 100 days, explained
Thursday morning, the House Freedom Caucus, the main group representing the far right of House Republicans, released an ambitious regulatory — or, really, deregulatory — agenda for the Trump administration to pursue.
Time to Fight Like Hell
Decades from now, when the election of 2016 is distilled to its essence, what will that be? Many hoped the central lesson would be a shattered glass ceiling and a cementing of the Obama legacy. An expansion of rights and tolerance.
Trump, Mocking Claim That Russia Hacked Election, at Odds with G.O.P.
WASHINGTON — An extraordinary breach has emerged between President-elect Donald J. Trump and the national security establishment, with Mr.
Politics
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Leaked Document: Trump Wants to Identify Officials Who Worked on Obama Climate Policies
Donald Trump aides are attempting to identify Department of Energy staffers who played a role in promoting President Barack Obama's climate policies, according to details of a leaked transition team questionnaire published by Bloomberg Thursday night.
This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter
About a year ago, 18-year-old college student Lauren Batchelder stood up at a political forum in New Hampshire and told Donald Trump that she didn’t think he was “a friend to women.
Trump's Presidency Is Shaping Up to Be an American Tragedy
They're already building the inaugural stand on the west side of the Capitol building. In six weeks, Donald Trump will stand on it, in front of thousands, and take the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States. What happens next is anyone's guess. But here's what we do know.
The Array of Conflicts of Interest Facing the Trump Presidency
Donald J. Trump’s global business empire will create an unprecedented number of conflicts of interest for a United States president, experts in legal ethics say. Mr.
David Petraeus’s Probation Officer Would Have to Give Him Permission to Travel As Secretary of State
If Donald Trump chooses former CIA director and retired General David Petraeus as the winner of his secretary of State reality show, he’ll want to throw in a pardon, too. In 2015, Petraeus pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information, which he shared with his mistress.
Potential Trump Pick for Homeland Security Wants to Send up to 1 Million People to Gitmo
Donald Trump was scheduled to meet Monday with Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr., a Trump supporter and surrogate during the campaign who is now reportedly being considered to head the Department of Homeland Security.
How Donald Trump Became Conspiracy Theorist in Chief
One of the most popular items at this year’s Republican National Convention was a navy blue T-shirt that at first glance looked terribly out of place. “Hillary,” it read in large letters. Beneath was the punchline: “for Prison.
How Russia Pulled Off the Biggest Election Hack in U.S. History
On an April afternoon earlier this year, Russian president Vladimir Putin headlined a gathering of some four hundred journalists, bloggers, and media executives in St. Petersburg. Dressed in a sleek navy suit, Putin looked relaxed, even comfortable, as he took questions.
All the world's most unequal countries revealed in one chart
The global economic recovery since the 2008 crash has failed to reach all levels of society and inequality continues to grow, according to a major report. Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report 2016 identified Russia as the world’s most unequal country, with a staggering 74.
White Nationalists See Trump as Their Troll in Chief. Is He With Them?
Jeff Blehar had no idea he was about to become a conduit for a virulent political awakening. It was July 2015, and the conservative writer and outspoken critic of freshly minted presidential candidate Donald Trump was being pummeled on Twitter with a profane-sounding political dis: "cuckservative.
Analysis: Breitbart's Steve Bannon Leads the 'Alt Right' to the White House
For the last six months, Republican leaders walked a careful line supporting Donald Trump. They supported his campaign and loved his running mate, Mike Pence, but they didn't agree with his positions on banning Muslims or mass deportations, or with the far-right figures who backed them.
A leading white nationalist says it plainly: Trump’s victory was about white identity
Jared Taylor, the editor of the white nationalist journal American Renaissance, believes African Americans are threat to American society. “When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western civilization — any kind of civilization — disappears," he wrote in 2005.
Russia's Involvement in the 2016 Election Is Growing by the Day
It's shoveling sand against the tide to ask this question again, but why isn't the fact that Russia played monkey-mischief with the recent presidential election—and the fact that we have no freaking idea how much the president-elect may owe to various financial institutions with connection to that
Jeff Sessions, as Attorney General, Could Overhaul Department He’s Skewered
WASHINGTON — Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, as the courtly senator from Alabama used to be known, was a stalwart Justice Department prosecutor for almost 15 years, a job he called the adventure of a lifetime. Today, Mr.
Donald Trump's infrastructure plan wouldn't actually fix America's infrastructure problems
Donald Trump loves the idea of infrastructure. He brings it up all the time. He wants to make an infrastructure bill a priority in his first 100 days as president. And Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have said they’d love to work with him on this.
The Brexit nightmare we will soon be unable to ignore
First, when it comes to Brexit, there are the familiar problems. On EU law, the prime minister’s idea is to pass a "Great Repeal Bill" to take effect the day we leave.
Donald Trump would ‘certainly’ and ‘absolutely’ create a database of Muslims
NEWTON, Iowa — Donald Trump said Thursday the United States should create a database of Muslims in the country. Trump said the government should use "a lot of systems, beyond databases" to track Muslims, prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country and keep the nation safe.
Trump understands what many miss: people don’t make decisions based on facts
Donald Trump made an “unusual degree” of blatantly false and misleading statements for a presidential candidate. And since taking the oath of office, he’s continued the pattern. He’s insisted that three-to-five million votes were cast illegally despite any credible evidence.
Thanks to a bad map and bizarre math, Breitbart can report that Trump won the REAL popular vote
As a media outlet interested in accuracy, The Washington Post has a version of the county-by-county map that is based on actual data. In reality, the county split in last week's election looked like this: Still a lot of red, but you will notice on our map that large U.S.
The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients
Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to have received food stamps at some point in their lives—a participation gap that echoes the deep partisan divide in the U.S.
Should California, Oregon and Washington join Canada? #Calexit talk envelops West Coast
The #calexit movement, formed in response to Donald Trump winning the presidential election, has enveloped California’s West Coast neighbors and spiritual counterparts, Washington and Oregon. The three Pacific Coast states overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton.
Nancy Pelosi swats backs challenger to be reelected House minority leader
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As Transition Pace Picks Up, Trump Nears Cabinet Nominations
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition team is nearing picks for heavyweight cabinet-level posts such as the secretaries of state and of the Treasury, attorney general, and ambassador to the United Nations.
The Radical Anti-Conservatism of Stephen Bannon
Stephen Bannon, who recently took over as Donald Trump’s campaign manager, once gave an interview, while promoting his 2010 film, “Fire From the Heartland: the Awakening of the Conservative Woman,” where he argued that Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Ann Coulter pose an existential thr
KING: How Trump is leading transformation to turn GOP into KKK
Yeah, I'm dead serious. No, it's not a stretch in the least bit.
Donald Trump keeps up media attacks with misleading tweets about New York Times
President-elect Donald Trump sounded very much like presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday morning in a pair of misleading tweets about the New York Times. The @nytimes sent a letter to their subscribers apologizing for their BAD coverage of me. I wonder if it will change - doubt it?
The real reason we have an Electoral College: to protect slave states
Every four years, we elect a president in this country, and we do it in a strange way: via the Electoral College. The reasons for the Electoral College are unclear to most people. On the surface, it appears anti-democratic, and needlessly complicated.
The U.S. Media Is Completely Unprepared to Cover a Trump Presidency
Saddam Hussein was allied with al-Qaeda, and helped finance the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Hussein regime had sought uranium from Niger. Iraq had obtained aluminum tubes to be used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. All of those assertions turned out to be false.
More white women voted for Donald Trump than for Hillary Clinton
One might think Donald Trump's sexist and vulgar statements would sway female voters away from the candidate. But roughly 53% of white women voted for Trump on Tuesday, CNN reported. White women turned out for Trump far more than other minority women.
Donald Trump sexism tracker: Every offensive comment in one place
Fat. Pig. Dog. Slob. Disgusting animal. These are just some of the names that Donald Trump has called women. The President of the United States has been widely called out for his objectification of women - he has a tendency to criticise them for their looks - and sexist remarks.
Facebook is harming our democracy, and Mark Zuckerberg needs to do something about it
A generation ago, newspapers and television news programs had a lot of influence over what people read and watched. Stories that made it on the front page got a lot of attention, while most people never heard about stories that mainstream media outlets chose to ignore.
Why Republicans Still Reject the Science of Global Warming
One day in 2009, Henry Waxman, the Democratic congressman representing Santa Monica and Malibu, paid a visit to one of his Republican counterparts, a ruddy-faced Texan named Joe Barton.
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum makes the conservative case for Hillary Clinton
David Frum — a neoconservative and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush — has drawn a line in the sand for conservatives who oppose Donald Trump: The only effective way to oppose Trump is to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton.
How social media creates angry, poorly informed partisans
A while back, hackers linked to the Russian government stole a cache of emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta and furnished them to WikiLeaks.
Taking Trump voters’ concerns seriously means listening to what they’re actually saying
Donald Trump’s supporters deserve to have their concerns taken seriously. If the media and commentators in 2016 can agree on nothing else, it’s this. It’s a bit of an odd meme.
Donald Trump's long history of racism, misogyny, and corruption, explained
When you put together everything we know about Donald Trump, it’s terrifying. Over the past year and a half, there has been a lot of reporting done on what’s perhaps the biggest question of the 2016 presidential campaign: Who is Trump?
Inside the Republican creation of the North Carolina voting bill dubbed the ‘monster’ law
RALEIGH, N.C. — The emails to the North Carolina election board seemed routine at the time.
FBI says foreign hackers penetrated state election systems
The FBI has uncovered evidence that foreign hackers penetrated two state election databases in recent weeks, prompting the bureau to warn election officials across the country to take new steps to enhance the security of their computer systems, according to federal and state law enforcement offici
Thinking of voting for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson? Here are their policy positions
On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton in a prime-time speech from the Democratic National Convention stage in Philadelphia.
http://usuncut.com/politics/hony-open-letter/
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Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People
I wrote last week about the new nonfiction book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, the Yale Law School graduate who grew up in the poverty and chaos of an Appalachian clan.
Donald Trump and the Dark Soul of the GOP
The Republican National Convention was a parade of fear and loathing. This is what you need to know about Donald Trump's GOP. At the convention in Cleveland, Alex Jones, a prominent peddler of conspiracy theories, was in the hall as a special guest.
FACT CHECK: Donald Trump's Republican Convention Speech, Annotated
Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president Thursday night, delivering a speech that lays out America's struggles with crime, terrorism, immigration, and how he plans to address them. NPR's politics team is annotating Trump's speech live below (we will continue to add).
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The Corrections Corporation of America, by the Numbers
Where the pioneering private prison company operates, who owns it, and who's taking it to court. Read Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer's firsthand account of his four months spent working as a guard at a corporate-run prison in Louisiana.
Inside the Purge of Tens of Thousands of Ohio Voters
Chad McCullough, 44, was born in Ohio and has lived in Butler County for about nine or 10 years, he says. Last November, McCullough and his wife made their way to the local polling station in southwest Ohio to cast their ballots.
Sanders' Best Hope Is a System Intended to Stop Candidates Like Him
When Californians cast their ballots in the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders' greatest advantage may have nothing to do with Democratic voters. That's because California is one of 29 states where independents can participate in the Democratic primaries and caucuses.
Paul Krugman Explains Trump: "The Making Of An Ignoramus"
Asked on Thursday whether the United States needed to pay its debts in full, or whether he could negotiate a partial repayment, Mr. Trump told the cable network CNBC, “I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.”
Inside the Koch Brothers' Toxic Empire
The enormity of the Koch fortune is no mystery. Brothers Charles and David are each worth more than $40 billion. The electoral influence of the Koch brothers is similarly well-chronicled.
2 political scientists have found a key reason Republicans and Democrats see politics so differently
Here's a telling fact about modern American politics: Republicans only trust Fox News. Democrats trust every network but Fox News.
Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq
At A congressional hearing examining the march to war in Iraq, Republican congressman Walter Jones posed "a very simple question" about the administration's manipulation of intelligence: "How could the professionals see what was happening and nobody speak out?" Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Po
Revenge of the Simple: How George W. Bush Gave Rise to Trump
To hear GOP insiders tell it, Doomsday is here. If Donald Trump scores huge on tonight and seizes control of the nomination in the Super Tuesday primaries, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Republican Party, and perhaps the presidency. He's no ordinary con man.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-america-made-donald-trump-unstoppable-20160224?page=13
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In 50-49 vote, US Senate says climate change not caused by humans
WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth.
Outraged Bill Moyers Exposes The System For What It Is
Bill Moyers has done some great essays on money in politics corruption in his time, but this might be his finest work to date.
How This Company—and Mike Huckabee—Cashed In by Scaring Conservatives
Last year, a man named Brian Chambers announced a world-changing advance: An international research organization called the Health Sciences Institute had found an incredible cure for cancer hidden in the Book of Matthew. For just $74, you, too, could discover the secret.
Inside the GOP's Fact-Free Nation
IT TAKES TWO THINGS to make a political lie work: a powerful person or institution willing to utter it, and another set of powerful institutions to amplify it.
Voter - Politics in 8 Seconds
We've built an app to give people a fast, fun, and easy way to become informed. Answer a few simple questions to find out which candidates have your best interests at heart, and have a track record to back it up. The platform we've developed only recently became possible.
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/schools-behavior-discipline-collaborative-proactive-solutions-ross-greene
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These 7 Charts Show Why the Rent Is Too Damn High
More Americans than ever before are unable to afford rent. Here's a look at why the rent is too damn high and what can be done about it. Part of the problem has to do with simple supply and demand.
Startup Brigade will use tech to boost civic involvement
There is a special corner of the Internet graveyard dedicated to sites that have promised - and failed - to improve civic engagement. Most have tanked because they were too wonky, too earnest, too focused on raising money for a specific candidate or issue.
What Is Killing America's Bees and What Does It Mean for Us?
There was a moment last year when beekeeper Jim Doan was ready to concede defeat. He stood in the kitchen of his rural New York home, holding the phone to his ear.
Redesign Democracy
Older generations seem to chronically lament that the world of the young is new, unprecedented, and terrible.
Inside the GOP Clown Car
The thing is, when you actually think about it, it's not funny. Given what's at stake, it's more like the opposite, like the first sign of the collapse of the United States as a global superpower.
Labor council backs Toledo mayor in race
AFL-CIO’s campaign helped oust Bell, elect Collins in 2013 Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson is one of three declared mayoral candidates for the election in November.
What If Everything You Knew About Disciplining Kids Was Wrong?
Leigh Robinson was out for a lunchtime walk one brisk day during the spring of 2013 when a call came from the principal at her school. Will, a third-grader with a history of acting up in class, was flipping out on the playground. He’d taken off his belt and was flailing it around and grunting.
James O'Keefe Pays $100,000 To ACORN Employee He Smeared-Conservative Media Yawns
Remember James O’Keefe? That would be the same James O’Keefe who brought down community organizing and voter registration organization ACORN in his march to becoming a conservative icon for his alleged ‘good works’.
The influence of elites, interest groups and average voters on American politics
Public policy in the United States is shaped by a wide variety of forces, from polls and election results to interest groups and institutions, both formal and informal.
Washingtonpost.com: Voter Confusion on a Hot Controversy
Voter Confusion on a Hot Controversy By David S. BroderWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, May 31, 1998; Page A04 DAVIS, Calif.
Voter Guide | Presidential candidates on the issues
Residence: Belmont, Mass. Experience: Candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, 1994; Mass. governor, 2003-07; candidate for GOP presidential nomination, 2008. VP of Bain and Co., 1978-84; CEO and chairman, 1991-93. Founder/CEO/managing partner, Bain Capital Inc.
Council candidates campaign against voter confusion
To figure out whether the proposed waste-to-energy incinerator was inside her County Council district, Carole Jaar Sepe said she had to crack open a computer mapping system and zoom down to the street level.
Will Political Ignorance Kill Us All? Eh, Not For a Long, Long Time
Public ignorance and epistemic arrogance have been rather prominent themes on this blog. Of course no one is immune to either, and all I can promise as a blogger is to do my best to not write about stuff I don’t know about.
Why Technology Hasn’t Delivered More Democracy
The current moment confronts us with a paradox.
Toward (a) Civic Trust
Trust in institutions, globally, is at an all-time low. Government, business, journalism, and even non-profits, are all losing the public’s faith. The US Government, in particular, has hovered near its lowest approval ratings in history for an uncomfortably long time.
9 TED Talks to restore your faith in politics
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When the End of Human Civilization Is Your Day Job
This story was published in the August 2015 issue of Esquire. The incident was small, but Jason Box doesn't want to talk about it. He's been skittish about the media since it happened.
How Motor City Came Back From the Brink…and Left Most Detroiters Behind
a billionaire businessman named Dan Gilbert arrived at the White House to discuss the future of Detroit.
You’re Going to See an Explosion of Online Political Ads in 2016
This post first appeared at Mother Jones. If you dread the deluge of political ads flooding the airwaves during election season, you’re not going to like what’s in store for you in 2016.
Selling Off Apache Holy Land
ABOUT an hour east of Phoenix, near a mining town called Superior, men, women and children of the San Carlos Apache tribe have been camped out at a place called Oak Flat for more than three months, protesting the latest assault on their culture.
Republicans Find Yet Another Ingenious Way to Suppress Democratic Votes
The number of ways that Republicans invent to reduce the voting power of the Democratic Party is truly impressive. Here's the latest: The court has never resolved whether voting districts should have the same number of people, or the same number of eligible voters.
A 2016 theme emerges: Money, money, money, money, money
Despite the blur of activity by innumerable candidates, the 2016 presidential campaign so far is a mostly shapeless enterprise, save for one dominant factor: the prominence of money in the narrative.
Stamp Money Out of Politics
Thanks to the help of over 140 major national organizations committed to this fight, big money in politics has become the sleeper issue of the 2016 presidential election, according to the Washington Post.
Seymour Hersh’s alternative history of Bush’s war
The crack investigative reporter tells Salon about a disastrous battle the U.S. brass hushed up, the frightening True Believers in the White House, and how Iran, not Israel, may have manipulated us into war. Since the Sept.
Robert Reich: Why America's Economy Is an Utter Disaster
For the past quarter-century—at least since Bob Kuttner, Paul Starr, and I founded The American Prospect—I’ve offered in articles, books, and lectures an explanation for why average working people in advanced nations like the United States have failed to gain ground and are u
Scalia and Roberts Don’t Know Best
This post first appeared at Salon. If you take away Prohibition (the 18th Amendment) and its repeal (the 21st), most of our constitutional amendments since the original Bill of Rights have expanded the voting rights and political equality of the people.
Money in Politics Is Darkening the Future for Millennials
The Atlantic called millennials the “unluckiest generation,” and there’s no denying today’s young adults had the misfortune of graduating into a recession. Slate calculated that stagnant incomes and mounting student loans are putting young people “deep in a hole.
Confessions of an Ex-Republican
This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. I used to be a serious Republican, moderate and business-oriented, who planned for a public-service career in Republican politics. But I am a Republican no longer.
From tragedy to farce: The GOP primary shows the rapid collapse of American democracy
News from the Kochs and Jeb Bush suggests Citizens United is destroying the U.S. even quicker than critics feared Except for being old white guys from California, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and tech billionaire Gordon Moore don’t appear to have much in common.
Big money in politics emerges as a rising issue in 2016 campaign
At almost the same time last week that a Florida mailman was landing a gyrocopter in front of the U.S. Capitol to protest the influence of the wealthy on politics, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was getting pressed about the same topic at a town hall meeting in Londonderry, N.H.
Timeline Photos
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GOP insider: Religion destroyed my party
Having observed politics up close and personal for most of my adult lifetime, I have come to the conclusion that the rise of politicized religious fundamentalism may have been the key ingredient in the transformation of the Republican Party.
Hedge-Fund Magnate Robert Mercer Emerges as a Generous Backer of Cruz
WASHINGTON — The two men share a passion for unbridled markets, concerns about the Internal Revenue Service and a skeptical view of climate change.
The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science
How our brains fool us on climate, creationism, and the vaccine-autism link. "A MAN WITH A CONVICTION is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.
Colin Powell Has A Pretty Good Suggestion For Fixing Voter ID Laws
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday said that black voters should vote lawmakers who support voter ID restrictions out of office. Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W.
It Takes a Village: The Rise of Community-Driven Infrastructure
A decade ago, Philadelphia’s outdated sewer system—like much of the nation’s infrastructure—was crumbling, causing a nasty brew of storm-water, raw sewage, and pollutants to flow directly into local waterways. But the cash-strapped metropolis, home to over 1.
Ted Cruz’s Father: "The Bible Tells You Exactly Who To Vote For"
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s father, Rev. Rafael Cruz, has voting advice for Christians nationwide who find themselves unable to decide at the ballot box.
8 Things You Can Do to Help Get Money Out of Politics
In the wake of our most expensive midterm elections ever, decided with the lowest turnout in over 70 years, it’s no wonder that a majority of Americans are fed up with the way big money is distorting our politics.
The $9 Billion Witness: Meet JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare
She tried to stay quiet, she really did. But after eight years of keeping a heavy secret, the day came when Alayne Fleischmann couldn't take it anymore.
George Orwell's Brilliant Guide to Writing Well
Step One: Eliminate every cliche from your vocabulary.
50 Reasons You Despised George W. Bush's Presidency: A Reminder on the Day of His Presidential Library Dedication
On Thursday, President Obama and all four living ex-presidents will attend the dedication of the $500 million George W. Bush Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
America dumbs down
South Carolina’s state beverage is milk. Its insect is the praying mantis. There’s a designated dance—the shag—as well a sanctioned tartan, game bird, dog, flower, gem and snack food (boiled peanuts).